Chapter 54: A Bit of Valentine's Magic

It appeared to be like any other day for the likes of young Stella Whiter. She woke up bright and early, had a nice breakfast, and was preparing to adopt the identity of 'Selina' and head out to school once more.

However, as she diligently recounted that all her belongings were in order, she found the way out barred by Cu'u.

The homunculus puffed her cheeks and wagged her fingers, "Hold up there, bright hair! Today's gonna require a certain toll!"

Stella tilted her head in a daze and remarked, "Ummm…but I need the change in my pocket for my afternoon snack…"

Cu'u shook her head, "Not THAT!"

She wagged her fingers out again and said in a flustered tone, "You KNOW what I want…"

Stella's expression was so blank you could paint a whole picture on it.

"...Oh my god," Cu'u slapped her forehead and groaned, "Stella, what day is it?"

"Wednesday?" Stella replied plainly.

"...We really need to get a calendar," Cu'u grumbled, having let herself fall for that, "It's Valentine's Day!"

She wagged her hand out faster and looked grumpy, "Now gimme some chocolate!"

"OH!" Stella's eyes sparked, "Valentine's Day?! That's wonderful!"

Stella raised a finger to her chin and murmured, "Ooooh, if only I was good enough to get chocolate from a boy…"

Cu'u chuckled, "Yeah, no chance of that happening."

Stella pouted in disappointment.

"Sorry, Cu'u, I don't have any chocolate for you though." Stella bowed.

"Pah, I should've guessed." Cu'u crossed her arms and looked really down in the dumps.

"Cu'u?"

Stella's simple prodding caused the homunculus to throw her hands up and commence with the gut spilling.

"Every year my moms REALLY splurge on chocolate! Chocolate syrup, chocolate coffee, chocolate candy! If you can combine it with chocolate, they got it!"

Stella remarked, "Even chocolate bacon?"

"Ewwww, no! You don't cross-contaminate those two!" Cu'u said, recoiling onto a one-legged stance.

Her wings sagged with her sigh, "But they'd always let me have a bunch too…"

"Awww, sorry you can't enjoy some chocolate this year." Stella said sincerely.

"Bah, whatever, making a holiday for love is silly anyways." Cu'u then started to march away from the door.

Stella tilted her head back with a slight hum, "Although, doesn't it encourage others to try and confess to someone they love?"

"That sounds REALLY lovely!" Stella said with a smile on her face.

Cu'u slumped forward with a groan, "I…never would've taken you for a romantic."

Stella turned her head and gave a dry chuckle, "I-I'm not amazing enough to get a boy's attention…"

"Again, not disagreeing." Cu'u nodded.

"But…it would be nice if I could help someone find their true love," And Stella immediately knew who deserved it the most, "My big sister!"

Cu'u stood up and asked, "Which one?"

"Lunalei!" Stella shouted as though it should've been obvious.

Cu'u crossed her arms, "Oh, the teacher gal? I dunno, aren't boys really, really into teachers?"

Stella's eyes widened and darted straight to the right, "I-I wouldn't know the first thing about that…!"

Cu'u's eyes narrowed, and after Stella calmed down a bit she took a deep breath and clenched her fists, "My big sis is amazing! Talented, smart! But…nobody has ever tried to ask her out…I think?"

Cu'u snickered, "Maybe it's cause she's so short?"

Then, humored all the while, the homunculus suggested, "I know, why don't you use your age-up magic on her and maybe she'll grow a few inches?"

Stella tilted her head and hummed, "Sadly, my sis is doomed to never grow anymore."

"Wait, there's a cut-off point?!" Cu'u's eyes widened and she took a nice long look at herself, fearing that she'd never grow any bigger more than death itself, "Oh my god…"

Stella then sprung up and remarked, "Oh! But that's a great idea, Cu'u! Maybe we could find a spell that'll make sis taller!"

Cu'u smirked her way out of anxiety like a natural houdini, "Heh! Easy peasy!"

But as Stella prepared to pass her on a run for the spellbook Cu'u's eyes widened and she spun back to grab her by the back of her shirt.

"Oh no you don't!" Cu'u quickly twirled Stella back around, grabbed her arms and looked her in the eyes, "With how much your magic backfires, you'd probably wind up making Lunazilla!"

