Spellbound

Chapter Five

The sketch of the chest lay on the bar as Martin stared at the drawing. It seemed clear the design changed a few times since Kennedy redrew some parts; the page looked slightly splotchy. The box appeared so real, if not just for white; black and gray colors, you could easily confuse it with a physical item.

The top of the chest had a three-petaled flower design and the corners of the box held rustic screws. Three-dimensional illustration forced Martin to stroke the page.

"And what is so special about that box?" Martin asked, lifting his eyes from the drawing. Kennedy bit the right corner of her bottom lip and stayed silent. "What is in the box, K?"

"What's in the box, what's in the box?" Dylan said in a sing-song voice, earning glares from his friends.

"It has something that I need," Kennedy calmly said, traveling back to the stove. "We will talk more tomorrow." She stirred the pot, trying to even her breathing. "Go set up the table."

"We can just talk now," Martin said, glancing between her and Dylan.

"Let's go prepare the table," Dylan suggested and patted Martin's shoulder.

"Giving up so easily?" Martin asked, looking at Dylan. "It's not very like you." He swiftly lifted his eyebrow.

"Maybe I changed," Dylan laughed, standing up from the stool.

"Sure, you did," Martin mumbled, following his friend.

While Kennedy finished preparing spaghetti with her special sauce, the guys began to set the table in the living room. The topic swiftly changed to small talk as guys traveled between the kitchen and living room, carrying dishes to the table.

The place seemed hot, Kennedy took off her sweater, tossing it on one stool just before reaching the living room. Satisfied with the table setting, she grabbed a bottle of red wine from the bar.

Dylan stood near the fireplace, adjusting a tune on his phone. Hushed instrumental music appeared as Kennedy placed the bottle on the table.

"Bordeaux," Dylan read the label, picking up the bottle. "How adult of us." He laughed.

"Not all of us like Sake," Kennedy said, lifting her eyebrow and sitting down on the carpet.

"I remember you liking Sake," Dylan said and put back the bottle. "In fact, you liked it a lot, when you visited Japan." He smirked, squatting on the couch.

"Right," Martin said and nodded. "Tell me more about the trip." He applied to Dylan.

"I'm sure K, told you all about it," Dylan said, glancing at Kennedy as she opened the bottle.

"Not really," Martin said, lifting a fork. "Mainly the site she visited and touristy stuff." He swirled spaghetti around the fork.

"That is what I did," Kennedy added, glancing at Dylan and pouring the wine into cups. "Touristy stuff."

"But you guys met?" Martin asked, chewing a bite.

"Like I said, briefly, a few times," Kennedy answered as Dylan opened his mouth.

"Right," Martin said with a nod. "So, what did you guys do?"

Kennedy gulped wine as Dylan stared at her. Both of them felt not prepared for the questioning. This seemed the last thing Kennedy needed right now. They agreed not to talk about the two weeks she spent in Japan. She felt confident Dylan won't say anything, but it still felt awkward. She finished her drink and refilled the cup swiftly.

"Site seeing and similar things," she finally answered.

"We did so much more than that," Dylan said and laughed, taking his drink. Kennedy glared at him as he continued to talk. "I'm a local, so she saw way more than any other tourist did," he explained.