[plot: I Put A Spell On You]

[porcupineliz]

(index!)

A reading of the sweater she got from Matt doesn't give her much, but there are definitely traces of a magic around it. Something artificially imposed, and ... she's pretty sure something outwardly imposed. It doesn't have Matt's feel to it at all.

Scrying is somewhat more useful: she gets a very brief blurred image of someone who's probably the caster -- older woman, graying hair, smiling earnestly -- and a much more definite sense of the caster's magic signature. And enough sense of the spell to make her skin crawl, even though as far as she can tell it was done with the most benevolent of intentions.



When she gets back to Milliways, she finds the note. There's no good way to say this, but I'm actually under a --

Oh.

Oh, shit.

Comments

[porcupineliz]

"Are you okay? I got your note --" She waves it in one hand. "And I'm pretty sure I can tell you who did it. Or describe her, at least."

[semicharmed]

Oh hey, he's not instantly in trouble.

Look at you, guilty conscience.

He says, startled, "You can?"

[porcupineliz]

"Call it 85% certainty, yeah -- older lady, gray hair, I'd know her if I saw her here. Or does she sound like anyone you know?"

[semicharmed]

It takes Matt a moment to reroute his brain from Jordie.


Kind of a long moment.



"Um," he says, "I don't really--"

Pause.

"Know might not be the word."

[porcupineliz]

"... a description you might recognize, though? I mean, if it's someone here running around dropping love spells on people ..."

[semicharmed]

Older lady, gray hair.

They skew pretty young both at Milliways (of his acquaintances, anyway) and at work. Not that he thinks anyone there is exactly a spell-slinger.

"There was this psychic," Matt tells Liz faintly.

"I don't know her. But she was in a yoga class I took?"

[porcupineliz]

"A yoga class." She frowns. "So not here?"

[semicharmed]

He shakes his head.

"At home. She told me I was going to fall in love with a guy and be really happy, and I thought it was kind of weird.

And then it ... kind of happened, and became especially weird."

[porcupineliz]

"And she said it like -- what, like it was prophecy? Foretelling? Or like she was going to arrange it?"

[semicharmed]

"I thought it was precognitive," Matt says with a frown.

But that's not exactly what he told Jordie, is it.

He had a hinky feeling about that lady from the get-go-- but again, who wouldn't? A total stranger addressing you by your full name and predicting romantic bliss?

"But in light of recent everything, maybe she had another reason to sound so sure."

[porcupineliz]

"Yeah." That's a touch grim. "It's always possible that she's casting causative spells and thinking they're precognitive. Someone should probably have a word with her, when this is over."

(There's something in her tone that suggests and that someone is me.)

"You said Jordie's been affected by it too?"

[semicharmed]

Matt's alarmed, and a little worried, by the possibility that this lady doesn't know what she's doing. It makes him sort of sad.

But all of that goes out the window when Liz says Jordie.


"I," he says.

"Um. Right. Yes, I mean, I did. He is."

[porcupineliz]

Eeeeeyebrow.

[semicharmed]

Matt pauses.

Tautly.




"Hethoughtwecouldbreakthespellbymakingout."

[porcupineliz]

... oh dear, says Liz's face.

"And it sounded like a good idea at the time?" That's only slightly dry.

[semicharmed]

"I followed my heart," Matt says miserably.

"And it turns out my heart was wrong."


(Of course, he can't be too miserable, given the full range of recent events.

As a wise man once said: What's the worst that can happen? Orgasms?)

[porcupineliz]

She wants to pat his shoulder.

Under the circumstances, that's probably a bad idea.

"That can happen," she says ruefully. "Next question, and I'm sorry if this is embarrassing and you can absolutely not answer if you'd rather not, but ..."

Beat.

"Does it seem to have made things any worse, or is it about the same?"

[semicharmed]

Matt's mouth opens--

Hangs there a moment--


And shuts.




"Well, there's magically worse," he says.

"And then there's circumstantially worse. And circumstances have ... definitely changed, but I'm not sure if the magic part is-- I mean other than Jordie catching this thing from me."

[porcupineliz]

"... I did mean magically worse," she says, "but if circumstances have ..."

A pause.

"Wait, you think he caught it from you? Not, like ... separately?"

[semicharmed]

"He told me I was contagious."

Matt looks a little haunted as he runs a hand through his (appallingly messy) hair.

"I mean, it-- started for him after we kissed."

[porcupineliz]

"... uh-huh." Liz chews her lower lip for a moment.

[semicharmed]

"Yyyeah."


Matt pauses.






"Sex may have been a bad plan."

[porcupineliz]

Liz presses one hand over her open mouth.






No, it's not doing any good, she's still cracking up.

[semicharmed]

Matt's misery: now acute.



Jordie said she wouldn't laugh at him!

[porcupineliz]

"I am so sorry," she manages, getting control of herself. "Oh god, seriously, it's terrible, I should not be laughing."

Of course, the awareness that she shouldn't be laughing is half of the funny to begin with -- but seeing how upset Matt is kind of kills the rest of it.

"Sorry. Really."