Stella's imagination ran wild and saw Lunalei growing out of the school roof, laughing happily over finally being the tallest.

"..." And it kind of sounded fun?

Cu'u glared at her, "Stella, it wouldn't be fun. It'd be a mess."

"I-I wasn't…"

"Yeah this time I ain't buying it," Cu'u let her go and sighed, "Maybe there's some other spell that'll help?"

"Well…I have to get to school sooo…"

Cu'u shrugged, "Well, whatever. It's a corporate money grubb-"

Stella reached out to grab her friend's hands and pleaded, "If you use your cloaking spell, you could come to school with me with the book and help me out!"

"W-What? That's not our dynamic! You do things for ME, not-"

Stella rammed her face into hers and hastily said, "I'll buy you chocolate if you do! Please!"

Cu'u lost complete control of what she was trying to say and stumbled back, only getting her ego back by coughing and crossing her arms, "W-Well, you sure know how to butter up the magnificent Cu'u! Fine! I'll bother with this menial task…"

Truthfully, she had nothing better to do today.

"Thank you verily much, Cu'u!" Stella clapped.

"I swear, you use that word again though, I'm performing a vanishing act." Cu'u said bluntly.

With a tiny bit of work, Cu'u was not only able to cloak herself and the spellbook, but also make it so only Stella would be able to hear her.

The two took the bus to school and along the way, Cu'u thumbed through the book.

"By the way, I want PURE chocolate. No nuts, and none of that…crunchy imitation peanut butter." She stated part way in.

Once they arrived at the school, Stella got some glances from other students due to her awkward walk from her leaning into the spellbook.

"Alright, think I got it!" Cu'u pointed at the top of the right page, "Convictus Enraptous."

Stella whispered, "Makes another person fall in love with someone else, as long as the target is visualized and their name is spoken after casting the spell."

"That's perfect!" She then shouted.

"And it doesn't seem to have any downsides! It even has an easy way to shut it off!" Cu'u pointed at the red text, "Just say 'Lockbreak' to the target!"

They gave each other a high-five and then Cu'u tied the spellbook onto her back for safekeeping.

Stella remarked, "Now we just need to find the perfect boyfriend for sis!"

Cu'u wagged her hand up confidently, "Well THAT shouldn't be too hard. What's her type?"

Stella froze up at the front entrance, "...I have no idea."

Cu'u hit the ground face-first and then sprung up looking angry, but this time kept her voice down, "Stella…you're incredible."

Once they got inside Stella propped a finger on her cheek and hummed, "Well, she'd probably like someone who isn't going to comment on her height…Unfortunately we're in high school so that's…very unlikely."

"Oh! She likes video games, anime and technology!"

"So a nerd. That shouldn't be too hard!" Cu'u asserted with confidence.

Stella then remarked, "But you've never been to high school before…"

"Don't sass me, Stella!" Cu'u proclaimed out of embarrassment.

But after a short pause, Cu'u folded her arms and grumbled, "Fine, you're the 'expert', lead the way."

"I…don't know where nerds hang out." Stella was with strained reluctance.

"..." Cu'u then spread her arms out wide and said, "THIS much chocolate. Ok?"

So the two wandered around for a little while, with Cu'u's lack of grace knocking some students into the walls or tripping them up.

But nobody really batted an eye at Stella for it. Quite frankly she was too hyper focused to realize what was going on behind her.

Eventually they made it outdoors, where very few students were loafing about on the bleachers.

Cu'u wrapped her hands around her eyes like a pair of binoculars and hovered off the ground, "Hmmm, maybe that boy playing with his phone is one of those nerds?"

Stella thought back to when Lunalei was in her 'Gacha Game' phase to clue in on the boy's mannerisms, "He's holding his phone sideways, and is tapping a lot on the same spot."

After thinking it over though, there's a lot of mobile games that involve vigorous tapping.

She used to enjoy the one where the more you tap it, the more cookies you make.

"Let's try another one…" Stella pointed to another boy carrying around a portable gaming system. It must've been a new model because she didn't recognize it.

"There we go!" She noticed he had a big cheerful smile, took good care of his hygiene, but seemed to stumble when it came to keeping his jeans on tight.

Not too thin, not too muscular, with a dark shade of blonde hair, and one piercing on his left ear.

