Chapter 5

Willow and Camila strolled around the S. N. Robles on the second floor. They had succeeded in finding something for Willow to gift to Hunter, and she had absolutely loved the idea. She had been so happy that she had given Camila the biggest hug. The kind of hug even Luz couldn't give on her best day. Camila had been surprised, mainly because she could swear that her feet left the floor for a second or two, but chuckled warmly at the ecstatic show of gratitude.

Since there were so many other things to look at, the two had opted to browse around for a while. Willow was still hoping to find the frame she said she would get for Camila's gift, but still had the obstacle of obtaining it without letting Camila know. She already knew where she could find it in the department store. All she would need is a good reason to step away from Camila to get it, even if she would need to wait until later to come back to make the purchase.

As they continued meandering about, Willow spotted Gus in the store as well. He was standing by a table with assorted gadgets and novelties. Willow gasped silently, realizing she had just gotten the best opportunity she could hope for. She tapped Camila's arm and pointed to Gus once she had her attention.

"Oh, there he is. I was wondering where he went after we saw Hunter earlier." She said. "I wonder why they separated."

"Could you do me a favor and maybe keep him company for a little while?" Willow asked.

"Why, are you bored of spending time with me already?" Camila joked. "But seriously, I'm guessing you want to find him a gift too, right?"

Willow nodded. "I already know what to get him. I just need to make sure he doesn't see me."

"You can count on me." Camila replied with a wink. "It won't be long until the competition starts, so I'll just bring him there and you can meet up with us as soon as you are finished here. That sound good to you?"

"Absolutely." Willow answered with a thumbs up. "See you there."

She turned and went off, making a beeline for where she had seen the aisle with picture frames earlier. Just to be safe though, she stopped to peek at a few things on the way, feigning interest in them. Camila began heading over to Gus, the boy still looking over the miscellaneous items on the table. His interest in them waned as Camila closed the gap between them while he knelt for a moment. He caught sight of her and quickly stood back up, almost looking as though he'd been caught doing something.

"Hi Camila!" He greeted with a fake smile. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just browsing around." Camila replied, quirking an eyebrow. "And you?"

"Uh… I was just…" Gus began, his eyes darting back and forth. "Kinda looking for something to get Willow. Is she with you right now?"

Camila shook her head. "No, but she is in this store. She's just looking around someplace else right now."

Gus let out a relieved sigh. "That's good. I wouldn't want her to see me picking out her gift. Do you think you can help me keep an eye out for her while I keep looking?"

"Of course. I'll just be over this way and I'll let you know if I spot her."

"Thanks!" Gus replied, turning to head off. "I'll wait outside for you after I'm done."

He went towards the front of the store to get into line. Camila looked in the direction where she had seen Willow last, but she was gone. As she went to follow Gus, Camila's foot connected with something. The sound of something sliding across the floor met her ears and she looked down to see what she had kicked. But she didn't see anything there, or even nearby.

"Huh, that's strange." She muttered to herself. "I could swear I just hit something. My mind must be playing tricks on me."

She went to browse around while keeping tabs on Gus. He explored the section with women's clothing and accessories, passing by most of them. Eventually he found something that seemed to be very appealing as he grabbed whatever it was and sped off towards the checkout. Camila hurried along to follow him, nearly losing sight of him in the process. It was easy enough to spot him again as the lines were going back a good way from the registers. After passing by and making sure he saw her, Camila opted to keep looking around until he had made his purchase.

After several minutes of being in line, Gus stepped out of the store, a small gift bag in his hands. He felt confident it would win him his little wager with Hunter. It had taken a bit of looking around, but he knew he had found the very thing Hunter would wish he had bought for Willow instead. With the time he had left, he started looking around for ideas for the gift Hunter would have to get him as his prize.

Not long after, Camila exited the store as well. She found Gus looking through the windows of a hobby shop two stores over and went to join him. They ventured into the shop and she followed him as he looked around. He took interest in a couple things, picking them up and examining them briefly before putting them back.

They stepped back out of the hobby shop, Camila looking back over to the department store and spotting Willow just outside. She caught sight of her as well and waved. Camila returned the gesture, which caught Gus's attention. He noticed Willow as well and Camila recalled the arrangement she had made.

