Spellbound

Unit #440 - Alexandrov Apartment


The living room of this apartment looks more like a very comfortable library than someone's actual living space. A large bookshelf encompasses all of one wall, various nooks and crannies filled with books and magazines. A small flat-panel television set sits in the center most space of the shelves. Underneath it is a cabinet that houses a DVD player, along with a few game consoles and a scary amount of video games. A good number of the books that rest on these shelves are obscure works dealing with mythology, the occult, and mysticism. A few select shelves have been dedicated to romance novels, cookbooks, and foreign language guides. The walls have been done in a warm beige, the carpet in a light, plush cream. A long off-white sectional couch sits a comfortable distance away from the bookshelves, with an overhead lighting fixture providing an ample amount of artificial light for the relatively small living room. A narrow hallway leads to a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.


The yogurt maker that Chloe had gifted Mischa with earlier in the week is being put to good use. There are several jars of straight up vanilla yogurt in the fridge, and a few more of strawberry. After an eventful day of making yogurt and getting (more than) a little drunk to forget his abysmal love life, Mischa has taken to the couch. He's dozing lightly in a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, and little else. It's his day off, he's allowed to be as casual as he likes. The semi-noisy munching of the turtles in their new, large tank with their lettuce does little to keep him awake. He's cuddling his pillow and snoring a bit.

Yes, well there's something that Chloe should actually talk to Mischa about. Something that involves the ribbon that's still on her wrist. Her reason for avoidance? Well she was hoping that Lillian would be incorrect, and that it's just regular ribbon. Then again, she's got no idea how magic actually works, so there's no telling, right? Knocking on the door, she fiddles with the ribbon and keeps muttering, "No matter what, you're with Will. You love Will. You're going to be with Will." Each word, the mumble gets more convoluted.

Mischa jerks away from his slumber and tosses the pillow aside, glancing around at the apartment. It's certainly not the cleanest it's ever been — it's downright messy for Mischa's OCD-esque standards. He doesn't seem inclined to fix it at the moment, instead briskly moving at the door. The librarian doesn't bother to look out the peephole. He nearly tears the door asunder from the hinges when he opens it. Upon seeing who is rap-rap-rapping on his chamber door, he breaks out into a wide smile and blushes like a schoolgirl. "I was hoping you'd stop by. I was going to come, but then I thought, 'What if she doesn't want to see you?' and then I got… I got busy." The horrendously dirty kitchen is proof enough of this. He has been doing everything he can to take his mind off of Chloe, feeling guilty for even having these thoughts about her. And now that she's at his doorstep… it's just so much worse.

"You were… hoping it was me?" Chloe blinks at that, figuring that he'd likely just want her dead, what with the stupid ribbon and all. "Look, Mischa, the gift… I probably shouldn't have given it to you and… wait. Why did you want to see me?" She peers into the apartment and frowns. "Jesus. Why's your place such a mess? I was going to talk to you at work, but you were scheduled for an off-day and Doris was on the warpath, so I couldn't call before coming over…"

He has the decency to blush when she asks why his place is a mess. In truth, Mischa looks a little worse for the wear. There are dark circles under his eyes and he's letting himself get downright hairy on his face. He ushers Chloe into the apartment and closes the door behind her. "Why not? I love the gift. I have yogurt if you want some." His heart is pounding in his chest by now, so loud in his ears that he can barely hear what she's saying it seems like. Eventually he reaches out to grasp her hands. "I wanted to see you because I can't stop thinking about you. Summer dumped me. Broke up with me. I have no idea if this is some kind of crazy rebound thing, but… you're all I've thought about since that night. I feel like such a fool, Chloe. I don't know what I'm doing. I can't eat. I'm not really sleeping. There's something wrong here… but I just know that I need you." It strikes him as wrong even as the words pour out of his mouth and tears well in his eyes. And yet, a part of him truly believes this to be absolutely right, without a doubt.

"Awww fuck."
It's generally unusual for Chloe to swear, so that might be a clue. "Shit."
Glancing down at the ribbon on her wrist, she moves toward the kitchen. Grabbing a strawberry yogurt and a spoon, she shoves it at him and commands, "Eat." Then she moves to a chair, not the couch. That might be dangerous. "Look. I grabbed the wrong ribbon when I wrapped your gift. I… wait. Why did you break up with your girlfriend? How… I mean, what happened? After everything, after you pretty much told me I wasn't good enough…" Shaking her head, she rubs her hands over her face. "Snap out of it and eat something, alright? Then we'll get the place cleaned up. Your books are a mess."

