Love Potions Don't Exist

"You're so amazing, Preston," she whispered to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"London-"

"Oh, aren't you guys just the sweetest!" their mother exclaimed as she entered the living room. "Where's my camera?" she said to herself as she moved to a nearby table and started rummaging through the drawer.

"Mom, please don't-" Preston began.

"Here it is!" she said, turning back around to face them. "Look at the camera and smile!" she said. London leaned her face towards her brother's, resting her face up against his and smiling brightly. "Smile, Preston, so I can take the picture," his mother said again. He went ahead and mustered a weak smile so that the moment could end. "Now why don't you kiss his cheek or something, London?" she said, keeping her camera pointed towards them. London immediately pressed her warm lips up against his face as their mother took several more pictures. "So precious," she said to herself as she returned the camera. "Anyway, you two had better get to school then."

Preston quickly maneuvered himself out from under his sister and stood up as their mother left the room. London stood up beside him, close enough so that her bra-less chest was pressed softly up against his arm.

"Ready?" she asked with a smile.

"God help me," he said to himself as they walked out the door, London insisting once more on holding his hand.

Preston went ahead and took the initiative to drive them that day, figuring it was at least something that could make him feel normal that morning. Normal went out the window pretty quick, however, once his sister reached over and rested her hand softly on his thigh.

"Let's...let's do the hand holding thing again," he said, taking a firm grasp of her hand and resting it between them, figuring it was a better option than having her hand on his leg.

"Okay!" she said happily.

Once they got to school and parked the car, Preston turned to his sister. "Listen, I know you're gonna want to, but we can't hold hands here," he said to her. "You know that, right? Everyone knows that we're brother and sister, and it would be really, REALLY fucking weird. You understand?"

London stuck her lip out in a whiny sort of way. "I guess," she admitted. "But I'll have a better time understanding if you can do something for me first."

"What?" he asked, fearing the answer.

"Kiss me," she said.

"No, goddammit!" he replied angrily.

"Please!?" she begged. "I promise I won't try and hold your hand all day if you just kiss me once. Otherwise, I might slip up and forget in front of a large group of people." Preston could tell that she was absolutely serious about what she was saying.

"Ugh, fine!" he relented. "But just on the cheek, okay?"

"Deal!" she said, leaning her face closer to his. Preston looked around the parking lot, and once he saw the coast was clear, leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

"There," he said, pulling back quickly as if it was physically painful or something.

"You're so great, Pressy!" she said in a sickly-sweet sort of way.

"Please don't call me that," he pleaded as they got out of the car.

As they walked towards the school building, London kept her promise and did not try to hold her brother's hand. However, she walked so close to him that she continually brushed up against him, making it so that Preston couldn't even swing his arms normally as he walked.

"Renardo!" Preston called out as they entered the building. Renardo was sitting at his usual spot where he typically waited for Preston to arrive. With a nod of his head, Renardo gathered his things and joined Preston and London as they walked down the hall.

"How's it going?" Renardo asked.

"Bad," Preston replied simply.

"Oh yeah?"

"We need to talk, Renardo," Preston said. They stopped outside the boys bathroom. Preston turned to his sister. "You're not so crazy that you're gonna follow me in here, are you?" he asked her. London thought for a moment.

"Not at the moment," she said.

"Okay, good," he replied. "Look, why don't you go ahead and go to your first period class, alright? I'll just see you at lunch."

London looked sadly into his eyes and pouted. "Okay then," she said. Then, in the blink of an eye, she smiled once more. "I'll be thinking about you!" she said. She ruffled his hair and skipped merrily down the hall.

"What's the hell's with her?" Renardo asked.

"Bathroom," Preston replied simply. Once they were in the bathroom, Preston checked all the stalls and made sure they were alone. Then, he turned to his friend and punched him as hard as he could on the shoulder.

"Ow, bitch!" Renardo replied, rubbing the spot that Preston's punch had landed. He looked at Preston with a confused expression. "Why?" he asked simply.

"Your stupid little truffles worked!" Preston explained quietly. "When she saw me this morning, London fell in love with me!"

"They worked!?" Renardo repeated. "Fuck yeah!" he cried out in victory, pumping his fist. Preston pulled his arm back as if he was going to hit him again, but Renardo quickly retreated.

