Second Place: I Put a Spell on You

I Put a Spell on You

by Katie Kent

Second Place

“Something you want to tell me?” Zadie nudged me, winking. 

I tore my eyes away from Georgia, my cheeks warm. “Nothing to tell.”

Zadie rolled her eyes, dropping her voice. I had to strain my ears to make out her words over the chatter in the canteen. “Come off it, Skye. You’ve barely stopped looking at her since she started here.”

I scoffed, taking a sip of my water, but I had no retort- I’d been busted. Georgia was the prettiest girl I’d ever seen, with her long, blonde hair, eyes so blue it felt like I was drowning every time I looked at her, long legs, and a figure to die for. Zadie was right- I’d noticed her from the very first day she’d started here, a couple of weeks ago.

“I think it’s cute,” Zadie continued. “Your first proper crush. And great timing, too.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

Zadie looked around, dropping her voice again. “You know. What your mum told you the other month.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?!” Zadie shook her head. “Doesn’t it feel great, the fact you know you can make her fall in love with you? No stressing about whether she likes you back.”

I sighed. “Just because I’ve got the ability to make anyone fall for me, doesn’t mean I’m going to use it. I want someone to be with me because they actually like me, not because I’ve put a spell on them. I told you this before.”

“I know, but-”

“I told you what happened with my parents.” When Mum had told me about this ability passed down in our family, she hadn’t held back on the whole truth. She told me she’d put a spell on Dad to make him fall in love with her. When I was two she removed the spell, sure that he was actually in love with her- and soon after that he left us, saying he had fallen out of love with her. I still remember hearing her cry in the middle of the night. Once removed, the spell can’t be used again on the same person, so that was our happy family life over. Mum had said she’d been in two minds as to whether to tell me about this ability- it had ruined her life, but she didn’t want to keep anything from me.

“We’re just teenagers,” Zadie said. “You’ll probably go off her in a few months anyway. Then you can remove the spell and move onto the next girl. At least you’ll get to have some fun in the meantime.”

“And what if I don’t go off her?”

She shrugged. “Then just keep the spell on.”

I lay back in my seat, crossing my legs. “I don’t want to have a relationship based on dishonesty.”

She shoved a chip into her mouth. “What’s the harm? For her, it will feel like she’s in love with you. She won’t know any different.”

“That’s not the point. I’d know. I don’t even know if she’s into girls, anyway. If I put a spell on her and she’s straight, that will be extremely confusing for her.”

“True. I hadn’t thought about that. Well, maybe she’ll fall for you naturally.”

“Doubt it.” I’d never had much confidence. Even if Georgia was into girls, why would she be into me? As a short, shy girl with glasses, I didn’t really have much to offer.

“Guess what I’ve just found out?” Zadie’s eyes were shining as we walked to school together a few weeks later. Her phone had just buzzed with a text, and when she’d read it, she had a big smile upon her face.

“Huh?” I had to admit that I wasn’t really listening. My crush on Georgia had really ramped up, and I was finding it hard to concentrate on anything else. Every time I saw her, goosepimples broke out all over my body and the butterflies fluttered their wings in my stomach so intensely that I felt like I was going to throw up. It was like this every weekday morning as my body hummed with the anticipation of seeing her.

Zadie grinned. “I know your mind is elsewhere, but you’ll want to listen to this. It’s about Georgia.”

I came to a stop, raising my eyebrows. “Georgia?” 

“You know- tall, pretty face, blonde hair. She’s new. Don’t know if you’ve noticed her.”

I stuck my tongue out. “Very funny. Anyway, what about her?”

“She’s bi.”

My eyes went wide. “No way.”

“Yes way. She told some of the others at lunchtime yesterday, apparently.”

I started walking again. “Cool.”

“Cool?!” Zadie smirked. “This is what you’ve been waiting for. Ask her out.”

The nerves rushed through my body. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

I shut my eyes for a second. “Just because she’s into girls, doesn’t mean she’s into me.”

“No, but you won’t know unless you ask.”

“I can’t.”

She sighed. “Skye, you really need to work on your confidence. There’s every chance she might like you back.”

“And every chance she’ll laugh in my face.” As we arrived at the gates, I saw Georgia chatting to some girls in front of the front door to the school, and my heart started pounding.

