As he usually did when Daphne was getting ready for a date, Justin sat on her bed and played critic. Actually, he agreed with whatever she said. It was safer that way. He was still young and he had no intention of spending his college years as a frog. Literally. Of course, he could cast a counter spell. If he were using his powers. But he wasn’t. So he played nice because she was using hers and she was volatile when she was horny.

”So what about this?’ Lace tunic and jeans, pink sparkly flip-flops. “Or this?” A little bounce and her outfit changed to a flowery, sleeveless dress paired with aqua sandals. “Or what about this?” Bounce. Black crop pants and a blue spaghetti strap top. She shook her head. Bounce. “This.” Pink two-patterned skirt and a matching button-up hoodie. Bounce—

”Daph!” Justin caught her mid-change, bra and a pair of Bermuda shorts. “Okay, definitely not the shorts. Everything else looked great.”

She changed back to the pink outfit.

”So who is this guy?”

”Six one, blond hair, green eyes.”

”I asked who he is not what he is.”

With a shrug. “Just some guy.” Her eyes brightened. “With a really big—“

”Daphne!” Justin fell back on her bed. “I don’t want to hear this.”

”You should think about getting a big cock of your own.”

”Have one,” he reminded her.

”That’s attached to another guy.”

He covered his face with a frilly, fuchsia throw pillow and murmured, “I don’t want to hear this.”

”You need to get laid,” she said before sitting down in front of a mirror to apply her makeup. It was one thing she didn’t trust to magic. Hair either. One bad spell and a week of neon green eye shadow had convinced her of the virtue of doing it by hand.

”Not everybody’s as concerned about getting laid as you are.”

”You wouldn’t even have to use your powers,” she told him, a definite plus as he was still being all high and mighty and virtuous about a little abuse of power. She suspected the real reason was the fact that his nose twinkled when he was working a spell. “You’re hot. You’ve got amazing hair and a great ass. Any gay guy would want you.”

”I don’t want just any guy.”

Rolling her eyes, she grumbled, “Here we go again.”

”I want someone special.”

”I’m just looking for an available hole,” Brian announced. A guy passing by paused. “Not yours.” Disappointed, the guy moved on.

”Had him?” asked Em.

”No, he’s got crabs. Saw him scratching at the gym.”

The guys all shivered.

”You know,” began Mikey, “it wouldn’t hurt you to slow down. You drink too much.”

”Snort too much,” added Em.

”And fuck too much,” said Ted.

”You think more than once a month is too much,” snapped Brian.

”Still,” continued MIkey, “don’t you think it’d be nice to settle down with just one guy?”

”Why? When there are so many to choose from.” He honed in on a likely prospect, hazel eyes fixed on his prey. The guy sauntered over as if it had been his idea to do so.

”Hey.”

”Enough of the small talk. Let’s fuck.”

The guy grinned. “You got it.”

Brian gave him the once over. “I’m definitely going to get it,” and they walked off leaving Brian’s friends to talk about him in his absence.

”Prick,” mumbled Ted.

”Stop being such a dickhead.”

Justin laughed. “You’ve got dick on the brain, Daph.”

”There’s nothing wrong with dick. If you can get it. And you can get it. So go out and get it!” she said, shoving him and giving a little bounce at the same time.

Justin blinked and realized he was no longer in their cramped and overly bright apartment. He was, instead, standing in the middle of the sidewalk. A drag queen wearing a huge, silver wig and a silver lame dress was swaying on six inch heels and staring at him. She looked like a demented fairy. No pun intended. “Must have been bad E. Fuckin’ Anita.” Tottered on.

”Fuckin’ Daphne.” Justin wrapped his arms around his body. He wasn’t exactly cold, just feeling exposed and naked. He had to be best friends with the world’s biggest busybody. A busybody who also happened to be a witch. Of course, so was he. A warlock, technically. But whereas Daphne delighted in pulling pranks on hapless folks and conjuring up designer outfits for free, he preferred to work for his clothes and to live his life without the benefit of magic. All he really wanted was to be an ordinary college student. Daphne sometimes teased him, calling him Pinocchio. “You want to be a real boy.” Bitch. He just wanted to be like everybody else. It was bad enough that he was gay and an artist, which isolated him from most kids, but a warlock too? It was too much.

”Hey, sweetheart, how about coming home with me?”

Startled, he looked up to see some hairy guy in leather salivating over him. He’d forgotten where he was for a moment he was so busy counting grievances against Daphne. “Ah, no thanks.”

”Suit yourself.” The big bad wolf went off in search of dumber prey.

Laughter bubbled up from his chest. As long as he was on Liberty Avenue, he might as well have a look around and enjoy himself. Who knew? Maybe he’d meet Prince Charming out here on the street. He snickered. More like the Frog Prince.

Seeing Brian stalking from out of the backroom with a scowl on his face, Michael said, “That was fast.”

”Had a fuckin’ tongue like sandpaper. Felt like I was getting blown by a cat.”

Ted laughed. “Brian Kinney fucking pussy. Say it isn’t so.”

”If it were so, you’d have a shot at getting fucked by me.”

Soothing Teddy by rubbing his back, Em played peacemaker. “Retract the claws, girls, and let’s go eat. I’m starving.”

After nearly being devoured by some troll who called him chicken and told him to go home, Justin was feeling less and less certain about his adventure in Queer Land. Maybe he’d be better off going home and—

No one could say just what happened. Not even Michael and he was the closest one to Brian, emotionally and physically as, at the moment, he was about to get into the Vette with Brian and head to the Diner for some food. Of course, Brian wouldn’t have eaten anything; he only came along for the company. In any case, they were about to get into the car when Brian stopped and locked eyes with Justin. Not that they knew his name was Justin. At the time he was just some kid. Some blond kid leaning against a street light.

