Charlotte couldn't say how long she had sat in the coop after Sebastian had slammed the door shut behind him. Her chicks had cautiously emerged from the straw a short while later, hopping toward her - but not even the sight of their downy feathers, slowly turning brown, stirred any emotion within her. She felt numb. At least she had stopped crying - but she was sure that if she tried to speak now, no sound would come out.

When she finally managed to stand up, she knew there was only one way to feel something again. She had to run.

So she slipped out of her overalls and into her workout clothes, laced up her shoes with quick fingers and nearly burst through her front door. She didn't have to watch out for potholes, wasn't even capable of tripping - her body was running on autopilot, carrying her farther and farther.

She felt strands of hair slipping from her hastily tied ponytail, but she didn't care. She ran and ran, picking up speed. She passed the town square, ran to the library, circled around it before following the river. She sprinted past Lewis' house, the graveyard, Haley and Emily's house, Sam's house.

She kept going, past Marnie's ranch and Leah's cottage, into the forest, following the river, running along the bank until she finally came to a halt - when the wizard's tower emerged between the trees.

Breathing heavily, she eyed it, feeling pure rage flare up inside her. She wanted to turn around, keep running - but she felt rooted to the ground. So she bent down and grabbed the first thing her fingers found.

The stone that shattered the tower's window had been thrown with such conviction that Rasmodius had felt it before the glass had even shattered. Still, he had no desire to stop it - one should not hinder travelers, he mused.

And his intuition told him that this stone had not landed mere inches from his cauldron by chance, sparing his potion from ruin and causing only minimal damage. For a brief moment, he considered checking who was so furious at him - but he only shrugged and returned to his studies.

Perhaps soon, he would finally be able to free the beautiful Charlotte from the body of that insufferable boy. He uncorked the bottle on his study desk, examined its contents - and poured it alternately into the cauldron beside him and his mouth.

As the hot water cascaded over her body, Charlotte felt the tension slowly melt away. The shattered window had helped - but only after her calves burned, her knee ached, and she had to have run at least ten kilometers did she finally allow herself to calm down. She lathered herself up, extra thoroughly, as if she could wash away all the negative emotions clinging to her.

Then again - why exactly did she want to wash away this anger? Because that was what was truly boiling inside her, clouding her thoughts, refusing to let her think clearly. Still, holding onto the anger was exhausting - and honestly, he wasn't even worth it.

Who did Sebastian think he was, speaking to Maru like that? Speaking to her like that? Acting as if Charlotte somehow belonged to him. He was being ridiculous, like a jealous baboon - and no matter how good the sex was, Charlotte wasn't going to let him get away with it. And if that meant she and Sebastian would never sleep together again: So be it.

Why was she even letting him ruin her day like this? He had no right to take up this much space in her head.

Charlotte stepped out of the shower. She dried off and looked at the sweatpants she had set aside. She slipped into her underwear but left the pants where they were. This day wasn't over yet. Leaving the bathroom, she dug a pair of jeans out of her dresser.

Where had she left her phone? She spotted it on the kitchen table, swiped to her chats.

"Are you free?"

"Of course :)"

"On my way."

When Sam opened the door, he had expected a tear-streaked Charlotte - a wrecked Charlotte - one he should just pull into a hug.

But when he opened the door and she grinned at him almost exaggeratedly, he briefly wondered if Maru had overreacted when she texted him a few hours ago, saying that Sebastian had totally lost it.

Charlotte looked fine. No - she looked really good.

"Hi!" she called out, practically throwing herself at him.

A bit startled, he caught her. "Hi?" he echoed, unable to resist smiling back at her. "Are you... okay?"

"I'm great!" she declared - but seeing Sam's doubtful expression, she realized her act wasn't quite as convincing as she'd hoped. "I just needed to get out."

"I saw you running earlier."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You did?"

"You were fast."

Charlotte laughed. "A little out of practice."

"If you're capable of running at a normal pace too - would you like to go to the beach? Penny had the idea to make the most of the last real summer day."

Charlotte's eyes widened briefly. "Oh god! I didn't mean to crash your date."

Sam laughed, though he couldn't quite hide his embarrassment. "Date? Oh no. Abby's coming too, Emily as well. Maybe even Leah and Elliot."

"Maru?"

"She wasn't sure earlier, she was pretty… drained."

Charlotte sighed. "Yeah, that was a lot. But let's not talk about it."

"Yeah…" Sam murmured. "So… I asked Seb too - but he didn't respond." A flicker of regret crossed his face.

Charlotte just shrugged. "He'll figure it out. Should we bring something?"

When the warmth of the bonfire hit her face and Sam's laughter rang out beside her, Charlotte felt truly… light for the first time since she had returned to her own body. Maybe it was also the beer she had indulged in for once, spreading its effects in her stomach almost instantly. Either way - she felt good, much better than she had thought possible.

"…Well, and then I punched him in the face," Leah finished her story, and Sam laughed even louder. Elliott only rolled his eyes while Penny stared at her, almost shocked.

"Violence isn't the answer," Elliott said, though his smile revealed his disapproval was more for show than genuine.

Leah tilted her head. "It was a knee-jerk reaction. But honestly, he would have ruined everything." She grinned. "And after that, I never had to see him again."

"You were definitely in the right," Sam said, nudging Charlotte with his shoulder.

"I bet you've beaten up a guy before too," he added.

Charlotte burst into laughter. "Never!" she insisted.

Sam raised an eyebrow, and Leah laughed as well.

