Chapter Text
Lisa tapped her cup twice with her index finger to warm it back up, sipping it absentmindedly. Coffee didn't do so much for her since her charm considered it a mild sort of poison and neutralized its effects before it could get her buzzed. But the dark and rich taste felt comforting, and holding something warm in her hands meant less possibility of fidgeting.
She looked around the coffee shop, slightly annoyed at her date's tardiness. Checked her wristwatch for the time, again. Well, only two minutes had passed since five, but... The glass door at the front of the cafe opened with a little jingle from its brass bell.Lisa felt her before she saw her, a bright burst of sunshine and lavender warmth, coiling and unfurling lazily as the girl didn't bother to contain her own magic in a public space. But then Lisa looked at her, and it wasn't only warm summer breeze and light through lace curtains. On the door, peering around, was the cutest girl she had ever set her eyes on.
The girl had blonde hair, and long, long, long legs in black thigh socks. She was delicate like a ballerina, with kind eyes and an easy, charming smile. All that and she was walking briskly towards Lisa, waving and turning up the smile up a notch, apologetic.
"Hello, sorry I'm late, traffic."
She took off her cream overcoat, a fluffy white sweater under that, with a hint of a golden chain tucked safely underneath. Set her purse on the back of the chair, looking at the cup Lisa had in her hands.
"Hope you didn't wait long."
"No, I just got here.", Lisa said hastily, shaking her head. Never mind her coffee was almost over. And she arrived half an hour early. "Did you get anything on your way in?"
"Oh, not really. What did you get?", she asked in sweetly, tilting her head. Her hair swished forth as she came closer, and brushed Lisa's hands on top of the table , as she looked at the little laminated menu.
Lisa closed her eyes, breathing in again warmth and cleanliness, mint and fresh laundry. In the closed-off shop, where the air was honestly already a little stale with the fumes from the kitchen, she was quite literally a breath of fresh air.
They were sat in a small rounded table, in high chairs meant for couples sharing a drink. The girl was too close for comfort, eyes glittering prettily with peach colored glitter on top. And waiting for Lisa to answer.
"Just a regular black coffee.", Lisa said, shaking her head. "Let me get something for you. What do you want?"
"Black coffee? ", she asked, eyes going round with surprise."You looked like you had a sweet tooth.", she whispered, smiling.
"Did I?", Lisa frowned, looking down at her own ripped jeans and ratty Iron Maiden shirt, at the onyx rings in her bony fingers. "That's a first.”, she noted, breathing out an almost-laugh. “...So, what do you want, cutie?", she leaned closer as she asked, smirking.
The girl blushed. How cute.
“It’s my treat, since you are Jisoo’s friend.”
Jisoo had little to say, only insisting that Lisa met up with the girl as soon as possible, since she had just arrived from abroad. An old friend of hers, a fourth generation witch, but not a snotty purebreed one. Since she was on a little break from bigger commissions, Lisa had the extra time to lounge around and meet new people. Now, looking at the girl in front of her, fidgeting with the thin golden ring on her index finger, she was glad she caved in to Jisoo’s insistence.
"If you are offering, could I have a caramel macchiato, please?", she asked and smiled again, as if shy for her order.
"Of course. Give me a second, be right back.", Lisa said, getting up. On her way to the counter, she winked at her date.
She got the sweet drink, a refill of her black coffee and a strawberry cupcake, since the girl looked so sweet, wrapped up in her little schoolgirl skirt like a piece of candy.
She came back to the table, drinks and pastry balancing with a discrete floating spell on the tray she was holding. Lisa looked around the cafe, just to be sure, and let them float to the table. They hovered on top for a few seconds before dropping slowly, and maybe Lisa was showing off, but the other girl was delighted at the display, clapping.
"Whoa, that was good." , the girl said, mouth open. Then she eyed the pink frosted cupcake for a second, before Lisa set it in front of her. "How did you know strawberry was my favourite?"
"A guess.", Lisa answered. A hunch, a little bit of intuition, and the half folded strawberry handkerchief poking out of the girl's handbag. She smiled at her. "So...what's your name, pretty?"
"Uhh, what? I'm Rosé.", the girl said, unwrapping the cupcake carefully with her fingers. The tips of her nails had little gems on it.
"Well, Rosé, I'm Lisa, nice to meet you.", Lisa said, taking a sip of her coffee slowly.
"I know.", Rosé answered as she took a bite out of the cupcake. She hummed, eyes closed
"Wait, so you know me?", Lisa stopped, taking down her cup. She thought this was a mostly blind date. At least that was what Jisoo told her.
"Of course.", Rosé said around a mouth full of buttercream frosting. If anyone else was doing it, it would be disgusting, but the girl was endearing with her puffed cheeks. "Master potioneer, a total genius, a recluse. Until now!", she said, fist in the air. “What kind of person would I be if I didn't?”
"What? A recluse?", Lisa snorted. She wasn't a recluse, she had a social circle.
Of two people. Sometimes more, counting her cats and her more loyal clients.
"Don't try to lie, I didn't even know what you looked like until I came in here.”, the girl laughed, her eyes curving up mischievously. “I thought you were going to be old and with a wart on your nose or something like that.", she stared at Lisa, gaze carefully stopping just above the low cut of her cropped shirt. Then they flitted up. “I’m glad, though.”
"What?", Lisa spluttered around her coffee.
What made Rosé accept the blind date? An actual interest in old, wrinkled witches?
"Your reputation precedes you.", she explained, looking at her own nails. Her long legs crossed under the table, lightly touching Lisa's. Her stockings were soft on the exposed skin poking out of the rips of Lisa’s jeans, almost burning hot. In a brief moment where Lisa simply couldn’t breathe.