Leaving Mikey at the Vette, Brian walked over and began to work his magic. Next thing the guys knew they were piling into Teddy’s compact car and heading for Losersville sans Brian.

And Brian was on his way home with a bright, blond package in the passenger seat. One he was definitely looking forward to unwrapping. Might even take all night. Especially if the kid was as good in bed as he was good-looking.

Four hours later, he didn't have to wonder. He could hardly catch his breath. Justin had worn him out. There wasn't a spot on his body that didn't ache. Pleasurably. Definitely the right decision dumping the guys and the Diner and having a cream-filled twinkie at home instead. As Brian yawned, said twinkie opened his eyes and smiled. He really did have a beautiful— "Okay, you need to go." If he was getting sappy about some guy, it was definitely Hit the Road Time.

Justin frowned. Leaving apparently hadn't been in his plans. "But I thought—"

"It's after midnight, Sunshine, the coach has officially turned back into a pumpkin and the dance is over."

"We were having such a good time."

"And, now, we're done."

Seemingly resigned to the fact, Justin threw back the covers and began searching for his clothes.

Brian tried not to watch him as he covered his pale skin with blue jeans and a cotton jersey. Had the Gap written all over the tags. He shuddered. As soon as Justin had tied the laces on his sneakers, Brian began counting to three, waiting for…

"When can I see you again?"

Never failed. "You can't."

"But—"

"No buts. And no repeats. I've had you. So go find someone else to play with." Waving Justin off with a languorous hand, he closed his eyes and hoped the kid would take the hint. Pretty or not, a good—okay, great—fuck or not, Brian Kinney had a few rules he lived by and number one was Brian Kinney didn't do love or boyfriends. "Bye now," he called as Justin slid open the door to the loft.

What the hell had just happened? Justin stared at the grey metal door in shock. He'd gone home with Brian, gotten fucked to within an inch of his life, and was then unceremoniously told to fuck off. He started to pull the door back open but it was as if there was a force field preventing him from doing so. Son of a bitch. So furious was he that his nose twinkled and he winked out of existence by the door and reappeared at home. Fuck! He hadn't used his powers for years and he'd just broken a private vow all because of one asshole with a cock. A really nice cock. A pretty spectacular cock. Shit. He plopped down on the couch and cradled his head. He was going to kill Daphne. But in the meantime, he was going to find something to eat.

When Daphne came home he was still sitting on the couch only now he was surrounded by empty ice cream cartons, empty beer cans, and empty potato chip, nachos, and pretzel bags. "That bad, huh?" she asked.

"A fuckin' disaster on the scale of the Iraqi War."

"Sorry. I was so sure you'd get laid."

His eyes widened. "Get laid? Get laid?"

"Yeah."

"I got laid all right. I got fucked so many times I didn't think I'd be able to walk. And then the fucker told me to get out."

"Wait, you got laid?" she asked, clearing a space among the empty snack bags.

"Didn't you hear me? He told me to get out."

"But you did get laid first."

"Daphne." Justin fell back against the sofa. She just didn't understand.

Plucking at the front of his shirt, she said, "So tell me."

"I hate when you do that," he told her. And she didn't even need to use her powers to read his mind, she just knew him that well.

"Anyway," she prompted.

"I really like him," he said after a moment. "God, Daphne, he’s so hot. He has the most amazing hazel eyes, only they're not just hazel, they're brown with flecks of gold and green—"

"Sounds like hazel to me."

"And he's tall, like six two, six three, and has the most perfect body and his lips, fuck, his lips are incredible."

"And his cock?"

"Unbelievable."

She shrugged. "It happens. The best fucks are usually the biggest assholes." She slapped his knee and prepared to get up and go to bed. "Oh well, least you got laid."

"I think I love him," he murmured.

Like a whip she had turned around. "You what?"

"I said I think I love him."

"You don’t love him, you're just dick dazzled."

"Am not."

"You wouldn't be the first." Which was true. And she'd know all about it as she'd fallen head over head with the first guy she'd slept with: Justin. Although she'd already been a little in love with him since they were ten so it was understandable. Still, it was an embarrassing period in their history which they rarely spoke of. "What you need is to find another guy, get laid again, and then find another guy and get laid again."

"I don't want another guy." He paused. "I want him."

"Oh good grief." Shaking her head she left him on the sofa. He'd get over it. Or she'd kill him.

By the time they'd finished breakfast, killing him was looking like a viable option. He hadn't said a word, just did his best impression of a Romantic poet expiring from love. John Keats redeux. Only Fanny was a fag. Tired of hearing him sigh, she threw down her spoon and said, "Maybe you should talk to him. Maybe he was having a bad night."

"He said he didn't do repeats."

"Yikes." Picked up her spoon again and twiddled with it. It helped her think. "Then I guess you'd better get used to your right hand again."

"Daph!"

It was the best she could come up with on short notice. "Sorry."

Looking shifty-eyed, Justin hemmed and hawed and then said, "I'm thinking about casting a spell."

She nearly choked on a spoonful of cereal. "What? Mr. I-Wouldn't-Wipe-My-Ass-With-Magic-Cause-It's-Wrong?"

"It is wrong. It's a waste of power."

"But tricking some guy into liking you is all right?"

"You've done it."

"No. I've made myself look gorgeous, which isn't hard to do since I am but I have never made a guy like me if he didn't."

