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“Please. Please-” Dj begged. “-I can’t forget you Superfish, I-“
“I know.” Superfish whispered, clinging onto the boy he loved one last time. “But it’s for the best.”
***
— ‘Ink and Ivy’ was a cosy little building that sat along the edge of the town, lined along the road next to other small businesses. Plants were crawling up the display windows, which were a nice tinted brown. Inside the windows were heaps of books, with covers like ‘The origin of witches’ or ‘Witches: real or fake?’
“Hm” Superfish smiled to himself as he walked through the front door, wiping his feet on the mat. The inside was even cosier, sofas and fairy lights and mountains of books covering the place.
It was all so comforting, in a way. So warm and friendly and safe. It was so-
“DJ!” A voice shouted from inside the staff room. “Your shift started five minutes ago!”
“I know, I know, I’m sorry!” A familiar voice called back. “I’m on my way!”
Rushing out the staff room came the face of the boy Superfish once called his own. He was still shorter than him, no surprise there, it had only been a week, but his hair was longer now as it brushed against his neck. The warm lighting reflected against his face, bringing out his cheekbones and making his eyes seem brighter than they already were.
He marched behind the tills, typing something into one of the human screen thingys.
He still had that goofy smile. That tint in his eyes. Spiky hair that pointed in all directions.
He was still his Dhananjay.
And even the strongest witch in the world felt weak as he made his way to the tills.
“Hi, welcome to Ink and Ivy, how may I help you?” DJ announced, smiling softly.
Superfish felt his heart clench.
He didn’t know what to say.
Shit. Shit. He was going to absolutely embarrass himself.
“Good.” He managed to choke out. “Lots of uh, books?”
What the fuck.
“Haha, yeah, that is sorta our thing.” He chuckled. “Anything specific I can help you with?”
Superfish nodded to the display windows, pointing at the books that sat there. “You guys, uh, interested in witches I take it?”
DJ poked his head out to see what he was pointing at, then pulled back in like a flushed turtle, blushing madly.
Cute.
“Ha, yeah, well, you know, they’re cool and stuff, so I suggest we get them there you know, so people can read about them, ha, ha.”
Oh he is so flustered.
“Oh, I totally get it, i actually know a lot about witches.”
“You do?” He asked curiously.
“Yeah, psh, totally.”
“Cool! I’ve recently become interested in them, though I don’t know why. I just have a feeling they’d be cool to hang around with- if they were real, that is.”
He paused.
“Sorry, that sounded really weird. It’s not like I know any witches, although that would be dope.”
Superfish nodded along, intrigued in DJ’s rambling. Like old times, he thought to himself.
“I heard some witches can be awful. If they were real, that is.” Superfish added.
DJ smiled softly. “Some, not all.”
“Hm”
They stood like that for a second, a silence Superfish was familiar with, DJ not so much anymore.
“Well it was nice meeting you, uh.. sorry, I didn’t quite catch your name.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Sebastian.”
“Sebastian.” He repeated, his eyes crinkling.
“Nice to meet you too, Dhananjay.” Superfish said affectionately as he walked out the front door.
Soon he was round the corner, out of sight and out of mind.
But- wait- how did he know his name?
“Wait!” DJ shouted, sprinting out the door and chasing after the mysterious boy. “How did you know my-“
But the boy was gone. Not down any street, or block, or shop. Just vanished.
Huh. How odd.
— Everything was back to the way it was before for Superfish. He was back in Obscaria, back in his house, his home.
Back to normal.
Which to be honest, felt like the most abnormal thing in the world.
Because his new normal had become waking up, meeting up with DJ, going to school, retrieving potion ingredients for that stupid core, and spending time with his beloved.
And now he’s back to the old normal, leaving no trace of himself back in the human realm, except for burger wrappers, skimming stones, and the faint memory of a teal-haired boy Dhananjay knew he recognised from somewhere.
What a weird encounter.