Chapter One. An underwhelming meeting.

Timmo hated traveling with passion. It reminded him of his own childhood, where he had to drive his dad's tractor every day from the village to the barn. But on his 20th birthday, he left the village to start a solitary life in the woods. He built a nice wooden cabin in an open field inside the forest. Near his cabin, there was a small plot of land where he grew all kinds of plants like: eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. In his 3rd year of living there, he wanted to learn more about his craft.

One day, while he was minding his own business in the town, he learned that a corn contest was about to take place in Grand Canyon the next day. It was finally his chance to challenge himself and learn from the best. Grand Canyon's always attracted farmers. Unfortunately for him, due to his hastiness, he drove off the next morning. He had to travel 500 miles to reach the spot where the contest would take place.

Opposite to Timmo, Diana had a different upbringing. She grew up in the tough neighborhoods of Harlem. She had to learn to stand by herself against terrible underground rappers who could seriously harm people's ears. Diana always persevered and kept punching through her difficult life. After finishing high school, she moved to New York using her savings from her various part-time jobs she had done around the neighborhood. Life in New York was exciting and matched her outgoing energy. She started to dress more gothic and was never gloomy or distant. In the end, it was a style she preferred. Diana didn't have an hourglass figure, but she took pride in being a bit tough-boned. It gave her an imposing aura. Nevertheless, to cover her expenses in New York, she found work in a local pizza place as a delivery driver. No one in her day job even thought of scolding her for being 30 seconds late for a delivery order.

But alas, Diana was holding a secret from everyone. She was a witch. In her early teens, she discovered her powers by mistake when she teleported to the janitor's room in the middle of the night. It was a shocking experience for her, but from that day, a whole new magical perspective opened up to her.

Even though she didn't have much free time between her two jobs, she rode her motorcycle to the Grand Canyon. The thrill of riding was worth more than a simple poof of magic. It was the cathartic feeling it was giving her, allowing her the time to reflect on her thoughts.

One day, she stopped for refuel in a rather sketchy fuel station, literally in the middle of nowhere. Timmo's car had broken down just a few miles away from the gas station, and he had to push it by himself all the way there. Once he arrived there, he was sweating profusely, his t-shirt was stuck to his body, and he couldn't even feel his sore palms from all the pushing. But he knew he couldn't waste time if he wanted to arrive at the contest. He opened the hood, and white smoke blew in his face.

"Oh, crakey. She blew the head gasket. Why? Why? Why?" Timmo's face turned red with anger, and by mistake, he knocked the rod that was holding the hood up. The hood closed on his palm, which was resting on the radiator cap. He opened his eyes and screamed. The gas station had a little shop a few feet away from the pumps. Diana was holding the clerk by his shirt. Timmo got distracted from his pain when he heard the shouting and peeked inside to see what was going on.

"Thirty bucks for one quart of oil? Are you looking for trouble? Ain't no way you will scam me," Diana screamed, her voice loud and clear.

Timmo peeked from outside and saw Diana holding the clerk by his shirt. He was swinging his feet erratically while he was floating a bit. Diana turned her head around and noticed Timmo just as he was about to turn away.

"Hey Sugar! What is up? Did you get it? Because Supper is my last name. Ah, forget it. Do you fancy a free oil change? His treat," Diana said with a throaty laugh as she turned back to the clerk she was holding.

Timmo turned around to face Diana, and what struck him the most was the purple septum ring she was wearing. He never saw a woman with piercings before, let alone one with emerald rings and a gold bracelet. She gave him a bad feeling about this. Diana, though, was not having it, and after she threw the clerk behind the shelves, she walked outside to meet him.

"Thanks for the oil, Sugar! You are such a sweetheart! Oh, and I forgot to tell you that I gassed up my baby here," Diana shouted to the unconscious clerk behind him while laughing out loud.

Timmo was simply standing there, pretty shocked by the confrontation, but he managed to hide it by pretending to attend to his car. Diana stood right in front of him, rolling her eyes. She stared at his face, waiting for him to say something. After a few seconds of him completely ignoring her, she decided to talk, hoping to learn what happened to him.