"You don't have to approve." After all he didn't approve of her frivolous use of power but it didn't stop her from conjuring up Kate Spade bags out of thin air.

"I'm just warning you. You haven't done any spell casting in a long time. You're rusty."

"I got home all right."

"Getting home and making someone fall in love with you are two different things. I'm telling you, forget about this guy and move on." But she could see by the look in his eyes that he was going to do anything but.

Still, something of what she said must have penetrated the love fog around his head. "What if I don't cast a love spell? What if I cast a spell that makes him want to spend time with me?"

"If that's all you want, why not find out where he hangs out and hang out there too? Where'd you meet?"

"Outside of this club."

"There you go. Go to the club and get him to notice you."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Try something else." Duh.

"Like the spell?"

She could tell she wasn't going to win this one. "Okay. If you try to get his attention and he blows you off again, I will help you with the spell myself. Good enough?"

Justin leapt from his seat and hugged her. "I love you, Daphne. Will you come with me?"

"To a gay club? Way to pick up guys, with your fag hag hanging on your arm," she said as she got up to put away her dirty dishes.

"You could walk a discreet ten paces behind."

"Asshole!" She bopped him on the head and laughed.

They were standing just inside the doorway of Babylon and Daphne thought she was going to have to cast a spell just to get Justin further inside the club. He'd stopped like he'd hit a brick wall or something.

"I'm okay," he muttered.

"Then move. We're blocking the door."

That got him to move. Just a few feet further inside before he stopped. To the side. Out of the way of foot traffic.

"Justin."

"I just… I want him to like me."

"Well, he won't like you if he never sees you and, at this rate, the only way he's going to see you is when he's on his way out the door. Now, come on!" she commanded and she pulled on his arm, dragging him down the stairs to the dance floor. He paused halfway down. "Justin—"

"There he is."

"Where?"

"There. The tall guy with the black shirt leaning up against the bar. He's standing next to some short guy with dark hair."

Daphne zeroed in on the man who fit the bill and did he ever. "Wow. He's hot."

"Told you."

"Too bad he's gay."

"Get your own stud," he told her, jostling her with his arm.

"Not in here," she said, looking around at all the gorgeous guys. Dancing with the other gorgeous guys. "Why'd I agree to this again?"

"Cause you like ogling half-naked guys no matter their sexual orientation."

She brightened. "That's right." She got an idea. "Hey, I could change into a guy, just for the night."

"Green neon eye shadow." That was their code for 'Not a good idea'.

" 'Nough said. I like guys and all but I don't want to be a guy twenty-four seven." Nudging him in the back, she said, "Well, go over there and say something to him."

"Daph, I can't do that. He'll think I'm stalking him or something."

"Well, aren't you? That is the reason we're here, isn't it? So that you can make contact, make conversation, make out."

Justin's heart began to beat out a salsa rhythm. "I need a drink."

"Okay, one drink. You get silly when you're drunk."

Five drinks later and Justin had passed silly about a drink and a half back. In the middle of saying something utterly profound and abysmally inane to Daphne, he stopped talking and took out his cell phone. "Hello? Hello?"

"Justin, your phone didn't ring."

"Wrong number," he said and hung up.

"Okay, time to go."

He protested. "But I didn't get to talk to Brian."

"And you're not going to either, not like this."

"You're not the boss of me," he said and he pulled out of her grip and nearly fell down. "Hey, look," he told her doing the move again, "I can dance like… Michael Jackson in The Whiz. I'm the Scarecrow." And he did it again, only he was no where near as coordinated as his liquor addled brain imagined and he got his feet tangled up and fell down. "Somebody tripped me," he moaned from the floor.

Daphne helped him up. "Pitiful. Let's go, Savion."

"Let's fly," he told her.

A guy looked over, tut tutting. "Bad acid trip."

"We are not flying," Daphne said and gripped his arm even tighter. "Behave."

"You're not—"

"I know, I'm not the boss of you."

Although it was a relatively short walk from the club to where her car was parked, Daphne was seriously tempted to just bounce them there but, finally, they got there and she managed to get the door opened and Justin poured inside. Definitely was going to bounce him to their apartment though. No way was she pulling him up two flights of stairs.

Justin couldn't figure out why members of the Lollipop Gang from Munchkinland were singing and dancing in his room. Then he realized that they weren't in his room, just in his head. "Ooo," he moaned, "what the fuck did I have?"

"Five shots of tequila." Daphne came into his room carrying a cup of coffee which she handed to him. "Told you that stuff was evil."

He accepted the mug gratefully if gingerly. "Did I talk to Brian?"

"No, but you tried to make out with a telephone pole."

"Did not."

She snorted. "It was the only thing you didn't do. And, newsflash: you cannot dance like Michael Jackson in The Whiz but you can fall down like a reasonable facsimile."

Taking a sip of coffee, Justin suddenly smiled despite the queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. "So you'll help me?"

"I'll help you. Cause you're pitiful."

"Yea," he whispered before rushing for the bathroom. The Munchkins were back and they'd brought reinforcements for his stomach.

Wrinkling his nose, Justin complained, "Did we really need all this shit?"

"Yes."

"Lucky for us there's a bodega and a Chinese herbalist in our neighborhood. I don't think Giant Eagle's down the street would have had dried newt toes in stock."

"Laugh it up, Fun Boy, you have to drink this when I'm done."

"No fuckin' way."

"Way. How did you think it was going to work?"

Guess he hadn't. Shit. It smelled foul and would no doubt taste even worse. He just had to think of the outcome: Brian spending time with him. He'd do anything for that to happen. Even drink a tea made from dried newt toes. "Can you put some sugar in it?"

