like lightning: jack harries

fourteen

JACK: pov

Tuesday morning I practically skipped breakfast to get to the Larken household by 8:30, not even considering the fact that 1.) I actually didn't have to be there until 1 in the afternoon as that's when Laura leaves, and 2.) breathing heavily while arriving to the house next door makes you look like an idiot.

No one answered the door at 8:30 anyway, so I let myself in and decided to made coffee in the old rickety Mr. Coffee for when Laura woke up. I drank my small cup while I sat in the Beloved Green Couch while reading the starting pages of the unexpectedly good Juniper Anne.

At 8:52 a groggy Laura marched downstairs and jumped at the sight of me. I jumped at the sight of her, mostly because I really wasn't expecting someone to look that luminous in the morning-- like, honestly-- she was really glowing.

"Oh my god, you scared me-" she grabbed the banister, giggly slightly. "Whew. Good morning."

"Good morning." I replied, looking down at my coffee cup to cover up the fact that my cheeks were probably on fire because, oh my lord, her hair was down for the first time and it was incredible. Like, it was like she suddenly turned into a goddess. Which only made me feel worse because Ben of course, actually did look like some sort of god (maybe a surf God) which made them a perfect pair, which left me as like, their servant.

She cascaded into the kitchen, her cape of long chocolate hair blowing behind her as she examined the coffee pot.

"You made coffee." Aphrodite stated.

"Your hair is down." The Idiot replied.

"I know." She poured coffee into a fairly large cup, drinking it black right off the bat. "Why did you make coffee?"

"Why is your hair down?"

"It sometimes is down."

"It looks nice." Nice.

"Thanks. I guess." She examined the couch, frowning. "You're in my spot."

I scooted over one cushion and she sat down to my right. "How'd you know how to work that old thing?"

"Oh, the coffee maker? Most coffeemakers are pretty easy to figure out."

"Hm." She narrowed her eyes at me. "You must be smart that way."

I chuckled. "No, they really are simple."

"Oh, ok, motorcycle mechanics simple."

"Can you not work it or something?"

"Well, after a few tries, yeah." She laughed. "But really, props to you."

I took a long sip of my coffee to conceal my smile, finding Laura looking at me after with her eyes rolled.

"Yeah, well, don't get too high and mighty about figuring out how to use a 17th century Mr. Coffee. I mean, you get extra points for putting in my special North England roast that I hide behind the grinder, but that's about it."

"Oh, I'm not getting too high and mighty." I smiled even wider, because I had just gotten extra points from Laura Larken just because I used the obvious choice of coffee behind the grinder labeled 'Laura's All-time Favorite North England Roast'.

"Oh, please." She told me. "Anyway. The book."

She grabbed my copy of Juniper Anne, holding it out in front of her like some sort of baby. "Do you like it?"

"Well, it's definitely... unique?"

"Unique." She narrowed her eyes. "I guess I can see that."