"Did you hear me, jackass?" Preston said. "My sister is in love with me! Or...infatuated with me, or whatever this bullshit is."

"Dude, that's...that's fucked up," Renardo said with a shake of his head.

"I know that!" Preston replied angrily. Renardo pulled the box of truffles out of his bag and looked at it.

"Still...I can't believe that it worked!" he said as he looked lovingly at the heart-shaped box. In a flash, Preston reached over and snatched the box away from Renardo. "Hey!" Renardo cried as Preston shoved the box into his own bookbag.

"It was all fun and games when I thought this recipe was bullshit," Preston began, "but now that it's real, I can't let you go through with your stupid little plan."

"Why not!?" Renardo replied.

"Because it's fucked up, that's why!" Preston said. "I know you're a strange guy with questionable morals, but deep down you know it would be wrong, right? I mean, do I really have to explain this to you?"

Renardo looked as though he wanted to cry. "Yeah," he said sadly. "I guess you're right."

"Good," Preston said. "In the meantime, I'll just hold on to these, just in case," he said, patting his bookbag.

"Fine," Renardo said, sounding defeated.

"Now," Preston continued, "what are we gonna do about London?"

"What do you mean?" Renardo asked.

"My sister wants to fuck me, Renardo, that's what I mean!" Preston replied. "How do I make it stop?"

Renardo shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno," he said simply.

"Is there an antidote?" Preston asked. Renardo shrugged. "Will it wear off on its own?" Preston asked. Once again, Renardo shrugged.

"Mervin didn't mention anything about how to undo it," Renardo replied.

"Goddamn you, Renardo," Preston said. Just then, a couple of freshmen walked in the bathroom. They froze in place when they saw Preston and Renardo standing there. "You're gonna help me figure this out, dude," Preston said to Renardo as they left for first period.

They sat at their table together in the back of the room where they always sat in Economics and got their materials out for class. Preston shared all the details of the morning with him as they waited for class to start.

"That's fucking insane!" Renardo replied after hearing about it. "Well, at least you get a break from her at school, right? I mean, you don't have any classes together, so you only have to put up with her at lunch."

In that moment, as if on cue, London walked in the classroom and approached the teacher's desk.

"Oh no," Preston said, somehow knowing exactly what she had done. He couldn't hear the conversation because they were at the back of the room, but he saw the teacher nod and gesture towards the table where he and Renardo were sitting.

"Hey Preston!" she said happily as she approached their table.

"Why are you here, London!?" Preston replied.

"Got all my classes switched to match yours," she said simply. "Told them we were having a rough time at home and needed each other. Thankfully all our courses were the same, just in different class periods."

"Oh my god," Preston said, slamming his head down on the table.

"So listen, Renardo," she began, "can you let me sit there and you go sit at the empty table at the front of the room?"

"Don't do it, Renardo," Preston said as he lifted his head up to look pleadingly at his friend.

"No way!" Renardo said to London.

"What if I promise to never call you that nickname that you hate so much ever again?" she asked.

"Renardo..." Preston warned.

"Deal!" Renardo replied as he gathered his things. "Sorry dude, good luck," he said to Preston as he moved to the front of the room. As she sat down in Renardo's former seat, she scooted the chair as close to Preston as she could and started getting her things out for class.

"London, I can't believe you got your schedule switched and lied about our home life being bad!" Preston whispered.

"Yeah, I feel a little bad about that," she said as she took his hand in hers and hid it under the table, resting it in her lap. Being left handed, Preston couldn't really argue otherwise, and for the sake of not making a scene, he just let it go. They took notes and did their work for the whole class period, hand-in-hand.

It was more of the same for the rest of the day. In her defense, the only time that London ever came close to showing any kind of obvious affection towards him was a brief moment at lunch where she rested her head on his shoulder for a while, and no one said anything or looked strangely at them at all. Other than that, it was just more hand-holding under tables and her running her foot up and down his leg whenever they sat beside each other.

After school, Preston got Renardo to follow him and London out to the parking lot. They all got in Preston and London's car, at which point Preston decided to come clean about everything.

"London?" Preston began slowly.

"Hmm?" she replied sweetly.

