Jun Chang

There should have been some kind of twisted joke made, because the air suddenly felt thick with… something. There was playful banter, there was flirting, there was something that honestly felt like a fun game. But under that, some thick tension, something almost uncomfortable with how natural and easy it felt. If Annie knew one thing, and knew it well, it was that easy wasn’t part of her life, easy wasn’t something that she often experienced, and so even as she stood firm in their staring contest, the crawling feeling on her skin had her shifting her feet. Where did flirting and banter end? When was it too much?

The words out of his mouth made her blink, essentially losing their staring contest. There were about eight hundred reason she could have come up with for this being a bad idea. For him, anyway. The impulsive statement didn’t really fit with the image she’d crafted in her mind for this boy. But he leaned in and any chance for retort was lost as the space where she would normally scratch out her reply was lost.

His question had her at a loss. Because she honestly had no idea if she’d ever read anything about what happened to a man if he kissed a siren, and it didn’t occur to her, for whatever reason that he was about to do just that until she felt lips against hers, and for a moment, her eyes widened before they slipped closed and she let herself kiss back.

But a curiosity dragged her out of the kiss before it could get too out of hand, something she was prone to do. A hand still rested at the base of his neck, but she made just enough space between them to make the words from her wand visible. ‘So? What happens to a man when he kisses a siren? Dost thou feel trapped in an unbreakable spell? Or was the spell broken?’

Jun’s arms securely wrapped around her waist, as his own eyes slowly dropped to a close. The feel of her tender lips against his and the flutter of butterflies in his stomach. When she returned the kiss he lifted his hands up her waist pausing them at her abdomen. Little did he know how easy the question would be to answer when he saw the words after she had ended the kiss. His dark eyes scan over the letters as he tries to regain his normal course of breathing. He can’t help but smile at her, feeling her hand at the base of his neck. He finds himself unable to break his gaze from her. He moves one hand up to stroke the bottom of her chin.

“Can you tell the difference?” He whispers with a smirk. “It’s intoxicating even more than alcohol. For research purposes I think I need another try.” Jun states trying to not divulge the fact he’s a little nervous, and he inches his lips closer again, but moves his eyes from her own to where she wrote the words. “What do you say?” He didn’t just want to barge in like a barbarian and kiss her again if she didn’t like it. He can feel the warmth of her breath against his lips and it causes him to forget anything else exists. His pocket dictionary doesn’t exist. The couple not too far from them aren’t making out. He’s just crashed his ship, and it’s just the siren with him enticing him. “Dost thou protest?”

Dorcas rolled her eyes, and as if to make her point, finished off the drink in her hand in one quick gulp. Cut off, yeah right. This place was definitely crowded enough that if she wanted to slip away, she definitely could to get herself another drink. She let out a scoff when he called Evan ‘psychotic’, eyes rolling a little. “Don’t call him names, Jun. That’s not nice.” She maybe, possibly, had a bit of a bias, but she didn’t want anyone being mean to Evan. He looked mad enough, for one, and likely could torch the place without a thought. But even so, she didn’t necessarily think he was psychotic. “I just didn’t think it was his scene. And he’s not the only ginger wandering around, you know.”

She let out a snort of a laugh, head shaking a bit. “You don’t deserve to be punched in the face. Unless you’ve done something I don’t know about.” A little nudge with her hip, and she managed to get them through a thicker bit of the crowd, somewhere with a little less body mass. “You’re the only one who cares about winning the staring contest, Juny. And you don’t need to water down anything. I’m fine.”

“He’s not a nice man, Doey. But alright I’ll spare him any mention. Why is he here though?” Jun replies scrunching his nose up in distaste. Smirking slightly when she mentions that he wasn’t the only ginger. “I’m aware. Mol is here. I think Arthur is here. Maybe they’re here together.” He needs a drink, one of his watered down specialties. However he wouldn’t depart from being Dorcas’s pain in the ass brother yet.

Jun snickers to Doe, “Depends what could win me a punch to the face? I don’t think I’ve done anything..oh wait..” He looks left then right as if he had some large secret he was about to give her. Instead he reached into his trouser pocket and presented her with his pocket dictionary. “To read once you pass out or maybe before.” He chuckles teasingly, only because he doesn’t know if he will actually indulge in his dictionary. He nudges back with his hip with a soft laugh. “No. Everyone cares about winning Doe.   We should karaoke.”

