Monday: December 13th, 2015
On the thirteenth day of Christmas, Jasper had an exam first thing. He wouldn't be out until 10am, so I decided to head over to Santa's Workshop to pick up the riddle and try cracking it before he got out.
Also, last night as I tried to sleep, I laid awake staring at the ceiling thinking too long and hard about what I wanted to see in his eyes as we left the park yesterday. Spending too much time with him was getting dangerous. So the sooner I was done solving the riddle, the better.
Scroll tied in a white ribbon adorned in gingerbread cookies clutched in my hand, I knew today I'd have to set some barriers for myself. As much as I missed my old friend, my lonely heart was trying to use him to get over Rowan. And I couldn't do that to Jas. Because nothing good would come out of him being a rebound.
Unravelling the paper, I glanced down at today's riddle.
Reading through the riddle, my brows came together as I realised the format was different. The last line had no command to go anywhere. But while the poem was crafted differently, a couple more read-throughs saw a grimace spreading across my face as my eyes zeroed in on 'shards'.
Snapping a picture of the riddle, I sent it to Jasper at 9:30 and headed off to The Shard.
∘◦ ❈ ◦∘
By the time I had come out from the underground station, I had a text waiting for me.
Jasper: On my way.
Me: I'm almost there, so don't worry.
Jasper: Then I'll meet you somewhere nearby to go through it.
Me: I'll just send you a picture of the entry pass and see you this afternoon.
As I walked down the road towards the large glass building, I watched the three dots appear and disappear. Eventually they stopped all together. But unlike last time where this action resulted in him calling me, Jasper just gave up.
"How did you go in yesterday's race?" Miss Elf asked me, surprise no longer on her face today.
"We came first," I replied smugly, accepting the entry slip from her.
"Of course, of course. Today's might challenge you."
Brows furrowing, I said, "Why?"
Eyes twinkling, she replied, "You'll find out when you read that. Practice your dodging abilities!"
So on my way back towards Bank station, I read through the entry slip, grimacing as I realised what she was referring to. Today's task would most likely require luck than skill.
∘◦ ❈ ◦∘
Jasper still hadn't texted when I came out of the underground in Epping, despite the fact I had sent him a picture of the entry slip. Shrugging it away though, I decided it was for the best anyway and kept walking to dad's.
But as I approached the house, my steps began to slow as I met his dark eyes that had already sought mine out.
"What are you doing here?" I asked once I was in hearing distance.
"Why are you pushing me away again?" he said bluntly, causing my step to falter and eyes to widen.
"I—I don't know what you mean," I stuttered.
"Zar..." He got up from the step he was sitting on and took some steps closer to me. "Don't do this to me again," he whispered. "Not when I just got you back."
I looked away from his forceful eyes, and muttered, "It's not worthwhile getting attached to me, Jas. I'm only here for December."
"Yeah. And the internet does exist. Our friendship can continue."
As I looked back into his awaiting gaze, his brows turning down as our eyes met, the small voice echoed in the back of my head, Give him a chance, Zara. "Want to come in?" I asked.
Grinning, he nodded, following me up the steps and into the house. "Good job, as always, cracking the riddle," he said as he shrugged off his jacket.
Warily, I glanced over his uniform. "Don't you want to go home and get changed?"
"I'll do it before the competition."
"Okay... do you... want a tea?"
One side of his mouth turning up, he nodded. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit thrown that he had abandoned the topic of why I had avoided him this morning. Yet as surprising as it was that he was pretending it never happened, I was simultaneously relieved.
∘◦ ❈ ◦∘
"A snowball fight, hey?" he asked. "Do you think the elves will throw them all at us or that we will be making our own snowballs and throwing them at each other?"
"No clue. I'm more curious as to where they will get the snow," I glanced at the grey sky out the window. While the days were getting colder, snow didn't seem to be anywhere on the horizon.
"Maybe it will just be balls they throw at us?" he offered, sipping on his hot drink.
I shrugged in response, glancing anywhere in the room but him. Yesterday, it seemed so easy to talk to him. But today, after our embrace, after the awkward atmosphere swelling around us, I didn't know how to react around him.
"Do you have Facebook?" he suddenly asked me.
"Y-yeah?"
"Let me add you. So that we can stay in touch after you leave."
I gave him a wary glance, but he just warmly smiled at me.
"Don't tell me you're concerned I will see all the embarrassing pictures you have up there. I do have worse ones of you."
"No you don't!" I gasped. "Surely you threw them away."
"Oh I totally didn't. What if I needed to blackmail you one day? I still have evidence of every single Halloween costume, Christmas outfit, cosplays... I've got them all, Zar."
"You're not selling me on this whole adding you thing... I do not want those pictures being seen by my new friends."
His eyes twinkled with humour as he shuffled closer to me on the couch. "Don't worry, Fish. They're just for my viewing pleasure."
A part of me wanted to go off at him for the old nickname making its appearance once more, but the other was conscious of his knee now touching mine. "Fine," I mumbled, moving away from him to grab my phone from my bag. But I didn't come closer to him as I opened my Facebook and searched him. "Which is you?" I asked, turning the screen to him.
