Moira had moaned, allowing herself to be held by her dad, even though she was fifteen-too old to be cuddled or called Daisy, the pet name her father had always used.
"Think of it as character building," her mum had suggested, and her dad had laughed again. Her dad and mum had met eyes and smiled at each other, and Moira had known it was a lost cause. She'd called Tess and complained about the permanent dye being the "worst thing" to happen to her.
That had been seven months ago. One month later her dad had been killed in a car wreck in London, where he'd gone on business. Now she wished more than anything that the green streaks could really have been her worst problem-and that Colm Byrne was still waiting at home to back up her mum in a lecture about the latest trouble Moira had gotten into.
"Moira?" Tess asked, waiting for an answer.
"Oh, no thanks. I'm fine." Moira forced a thin smile.
"All right, then?" Vita asked once Tess had left. Her round face looked concerned.
"Oh, you know," Moira said vaguely. Vita nodded sympathetically and patted Moira's hand in an old-fashioned gesture Moira found touching.
"I know. I'm here, whenever you want to talk."
Moira nodded. "I'd rather be distracted, really," she said.
"Well, good," Vita said. "Because I was wondering if you could help me study for herbology. I got all the nightshades mixed up on the last test, and Christa was very disappointed." Vita lowered her voice to sound like Christa Ryan, one of their initiation-class teachers.
"Sure," Moira said. "Come over tonight or tomorrow and we'll go over everything. I'll share all the Moira Byrne wisdom with you."
Vita threw a paper napkin at her, and Moira laughed. "You mean the Moira Byrne wisdom that had you spelling your initials with bugs?" Vita asked dryly.
"Right! That wisdom!"
Tess came back and sat down, curling one leg neatly beneath her.
"You're so dainty," Moira said with a sigh, wishing the same could be said about her. Then she froze in her seat, her hazel eyes wide. One hand reached out to grab Tess's arm. "Goddess-I think he's here, downstairs," she whispered. She hadn't deliberately been casting her senses, but her neck had prickled, and when she concentrated, she thought she felt Ian’s vibrations.
Vita fluttered her eyelids. "Oh, no-I don't think I can take the excitement of seeing Ian Delaney. Someone help me. Fetch a cold cloth." She swayed in her chair while Tess broke up with laughter. Moira looked at her.
"I'll fetch you a cold cloth," she said, "for your mouth."
Vita and Tess laughed harder, and Moira narrowed her eyes. "Could we have more sympathy, please?" she asked. "How often do I fancy a lad?"
"Not often," Tess agreed, sobering. "Everyone, be casual."
This made Vita laugh again. Moira turned her attention to her latte as though it were all-absorbing. Come up here, she thought. Come upstairs. You're thirsty.
She wasn't putting a spell on Ian or sending him a witch message. She was just wishing hard. Ian Delaney had transferred to her regular school two years ago, and Moira had immediately developed a crush on him. He was gorgeous in a rough-cut kind of way, with thick brown hair that never looked quite tidy enough, deep blue eyes, and one dimple in his right cheek when he smiled. He'd been such a refresh- ing change from some of the more upper-class snobs who went to Moira's school-outspoken, funny in a cheeky way, and completely unable to be intimidated, either by teachers or students.
Best of all, he was a witch.
Unfortunately, all last year Moira had been invisible to him-not that she had even tried to get his attention. But this year… he had sat next to her in study hall. Lent her some graph paper in math class. Borrowed a quid from her-and paid her back. And just in the last month Moira had actually started trying to flirt with him, in a lame, inexperienced way, she admitted. But he seemed to be responding.
"I can't feel him," said Vita. "Is he coming up?"
"Not yet," said Moira. "He's still downstairs."
Tess grinned. "Shall I fetch him up here? I'll stand at the top of the stairs and yell, 'Oy! You there, boy. Up here! "
Moira's chest tightened. "If you do…" she breathed in warning, shaking her head. Tess was so much more confident about lads. It wasn't that Moira didn't have confidence-she knew that she was good at magick and that she had an ability to learn anything if she put her mind to it. She never questioned how much her family loved her. But where she did fall apart was with the whole world of boys, dating, and flirting.
Come upstairs, Ian. You're thirsty. Or hungry. Or you're looking for me.
"Does your mum know about Ian?" Tess asked.
Moira shook her head. "No. We're not dating-it's not like I've had him home to tea."
Two pairs of blue eyes looked at her. Tess's were expectant, shrewd. Vita's were politely disbelieving. "So you've not mentioned your unquenchable love for Ian Delaney, son of Lilith Delaney, high priestess of Ealltuinn," Vita stated. "Ealltuinn, who's been getting members of Belwicket up in arms because they don't seem to know the boundary of when it's not right to use magick?"
"It's not unquenchable love, and no, I've not mentioned it," Moira said pointedly. "Am I supposed to only date Belwicket lads, then? There's precious few. Or should I try a nonwitch?"
Half smiling, Tess held up her hands as if to say she gave up.
"Just wanted to ask," Vita murmured, shrugging. "I mean, everything aside, Ian’s deadly hot. No one says he isn't."
Moira paused. "Wait-he's coming up!" She bent over her latte, face carefully expressionless. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ian the second he passed the top step into the cafe. She looked anywhere but at him, shooting subtle but threatening looks at Tess and Vita, each of whom was trying to smother a smile.
"So," said Tess brightly. "You want to take in a film this weekend, then?"
Moira nodded as if it were a serious question. "Yeah, maybe so." Her eyes widened as she realized Ian was coming straight at their table, a mug in his hand.
"Moira!" he said.
She looked up with an Oscar-worthy expression of surprise. "Oh, hey there, Ian."
He smiled down at her, and she felt her heart give a little flip. That smile…
"'Lo, Ian," said Tess, and Vita smiled at him.
"Hi," he said, and Moira loved the fact that his gaze didn't linger on either of her (she thought) prettier or more feminine friends. Instead he looked right at her, his chestnut brown hair flecked with mist, his eyes dark blue and smiling. "I don't want to interrupt-I was just downstairs and fan-cied a drink. It's wet outside."
"Do you want to sit down?" Moira asked, mentally patting herself on the back for her boldness.
"Aye, sure," he said, pleased. He asked a neighboring table if he could take a chair, then pulled it over and wedged it right next to Moira's. She could hardly keep herself from wiggling with happiness. Cool. I'm very cool, she thought, feeling almost glad about her green-streaked hair.
"Oh! Look at the time!" Tess said in a non-Oscar-worthy performance, complete with wide eyes and O-shaped mouth. "I have to be getting off. Mum'll slay me if I'm late again." She stood and pulled on her suede jacket.
"I didn't mean to interrupt anything," Ian said again, concerned.
"Not at all," Tess assured him. "Pure coincidence. Come on, then, Vi."