#🎃 it's all just a bunch of hocus pocus ; threads

[maxximillions]

who: max & @slightlyconceited​ where: neverland party! (briefly)

Max had learned a long time ago not to get involved in the romantic endeavors of his younger sister, but he had heard about some of them, peripherally. One of the more significant ones, from what he understood, involved a boy who had been living with his friends, in the very same apartment where he was supposed to be picking up his younger sister. Dani hadn’t exactly explained all of what had gone on between herself and Slightly, but he had to assume that it had ended on a sour note based on what she’d told him. That was a while ago, though, and he guessed that half a beer and a conversation with the guy wouldn’t banish him forever from the Dennison household. “This is your place?” he asked as he approached Slightly, nonchalant as he raised a brow at him and gestured toward the living room. He wasn’t entirely impressed, given that he knew people who had much larger apartments than this, but it wasn’t a shoebox by any means, either. “Not bad. I’m just here to pick up Dani, if you’ve seen her, but she wasn’t really answering any of my messages, so ... I hope it’s okay that I came in.”

[maxximillions]

It wasn't Max's idea to spend the holiday at the hotel. If they were going to run into their least favorite sisters, it would probably be here. He would much rather be home, celebrating with his sister and his girlfriend (if he could call her that now, it was still sort of unclear), but it had been both of their suggestions to keep an eye on the Sandersons on their most dangerous and vulnerable night of the year. Unluckily for Max, it landed him here. But, at least, he was here with his two favorite people--and, apparently, two of his least favorite people as well. "No sight of the redhead, though, right?" he clarified, peering over her shoulder. Max let out a laugh: ever since the Halloween they'd met, no day had ever seemed particularly normal. "Not if you and Dani could help it. I wanted to hand out candy," he reminded her. "But, you're right. It's better that we have eyes on them rather than letting them wreak havoc on the good citizens of this island. Not that I'm sure we can do much to stop them, but, at least we'll know they're not stalking outside of my apartment, seeking revenge for bursting them to smithereens."

- timeskip -

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They were finally here and they were finally together. It had been long awaited, everyone wondering when they would find their way back to one another. Dani had mentioned it enough that Allison eventually told her she needed to accept the fact they were moving in different directions. As it turns out, the pair weren't on such varied paths after all. On another 31st of October, the blonde was beside Max, feeling as though they'd come full circle but it wasn't that simple. The very women who had nearly destroyed them over a decade ago were back and Allison had started wondering if it was their resurgence that brought these usual abilities. For the first time in her life, she was keeping her hands close to her body, as if afraid something could emerge without her even knowing. While a part of her wanted to be as far away from this event as possible, the other wanted nothing more than to be there getting to the bottom of what had been going on. "That's two," the blonde said quietly when she caught sight of the second sister. Allison's eyes were peeled waiting to see the final Sanderson and the one she believed could hold the answers to her questions. "You think one year we'll have a normal Halloween?" She asked once her gaze fixated back on her date, arms comfortably wrapping around his shoulders.

[maxximillions]

who: max & @nctahousecat where: halloween ball

To be honest, Max had seen Binx come in with a girl earlier, who he could only assume was maybe the witch he'd been talking about when he'd come by the record store. And though he had every intention of asking him about this girl, and how they'd reconciled, there were bigger problems on their hands now that he'd run into the Sarah Sanderson. At least, he was fairly certain that had been her, and not just a figure from a nightmare playing out in front of his eyes. No, she was real, and that meant that her sisters were either here, too, or not far behind. Not that Max was really worried about either one of them besides the redhead, who seemed to have it out for them from the moment they'd met, but still. If one was here, the others were going to follow.

"We have a problem," he said urgently, pulling the boy to the side from whoever it was he was talking to. "They're back. The bitches, the witches, they're fucking back, Binx. I was at the bar and the blonde one came up to me like she never left." A chill ran through his spine talking, even thinking, about it. They'd narrowly escaped once, but he wasn't sure that they could do it again, even with Allison and Dani having researched over years now. "How the fuck did this happen? I thought there wasn't any candle left?"