"I thought nerds were oil-y and pimply?" Cu'u remarked, letting a slight, adoring giggle, "He seems kinda cute…"

"Ahem…!" Cu'u patted her fist against her mouth and grounded herself, "So this' the one?"

"Ummmm…" Stella slowly reached for her wand, "I guess we'll find out?"

She took aim but had to be fast before she was caught, "Convictus Enraptous Lunalei!"

The spell fired in the shape of a bright pink heart-shaped beam moving faster than light.

And it hit…! Just…not the right target.

Cause out of the blue, who else would run in the beam's path but Violet doing laps around the track?

Violet paused in place as the magic went into her body, but then after a quick glance around she shrugged and continued running.

Cu'u was heard giving her head a loud slap, "Goddamn it, Stella."

Stella fluttered her eyelashes, "I don't get it?"

"Turn the spell off."

"W-Why? Violet's a girl just like my sister. The spell couldn't have worked."

"STELLA!" Cu'u exclaimed, her face bright red, "Are you for real?!"

Stella looked like a fish caught out of the river.

Cu'u grabbed her by the arms and shook her, "How. Do. You. Think. I. Was. Born?!"

Stella stared into the sky and then let out a loud gasp, her entire worldview rocked, "Oh! So girls CAN love girls!"

"YES!" Cu'u hissed through gritted teeth, "So turn…the spell…OFF."

"Ummm…" Stella turned around and saw Violet continuing the run laps, "But it doesn't seem to have worked."

"Huh?!" Cu'u shoved Stella aside and closely observed the running girl, "That's…weird…"

"Maybe you pronounced the spell wrong?" Cu'u asserted with a light gesture of her hand towards Stella.

Stella gripped her wand and after a long, contemplative hum deduced, "Maybe Violet is asexual?"

"How do you know about THAT?!" Cu'u growled loudly, gesturing her arms out again, "Double of what I asked before!"

Violet then ran off the track and towards the side of the school. Cu'u took this chance to reach out and grab Stella by the shoulder, "Listen, we don't know what we're dealing with here. And I don't want to risk dragging mom away from one of her favorite days of the year cause you messed up a spell and started a love infection or…something!"

She then patted Stella on the back to move her forward, "So…go figure out what went wrong!"

Stella trotted along anxiously towards her friend, who seemed to be peering up at a second story window.

"I should be able to…"

"H-H-Hey, Violet!" Stella proclaimed.

Violet jumped around and threw her hands up in a karate stance for a moment, "O-Oh, it's just you, Selina!"

"Heh heh! Happy Valentine's Day! Got any gifts yet?"

Stella shook her head.

"Yeah me neither. Not that I'm after some…insincere hand-out." Violet said with a smile.

"She seems to be the same as usual…" Stella looked her in the eyes until Violet raised her brows.

"Is there something on my face?" Violet pointed at herself.

Stella asked, "Say Violet…are you a girl that likes other girls?"

Violet recoiled like she was punched in the face only to spring back with pupils shrank and an exasperated gasp, "G-Geez Selina! That's a pretty out of pocket question!"

But she laughed it off and wagged her hand at her, "Why? Were you planning on giving me a Valentine?"

"Oh no no no! I was just curious if you had any feelings for another girl…particularly one that might have developed in the last…five minutes?"

Violet's eyes briefly bulged and her laughter became a lot more awkward, "Ooookay, Selina, what're you up to now?"

"N-Nothing! I'm just asking questions!" Stella did a very poor job acting convincing.

Violet smiled and wondered, "Do YOU like girls, Selina?"

Stella tilted her head back and forth in a dazed fashion as she whispered, "I didn't know that was an option until…five minutes ago."

Violet patted her on the cheek, "Well lemme put you down easily. I just see you as a really good friend…"

Her lips then wobbled as she slowly retracted her hand, "I-I hope I didn't complicate things between us though…"

Stella blushed, but frowned with a feeling of…disappointment?

"No, that's quite alright. I'll leave you to do what you were doing."

"Awesome! I'll catch ya later then, Selina!" Violet then returned to looking up at the second floor window, as Stella dragged her feet back over to Cu'u.

"Well?" The homunculus wondered.

Stella gave an empty stare towards the cloudy sky, "I think I got friendzoned?"