"Ah, okay. So...what do you do for a living?", Lisa asked, feeling herself warm up. She coughed into her own hand, trying to steer the conversation into safer territory. She didn’t move away from touch under the table.
"Oh, I'm a professional cook!”, she said, face glowing with pride. “ Cordon Bleu, came back home looking for a job. Now I'm here.", she said. She picked up the crumbs from the cupcake from the plate absentmindedly. The tip of her tongue was now stained pink from the strawberry jam.
"Wow, that's amazing. I don't even know how to fry an egg.", Lisa said, laughing.
"That's why I'm here, I guess.", Rosé replied, smiling brightly. "I'm just glad the opportunity came."
Lisa touched her pendant, willing her heart to slow down and stop pumping furious blood into her cheeks. The girl seemed so proper but was a complete and shameless flirt. Such a dangerous combination.
They stared at each other for a second, and Lisa could swear she felt something. A spark, a hint of a “maybe”. They both exhaled at the same time, and then giggled.
“So, what made you change your mind?”, Rosé asked, folding the cupcake wrapper into a little swan. She charmed it to fly around both of them before slowly coming back to her plate. Pretty delicate magic, Lisa noted. Funny she couldn’t control her own aura just as well.
“Sorry, change my mind on what?”, Lisa turned her head, frowning. Maybe she was a little out of the dating loop, but she hoped Jisoo didn’t spill her beans to her.
“I mean, you graduated and went straight to setting up a potions shop, so everyone thought you would get yourself an apprentice, but it’s been a few years and…”
“What are you talking about? My potion business?”, Lisa asked.
Rosé frowned, and the little paper swan tore itself into pieces on her plate.
“Yes? What else?”
“Why do you want to know if i’m taking in an apprentice?”, Lisa asked. "Why are you talking work right now?"
She trusted Jisoo with all her heart, but she worked in a highly competitive business, and if Rosé was some type of spy she would get really mad at her. But Rosé only looked as confused as her, face contorted. She bit her lower lip.
"...you aren't looking for an apprentice?", Rosé asked. “Jisoo said you were interested.”
She didn't know wether to laugh or go punch Jisoo on her pretty face.
"What? No! I work alone!"
Lisa got up from the table. The porcelain plate tinkled and almost fell into the floor. "Urgh, I can't believe this", she said, pacing around the cafe. A few patrons turned, but quickly turned back to their meals after seeing who was losing her patience. They knew not to bother an angry witch, at least.
"What did you think this was?", Lisa asked, pulling at her own hair. She didn't lose her patience easily, but the whole thing was absolutely ridiculous. Her pendant heated up, almost burning a brand on her chest trying to keep her magic stable.
Rosé seemed smaller than when she came in, hands tucked under her skirt. Lips pursed, she said, looking down:
"I thought it was a job interview."
"What?", Lisa said, covering her face with her own hands for a second.
She did a quick silencing spell around her hands and screamed her frustrations into them, then sat back into the high table as if nothing had happened. The way Rosé looked at her, though, showed that maybe she had to power up the spell more next time.
"Jisoo said you needed help with your orders, and I'm not certified, but I know my way around fire and plants, and I said I could help you maybe? And she said yes, and said that you agreed to a meeting here.", she said, panicking.
"Hecate help me.", Lisa said, sighing. "I thought this was a blind date. Jisoo set us up."
They both stared into the tablecloth for a few seconds, perplexed. Lisa would KILL her friend when she sees her the next time. How could she just trick them both like that. Rosé could be looking for a real job opportunity, instead of wasting time with Lisa in a fake coffee date. She couldn’t even imagine how Rosé was feeling, if Jisoo had said she would give her a job, and…
"Wait, why did you touch my leg under the table?", Lisa asked, remembering the stocking clad leg coming to brush her legs from time to time.
"Oh, that was...hmm...", Rosé started, blushing a faint pink. "You didn't seem bothered by it either.", she said, crossing her arms.
Well, that was true, Lisa had to admit. She was so cute too. It would be a pity if Lisa lost all contact with her. And she was Jisoo’s friend, and that had to count for something.
There was a beat of silence while Rosé sighed deeply, and Lisa took her chance. Seize the day and all that.
"So...Jisoo is coming by my home later to pick up a potion, you want to wait for her with me? I promise I will make her apologize to you.", she said suddenly. “I mean, if you want to, since, huh...we kind of have a mutual friend and all…”
Rosé nodded, mouth set in a tiny angry line.
"I'll hex that girl to hell and back!", she promised herself.“I still can’t believe she did that to me.”, she commented, shaking her head. “I haven’t even finished unpacking.”
“Oh, you want to go back to your home and finish that?”, Lisa asked. “I can hex Jisoo by myself, if you are…”
“No, I wanna go.”, Rosé interrupted, smiling. “I think we could make the best of this. I’d love to hang out”, she added, popping the rest of her little cupcake into her mouth. “Jisoo said you were friends before she even met me.”
Cheeks full and bright, she caught Lisa's gaze and gave her a thumbs up.
"You look like a little chipmunk, Rosé.", Lisa said, picking up her bag and tossing it over her shoulder. “My house is close, can we walk?"
"Yeahf, Shure...", she said, nodding around a mouth full of cake. “I mean, thank you so much for inviting me.”, she added after she properly swallowed. She smiled, looking down at her feet.
Lisa, against all common sense, found herself smiling back.
"Awesome.”
She put back her jacket and handbag and the both of them walked out into the busy streets, bracing themselves against the wind. Lisa had her phone out, texting Jisoo and confirming she would be coming over. Rosé had the tip of her nose pink and was quickly finishing her coffee, looking around the buildings with interest. Since she had just come from overseas, there were probably lots of changes on the scenery.
Lisa couldn't help but smile at her when they arrived into the apartment complex, eyes wide seeing the golden plaque with her name on the entrance. She waved at the receptionist, who only nodded back.