“Hey, Georgia. How are you?” Zadie asked, as we passed her.

I glared at Zadie, but she just smirked at me.

“Hi, Zadie. Hi, Skye.” Georgia smiled at us, and I felt like I was about to pass out. “I’m good thanks. How are you?”

Zadie stayed silent, obviously prompting me to answer.

“F… fine. Th… thanks.” I cursed myself in my head.

“See you later.” Zadie grabbed my hand and pulled me through the door. “What was that?!” she hissed.

I let go of her hand and ran it through my hair. “I can’t talk to her.”

“Well, that’s pretty obvious. But you’ll need to get over that if you’re going to ask her out.”

“I already told you, I can’t. Why would she want to go with me?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know, maybe because you’re smart, kind and pretty?”

I stared at her. ”She’s way out of my league.”

“She’s not. But anyway, don’t forget you have a secret weapon up your sleeve.”

I’d been determined not to use the spell. But as I watched Georgia walk through the door, paying no attention to me, something ignited in me. I’d never be able to ask her out without it, risk her disappointing me or at worst laughing at me. If I used the spell, I’d know she’d say yes. Maybe she’d even ask me first. Having a girlfriend would be good for me, I reasoned. Help me with my confidence, until I was ready for a proper girlfriend. And she was bi anyway. She wouldn’t freak out if she started crushing on me. What did I have to lose?

I waited until the end of the day to use the spell. I’d let this take root overnight and see how she acted around me tomorrow. When she looked at me and smiled, I forced myself to maintain eye contact, muttering the spell under my breath. She blinked, shaking her head, and adrenaline rushed through my body.

I barely slept that night, but when my alarm went off I sprang out of bed.

“You’re distracted,” Zadie noted as we walked to school. “Even more than usual.”

I couldn’t stop the smile from breaking out on my face. “Let’s just say I have a good feeling about today.” I yawned- I’d have to have a can of Coke later to keep myself awake, but nothing could spoil my good mood.

She raised her eyebrows. “You didn’t?”

“I did,” I confirmed.

She squealed. “When are you going to ask her out, then?”

I shrugged, the nerves back. “I don’t want to rush her.”

“She’ll have woken up unable to stop thinking about you. You should strike while the iron is hot.”

“We’ll see.” Despite knowing for sure that Georgia liked me now, the thought of asking her out was still making me twitchy. 

As usual, my eyes sought her out as soon as we arrived at the school gates. She was already inside, taking books out of her locker. Our eyes met, and when she smiled at me, my insides turned to mush.

During English class, I couldn’t help but notice the way her eyes subtly shifted to me every few minutes. One time, I smiled at her, and her cheeks went pink.

“She’s got it bad for you,” Zadie said, at break time. “The spell definitely worked. So ask her out already.”

The butterflies were back. “It’s harder than I thought it would be,” I confessed. “I know she likes me, but she might still say no.”

She smirked. “Ain’t no way someone who’s checking you out as much as she is would say no to you.”

I put my apple back in my lunchbox. My stomach was churning far too much to be able to eat. “But she’s only checking me out because I put a spell on her.”

“You don’t know that for sure. But regardless, you do know for sure that she’s into you. Don’t waste this.”

At Zadie’s urging, I agreed I’d ask Georgia out after the final bell rang. As we packed up our things after Maths, Zadie nudged me again. Everyone else had left, and it was just the three of us in the room.

My mouth dry, I rehearsed the words I’d been planning in my head all day. But before I had a chance to walk over to Georgia’s desk, she was there in front of me.

“Hey, Skye.”

“Hey, Georgia.” My mouth having been dry a few minutes ago, it was now watering. Her hair was wavy today, and my fingers itched with the urge to run through it. 

“Listen,” she said. “I was just wondering if you wanted to go out with me. Like on a date.”

“Yes,” I said, immediately, as Zadie tried to hide her smile. “I mean yeah, that would be fun.”

The relief on Georgia’s face was palpable. Of course, she hadn’t been sure that I was into her. She unfolded a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to me. “Here’s my number. Text me later.”

As soon as she’d left the room, Zadie squealed again. “Your first ever date. This is so exciting.”

