Billy V
Charlie waited for the cover of the night, trying not to look at his phone, which was blowing up with texts from Nick. He felt bad about not telling his boyfriend, but it couldn't wait. He needed his brother back. That's all that mattered. Nick would forgive him... right?
When the sky was black and the street was quiet, Charlie got out of the car and walked towards Agatha's property, pulling his hood up and lifting a bandana over his mouth and nose. He peeked into the living room window to see Agatha talking to herself while holding two mugs.
"So I say 'has the suspect been seen in the last twenty-four hours'? And she says 'only on TikTok'," Agatha was laughing.
Now or never. Charlie hefted himself onto the roof and climbed through an open window into a random bedroom. He turned on a lamp and began searching through the drawers. "Personal item, personal item," he muttered, eyes widening when he spotted a familiar pendant in a plastic bag. Agatha had been wearing it in Westview when she was fighting Wanda. It had to be what he needed.
When Charlie turned back to the window, the lamp crashed to the ground. Charlie winced, and panic flooded as Agatha let out a shout from behind him, "Hey!"
Charlie ran for the window, climbing onto the roof. He couldn't do this right now. It would be easier if he'd just walked into Agatha's and done the spell, but she'd likely take the pendant if she caught him.
For the first time, Charlie noticed just how high Agatha's roof was. "Okay, that's really high," he whispered as he staggered forward.
Agatha crawled out of the window behind him, carefully following. "Stop!"
They managed to last a couple of seconds in an anticlimactic chase before Agatha slid down the roof, clinging to the drainpipe. Charlie slipped through the slits above the porch, holding onto the planks before falling onto Agatha's doorstep and tumbling down the stairs.
"Oh my god that hurt." Charlie scrambled to his feet, glancing back to see Agatha roll onto the concrete. "Are you okay?" he couldn't help but ask.
"Stop!" Agatha shouted back at him, uncaring about her injuries.
"I'm trying to help," Charlie shouted back.
"Police!" Agatha shouted.
Charlie started to leave. "Please don't call the police, I can't have a criminal record!" he climbed the fence and started to run, knocking over trash cans.
"You picked the wrong house kid," Agatha called as she followed him. "Hold your horses! Stop!"
"I'll stop if you stop!" Charlie knew full well that Agatha wouldn't stop coming after him, but this was getting exhausting.
Agatha however, stopped to catch a breather. Charlie turned to look behind at her and ran into an open car door, falling to the ground in pain. Mrs Hart stepped out of the car, glaring at him. "Hooligan."
Agatha dragged Charlie back to her house, sitting him down on an armchair. The living room was set up like an interrogation, with the coffee table in between Charlie's chair and another armchair. Agatha was silent, dropping some rope, a roll of tape, and a binder on the table.
"Agatha, I didn't mean for that to be so chaotic," Charlie tried, but Agatha ignored him, adjusting the hose attached to her belt. "I panicked, so I ran. But I am very glad I can have this opportunity to fully explain myself to you."
Agatha sat herself down and folded her arms slowly. "So I'm curious. What compelled you to break into the home of a decorated detective?" she asked.
"Detective?" Charlie mused. "That's not what I was expecting but I can totally see that for you."
Agatha scoffed. "So let's talk about you then you little dirtbag," she drawled. "What were you looking for in my home?"
"Yeah, so I came here with a somewhat unorthodox plan to release you from the spell you're weirdly committed to," Charlie explained, but Agatha wasn't listening, glancing up at a painting on her wall. "But could I trouble you for a glass of water, or..."
Agatha got up, coming round to where Charlie sat and kicking him in the side. "Ow! Could we like, maybe not with the physical violence?" he exclaimed, shifting away as Agatha leaned closer.
"You wanna keep pokin' the bear?" Agatha whispered
"I do not want to poke the bear, no," Charlie shook his head.
"No. No you don't."
"No I don't."
"No you do not."
"No I do not."
"Do not wanna poke that bear?"
"You're right, I don't want to poke it," Charlie fought off a grin, pinching his lips together tightly.
Agatha got back up, walked over to her seat, and restarted her staring contest. "What were you after?" she asked.
Charlie leaned forward, a sly smile forming on his face. "The Witches' Road."
"what road?" Agatha shouted back.
"Oh my god," Charlie sighed.
