14th of October

The only sounds that could be heard was the sheets of rain lashing on the window and the old school rock song he hummed under his breath as he scrawled down the titles he wanted to borrow on a leather pocketbook. There wasn't a soul dawdling in the streets, everyone sensible was sheltering inside from the dregs of a tropical storm. Everyone had fair warning, it was incredibly common that storms would come over the Atlantic after hitting the States. 

Most of the primary schools had decided to close a few days earlier than usual because of the storm, which he was quite miffed about. He'd felt so smug when he'd gotten to get out two weeks earlier, due to him being in the graduating class. It was his mom's turn to be smug when a kid came in a day ago telling her they had the rest of the week off.

Whatever, they missed out on the clear skies the week prior. The storm was supposed be followed by a second smaller one soon after which meant that they would have to stay in for two weeks. He felt smug again when he thought about how the big box chain bookstore was closed for the week due to water damage.

The door's bell chimed downstairs, Emrys tilted his head and listened intently. He heard the rustling of the umbrella stand and his mother exclaiming "oh dear" too many times, followed by airy laughter. 

Nothing could be heard for some time so he focused back on the cookbook he was flipping through. He absently noticed the clunk of heavy footsteps climbing up the steep staircase. Definitely not Mom, he thought, she always pops up when he least expects it, scaring the shit out of him. Not Dad either, it's very obvious when he's coming with his odd shuffle-like gait from and old injury he refused to go to the doctor for. Must be the visitor then. 

He startled, remembering that he didn't change out of his embarrassing old Spider-Man pyjamas and oh god when was the last time he brushed his teeth? His hair? Mother would kill him if anyone saw him so ruffled, he's not even supposed to be in the same area as customers. He quickly hid behind a bookshelf, making sure he could see the landing but not be seen. Perfect, he thought, I'll just stay here until they leave or maybe sneak downstairs while they're not looking.

The visitor dawdled on the steps, presumably checking out the mystery books, before finally coming up onto the landing and straight to the nearest bookshelf. He could only see her back and it's obvious she didn't anticipate the rain as she's in a soaked pair of jeans and a too-big (certainly not waterproof) tweed jacket. Emrys felt bad for her, it seemed like even her leather boots were soggy, not to mention her hair (it was soaked as well. And she kind of looked like the girl from the ring. But Mom would scold him if he even so thought bad of a girl's hair so he tried not to.) 

(It's stringy too.)

He didn't help her of course, he was content just watching and hiding. It would be far too embarrassing for a girl about his age to see him in his pyjamas this late in the afternoon when his reputation was based upon being prim and proper at all times. 

The girl turns to another shelf, closer to him now. He lightly tiptoed into a section further back and away from the girl and relied on the sound of the storm covering up any mistakes. Plan C now is to open a book and stand very, very, very still. He does so, all while stealing glances at the girl's too familiar profile. Black hair, dangly earrings. Fuck, is that Haleigh? She's such a gossip- this is the worst.

She abruptly turned towards him, so suddenly that she must have seen him duck out of sight. He could feel his ears turning red as he buried his nose in the random book he had picked up. He could hear her footsteps coming closer, he had nowhere to hide anymore and now he had to face her while looking like a slob and what if she told everyone and his parents would be so disappointed and maybe even send him to live with his "real dad" and he'd never see Ro again because he ruined thei-

His racing thoughts were interrupted by hastily muffled giggles. He peeked over the book and sees her leaning on the bookshelf with a small smile on her face. Fortunately it wasn't Haleigh, unfortunately it was Eden, who was in the year below him, tutored Ronan's little sister Orla and sometimes loaned him books. Crap, if only it was a tourist. 

Well, at least he knows she won't blab about his scruffy appearance and all he'll get is a little ribbing from Ronan.

