CAPACITY FOR WONDER. | alex albon

xxi. finally, finally

By Google's definition, motion, in physics, "is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position that can be mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and time."

In terms of this, Juniper explained the motions of that morning by the same structure: displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and time. She wasn't in her bed, that was for sure, and she was far away from it too. Her head moved slowly up and down but the rest of her body remained still. There was no aim to move, no current realisation they needed to stir and do so quickly because it seemed like everything around them had stopped.

Though it seemed to be this way, the ocean never stopped moving so whilst their connection to the buoy remained -- the soft tippling of the waves beneath them continued, and the movement of her head? Caused by his need to breathe. His chest rose and fell as his hazed consciousness lay resting still, unaware of their position still miles out from the harbour. The way it had been all night, the dusking of sunrise having forced her eyes open.

So then, instead of Lex, June figured his nickname should be Pillow which she hoped nobody else had the chance to call him. Though, maybe she'd allow it from George and Lando.

When they told this story later, it was always asked of Juniper why she didn't wake Alex right away, why she chose to stay there even for the shortest moments, especially with how much she hated the water. It was always the simplest answer, Occam's Razor, that she gave.

It was a moment of peace in the presence of a body she feared but with somebody that she'd never felt calmer with. He never intended to dampen her, it wasn't something he had aimed for or even realised he had done but he had -- and it was in the best way because whilst the fire inside her still easily remained, it didn't threaten anybody anymore. Not those around her, not her sisters, and not herself. Like throwing water on the fire, she fizzled in his presence where whilst she felt herself dwindling from the socialising and the effort, it was a dwindling she allowed because she knew every moment with him would build her back in one way or another.

So finally, finally, after laying with her thoughts for moments she deemed precious, she turned onto her stomach to wake him and it felt like she was seeing him in a new light all of a sudden. At the time, she'd argued this was because it was at sunrise, and the golden glow of such a time literally presented him covered in a new hue of sunlight. Even the previous night had given her a new way of seeing him, his features only lightly outlined as the darkness of the sky only provided a soft glow of light caused by the moon and the stars where the laughs that she drew from him as often as she could caused her head and her hand to move when he laughed with his whole chest, repeatedly.

She wasn't even convinced what she was saying was funny anymore, but he was still laughing because the moment encouraged it. The moment encouraged smiles and flushed cheeks that would go unnoticed by the other, the concept of distance making the heart growing fonder seemingly proved by their simple existence.

"Alex." She whispered lightly. She'd been awoken suddenly too many times by too many people to go about this harshly with him.

"Alex." She echoed but was met again with indifference.

Shifting properly onto her elbows as she dropped her eye level so the sight of the water couldn't ruin it, she fixed her gaze to his face. Her lips hovered above his eyes as she blew gently against them -- the way Kamri always used to wake her up during the weeks she slept in her younger sister's room secretly after the Univesity debacle.

"June, I'm tired and now I'm cold so." He spoke after he stirred, but his focus obviously hadn't settled yet as he pulled her body back against his for what she assumed was for the warmth he was missing. It was a quick moment before his eyes opened properly and then widely. "I didn't drive home last night."

That was funny, she decided, not words manipulated into being so due to a turning point. It became even more so this way as his body bolted upright and she allowed her back to flop against the cushioned bench once more.

"Nobody did." She mused with him, only telling him so because of how obvious it was which meant the look he gave her as he turned around was nothing less than she expected.

+

Arriving back to the harbour was easier than the drive out there was, even though her view of the water had initially been clearer until Alex must've noticed something she hadn't even caught herself doing. Stripping himself of the hoodie he'd slept in, he threw it in her direction and she was tempted not to catch it -- to allow it to fall into the water or be momentarily blown about by the wind. But she craved the disappearance of the water and the feeling of being engulfed by him worked enough for this to come into false fruition as she once again fixed her eyes on him instead.

Growing up, Juniper had always been so fond of A Series of Unfortunate Events, so much so that such a series seemed to apply to her now. They weren't bad things, so the Indonesian Proverb that all bad things happened at the same time didn't apply as it had done in the past but naturally, after overstaying their welcome on the water, they had to bump into Charlotte as they found their way back onto land.

She wasn't sure if she'd been waiting, it didn't seem that way, but it was too early for Charlotte to be walking about. It was scarier when Charles appeared next to her, oblivious Charles, who didn't even clock onto anything as the two pairs stopped metres away from each other.

They were out for breakfast too, it seemed, which Juniper knew the meaning of causing her eyes to widen at Charlotte as Alex's had when he realised they were still on the boat a mere 30 minutes earlier. Charlotte met her with a shake of the head though as Charles said Alex and J should join them, that he'd go get them a table now.

There wasn't time for anybody to protest as Charles seemed to move faster than his Ferrari did, and she was almost tempted to say maybe he did pick up speed quicker than their 2020 car did.

In the absence of her boyfriend, Charlotte tilted her head to the side now, obvious to her best friend that a comment was brewing in her mind. "Alex is wearing the same clothes and Juniper, for the most part, you're wearing the clothes Alex was supposed to give you yesterday. Did you finally spend the night with each other?"

It struck her harder than she thought it was, quickly dismissing her words as Juniper shook her head "What do you mean finally?" She asked warily as her eyes flicked between Charlotte and Alex who both seemed to be avoiding her looks.

Words left unsaid, Alex always proposed, were left unsaid for a reason.

As she expected, everything shifted again when Charles returned with a table ready and waiting for them, the three of them acting as if nothing had happened. Had nothing happened? Is that why Charles came back Alex told him as much as he would love to, he had to go?

Under the clause that it would've been suspicious if she declined too, Juniper agreed but didn't let Alex depart before she spoke to him. "I'll be at your apartment at 6 tonight and you should be prepared to be given an outfit."

She didn't get a response as Charlotte dragged her away, she didn't know if she'd get a response either because sometimes shifts weren't good. Shifts in tectonic plates caused earthquakes and tsunamis and volcanic eruptions and it felt like June and Alex would be treading along a fault line for a moment, at least.

"How come you're wearing Alex's jumper? He had one of yours in the bag, J."