"What for?"

"Everything tastes better with sugar."

"Trust me, you could put a pound of sugar in this and it wouldn't taste any better. That's part of it. To test your resolve."

"Or your lack of taste buds."

She gave the potion a final stir. "Okay, it's cooled. Bottoms up."

Giving the drink the evil eye, Justin muttered, "That's where I'm hoping it'll be after this." His bottom, up in the air, getting royally fucked. Oh. Yeah. He screwed up his face, squeezed his eyes shut, and then knocked back the tea. Swallowed and screamed.

"What?" asked Daphne in a panic, afraid that it hadn't cooled enough and he'd scalded his throat.

"It was even worse than you said."

Daphne slapped his arm. "Ass-hole. Just for that, you're cleaning up. Now," she ordered, "do your little nose twinkling thing."

He did. It always embarrassed him to see it light up, even though most people wouldn't have noticed, the sparkle was so small and flashed so quickly. He felt like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. "So how do I know if it's working?"

"When Brian shows up at our door with a bouquet of roses."

Justin grinned, then the grin faded. "But, Daph, he doesn't know where I live. I don't even think he knows my last name."

She shook her head. "It's magic, doofus, and magic will find a way. Now, go to class."

"I thought I had to clean—"

"Go to class." The sooner he left, the sooner she could do her little bounce and have everything back in order. There were lots of advantages to being a witch.

Looking out at the fat cats seated around the conference table, Brian began to go over some projected sales figures when suddenly he had an overwhelming desire to see Justin, the twink from three nights ago. Granted the boy was hot but still, he never thought about tricks in the middle of a business meeting, especially one as important as this one. Brown’s Athletics was one of Kinnetik’s biggest clients and fucking up a meeting with them would not be in his company’s best interests and, therefore, not in his best interests. Pushing Justin from his mind (and surprised that he even remembered the teenager’s name), Brian turned his attention to the figures in front of him once more and started to speak when the urge to stand up gripped him. So he did.

Everyone’s eyes swiveled towards him.

”I…”

Ted and Cynthia looked concerned. “Bri?” asked Ted, standing as well. “Are you okay?” he whispered.

Fighting the urge to flee, Brian attempted to sit back down but the need to see Justin overcame him and he pulled Ted aside. “I need to go,” he explained which, of course, explained nothing.

”To the bathroom?”

”No,” through clenched teeth, “I need to leave the building.”

”In the middle of our meeting?”

By now their clients’ curiosity and concern was metamorphosing into annoyance.

”Yes,” he replied. “You have to finish the meeting.”

”Finish?” sputtered Ted. “We haven’t even started.”

”Even better.” He didn’t care. All he cared about was getting to Justin. To his clients, he said, “Excuse me but I have to leave.”

”Are you feeling all right?” asked Cynthia.

”Actually, I’m not feeling like myself at all.” That said, he whipped around the partition to his office, grabbed his cell, and tried to remember everything Justin had mentioned about himself as he walked through the office and out to his car. By the time he got there he recalled two things: Justin was an art student and he attended PIFA. It was a miracle. Now, if he could only find him.

Tires squealing as he pulled into Guest Parking, Brian quickly fed the meter and went in search of the twink. Snagging the first student he spotted, he got directions to the Art Building. Then some dreamy-eyed girl gave him directions to the studios. Hoping Justin was in one and not in class, he began checking each and every one. No Justin. No Justin. Wait. Right height but the hair was wrong. Not Justin. Not Justin. Not. Fuck.

He’d gone through every studio with no luck. Which left the classrooms. Screwing up his courage, he was just about to head upstairs when he spotted a familiar head of blond hair. “Justin!” he called and the teen stopped, shocked to see him. He could tell from the way Justin nearly jumped out of his skin.

”Brian?”

”Hey,” he said as he sauntered up to the young art student.

Then out came that smile. “Hey.”

Justin felt like jumping up and down. It had worked! The spell had worked! And, God, Brian looked fuckin’ hot in business drag. That suit had to be Armani or Boss. And it had worked! The spell had worked and he was here and he was saying something but Justin was so excited he hadn’t heard a word but it didn’t matter all he had to do was nod and Brian smiled and gestured towards the exit. So what if he had a Modernism class in twenty minutes? Fuck it. Brian was here and they were going someplace else.

Once they were in Brian’s car, Justin endeavored to actually listen to what the man was actually saying which was difficult as he kept getting lost in his raspberry colored lips or his hazel eyes or his hands. Being an artist, Justin had a thing about hands and Brian’s hands were worthy of a series of paintings, a plethora of sketches, a museum full of sculptures.

”So that sound okay to you?”

”Huh?”

Brian laughed. “I said does lunch at my place sound okay? We can order in.”

”Sounds great.” Justin turned away and squeezed his eyes shut in excitement. Lunch at the loft. Oh. Yeah. “What?” He realized Brian had been saying something.

”I said tell me about yourself.”

Blushing, Justin wanted to ooze out of existence. Brian had to think he was either retarded or hard of hearing. He was neither, of course. Just horny. And Brian’s question had taken him off guard. After all, this was the same guy who had kicked him out of his bed a few days ago. “Tell you about myself?”

”Yeah. What do you do?”

Brian could tell that Justin was nervous and he didn’t blame him. Considering he’d kicked him out of the loft a few days ago for smiling, the kid had a right to be a little disconcerted. But Brian fully intended to rectify the situation. What had he been thinking? To kick this delectable morsel out of his bed? Already he could feel his cock stirring just imagining all the ways he was going to fuck him. After they’d talked.

