Never too late to post a chapter, hope you lovelies enjoy! ~Shaymie

Molly

This is weird, right? And insane and stupid...

Molly let out a nervous breath as she made her way to the reclusive Wizard's house. One of the first things Dad ever taught her was to not talk to strangers, but here she was going to a stranger's house for... what, relationship advice? No wonder Angela kept treating her like a little kid. This had to be the most childish thing she's ever done since she was a teenager. Not that she was ever that childish as a teenager to begin with. Dad called her an old lady in a teenage body.

She didn't even tell anyone where she was going. What if this Wizard guy was a murderer or something?

Don't be stupid, Molly. Maya wouldn't tell you to come here if it was actually dangerous... Molly frowned. She should have asked Maya to come with her. Surely she could have convinced Maya to stop texting Ash for a little bit. Her friend's been practically glued to her phone ever since Ash, in his own words, "got his tits chopped off." He's been at home recovering and didn't really have anyone to talk to. He wasn't close with his coworkers and Cheryl had to go to school, so he spent most of his time texting Maya or Molly.

She wasn't quite sure what the Wizard told Maya, but it was enough to convince her that Ash was definitely going to ask her out when he visited. Molly's been trying to get her to lower her expectations. She knew what Ash was like. It would take him ages to even come to terms with his feelings, and on top of that they'd have to deal with Cheryl. She's a really sweet kid. Just... overprotective of Ash.

Very, very overprotective of Ash.

She had a feeling that if she hadn't been dating Ash when he came out, if she'd come along later, that Cheryl would have hated her at first. Cheryl was convinced that the world was against Ash. In a way, she was right. Things changed after Ash came out. Friends started treating him differently. Teachers, too. Molly wasn't anything remotely close to a fighter but she would have fought to protect him if anyone tried anything. It's not like he was suddenly a different person. He was the same Ash he'd always been. Just happier.

Molly blinked, noticing that she was standing on the Wizard's doorstep. She had to stop spacing out like that. It'd be dangerous if she lived anywhere else. At least she actually was just spacing out this time. She'd never hear the end of it from Angela if she had another seizure after insisting that she was fine and wasn't overworking herself. Her sister was worried about her because her seizures have been getting more frequent. Angela wanted her to consider changing her prescription.

Like it's not bad enough how that medicine makes me feel, Molly huffed, knocking on the Wizard's door. It made her feel sluggish and sleepy, which was why she took it before bed instead of in the morning like everything else. Shame her bedtime changed after she started going to the bar. She felt bad for almost always falling asleep on Chase. She liked their morning hang-outs better. She was still tired but at least it wasn't as bad. It didn't get in the way of anything, and she always managed to get in a nap or two when she got home before going back to her Thanksgiving preparations.

Though... Now Molly had Mara and Gideon's birthday cakes to pile on top of that. She promised them something nice, and she was determined to prove Angela wrong. Hopefully she could get her sister to finally stop treating her like a child.

Molly straightened up as the door slowly opened a bit, her grip on her tote bag tightening. She brought cookies for the Wizard to thank him for his potential help. She hoped he liked cookies. Did he even eat? She's never seen him outside of his house and she assumed wizards didn't get groceries. Maybe that's proof enough that he's really magical.

"U-Um... I heard you do fortunes?" she asked anxiously, staring at the one visible yellow eye peeking out from behind the door. There was some kind of tattoo under it. It was cool. Intimidating, but cool. She never thought she'd ever actually meet someone who could do magic! The eye blinked at her slowly. The silence lasted a bit longer than she was comfortable with. Did she come at a bad time?

"You're... new..." The Wizard's voice was quieter than she expected. It was so soft that it was almost a whisper. The door opened enough for her to enter, and she was immediately hit with a strong earthy scent, mixed with a hint of coffee. He didn't say anything else so she assumed that him opening the door was an invitation inside. Seeing as he didn't kick her out when she walked through the door, she could assume that she was right.

She took the time to examine him as he closed the door behind her. She was expecting something otherworldly but he looked like a normal person. Just a little bit mystical. The Wizard somehow managed to look youthful and ancient at the same time. She tilted her head. His eyes were different colors, the left one the yellow she'd seen peeking from behind the door and the other a forest green.

