if by chance | ✓

21 | deja vu

[ 21 ]

C O R A

✦

Stuffing the last piece of Gua Bao into my mouth, I show a thumbs up in Juniper's direction ─ the East Asian delicacy being one of her mom's many specialties. Juniper Liu was in charge of supper today and by far, she was doing an amazing job.

"I thought you were Korean?" I ask, savouring the aftertaste of coriander and soy sauce.

"My mom's from Taiwan ─ dad's Korean" She smiles, flipping open a tiny bottle of sanitizer.

"That quite explains the Bao bun perfection eh?" I compliment, mimicking a chef's kiss.

Our group sans Eugene was sitting on the thick patch of dry grass, yet again, bringing back the half fullfilled camp memories of two weeks old. Everything was just the same, except that now my cousin Vivianne Eastwood had joined us ─ creating an extremely uncomfortable situation for Archer and Noah. That, and the fact that Rhys Crawford's warmth was beginning to grow on me. There were a couple of reasons why I thought so. For starters, he wasn't as incredibly annoying as I presumed him to be.

"Didn't quite expect you to bond with June" He says, once the rest of our friends were engaged in a banter entertaining enough to keep them out of earshot.

"What do you mean?" I frown, popping in a Tylenol. My cramps were getting worse and the thought of climbing rocks the next morning made me shudder. Oh how I wished I could be gossiping next to dad watching Friends, while mom cooked me warm snacks. Very unlikely of someone like me, I know, but that time of the month had always been an exception.

"June's not really the kind of person you'd be friends with. She's like Luna ─ ambitious, headstrong and um, what's the opposite of crazy?" He purses his lips in an attempt to suppress a laugh.

"Did you just call me crazy?!!" I glare, not really producing any effect on the caramel haired boy. I didn't realize we had been walking until now when the sound of people talking had faded and the only voice I could hear was his and mine.

"If you take it that way" he shrugs, this time unable to control his laughter.

The skin around his eyes crinkle as he laughs, and I can't help myself but notice how beautiful the rhythm of it was. And the way he tilts his head back, makes it impossible for me to even act like I was pissed. Ergo, I join in.

"Rhys" I say, once we get a hold on ourselves.

"Yeah?" He responds, running fingers through his hair.