”Well,” said Justin, “I got to PIFA.”

With a grin, Brian said, “I think we’ve established that.” The boy blushed again and Brian thought he’d never seen anything so cute. Except maybe Gus when he wanted something and turned his big, hazel eyes on him. Then again, he was a pushover when it came to Gus. “What are you studying?” Brian clarified.

”Oh, graphic arts. I’m thinking about becoming a computer animator when I graduate but right now I’m learning to do a little bit of everything.”

”What’s your favorite?”

”Life drawings,” he said with a slight smile.

Brian figured he was thinking about drawing some hot, hunky guy. Maybe even him. So he said, “How’d you like to draw me one of these days?” and the answering flush of pink across Justin’s cheeks confirmed his belief.

They were quiet the rest of the way to the loft except when Brian flipped open his cell to phone in their order at his favorite Thai place. Luckily, by the time they got to Tremont fifteen minutes later, their food was ready for pickup. Slipping out of the ‘vette for a moment, Brian went in the restaurant and paid for the order, then hopped back in the car and handed the bags to Justin. Wouldn’t be long now.

Inside the loft, Brian plated the food, grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge, and he and Justin sat at the dining table making small talk: the weather, living in Pitts, movies they’d seen or wanted to see, nothing too terribly important. Brian figured they’d leave domestic and foreign affairs for another time. In any case, Brian didn’t think he could maintain a serious conversation at the moment since he was too busy dividing his attention between Justin’s pouty lips and the hard-on that was presently pressing up against the fly of his Armani slacks. Actually, he combined his two foci and imagined Justin’s plump lips sliding down his hard-on. Justin’s lips sucking, kissing, brushing over his cock… But he wanted to take things slow with this guy. After all, they’d already fucked.

”Brian?”

He gave his head a little shake. “Yeah?”

”You okay?”

He decided to come clean. “No.”

”What’s wrong?”

”I wanna fuck you.” So much for taking things slow.

Justin didn’t see anything wrong with that. Putting down his fork, he rose from the table and held out his hand.

Five minutes later he was naked and lying on the bed between Brian’s legs, sucking his cock and it only got better from then until the moment Brian pulled out of him, having fucked him soundly.

Sighing, Justin remained supine while Brian cleaned him up a bit. “That was fantastic,” he murmured.

Brian stroked his arm as he nuzzled his neck. “So when can I see you again?”

”How about tonight?” Justin asked, holding his breath. He didn’t know how much togetherness Brian could stand or if he’d want to see him again so soon.

But Brian smiled and said, “Tonight would be perfect.”

With regret, they rose and showered and parted, although they were to meet that night around nine back at the loft. Bright smile in place, Justin waved goodbye and caught a bus to his place while Brian drove off in the Vette to put in a few afternoon hours at Kinnetik.

Justin found Daphne at home when he got there.

”So?”

His smile said it all.

”It worked, huh?” she asked; then said with confidence, “Told you it would.”

”Daphne,” Justin said falling blissfully onto the sofa, “it was perfect. He’s perfect and everything’s…”

”Perfect?” she suggested. “God, I think I liked you better when you were moping.”

He tossed a throw pillow at her. “Seriously, thanks, Daph; none of this would have been possible without you.”

”Just nominate me for Young Witch of the Year.” When he grinned she said, “I’m serious. I want that trophy.”

Three weeks ago if anyone would have told Justin that he’d actually be tired of Brian, he would have said they were crazy. Now he was ready to join them in the loony bin. Brian was driving him crazy. The constant phone calls, the unexpected visits to his apartment, the all night fuck sessions. They even showered together. Justin was surprised Brian didn’t accompany him when he went to take a dump. Then again, with the crap he ate, even Brian wasn’t that brave. Anything short of that though, he attempted. And succeeded. Justin was afraid to turn a corner at school for fear of seeing him. So far, after that first time, Brian had refrained from showing up at PIFA during the workday. That didn’t stop him from calling Justin twenty times a day though necessitating that Justin put his cell on vibrate. He was vibrating so much he didn’t need to jerk off; he just put his phone in his front pocket and let Brian’s fingers do the walking. Which they did seemingly every other hour. When the ad exec got any work done, Justin didn’t know. Then when they got together, Brian wanted a complete run-down on his day: where he’d been, what he’d done, who he’d seen. Which was driving Justin nuts. While he loved Brian and liked spending time with him, he didn’t want to spend every waking and sleeping moment with him.

On the verge of pulling his hair out, he attacked Daphne the moment she got home from class. “Daph, are you sure we cast the right spell?”

”What are you talking about?” She was a little distracted as she had a date later that night and had no idea what to wear.

”Brian is driving me up the wall. He calls me all the time, wants to see me all the time—“

”Isn’t that sweet?”

”No, it is not sweet!” yelled Justin. “I can’t talk to anyone without him becoming jealous, I can barely look at anyone else. I mean, the other day he bitched out the new Thai delivery guy and he has to be sixty-five years old with a turkey neck like you wouldn’t believe.”

”Ew,” said Daphne. “I’m never letting myself go like that.”

”Daphne, focus on my problems, would you?”

”Sorry.”

”We were going to go to Babylon last night and I was wearing my white FCUK tee-shirt. He made me put on one of his—it’s like two sizes too big. Then he freaked out cause some loser made a comment about my ass. Like it’s my fault I’ve got a great ass.”

”You could make it less great. All it’d take is a little spell—“

”No more spells!” He plopped down on the couch. “It was a ‘little spell’ that got me into this trouble.” Huffed. “I knew I should have left well enough alone. So he ignored me, so I couldn’t talk to him—“

”You got drunk just thinking about it.”