"Wait, are you rich, rich? I knew your potions work, but this feels...", the girl trailed off, looking around as they went into the elevator, with old fashioned brass doors and female voice soothingly naming the floors over them. "this feels a bit too much, Lisa."
"Says the one who went to Cordon Bleu.", Lisa countered easily, hands deep into her jeans pockets, getting off and into the hallways.
Rosé followed behind her, as they both stopped in front of the apartment. Lisa put her finger on the center of the sigil of the door, letting the wards fall down and letting it know she had a new guest as well. It groaned a little, as if unused to letting in someone who wasn’t an old client, Jisoo or her girlfriend.
And sometimes the son of the landlady who came in to repair something and always took way too much time talking with her cats. Damn him and his animal shapeshifting ways, she wasn’t able to stop him since Luca adored him.
"Your welcome mat is so cute!", Rosé exclaimed, pointing down.
Lisa looked down, eyeing the old carpet with the faces of two of her cats, who were then cute kittens. As she opened the door to her apartment, both meowed loudly, running over to her rubbing themselves on her legs.
"Leo, stop, we have guests.", she said quickly. Her cat stared at Rosé, who stared back making grabby hands. Leo sauntered back into the depths of her apartment, liquifying like smoke along the shadows.
“Wow! Are they magical as well?”, Rosé asked when Lily stared up at her from a foot above the floor where she was hovering silently.
“Yeah, I mean, they’ve been living with me for quite some time, and picked up on some things.”, Lisa said, petting her.
“Cats are so smart.”, Rosé whispered, looking around as if waiting for Leo to materialize back on top of the pile of dirty laundry.
Which, considering, Lisa should have cleaned up a little before inviting someone as pretty and put together as Rosé.
She sighed, damning her short-sightedness.
There was nothing she could do now, and even if she could, where would she put the dozens of potted magical plants, and the herbs hanging from the ceilings?
She absolutely would not let her in into her kitchen, which was also her makeshift lab. And her study, sometimes.
It was a thousand times worse than the living room, but Lisa had a certain order to the chaos. She absolutely needed to have that dried lizard laying on the couch.
For magical reasons, of course.
"Welcome to my humble home, I guess.", Lisa said, shoving the door open with her hip and shoving her other cat, Lily, inside. The cat meowed sadly, dejected by her owner, floating back into Lisa's room to probably destroy her pillows or something.
Lisa breathed in, glad that the most acceptable place, the living room, was where Rosé would stay.
She rushed forward, taking out a quartz bucket filled with spring water off the worn couch and putting it back on the floor, besides the coffee table filled with books and scribbled parchment. She snatched the dried lizard as well, shoving it on her pocket and making a mental note to take it out before she did the laundry.
A few plants wiggled and curled on their pots all around the floor, and a fern came to play with Rosé’s pretty hair, making her giggle.
The living room was the most acceptable place, but that didn't mean it was exceptionally clean. As Rosé primly sat down on the bright yellow sofa, Lisa prayed to all the deities that she wouldn't notice the dead bug by her feet. Wow, her shoes were cute.
"Your house is lovely.", Rosé said, and something in her awed tone of voice made it seem honest. "A bit more...rowdy than I thought it would be, but very cozy.", she added, covering a laugh with one hand.
"Let me take your bag and coat", Lisa said, taking them and letting her old marble statue hold it for her. Caesar wouldn't mind. She turned back at Rosé, who was smiling at something on her phone. Rosé put it back in her skirt pocket when she noticed Lisa staring. Just to be polite or a sign she shouldn't pry?
"Arm...you want coffee? Tea? Spring water?", Lisa asked, taking the books and fountain pens out of the coffee table and waving her hand for them to go orderly into her room. Rosé eyed the bucket by her feet, next to the dead bug. "The quartz keeps the water fresh."
"No, thanks, I'm still full.', she answered, smiling politely, tapping her flat stomach."So...when is Jisoo coming?"
"Oh, in about an hour.”, Lisa said, taking of her own leather jacket off and shoving it over Caesar again. At least it would cover up how much he was winking since Rosé entered the apartment. “ The WIFI is "LISASWAG", all caps. I have some work left over from the morning, so I'll be in the kitch-my workroom.", Lisa quickly corrected herself.
"Can I see?", Rosé asked, tilting her head. "Your workroom?"
"Hey, I said I was not looking for an..."
"I know, you were looking for a date.", she answered, hands on her front as if in defeat. She got up from the couch, slightly brushing off a few crystals that stuck into her skirt. They twinkled in the setting sun and pounced to the floor. She didn’t seem too bothered by it. "But we have an hour. Please?"
Lisa pursed her lips.
Excited at the prospect of spending more time with her, but not too keen on letting her see the devastating state of her kitchen, she didn't know what to answer.
“Don’t you want to listen to the radio instead?”, she asked, trying for a wide smile.
“Can I? It’s so cute.”, Rosé said, going over to the wood chair on the corner with her little red radio, taking out the antenna and turning it on on her hands. She seemed like an excited child. Frank Sinatra started singing, and she smiled, swaying and tapping her feet to the beat. The little schoolgirl shirt rode up a little on her slim thighs. “This is nice. You have good taste, you know?”
Lisa was only able to nod, blushing, sitting down on her armchair, scooping Leo from the dark walls into her arms for safety. The little rascal purred loudly, unaware of the inner turmoil of his owner.
Now that they were both in her house, what should she do? Entertain Rosé?
She turned slightly to see what the girl was doing but she was sat down on the couch, hands on her knees, bobbing her head and looking so comfortable, eyes closed. She then opened one eye, and smirked at Lisa.
“Are you nervous? I know already it’s not a date. It’s not flirting anymore.”, she said, rolling her eyes dramatically.