He pulled my phone from my hand and found his profile, pressing the 'add friend' button before handing it back to me. As he busied himself with his own phone, I couldn't help but glance at his profile pic. Him and his mum.
Sneaking a glance up at him, he was still too busy with his own screen to notice me. So I quickly flicked through more of his profile pictures. All of them were just him or him with his family. None of Penny, which made me glad to know she wasn't that important.
"Wow, Zara," he suddenly exclaimed, causing me to nearly drop my phone. I quickly exited out of his photos and looked over at him. "He's very... attractive."
I scooted over closer to him on the couch to glance at his phone, noticing he was just doing exactly as I did: looking through my profile photos. On his screen was me and Rowan.
Turning my eyes to my knees, I said, "I really need to delete those."
"Sorry... I didn't mean to upset you."
I shook my head. "It's okay. To be honest, I shouldn't be surprised it ended."
"Why?"
I heaved a sigh, unsure how to form the words to describe it. I wanted to believe he wouldn't make fun of me. But a part of me—the one who remembered the sadistic gleam to Jasper's eyes—was hesitant.
"You can talk to me, Zara. It's not like I'm ever going to meet the guy. And it's also not like anyone I would tell here would even remember you. No offence."
"Unless it's Penny," I muttered.
"I don't think she and I will talk again for a long time."
Pressing my lips together, I met his awaiting gaze that was full of warmth and sincerity. "Two month Rowan, was his nickname," I started, and then I told him everything. From the reputation I knew he had. To how he 'courted' me. To the warning signs that were so evident that we were falling apart but I chose desperately to ignore. All the way up until the night before I left for England. Thankfully this time though, while my heart throbbed talking about him, my eyes didn't sting and my throat never closed up.
"Okay... okay... we will get back to that tale," Jasper started, "But answer me one thing first, Zara... Why do you need the money from the competition?"
"That's... that's none of your business." I could tell my face was turning crimson.
"Please don't tell me it's because you want a car."
I kept my mouth shut.
"Zara?"
"You said to not tell you..."
"Oh my gosh!" He fell into the couch, his eyes wide. "Are you hoping to get him back?"
Alarmed, my head whipped in his direction. "Get him back? Definitely not."
Then Jasper did the most peculiar thing. He sighed in relief, a small smile gracing his face just before he said, "Good."
Don't read into that, my inner voice warned me.
"Then why the car?"
"I just want to show him I'm someone to be missed. That his reason was stupid and that I can still be everything he let slip away... I know it's petty."
Jasper shrugged. "Whatever you need to do to get over the heartbreak, I suppose. Can your parents not afford to get you a car though? Or are they against it?"
"Dad saved all his money to bring me here for Christmas and mum only just makes enough for our living expenses. Besides, whenever I do go anywhere, it's either with mum or Ria and Jojo and they all have cars so I never saw a point..."
Jasper barked a short laugh. "And you always have to try one upping people, don't you, Zar?"
I wanted to berate him for that, but when I met his gaze, he looked back at me with tenderness and warmth.
"I wish you luck at making him regret at what he lost. Though I know anyone would be a fool to let you go." He stared at me for a few moments after that comment—just long enough for my throat to tighten and my heart to stammer—before finally glancing away. "I better go get changed though. And see you at Hyde Park?"
"Y-yeah," I mumbled, following him to my own feet and into the hallway.
"See you later, Fish," he said, smirking as the grimace took hold of my face.
"What did I say about that nickname?"
Shrugging on his jacket, he replied, "No clue. You said something?" Then he left.
∘◦ ❈ ◦∘
Jasper's assumption that they elves would throw balls at us ended up being the correct ones.
But they weren't hard balls or anything, otherwise stacking the red-painted styrofoam blocks into a chimney shape would be ridiculously difficult. The balls in question were white and also made of the same material as the blocks.
That meant every hit Jasper took as he defended our chimney while I stacked rarely resulted in a flinch.
As I placed the final block, we called out to the elf nearby to check our tower and were labelled the fourth to finish. Jasper fell to the ground of the stage beside me and held his hand up for a high-five.
But as we relaxed while waiting for the others to finish, I noticed fake Santa staring at us, eyebrows furrowed.
Alarmed at his judgemental gaze, I scooted closer to Jasper and grabbed his hand in mine.
His head snapped in my direction, but before he could speak I said, "Santa is watching."
Glancing in the direction I was before, Jasper scooted even closer, dropping my hand to wrap an arm around me.
My body tingled all over at his touch, stomach swirling with butterflies as could be expected. But the warmth of his body pressed against mine had me huddling closer to him as I realised just how cold I had gotten in the frosty air.
Seeming to notice my shivers, Jasper's free arm wrapped around the other side of my body, rubbing my arms as he pulled me closer to him. "We will get you back to the warmth soon, you acclimatised koala."
"Koala?" I exclaimed, pulling back to look at him.
Jasper looked down at me, a small smile on his face. But instead of explaining, his expression softened as a new emotion swirled in his gaze. Then his eyes began trailing over my face until they landed on my mouth.
As he seemed to move ever so slightly closer, I quickly turned my head away from him resting it instead on his shoulder, trying to swallow the spit down my dry throat instead.
_____
Tomorrow's riddle:
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