‘The North star is only reliable if you can see it.’ Annie countered quickly, lifting her own gaze up for a moment, where stars dotted the sky around clouds that rolled in and out. There was some ancient proverb about not letting one’s head get too caught up in the clouds, or something, but the whole thing eluded her, and she didn’t waste her time trying to remember, instead simply offered a shrug and looked back to him, just in time to see him moving closer. Her feet came up from the ground so that there was no resistance, and her hands wrapped tightly around the chains holding the thing up. Perhaps it wasn’t exactly safe to get wild on this particular swing, she had no idea if it was stable or not, but she did let out a little shriek when she propelled forward, let herself swing a bit, even leaning back a bit and letting her head fall back.

When she’d had enough of the moment, she let her feet scrape the ground again, slowing herself down, coming to a slow halt. His words made her laugh, and once she was no longer swinging back and forth, she stood up, brushed herself off and twisted to look at him, to take a couple of steps closer. Head tilted up to look at him, taking note that he was quite a bit taller than she’d realized at the music shop, and her arms folded over her chest for a moment as she leveled a stare at him. Part of her was feeling it out, seeing how long she could go, seeing if she made him uncomfortable. But finally, she lifted her wand, let herself draw more letters in the air. They seemed to burn, glow brighter in their dark little spot. ‘It’s the only explanation for you finding me again. You missed me. And you were curious. It’s understandable, I’m a strange person, an interesting study. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about your secret longing.’ A pause, as she offered a smirk. ‘Maybe I missed you back.’

She had so far managed to keep him on his toes. Annie made conversations fun to him. Which was most likely his life’s way of a joke since she didn’t talk exactly. He watches the words form and laughs quietly. “It’s up there by that constellation there.” He draws the constellation with his finger in the sky. Then he realizes he’s wrong, but doesn’t want to back out of being right. The screech that comes out of her lips makes him chuckle. Preparing to help her if the swingset toppled over.

Dark eyes watching the stars in the sky, before he glances over in time to see her slowing herself down on the swing. There she stood in front of him as they locked into some sort of staring contest. He won these things all the time, and he kept count. He quirks a brow at her as they stand in the sound of silence. Surprisingly it doesn’t bother him. Especially because his mind swims with quips to present her at any given time. His gaze stalks her wand in the air as she writes. The lit words luminous in the sky.  Jun snorts at her words ready with a retort. “It doesn’t have to be a secret longing.” Was it the small boost of liquid courage? He wasn’t sure but he smirked back lowering his head down to move it inches from hers.

Jun decides against his better judgement to just give in. “What happens to a man when he kisses a siren?” He asks before he leaves little room to answer drawing his lips to hers. He wasn’t usually so spontaneous, but the moment felt right.  

The moment she realized exactly who had found her, she felt her lips quirk up in a little smirk, eyes rolling slightly. Of course piano boy had found her. Odysseus had crashed into the rocks, and this time, she didn’t even need music to lure him in. Not that it had been her intention to lure anyone in to begin with, and yet here he was. Feet scraped along the ground as she pushed herself on the little swing, back and forth for a moment, and lit up the cigarette, blowing out a quick puff of smoke into the air. This was the part where she made some witty comeback, which would definitely be a lot easier if she actually had one.

‘This isn’t a poetry reading, did you wander into the wrong place?’ Finally, when her wand lifted and she scratched out a few words in the air, they were more insulting than she meant them to be. Sure, it had been a joke, but she hadn’t intended it harsh. It was hard without tone. She hoped, at least, that the smirk on her face conveyed that she was kidding around. ‘And there wasn’t even a song. I think you just missed me.’

The last time he had seen her was that quirky little music shop. Closing the distance between them, casually turning his gaze around them. He thought it would be weird for the wayward couple to swing into their vicinity. He steps up near the swing and leans himself against the pole, arms crossed across his chest. Her first comment making his brow shoot up in a questionable arch, but he’s patient and waits for her scribbling in the air to finish. Smoking wasn’t generally his scene, so his head swerves to dodge some smoke that gets blown his way.

