Ticking Time Bomb

(flashback)

"But tri, I don't know how to do a braid. And yours has 4 whole strings!" I role my eyes at her childish behavior. "First of all, Powder. They are called sections. And second of all, I can teach you how, all you had to do was ask." I ruffle her hair, receiving a dirty look as she flattens it out. "Fine. But only If you do mine after." She dramatically points to her hair, which sits comfortably just below her shoulder blades. 

I nod and lean over to my bag, pulling out some string and chopping it into four pieces. I tie them together on one end and lay it out on the floor in front of us. "So, look, you take these two first." I glance over my shoulder to see if she is paying attention. She nods, staring intently at my hands. I turn back and do the next step. "Then you tuck them each like this."

After a while she had excitedly braided and re-braided the string. "Can I do your hair now?" I nod to her, and she swipes up a brush and plops herself down in a seat behind me. The calmest of smiles spreads across my face as she runs her small fingers through my hair. I feel her pull my hair into sections. "Never realized how wavy your hair was. You should wear it down." I chuckled and reached over my shoulder to pat the girl's leg. "Tell Ya what, I'll wear it down for a week for you. That is, only when you can answer a question with certainty." The work on my hair stops and I assume she's thinking about it. "Okay, I'll do it! I can't wait to see you with your hair down!" 

"Who are you?" "My name is powder!" I shake my head, lightly so the braid stays. "Incorrect." "HUH? Wait that's not fair, this is a joke, right?" I chuckle and don't say anything. I feel her pouting behind me while she finishes the braid. "Will you ever cut it?" "Do you want me to?"

"No."

"I'll never cut it then."

Her bubbly giggle fills my ears. I pass back a hair tie and she Ties it off. I feel a tap on my shoulder and spin around to see Powder. Since she is in a chair, I crane my neck to see her. I reach up and softly grab her hand. Only to pull her off the chair and into my arms. She cackles and beats on my chest, rambling on about how mean I am.  Soon she starts to squirm and push but I squeeze her with a dumb smirk. "No! Let me go!" she shrieks "Never." I mumble

After a bit, she finally gives up and sinks into me. I scoot back against the wall, knees slightly up. She lays across my lap, her back being held up by one of my arms while the other props up her legs. We stay like this, a comfortable silence filling the room as I listen to her breathing.

"Tri, can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Whenever you left to see 'your good friend'. who were they? I know it wasn't something you liked to talk about. " I sigh and pull her to lean against my chest. "He was someone I knew when I was little. Like around when I met you. We weren't friends at the time. I just admired him for afar I guess." "Creepy" She butts in. "Shut up or I'll never tell you." She nodded and made a zipper motion on her mouth. 

"But anyways. one day he ran into me, seemed upset, so I sat with him a while. Then I would always go to see him." "Why didn't he come to you?" I frown slightly. "He didn't fit in, had a dream to be a scientist topside. The others never would have understood." She slowly nods and I see the gears turning in her head. "Did he? become a scientist topside?" I smile and press a kiss to the top of her head. 

"Kind of"

"Kind of?"

"Mhm"

She breathes out a harsh sigh at my vagueness. "Did you like him?" "Course I did, he was a close friend of mine." She rolls her eyes and blows a hair out of her face. "No, I mean, did you have a crush on him?" I close my eyes a moment and give her shoulder a squeeze. "I don't have time for crushes."

"Let's get you to bed, Pow." I slide up the wall, holding her in a princess carry. "Tri?" She calls quietly. "Yes, Powder?"  "I think I want to change my name to Jinx." I freeze and hug her closer to me. "Are you serious? Or is this about what V- ... What she said?" The young teen shrugs. "Well, if I own it as who I am then nobody can poke fun anymore. Plus, it sounds cool." I laugh lowly and lay her gently on my bed. "Goodnight, Jinx" I whisper, tucking her in. She wraps her arms around my shoulders and pulls me into a hug. I feel her peck my cheek before she rolls over. "Night, Tri."