She couldn't wait to tell Angela about this, whenever her sister decided to talk to her again. Angela's been huffy since their argument. She's even spending the night at Luke's house because she "didn't want to say something she'd regret." Being on Angela's bad side was weird and a little bit scary. Now she knew how Kasey felt.

"I moved here a few months ago... Actually a bunch of months ago." Molly blinked. Has it really been seven months since she's moved here? Somehow it didn't feel that long. Seven months ago she was miserable. She's sure there was even a part of her that hated herself, because even after all the effort she was putting in, she just wasn't getting much better. Who knew that all it took was a change of scenery and career? "My name's Molly. Um... Oh! I brought some cookies!"

The Wizard stared in apparent confusion, watching quietly as she dug through her tote bag for the baked goods she'd packed earlier. Chocolate chip, because you could never go wrong with that. Even Owen liked them and he wasn't much of a sweets guy. He claimed that her sweets were the only ones he could stand. She pulled out the container and walked towards the Wizard to hand them over.

"I thought... you came for a reading..." He frowned when she placed the cookies in his hands. "These... are not necessary..."

"I don't think any dessert is really 'necessary.' They're nice to have, though. Oh, these aren't meant to be a replacement for actual payment! They're a gift." She stepped back and rocked on her heels, looking around the house curiously. There were books. Lots and lots of books. It made sense. Magic had to be pretty difficult to learn. The earthy scent she smelled earlier seemed to be coming from some dried plants hanging around the place.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the stairs up to the loft. A telescope! She had a cheap one when she was a kid, but it's nothing compared to the Wizard's. He could probably see every single star with that. Then again, he didn't have to deal with light pollution and smog from the city.

Oh. Right. She came here for a reason, not to just nose around a stranger's house.

It's embarrassing to think about now... I'm here because I want someone else to read Chase's feelings for me...

"Shall we begin?" The Wizard's voice was quiet, like a whisper on the wind. Molly had to strain her ears just to hear him. She took a deep breath and followed him to his crystal ball. It seemed a bit cliche, but all cliches had to come from somewhere, right? Molly has always believed that there was some truth behind fairy tales. Dad thought she was silly for believing in magic. If only he could see her now.

She's talking to an actual wizard!

The urge to touch the crystal ball to see if it was real was strong, but she held herself back. It'd be rude to walk into someone's house and start touching everything. The Wizard cleared his throat and asked, a little bit louder than before, whose heart she wanted him to read. Her cheeks grew hot. This is it. The moment she's been worrying about all day, since Maya put the idea to come here into her head.

"C-Chase. Chase Mathers, the chef from the bar." The Wizard nodded and turned his mismatched eyes to the crystal ball. Something... changed in the air then. It felt different. Staticky. It tingled her skin. Was this the power of magic? Molly tilted her head and looked down at the crystal ball, but it just looked murky, like dirty dishwater. She could assume it didn't look like that to the Wizard.

"Chase seems to think you are... intriguing..." She perked up at that. Intriguing? What did that mean? Did he think she was weird? She opened her mouth to ask, but the Wizard continued. "There doesn't seem to be anyone else..."

Did that mean Chase didn't have a crush on anyone? So Molly at least had a little bit of a chance. She'd have to cut things off with Selena, but it's not like it was anything serious. Selena said they were just, um... messing around, and that she could ask to stop whenever she wanted to. It would probably be better to put a stop to it sooner rather than later. They both knew it wasn't anything serious, though it seemed like Selena was having more fun than she was.

Angela said that she suspected Selena "had a thing for corruption," whatever that meant.

Molly nibbled on her lip. Intriguing. Chase thought she was intriguing. He did always seem to be confused about her. He asked why she wasn't more angry about things. A lot of things. Chelsea. Mark. Losing ballet. And it seemed sometimes like he wanted to ask more about her. She'd tell him if he asked. It's not like she had anything to hide. Like Dad always said, she's an open book.

"Is that all...?" The Wizard asked with a slight tilt of his head. Molly looked down into the murkiness of the crystal ball. She almost wanted to ask more, but that wouldn't be right. She should get to know more about Chase by talking to him. She nodded and pulled her wallet from her tote bag.

"How much do I owe you?"

"Something on your mind, Freckles?"