"It's almost time for the gingerbread house competition to begin. Would you like to go with me down there or do you want to keep looking around?" She asked. "If you like, I can bring your gift for Willow out to the van just to be safe."

"Thanks, but I've got it under control." Gus replied, hiding the gift behind his back. "And just like that… out of sight!" He continued, moving his hands out in front of himself with nothing in them. "She'll have no idea."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Camila asked concernedly. "If you somehow lose it, won't it be difficult to find?"

"No biggie. I can just undo the spell."

"And then someone may see it." Camila pointed out. "You know the rules about using your 'special skills' around here. I'll overlook what you just did, if you promise not to do any more."

"Promise." Gus said, holding up one hand to affirm his oath. "No more public displays of my amazing skills."

Camila chuckled. "Very good. Now let's go and wait for everyone else downstairs."

They found their way to the nearest escalators and descended to the ground floor. As they made their way to where the competition would be held, they passed by the studio. Camila paused and looked at some of the portraits that were on display to showcase what the studio had to offer. A warm, yet almost sad smile, came to her face as she looked at a family photo in which the family all wore matching ugly sweaters.

"I would have loved if we could have done this." She said, mostly to herself. "But I guess we won't have time today. Oh well, maybe next year."

"Sounds like a plan." Gus chimed in. "But you don't need to wait a year. You can get us over to do one anytime. We're such a good-looking group, it would be a shame for you to have to wait."

He smiled, feeling somewhat amused with himself. Luz's idea to do a group portrait as a gift for Camila was pretty much guaranteed to be the highlight of her holiday. And the fact that he was carrying the very thing Camila seemed to really want just made it all the sweeter to him. If only she knew that in his hands that very moment was…

Gus's smile dropped and he felt a seed of anxiety sprout in his belly. He could feel the handles of the bag with Willow's gift in one hand. But that was it, he didn't have anything else. His pupils shrank into pinpoints, a cold bead of sweat running down his face as he came to realize something terrible.

"Oh, no. I lost it!"

"Lost what? The gift you got for Willow?" Camila queried. "But you just had it. Check the floor by your feet."

"No, not that gift! The other one!" Gus blurted out, catching his mistake a moment too late.

"What other gift?"

"The… uh…" Gus began, pausing to look around. "The one I got for Luz and Amity. I just noticed I don't have it anymore. I kinda… made it invisible too."

"Did you have it when you were in S. N. Robles?"

"I… have no idea. I got it way back when we first got here and I went to a few other stores when I was with Hunter. It could be anywhere!"

"Okay, let's not panic. Tell me some of the places you've been and I'll help you look."

Gus took a moment to think, mentally listing where he had been so far that evening. He listed a few stores, working with ones further away from the S. N. Robles where he was certain he lost the gift. Camila began to head off, but paused when she noticed he wasn't following.

"Aren't you coming?" She asked.

"I want to try looking over here first, just to be safe."

"But I'll need you to help. I won't be able to find it if you don't."

"You will. I need to be in range for it to stay hidden." Gus told her. "If it's anywhere over there, it's too far for my… special hiding skill to work."

"I guess that makes sense. Alright, I'll go and look." She said, starting to head off. "I'll meet you back here when I'm done."

"Got it."

He waited until Camila disappeared into the crowd before he went off in the opposite direction. He felt bad for lying to her, but knew how badly it would upset the others if he spoiled their special gift for her. Especially after making such a huge mistake to begin with. It was just a good thing he had a very good idea where he needed to look. With any luck, it would be as easy as going back to the store, finding it, and go rejoin Camila.

It took a couple minutes to get back to the S. N. Robles where he left Camila's gift behind. The moment he set foot back inside however, he discovered that things were not going to be as easy as he had hoped. It looked very different than he remembered. For a moment he thought he went to the wrong store, but then he realized that this store was on all three floors of the mall. He went to find a set of stairs, grateful to find some within the store and found his way back to where he had been shopping earlier.

Now with more familiar surroundings to work with, Gus began retracing his steps. He made his way back to the women's clothing and accessories and found the display where he had found his gift for Willow. It was hard for him to remember if he still had the photos at that point, but he considered it the best place to start.

Once he got by the display, he knelt to pretend to tie his shoe. He felt around with his hand in search of the envelope. All he felt was the smooth, cool linoleum of the floor. After a few more seconds of trying and still having no luck, he moved on to another spot.