[maxximillions]

who: max & @liildenniison

where: dennison household

Max tried to avoid going home to his parents' whenever possible, but on his way home from work the afternoon that he'd seen Allison in the flesh again, he made a beeline for his childhood home. Dani was sure to be there, he'd made sure to check with his mom before leaving the store, and she was the only one who would understand just how earth-shattering this was. It was as though he couldn't slam the car door fast enough and run inside, barely greeting his parents before making his way to his sister's room. "Danielle, red alert," he whispered aggressively. "SOS, 911, all of it. Did you know that Allison was back already?" How could she? Sure, there was word around about her return, but there was no way his sister could have known that she was physically back back. "I ran into her at the witch store, I don't remember a single fucking thing I said, and I was wearing this," Max said frustratedly, peeling the vest off his back and slamming the fabric to the ground.

[maxximillions]

who: max & @candykeep where: the lounge, tiana's place

If anyone had told him even a week ago that Max would be having drinks with Allison, he would've laughed in their faces, then probably gone home and cried wishing it were true. Though he'd only seen her a few days before, he'd been anxiously awaiting their next reunion while also secretly hoping that she'd walk into the record store, looking for him, like old times. Instead, the next time he saw her was when she walked into Tiana's, where he'd gotten a smaller table in the lounge area. Dani had told him it was the perfect vibe: intimate, not too fancy, but not the Duckling, either.

As the blonde entered, Max stood from the table, raising his hand to wave her over, feeling rather overheated suddenly in anticipation. He hoped that his sister wasn't somewhere nearby trying to snoop on them, but he couldn't count on it. "Alli, hey," he greeted, remaining standing to extend the offer of a hug. "I don't know if they had this place around before you left, but my parents like it a lot, so I figured I'd introduce you." Max sat back in his seat, sliding her a menu. "Did you happen to find that book you were looking for the other day, by the way?"

[maxximillions]

"I'm sorry--dead people are coming back and you didn't think to mention that ... I don't know, when you first heard about it?" Max looked at her incredulously, like it was something she should've mentioned maybe earlier than their worst case scenario had come true. "And you've seen Mary? Danielle, what the fuck?" Max began to pace, thinking of the implications this could mean for them and Allison. The sooner they had taken care of the Sandersons, the better, and if she'd told him about seeing any of the sisters earlier, maybe Winnie wouldn't have even made it Earth-side again. He groaned in frustration, wishing she'd decided to confide in him earlier. "Of course you have to. We don't know what kind of revenge those witches are going to be seeking on us. They could put curses on adults, we have no idea." She should've been afraid, but Max didn't want to force her out of her job. The thing Dani was probably best at was disagreeing with whatever Max had to say. "You can find another job you like, one that the Sandersons don't know about! It's not that hard. You can work at here with me, even. You spend so much time here you might as well get paid for it. And, the new guy kind of sucks, and as much I hate the idea of nepotism, I'm willing to set it aside for your safety, because I love you so much."

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Dani raised her shoulders as her expression turned to one of confusion for her brother who expected her to have the answers to his questions. The redhead was surprised to have gotten as much information as she had when staring down the barrel of the gun at the magic shop. While neither of them said it they knew who the other was within seconds and played it cool enough to get through the conversation. "I doubt it, doesn't seem like they're the type to do it so publically. Winnie's way too calculated for that shit." It wasn't her motive or at least Dany didn't think so, still trying to determine what could've brought back the witch in the first place. "Do you think they opened something? Way too many people that are supposed to be dead keep coming around or at least that's what the hot goss is at the shop." There had been a few cases where someone came in claiming they saw the dead but now it was Dani who had seen a ghost from her past. "I mean not today...." Her voice faded off, realizing she'd been caught in her own secrets. "I might've seen Mary around town a few times but I didn't wanna freak you out if it was nothing." She offered a smile in the hopes he didn't blow a fuse like she was expecting, knowing secrets between them were frowned upon but having a fair share of her own. "Wait, what?" Dani's expression changed to one of annoyance, her eyebrows knitting and lips thinning. "I can't just quit. I actually like this job and I'm not scared of them. They can't just make me into soup anymore or you know, whatever way they like their kids cooked." The girl's arms folded over her chest as she looked up at her concerned brother. "I'm not running away."

[maxximillions]

tag dump.