"Ooof, bummer," Cu'u then shook her head violently, "W-Wait! No! The spell! The spell you dunce!"

"O-Oh!" Stella's gaze returned to normal, "I don't think she was affected?"

"Huh…well that's weird…" Cu'u then pulled out the spellbook.

"Does it say anything about using the person's last name?" Stella suggested.

Cu'u squinted, "Not as far as I can tell…"

Stella pumped her fists and refused to accept this setback, "Lets try it again! This time, I'll concentrate harder!"

"Don't break a blood vessel, Stella." Cu'u said with a laugh.

They tried to head back to the bleachers, but the boy they were targeting was gone.

"Awww shoot…" Cu'u grumbled.

Stella murmured, "Maybe it wasn't meant to be?"

"You got any other bright ideas then?" Cu'u remarked.

"Well, there's always the computer room?"

Cu'u shrugged and the two of them went on their merry way back into the school. But even upon entering the computer room, nobody really "clicked" with Stella as someone Lunalei would be interested in.

They wandered around the school for a few hours trying to find the perfect someone, but they just wound up running into a bunch of repeat faces instead of any new ones.

And somehow, that one boy wasn't one of them.

Ultimately, they took a break in the library with Cu'u legs pounding in pain, "I wasn't built for exereciiiiise…!"

Stella puffed her cheeks, "Hmph!"

Cu'u sat up and groaned, "What's gotten into you?"

"I'm not giving up! Sis' special someone is somewhere in this school, I know it!"

Cu'u staggered back, "W-Wow, I don't think I've EVER seen you with this much energy."

"Buuut, don't you have class in an hour?"

Stella's fire fizzled out rapidly, "O-Oh, yeah…"

"So either we find that cute nerd again, or someone else."

Stella pulled out her wand and looked at it, "And we don't know if the spell even works…"

"Eh screw it, lets just find some random guy to test it out on first." Cu'u said.

"A-Alright…" Stella followed Cu'u's directions and with class getting out for lunch break, there were a lot more options to choose from, but also a lot more room for error.

Cu'u had to resort to hovering over the crowd, "There! That guy right there!"

She pointed to a guy with two hair colors and a bright tye-dye t-shirt and slacked pants.

"Uhhh…" Stella hummed in doubt.

"It's just for a test, Stella." Cu'u enunciated slowly.

Stella shrugged and quickly aimed her wand at the boy, "Convictus Enraptous Lunalei Whiter!"

By a miracle of miracles, the magic shot between all the students.

But they burned all their luck right there, as the magic proceeded to hit…Stella's other big sister, Zelene.

Stella's eyes widened as the magic seeped into Zelene's body.

And in seconds, she went from looking stiff and awkward to standing upright with confidence and turning around.

"Ummm…" Stella tilted her head in confusion.

Cu'u dully remarked, "Stella, break the spell."

"B-But don't we need a-"

"Stella! We're not about to condone INCEST!" Cu'u furiously flapped her wings and swung her fists down.

"But…love is love?" Stella stated in utter confusion.

"Answer me this…Would YOU feel comfortable kissing YOUR sister on the lips?"

"..." Stella gripped her wand, lifted it up, and whispered, "Lockbreak!"

After a few more seconds she wondered, "Did it work?"

Cu'u scratched the side of her head, "I dunno, I can't feel anything…"

"Hmm…" The two of them weaved through the students to try and catch up with Zelene, who had gone back to the classroom.

She was knocking on the door, starting off slowly, and then putting a little more force into each hit.

Once the door was open and Lunalei poked her head out, she let out a disgruntled, "What? I'm trying to eat-"

She looked up at Zelene, who was wearing a sleek and tender smile, "Heeey sis, are you doing anything for Valentine's Day?"

Lunalei raised her brows with a bitter pout, "No?"

And then she came across a little angry, "Why…?"

"No reason~" Zelene's smile grew wider, her voice coming across in a rather raspy, serene tone.

"...You better not be bragging about having a date." Lunalei grumbled.

Zelene quickly snapped into the tightest scowl, and when that vanished Stella and Cu'u were left shivering in fear.

But as the scowl melted away into an open-mouth smile, Zelene let out a long, foggy gasp and said, "Heeey sis, can we have lunch together?"