Eden silently watched him and he was starting to feel unsettled by her staring and smile. He tried seeing if he had anything on his face and sure enough, he still had some egg on his face from breakfast. But that didn't seem to be the reason for her staring. After some moments he decided to break the silence, ".....Hi?" 

Her eyebrows raised and her grin broadened, "Emrys?"

"Hmm?"

"What're you reading?"

Emrys looked down, and not a second later he shoved the novel into an open spot on the shelf, not caring if he bent the pages. She giggled and he could feel his face burn up. "I-I swear it's-" 

"That cover is pretty..." She trailed off when she couldn't hold in her giggles.

No! "No! No, no, you've got the wrong idea." He whisper-yelled. 

"It's alright," she soothed "I won't say anything. It's fine. Don't be embarrassed, you look like a lobster." She giggled again.

He quickly changed the subject to avoid more awkwardness. 

"Do you want a towel to dry off? You look cold." And she did, he only just noticed it but she was definitely suppressing shivers.

She paused, muttered under her breath and then said, "Yeah," she nodded "Yes, that would be nice. Thank you." He let out a tiny sigh, glad he could try to make it up to her. "I'll just go get my mom, you must be hungry." He was downstairs before she could reply.

His mother was in her usual spot on the couch nestled by the till, reading through a cookbook. She looked up as he approached and bookmarked her book. "Shouldn't we give the girl a towel? And maybe something to eat? It's been pouring for ages and she could get sick like that." He said in Korean. 

She sighed, then took her time getting up and stretching before saying, "Well, she looked a little muddy, she might as well take a shower. It's almost lunch anyway. Do you think she'd be alright with kimchi fried rice? Since it's fast." 

"I don't know, I'll ask to be sure though." He replied.

"Might as well grab a blanket too, it's too cold for June." She called over her shoulder while she went into the back room. He nodded even though she couldn't see him and followed at a slow pace. They went up in the elevator (bringing heavy boxes of books up and down steep stairs is a huge no no, major tripping hazard. Plus the storage area should never be accessible to customers) and Emrys stepped out at the second floor to grab Eden. He couldn't spot her in the maze of books so he hesitantly called out "Eden? Edeeen?"

She popped her head around a corner and furrowed her brows. "You know my name's Edith, right?" Emrys choked and flushed "Ye-yeah! Isn't that what I said?" She quirked an eyebrow and said nothing more. "Elevator's back here, my mom's making lunch." She nodded and followed with a tight lipped smile. He led her to the backroom and went through the heavy door that he'd propped open prior. He flicked the overhead light switch and grumbled when they sputtered and died. He walked to the other side of the room (not without knocking over three empty boxes) and blindly searched for the wall light's switch. 

He finally got it and looked over to Edith to see her reaction. He didn't know what he was expecting but it wasn't... that. Her smile had become much more strained and her eyes darted around the room but always landed next to him. On the elevator? She clasped her hands in front of her as if praying. Her knuckles were white and her hands shook. She was mumbling something he couldn't hear and physically curling in on her self.

He hesitantly stepped towards her, holding his hands out. "Hey, hey, it's alright," he said hoping to be soothing. It did not work. She flinched, buried her face in her hands and backed away until she hit a shelf. "Claustrophobia, right? It's only one floor. My mom's making kimchi fried rice, would you be alright with that?" He said as he grabbed her arms. She didn't protest so he carefully pried her hands away and held them. "Alright?" She closed her eyes and nodded. He led her over to the elevator and pressed the button. She avoided eye contact and he realised he was still holding her hands. His face burned and he looked away. This was not how he expected his first time holding a girl's hand to go.

The elevator dinged and she jumped away. He stepped on and she took a deep breath and followed. She slipped her hands into his and his eyebrows raised until they were hidden under his fringe. He pulled one hand out and her entire face turned red. He quickly pressed the button for the third floor and twined their fingers together. She quickly looked away and he chuckled (not giggled, it was a very manly chuckle).