I grinned at her, already thinking about where we could go on our date, but in the back of my mind, the knowledge that Georgia had only asked me out because of the spell gnawed at me. What did it say about me, that I’d needed to use magic to make her interested in me? 

Our first date went well, and we even shared a goodbye kiss at the end of the evening. I probably wouldn’t have plucked up the courage, but she lunged at me as I was saying goodbye, and there was no way I was going to turn her down. Kissing Georgia was even better than I’d fantasised about in my head. Her lips were soft, and tasted of apples and cinnamon. I ran my fingers through her hair, and she giggled as we pulled away. 

“That was amazing.” There was a dazed look upon her face.

“Tell me about it.” I could barely remember my own name.

Over the next couple of months, we couldn’t get enough of each other. We spoke on the phone for over an hour every night, and spent every weekend together.

“I really like Georgia,” Mum said, one night as the two of us sat eating dinner. “But you two seem to have got serious very soon. Please tell me you didn’t put a spell on her.”

I bit my lip, and she sighed. “After all the warnings I gave you.”

“I know, Mum. But I really like her.”

“That much is obvious. But what about what she wants?”

“She wants me.” I could hear the defensiveness in my voice. “What does it matter why?”

“You know why it matters.” She speared a piece of pasta with her fork.

I put my own fork down. “You’re the one who told me about this ability in the first place. Why tell me if you didn’t expect me to use it?”

“I told you,” she said, patiently. “I didn’t want to hide anything from you. I wanted you to have all the facts. But now part of me wishes I hadn’t said anything.”

“You’re not going to tell her, are you?” I tapped my leg against the table leg.

“Of course not. But how long are you going to keep this up?”

My phone buzzed with a text. I smiled when I saw Georgia’s name on the screen, but what her message said made the smile drop from my face.

"Listen, I hope this isn’t too soon, but I just wanted you to know that I love you."

I’d been enjoying dating Georgia, but it had always been in the back of my mind, the fact that I’d bewitched her. If I hadn’t put this spell on her, goodness knows what she’d be doing now. Maybe she’d be with some other girl or boy. Someone who hadn’t put a spell on her.

Her telling me she loved me should have made me deliriously happy. Instead, I just felt guilty, because I knew that this wasn’t real. Her love wasn’t real. It was just a mirage. 

I put my phone back down on the table.

“Not going to reply to her?” Mum asked.

“Later.” I forced a mouthful of pasta into my mouth.

“I need to remove the spell,” I told Zadie, the next day.

She gawped at me. “What? Why?”

“She told me she loves me.” I’d been tossing and turning all night, eventually coming to the conclusion about 3am that I’d have to remove the spell.

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Yes.” I rubbed my eyes. “Because it’s not real. I’m living a lie.”

“She’s happy.” Zadie took a book out of her locker. “Everyone can see it. And she makes you happy. What is wrong with that?”

“She’s only happy because I put a spell on her.”

She shut the locker door. “What does it matter? Happiness is happiness.”

“It matters because there might be someone else out there for her. Someone who she’s really into. But because I’m forcing her to be with me, she’ll never get to be with them.”

“You’re overthinking this.”

I yawned. “I just can’t do it anymore. I feel too guilty. I’m going to end it tonight.”

She sighed. “There’s nothing I can say to change your mind, is there?”

I shook my head, and she gave me a sympathetic smile. “Maybe she likes you anyway. Maybe nothing will change.”

I gave her a sad smile back. “I’m not that lucky, Zadie.” I’d seen myself how she’d changed after I’d cast the spell. She’d barely noticed me, and then suddenly she couldn’t keep her eyes off me.

That evening, I went over to Georgia’s house with a bunch of flowers. 

“Ooh, they’re pretty,” she said, when she opened the door.

“Pretty flowers for a pretty girl.”

Inside the house, she took the flowers from me and put them in a vase of water. “You never replied to my text.”

“I know, sorry. I just wanted to talk to you in person.” I took her hands in mine, facing her. “I love you, too.”

Her smile lit up her face. “You do?”

I rolled my eyes. “No, I’m joking. Of course I love you, idiot. You’re the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning and the last thing before I go to sleep at night. I’m head over heels for you.”

She clutched a hand to her chest dramatically. “So poetic.”