"You're gorgeous, your legs go on for miles, and your breasts are definitely worth a second look," Leah said, openly checking Charlotte out. Charlotte blushed slightly and raised an eyebrow when she caught Sam nodding in agreement before realizing what he was doing and freezing mid-motion. "So how else did you get rid of all those guys in Zuzu?"

Charlotte's thoughts instinctively drifted to her past in Zuzu - the endless parties, the drugs - Eric. But she wasn't going to let that ruin her mood, so she shoved those thoughts away.

"First of all, thank you," she said with a smile to Leah. "But I'd say Pelican Town doesn't exactly have a shortage of beautiful women." She made a point to glance at Leah and Penny, then laughed. "Especially not stunning redheads." On a whim, she winked at Penny, who instantly turned bright red. "But I had other methods."

"I bet you always had some overly muscular boyfriend," Sam guessed. "He probably beat them up for you."

Charlotte shook her head. "Actually, there's a much better way to put guys in their place." She glanced knowingly at Leah and Penny. "My friends and I always did this: If some guy in the club got too close and wouldn't leave us alone, we'd just point at him and laugh."

For a moment, silence hung over the bonfire. Then, surprisingly, Elliott burst into loud laughter.

"That's brilliant! The best thing I've heard in a long time."

"Why did I never think of that?" Leah wondered aloud.

Sam just shook his head, though his grin betrayed him. "That's just brutal. Way worse than a punch in the face."

It was a perfect evening - so much so that even when Abigail joined the group, it didn't put a damper on the atmosphere. On the contrary, she had plenty to say, and Charlotte was sure that the occasional smile Abigail sent her way when she chimed in on a story was genuine. It was a relief to think that chapter was finally closed - though Charlotte wasn't sure if Abigail knew that she and Sebastian had been sleeping together.

For a brief moment, her stomach clenched. Had been. Past tense.

What was he doing right now? He was probably locked up in his room again. Low enough so only Sam could hear, Charlotte whispered, "Have you heard from Sebastian?"

Sam just shook his head and sighed. "I wanted to talk to you about that anyway. Maybe… do you have a moment?"

Charlotte nodded. "Sure - we can walk over to the dock."

Penny let out a surprised squeak when Sam leaned in to tell her that he and Charlotte would be back soon.

"Yeah, sure, no problem," she replied hesitantly.

Charlotte gave her an encouraging nod. Don't worry, we're just talking - and after that, you should probably talk to him too.

They walked along the beach until they reached the soft glow of the lanterns.

"What's up?" Charlotte asked as Sam sighed again.

"I don't know… I know… damn it." He shook his head, frustrated with himself, then met Charlotte's eyes so directly that she raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"What do you want from Seb?" he asked bluntly, catching Charlotte completely off guard.

"What do you mean…" she began, but Sam cut her off.

"I mean: Are you in love with him? Or is this… casual?"

Charlotte swallowed. "What did he tell you?"

Sam groaned. "That's the problem. What he told me doesn't make sense. It doesn't fit him."

"What did he say?" Charlotte repeated.

"Look, maybe this is totally fine for you, if it's just something casual - but I don't buy it from him."

Charlotte flinched. Sebastian had told Sam about them - and he had said it wasn't serious.

"It wouldn't be the first time he slept with someone and felt nothing," she whispered, staring at her feet.

"The thing with Abby was a mess. And not like him at all. But with you… ah, shit."

Charlotte studied Sam, who was clearly struggling to put his thoughts in order. But she was having a hard time stopping her own mind from spinning, too.

What was he getting at? What exactly had Sebastian told him - how much had he told him?

"Charlotte… it could be that I'm wrong, that we're wrong… Maybe this is all just a mess," Sam said, running his hands through his hair over and over. "But Penny and I… and Maru too… we think something went wrong with Sebastian's transformation back. We… we think he's not himself."

Charlotte felt the blood drain from her face. "You mean like… he's someone else?"

Of course, she had noticed the changes. She had experienced firsthand how different he had been the moment he had stepped into the saloon and whispered in her ear. He had radiated confidence, had been so much more impulsive.

Of course, she had noticed. How could she not have?

"Because you don't know him."

The thought struck her like a punch, and nausea rose in her throat.

She felt like she was in a car whose brakes had failed, hurtling toward a wall, only hoping the road was long enough to stop the impact. Who had she slept with? Who had touched her at her most intimate places, driven her crazy - made her beg for more? Who was the man… who was definitely not just a fling to her?

Sam watched Charlotte with concern, gripping her arm as if afraid she might collapse into the water. "He's not… someone else. Sorry, that was a bad way to put it. But we think he wasn't honest when he had to declare his greatest desire. And as a result, he became the person that lie fits."

Charlotte felt cold sweat on her skin, a wave of dizziness washing over her, her fingers tingling. She focused on Sam's face, his eyes carefully watching her.

"That would be…" she croaked more than spoke, "…unbelievably stupid. And awful."

Sam grimaced. "It would just be another step in his constant self-sabotage."

Charlotte took a deep breath, trying to calm herself - when suddenly, Abigail and Penny called their names from the beach.

They turned and saw Maru and Robin standing among the others, who had all jumped to their feet in alarm.

Charlotte and Sam rushed back, Charlotte leaving Sam trailing behind, panting.

"What happened?" she asked, looking directly into Robin's panic-stricken eyes.

"Sebby… Sebby is…" Tears ran down her face as she frantically scanned the beach as if Sebastian might appear from the darkness at any moment.

Maru took over, clearly more composed but just as shaken.

"Seb is gone… without a trace. But he emptied Mom's cash register."