[maxximillions]

"I'm sorry--that's all you have to say? No sorry I traumatized you for life, nearly killed you and your loved ones ... nothing?" he sputtered in disbelief. Leave it to one of the Sandersons to feel absolutely no remorse for what they'd done to him, Allison, and Dani way back when. If it weren't for the way he'd become so pissed off by her lack of memory of the worst night of his life, it would almost be funny. Except, instead, Max wanted to shake the woman into apologizing for practically fucking up his entire psyche for the rest of his life.

The only upside Max could find in all of this was that, at the very least, the worst of the three was still missing in action. From the legends, and what he could recall, Winifred had been the most powerful of the sisters, and the most vengeful, too. For now, he and Allison could bide some time researching how to get rid of Mary and Sarah while they were still without the redhead. "Yeah, I've seen Sarah--she hit on me. Which, y'know, is weird, considering you all probably look the same as you did ten years ago." As for his mild offense toward her, Max could only be grateful she hadn't hexed him right then and there. "Okay, you know what I mean. Normal for Allison. Like, plain, run-of-the-mill human. As in, can watch television without fear of having to buy a new one because she's torched it. Now, can you do that, or not?"

It was like a light switch had been turned on, memories from years ago of the young boy and a cat and a young girl and an even younger girl came flooding in. Suddenly Mary could connect the puzzle pieces that had been missing from the large picture she was trying to paint. "Oh, that's how I know you! I was driving myself crazy trying to figure where I've seen you before." There was barely even time to feel pride in figuring that out before the kid started going off again.

"I'm as confused as you are to why I'm here, I thought it was over for us and we'd never see another light of day but suddenly I showed up one day without my sisters. I found Sarah, maybe you've seen her around, she likes to be around men. But Winnifred is who's been missing. If any of this was someone's doing, it was likely hers. She was the more powerful one of us all." That was as much knowledge as Mary had, truly. Figuring out what had happened to bring them back hadn't been her most urgent concern but it was up there! She was just hoping Winnifred would've come to let her in on that kind of information. "Also, 'back to normal’? That's quite rude of you to say, I'm as normal as you are. I put my shoes on one foot at a time, just like everyone else. I'm sure your friend Allison is as normal as we can come."

[maxximillions]

Max had come to terms with the idea that not every magical creature was a watch who wanted to suck out his soul a while ago, but the difference was that Allison and Dani actually wanted to run toward that kind of danger again. They weren't just trying to understand magic itself, but the Sandersons' in particular, which was a different thing entirely. "No fucking kidding. I don't even remember the whole thing, but there was this candle that I lit like an idiot that brought them back. I was just a dumbass kid, not like much has changed," he joked, bringing a bit of light to the otherwise serious conversation. "See, that makes sense to me. But, what I'm not understanding is why the hell they want to understand what's going on with those witches in particular. It'd be totally different if they just were into magic in general, y'know?" The distinction was an important one, especially since it sounded like Miriam had someone in their lives who possessed magic in some way. "I mean, I don't know what your connection is to it, but I'm hoping, for your sake, that it's not this kind of dangerous."

Surprised by his certainty that he couldn’t give up, Mir raised their eyebrows in interest as the conversation moved forward. This was a different side of Max she’d never seen before, and she wondered why he’d been hiding all of this for so long. Sure, he was clearly afraid of magic and change, but who wasn’t? Magic and change were both unpredictable, and could make people’s lives feel like they’d been flipped upside down — but they could both also turn out to be wonderful and amazing in the end. Perhaps Max just hadn’t had a chance to see that for himself yet. A sheepish smile formed as Max repeated the word familiar. It wasn’t her fault her best friend could turn into a red panda! “Hey, it makes sense that you’re freaked out! You had a bad experience, that’s valid.” Miriam came over to where Max was taping the box, another one in her hands for him to go through. “Almost killed by witches? Yeah, that sounds traumatizing.” They shook their head at the thought. If only Mir could help Max have a better experience with magic now, to help him get over this problem that was keeping him away from the girl he’d obviously never get over. “It’s probably because they know that magic isn’t all bad. Now how do we get you to understand that, too?”