"Hmm?" Molly looked up from the napkin she'd been tearing to shreds. Chase leaned against the counter and gestured to the empty cocktail glass in front of her. Sitting next to it was a half-eaten plate of mushroom ravioli, Chase's default when she didn't know what she wanted to order. She mentioned liking it one time and now he was willing to go out of his way to cook it for her. She tried her best to order something so he wouldn't have to make it too often.

Sometimes she wished not eating was an option, but he'd never go for that.

"You're drinking. You never drink." Her eyes were drawn to his hands. The nail polish was somehow still perfectly intact despite everything. Angela's nail polish was always wrecked within a week of her painting her nails. Luke's managed to get by with just a few chips in his polish, which was a surprise. She thought he'd be as bad as Angela.

...Didn't Chase ask her something?

Molly frowned. Her head felt weirdly fuzzy. Why did Angela and Kasey like drinking so much again? Did alcohol make them feel like this, too? It couldn't. No, because they both got louder. So much louder. Angela would flirt with Luke and try to drag him off to the bathrooms and Kasey would... would yell a lot. Complain about how annoying his bosses were and how much he had to work for terrible pay. It's a good thing he didn't drink anymore.

She didn't feel flirty or angry. She felt slow. Tired. Dizzy. How much has she had to drink? Somehow she had a feeling it was more than usual. Didn't she always stop at two?

"I forgot how much of a lightweight you are," Chase sighed, pushing some hair back from his face. She looked up at him and tilted her head. "Of course this is the one night your sister's not here..."

"She's with Luke... She's always with him. Apparently she'd rather be with him than talk things out with me." Molly hiccuped. After Kasey and the kids went home, she tried to talk to her sister. Explain to her that she's not an idiot and that while she has been tired lately, she could handle something as simple as making cakes for the twins. Angela was just being dramatic and overprotective again.

It didn't make sense.

Hasn't Molly proven time and time again that she's gotten healthier these past several months? She can help out on the farm now. She regularly made deliveries around town. She's not incapable. If anyone's incapable right now, it's Angela. She's the one who can't work because she was being stupid and fell down in the mines. If anyone should be yelling, it's Molly. Angela didn't even consider what would happen if she got hurt.

She blinked up at Chase. Maybe it was a bad idea to come here and get drunk right after seeing the Wizard. What if she said something stupid? What if she just confessed? She'd just curl up and die right here in this bar stool.

"Did you and Angela get into a fight? I didn't think that was possible." Chase set a glass of water down and pushed it towards her. She must be really out of it. She didn't even notice when he got it. Molly frowned and took a sip of water. She wouldn't think of this as a fight. Angela and Kasey got into fights. Angela and Jack got into fights. She's never gotten into a fight with Angela before, though that could probably be because Angela was never really home.

Besides, she wouldn't call what happened a fight.

It was more of a loud disagreement.

Chase listened intently as she broke down what happened, crossing his arms over his chest. She swallowed and forced herself to focus on his face. She had to go home soon, before she blurted out something and embarrassed herself. She'd never live it down if she messed up their friendship.

"Angela has a point. Between taking care of those flowers, doing all that baking to prepare for Thanksgiving, and taking care of your animals, when the hell do you have time to rest? I've seen how tired you are when you visit."

"It's just two more cakes!" Molly scoffed. She thought Chase would be on her side about this. "And I take like, a ton of naps! I know my limits!"

"Well, I know how much of a perfectionist you are. You're not going to rest until those cakes are perfect, aren't you? And on top of that you're probably going to try and cook everything for the kids' party, right?"

Forget being able to be read like a book. She was transparent. Molly giggled sheepishly. Chase groaned and ran a hand down his face.

"If I don't do it then who will?"

"Kasey? Their father? Even if he can't cook, I'm sure he'd probably hire Yolanda to do the catering for their party. You don't have to do everything."

"...I don't like sitting around doing nothing," Molly muttered. She hated how her eyes were slowly filling with tears. Was it because of the alcohol? "I've done enough of that to last a lifetime. Angie and Kasey have done a lot for me. They took care of me after Dad died and I couldn't handle it. Kasey dropped everything to make sure I was okay. And they put up with me after the accident. It's taken so long but now I can finally pay them back for everything they've done. I'm finally strong enough to help them."

"Helping them shouldn't mean you run yourself ragged, Molly. Look... If you really want to do this—"

"I do. I want to make Rosie and Giddy's birthday incredible."

"Then I'll help you. We can start working on the menu tomorrow."