A short story prequel to “Of Poison & Pumpkins” set 10 years before “the novel begins
by Cassie Swindon
Orange beams from the sunset slice through my parents’ windows. I toss my graduation gown, cap, and diploma on my parent’s kitchen counter, then rush upstairs to sulk in misery. Sure, I’m glad to finally be rid of this small Indiana town, but I’m angry as hell at myself for not working up the courage to ask Elias out as planned.
In my room, my favorite lavender scent cocoons me in my safe place. I’m about to flop back on my mattress when a wrapped gift bag on my blankets makes me pause. It’s probably a ‘We’re glad you’re finally leaving’ present, after I announced to my family last night that I’d be moving to North Carolina once the summer is over.
Two months remain.
Two months of torture with my younger sister and parents, who will never understand my magic abilities.
Or two months of bliss if I finally ask out Elias. Other than being lab partners last semester, I doubt he’s taken notice of me elsewhere.
I peek into the gift wrap and pull out purple threaded yarn. Perfect. The note is signed by my aunt, who bought me my first pair of needles. Of course, it was her. Should’ve known my parents wouldn’t treat me to something so special.
Ever since my Fuzer gifts paraded out of my body years ago, my family has kept a safe, respectful distance. Their reaction wasn’t quite fair if you ask me, since we’re unable to access our powers until age seventeen. Last year when I attended my first Fuzer ceremony, my parents and siblings actually watched, but stood in the back of the crowd, trying to camouflage into the night.
This month my spell of choice is that I have to say ‘yes’ to any social invitation from my classmates, and actually attend since I’ve been a hermit for too long. This is my last chance to make memories in my hometown. The first party is in a few hours. Nicole Stile has some nerve to host a party literally hours after we walked across the stage.
In my closet, all my outfits are lined up in a row– black, black and more black obviously. I groan long and loud, with an extra pinch of drama, as I catch sight of my sunburn lines in the mirror. The red splotches on my shoulder fit the ultimate super-sexy vibe I’m going for tonight.
My ashy blonde hair is twisted into a few tiny braids, all tied up in a high ponytail. One long side bang swoops over my cheek. I blow out a puff of air to make it fly out of sight. Quickly, I paint on onyx eyeliner, framing my hazel eyes on top and bottom, then smudge them into a smoky look. All my classmates are used to my signature dark streak across my temples by now. After turning everyone down for group dates, campfire nights in the woods, parties, and whatever, they’ll probably be surprised when I show up at Nicole’s.
The thing is – I don’t want to have regrets when I’m old and falling apart at thirty.
Cheez walks in, our homicidal feline who leaves mice at our doorstep every day. She hops on my bed, sniffs at the gift wrap, then chooses to gnaw on the ribbon. A death trap for cats.
“No, Cheez. Not for you,” I say, placing the bag high on a shelf out of reach. Who am I kidding, she can jump up there if she wants to.
I strip out of my graduation dress, and let it pool to the floor. Shifting through my variety of black, I moan again and do the unthinkable. I stomp into my little sister’s room and yank a purple half-sleeve dress off a hanger. She’s never been allowed to wear it because of how low it hangs. Since we’re the same size– average height, average build, average shape, nothing spectacular, all her clothes fit me.
“You better be at the damn party, Elias,” I mumble to myself, then shove on heavy black boots.
I’ll probably start sweating from wearing these since it’s supposed to reach record temperatures all May this year. Oh well.
I thunder down the stairs, grab my car keys, yell goodbye to Cheez, then storm out the front door. When I turn towards my 2015 Civic, my heart stops. Elias stands in the street outside his car, leaning against the driver’s door.
I can’t breathe. He smiles at me with the intensity of a thousand suns. I’ve always wondered about Elias’ ethnicity. His MIA father might be from Sweden and his mom is from Venezuela, which is obvious by Elias’ large, dark brown eyes with ridiculously long lashes and the mop of dark brown hair with thick, waves.