The elevator started moving and she painfully gripped his fingers. He held back a wince when something sharp dug into his right index and middle finger. He brought her left hand up to his face. "Wow! It's so pretty! Where did you get it?" He exclaimed. It was very pretty, an eye shaped opaque black gem surrounded by small clear jewels that sparkled even in the low light of the elevator. He noticed it was far too big for any of her fingers and the only reason it didn't slip off was a notable slant leaning towards the ring finger after the middle knuckle and a visible bump on the other side. She gave a small smile and said "Thanks! My mom gave it to me for my birthday. She got it thirty years ago, when she was twenty. Can you believe it? I was so excited!" He smiled back.

"Cool! What's it made out of? And when was your birthday?" The elevator rattled and she clutched his fingers. "Um, I'm pretty sure it's tanzanite? Tanzanite is supposed to have three colours and then be treated to only be blue but my one looks blue only when you hold it up to the light so it could be something else." She pulled her right hand out of his loose grip and fiddled with her earring. "Ah! My birthday was the fourteenth by the way, I'm ten now." She grinned and puffed out her chest, "Double digits!" He grinned back though she wasn't looking at him, her eyes solely on where the floor was displayed. Ancient thing rarely went faster than a snail's pace and this time was no exception. 

According to the previous owners, it had been installed in roughly 1920 by the forward thinking first owner. Emrys had been fascinated by the fact it had been one of the first in Ireland and that it had had been installed in the midst of the war of independence. All the historical significance of it didn't make it in any way comfortable or fast. They'd had it updated before he was born, before they'd had to read through a thick manual to even operate it. The walls weren't solid but had bars crisscrossed all around. The floor was recently changed from the old threadbare carpet that had been there since installation to a new navy shag carpet, his mother's choice.

The floor number flickered but did not change and she dragged her eyes back to him. "I'm twelve and a half, my birthday's December thirtieth." He said and paused, licking his lips. The elevator stalled for a second and she winced then shut her eyes and took a slow breath. Shit. Bringing her on the elevator was a bad idea. He should have just brought her downstairs to the fire escape staircase. But that was four flights of stairs and he was lazy. "You know a lot about gems, don't you?" He said. Her lips quirked and she looked up at him. "Well, tanzanite is the commercial name for blue zoisite. Zoisite isn't actually all that rare, but the blue variety is only found in one mine in Tanzania, hence the name. It's supposed to run out in the next few decades." She paused and he butted in. "What happens if they find more in another mine?"  

She grinned, "Well, I assume they'll be kept secret and put in a vault so their value doesn't tank, like with diamonds." He tilted his head and she elaborated, "From what I've heard, the whole 'three months salary thing is complete bullshit-" He snorted and she sent a glare at him, "Created by some jewelry company in the forties to sell more diamonds. Obviously it was very effective. And the thing is, diamonds are not even rare at all! There are hundreds of millions of individual diamonds that fetch exorbitant prices purely because of their 'rarity'. The only rare diamonds are the true red kind, there's only been thirty or so small ones ever found." She stated as she adjusted her hands. "That's really interesting. You sure know your... geology?" He said and she snorted, "Close enough."

He had nothing to say after that and it seemed like she didn't either. He stared at the walls for several seconds before snapping his head back to her. Their eyes locked and she quickly looked away, cheeks flushing. 

He stared for a moment before clearing his throat, "So... have you ever had kimchi fried rice?" Her brows furrowed, "Ah? I don't think so." She said and tilted her head. "No, I haven't. Why?" 

"My mom is making some for lunch and was wondering if you wanted some. We have, uh, pizza if you don't want it." He stuttered.  

"Kimchi fried rice sounds great! Um... I'm not very good with chopsticks though." She admitted.

"It's fine if you use a fork." Emrys said, confused as to why that would be a problem.

"No, I can use chopsticks! I'm just not very good at it." Edith insisted.

"Ok, I'll make sure mom sets some out for you." He replied.