The next attempt yielded no better results. Nor did the second or third. By the fourth try, Gus was beginning to panic and threw subtlety aside and began searching frantically with both hands.

"Oh no…" He whispered, crawling on the floor as he continued patting all over the floor. "It's got to be here. This is the only other place I could have left it!"

But there was nothing there. Gus got to his feet and looked around, trying almost desperately to recall if there was another place where he could have left the envelope. The idea to undo the invisibility spell came to mind, but it wouldn't do if he wasn't in range. Plus, if someone just happened to see the envelope appearing out of nowhere, they would definitely pick it up. Well, it was likely that anyone would pick it up if they found it, but he couldn't risk letting a human see magic.

Keeping dispelling the invisibility as a last resort, Gus moved on with his search. There was a rack of long pants on display nearby. He found nothing and moved onto a similar rack with sweaters by that one. His efforts continued to be fruitless as there was still no envelope to be found.

Gus searched and searched, unsuccessfully, for minutes. The shoppers in the surrounding area all gave him quizzical looks as he scrounged around, checking beneath each display one at a time. After searching beneath another clothing rack, Gus bumped into someone, finding a store clerk standing over him. He stood upright, rigid as a board, offering a nervous smile to the middle-aged woman who was looking down at him disapprovingly.

"Do you need help with something, young man?" She asked, her tone lacking sincerity.

"I… I lost something." He replied, an idea crossing his mind. "Do you know if anyone found an envelope on the floor? It's a big one with pictures in it from the photo studio in this mall."

"You lost them?!" An angry and familiar voice called from directly behind him.

The sudden shout made Gus nearly jump out of his skin. He turned to find a furious looking Vee along with a mildly amused Masha by her side. Gus swallowed a lump in his throat as Vee glared daggers at him. All he could do was hold up his hands, palms out in front of himself.

"I know that I had it in here last." He stated in his defense. "I just… um, I can't remember exactly where I put it down."

Vee fumed silently and stepped forward, making Gus wince. She moved over to the clerk, letting her gaze linger on the boy as she went past. Her eyes narrowed at him for a moment, until Masha stepped by his side, and then Vee turned her attention to the woman.

"Excuse me, but is there a lost and found here?" She asked. "The envelope we're looking for has a portrait in it that is a gift for my mom."

"I'll check at the registers." The clerk replied, coming across far more amicable than she had with Gus. "I'll come right back to let you know if anyone turned it in."

"Thank you. And sorry for the trouble."

The woman left and Vee focused her gaze on Gus, her expression turning angry again. It was rare for anyone to see her looking so cross, but that only told Gus how badly he had slipped up. Vee took a deep breath to calm herself, but was still clearly very peeved.

"If anything happened to it, I… I don't know what I'll do!" She stated irately. "How could you lose it so easily?!"

Gus offered a sheepish smile in response. "Let's just say that I hid it a little too well."

"Wow." Masha said dryly. "Way to drop the ball witch-boy. Losing something because you forgot you made it invisible."

Masha's remark was met with shocked silence. Gus felt his jaw drop and he looked to Vee, his eyes wide. When he found his voice again, it cracked from the anxiety that was overcoming him.

"You told them?!"

"It's more like Masha figured it out on their own." Vee told him. "They are scarily perceptive and I can't lie to them."

"Relax, kid. I'm not going to tell anybody." Masha said. "Even if I did, no one would believe me. So where have you already looked? Besides around the women's underwear section, that is."

"The woman's…" Gus began, his gaze leaving the couple and going to the displays around them. "Oh…"

A heavy blush came to Gus's face and he covered his eyes. He turned and quickly walked away from the area, almost tripping over the leg of a clothing rack on the way. Vee and Masha cracked a smile at the sight, Vee covering her mouth as she held back a laugh. They followed him and helped guide him someplace where he'd feel comfortable opening his eyes again. Masha playfully shoved his shoulder to let him know, causing him to lurch forward a step. Gus couldn't even feel mad about the sudden contact as he was still blushing in embarrassment.

"I swear I had no idea I was in that part of the store." He said.

"Oh, so you weren't shopping for a new bra?" Masha quipped, earning a giggle from Vee. "And here I thought we could help you pick one out."