“Shut up.” My cheeks went red. “It’s all true.” Suddenly, tears were in my eyes.

Her expression changed to one of concern. “Hey,” she said softly, wiping my tears away with her finger. “What’s up?”

“They’re just happy tears,” I lied. “I just can’t believe I get to be with you.”

“Aww.” She pulled me close to her and pressed her lips against mine. I kissed her softly, savouring each moment as if it was the last time- because it probably was.

“I love you,” I said, as I laced my shoes about an hour later. “Don’t ever forget that. These past couple of months have been the best ones of my life.” 

She laughed. “You’re being really odd this evening, you know? But I love you, too.”

As I walked away from her house, I turned and looked back at her. She smiled at me. “See you tomorrow.”

I muttered the spell under my breath as I looked into her eyes. She blinked and shook her head. I turned back and took off at a brisker pace as the tears fell down my cheeks.

“Are you okay, Skye?” Mum asked the next morning, as I stirred the milk into my cereal. “You look sad.”

“I removed the spell.” I knew I’d done the right thing, but the thought of Georgia falling out of love with me, of treating me like anyone else, made me want to be sick.

“Ah.” She put her hand on mine. “You’ve done the right thing. If it’s meant to be, someone will want you even without the spell.”

I nodded. “I know. I just really want to be with Georgia.”

“One day, someone will love you the way you love them. Without any spells.”

I dawdled all the way to school, in no hurry to face reality.

“We’re going to be late at this rate.” Zadie checked her watch. “You’re going to have to see her sooner or later.”

I sighed. “I told her I loved her last night. Nothing has changed for me, but for her everything will be different.”

“Maybe.” Zadie picked up her pace, and I struggled to keep up with her. “But maybe not.”

“I’d rather you didn’t give me false hope. It’ll just hurt more when she dumps me.”

Zadie shook her head. “Okay, so she’s about to break your heart. But wouldn’t it be better to get it over with?”

“I suppose.” We walked the rest of the way in silence, and by the time we arrived at the school gates, I had a stitch in my side. “Hang on.” I came to a stop, pulled my water bottle out of my bag and took a gulp. “Okay. Let’s go.” I didn’t feel anywhere near ready enough for what was about to happen, but Zadie was right- it would be better to get it over and done with so that I wasn’t worrying about it all day.

Georgia was standing chatting with her friends when we walked into the school. When she saw me she nudged one of her friends, said something to her and then started to walk in my direction. My heart started to race, and stars appeared in front of my eyes.

“You’ve got this.” Zadie squeezed my arm. “I’ll give you two some space. Come and find me at break time.”

“Hey.” Georgia smiled at me.

“H… hi.”

She narrowed her eyebrows. “You okay? You seem nervous.”

“F… fine.” I cursed myself inside. I’d kissed this girl, told her I loved her, and now I was back to acting like an idiot around her. 

“Okay. Well, I need to talk to you about something.”

And here It starts. I took a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare myself for the inevitable. “Hit me.”

“I was wondering if you wanted to go to the school dance with me.”

I stared at her. ”Huh?”

”The dance,” she repeated. ”Will you go with me?”

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why? Because I love you, idiot!” She bopped me affectionately on the nose.

“Oh, right.” There was a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’d clearly got the spell wrong. I should have been happy that she said she still loved me, but it was only delaying the inevitable. I’d have to try again later.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You seem weird this morning.”

I forced myself to take a deep breath. “I’m fine. Of course I’ll go to the dance with you.”

She grinned. “Awesome.”

“I was thinking about you all lesson,” Zadie said, at break time, as we sat on the benches by the toilets. “So, how did it go?”

I shrugged. “It didn’t work.”

“What do you mean it didn’t work?”

“She still loves me.”

She clutched my arm, a big smile on her face. “This proves it. She likes you anyway, spell or no spell.”

I sighed. “No, all it proves is that I got the spell wrong. I’ll have to talk to Mum tonight, to see what I got wrong. Then I’ll have to go through this all over again.”

She took a bite of her chocolate bar. “Why is it so hard for you to believe that this girl actually likes you?”