“Hey, Sunflower,” Elias twirls his keys around one finger. “Thought you’d want a DD for tonight. Get in.”
I can’t talk. Can’t walk. Can’t process. Why? How? When? What is happening?
I gulp.
He must sense my hesitation, so the boy of my dreams– well, man, since he’s eighteen now– simply smiles. If only I could stop time in this moment. Somehow, the prom king has shown up at my house. He must have asked around to learn where I live. And now he’s here. Now.
“Why do you look like I ran over your cat?” Elias smirks and tilts his head.
How does he know about Cheez?
“Don’t tell me you forgot our little bet, Rynnlee. Remember?” He’s talking to me as if we’ve had hours-long conversations before. And he’s looking at me like we’ve already been skinny-dipping under the moonlight. “It was right before Tronel’s AP bio exam. I had bet you three drinks that you’d get a higher score than me.”
That snaps me into reality.
“I did get a higher score than you,” I say, feet still rooted to the ground. Regret already floods my veins that the only remark I can manage is snappy and defensive.
A breeze whips my hair, caressing my cheeks.
“Exactly, you always get a higher score than everyone, which is why I owe you three drinks.” Elias laughs, that deep sound that makes my bones melt. “Just get in. I overheard you tell Esme that you wanted to get drunk once before the end of the summer. I’ll stay sober, get you drinks, and drive you home.”
“Uh…. Why?”
A neighbor’s car rumbles on our joint street, passing the driveway slowly. Yeah, our little scene must be a sight for the books. Never in my life has a guy been waiting to pick me up.
“Rynnlee?”
“Hmm?” My gaze leaves the stranger’s car and focuses back on Elias’ dark eyes.
Maybe I’ve died and gone to heaven. This can’t be real. “Wait, why are you here?”
“Us Fuzers need to stick together, right? At least that’s what someone smart as fuggernuts told me once upon a time.”
I hate that he’s throwing my words back at me. Yet, love that he remembered. It’s never crossed my mind that Elias Johannson would pay attention to anything leaving my mouth.
Like he’s reading my mind, his gaze drops to my lips. “Let’s go. You can’t look like that and sit at home, wasting away the dress.” He chuckles again and scrubs a hand down his face. “Please don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?” I ask.
“You have absolutely no idea, do you?” he mumbles under his breath.
I finally walk towards the passenger’s side of the car. I can do this. I can act like a sane human for the next three hours. I slip into his car so he can’t see my flushed skin. Once we’re both buckled with the doors shut, I have a new problem. He’s ridiculously close. As past lab partners, we had to scoot our stools close to mix chemicals, and once in a while our hands brushed in passing, but there was always an escape. In a room full of dozens of other students, I had access to distractions, the ability to leave for a restroom break, or ask the teacher a question. Now, trapped inside his car with him, I may have found a new kind of torturous bliss.
“Jesus, you smell good,” he says so abruptly I may have jumped in my seat.
I stare out my window, trying to angle my knees away from him.
“How well do you know Nicole?” he asks.
I turn up the volume of his music. A song by The Lollipops Daze fills the gaps between the akwardness. He rams his palm into the ‘off’ button, then clears his throat. We’re stuck in silence, so I roll the window down to let the bird chirps and rushing car sounds seep in. This won’t last long because it’s hot as balls out there.
“I’m betting Brooke doesn’t know you borrowed her dress?” Elias tries again, but I only roll my lips in. “Oh, come on, Sunflower, you can’t still be mad at me.”
This gets me to face him. “Mad at you? For what? You didn’t do anything.”
He glances over, then back at the road. “Then why are you ignoring me?”
“Elias …” I throw both hands in the air, momentarily forgetting we’re in a car, so they smack against the ceiling. “You’ve said like fifty words to me in the last few years, then you show up announced on my driveway, and expect to chat? I’m not mad, I’m officially confused. I don’t understand what’s going on.”