[maxximillions]

"Oh, my god, that's a personal question, you know. No offense, but I'm not detailing my sex life to you, you're--you could be a hallucination. You probably are. I knew I shouldn't have gotten fucked up tonight," he rambled, grumbling the last scolding mostly to himself. What she'd said was true, but admitting it aloud was on a new level of weird that Max didn't want to reach. At least he'd found the one who was literally only here to get laid, and then, maybe, she could go back to the dust she'd been years ago. Of course, he hadn't told a soul about what had happened that Halloween in fear that someone would make fun of him for making it all up. He couldn't speak for Allison or Dani, though he knew they hadn't just gone around telling people freely, either. "I--I think so, yeah, uh, why, were we not supposed to say anything? You were dead, in our defense," Max pointed out. The best defense he had for anything they'd done in the past decade was that the Sandersons weren't even around for it to matter.

“Oooh,” she coos, giving him another slow look up and down before giggling at his defensive words. “Would it have even worked now, if you had lit the candle? Or did little Maxie finally find a suitor?” He had pretty much stated exactly that, all but yelling out he was no longer a virgin thanks to the blonde girl that he’d been hanging around so many years ago - but Sarah wanted him to admit it aloud. Plus his uncomfortableness was practically palpable and she enjoyed toying with him in this state. Rolling her eyes, the blonde hardly gave his warning much thought. Even if it was true, it would take a special brand of hunter to bring down a Sanderson, especially now that she was back without any constraints like before. “Why would I want to leave before I had any time to really play? There’s still so many men on this island that I’ve yet to meet…” She trails off with another giggle before shaking her head and refocusing. “Besides, you and your little friends are the only ones who know what we are. And you aren’t going to tell anyone about us, are you, Maxie?” There was an unspoken hint of a threat in her question, the blonde trying her hardest to pitch her voice in that way Winnie used to do whenever she was trying to say something nice but actually mean the exact opposite.

[maxximillions]

Though he knew he was kidding, Max still rolled his eyes at the younger boy, shaking his head in disapproval at him. "Yeah, if you go missing, don't count on me to go looking for you, kid. Leave that to the girls." He wasn't entirely serious, but wasn't fully joking, either. Getting anywhere near another witch was the absolute last thing he wanted to do, and he'd given Binx fair warning. "I might've, like, went to that book shop ... I ran into Allison there. She gave me some book to read." Admitting that his feelings on magic were in the process of shifting made it real, and as much as Max didn't want it to be the truth, he'd decided that sucking it up and facing his fears was way easier than losing Allison again. "Maybe it's not the worst thing to just, y'know, flip through it, or something, if it'd make her feel better about things."

Binx forgot how dramatic Max was when it came to this stuff, rolling his eyes. He really should have gone to Allison first about this, but Max was the easier one to find on short notice. Max didn’t seem to have a positive outlook on the circumstances that Binx laid out in front of them, but as he’d pointed out, Binx was looking at this through a lover-boy lens, so it was good that someone was playing devil’s advocate here. As Max’s knuckles tapped against Binx’s hair, his hand came up to swat toward the male, his catlike instincts showing even in his human form. “Alright, I’ll try. If I disappear though, you’ll know that a certain witch is likely to blame.” Not that he was hoping for that outcome. “If it plays out how I’m hoping though, we won’t have to worry about that.”

[maxximillions]

"Holy--" he began, physically cutting himself off with a hand cupped over his mouth in shock before he could utter another word. Max didn't want to stir her any more than she already was: this had to be a stressful night for her, and he didn't want to shake her nerves any more than they already were. He nodded his head, bringing his hand down to give her a thumbs up. "Got it, got it, cool, yup." He thought of how it must've sounded if he ever tried to explain what had happened to him to someone, and decided that he probably couldn't judge whatever was going on with the Tramps. Max wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave it a light, reassuring squeeze before they stepped into her brother's apartment. "Okay, so how, uh, have you been doing otherwise? Work's good, and everything?" he asked, a mumble as he attempted to conceal the small talk from her siblings. It'd been a while since they'd caught up on the normal stuff, not having intentionally seen each other that often.

For a moment he made it seem so natural, just a few new faces to charm, but then as soon as he asked what the deal was with her newfound half-siblings Ellie was reminded in a flash just how fucked up this entire situation was. Taking a deep breath, primarily to center herself and keep in any further apologies she felt inclined to offer, she nodded her affirmation of his guess. “Yeah. He left them in his will… But don’t bring that up. Don’t talk about my dad at all, actually. We’ve all… made our peace with it, I guess, but it’s probably best to just avoid any and all mention of him,” she instructed. How much peace had actually been made was debatable, especially considering the man was back from the dead and roaming the island right now doing heaven knows what - but Ellie wasn’t going to share any of that with Max. Not even the Bonfamilles knew that Tristan was alive again, no way should her ex-boyfriend get to be privy to that kind of information before his own children. “It’s probably best to just stick with small topic or let any of them bring up a topic first.”