“It’s impossible for me to have wandered into the wrong place.” Moving his finger to point up at the night sky, twirling between stars. “The North Star never has lead its fellow adventurers astray. “ Actually it probably had, but no taking that back now. He walks over behind her in the swing. “Hold tight, I’m going to give you a shove.” This wasn’t one of those flimsy swing sets is it? He stands behind her grasping the she seat before giving her a shove forward. Moving swiftly to the side so he didn’t get knocked on his arse. Jun grins to Annie. He had to read her responses, but she didn’t necessarily need to look at his face when he spoke. At least he hoped not.

“Miss you? That spell at the music store must have critically assaulted my conscious. “

He had stopped on his way back to the kitchen to chat with someone. A random classmate about boring subjects like the curriculum and stories they had ready over the course of break. Because break be damned he still worked. Then out of nowhere he felt hands around his waist and a head on his shoulder. “Hello..who..who is hugging me?” He tilts his head trying to figure out his vocalized question.

“Oh, that is a lot, I am sorry you had to wait so long, I didn’t realize I was so late,“ Glenda said apologetically. She thought she was on time but maybe she took more than she thought she did. Or he was there early. Both of the scenarios was a possibility. “It wasn’t that hard to find, so, fortunately, no,“ she shook her head as they both went inside and chose a table. She shrugged off her coat and put it onto the back of the chair before she sat down and finally looked around the place, like really looked around. “This place is so cool, J,“ Glenda grinned excitedly. “How did you find it?“ She took the menu into her hand and started flipping through it. “You said the tea was pretty good here, right? Do you have any specific recommendation I should try or I can’t really go wrong with tea? Also how is their hot coco? Did you ever tried that?“

Jun shrugged his shoulders slightly indifferent of her being a little late. Especially because it secretly meant that he had beat her to their meeting place. Meaning he had won some challenge she wasn’t even privy to. Grinning to himself, knowing he was purposefully early anyway to triumph over this silly head goal. He waits for Glenda to sit so he isn’t seen as a prude. Settling in the chair across from her, he looks around and nods. “I really like this place. Sometimes I come here to study if the castle is too crowded.” Jun added as he turned open the menu and nodded to her question. “The house black tea is very good. They also have a green tea, blackberry tea, a fusion berry tea. I’ve tried them all. I really like just their black tea though. Hmm I haven’t had their hot cocoa. I’m sure it should be good though. I haven’t gone wrong here yet. I tend to like their croissants and their biscuit snack sandwiches. I’ll order some and you can taste off of my plate.”

Dear Jun,

I hate to admit it, but you still put so many butterflies in my stomach it’s hard to deal with. And all this talk about jealousy …looks like we both have some issues in that department. I have a confession. I’m not completely over you either. I miss our study nights – and our “study nights.” Maybe we could do something to change that. It seems like things are in an interesting place right now, don’t you think? Speaking of jealousy …is there a reason you haven’t spoken to Arthur? Only a thought.

When I see Dorcas, I will try to talk to her, see where she’s at and maybe offer a shoulder if she needs it for any reason. She seems like a lovely girl and I’d hate for her to marry the wrong person, especially when it’s not her decision. I’ll tell her I’m talking to her because of you. Maybe that will get me an in.

The Gala was so boring, Jun. Be glad you weren’t there. I got a little tipsy and …well, ended up leaving early. As far as the engagement party goes, I’m not interested. I feel like I did my “duty” by going to the Gala. But I do plan on going to the New Year’s party. I hope you’ll be there.

I want to meet as soon as you have a chance. It’s not too hard to get away from the house because there’s so many people. No one will miss me for a little while. Tell me the time and place.

Mol,

Butterflies are  recurring movement in my stomach when I see you. You miss our study nights too? Maybe we could have one together soon. I hope you have some books to bring over, more importantly you.  Oh no, no reason at all. I just get sidetracked with studying, haha thought you would get to slip did you? I mean Arthur and you even have the same hair color.