He's being given orders by Chloe and thus can't refuse her as much as he'd like to. Love slave is a strong term to use when describing how Mischa is right now… but there are no other words. Free will has been sacrificed for the time being. He eats the yogurt in record time and pushes the jar away, clanking the spoon in it. "Ribbon? The one on your wrist?" Automatically his hand shoots out to try to untie it from Chloe before he tilts his head. "She dumped me because… there was this guy… you know, I was telling you about him. She said I didn't trust her… but it doesn't matter now because you're here." He pauses. "I don't want to clean up." There's a beat in between that, and he stammers a bit. "Unless you do, of course. We can do whatever you want. Please don't be upset, love."

"That'd be the one, yeah." Chloe takes the empty jar and the spoon back to the kitchen before he can touch the ribbon. "No!" She literally runs through the apartment, and comes back. Fixing the ribbon. So that he's not able to touch it. "I'm sorry she dumped you. And I'm not your…" Smacking her forehead with her right hand, she exhales a sigh. "I'm not your love, Mischa. Seriously, snap out of it. You're under a spell."

"A spell? What are you talking about?" Mischa asks with a laugh as he moves closer to Chloe, going in for the proverbial kill. His voice turns to a low rumble as he tries to put his hands on his shoulders. "I'm under your spell." Through the haze of the spell there's a small part of him crying out in the inside 'she's right, stop it you fool!' but his mind is still clouded. "What's going on with you? You're acting weird." Pot, meet kettle.

"A spell. The Ogham. Ribbons?" Chloe points at the ribbon on her wrist. "Mischa, it's a love spell. Or a lust spell. I can't remember what she said. Christ." She takes a deep breath, and edges back from him. "You're not. You're under some witch's spell. I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know. I just grabbed the ribbon and wrapped. I would never… not purposefully…" She was even too scared to use the ribbon on Will. She would never use it on anyone else!

It takes Mischa a long few moments before he remembers the little magical shop down the street. His eyes widen and he pulls away, recoiling from Chloe like she's on fire. "Oh my… Oh my God. How long is this going to last?" He asks, moving to slink down onto his couch. He puts his head in his hands, easily feeling like the biggest tool this side of the Alamo. "Jesus, Chloe." He's angry. But also more bent on self-loathing than anything right now. This only increases his previous yucky feelings about the break up ten fold.

"I don't know." Chloe shrinks away from him, moving over to the chair. "I really don't, Mischa. I promise… if I'd been paying attention? I wouldn't have… you have to believe me! I wouldn't purposefully ruin your relationship. I'm not that much of a bitch." She curls her feet under her body and offers him a weak smile. "It wouldn't work unless there were feelings there? And I can't get in touch with Lillian to find out. I've been trying, but I just keep getting the machine at the shop…"

"You didn't do anything to ruin that relationship, I did that myself. No help needed." It's said more than a touch bitterly at this point. He reaches up to characteristically run his fingers through his hair, making it a mess. "I feel… I feel so stupid. For everything. I just thought that this was natural…" Then it happens. The big emotional breakdown. Mischa has always tried to be rather guarded of his sadness, and his less manly feelings in general in front of Chloe. But now? He looks like a broken wreck of a man. He suddenly begins to cry without sound, save for his shaky breathing.

Chloe curses at herself, silently. Then she's moving back toward him, offering him a shoulder. It's no less than what he's done for her in the past, and she's still a friend, no matter what type of magical curse is on them at the moment, right? She exhales a slow sigh. "Don't. Don't feel stupid. The whole ribbon thing is my fault, and it won't work unless there's something there deep down, and christ. I just didn't want this to happen. I'm sorry. I feel like I'm toying with your emotions and… there there, let it out. Cry. You likely need to. Do you want more yogurt? You made a ton of the stuff and it'll go to waste if you don't eat it…"

Mischa shakes his head like a petulant child and buries his face in Chloe's shoulder, simply allowing himself to breath in her scent. He hugs her tightly against him. "Don't tell me what I need to do. I don't want to eat. I just want… for all of this to end. Just when I thought everything was going so well again… I fuck everything up, Chloe. Everything. Just leave me alone, okay? I'll be fine." He reaches up to wipe his eyes, pulling away from her finally.