“Oh, so you were flirting before?”, Lisa asked.
She dropped Leo on the floor. He started meowing loudly, begging to be let up back again.
“There’s no need to lie.”, Rosé answered simply. “Of course I was interested, look at you.”
Lisa looked down at herself. Her socks had little ducks printed on them, and Leo was scratching her already torn jeans desperately.
“...Jisoo will be here in an hour still.”, she said then.
“Nice. We can know each other better.”, Rosé smiled, and somehow, Lisa felt as if the girl was back flirting again. There was something in her eye smile, the way the corners of her mouth lifted up. It spelt trouble.
“As friends?”, Lisa said quickly. “Erm, I have some work to do, but feel free to look around, I have tons of books you can…”
“Can I watch?”, she asked again. Again, she didn’t look like she would be upset if Lisa said no, but somehow, she didn’t actually want to say no to her.
Ever, maybe.
“Watch me...make a wart removing potion?”, Lisa asked, scratching her neck. She always worked alone. The working table wasn’t even clean.
It was never once clean. Rosé didn’t need to know the way she lived.
“Of course. I wanted to become your apprentice, but since you don’t want one, I should at least have a look. For my troubles.”, she answered, as if it was the most obvious thing. “You made me come all the way here.”
“For your troubles.”, Lisa repeated, dazed, nodding slowly.
Rosé looked even more like a princess sitting in her messy living room, somehow more beautiful between Lisa’s books, plants and crystals. The little damned fern tried to mess up her hair again, and Lisa promised herself she would trim it later. It was getting too big and cocky for her taste.
“Please? Cass told me wonders about your potion work, especially the skincare ones.“, she pleaded, hands together as if praying to her. Lisa breathed in deeply, but defeated, nodded at her.
“You’re funny.”, Lisa said as Rosé punched the air in victory. “Just don’t judge my methods. Or my worktable.”, she said, leading the girl over to her kitchen/workspace/office. Rosé fell in step eagerly behind her, probably expecting a beautiful lab, with all the newest equipment.
Lisa stood at the door, and sighed deeply, hands on her waist.
There was no way Rosé would think of her as a respectable member of society now.
She couldn’t even spell the whole place clean, since there were all sorts of sensitive materials lying around
(a jar of newt eyes had all of its little eyes turning at her, judging).
The main dining table had several jars of varying sizes, some labeled, some don’t, filled with all kinds of powders and serums and animal parts. The chemical instruments were all filled with liquids, some fizzing and bubbling, some swaying with an invisible breeze inside twirling glass straws. The dried plants hung off the ceiling, dropping paper-thin flowers all over the floor. They crinkled as Lisa got inside, followed by Rosé, making tiny popping sounds and bursts of light. The cupboards were completely overflowing, and she wasn’t going to comment on the state of her cabinets. There was a little cloud of eternal rain on a corner, were a little colony of mushrooms grew happily.
Whew.
“It smells interesting in here.”, Rosé said simply, gently pushing a bowl filled with live fish away with her foot, sitting in a high stool Lisa didn’t even know was there.
“Sorry, I’m already used to it, but I guess it should smell a little funky.”, Lisa explained, laughing weakly.
“It kind of smells like an old supermarket.”, she said, smiling. She had her hands under her thighs, as if she didn’t want to touch anything by accident. She swung her legs back and forth excitedly. “So, a wart potion?”
“Yeah, yeah.”, Lisa said, coming back to Earth. She looked around her materials, spotting quickly an open jam jar filled with gelatinous little seeds. Just because it was messy, it didn’t mean she didn’t know exactly where everything was. She poked the ingredient, nodding to herself when the little seeds were hard and cold still.
“It’s pretty basic, since I mostly use these flesh-eating seedlings, but it’s a bit tricky since they all tend to stick together and you can’t have more than one at a time on your wart. “, she said, scooping a spoonful into a rusty cast iron skillet. “Oh, damn.” , she cursed. “Can you get me the brown powder to your right? No the, other right, careful. That one bites.”
Rosé handed over the supermarket bag filled with what seemed to be dirt. Lisa sprinkled a bit over the seeds on the skillet, making them shine for a second. She poked them with her finger again. They were a bit old, since she forgot to seal the jam jar, but it was probably going to work fine. She may not have the prettiest workroom, but her products were top-notch.
“Did this need to be in a supermarket bag? It doesn’t seem very safe.”, Rosé said, putting it carefully back on the shelf.
“Probably not, but I ran out of jars last month. Plastic bags do the trick till I buy more jam. “
Lisa looked around for her silver chopsticks. They would be the best thing to work with the seeds, since they wouldn’t interact much with the magic. Now she just needed to boil a bit of water.
She walked over to the sink, skillet in hand. There was a huge copper basin filled with wiggling purple tentacles. They wiggled, as if greeting her.
“Oh, damn, I forgot I put those in here.”, she murmured. She eyed the little fish bowl by Rosé’s feet for a second. She wore black polka dotted thighs socks, Lisa noticed. “As I said, you can't judge me.”, she said, crouching down and scooping a bit of water into the skillet with a flick of her fingers. The fish swam desperately to the bottom of the bowl as to not get swooped in the skillet as well. She looked up at Rosé and winked, doing a finger gun with her free hand.
“I’m wondering if I should report you.”, Rosé said, pursing her lips.
“Never heard any complaints from my customers. The water in the bowl is charmed to keep itself cleaner than tap water.”, she explained, putting the skillet over her single burner oven. She tapped the knob with her pointer finger and a green flame rose up, quickly making the water boil. It thickened up quickly, thankfully turning the desired blood red color.
“Only the best for your fish and your clients. What about the little quartz fountain in the living room?”