[maxximillions]

Though he seriously doubted that he would be spending the whole movie laughing, Max at least had to give watching the movie without overreacting a shot: he didn't want to be teased for the rest of the evening. Truthfully, horror movies scared him more because they came with the possibility of thinking he could be in the dead guy's place. What had happened with the Sandersons was about as horrific as any movie he'd ever seen, and that had been entirely real. "I just don't get how you enjoy this. You're telling me you have fun while watching people die on television? Don't tell me they're fake. Somewhere, in an alternate universe, I bet they're real." In another universe, the Sandersons didn't exist, and he and Allison were still together. It was what he told himself, to keep his sanity. "I'm holding you to that promise, Danielle. You also can't laugh at me if I yell, or if I need to sleep on the couch here tonight, got it?" It was a bit of an exaggeration, but Max had to cover all his bases before they hit play. "By the way, are you, uh, good from the other night? I know we didn't really talk about it, after Allison and I dropped you off." Though he was pretty sure his sister had handled it better than Max himself had, he still had the brotherly instinct to ask.

The redhead perked up when, ultimately, her older brother had given in. Max couldn’t even see the ecstatic look that was apparent on Dani’s face due to being on the other end of the phone, but the redhead did give out a happy cheer instead. Obviously, she knew he wasn’t a fan of horror movies. Even back when she was a little kid, horror movies were never Max’s thing but at least back then it was more because of how easily fake everything was and so her older brother liked to dispel everything instead. But after what happened that one Halloween night, he had a new perspective over horror movies and nowadays refused to watch any. Even the older ones where even the gory scenes were more funny than scary to watch! Despite knowing all this, as the redhead opened the door for him, she teasingly smiled at him. “I love you too, Maxie!” Is what she said in response, swapping the pizza box from his hands before heading to the living room. “Deal. like I said, whatever you want to watch right after, we’ll watch it! Let’s even spend the rest of the night watching those game shows if you want!” Placing the pizza against the table, Dani then threw herself back against the couch and patted the spot next to her. “I doubt you’ll actually find this movie scary though. It’s been so long since you last seen it, if anything—I bet you’ll laugh throughout the entirety of it."

[maxximillions]

There were few people who Max genuinely held a disliking for, but Jay Taylor was one of them. Truly, they'd simply gotten off on the wrong foot, almost literally. Stealing Max's new back-to-school shoes he'd gotten when his family had moved was the first offense, followed by continuous teasing of the Dennison siblings on their Halloween to remember. Since then, Max had literally taken every precaution to avoid the guy, including not letting him and his friend in on getting out of the cages the Sandersons had locked them in. He'd had better things to do, including saving the lives of all the children in New Salem, thank you very much.

Whenever they saw each other in public, Max simply looked the other way, and this was no exception. At least, he'd hoped it wouldn't be, until the elevator decided to quit working and leave them stranded between floors. Though he stood in the corner oof the space with his arms folded over his chest, Jay seemingly started to panic--pressing the buttons like that would actually solve anything. "Oh, my god, that's not gonna help," he finally snapped, unable to stand the noise of the clicking. Max stepped forward, all but slamming the emergency button. "Hey--hi? Hello? We're stuck in here, between floors, can we get some help?" He looked to the blonde, eyes wide with annoyance. "See? Maybe someone can actually do something now instead of giving us both a headache."

@maxximillions

For two people who had lived in the same area for over ten years and had multiple mutual acquaintances to boot, Jay Taylor and Max Dennison had done a remarkable job of ignoring each other’s existence throughout that time. It was probably easier for both of them that way, and accomplished like this: whenever they were unfortunate enough to cross paths they gave no more than a slight nod of acknowledgment (because with their history, even one of those awkward white person smiles would have been too friendly.) They could have gotten away with it this time, too, even after accidentally stepping into the same elevator…if the elevator didn’t break down between floors. So much for getting an early start on Christmas shopping. He should have taken the damn stairs.