"Right. You seem like you are from around here, which explains why you aren't talking to me. Typical," Diana said with a smirk.

"I didn't hear you," Timmo tried to say.

" Yeah, sure, you didn't hear me. Spare me the theatrics, sweet cheeks, your face ain't lying, " Diana said with a sarcastic smirk.

Timmo, who was still sweaty from his earlier ordeal, wasn't keen for chit-chat, but as always, he didn't have a way with words.

"Look, lady, I have got business to do. I don't know what your problem is, but I have a lot on my mind, and you are not on top of my list. So take your bicycle out of here and leave me alone," Timmo said and made a move to walk away, only to see his feet floating. Diana grabbed him from his armpits and levitated him with her strong arms.

"Oh. That was so sweet! I love tiny guys acting up and throwing a tantrum! Why don't you repeat what you just said, because my hearing is not so good. My curls are great and all, but sometimes hair gets stuck inside my drums," Diana said with a laugh.

"What are you doing? Get off me! "

Timmo was trying his best to loosen Diana's grip, but to no avail; he only made himself look more pathetic and embarrassing. He was trying his best by flailing his legs and, at the same time, trying to elbow her face, but Diana was laughing. While holding Timmo by his armpits, she walked to a broken sign that the gas station had. On top of that sign, there was a rusty hook, and Diana simply hung him there by his shirt. The hook was above the concrete floor, and poor Timmo only flailed his legs trying to somehow free himself.

"Let me go. You can't just hang me here!" Timmo said.

"Oh, I think I can, sweet cheeks, and you are the living proof of that, honey. The hook suits the color of your t-shirt and the general aura of the gas station. You could be their mascot. Just imagine that, a car heading straight to the gas station for fuel, and the customer sees a poor soul on this hook. My guy, you would make that stupid clerk whom I threw to the shelves earlier a millionaire," Diana said while she was admiring how well Timmo fitted on the hook.

He took a heavy breath. He was exhausted and didn't want anyone to bother him anymore.

"Sorry," Timmo whispered while looking away, his voice barely audible. Sweat dripped down onto the concrete floor of the gas station and vaporized instantly. The sun was beating them down, but for Diana, it was another Tuesday.

"I didn't hear you, sweet cheeks," Diana responded.

"I am sorry. Are you happy now?" Timmo rebutted.

"Oh, sorry for what? For being a jerk for no reason? Hmm... I will think about it. Are you free on Sunday? Maybe I will call you, and we can talk about it again, if your village has one pretty boy," Diana said with a laugh and acted like she was going to walk to her motorcycle.

"Don't leave me here! I said I was sorry. For talking like that to you."

Hearing that, Diana stopped and turned around to face him. Without saying a word, she lifted him from the hook and put him down gently.

"Wasn't it so hard for ya? Let's start again. I am Diana Supper," she said with a smile, like the hook ordeal never happened. She pulled away a bit to give him a bit of space to dust off his clothes.

"Timmo Grubbianski. Can't say it was a pleasure to meet you," Timmo said with a grudge, clearly annoyed by how Diana so easily handled him and how helpless he was. His ego was shattered, and he felt powerless against her; it's not like he was ever outspoken or anything. Back in his village, he had to constantly deal with worse people. But like always, he never did, too afraid to even speak for himself.

"Loosen up a bit, honey! I am not biting you, now, get to the meaty gritty! Trouble in paradise? Your rust bucket here had probably seen better days, " Diana said while pointing at Timmo's car behind him.

"My car is just fine! I don't need your help, I had enough troubles already," Timmo said with a raised tone.

"Whoa! Chill out, boy. I am not hitting your mother; I just asked where you are heading. Is that so hard and brutal for you to say? Come on, give it a try to push aside your male ego. I believe in you !" She smirked sarcastically, patting his shoulders with her right hand, trying to ease him off a bit.

" Fine, I was heading to the Grand Canyon Cornfest, but of course, that darn thing broke down in the middle of nowhere. Had to drag this all the way up here," Timmo said with a groan as he walked with Diana to inspect his car.