”As I said, I had a little problem dealing with him. Now, I’ve got a gigantic problem. He’s like this unreasonable asshole.” Biting his lip, he made a decision. “I’m going to see my mom.”

Daphne’s eyes widened. Ever since Justin had made the decision not to use magic, his relationship with his mother and father had been a little chilly. It didn’t help that Jennifer was the head of her coven and one of the most powerful witches East of the Mississippi. “Justin, look, maybe you should give it a little time. Maybe the spell will wear off.”

”I can’t take another day of this, Daph. I have to see her.”

”There’s goes my Young Witch of the Year award,” she groused.

”I won’t tell her you helped me.”

Daphne snorted. “Like she’d believe you came up with that spell on your own.”

Despite Daphne’s pleas, Justin found himself back in their old neighborhood at the family manse. Pushing open the door, he went in search of his mom. Found her sitting at the kitchen table with a huge book propped open. Something was cooking on the stove. A bottle of onion powder was shaking over the pot.

When she saw Justin she smiled and raised her cheek for a kiss. “Hello, sweetheart. What brings you home?”

”I need your help.”

”Well, sit down and tell me about it. I’m just fixing dinner. Your father and Molly should be back from soccer practice in a little while. You staying?”

”I’m meeting someone for dinner. Thanks anyway.” Believe me, he thought, I’d rather eat with you and dad than to deal with Brian tonight. Which was an indication of just how far down the crazy path he’d stumbled.

So he told her his story over a cup of tea (his mother's cure all) and waited for her to ream him out.

"You must have really liked him," was all she said. At first. And then she reamed him out. "Justin Matthew Taylor, have you lost your mind! Witchcraft requires dedication and years of hard work. Just because you can twinkle that cute, little nose of yours doesn't mean you should."

"But you've always wanted me to use my powers."

"Responsibly. I know what Daphne gets up to and I don't entirely agree although she is progressing. She's much further along than you are."

"I never wanted to be 'further along', I just wanted to be--"

"Yes, yes, a real boy," she said, waving away his concerns.

Justin blushed. "She tells you everything, doesn't she?"

"She didn't tell me about this latest fiasco, that's for certain."

"Can you help me?"

Face softening, Jennifer smiled. "Of course, I'll help you. You're still my little boy even if you are all grown up. Now," she said, "you have to do some things for me. I'll need some of his seed and--"

"Some of his seed!" Justin didn't think he could get any more embarrassed. He was wrong.

"Seed, spunk, jizz, cum, whatever you want to call it, dear. I need some."

"Luckily," he muttered, "the one thing Brian has is a lot of spunk."

Having swiped a condom full of Brian's cum, Justin dutifully gave it to his mother blushing from the tips of his ears to his chest.

"Justin," she told him, "I do know about sex. After all, I didn't just find you and your sister under a toadstool."

"Maybe Molly," he joked.

Adding Brian's spunk to a potion she already had bubbling, Jennifer examined the smoke that arose when the two liquids came in contact with each other. "Ah ha," she said and nodded her head.

"What?"

"Too much batwing."

"So what does that mean?" he finally asked when it seemed as if no other details were forthcoming.

"The spell was too strong."

He blew out a breath. He'd known something had gone wrong with the spell.

"Still, she did a pretty decent job."

"Can you do something?"

Jennifer raised both eyebrows. Of course, she could do something. She was, after all, one of the most powerful witches in the Eastern half of the country and definitely the most powerful witch in all of Pennsylvania. "Well, you have a choice. I can remove the spell entirely or I can modify it, moderate the effects."

"You mean, Brian would still be interested in me, just not so intense?"

"Exactly." Seeing the gleam in his eyes, she hastened to add, "But you have to ask yourself, Justin, just what it is you want. Do you want a man who's genuinely interested in you or one that's been swayed by magic?"

"I thought magic was the answer to everything," he said bitterly.

"Being a good witch means knowing when to use magic and when not to use it."

Even though it pained him to say so, he said, "This is one of those times not to use it, isn't it?"

Jennifer patted his hand.

"All I wanted was for Brian to like me. Just a little bit."

"I know, honey."

"I really think I love him, Mom." A tear rolled down Justin's cheek and he hastily wiped it away. "Okay, take the spell off."

"You sure?"

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He was doing the right thing, that's what he kept telling himself.

Sometimes the right thing really sucked.

Just as he was about to call Justin for the fifth time that day, Brian suddenly paused with his cellphone in his hand and stared at it as if he'd never seen it before. What the hell had he been about to do? Call Justin? Why the hell would he be calling that twink? Then he vaguely remembered him and Justin having dinner and going to Babylon and Woody's together but the details were hazy as if it had been a dream or a movie he'd seen. Frowning, he closed his cell and got back to work.

Coming in with a file, Cynthia said, "I thought you were calling Justin."

"What the fuck for?" Had she gone crazy?

"He's in a show at IFA, remember? You've only told me about it a hundred times this week alone."

Brian grimaced. "Have I seemed okay?" he asked, afraid of what she'd tell him.

"Well, you've been preoccupied with Justin but it hasn't stopped you from being the same old asshole we've grown to love and fear."

At least some things had remained the same. He still couldn't figure out this sudden obsession with Justin though. Calling to her before she left his office, he asked, "He's in a show at IFA?"

"Yeah, it opens tonight." She came back and tried to feel his forehead but he waved her away.

"Get back to work."

"See? Same ole asshole."