"...I…guess?" Lunalei said with a carefree shrug before heading back into the classroom.

"Hee hee hee…!" Zelene's smile encompassed the entire width of her face, and her eyes became covered by a mesmerizing glow.

Cu'u quickly whipped out the spellbook and deduced, "Damn you exact wording…! You have to make sure she HEARS the word!"

Stella hastily shouted, "L-Lock…!"

Zelene rode into the classroom in a romantic trance and closed the door behind her.

"-break…!" Stella bit her teeth with a hiss.

Inside, Zelene matched directly behind her sister, breathing in a slow, nasally tone.

Lunalei peered over her shoulder and the behavior stopped, with Zelene instead murmuring, "Your hair looks lovely today, sis."

Lunalei tugged on her unkempt bangs and murmured, "Really? I didn't even shower…"

She then nudged her glasses, "Is everything OK, Zelene?"

"Now it is. I finally get to spend time with you," Zelene narrowed his eyes and raised her hands, "You look tense. Let me give you a shoulder massage…siiiis."

Lunalei recoiled, "A-Absolutely NOT!"

Zelene dropped her hands and looked delighted, "Awww, you're mad at me."

"You should know better by now, that's why." Lunalei said bluntly.

Lunalei turned around and Zelene started panting quietly, "Y-Yes. You're smarter than me, cooler than me…"

"The only one…WORTHY OF ME-"

The door was shoved open to interrupt the second half and Stella screamed, "LOCKBREAK!"

She then jumped back into the hall before either sister caught her.

Lunalei adjusted her glasses with a couple blinks that conveniently ignored the magic shattering off Zelene.

"Who was…?"

"U-Ummm…" Zelene stammered, trembling up and down while biting her lower lip.

"F-Forgive me, sis!" She sprinted right out of the room in embarrassment.

"What. The. Hell?" Lunalei said, purely aghast. Then she resumed having lunch alone.

Stella and Cu'u had retreated far away. And Cu'u started to realize, "I think…we're screwing with forces we mere teenagers aren't ready to comprehend."

"I-I didn't know that would happen! Zelene is usually very…meek!" But then Stella looked happy, "But hey, we know the spell works!"

"I…guess?" Cu'u sounded tired, "Imma be real with Stella, this ain't worth it."

"What are you saying?!" Stella proclaimed with a fevered pitch, "Love is beautiful! Love is magical!"

She then turned and swung her fists out taut with a roar, "Love is war! And I am her strongest soldier!"

The students passing by had a laugh at her expense, some fond, others mocking.

Cu'u waved her hands up and felt uneasy, "A-Alright, alright. Geez…We can try again."

However, now a lot of people have clumped together for lunch in the cafeteria, so if they wanted a low risk operation they would have to search elsewhere.

They would end up near the relaxation room, where the only people occupying it were Leo and his two friends, Lyra and Bang.

"Ok, how about the big guy?" Cu'u whispered.

"Well, if Leo's hanging out with him, he must be nice. But he looks like a brick truck, and I don't think my sis is into that."

Cu'u hung her head and murmured, "In hindsight, we should've asked about her tastes while we had her in our sights."

Stella hummed, "Yeah, we're not very smart, are we?"

Cu'u perked her ears up and shouted, "SPEAK FOR YOURSELF!"

Stella winced and then pulled out her wand, pointing it through the door carefully.

Cu'u then crossed her arms with a sneer, "Y'know, I'm feeling like a gambling girl. I bet the spell's going to fail and hit the girl."

Stella paused and pulled out, "What do you bet?"

Cu'u raised her head high, "Double or nothing on the chocolate you owe me!"

"O-Okay…?" Stella then pointed the rod back into the room, and took her time making sure she was steady.

Bang remarked, "Either of you have any plans after school?"

Lyra hummed, "No, I don't think so…"

She passed a waiting glance at Leo, who shook his head and remarked, "Sorry, can't say I do either."

Lyra was about ready to pout when Leo reached into his bag and slowly pulled out a pink-lace wrapped gift, "However…"

Stella took aim and murmured, "Convictus Enraptous, Lunalei Whiter!"

Right as she launched the spell, Bang leaned forward, "Ooooh, what's that?"

The spell fired past him, bounced off the wall, bounced off the ceiling, hit the window, then finally bounced off the floor to hit Leo in the side of his butt.