“Of course. I bought that quartz bowl because I liked its vibrations and it was on sale.”, Lisa answered. “Oh shit, my chopsticks!”, she yelled, running around looking for them. They were under the dining table, covered in dust. She blew on them quickly, running back to the fire, stirring the skillet. Some seeds stuck to the bottom, glued together and burnt. She sighed, stirring the ones that were fine. She could still save most of the potion.
“Are these supposed to lump together?”, Rosé asked from her chair. Lisa looked back to the skillet, seeing that all her seeds were glued together now. She sighed, throwing it all in another plastic bag and dropping it on the floor, where it made a sad plopping noise.
“Thank Hecate these are quick to make.”, Lisa said, rolling her eyes.
“Why don’t you powder the seeds a bit? So they don’t stick together?”, Rosé asked, tilting her head. She passed her the plastic bag filled with dirt.
“What?”, Lisa asked, filling her skillet with the fishbowl water again.
“Since they seem to stick and have some type of fiber content, they sink to the bottom of the pan and burn pretty quickly. Can’t you cover them in flour? And you should wash the skillet before trying that again.”, she explained, pointing warily at Lisa’s trusty cast iron baby.
“What did you study again?”, Lisa asked, snapping her fingers and cleaning the skillet till it was shining. It had some pretty old crusts, since it was so easy to clean that she never bothered to.
“Food engineering.”, she replied brightly. “Then I went to France for a culinary course. So, are you rolling them in flour? I can help you.”
Lisa looked around the kitchen, checking her watch and seeing she had 40 minutes till the old lady that had a friend with a huge wart on her nose knocked on her door to get her potion. If the seeds burned again, she would be in trouble
. And she still had to make some hangover cures.
“Why?”, she asked. “Not that I’m not thankful, but…”
“I have nothing else to do until I can kick Jisoo’s ass.”, she said, shrugging. “Don’t want to watch Youtube in the living room while you suffer alone in here, either.”
“...Then, sure?”, she found herself saying. “I have another potion to work on, so can you roll them? You turn on the fire on the highest setting to seal the active components in the seeds and mix them thoroughly until the water turns into dark gel, then just send a little electric shock into them and they should turn translucent.”, she explained quickly, already moving over and grabbing other bags and powders into a cauldron. “Just enough energy to make a small noise, we don’t want anyone having a heart attack, I’m not a Healer.”
“I can do that!”, Rosé said. “You have rice flour? Since it’s magically neutral. And tasteless, mostly. I saw your chopsticks and figured you’re pretty careful with that?”
“The would be great. The flour is under the bat wings, by that cupboard.”
“Thanks.”, Rosé said. “You should tie your hair.”, she added off-handedly, as she took a bowl and filled it with white rice flour. Where did she even find a clean bowl?
“What?”, Lisa said, stirring her pot with her index finger. Rosé was kind of too close to her, both of them in the cramped kitchen, sharing the table. At least Lisa could keep an eye on her.
“A strand could fall onto the potion, you have pretty long hair.”, she said, rolling the seeds around in the flour. In the single stove, the water was already boiling. “All sorts of interactions could happen, since your magic looks pretty strong.”, she added offhandedly.
Lisa only stared back at her, eyes wide.
“Why are you already boiling the water?”, Lisa asked.
“You said the high temperature was to seal the seeds, so it should work better if you add them when the water’s already boiling. You should use more water when dealing with items that thicken, or else you’re going to end up with a hard lump of seeds.”, Rosé said.
“I have an elastic, if you want.”, she added, taking off one of her thin wrist and giving it to Lisa.
It had a little pink bunny on it.Lisa smiled in thanks, going back to her work with a neat low bun on her head now.
They worked side to side in a nice kind of almost silence, since Rosé was singing softly, under her breath as she stirred the seeds efficiently. She had a grace Lisa didn’t think she herself had when working. It could be her culinary practice, she guessed. Maybe the fields had the muscle memory in common, at least.
In the living room, Sinatra kept singing in low tones, but it was hard to listen when such a lovely girl was humming for her live, close enough that Lisa swore she felt her body heat.
When Lisa asked for an ingredient, Rosé made sure to get it for her, and their hands brushed several times as they worked. Not that she was keeping note of any of that.
Since the potion was water based, a lot of vapour got on Rosé’s face, making her skin glisten and a few strands to escape the neat braid she did on herself. She looked good next to the fire, concentrated and poised. Somehow they started talking about music, and it turned out Rosé (to no one’s surprise) used to want to be a singer.
“I mean, I still compose sometimes, but I prefer working with my hands?”, she explained, frowning. “Of course you can help people with music, but food is different. It has a special place in my heart.”
“I understand. I dance as well, but helping people with my potions is more rewarding to me. Of course, I still dance to keep myself sane.”, Lisa added, laughing.
“You do?”, she asked, eyes round with surprise. “You should show me sometime!”
“If you show me your songs…”, Lisa said, laughing. “Then I’ll show you my moves.”
“ Cooking is great, but sometimes I just need to unwind and listen to music to really feel like I’m myself again.”
Lisa nodded, and they both turned back to their work. She turned from time to time to check on Rosé, but she was doing everything perfectly.
“Done!”, she said suddenly, showing Lisa the wart removing potion, eyes bright and proud.
Lisa checked the consistency, and applied to the skin of her own wrist. It absorbed quicker than the ones she did by herself. She did a mental note to always boil the water first.
“It looks great. Thanks for helping.”, Lisa said honestly. The girl was pretty smart, she had to admit. Maybe it would be nice to have her as an apprentice.
“Thank you. I didn’t know there was a cream that could remove warts. And it smells good too.”, Rosé said, sniffing the cream.
“It doubles up as a moisturizer. And you didn’t know because it’s a recipe registered under my name.”, she explained proudly. “No one but me can make it.”