After she'd gone, he glanced down at his day planner and sure enough today was circled in red with the words, 'Justin's Show' written in for seven o'clock. A mystery. To his way of thinking, he had two choices: forget all about his temporary bout of insanity and forget about Justin or deal with it.

Not bothering to knock, he went inside the Munchers' house, catching them as they were just sitting down to dinner. Gus fussed until Lindsay lifted him from his chair.

"Hey, Sonny Boy."

"Daddy!"

"Yippee," groused Mel, spearing a baby carrot and plopping it in her mouth before she said anything else.

"I thought you and Justin had plans tonight," said Lindsay.

"Daddy, where Jusin?" Gus asked.

So he'd introduced Justin to his son and friends. This was getting more and more complicated all the time. "Ah," he said, "Justin's getting ready for his show tonight."

Lindsay smiled as if she were getting ready for a one-woman show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. "I bet you're proud of him."

"Ah, yeah." He put Gus back into his booster seat. "I gotta go."

"Thanks for dropping by," Mel said without looking away from her plate.

Leaving the Munchers' place, he went to the diner hoping to catch the guys there. Sure enough they were occupying their favorite booth near the counter.

"Brian!" said Michael, making room for Brian on his side. "Where's Justin?"

"What? Are we joined at the hip or something?"

"Have been for the past few weeks," said Em. "I think it's cute," he confessed.

Ted grinned. "Brian Kinney's in love. I never thought I'd live to see the day."

"You may not live much longer," threatened Brian and Ted wiped the grin from his face. It was never a good idea to tangle with Brian when he was in one of his moods.

"Where's Sushine?" asked Deb.

"Sunshine?"

"Justin, asshole." She popped him on the arm and said, "If you fuck this up, I will personally string you up by your balls. Now, what do you want to eat, sweetie?"

Having eaten and messed around at home for an hour or so, he decided to bite the bullet and go to the show at IFA. Even if he managed to put Justin out of his mind, his friends and family seemed bound and determined to keep bringing him up. It was better to deal with it now than to let it continue until they all drove him crazy.

There was no sign of Justin when Brian walked into the gallery space at IFA. Which was good and bad. Good because he didn't have to see Justin right away but bad because he really wanted to get this evening over with. Then he saw him. Talking with a group of students. He really was beautiful. As if he knew he was being watched, Justin looked in Brian's direction. His smile faltered a bit but he recovered and the students never noticed. But Brian did. Waiting until the group dispersed, he neared Justin, glancing at the pieces around him. Recognized the model in a half dozen of them: himself. Giving Justin a slight smile, he inclined his head at the drawings. "They're good."

"Thanks." Silence. Then, "I didn't think you'd come."

"Why not? Everyone seems to think we're the couple du jour."

"Yeah."

Brian ran his hand through his hair, scratched the nape of his neck. "Look, I don't know what's been going on. I mean it. Everything seems a little hazy. Maybe I did some bad dope or something, I don't know, but I do know that I don't do relationships."

Softly, Justin said, eyes cast down, "I know."

"But," Brian said, "apparently I have."

"Look, Brian, I'll make it easy on you. You don't owe me anything, okay? You don't have to pretend to be interested in me and you don't have to worry about me stalking you and showing up at the loft."

Brian studied the young man's face, then made his decision. "Good," he said finally. "Glad we understand each other." Gave Justin's drawings one last look. "Those really are pretty amazing." Then he left.

Watching Brian leave the gallery, Justin made himself stand proudly next to his work and smile and answer questions about his drawings when inside he was crumbling.

After the last person had left, he said goodbye to the curator and caught a bus home. Daphne had gone out which was just as well. He didn't feel like company tonight. What he really wanted was to get shit-faced and pass out and not have to think about Brian and how much he wanted him, the real Brian and not the control freak the spell had created. But he hadn't gotten to know the real Brian, had only glimpsed him a few times over the month they'd known one another. So why was it so hard to let go?

Taking his last beer out of the fridge (what a time to use magic to conjure up another six pack), he flopped on the couch and cut on the television. Maybe he could lose himself in some mindless sitcom. Only nothing was on and he didn't feel like watching some stupid reality show. So he cut the television off and sat staring at the blank screen.

After their initial questions, no one in the family said anything when Brian began showing up places without Justin. They figured it had run its course and Brian had behaved like the asshole he was and fucked it up. Only he wasn't quite sure what 'it' had been. The one thing he did know was that, for some inexplicable reason, he missed Justin and his usual means of dealing with unwanted people and emotions, i.e. avoidance, drugs, and tricking, weren't working. He lay in bed remembering the smell of Justin's shampoo on his pillows no matter how many times they'd been washed. The shower suddenly seemed vast, too large for one person, and he missed bumping into Justin at the sink. During the day he'd reach for his cell to call Justin and then he'd remember that he had no reason to do so. They were strangers to one another again. Intimate strangers but strangers nonetheless, despite the history they seemed to have. Finally, on the night when he called for Chinese takeout and immediately ordered Justin's favorite without realizing what he'd done until the food arrived, he realized that he had a serious problem.

Daphne was out shopping and he was moping around the house. He fully admitted that that's what he was doing. And why not? He'd given up the man he loved because it had been the right thing to do. Only his heart wouldn't let him forget the good times they'd shared and there had been good times despite Brian's controlling tendencies under the influence of the spell. If only he hadn't been a coward, if only he could have talked to Brian and gotten him interested in him on his own instead of resorting to magic, none of this would have happened and maybe he'd still have Brian. Then again, maybe Brian would have turned him down again and he'd have spent the past month moping instead of the last few days.

What a mess.