"Ha-ha, very funny. I'll just say I deserved that." Gus flatly replied. "So can you help me look for it, please?"

"Of course I'll help, you dope!" Vee snipped quietly in return. "Just give me a minute. I need to try and lock onto your magic's scent."

"Here, use this." Gus said, holding up his hand. "It's another gift I made invisible."

Vee scowled. "So you were able to hold onto that one, but lost the one for mom?!"

"It wasn't on purpose!"

"That doesn't change anything." Vee grumbled. "Luz trusted you. We all did. After we find it, I'm holding onto it until we go home."

She turned and walked away, leaving the other two behind. Gus let out a sigh and crossed his arms, looking down at the floor dejectedly. A chuckle sounded beside him and he looked back up to find Masha grinning at him.

"Glad someone is amused by this." He commented wryly.

"Can you blame me? Vee is just adorable when she's angry." Masha replied. "I don't get to see that often, so I'm a little grateful you screwed up. Now come on, as soon as we find that envelope, I have an idea to help you make it up to her."

They went to rejoin Vee, Gus trailing behind slowly. Vee walked back the way they had come, but veered off towards an area with shoes, belts, and accessories. Gus recognized it, recalling he had been looking at a display of odd human gadgets there not much earlier. He saw Vee go right up to that very spot and after she carefully checked around, she knelt to grab at something on the floor.

Vee returned to the other two, holding something up in one hand that no one could see while she kept her other hand on her hip. Gus gave her a sheepish smile and reached to take the invisible envelope back from her. Just before he was able to grab it however, Vee held it a bit higher, keeping it out of his reach.

"Uh-uh, I'm keeping it, remember. And what do you have to say?"

"Thank you."

"And what else?" Vee pressed.

"I'm sorry."

Satisfied, Vee turned to leave, Gus and Masha following. Gus recalled that Camila was still likely searching and explained the situation to Vee. She texted her mom to let her know they had helped Gus and they'd meet up with her shortly.

Once they left the store, Masha took the lead with Vee by her side. Gus followed a few steps behind, keeping a firm grip on his invisible gift for Willow. Eventually Masha brought them to the outside of the arcade and for a moment, he was confused until he recalled what they had told him back in S. N. Robles.

"I'm guessing this is what you meant when you said I could make up for my mistake?" He asked Masha.

"Bingo! There's a prize that Vee would love to get, but the thing is it needs a lot of tickets." Masha told him. "And we almost have enough, but don't have a lot of time, so… how about you use your special skills to help us?"

"You mean you want me to help you cheat to get tickets more easily." Gus stated bluntly.

"Hey, you owe us." Masha countered, giving Gus a sly smile. "Or maybe we could ask Luz what she thinks."

Gus sighed in defeat. "Okay, but we keep this between us." He said, walking past the couple and throwing a dirty look at Masha. "You know, you'd get along pretty well with a cranky old witch I know."

"Taking that as a compliment."

The trio entered the arcade, Gus grumbling to himself about his luck. His only consolation was that he could at least look forward to besting Hunter in their little wager. Little did he know that at the same time, on the ground floor, Hunter was feeling the same way. All thanks to the help he had gotten from Amity and Luz.

They had brought him to a shop that Luz knew about and frequented. Unlike with Gus, Hunter had instantly loved their idea and most of their time there had been spent waiting in line. The moment they were finished and stepped out of the store, Hunter couldn't help but give them both a big hug. Luz as always was happy to accept whereas Amity just went along with it to be nice, but insisted it be cut short.

After letting them go, Hunter thanked them again and went off so they could go back to their date. Luz checked the time and found they had to get back to the competition area soon. They linked their arms and slowly made their way down. As they arrived, they noticed not only had other teams arrived, but there was a small crowd gathering around the area as well.

The couple made their way back to the waiting area where the other teams were gathered. Among them Luz spotted Amy, Anjela and Atlantica and frowned. She looked away and guided Amity further from the other girls, not wanting to be bothered with them. A few minutes later, they were permitted to head to a station out on the floor. Luz gave Amity's hand a squeeze and flashed her a smile.

"What do you say, Sweet Potato? Are you ready to win this thing?"

Amity smirked confidently. "Mi flor, don't forget who you're talking to. I've been ready."

To be continued.