“Because I felt the spell work the first time.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw Georgia standing with her friends by the lockers. She turned her head and gave me a wave. I waved back, but couldn’t stop the tears springing to my eyes. She was so beautiful, and I was about to lose her.

“You need to have more confidence in yourself.” Zadie took a swig of her Coke. “Both in your ability to attract a girl, and your ability to do a spell correctly. How can you be sure the spell is wrong? You said you felt it work the first time. It’s the same words both times, right? Did you feel it work the second time?”

I frowned, remembering Georgia’s slow blink and head shake after I’d recited the spell. “I thought I did. But I must have been mistaken.” I muttered the words to myself, but when Zadie blinked and shook her head, I swallowed.

She looked into my eyes. “You look nice today, Skye. That dress really suits you.” She was clearly checking me out.

“Oh, shit. Zadie, this might sound weird. But how do you feel about me right now?”

Zadie’s cheeks turned pink, and I groaned. “I think I accidentally cast the spell on you.”

“Oh.” She let out a breath. “Thank God.” She giggled. “I’ve always thought I was straight, and suddenly I can’t keep my eyes off you.”

I bit my lip. “What if I can’t remove the spell?”

Her eyes flickered to my lips. “Then I’m going to spend the rest of my life pining over you. But I’m not worried. I have faith in you.”

I wish I did. But there was nothing else I could do but try. Zadie and I had been friends for years; this would really complicate our friendship. “Okay.” I looked into her eyes as I recited the spell again.

She blinked, and shook her head. “Okay, I don’t want to jump your bones anymore.” 

I had to laugh at the relieved expression on her face. “It worked.” 

“Thank goodness.” She giggled. “But you know what this means. You know how to do the spell. Georgia really does like you.”

I didn’t even dare allow myself to hope. “Just because it worked that time, doesn’t mean it worked on her.”

She sighed. “We really need to work on your confidence, girl. You’re hot. I know that for sure.” She winked at me.

I slapped her with my hand. “That was just a spell.”

“For me, yes. But not for her.”

“We’ll see.”

As we packed up our things at the end of English class that day, I turned to Georgia. “Fancy going for a coffee?”

“Sure.” She leaned forwards and gave me a quick peck on the lips, and warmth spread through me. I really hoped that Zadie was right and that what we had was real. 

We held hands as we walked to the coffee shop, telling each other about our days. I hoped my hand wasn’t as sweaty as it felt.

I warmed my hands on the coffee cup, trying to pluck up the courage to ask the question that could change everything.

“You still don’t quite seem like yourself.” She took a sip of her coffee. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“I know.” I smiled gratefully at her. “You’re right, there has been something on my mind. I need to ask you something, and it’s important you’re honest.”

Now she was the one who looked worried. “You’re not going to dump me, are you?”

“As if.” I took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I love you, you know that.”

A smile broke out upon her face. “So, what’s this question, then?”

“When did you first realise you liked me? Like, liked me liked me.”

“Oh.” She looked deep in thought. “Well, it’s been a while. To be honest I thought you were cute from the first time I saw you.”

“You did?” My voice shook. 

“Yeah. I mean, you’re gorgeous.”

I scoffed. “Hardly.”

She shook her head. “I wish you believed in yourself more.  Anyway, I guess the first time I really thought about properly asking you out was a couple of weeks before I came out.”

Time stood still. That was before I’d put the spell on her.

She continued. “If I’m being honest, I came out because of you. No one would have known I was bisexual unless I’d made a big deal of it, because I’d told people I was seeing a boy a few months ago. But I wanted you to know I was into girls, too. I had to make the first move, though. You were so shy around me.”

“But it was the only on the day that you asked me out that I noticed you looking at me.”

She laughed. “Skye, I’d been watching you for way longer than that.” She clamped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry, that probably sounded weird.”

Tears sprung to my eyes, and concern broke out on her face. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. These are happy tears.” This time, it wasn’t a lie.

“You soppy thing.” She reached out and wiped the tears away with her finger. “I can’t wait for the dance.”

“Same.” My heart felt like it was about to burst. She actually loved me. There had been no need for the spell after all. “I love you,” I told her. 

She grinned at me. “I love you, too.”

Winning pieces are published as received.

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Fiction Potluck

October 2025

Second Place Winner:

Katie Kent

Bio coming soon.