The door opened and the corner of a pizza box appeared. "I met the pizza delivery boy on the sidewalk so I thought I would go ahead and grab this." Her aunt's voice floated in before a head of bright lime green hair popped out from behind the half-opened door.
"Let me grab that." Kwon grabbed the pizza box from her while her aunt struggled with getting her luggage case over the door's threshold.
Her aunt paused for a moment, the shock of finding Mark Kwon in her living only lasting for a second. "Isaac, show him to the kitchen so he can put the pizza down on the table," Aunt Phoebe said after she finished dragging her suitcase's wheels over the door's threshold. "Luna, come with me dear."
Luna followed her aunt up to the second floor. Aunt Phoebe opened the door to her bedroom before tossing her luggage case onto the top of her bed. "Why is your nemesis in our living room?"
"He asked if he could come over."
Aunt Phoebe raised one perfectly arched brow, the green hair doing nothing to diminish the serious expression she wore. "And you let him? I know you feel bad about what happened but to let him into our home after what he did to you?" She knew her aunt wasn't angry, just concerned.
Luna released a sigh, her shoulders sagging. "I know, I know. But he offered to study with us. . .and it's nice having someone other than Isaac to study with every once in a while."
"I can't argue with you there." Aunt Phoebe wore a grim expression, probably thinking back to all of the times she had seen Isaac study. It was more like the boy did everything but study.
The two of them left the bedroom and walked down the flight of steps to the first floor. "I'm guessing the potion is still working since the boy is here?"
Luna gave a solemn nod, strands of hair falling into her face. "I've tried the reversal spell a few times throughout the day. I even slipped a reversal potion in his tea. I don't know why it isn't working."
"Hmm. I'll have to try it myself to see exactly what's going on."
Isaac and Kwon were in the kitchen. Kwon was shuffling through the cabinets, looking for plates, while Isaac was grabbing everyone's favorite drink.
"Take these words, in the air they'll soar until they reach the ears of Mark Kwon. May this spell cleanse him now and free him of the potion that bound. What has been done, shall now be undone." Aunt Phoebe whispered the words to the reversal spell, using her own phrasing.
The two of them watched as the magic flared for a second before fizzling out. "Huh? That's strange," Aunt Phoebe muttered, a confused look morphing her beautifully refined features. "Heed my words and rewrite the past. Reverse this curse and dispel Mark's love for Luna Ravenwood." The quickly patched-together reversal spell had the same effect as the last one.
Aunt Phoebe narrowed her eyes, glaring at Kwon's broad back. "Let's eat first. Maybe I can figure this out by the time we're done."
"I hope so," Luna mumbled with a dejected sigh.
"There you are!" Isaac shouted when he saw them enter the kitchen. "Food and drinks are ready!" A slice of pizza was already in his hand, a long string of cheese dripped down from the end.
Luna slid into a seat across from Kwon. Aunt Phoebe and Isaac were sitting on either side of her, putting space between her and Kwon.
"So. . . what's up with the green hair?" Isaac asked her aunt. Kwon also shot a questioning look at Aunt Phoebe, his gaze lingering on the bright green strands.
"An accident that I am pleased with. I'll give you the details later."
Kwon's eyes lit up with understanding at Aunt Phoebe's words, something that didn't go unnoticed by Luna. Even if she didn't want to, she had a clear view of Kwon's face and could easily see every expression that flitted across his sharp features.
Was Kwon always this expressive? Luna could only remember seeing a surly expression permanently seared onto his face. The only time she ever saw him without a frown was when they met for the first time four years ago.
"You pull it off."
"Thank you Isaac dear. But I'm thankful it's only temporary." Aunt Phoebe wore an affable expression on her face as she laughed good-naturedly.
Aunt Phoebe then turned her attention to Kwon. "And what brought you to our home today, dear?"
"Our quarterly exams are coming up so I asked if I could join Luna in on her studying. I've actually always wanted to since we share most of our classes together."
"Mhmm. That's good. What made you decide to try to get along with my Luna after all these years?"
"Aunt Phoebe!" Luna hissed, feeling embarrassed over her aunt's overprotectiveness, even if she was touched by it.
"I'm not sure," Kwon admitted slowly. "But I felt like it was time to try."
Luna felt a stab at her consciousness. She was the reason for this change and it made her feel guilty.
"Mhmm."
The conversation dropped after that. Luna sat hunched in her chair, nibbling on her pizza, wishing for the awkward atmosphere to disappear. It was even worse because Isaac chose to uncharacteristically remain silent, instead of chattering away through dinner like he normally did.
"Do you plan on coming here to study again?" Aunt Phoebe finally asked after they were almost done eating.
Kwon looked directly at Luna, a strange expression on his face. "Only if Luna wants to."
"Su-sure." Luna's smile was broken and hesitant. She still found this situation strange and extremely nerve-wracking. "Maybe Simon could join us next time."
"Oh, I hope so," Issac whined.
Kwon nodded. "He should be able to. I know that he and Carl had a family thing today."
Luna felt her eyes scrunch up at the strange sentence that left Kwon's mouth. Was Simon and Carl somehow related?
"Why would Simon and Carl have a family thing at the same time?"
Kwon gave Isaac a puzzling look, almost as if he were looking at some foreign object. "They're cousins. Didn't you know that?"
"What?!" Isaac screeched, almost falling out of his chair. "Simon is related to that dirtbag?!"
Now that Luna thought about it, Simon and Carl did look alike. Though Simon was a little more rough-looking around the edges.