A tiny bead of sweat trickles down his temple so I roll my window back up and blast the AC. His throat visibly bobs. For the first time, I wonder whether he’s nervous too. But why would he be?
“I … I need …” He makes this strange grimace face, then shakes his head. “I need … ah, come on, why can’t we just be friends now?”
“Because.” I cross my arms and wish I could disappear.
“Because?” The amusement in his voice returns. “Well, it’s official then. Once Rynnlee Sunflower declares something just ‘because,’ there’s no turning back.”
“Listen, I don’t even want to go to this party. So, unless you start talking, I’m opening this door and walking home.” I don’t dare face him, my pulse beating a thousand times per second.
It’s like I can taste his thoughts. Hear his internal debate and feel his decision being made. Whenever he’s around, a strange overexaggerated awareness magnetizes me to his every tiny movement, the smallest hesitations in his speech, the littlest change in the hunch of his shoulders. I zoom in and realize something’s bothering him. And he’s trying to hide it.
He slows at a yellow light and we stop at the intersection. Glancing both ways, I notice he’s taken the longer route to Nicole’s house. I’m ninety-percent sure it was intentional. Elias is no idiot. But why would he want to spend more time with me? Of all people? Elias has hundreds of friends. Hell, I bet even some of our teachers would donate a kidney to this guy.
“I have a secret.” He bursts out, both hands wringing the steering wheel. “And I need to tell … someone.” Elias’ throat bobs again and his brows tighten. “You. I need to tell you.”
I inhale deeply. “Okaaaay?”
When the light turns green, instead of going through, he pulls off to the side of the road and puts the car in park. The green trees to my right all beckon me to run towards them, to get lost in the safety of nature – where no person, Fuzer ot not, can fuck with me.
But, Elias lays his hand on mine. His energy sucks me in like a beacon. I, unfortunately, meet his gaze and know I’m doomed. I’d do anything for him. This man is a walking-talking golden retriever in the flesh. I once saw him help the librarian across the street, like how heroes do in the movies. Except once he ushered her into her van, he took ten trips back and forth, carrying heavy boxes. Alone. Without witnesses. Well, except for me.
“You want to tell me a secret.” I say, not a question.
His head nods slowly and he doesn’t bat an eye. “Yes, I … you’re trustworthy, Rynnlee. I’m not stupid, I know we haven’t spent much time together, but there’s something important, like deep in here…” his hand presses against his heart. “… and it’s eating me alive. I decided I need to share my secret with one person, someone who won’t laugh at me or judge me. Plus, even if I never see you again, if you leave Meadowcrest one day, at least I know someone out there shares the deepest part of me. You’re the type of person to treasure important information and lock it away.”
My hands are clammy. My heart pounds in my ears. I need damn water because my mouth is impossibly dry. I stay quiet, unwilling to break whatever beautiful spell has washed over us.
His eyes narrow. “You know my dad left when I was younger, right?”
I nod.
“I want to convince him to come back … not to my mom … but to me.” He drops his chin, staring at his shoes. “He once said I’ll never accomplish anything. I’ll never be a son to be proud of, that I’m a joke, and nothing I do matters. Well, I’m going to prove him wrong. I need someone … no, I need you to know that when I go to State in August, every class I register for, every potential career move will be to eventually get his attention.
My mouth opens, ready and wanting to speak reason into his sweet people-pleasing brain, but he holds up one hand.
“I know how crazy it sounds. I know it’s unhealthy. I know what everyone else will say.” Elias blows out a deep, weighted breath and it breaks my heart that he’s hurting. “But no one in college will know this truth. My new buddies and professors will see me as a regular guy, trying to get by with the studying while partying on the weekend. It’ll make me feel better that you’re out there and know this dark shadow eating away my insides. You’ll know I’m trying my best to win Dad back. You’ll know that no choice I make is from an impulse, that I am strategically making steps to lure him into my life.”
“Elias…”
He starts his car again and merges onto the road.
