iii. punk roommate and secrets.

Colette was worried. She had never had a moment where she couldn't keep her eyes off of someone. She thought it would happen when she finally fell in love. Instead, her vision was permanently glued to a small, feisty photography assistant. She had been too reckless, forgetting to lock the door while she used magic. She slipped up, and now one more person knew a secret that could ruin her life. Colette was focusing so hard on following Marisol that she didn't know where they were when they stopped.

Colette followed her new companion up several flights of stairs before they stopped. Marisol stuck a key in the lock and turned it, a click sounding from inside of the wooden door. She rested her hand on the knob and turned to face Colette.

"Just so you know, you followed me here," she said, "So I don't want to hear any complaints about my apartment."

Colette nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Marisol narrowed her eyes before turning and opening the door. She stepped to the side to allow Colette to walk in before closing and locking the door behind the two of them. She propped her skateboard against the wall near the door.

Colette looked around the apartment. It was rather simple. There was manufactured furniture, a TV, and a kitchen. It was nothing special. The thing that caught her eye the most was a three-monitor computer setup sitting in the corner of the living area. Colette didn't know much about computers, but she knew that the desktop wasn't something a regular magazine worker would have. When she looked closer, she could see that a game was paused on the screen.

Marisol called out into the empty apartment. "I'm home!"

A door swung open across the apartment and a person stepped out. Their eyes immediately settled on Colette.

"Marisol, you finally brought a girl home!" they said, "I knew it would happen eventually-"

Marisol cut them off. "She's a work acquaintance."

"You got someone from work? Scandalous."

Marisol was not amused. She gestured towards the person. "This is Nevada, my roommate."

Nevada bounded up to Colette. "They/them pronouns, please."

Nevada was tall, though not as tall as Colette. They had short, buzzed hair, dyed a dark purple. They were wearing a t-shirt and basketball shorts. Their attitude and goofy smile contrasted greatly with Marisol, and it made Colette wonder what it was like for them to live together.

"I'm Colette," she responded, sticking out her hand, "She/her pronouns for me."

"Ooo, are you French?" Nevada said, "I never knew that Marisol had a thing for foreign girls."

"Again, just a work acquaintance. We're going to be discussing some things." Marisol said.

Nevada wasn't satisfied with that answer. Without any warning, they reached up and snatched the sunglasses off Colette's face.

"Aha!" They put their hands on their hips. "I knew it, you're the actress from Zodiac Class. I know a celebrity when I see one. They ooze a certain aura."

Colette looked over at Marisol, her eyes wide and frantic. "Uhh, Marisol..." she said, "Isn't this an invasion of privacy?"

Marisol shrugged, "A little bit, but Nevada will keep your visit a secret. They'd be exposing themself too."

Nevada nodded. "Between being a popular streamer and the child of a famous punk band singer, I'd rather not have the press on me."

Colette raised an eyebrow. "Streamer?"

"Yeah, for video games," they said, gesturing towards the desktop in the living room, "Peep the setup."

The pieces clicked in Colette's mind. Nevada was a gamer, hence why there was such a fancy computer. It didn't belong to Marisol. Before Colette could ask who Nevada's parents were, Marisol grabbed her wrist and tugged her past the living room and into a bedroom, away from Nevada.

Marisol closed the door behind the two of them as Nevada yelled something about 'keeping it PG.' She looked at Colette. "You can sit anywhere. Let's talk about what happened today."

Colette looked around the room. She expected the room to be bare with minimal decoration, based on what she had seen in the rest of the apartment, but that wasn't the case here. Several framed photos hung on the walls, along with several taped up magazine clippings. A few plants decorated the space, and from what Colette could tell, they were real. Colette looked over to the bed. It was messy and unmade, but it still looked clean. She walked over and sat on the edge.

Marisol walked across the room to grab a blue plastic swivel chair from her desk. She rolled it over so that it was a few feet away from Colette, facing the bed. Marisol sat down and looked at the celebrity.

"Alright," Marisol said, "I found out your biggest secret."

Colette sighed. "Yes, you did."

"And you don't completely trust me not to tell."

"That is correct."

"But it's incredibly inconvenient for you to follow me around everywhere to make sure I don't say anything."

Colette crossed her arms. "Yes, it is," she responded, "but I'm not sure what options we have. You're a danger to me in so many ways. I don't think you'd purposely tell anybody, but it may slip out. A single mistake could..." Colette trailed off.

Marisol rolled her hand, motioning for her to continue.

"It could ruin my life. I would get arrested, but worse, sterilized," Colette looked down, "I've seen what losing magic has done to people. They become a shell of themselves."

"Wasn't magic just legalized in France?" Marisol asked.

"Yes, but I committed a crime here," Colette responded, "I'm not safe just because I'm a citizen elsewhere."

Marisol groaned and tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling. She didn't know. She didn't pay much attention in her high school government class. She pulled her head upright again, looking at Colette. "Well, isn't there a spell that can bind me to secrecy? So that I can't tell?"

Colette frowned. "Yes, there is, but I didn't want to bring it up. It seemed invasive," she said, "Besides, it takes the consent of both people involved."

"Well..." Marisol gestured to herself. "I consent."

Colette couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I feel like you're not taking this seriously," she said, "You'd be binding yourself to a spell. There's no fighting it."

Marisol shrugged. "Well, if it can give you peace of mind and let me get back to my job normally, then I'm fine with it."

Colette stood up, exasperated. How could the girl in front of her be taking this so lightly. "If I do this, the only one who can undo the spell would be me," she said, "It's a big sacrifice on your part."

Marisol waved a hand nonchalantly, "Cool, can we do it?"

"You're absolutely sure?"

"Yes, I am." Marisol said, "Do you need me to get you anything? Eye of newt? A phoenix feather?"

Colette shook her head. "Magic comes from internal sources, which is why only people born with it can practice it."

"So, phoenixes don't exist?"

Colette laughed. "I didn't say that."

Colette ignored the curiosity of Marisol's face she reached across towards where Marisol was sitting in her desk chair. "Okay, you have to take my hands."

Marisol slipped her hands into Colette's. Colette couldn't help looking at how small they were. They were also unbelievably cold. She wondered if Marisol had circulation problems.

Colette looked Marisol directly in the eyes. "You're absolutely sure you want to do this, right?"

"Yes. Do I have to do anything?"

"No, just sit there and allow the magic to do it's thing," Colette replied, "It won't hurt, but it'll feel different."

Marisol nodded and shut her eyes. She looked like she was concentrating.

Colette did the same thing. "I'm starting now."