“So I was thinkin, what if people who try to change their body with magic become demons?” Isaiah suggested as we sat in the library typing out our ideas into a word document. It had been a month since we first started brainstorming our story and things were going well.

“So, like a punishment from the gods for attempting to defy their design?” 

“Yes, yes exactly!” his enthusiasm was cute, but also drew the ire of the librarian who continuously shushed him with each of his outbursts, “sorry, um, but yea that’s what I was thinkin.”

“That sounds like it could be an interesting concept, that way she can not just simply learn a spell to transform, she has to discover one that is more powerful than the gods own magic,” if we were going to be writing a setting with magic, I felt it necessary to have rules for how it worked, and that seemed like a good explanation as to why someone could not just become a girl so easily.

“Also, demons are hot, so like, that’s a plus too,” he blushed and I was reminded of what he said about us, and how our eyes were a sign that we too were demons.

“Well, you are a demon and you are cute, so perhaps you have a point,” I teased him, though only succeeded in flustering myself as I realized what I had said, “I mean… I…uh…!”

Flashing a cheeky grin he wrapped his arms around my neck and pressed his face to mine, “aww you think I’m cute,” 

“I did not mean, I just, I,” my speech became more erratic and unintelligible as he rubbed his cheek against me.

“Nah, you can’t back outta it now, you already said it,” 

his face felt so soft and warm, I did not want him to stop, but sadly the librarian put his teasing to rest as they demanded he leave the library for 'causing a ruckus'.

I saved our work, then followed after him, wearing my disappointment heavily on my face, only to find myself cheered up as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and asked me to follow him. 

We walked around the campus, continuing to discuss ideas for our story as we enjoyed the brisk autumn air. Leaves crunched beneath our feet and a distinct leafy scent wafted through the air. We were absorbed in our conversation, so much so we did not notice the sun already starting to set. It was not much of a concern, however, as curfew would still not come for another couple of hours, so we continued our stroll together till we settled at a bench on the border of the woods.

The bench sat on a little outcropping with a knee high fence wrapped around the area. It seemed to serve as a little outlook spot, meant to give a view of the woods that lead down the mountain towards the city far below. It was a quaint little place, isolated from the often congested quad of the main campus. Overall, a perfectly comfy place for us to sit and talk some more.

"So we got all the ideas down, when should we start writin?"

"Hmm, I suppose we could begin penning an outline that could then become a first draft," I pressed my finger to my lower lip as I thought, "do you think that we should change the protagonist's name?"

He cocked his head and frowned, "why? Isn't the point it's supposed to be like a sequel to fairy dust?"

"Yes, but we of course do not own the copyright to the story or characters, so perhaps it should exist as a sort of 'spiritual successor' as opposed to a hard sequel," as much as I loved the idea of working with the characters from my favorite novel, I also considered that writing an original story would potentially be a better creative experience.

“I mean people do it all the time,” he argued, “it’s called fanfiction, ya know?”

I did not know, “fan fiction? You mean to say people make stories based on other writers stories?”

His face glowed with excitement, “you mean you’ve never read fanfiction before? Like ever?” I shook my head and he grabbed my hand, “I gotta show ya my favorite website!” his excitement melted into disappointment when he remembered that we had been kicked out the library, “guess that’s gonna have to wait, it is gettin pretty late anyways.”

“Should we head back to our room?” being roommates of course meant we could easily continue our discussion there, but I felt as though there was a reason Isaiah had brought me out to that little spot. He did not answer, not right away at least, he simply stared off into the distance, gazing down at the gold and amber trees that ran for miles separating the campus from the city. I imagined him getting lost within those woods in his own mind, plotting his escape from the school that acted as our prison. Or perhaps it was the city lights that he had been watching, longing to return home safe and sound, leaving me and this dreadful school behind. No, not leaving me, he would take me with him, that I was certain of. Honestly, I was not sure what it was he was thinking, perhaps I was simply projecting onto him, but either way he sat there in a long silent state of contemplation. I was also transfixed, no longer on the gorgeous scenery, but on a much closer, more attainable goal. As he gazed off in the distance, I rested my own gaze on him, losing time till at last he broke the silence. 

“Bonbon,” he said my name dreamily

“What is it, Isaiah?”

“I think I’m…”

“Yes, what is it?” I clung to his words, holding my breath as I awaited him to say more.

“I think,” his smile faded and he paused, “I think I’m ready to go back now.”

Disappointment crawled down my spine, though I am unsure why. With a heavy sigh I dropped my head and turned, “alright, we should go then.” We returned together, our walk home quiet and long.

As night rolled over into morning, I felt a little bitter for whatever opportunity my heart believed we had missed. Sourness stained my morning routine, as I reluctantly readied myself for the start of a new week of classes. Even the reminder that the semester was coming to an end and we would soon be on break could not liven up my mood.

Blasé, bland, and even a tad cranky, I trudged over to the cafe, Isaiah following close behind.

“Bonbon, wait up!” He ran to catch up to me, “you just steamrolled right outta the room this mornin, I almost missed ya.” He seemed oblivious to my crabbiness, and perhaps that was for the better. I still had not even understood why I was upset to begin with. Slowly jogging backwards beside me, he assaulted me with his cute enthusiastic smile, slowly melting my icy heart. “So, you ready for finals?”