Before he could sink any deeper into a morass of depression, there was a knock at the door. Better not be any Jehovah's Witnesses or they were going to get an earful. Snatching open the door, he started to speak and came up short.

Brian was standing there with the strangest look on his face.

"We need to talk," he said, pushing past Justin.

"Okay." Closing the door, Justin followed his guest into the apartment and joined him on the sofa. It was either that or the beanbag chair and it was his apartment so he didn't feel he had to give up comfort for the safety of distance. Still, it might have been better if he had taken the beanbag chair as the smell of Brian's cologne was going to his head.

"Look, I still don't remember that happened between us but I keep getting these flashes and it's driving me crazy. I feel like I was under some kind of spell or something. I mean, I've never acted like that before. It's just not me."

Seeing the confusion on the man's face, Justin was hard-pressed not to tell him what he'd done. Not that Brian would believe him. Not without another show of magic and then it would be all over. Brian would run screaming in the opposite direction. "Brian—"

"Justin, I know this must be hard for you and I'm sorry. Whatever it is that I did, I'm sorry."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I led you on, made you believe I was someone I wasn't."

At that, Justin began to laugh. He couldn’t believe it. Brian was apologizing for falling under his spell. Literally.

"Are you on something?" Brian asked, brows furrowed.

"No," Justin finally got out between the giggles. "It's just… Brian… Brian, I'm…" Okay, he could do this. "I'm a witch and I put a spell on you."

Brian's eyes widened. "Yeah, and I'm Harvey Fierstein," he laughed.

Justin held out his hand and focused on the palm. His nose twinkled and a rose appeared which he offered to Brian. "For you."

The man gazed at the rose which had appeared out of nowhere. "How did you…?"

"I told you, I'm a witch. A warlock, whatever you want to call me. My roommate and I cast a spell over you because I wanted… I wanted you to like me."

"You made me like you?"

"No, the spell only made you want to spend time with me."

Brian nodded slowly, then stood. "Fuck you."

"Brian—"

He started for the door. "Fuck you, Justin."

Justin reached for his arm but Brian pulled away. "I'm sorry!" The door slammed and Justin threw the rose he'd conjured at it. "Fuck!" Everything was completely fucked now. He started back towards the sofa when the door opened again and Brian came barreling through. He grabbed Justin and kissed him hard.

"If you ever cast another spell on me and I find out about it, I'll turn you over my knee and you'd better be able to conjure up some extra padding."

Justin laughed. "I promise, no more spells."

Brian kissed him again and smiled. "I didn't say no more spells, just don't use them on me. But if you feel the need to make the new Prada Spring Collection suddenly appear in my closet, by all means."

"You're such a label queen," Justin laughed. Then, tentatively, he asked, "Do you like me?"

Brian brushed a lock of hair from Justin's forehead. "Yeah, I like you. Spell or no spell. Now, let me see that nose thing again."

Justin blushed and covered the offending appendage. "They call it twinkling. I hate it."

"I think it's cute. So do something useful, like make your clothes disappear."

Pulling his sweater over his head, Justin said, "I don't need magic for that."

As they stumbled into his room, trying to kiss as they undressed, Brian asked about condoms and lube.

"You didn't bring any? I thought you were always prepared."

Brian pulled Justin down on the bed. "I hadn't planned on fucking you."

"Shit," said Justin. He'd really wanted to get laid that moment.

With a grin, Brian said, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star," and Justin begrudgingly worked his magic. Suddenly they were showered with condoms and a bottle of lube appeared on his nightstand. "So," Brian asked, "can you twinkle your nose without working any magic?"

"Yeah, why?"

Brian tore open one of the condoms and rolled it on. "It really turns me on."

Smiling brightly, Justin reached for the lube. And his nose twinkled happily.

Challenge

Veronica:

I also posted this idea on the QAF Fanfic Project Bulletin Board.

I was always a big fan of the show "Bewitched." Now that the remake is about to be released it got me thinking. What if Justin was a witch/warlock, but just like Samantha on the show he chose to live his life as a normal person. Justin is a student at PIFA and still friends with Daphne. Daphne is also a which, but unlike Justin she enjoys using her powers and is always casting spells. Everything changes for Justin once he meets Brian.

The two meet at Babylon and have one amazing night together. Brian gives his "one per customer" speech and sends Justin on his way. Justin is determined to be with Brian again. He decides to do something he has never done before, cast a love spell on Brian. Daphne tells him that it is a bad idea and that he should think of another way to spend time with Brian. Justin tells her that it will be a little spell and that it will only last a week.

Justin goes off to his room to twitch his button nose and say the magic words that will make Brian want him for one more week. Meanwhile across town....Brian is in a meeting with an important client. All of sudden he has the uncontrollable desire to see Justin. He gets up, walks out of the meeting, and heads to PIFA to find Justin. Once there, he begs him to have lunch or just go off with him to talk. The "talk" turns into a hot and heavy session back at the loft. Justin is glad that the spell worked but then starts to notice over the next few days that Brian keeps calling and showing up at his job, school and apartment. He begs to be with him and to see him every minute of the day. Because Justin has not used his powers in so long, he starts to think he might have cast the wrong spell on Brian. Instead of casting a simple one, he has cast a powerful one. As time goes by Brian not only becomes lovesick, but jealous and possessive of Justin.

Justin turns to his mother, a very powerful witch, to help him reverse the spell. Jennifer has some interesting news for Justin; she does not think Brian is under a spell at all. Now Justin does not know what to think.

Author's Notes:

I made some minor changes to the story but it retains, hopefully, the spirit of the challenge.

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