Jay couldn’t help feeling like the younger Dennison sibling would get a kick out of this situation. Dani had made her thoughts known on more than one occasion how stupid it was that the men still refused to speak to one another so long after everything—for that matter, Binx and Allison also agreed with the sentiment and were seemingly willing to mediate a clearing of the air that they had never been taken up on. Jay pressed the first floor button again, then the door open button once, twice, ten times. Nothing happened, besides an increasing sense of dread flooding his veins. He hated the feeling of being confined in a small space—even if there was enough room to stand and move around in the elevator, the fact that he had no idea how long they’d be stuck here had a funny way of making it feel like the walls were closing in on him.

[maxximillions]

Now that it was confirmed that the Sandersons were back, Max had to speed up the mission of getting his mental shit together to handle this. There was no chickening out this time: he was going to have to be okay with the fact that witches were real this time. Instead of sticking with the fluff that Allison had suggested for him the last time he'd been at the shop, he had to jump straight into the deep end. With a stack of books in hand, Max was still working on adding more before he headed to checkout. Maybe he was biting off more than he could chew, but hey, at least his breaks at work would be spent more productive than playing name-that-tune with Miriam. "What?" he asked, only hearing the girl who had spoken to him after her second question. "Me? Oh, god, uh, no, no. What--can't a guy take a sudden interest in the supernatural after Halloween? Do I need a reason besides one too many watches of a horror movie I was forced to watch?" Max replied defensively, holding his books to his chest.

@maxximillions

Marnie generally preferred to visit and support local stores in Halloweentown whenever she needed to restock on potion ingredients and other witch necessities, but when she didn’t have time in her schedule to make visits all the way through the portal and back, she settled for shops in the mortal realm. It just took knowing which ones were genuine sellers for magical wares rather than hokey gimmicky stuff—although Marnie had always loved the gimmicky stuff simply before she knew she was a witch and still did for the aesthetic. That had its place for other humans; it was just nice knowing that there were authentic shops to cover her needs here. Toil & Trouble also sold a lot of books about magical lore that she hadn’t really dived into herself, but seeing a man about her age who looked utterly out of place here paging through them, she decided to be friendly and ask him if they were any good. What came out instead was, “I think you’re supposed to buy before you read." She glanced at the title he was holding. "Are you looking to become a witch?”

[maxximillions]

It took every ounce of strength in Max's body not to rip the books out of her hands and tell her to stop. Thinking about someone, or something, infiltrating her dreams was on the edge of the things his heart could handle. For the first time, though, he felt some level of understanding why Allison was so interested in all this. If shit was happening in his sleep, he'd probably want to figure out what the hell it was, too. It being the girl he still loved, Max felt a need to try and help, to do what he could to understand and protect her. Instead of running, he nodded his head at her silently before looking toward the shelves, scanning the titles. For the first time, he actually wanted to read one of these things, instead of immediately thinking the book should be burnt to ashes. "You could've told me, you know," he mumbled quietly, sliding out a thinner book compared to some of the heavier ones as he skimmed the synopsis on the back cover. "Have you, uh, tried having someone monitor you, while you sleep, or something? I could, y'know, see if something happens, if you talk, or move weird, I don't know," he suggested, handing the book over to her. "Whatever you think might help."

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It wasn't that she'd intended to keep things from Max but she hadn't been sure this would be anything he'd want to hear about. Allison didn't always know what was going on though she could be certain about one thing, magic was afoot. When it came to that specific thing it was true that Max wasn't who she went to, actually, she didn't go to anyone. Sure, Dani understood but the last thing the blonde wanted to do was get her more involved if she didn't need to be. Although when he was opening up a door like this to her Allison had to at least try to show him what she was dealing with. Even if he decided he didn't want to know any more she gave him the benefit of the doubt. Honestly, having someone to talk to about it would be more appreciated than she let on. "Uh..." The blonde tucked some loose hair behind her ear, her eyes flicking up to meet his briefly. "Well, I already went through the ones about creatures that could infiltrate your dreams. Next would be the ones specifically about what prophecies people have been provided from their dreams." Allison plucked a book from the shelf before pausing and looking back over at the boy. "If you're sure you want to help me with this."