We sit in silence, neither one of us moving an inch. It’s an odd sensation to share such a heavy space with him while simultaneously feeling him lighten with each passing second. His posture straightens against his seat, more refreshed and confident. The white knuckles gripping the wheel loosen and one hand even dangles on the consul. Even the jittering of his leg has stopped.
Who does he think he is, unloading a burden like that without my consent? I never agreed to carry around this baggage or choose to bury it under all my own layers of issues. I guess, instead of loading those he cares about with this secret, he chose to dump it on someone he’ll never have to see again– simply to get it out of his system.
Not fuckin’ fair. I had no say in anything after he magically appeared in my yard.
“Stop the car!” I yell.
His foot stomps on the brake so hard that my hands hit the dashboard. “Shit! Rynn! You okay?”
I whip open the car door and march on the side of the road, back towards my parent’s house. Immediately, my thighs rub together under my dress. Cars whiz past dangerously and I don’t trust my balance on this gravel trail.
The sooner I get out of this town, the better. Elias had been one of the few classmates I had tolerated, even admired, mostly because he was a fellow Fuzer who didn’t take advantage of my powers. But now, he’s taking advantage of me in a whole different way– treating me like a vault when his seccret has grown too large to store. I’m considered the extra bucket to him, that collects the remains and scraps.
Well, his perception of me fuckin’ wrong. I may be a shy, stubborn introvert. But at least I know I have more value than a trash can that carries what can no longer fit in his tiny, entitled world.
“Woah!” Elias chases after me. “Sunflower, wait. What’s wrong? What’d I’d do?”
I despise that I love his nickname for me. My boots slip on the pebbles, but I catch my balance. Being the athlete that he is, qualifying for a rowing scholarship as a freshman next year, Elias catches up quickly.
“I’m sorry, Rynnlee. What’d I do?”
I swirl so fast, that our fronts knock into each other. We bump and stagger for a moment, until he catches me in strong hands. I lurch out of his grip and brush any dust off my dress.
“I’m leaving!” I lift my hands to the navy-bruised sky. “I’m never coming back here. You’ll never see me again.”
His mouth drops open but I cut him off.
“That’s it, right? That’s why you told me about your plans? I’m the zero-risk option. No one you know will be exposed to that truth of you.”
As the cars continue to soar by, I pace back and forth from gravel to grass, crunchy to mushy, gravel to grass, crunchy to mushy.
“How is this fair? You’ve had years to be my friend and now when school is over you fuckin’ show up in front of my house and unload all that on me? You know what kind of person does that? An insensitive jerk! And the way you said it with your big, endearing brown eyes wide open like a puppy gives me no choice to kindly say, ‘No, I don’t want to know your deepest, darkest desires,’ because if I say that, then I’m the heartless bitch.”
I track along the gravel again. “So now you force me into a position to care even more about you, when things are done, over, gone. I’m leaving.”
This time, I mean it literally. I jog away, hearing him call after me. No guy wants to ditch his car on the side of the road, so his voice fades, further and quieter. I pick up my pace, not letting the tears fall that build up behind my eyes, vicious and tormenting. They want to stream down my face, to let out the anger, hurt, confusion, wants, and lost chances.
I have missed my shot. Elias and I will never have another conversation again, never be lab partners, or be dared to pull a prank together. There will never be a day in my future where I sit next to him in a car or his hand grazes mine. I’ll never feel his warm lips against mine or know if he ever gets a chance to make his father proud. Or if he ever finds happiness with someone else who deserves the secrets of his soul.
Because I sprint away fast.
“Rynnlee! Come back, please?”
Because of the damned spell I chose for this month, my body unnaturally turns against my will and heads straight back to where he stands, waiting for me.
For Rynn and Elias’ full story,
which takes place 10 years after this scene then read ‘Of Poison and Pumpkins,’ which has the tropes: grumpy/sunshine, second chance romance, rival shop owners, modern magic
by Cassie Swindon
available in late 2025
ARC sign up currently open