"Hey, you want me to go and start avoiding you again? I can take that. This is my fault." Chloe doesn't keep a handkerchief in her pocket, or she'd offer it to him. "Sue me for being worried. You want to starve to death, that's your issue." Starting toward the door, she looks back over her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean… I mean… it's not that I don't… but you just/ and… I'm with Will… and the ribbon…" Sigh.

"I don't want you to avoid me, I just… I need to be alone, Chloe." So he can sink deeper into his hole of failure, more than likely. He stares downward at the ground and just nods his head at her words as though willing to let her verbally abuse him all she wants without much retort. Which is precisely what he does. When she starts to backpedal, giving him an apology. "Chloe, it's fine. We'll… we'll talk later when this is… when it's passed. Just… don't come over even if I tell you to, okay? I don't trust myself. You have no idea how badly I want you." The words are said almost gravely. Far more sternly than someone in the typical throes of lust would say it.

Once more, she moves to the kitchen. This time, she starts pulling out kitchen appliances, and alcohol, and whips up something fruity in the blender. She hears what he says, but she's ignoring it right now. She's going to behave, but with all she's accidentally put him through and all his life is putting him through? Knocking him out via the drink, is probably the kindest thing she can do. When she's got the fruity alcoholic concoction done, she moves back into the living room and offers it to him. "I'll go, but… I think we can work through this. Spell or no. It's not like you really want me, Meesh. It's more… well I don't know what the hell it is. I'm not a witch."

"Shut. Up." Mischa says firmly to Chloe. "You don't know what I want. You are not inside my head, not as much as you like to think." «Goddamnit, Chloe. Stubborn little…» He takes the drink and pounds it back without any effort at all. He's angry with her, to be sure. But angry at himself. At the entire situation. Given the fact that he's already drank today and now he's mixing drinks, the effects hit him rather hard. He slowly starts to curl up on the couch, grabbing his pillow. "I don't want to work through it. I want to wallow. I have that right. I lived in misery most of my life after May died. It's nothing new. It worked so well for me the first time, I don't know why I gave it up."

"I am too. You think I'm a stubborn little bitch." Chloe smirks at him, and then he's downing the drink. "You do have the right to wallow through the breakup. I don't have control over that. I can go screw with her mind if you want, but honestly? That's the extent of my abilities, and I'm not all that great at it, aye?" She watches him curl up, then she seats herself on the couch, and strokes his brow. "You shouldn't have to live in misery. Maybe things aren't as bad as you think they are? Who's May?"

Mischa lets out a very quiet burp, shaking his head. "I've always wanted you. I was just scared. Now I just regret not taking the chance when I had it. I'm sorry for hurting you, Chloe. I'm sorry." He turns to bury his face in his pillow for a moment. "No… Summer doesn't deserve that. She's… special." His eyes drift shut. He doesn't answer her for a bit, and he's seemingly asleep until he replies: "May was my fiance. She died in a car wreck about ten years ago. Didn't I ever tell you?"

"No, you didn't," Chloe replies quietly. "I never asked. You didn't seem to want to talk about before." Brushing her hand against his shoulder, she starts to rub it lightly. Just to try to calm him. "I got over it, okay? Don't worry about it. You went where you went, I went where I went… that's life. We're still friends, and you don't really want me. You're just going through the rebound, and coupled with the magic, it's screwing you up…"

"I'm already screwed up. What more can a little magic do to me?" Mischa croaks out, letting out something of a snicker. He shakes his head faintly and then rolls onto his side a little more. "Sorry, Chloe. Sorry." He says it quietly before he sinks into a deep sleep brought upon by the alcohol he's consumed and the general exhaustion that has become his life.

There is a part of Chloe that wants to wake him up. Instead, she lets him sleep. That was the point of making him that really strong drink anyhow. She sits there, just sort of holding him. Patting his head once, she whispers, "It's alright, Mischa. Mostly this is my fault. I'll track her down and find out if there's something to counter it…" Which will be easier said than done. Lillian has pretty much vanished, just leaving her shop to whoever wants to run it. With him asleep though, she doesn't move. Just sits there until he wakes up and needs a glass of water.

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