"I need to tell you something that you're not going to wanna hear," he said. "Just know that everything is going to be alright, and we're gonna figure this out together."

"Okay!" London chirped happily as she grabbed her brother's hand and rested it in her lap.

"Last night when you ate that funny tasting truffle, you accidentally ingested a love potion."

"Love potion?" she repeated, cocking her head to the side in confusion.

"Yes," Preston said. "Well...love truffle, I guess. That's why you're feeling...whatever it is you're feeling towards me. Renardo acquired a recipe for love potion chocolate truffles, brought them to our house last night, and like a dumbass, left them lying around. Then, when you ate one, after twelve hours passed I was the first person you saw, so you fell for me."

London lifted her eyebrow and studied Preston's face. "You're not serious right now, are you?" she asked calmly.

"I'm afraid I am," Preston replied darkly.

London suddenly burst into a fit of laughter. "Oh, Pressy!" she said between guffaws. "I love you, but you're being kind of dumb right now. Love potions don't exist, silly!"

"That's what I thought too!" Preston exclaimed. "But...well, look at you! You've been pining over me all day! How else do you explain your sudden infatuation with your own brother?"

London shrugged. "I dunno," she began. "Sometimes these things just happen, right?"

Preston thought for a second. "No!" he exclaimed.

"I've never heard of a sister falling in love with her brother," Renardo chimed in. "Hmm," he began, taking his phone out of his pocket. "Maybe I can find some information about it online, though," he said.

"I think your online research has done enough damage as it is!" Preston replied.

"I figured it was just a twin thing or something," London said. "I mean, we've always been fairly close, and I've often felt like you complete me. Maybe I just suddenly realized how wonderful you are! And I can see so clearly now that you are the perfect guy for me. Always have been!"

Preston looked at Renardo with a troubled expression. "What the hell are we gonna do here, man?" Preston said, hearing the intense worry in his voice as he spoke.

Renardo thought for a moment. "Well, we can go see Mervin," he suggested.

"You can't be serious!" Preston shouted.

"Who's Mervin?" London asked as she rubbed Preston's hand against her face.

"The bum who Renardo got the love potion recipe from," Preston said, pulling his hand back beside him.

"He's the WIZARD who gave me the love potion recipe that WORKS," Renardo corrected, "and if anyone can help us, it's him. Surely he knows something to counter all this. Let's go see him right now and explain to him what happened."

"I dont wanna tell anybody about this!" Preston said as London leaned forward and put her hand inside of his shirt, lightly stroking his chest.

"C'mon, it's our best shot!" Renardo insisted. "You got any better ideas?"

"Ugh...no!" he admitted. "Alright, let's go then. And you," he said, removing London's hand from inside his shirt, "sit in your seat, face forward, and...just hold my hand or something." London gladly took his hand in hers and rested it on her thigh. Preston didn't love it, but figured it was the best way to deter her from feeling him up as he drove.

They drove for about 15 minutes or so, Renardo directing them the whole way. Eventually they came to a stop outside an old, tattered apartment building with busted windows and a roof that didn't look like it was long for this world.

"So this is it?" Preston asked as he turned off the car.

"Yeah," Renardo confirmed. "It's apartment 3A. Just ask for Mervin." Renardo sat back in his seat and wrapped his arms tightly around himself.

"You certainly don't think you're not coming with me, right?" Preston asked.

"I got you here, but you can do the rest," Renardo replied. "I don't wanna go in again. It's scary in there."

"You can either come in with me willingly," Preston began, "or I can make a big scene right here on the street as I drag you out of the car. I'll give you a minute to think about it."

"Fine!" Renardo relented as he got out of the car. "You're so violent, Preston."

Preston turned to London. "Why don't you just wait here," he suggested. "Hopefully we won't be too long."

"Nah, I'll come and protect you," she said as she got out of the car. Preston wondered when he would ever get a moment away from her again.

After making their way up the stairs, the three of them reached the door to apartment 3A. Preston reached his hand out to knock, but before his hand could even touch the door, it flew open. A giant of a man took up the whole doorway. He wore a tight, white tanktop and a baggy pair of gym shorts. His head was shiny and bald, and his arms were as big around as Preston's waist.

"You here for the pickup?" he asked in a deep, booming voice as he attempted to hand them a wrinkled paper bag.