Agatha straightened. "New question. Where were you last night between the hours of one and three a.m.?"
"See, I feel like you've typecast me as the mouthy teen who didn't actually kill the victim but is guilty of some other B-story crime." Agatha reached for a notepad, pulling a face as she flicked it open. This was getting exhausting. "But that couldn't be farther from the truth. I want to work with you, 'Detective Agatha'."
Agatha held a pen up dramatically, clicking it on and off. "It's off." Click. "There you go. That'll work." Click. "That won't work." Click. "Okay, you know what, you do you," Charlie leaned back.
Agatha plastered on an annoying voice, reading aloud what she was 'writing' on a her notepad. "Asleep in bed. total loser?" Okay, that was uncalled for. "Or totally lying. Let's find out."
Agatha yeeted her notebook across the room, before getting back up again, shuffling through the binder and slamming a handful of photos of flowers on the table. "Tell me about this."
Charlie leaned forward, confused. "Those are daisies," he pointed.
"Tell me who she is," Agatha insisted.
"Who?" Charlie frowned. Daisy?
"Tell me who she is," Agatha repeated.
"Who!?"
"Tell me what happened to her!" Agatha shouted.
"What are you talking about? These are just flowers!" Charlie gestured to the photos. The reaction was immediate. Agatha's face crumbled, and she looked at the photos in shock
"Wait, did you just hear what I said?" Charlie leaned back. He was getting through. Agatha picked up the photos, sorting through them with a look of confusion on her face. "They're just pictures of someone's front yard or something.
"See? Lots of flowers," Charlie pulled his notebook from his pocket and flicked to the page with the spell. Agatha's eyes flicked to the painting she kept looking at, and her hand ran over the frame. "And that's a painting. Nice painting." Charlie dug the pendant from his pocket. "Okay, I'm going to try this spell now. It'll only take a second."
As soon as Charlie started chanting the Release Spell in Latin, Agatha's attention snapped to him. "What are you doing? What is that? Stop it." Charlie kept chanting, and Agatha reached for the tape. "No. Shut your mouth."
Agatha forced Charlie from the chair and tied his hands behind his back. "That's really tight," Charlie tried.
"Shut your mouth," Agatha snapped, slapping tape loosely over his mouth and shoving him towards the closet.
"Oh come on, I do not want to go back in the closet," Charlie groaned as Agatha shoved him inside, shutting and locking the door.
Charlie shifted his bound hands so he could reach his phone from his pocket just as Nick started calling him. With a sigh, Charlie answered, and Nick's face appeared.
"Charlie? Charlie where are you- are you tied up? Oh, Char, please tell me you didn't go to her," Nick sighed.
Charlie rubbed his face on his shoulder until the edges of the tape fell off. "I'm sorry, but I had to. Have you done any research on the Witches Road, Nick?" he asked
"No, I've been focused on other things," Nick sighed. "What is it?"
"The myth says the Witches Road can give you what you're missing if you make it to the end. Agatha is the only known survivor," Charlie said. "This is the fastest way. Trying to search the entire globe will take too long."
"If you make it to the end. Char, I can't lose you," Nick swallowed, running a hand through his hair. "Stay there. I'm coming."
"You don't have to-"
"Charlie, she has you tied up in her closet-"
"She's still under my mother's spell. I just broke her out. Give me a day, Nick, please," Charlie begged.
Nick sighed. "My flight doesn't leave until tomorrow, and I won't get in until late afternoon the day after. You have until then, and then I'm dragging you off to find your brother the responsible way."
"Thank you Nick," Charlie grinned. "I'm sorry."
"No you're not. And I get where you're coming from. I would do the same thing if it were my brother - a different brother, not David. I'd avoid him at all opportunities," Nick joked.
"Me and Tommy will see you soon," Charlie nodded.
"Stay safe. If you don't trust her enough to stay, run. She's powerless right now, but she might not stay that way. Whatever you do, don't give her your magic," Nick said. "Please, Char."
"Like I would give Agatha Harkness any power. I saw what it did to my mother," Charlie winced. "I won't give her anything."
"See you soon. Love you," Nick smiled, before disappearing from the screen, and Charlie's eyes widened.
"Nick, did you just say 'I love you' for the first time while I am tied up in my psycho old neighbour's closet in New Jersey before hanging up?" Charlie sighed. "Why are we like this?"