“...But you let me do it?”, Rosé asked, mouth dropping open. “Should I pay you or something?”
“Of course not, you helped me. And now I got a headstart on my other work too.”, she said, eyeing her hangover cure. She could put it in the fridge and finish it later. “You want a soda or something? Jisoo should arrive soon.”
“Do you have actual water or should I drink straight from the fishbowl?”, Rosé teased, that eye smile back again. “Or the “good vibes” quartz bowl in the living room?”
Lisa filled a tall glass with water from the fridge, waved at the frozen basilisk eggs near the chicken eggs (another mental note not to mix them up in the morning), waved it closed.
She stared at the glass for a second, and made it freezing cold with a quick spell only to spite the other girl. She got herself a coke and they both made their way back to the living room, where the air was fresher and there weren't dead animal scales littering the ground. Rosé sighed, plopping next to Lisa on the sofa, sipping her water.
“Ahh, this is great.”, Rosé said, stretching, crossing her legs. She hummed “Fly me to the Moon”, undoing her side braid absent-mindedly. Her hair went to her waist, soft and lightly curled, smelling like honey and lavender.
Lisa breathed it in, gathering courage. Usually she followed her instincts, and something said that was a great idea. Rosé was a great idea.
“So...while we were working, I was thinking...I mean, I think we got along pretty well just now.”
“Yes, we did.”, she agreed, setting her water down on the coffee table, turning to Lisa. She was smiling now.
“Would you like to…”, Lisa stopped, suddenly feeling shy. She had already rejected her, would she want the job back again? But Rosé looked at her, all puppy like, like she hung the sun and the stars in the sky. She was a fan of her work for sure. She played with her own fingers, then looked at Rosé in the eyes.
“Want to…?”, Rosé repeated softly, eyebrows raising. Her index finger twirled her hair a little bit faster. “Really?”
“Yeah, I mean, you seem great.”, Lisa said.
Rosé blushed a lovely shade of pink, her cute chubby cheeks puffing up. Her smiles could light up a whole room.
“Am I reading this wrong? You’re asking me…”
“...To be my apprentice, yes.”, Lisa said, smiling.
“Oh, wow.”
Rosé actually seemed to deflate like a popped balloon. The fern that was slowly coming down to play with her hair curled up again into its hanging vase.
“Apprentice?”, she asked, frowning. There was a cute little line of worry between her eyebrows, and maybe Lisa wanted to press her fingers to it, kiss it away or maybe...
“Do you not want to? I mean, you were interested before, right? When I thought you were…”, she stopped, blushing. “Looking for a date.”
“So, let me get this clear: you’re not asking me out, you’re asking me to be your apprentice?”, Rosé repeated, lips pursed. She nodded to herself, as if she was making sense of something very complicated.
“As I said, it’s just an offer, if you don’t….”
“Of course I want to! I was expecting for you to say something else, so I was surprised.”, she said quickly. She smiled again, but somehow it wasn’t as bright. She laughed a bit, eyes lost on the floor.
There was a moment of silence where Lisa seriously considered if, for the first time in her life, her instincts failed her.
Someone knocked on the door. Lisa was quick to go get it.
“Oh, hello, Mrs. Lee.”, she said, bowing to the old lady. “I’ll get your cream in a second.”
Mrs. Lee, old and smiling, nodded, giving Lisa a jar of peach compote and a few crumpled notes as thanks. Lisa got them both and quickly went to her workshop.
The cream was put inside a cute little squirrel bottle. It seemed like it used to be a perfume bottle, and now the sink smelled strangely of lavender, the tentacle monster wiggling (happiness? discomfort? ). She got back, and Rosé and Mrs. Lee were chattering together like two old ladies that met in the street. Rosé had a candy wrapper on her hands, and her cheek was bulging strangely as she nodded to something Mrs. Lee was telling her.
“So you shouldn’t let her overwork herself.”, Mrs. Lee said, stopping when she saw Lisa coming. “Thank you so much. My friend will love these.”
“It’s nothing, Mrs. Lee. Thank you so much for the peaches.”
“Treat your girl better, Lisa! She won’t stay around if you keep your kitchen in that sorry state!”, the old lady yelled as she got out. Mrs. Lee was a sweetheart, but a little bit deaf already.
Lisa closed the door, looking at Rosé.
“Did you trash talk my workspace to Mrs. Lee?”, she asked, crossing her arms.
“You have to admit you work in unsafe conditions.”, Rosé said, shrugging.
“You agreed to work in those unsafe conditions just now!”, Lisa yelled, throwing a pillow at her. Rosé just laughed, trying to protect herself. “You’re lucky my code of honor stops me from hexing my apprentices.”
“Ohh, I’m so lucky.”, Rosé said, a hand over her face like a fainting damsel in distress. “Please, give me a sip of fish water, ooh genius potioneer.”
“That’s so disrespectful.”, Lisa said, but she felt her cheeks heat up.
They stared at each other, giddy with the possibilities. The front door bell rang again.
“That must be Jisoo. Get your wands out.”, Lisa said jokingly as the wards automatically let Jisoo inside.
“Hello, beautiful!”, Jisoo smiled, hugging Lisa tightly. Then she looked behind her and her smile turned mischievous. “Oh, I see you and Rosé got along nicely.”, she said, putting a finger over her lips.
Lisa looked behind her just in time to see Rosé getting her wand out, smiling just as pretty as she did when they first met, getting inside the coffee shop. Then she mumbled something and Jisoo was suddenly shrinking, her yellow and black cardigan falling over her black dress into a pile on top of her shoes.
Lisa grabbed the pile quickly on her arms, shutting the door and closing it.
“I hope you haven’t killed her.”, she said, putting the pile on her sofa. There was a frilly lace panty inside. At least someone was getting lucky later. “She’s a pain sometimes but I love her.”