"No!" Preston replied, waving his hands out in front of him.

"Oh," the man replied. "Whatchoo want then?"

"Um...is Mervin here?" Preston asked shakily.

"Who?" the man snapped loudly.

Preston nudged Renardo with his elbow to silently indicate for him to take over.

"Um...I was here the other day and talked to a guy named Mervin," Renardo said. "Uh...he home?"

"Mervin?" the man said again. "Ain't no Mervin here. There used to be a guy named Mervin that lived here, but he died four years ago." Preston and Renardo exchanged looks of terror.

"What!?" Renardo cried out.

The giant man's head flew backwards as he let out an intense, roaring laugh. "You should've seen your faces!" he exclaimed as he propped his arm against the door frame and continued his fit of laughter. Once he had finally composed himself, he continued. "Mervin ain't here right now," he said.

"Do you know when he'll be back?" Preston asked.

"No tellin' with that crazy mother fucker," the man said. "He'll be here a few days, then he's gone for a week. Then he's back for a month, then gone for three months. I never know when I'm gonna see him."

"Do you do business with him?" Renardo asked cautiously.

The man turned on Renardo with an angry expression. "Who's asking?" he said threateningly. "You a cop?"

"God, no!" Renardo replied. "It's just that...I bought this love potion thingy from him and I really need a cure for it. Do you know anything about that?"

"Love potion, huh?" the man repeated. "That Mervin sure is into some weird shit. Sorry, but I can't help you."

"Do you have a number that we could reach him at?" Preston asked.

"Y'all have asked enough questions for now, I think," the man said as he stepped back into his apartment. "It's starting to make me uncomfortable. You need to leave now. Unless..." he began, eyeing London closely, "you can stay if you want to."

London smiled from behind Preston and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself tightly against him. "Thanks, but I'm in love with my brother!" she exclaimed proudly as she reached up and planted a quick kiss on Preston's ear.

The man's eyebrows shot up quickly. "White people," he said simply as he shook his head back and forth and shut his door.

"Well that was fruitless," Preston said as they retreated back down the stairs. "By the way Renardo, just a really smart move coming here in the first place. Who wouldn't want to buy magical recipes from a place like this?"

They got back in the car and made their way back to the school parking lot so Renardo could get his car. Preston insisted on him coming by their house to help them continue to think of ways to break the spell.

"It might just wear off on it's own eventually," Renardo suggested as they sat around the living room brainstorming.

"Yeah, but what if it doesn't?" Preston said as London sat beside him playing with his hair. Preston tried not to let on how good her fingers felt as they traced softly against his scalp. "Then we'd just be sitting around doing nothing about it while she got no better. I'd much rather take action."

"Alright," Renardo began. "What if she eats another one?"

"Another truffle?" Preston asked.

"Yeah. Maybe the second one would cancel out the first."

"What if it makes it stronger though?" Preston asked. "I can't keep her off of me as it is. Can you imagine if this intensified? She'd be dry humping me in math class!"

"Don't give me any ideas, Preston," London said seductively. "Although I can't deny that I haven't already thought of that one." She let her fingers fall to the back of his neck and traced circles with her fingernails. Goosebumps popped up on Preston's arms, and he didn't know if they were from pleasure or terror.

"Wait, I've got an idea!" Renardo said as he typed on his phone. "I'll look up some common...what's the opposite of an aphrodisiac?"

"Anaphrodisiac," London said.

"How'd you know that?" Preston asked. She just shrugged as she began massaging his shoulders.

"She's right, that's what they're called," Renardo said as he searched online. "I found an article about some foods that could kill your sex drive. Let's see...got any vegetable oil?"

"I'm sure we do," Preston replied. "What, should she just drink some then?"

"I'm not doing that, thank you very much," London said calmly.

"Please work with me here, sis," Preston begged. "I really wanna help you get better. You might have to ingest some unusual things in order for that to happen, though."

"I don't want to 'get better'," she said as she leaned into him, pressing her breasts firmly up against him. "I like what we've got going on." Speaking of liking things, Preston tried to focus on anything in the world other than her soft, pillowy mounds smushed up against his body.

"Maybe you should take some," Renardo suggested to Preston.

"Me?" Preston asked. "But she's the one not in her right mind."