[ paper lanterns ]

“Well it shouldn’t.” PJ replied, “I don’t see why one person having something to be glum about should make everyone else glum even though it doesn’t affect them.” That’s what he never understood. He rarely ever let someone else’s emotions affect his own. Only if the person meant something to him and there weren’t very many of those left for PJ.

“Perhaps it shouldn’t-- but it does. Hasn’t someone randomly shooting you a smile ever brightened your day? A barista once drew a smiley face on my cup and when I looked up at him after noticing he smiled at me and then it made the rest of my day. It’s the little things-- no?” Alaska rambled. It was probably because she was often such a cynic that Alaska liked to talk about things like that. Somehow, she believed that through convincing others of the world’s perks, she could convince herself. That and she had mentally set herself the challenge to make this mysterious young man to smile. It would probably be difficult, but Al was up for it.

There was something different about this girl. He had been rude to her, she was rude back but now they were having a conversation. Sure they hadn’t even exchanged names yet but they were talking as if they knew each other. She didn’t look at him as though he had just murdered her cat like many people did. She didn’t seem to be the kind of person who would cross the street when he was walking but someone who may even come up to him and say hi if they were on a first name basis. And they may just be that soon enough.

And once again-- more questions. Damn does this guy come off as defensive, Alaska thought to herself as she rested her elbows upon the countertop casually. “Well it sure seems to be draining out the smiles from everyone else,” she joked, laughing softly, still referring to his rather glum expression. Alaska could tell there was something more but she couldn’t quite pinpoint it, and for some reason she couldn’t get her mind off of trying to figure him out. 

“Sure.” PJ said in a teasing way. Or what was the closest thing to him teasing. His sense of humor had been at an all time low lately. Probably because he no longer had someone to be humorous with or any reason to be so at the moment. Still, he was sort of teasing her because he could tell it wasn’t the first time she had snapped at someone. Maybe the first time she snapped at a customer but all the same, she looked feisty and certainly not a very rarely snap at others kind of girl.

She wasn’t sure how to feel about her current conversation with this mysterious guy. He looked around her age, but something about him made it seem as if he was prematurely aged. Perhaps he’d experienced a lot of hardships or just grew up in a questionable home-- either way, Alaska could tell this guy grew up to be very independent prematurely. It was either that or he just had one hell of a sad and serious looking face.

PJ couldn’t help but smirk slightly. This girl was feisty. Even if it was just a little bit. He could see the signs of her anger. She crossed her arms, she huffed and then, even though he couldn’t see her hands behind the desk, the muscles moving in her arms told him she was clenching her fists. He had become very good at reading body language. In the line of work he had just left behind, you had to be good at it to stay alive. Or at least that’s what he had thought. He shook his head, “Don’t worry about it. Snapping doesn’t bother me.” And it didn’t. Something as petty as snapping could hardly bother him.

Alaska raised a brow at his comment, “Um alright?” she said confusedly. At least he wasn’t going to file a complaint over her sudden snap-- some previous customers already have but Alaska’s boss wasn’t getting too many interested potential employees so he stuck her her anyways. “It was a one time thing anyway,” she lied, shrugging it off. Alaska was prone to snapping every now and then-- a side effect of her acute bipolar disorder.

PJ wasn’t even sure why he went into the book store. He just had to be out of the house because Mars’ mother was home. Sure, she didn’t go into the guest room but he thought it was safer to be out of the house when she was in and these days, more often than not, he played it safe. She didn’t know he was around but PJ had now made it his mission to make sure Layla was safe. She was the last of his friends, even if she didn’t see him that way since he and Eli had left her.

"Well firstly there’s no reason to be so rude,” Alaska huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Occasionally customers like this one would make their way into the bookstore and she’d have to deal with them. She was sick of being pushed around just because she was a woman and an employee-- so occasionally her snark would get the best of her and it would come out on the job. “Ugh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap,” she apologized quickly, clenching her fists behind the desk to calm herself down.