“It’s fine. She’s under her clothes, take a look.”, Rosé said, putting the wand back into her skirt pocket. “Also, she had that coming. Made me look like a fool in front of you enough times.”
“What?”, Lisa asked, laughing. She grabbed the black and yellow cardigan, putting in on herself instead. Under it there was a little hummingbird, flapping its wings and looking at both of them with a lot more indignation than a hummingbird should be able to. It burrowed deeper into Jisoo’s dress, seeming to make a nest in the expensive piece of clothing. Only its little head poked out, shining prettily in the late afternoon light, shimmering pink and dark purple. Just like her dyed hair, Lisa noted, poking the little bird’s head with her pinky. It chirped miserably, as both of the girls cackled.
“For a second I thought you had banished her somewhere. “, Lisa said, scooping Jisoo into her hands and letting her rest on her shoulder. “It’s bad that I kinda like her like this?”
“Calm down, she can hear you.”, Rosé said, giggling and covering her laugh with her hands. It wasn’t anything serious, but Lisa was actually getting attached a little bit to that carefree smile. Made her want to keep being silly, only to make her keep smiling.
“And I can talk, you idiots.”, came a little voice by Lisa’s shoulder. Lisa shrieked, slapping the little bird on her shoulder, but Jisoo was already flying away, stopping on top of a spinning globe on the coffee table, perching on top of the Sovietic Republic, pecking at the peeling paint on it.
It was an old globe.
Rosé stared at her, then at Jisoo, back at her, then burst into hiccupping laughs, hands on her knees. Lisa couldn’t help but follow along, seeing the little hummingbird Jisoo flopping around on the globe.
“So, are you done laughing or will you turn me back?”, Jisoo asked, tilting its little bird head as if she still was human. “I bought groceries, but since I’m a bird now, you need to get them.”
“Really? Oh, thank, Jisoo!” Lisa said, whopping and opening her apartment door again, getting the paper bags filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as several packs of instant noodles. “You’re a lifesaver.”
“You don’t buy your own groceries?”, Rosé asked, frowning at seeing Lisa coming in with two handfuls of goods.
Lisa shrugged at her, going into the kitchen. She quickly stored everything into the old fridge and on top of her only clean fruit bowl and went back into the living-room, where Rosé was sat down on the sofa with Jisoo on her pointer finger looking as if she came straight from a fairy tale. They were both whispering furiously, Jisoo keeping her wings in front of her beak while Rosé had her hands in front of her mouth. Upon seeing her arrival, though, Rosé stopped, smiling brightly at her.
“Talking about me?”, Lisa asked, plopping into the armchair, legs spread. “I would offer you guys something to drink, but I drank the last coke and Jisoo probably can only drink sugar water now.”
“We’re fine. I’m getting out of here as soon as I turn human and beautiful again.”, Jisoo said, shaking her tiny head. It would be a beautiful moment if she still had her freshly dyed purple hair. Rosé cooed at her, poking her little bird face.
“Ohh, you are still beautiful, Jisoo.”
“Shut up, you could turn me human right now, disrespectful girl.”, Jisoo said, flying to the top of the bookcases. “I’m older than you both and you treat me like this!”, she yelled in a tiny high pitched voice.
Lisa caught Rosé’s gaze, and they both rolled their eyes, smiling. Rosé grabbed a little ping pong ball from the depths of the ragged yellow sofa, tossing it at Jisoo in the bookcase, making her fly away, shrieking.
“That’s for making me think this was going to be a job interview!”, Rosé yelled. “Be thankful this ball is not an ashtray, Jisoo!”
“Oh, calm down, you’re so dramatic! I knew you would never come if you thought it was a blind date!”, Jisoo said, flying in the middle of the room. “By the way,how did it go? Feel any spark?”
Again, Lisa wondered how a hummingbird was able to look so smug without even having a proper mouth to smirk. She buried her face into her own hands, letting her dark hair fall on a curtain on top of her.
“Wait, so it was a date?”, she heard Rosé ask, voice high. Then she screamed. “I was never so humiliated in my life!”
“Wait, you were not the humiliated one!”, Lisa said, raising her head. Rosé was holding Jisoo in her hands as if she was about to choke the little bird. “No killing in my living room! This is a sacred place I use for my morning pilates!”
“Wait, you do pilates? I do it too!”, Rosé turned, seemingly forgetting the choking little bird on her hands. “Ooops, sorry, Jisoo.”
Jisoo flew away from the both of them, yelling.
“If this is how you two flirt, leave me out of it!”, she said, breathless. “Lisa, if you’d be so kind as to fetch me sugared water from the kitchen, I think I’m going to pass out.”
“Oh, okay.”
When Lisa came back from the kitchen (where she struggled to find an unused bottle cap, took water from the fish bowl and almost died getting a sugar cube), Rosé was sitting on the sofa, arms crossed, Jisoo on top of her head. Both of them seemed displeased.
“What happened while I was out? “, Lisa asked, smiling. Even though both of them seemed mad, the scene was really cute. Rosé with her puffed red cheeks, Jisoo looking like the angriest hummingbird to ever exist, messing up Rosé’s perfect hair.
“Rosé is very stupid.”
“Well, let me tell you, Jisoo is very stupid.”, Rosé added, face scrunching up.
“Well, I think Jisoo owes me an explanation.”, Lisa said, crossing her arms. “But it’s not nice turning people into birds, Rosé.”
“Whatever.”, Rosé said, taking Jisoo out of the top of her head. “See if I help you with your lines next time, Jisoo.”
“You wouldn’t”, Jisoo said, a wing in her chest like she was mortally wounded. “I would have to use Lisa as a stand in, and she reads like a robot.”
