Alan laid back onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling in silence. His dad didn't ask much, considering he was coming from Nicolette's house. Granted, he could tell that something was bothering his son, but he wouldn't press him until he was ready to talk. Alan knew his father's expressions enough to read what he was thinking, so he created small talk to pass the time during the drive.

In the darkness of his bedroom, his mind raced through everything that happened today. From the encounter with Thomas, the history of what he did to Jonathan after he left, the whole issue with Daniel and the fact that he was still lying to him, along with the possibility of a girl having a crush on him.

The.... fuck.... everything is coming at me at once....

He turned to lay on his stomach, burying his face into his pillow for a few seconds, before turning to the side to release a deep sigh. It felt like everything was crashing down on him, and it was only one day into the bet with Daniel. He sat up in bed quickly, turning on his bedside light to reach over to grab a notebook and pen from his nightstand drawer. He immediately wrote a list:

-Make it through the bet with Daniel.

-Tell Thomas our deal is off.

-Tell Mika I'm not interested.

-Get Thomas to go away. Forever.

-Tell Daniel the truth.

Alan looked over the list calmly, breathing a sigh once again after he closed the notebook. He grabbed his cell phone and sent a text to Nicolette.

-

The next day, Alan dressed in a similar fashion as the previous day, wearing a light blue polo, and slim fitted dark-wash jeans with a pair of white Reeboks, excluding his glasses. Of course, the stares were still there, but not as strong as yesterday. Surprisingly, Thomas did not bother him. Granted, he hadn't seen him at all the first half of the morning, nor did he get a text from him. Normally, they had classes together later in the day, so there was a strong chance that he would encounter him. He chatted with Nicolette on the bus, since she was curious to what he meant by his text message last night. He discussed his elaborate plan in detail and she agreed without hesitation, filling in any weak points with her own solutions.

Ok... just that's one item off my list. Just have to work through the rest.

The other thing he had to work on was telling Mika that he wasn't interested.

That should be pretty easy...

He caught sight of her while walking down the hallway to class and waved at her as he approached. She was dressed in a pair of red hightop Converse and a red and white striped t-shirt dress, her long black hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"Hey! How are you?" she asked, a warm smile on her face.

"Hey there... I'm good." Alan spoke politely, trying his best to mask his nervousness. "Do you have time to meet in the library at lunch? I... uh... wanted to ask you something... in private."

She blinked in surprise, a pause between them occurring before she spoke again. "Uh... sure. What time?"

"If you could, it would be nice to meet right at the start of lunch. Is... that ok?" he asked, hearing the bell ring not too long after.

"Of course, that's fine. I'll see you then." she replied happily, before walking away.

"Ok, thanks!" Alan stated as she left.

Hopefully I can let her down gently...

-

Alan waited by the library doors as soon as the bell for lunch rang. The librarian let him in before she departed for her break. He shuffled his feet a bit as he did so, an unsettled feeling in the bottom of his stomach. He looked up to see Mika running towards the doors, pushing them open once she approached.

"Sorry! I got held up in Chemistry." she said as she caught her breath.

"Oh, it's fine! I just got here myself." Alan reassured her with a smile.

"Oh... good..." She replied, before pausing. "So... um... what did you want to ask me?"

Alan's lips pursed together tightly, trying to gather his thoughts. Before he knew it, he was blurting everything out at lightning speed.

"Ok... So, I know this might sound harsh, but I wanted to tell you that while you seem like a nice girl, and you're very cute, I have no interest in you. I can tell you like me, and it's really sweet, but I'd rather just be a friend, if that's ok."

Alan stopped talking once it all came out his mouth, his lips shut tight immediately as he looked back at her. Mika stared at him blankly, taking all of that in, before she laughed loudly. Alan stood there, utterly confused.

"Wait... you think... I like you?" Mika asked between breaths of laughter.

"Uh... yeah..." Alan replied, still confused.

"Oh... NO. I don't like you. At. ALL." Mika confirmed, calming herself.

"You... don't?" Alan asked, shocked.

"Not at all. I have zero interest in you." she stated firmly, a smile on her face. "I like Daniel Lang."

Alan blinked once he heard the name, his expression showing a mixture of shock and confusion. "You... like... Daniel Lang?"

Mika smiled calmly, her arms crossing her chest. "Yes... and I know you do too."

Alan was never very great at lying once a secret was found out, his face being a dead giveaway. His eyes were huge and cheeks red as he tried to remain composed, his mouth shut tightly.

"You can't hide it from me." Mika said with a smirk. "I can see it all over you."

"W-What are you talking about?!" Alan stammered, trying to keep calm.

"Like... I can literally see it." she answered, her expression turning from very polite and friendly to slowly becoming serious. "You emit a certain color whenever he's around..."

Alan was quite lost on what she was stating, blinking as he tried to process everything. "Uh... what?"

She rolled her eyes with an annoyed sigh. "It doesn't matter. What matters now is that you drop it."

A frown came to his face. "Drop what?"

"Drop your crush on Daniel Lang." Mika replied, coldly.

Alan was now puzzled and annoyed, his expressions showing visibly. "Wait a fucking minute... first you tell me some... bullshit about how you can see that I like Daniel because of... a fucking color..."

"It's bright blue, by the way..." Mika interjected, just to see Alan wave it off.

"Now you're demanding me to STOP liking him?"

She sternly looked back at him in silence.

"Fuck outta here." Alan stated bluntly with a scoff. "Look, so you know I like him... fine. Honestly, it doesn't fucking matter anymore. I'm going to tell him myself anyway."

With that statement, Mika's face went from serious to shock. "NO. Do NOT do that!" she shouted, angrily.

Alan was taken aback by her reaction, stepping away from her slightly.

"You'll ruin everything if you do!" she stated, harshly. "I don't need you doing that. I've waited too long for this chance..."

"Too long? The fuck are you talking about? You just got here!" Alan stated, not understanding anything she was saying.

"Let me put it bluntly: If you tell him you like him, you will ruin the curse." she admitted angrily.

At that statement, Alan went from confused to attentive and fearful. "What.... what are you saying?"

Seeing that he was beginning to get suspicious, she reached out without warning and grabbed Alan's wrist, gripping it tightly. A sharp, burning feeling traveled up his arm, flowing entirely through his body. He let out a cry of pain at the sudden sensation.

"He is mine. I've waited several centuries for this moment and I finally have one last chance to make him my lover, and if I have to kill for it, then I will."

Butterflies appeared before his vision, swirling around him, red in color as they blocked out everything else around him, a loud ringing noise pulsing through his ears before everything went black and silent.