Sincerely Yours, Bill Cipher

Falling In Like

     "Koa!" a younger Jinni exclaims in excited shock as Pacifica and Koa enter his house, Yule and I close behind. "You brought a girl home!" He inspects her more closely and gasps in amazement. "A human girl, too!" He doesn't seem to be in a bad mood about that. Instead, he bounces lightly on the balls of his feet, singing, "Koa has a girlfriend! Koa has a girlfriend!"
     "Rhett!" Koa snaps, turning beet-red. "Stop! Mom and Dad aren't home, are they?"
     "Nooooooo," Rhett croons, still adept on embarrassing his brother.
     Koa sighs, relieved. "Good. Because if they had been, you would be dead."
     "No, you would be dead," Rhett shoots back with a naughty grin.
"Girlfriend?" another voice titters from another room, and its owner soon comes jumping in. A little female Jinni hops up to us, and she's probably about the age of six. "You are pretty!" she practically shouts at Pacifica, who shushes her a bit.
"Go away, Freya!" Koa snaps, trying to shoo her back.
"Guys, what's going on?" says yet another Jinni as she hurries into the room. She looks to be a little older than Koa. Maybe his older sister? Her hair is in dreads, and she flips them over her shoulder. She studies Pacifica, then Pacifica's arm looped through Koa's. "Koa, are you kidding me? If Mom and Dad find out, you are so-"
"Dead," Koa interrupts, exasperated. "I know, Yvette. I'll be careful, alright? Just leave us be."
"Oh, no you don't!" Yvette exclaims, pushing her way between Koa and Pacifica. "You two need to be carefully watched! Never alone! Not without a responsible chaperone!" she exclaims, referring to herself, but I'm honestly getting the vibe that she would be a horrible chaperone. She seems like one of those laid back older siblings that does their own thing and lets you get away with anything. "Where did you even find a human anyway?"
"She's lost. She has Jinn ancestors, though, so she was able to find the town for help," Koa says.
"So you're kind of a Jinni?" Freya asks excitedly, pulling on the hem of Pacifica's sundress.
"Kind of!" Pacifica says, laughing. "But I'm more on the human end of things."
Freya frowns and tilts her head to the side. "But humans are bad."
"Freya!" Koa scolds. Turning to Pacifica, he apologizes. "Sorry, Pacifica. Don't listen to her. You're obviously different."
     Pacifica waves her hands in denial, a smile on her face. "No, no, no, it's okay! I don't take things too personally."
"I can't believe you have a girlfriend!" Freya shrieks excitedly.
Koa's blue glimmer turns his face a dark marine color. "She's- She's not my girlfriend, Freya."
"I mean..." Pacifica looks around, not meeting his eyes, shifting her feet, "he's not entirely unlikeable."
Rhett gasps. "So you are in love!"
"Let him be, guys," Yvette says as Koa stutters, trying to come up with responses. "You can't fall in love in, like, fifteen minutes."
"Momma and Daddy did," Freya says, looking up with wide eyes.
Yvette snickers. "They're just joking. They didn't really fall in love that fast. I suppose you can fall in like, though." She eyes Koa. "Are you guys falling in like?"
"Sh-Shut up!" Koa exclaims frantically. "You're going to scare Pacifica away! She's just here to have lunch, then she'll be on her way."
"Alright," Yvette ruffles her brother's hair. "We'll leave you two be. Just know, I'll be nearby in case anything..." she looks between the two of them, "happens."
"Get out!" Koa yells.
"Yeah, yeah!" Yvette calls back, dragging her youngest siblings out of the room by their ears as they screech and holler in protest.
Koa sighs, running his fingers through his hair. "I am so sorry about my family."
"It's okay!" Pacifica replies with a laugh. "I found them endearing. You're lucky to have siblings. I'm an only child. I grew up pretty lonely." The two sit in awkward silence for a couple moments, looking anywhere but at each other. "Hey..." Pacifica says, twisting a lock of hair around her finger, "I don't think I'd mind, you know... falling in like."
Koa is silent for a second, then he starts laughing nervously. "R-Really? I mean- I mean, I wouldn't either, but... we barely know each other. And it's not like we could ever be more than... this, right?"
"You can't let your parents control your life," Pacifica tells him softly. "You can't let them shape you into anything but the you that you were made to be. If that means you want to fall in love with a human, so be it. If that means anything else, who cares? You can make your own choices in life. Isn't that wonderful?"
Koa's eyes reflect utter shock. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right... Well, anyway, at least tell me something about yourself. So I know you're an only child and a grandparent of yours was a Jinni. That's literally all I know. Tell me something new. I want to get to know you a little bit before you have to leave."
     "Well..." Pacifica says, pausing to think, "my favorite thing to do is hang out with my friends. I'm not afraid to speak my mind. I like to think I can keep a cool head, but I'm stressful situations, I often find myself breaking, barely holding it together. Let's see, what else... Oh! I love to laugh, and my favorite color is purple."
     Koa smiles warmly. "I liked how you described yourself. You gave me the things you love about yourself, but also your insecurities. I love how down to earth you are. I wish I could be more open to others."
     "Now's as good a time to start as any," Pacifica tells him with a gentle grin. "Go ahead. Tell me a little about yourself."
     "Okay. Here goes nothing. My favorite thing to do is walk around town and stop by this bakery. It has the best strawberry cake on the planet. I've always wanted a dog, but my parents won't allow it. I like to look on the bright side, even when it's difficult. I wish I weren't such an attention seeker. I just get kind of lonely sometimes. And my favorite color is orange." He holds up his shimmering blue arm. "Ironically."
They both smile, and before I know it, they've leaned across the table and met with a kiss. I'm not even sure who made the first move. I expect it was Pacifica, but it's hard to tell.
They soon break apart, all smiles. If I didn't know this was an act on Pacifica's part, I would think they make a cute couple.
"Wow," is all Koa can manage to say. "That was... good. That was good, right?"
"Yeah. Thanks for being so open with me. I know that's hard to do. But look at yourself! I know you have it in you to do great things." Pacifica says and laughs, and I really think she's enjoying her time. But suddenly, her expression crumples. Her laughing is replaced by choking cries and tears. This reaction is so sudden and unheard of that even Yule and I look at her in puzzlement.
"Pacifica?" Koa reaches across the table to hold her hands in his. "Are you okay? What's wrong? I- Oh gosh, should we not have done that? I'm sorry, but... oh man, I don't know what's happening, Pacifica. Help me out, here!"
This only makes her cry harder. "I haven't been honest with you, Koa. I was never going to be, but then you turned out to be such a kind, genuine, caring boy with precious siblings and important feelings, and-" she hiccups, "I just feel so bad! I came here for a wish, Koa. I need a wish."