And the icy wall inside me that he had just destroyed, erected itself once more, “no, not at all!” I had spent so much time with Isaiah that I had entirely neglected studying, months of homework and reading just left unfinished as I fooled around with my best friend. 

“Me either, but I’m sure we got this,” he was so brazenly confident, it was almost inspiring, “I mean fencin is gonna be a breeze at least,” of course the one class he enjoyed would be nothing to worry about for him.

“And what of scriptural studies? Economics? General studies and history?” Panic began to set in as I realized that a whole quarter of the year was almost over and I had very little learned knowledge to show for it.

“You’re smart, I’m pretty sure you can bull shit your way through them,” 

“Gee, thanks Isaiah,” I rolled my eyes, “I am a prince, I can not simply ‘Bull defecate’ my way through anything in life.”

He laughed hysterically, nearly tripping over as he corrected the direction of his body, “Defecate? What? That’s hilarious Bonbon!” He wiped droplets from his eyes as his laughter slowed, “do you just not cuss, like at all?”

I pursed my lips and huffed, “I was raised to be propper, foul language is not befitting a prince,” the truth is, my father cursed like a sailor, though I was never allowed. Even without him close by to punish me, the fear kept my language in check. Returning to the topic at hand, “are you not afraid of failing, Isaiah?”

“Nah, I’ll be fine. Studyin has never been my thing anyway,” I wish I could have been as carefree as he was, it had to be a wonderfully dull way to live. “I believe in ya Bonbon,” while I had far less faith in myself, his smile and kind words did a lot to cheer me up.

“Thank you, Isaiah, you are a great boyfriend,” I sighed dreamily.

“Huh, what was that?” He did a double take as he came to an immediate stop, “Bonbon, can you repeat that last part for me?”

“Huh, all I said was thank you,” I kept my cool, for once I did not let myself get flustered by my own mistaken choice of words.

“No, after that,” he was not letting me get off the hook that easily.

“You are a great best friend,” not technically a lie, I did earnestly believe that.

“Mhmm, yeah, okay,” his suspicious glean in his eyes told me he would not be forgetting this anytime soon.

Luckily for me, we soon found ourselves in the cafe, where he quickly became distracted by breakfast. It was far too cold for us to eat at our usual spot in the courtyard, so we chose to sit at the most isolated table we could find. While devouring a bowl of oatmeal, two muffins, a hardboiled egg, and a hashbrown, Isaiah explained to me the plot of his favorite fanfiction. All the while I simply nodded and ate my rice porridge. 

“So they enter into a battle of the bands against another maid cafe, but Cupcake learns that Adella girl that kept following her around was actually from this other cafe, so she feels conflicted cause she likes her but their two cafes are bitter rivals,” he managed to say with mouthfuls of the various foods he had grabbed, “but like she then starts to suspect Adella was just tryin to sabotage them, and so they break up, but like she genuinely did love her.”

“That is all very fascinating, Isaiah, but I will be honest, my mind has never moved on from the midterms,” I hated to be so blunt with him, especially because he was so cute when he hyper fixated on a topic he was passionate about.

A little deflated, he finished a gulp of food and apologized, “you want me to stop talkin, don’tcha?”

“No, not at all, I just am having trouble following the conversation,” Had I been in a better mood for conversing, I am sure I would have loved the story he was describing, even if he was not the best at giving summaries.

“Oh, speakin of midterms, what are you gonna do after?”

“After?”

“Ya know, for winter break?” I actually had not thought about it till he asked. While students were welcome to stay, we were encouraged to go home and spend the winter celebrations with our family. Though calling it a celebration in my home was a bit of a stretch, as far as my father was concerned it was no different a week than any other. “If you don’t got plans, maybe you can come stay with me and my mah?”

“I thought you were an orphan?” I certainly could have worded that better, but it seemed he did not mind, he simply laughed it off, “I am sorry, that was rude of me.”

“Nah, nah, you’re funny Bonbon, and like you’re right,” his laughter subsided and he cleared his throat, “but yeah, I was adopted so she’s not like my birth mom or anythin like that. She’s really cool though, and I bet you’d like her!”

I considered the offer for a moment, and something silly popped into my brain, “you want to bring home your girlfriend to meet your mother?” I wanted to tease him, but thought better of it and instead said, “I would not want to impose on you,”

“You wouldn’t be imposin at all!” he wasted no time in responding, “my mah wouldn’t mind, and I obviously wouldn’t mind either, so what’cha say?” he looked at me, pleading with his eye, an adorable expectant grin on his face. 

It was impossible for me to say no, “if your mother is fine with it, then I will certainly consider your offer,” my answer seemed to send sparks of joy into him, eliciting an even bigger brighter smile from him as he did a cute little dance in his seat.

“First we crush those exams, and then later we get a whole couple of weeks to hang out without any kinda classes pressurin us,” while I could not quite match his enthusiasm, I did now feel as if I had something to look forward to, and that alone would help me power my way through the midterm exams.