He was instantly paralyzed by the magic seeping into his body.

In the meanwhile Cu'u's eyes and cheeks puffed up with her restraining her frustrations healthily, "Frickin' fraggin' floppin' freepin', fruitin'...!"

"Ghh…!" Leo crunched his teeth down as his body tried moving against his will.

Bang raised his brows, "Huh? What's the matter, bro?"

Leo tried to push the gift in his hand into Lyra's possession, "I-I-I…need to see…"

Stella was about to head in and shout the magic word when all of a sudden, the magic shattered off of Leo's body, and he successfully secured the gift onto Lyra's lap.

He was panting for air but rose calmly with his usual smile, "S-Sorry about the delay…"

Bang crossed his arms, "Bro, what the HELL, were you constipated?"

Lyra elbowed him in the gut softly and then started unwrapping the gift, "I…didn't expect this."

After unwrapping the gift, a CD with a silver and scarlet laminated cover, she rubbed her hand over it and felt a little impatient, "Ok what is it?!"

Leo closed his eyes and chuckled, "It's a Limited Edition copy of your favorite Scarlet Succubus' album."

Lyra's eyes widened and she went so pale she looked ready to faint, "T-T-The one with the ASMR commentary on the second disc?!"

"B-But it was a limited run, how…?"

Leo smiled and calmed her down by putting his hands atop hers, "I asked my aunt for the favor, and handed over some of my allowance as compensation. She was more than happy to whip up a spare."

"Leo…!" Lyra exclaimed in sheer, unbridled joy before grabbing Leo by the shoulders and giving him a shake, "You are a GOD!"

"Ho-ho-holy SHIT dude!" Bang said with an approving thumbs up.

Leo tried and failed to keep a cool face around her energy, "Happy Valentine's Day, Lyra."

She stopped and pouted, "...W-Well schucks, I didn't get anything for you."

"No need. I'm fine."

Stella and Cu'u held their hands over their chests and went, "Awwwww…"

They then backed away from the scene, with Cu'u putting her hands behind her head and remarking, "Y'know Stella, I think we've learned a very valuable lesson today…"

Stella nodded, "I agree! True love is indeed stronger than magic!"

Stella then looked a little down on herself, "I…wish I could've helped sis find her soulmate, but I guess it's not up to me to decide who's Mr. Right."

"Yep, we're only teenagers after all. What right do we have to play god with people's hearts?" Cu'u remarked.

"..." Cu'u then fell forward in a slump with a loud groan, "Well this was a waste of a morning, and now I won't even get any chocolate outta it!"

She threw one hand up and dragged her feet forward, "You enjoy the rest of the afternoon I'm…gonna cry in the musty pillow back home…"

"Cu'u…" Stella reached out and tapped her on the wings, "I'll…buy us some M&Ms on my way home."

Cu'u pressed her lips together and a fang stuck out, "R-Really? Ok! T-Thanks…"

Cu'u left with a flutter in her wings. And Stella remembered she needed to get to class and made a run for it.

As this was all going down, Lunalei returned to her office to try and enjoy her lunch without giving a second thought to Zelene's behavior.

But when she arrived she was surprised by a small heart-shaped package wrapped in a glittery violet packaging.

"Huh…?" She looked around and checked anything with a door or cover, but didn't find anyone in the room with her.

She carefully investigated the package and flipped it around to find a single note saying "Thanks for everything you do! Enjoy this chocolate!"

"Chocolate?" Lunalei gave a hesitant smile, "Oh yeah, Valentine's…Day."

She unraveled the wrapping and then popped open the lid to see a bunch of different chocolates arranged in their own compartments. All of it seemed to be homemade, judging from the rushed job letting it settle.

She grabbed a piece, plopped it into her mouth, and let the creamy, milky goodness melt down, followed by an oozing assault of caramel.

"MMMPH!" She plopped into her chair fully content and blushing beet red, "I wish they signed the card, this is REALLY good…"

"But how…?" Lunalei looked around and still couldn't figure it out no matter how many options she explored.

But being appreciated like this…was really, really nice. So she let her rationality go for now, and enjoyed this delicious chocolate for her Valentine's Day…

Next Time: Taking Another Chance at Love