#chat:john

Wendy had been practically preparing for this day the minute her middle brother had stepped out of the house nearly five years ago. When she'd heard that John was coming back with the borders reopened, Wendy had begun planning what she thought would be the perfect homecoming for him. It wasn't much, but she had a feeling her brother wouldn't like much more than the tiny sign in the kitchen and all of their family home to greet him. Though she had a hundred questions she could ask, the overarching ones she could think of had already been partially answered in the letters they'd been exchanging in the years since his departure.

After their parents and Michael had gone to bed, Wendy was most excited for this very moment: time to simply spend with John, just the two of them. "I had your sheets washed the other day and dusted off your desk. Surprisingly, no one had taken it over as their own personal office, though I wouldn't have put it past Michael to make it his own for his homework," Wendy quipped, taking a seat on his bed. "No, actually, I should've made your room my personal library--I can't believe I didn't think of that before. I don't even think you would've minded coming home to the room filled with books."

Now that she had some context behind the cute boy who sat behind the library desk, Joy was trying to be brave about actually speaking to him about something other than a book. She'd previously thought it odd to simply ask him about himself, but, now that she knew they had his brother in common, it was the perfect gateway into actually getting to know the librarian. She'd waited until after the line at the desk had cleared, giving her hair a once-over in the bathroom mirror and a silent pep-talk in the mirror before deciding it was about a good of a time as ever to both return her nearly overdue book, and to actually speak to John.

With a smile, Joy approached the desk, book in hand. "Returning this," she announced quietly, handing it over. "It was good, but not my favorite of the ones I've read lately. I can see why you liked it, though!" He probably expected that to be it, just a quick chat about the book he'd recommended for her, as that was usually the extent of these conversations. But, before he could tell her to have a good day, Joy had to drop the name of their mutual connection. "You know, I had no idea you were Michael's brother. He's one of my best friends, actually. He was just saying how you'd gotten a job here recently, and I was, like, oh, my goodness, I know that guy! Crazy, right? Welcome back to the island, by the way."

"So, I heard that you kicked Fate's ass."

Chloe: Hey

Chloe: Hey John :)