I think you’re right. That would probably give you an opening, and maybe she would confine in you. Maybe she already has a plan in place to not marry Belby… but I’m very worried. I just can picture it going so wrong? I’ve been trying to read for a loop hole in pure blood contracts.. But I don’t have that many books about the subject unfortunately.

The Gala was boring? I bet they are just like muggle business parties then. There’s no doubt in my mind, but if you want to chance one with me I wouldn’t decline. Good. I can stand to stretch my legs a little bit. How about tomorrow night at the Three Broomsticks? We can start there.. and who knows where we’ll end up.

Jun,

99% sure that my first impression should not be showing up at the door with alcohol, considering my mom hasn’t seen me since I was, like, 6 and your dad has never met me at all. But if you wanna go to a bar, I would be cool with that. We could meet up. I could be there in 30 minutes or so if you’ve got time now.

I have a feeling that if we get to my wedding day, you’ll need to check and make sure I haven’t been put under the Imperius curse or replaced with a replicate. If I’m marrying Belby, that is. If it’s someone else, likelihood of it being against my will is lower.

Doey,

Alright fair enough. I don’t think they would judge, but that probably wouldn’t be the way you would want to be reunited and meet my dad. My dad’s like me. Which bar do you want to meet at? There’s one a few streets down called Howie’s? I could be there in twenty minutes. Or do you know of another one?

I’ll be sure to kidnap you on your wedding day if it’s to Belby. If it’s another person I better at least be in the wedding as a Groomsman.I could be the Best Man? Best Man Chang. See? It just goes together. Thought actually it’s more probable I’ll just be either a groomsman or in the first row cheering you on.

Different. Strange. Weird. Uncomfortable. The fact of the matter was, Annie spent a disproportionate amount of time thinking about death, and how fascinating the subject was. It was strange, and she knew it was strange. Luckily for her, no one could really read her mind and discover just how deep those thoughts went. But she only offered a shrug when he said so, tried not to let the slight sting of the words show on her face. He was just another person who thought she was a weirdo. 

But she didn’t have much time to focus on it before she was bumped out of the way, and she actually laughed a little, hand coming up to cover her mouth as she listened to the tune and to his suggestion that went with it. She didn’t actually know the song, but if she closed her eyes, she could see the picture clearly in front of her. And The Tempest had always been one of her favorite plays, too. 

She quickly scribbled out a new note. ‘I’m Miranda or I’m the Tempest itself? I’ve always thought myself more an Ariel, if I’m being honest. Perhaps you could be Caliban.’ 

She took a small step closer, not bumping him out of the way this time, but stepping behind him, letting her arms slip around his neck so that her fingers could hit the keys between his hands while her chin rested on his shoulder. She didn’t know the song he was playing, but she could hear a light harmony in her mind to go along with it, and played it while his notes continued. After a moment, her hands stilled, and she used the paper in front of him to continue her written thoughts. ‘This one is pretty. What is it?’ A pause in her thought, and she quickly adds. ‘Sorry if I smell like popcorn. I work in a cinema.’

Jun snickers at her note, “Are you trying to say I’m deformed? Or that we’re both slaves under..” He shrugs his shoulders trying to picture Prospero as someone they knew. Then it came up rather quickly his thoughts. “Dumbledore at school anyway. I was thinking more Miranda… but…” Teasing her he narrows his eyes looking over her. “You do have the height to fit Ariel.”  He stiffens for a minute feeling Annie’s arms stretch forward from around his neck.

But the free melody of the piano helped him remain calm and collected. Offering her a smile as he listened to the lightly spun musical notes, colliding with the number he was still gliding his fingers too. Looking at her note on the paper, he continues until the last note. “It’s a newer artist I heard a couple months ago actually. Ludovico Einaud. This song is Primavera. You might want to look for his music, it’s very nice. I suppose some of his numbers may remind you of death like Ophelia, or Solois. Such a pair they would have made.”  Recalling what she had said earlier he sniffs at her expectantly. “A little like old popcorn. At least you don’t small like burnt popcorn.”

“Cinema? Are you sure you aren’t one of the Muses?” Jun grinned and winked at her waiting for her answer. Lightly tapping the keys in front of him not wanting the music to stop altogether.