“Korean is not my first language, you know!”, Lisa snapped, blowing a raspberry into the little bird, who tumbled out of the couch and into the floor. “See if I make you an aloe nightshade cleanser next time you have a pimple before show night!”
“Everyone is really angry at me.”, Jisoo said miserably from the floor. “And I’m a bird and just wanted my two dear friends to be together.”
“I mean, it kind of worked in the end.”, Lisa said, anger suddenly gone. Maybe Jisoo didn’t deserve such harsh treatment.
“So you are going on another date?”, Jisoo asked, perking up.
“No, I’m working for her. Starting next week.”, Rosé said, showing Jisoo her tongue in the end.
“What? That’s crazy. You cheated in Potions to pass!”, Jisoo said.
“I cheated from YOUR cheatsheet, stupid!”, Rosé retorted. “I’m going to kick you out of this apartment, see if you can fly from the fourth floor down.”
“Again, everybody is very angry at me when I’m so cute and charming and pretty.”, Jisoo sighed. Then, in a cloud of purple smoke and glitter, a very naked Jisoo was sat down in the middle of Lisa’s living room.
Jisoo sighed, looking at Liana, then Lisa.
“Pass me my Unif dress, that’s more expensive than my tuition.”, she said, covering her body with her arms. “I can’t believe all my friends have seen me naked now.”, she said, shoving her head on top of the dress, taking her cardigan out of a protesting Lisa.
“But it looks so good on me!”, she pouted at her friend, hoping Jisoo would let her keep it. She thought she looked good, looking like a bee in the little checkered black and yellow thing.
“Sorry, can’t. The dress and the cardigan need to match.”, Jisoo said, as they both fought over it. “Unless you pay me for it.”, she offered, raising an eyebrow.
“Urgh, sorry I’m not swimming in money like you and Jennie.”, Lisa said, dropping the cardigan. Jisoo put it on, effortlessly flipping her hair and looking straight out of a commercial, even though she was a hummingbird two minutes ago.
Rosé giggled from the sofa. Lisa turned to her, blushing, then looked back at Jisoo. The girl only stared back, smiling knowingly.
“How did you two even meet?”, Rosé asked, crossing her legs on the sofa. The little polka dot thigh high she was wearing stretched a bit, and there was a spot where the lining was tearing a little in the inner thigh. Lisa found herself fixated in that little stray string of fabric.
Jisoo poked her in the ribs, making her go back to reality.
“Oh, how? Uh, I choreographed in a play she was doing a few years ago.”, Lisa said, smiling at the memory. “She didn’t know a thing about dancing, but tried really hard.”
“And was the prettiest, funniest, most talented senior you had ever seen.”, Jisoo added, blowing Lisa a little kiss. “This little devil ran me ragged, she knows only perfection.”
“What’s the point of choreographing if you can’t do what you’re supposed to do?”, Lisa asked innocently.
“I won’t comment on my dark dance past. Thank gods I only act and model now.”, Jisoo said, blinking prettily. Actually, everything she did was pretty. The girl was a goddess, maybe.
“I kind of miss your singing voice, Jisoo.”, Rosé said suddenly. “I would grab my guitar and we would sing until the neighbours threatened to call the police, remember?”
Jisoo smiled, ruffling Liana’s hair even more.
“Of course I miss our late night duets, sweetie.”
“Were you neighbours or something?”
“Roomates for a little while, until she decided to drop everything and went to Paris.”, Jisoo said.
Rosé raised her hand, a “guilty as charged “ look on her face.
A nice silence fell over the three girls in the living room, as they all saw the sun set behind the buildings slowly from the wide window Lisa insisted she had.The room was bathed in purple now, and Lisa thought they all looked very lovely in the subtle light, but specially Rosé. Jisoo opened her mouth, tucking a strand of silky purple hair behind her ear.
“I was so lonely, but then I met you.”, she said, looking straight at Jisoo with fondness in her eyes. “And I thought you really suited each other. My magic says so.”
“Well, thanks.”, Rosé said, looking down. Lisa felt herself blush.
She thought Jisoo only played matchmaker because of boredom or a need for mischief, but to think she waited until Rosé was back from France to get them to meet because her magic said so was almost sweet, in a sense.
It didn’t necessarily mean they were meant to be soulmates, but Lisa was glad someone else felt it too.
Her eyes met Rosé’s across the living room, and she thought she wasn’t the only one who thought so.
Both looked away at the same time.
“Well, my work here is done.”, Jisoo said suddenly, getting up and putting on her boots. “We should hang out together sometime, I think Jennie is going to throw a party sometime next month.”
“Count me in.”, Lisa said, doing finger guns at her.
“Ah...I’ll check my schedule? I still need to unpack and look for my own place, so things’ll be a little crazy until I settle back in.”, Rosé said sheepishly. “But I’d love to!”
Lisa’s mind went back to the little storage room she had down the corridor, next to her own bedroom, but said nothing.
“Where is my damn Gucci bag!”, Jisoo interrupted, crouching down and getting her bag. “Ok, now I’m ready to go. Wait. My panties”, she added, laughing and getting them from the floor.
Rosé got up as well.
“Uh...I should go as well, it’s dark already…”
“Wait.”, Lisa said, grabbing Rosé’s hand as she followed Jisoo out of the door. Both stared at their hands for a second too long, then looked up. Rosé was blushing again. “Do you have a place to stay?”
“Yeah, right now I’m...staying at my mom’s…”, she said slowly. “I’ll be fine, see you on Monday?”, she asked, tilting her head. From behind her, Lisa could see Jisoo giving her a thumbs up, nodding and smiling.
“Yeah, of course!”, she said then, hugging Jisoo quickly and then, after a beat of terse stillness, hugged Rosé as well before they left. The door closed, goodbyes said, and Lisa was alone in her apartment once more, a faint smell of lavender in the room and her cats meowing for attention.