When Marie refused to talk to Maisey, she’d let it go. The one time she and Tobias had broken up, over a stupid disagreement at that, she hadn’t wanted to talk to anyone either. But skipping school and ignoring her texts after a week was going too far.

  Maisey sat down at their lunch table, watching as Luc walked away. “She’s still not sitting with us?”

  “You did help her girlfriend lie to her and you haven’t really apologized for it,” Mason said, barely looking up from his food. “Do you expect her to want to sit with you?”

  Maisey bit down on the inside of her cheek, staring at the door Luc had disappeared through. “Marie isn’t talking to me either.”

  “Oh, look at that, it’s the consequences of your own actions,” Mason said, looking up at her. “Seriously, you could have just stayed out of it, and everything would have been fine.”

  “Getting Luc the apartment wasn’t my idea, I just helped.”

  “I don’t think Luc cares about that distinction,” Tobias said. “Maybe try actually apologizing?”

  Maisey sighed, sinking down into her seat as his words sank in. She had no intention of taking credit for the whole mess, but she had to admit that she’d had some small part in it. Even if she thought they were both being stupid.

  “You’re right,” she said. “I’ll apologize, and see what I can do to fix it.”

  “Don’t meddle more,” Tobias said, shooting her a look.

  “How is that meddling? I just hate seeing them like this.”

  “I do too, but I don’t think this is something we can just fix. They’ll have to figure it out on their own.”

  “And if they don’t?”

  “Then they don’t.”

  “That’s not a good answer,” Maisey said. “What’s going to happen to Gadget, Limit, and Fold if they don’t get back together? The fans are already asking where we’ve been!”

  It was true. When Tobias had asked her to run Luc’s socials, she’d done it as a favor, only to find it was something she truly enjoyed. Posting videos and getting hundreds of likes and comments was so much fun, and now waking up to people asking where they’d all been made her wish she had something to tell them.

  “Right, because that’s the important thing here.” Mason shook his head as he stood up. “Maybe focus less on being funny for once, and more on the real people in your life. I’m pretty sure they matter more than your fans.”

  Maisey watched her brother go, gut twisting and killing her appetite.

  “I really fucked up, didn’t I?” she said, cocking her head to the side as she looked at her boyfriend.

  He reached across the table, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “Not so much that you can’t come back from it. You just got a little carried away, is all.”

  “I just wanted Luc to have a place to stay,” Maisey said, staring down at their entwined hands. She’d watched Luc distantly for years, watched her struggle, getting pale and tired by the day, always working. After all her hard work, she didn’t deserve to be out on the streets. Nobody did.

  “I think you should go explain all of this to Luc,” Tobias said.

  “And Marie too, probably,” Maisey said. “I thought she knew about Luc getting paid to be her rival.”

  She said goodbye to Tobias with a kiss and rose from the table in search of Luc. She reached for her magic and tapped into her web of spies as she walked, pieces of origami she’d left all around the school. With their help, she was able to find Luc, tucked away in the carpentry classroom despite not taking the class.

  Maisey knocked against the door frame as she stepped over the threshold. Luc looked up, then sharply away at the sight of her.

  “What do you want?” she snapped.

  “I came to apologize,” Maisey said, stepping further into the abandoned classroom. It wasn’t exactly an invitation, but she took it as one. If Luc had really wanted her to leave, she would have said as much.

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  “Great, thanks.”

  “No, really,” Maisey said. She pulled out a chair, sitting down opposite Luc. She had a few scraps of wood in front of her, and a half built birdhouse to her left. Had she put that together over the course of their lunch period? “I’m sorry for lying to you, and helping Marie lie to you. It wasn’t fair to you. But I’m also not sorry that you have the apartment, and if you want to be angry at me for it, that’s okay, but you deserve nice things.”

  “Why do you care so much?” Luc asked, shaking her head. “What does it matter to you whether I have an apartment or not?”

  “Because you’re my friend, Luc,” Maisey said, giving her head a little shake. Could Luc really not see how much people cared about her? “Of course I don’t want you on the streets, or living in your car. Marie didn’t either. It’s why Tobias offered to let you stay with him, and why we tried to find you a place to live.”

  “I would have been fine.”

  “Sure, probably, eventually,” Maisey said. “But none of us wanted to sit there and do nothing and watch you continue to struggle. I know I’ve watched that for long enough, and if we could do something about it, why wouldn’t we?”

  “You could have just told me,” Luc muttered.

  “Would you have listened?”

  “Doesn’t matter now,” Luc said. “But… no, I probably wouldn’t have. I’m sorry for that, I guess.”

  “You are pretty stubborn sometimes,” Maisey said, cracking a smile. “It’s one of the things we love about you.”

  “I’m sure,” Luc deadpanned. She stayed silent for a moment before glancing up at Maisey. “Do you want to do a job later?”

  “I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be helpful,” Maisey said. “Not like Marie.”

  Luc flinched as the name left her mouth. “Have you… heard from her at all?” she asked, staring down at the table.

  “No, but I’m going to check on her after school,” Maisey said.

  “Will you make sure she’s okay? I…” Luc trailed off, shaking her head. “Just make sure she’s okay. I haven’t seen her take any jobs, or come to school, or anything.”

  Maisey nodded as she rose from the table. “I’ll let her know you were asking about her.”

  ******

  Maisey knocked on the Blanchet’s front door, her only greeting Nice barking from inside. She knocked again, then glanced around. Marie was home, but the Commissioner wasn’t. If he was, he’d have let her in already.

  As the barking quieted inside, she sighed and reached for her pocket. She’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t prepared.

  She pulled a small square of paper out of her pocket, deft fingers folding it down into the rough shape of a key. There was no way a paper key alone would be able to unlock the door, but that was what magic was for.

  Funneling a bit of magic into the paper, she shoved it into the lock, feeling as the paper continued to fold itself and adjust inside the doorknob until the lock clicked and released.

  Nice started up again as she shoved inside, tail wagging furiously as he ran up to her. She reached down, scratching between the dog’s ears and huge top knot for a moment before glancing around.

  “Where’s Marie?” she asked the dog.

  He yipped and turned in place, pointing his nose toward the stairs. He didn’t start moving until Maisey followed him, guiding her up the stairs to Marie’s bedroom, the door firmly shut.

  Maisey raised a fist and knocked loudly. “Marie, open up. I’m tired of you ignoring me.”

  No response, except Nice’s whine.

  She looked down at the dog. “Has she been ignoring you too?”

  He whined again and scratched at the door.

  “Well, that settles it.” She pulled the paper key back out, pressing it to the lock. A faint bit of magic trickled into the paper as it shifted and changed shape once again, until it could fit securely into the lock.

  She turned the key, unlocking the door and stepping inside.

  Marie’s bedroom was dark, lit only by the glow of her phone. It illuminated the dry tear streaks on her face as Marie twisted in bed, glaring at her.

  “Go away.”

  “No chance,” Maisey said. Nice hopped onto the bed and she did the same, dropping onto the end of it. “It’s been a week. You can’t keep ignoring everyone. Look how sad your dog is!”

  Marie glanced his way and sighed, then reached a hand out toward him. She laid it on his head, then squeezed her eyes shut. “There’s just no point.”

  “Of course there is,” Maisey said with a sigh. “Luc doesn’t hate you. She even asked me to check in on you.”

  Marie perked up for a moment, eyes lighting up, before she looked away. “Probably just to be sure I’m not going to show up to any of her jobs. Tell her not to worry. I’m done with magical girl work.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Yes, I am,” Marie said, the words firm. “I’m done. I just want to be normal.”

  “Normal is overrated. Don’t just quit. Quitters never win, and never get the girl.”

  “The girl doesn’t want me,” Marie snapped. “And she never did. It was all a lie because my father decided to pay someone to be my rival.”

  “Sure, but he didn’t pay her to be your friend, or girlfriend,” Maisey pointed out. “All of that meant something. To both of you.”

  Marie rolled over, her next words muffled into her pillow. “Not enough, apparently.”

  Maisey let out a sigh as she stared at the depressed magical girl. Just how was she supposed to get these two back together if Marie didn’t even want to try?