Gears and Steam

Augustus Black

Jules

I was glad to see Edmund leave. It wasn't that I didn't like his company, I was starting to enjoy it quite a bit actually, but I didn't like seeing his interactions with my sister. Phoebe flirted a lot. She had enchanted more than a few of my colleagues, but she looked at Edmund differently. It was like he was less of a game to be played and more of a prize to be won.

I didn't understand why he was special. He wasn't wealthy or proper like most of the boys Phoebe went after. I tried to think like my sister would. He was handsome, I supposed. Underneath the random black smudges, his features were rather delicate but somehow...pleasing? His eyes were a nice color, I guess. They were a nice bright blue, like the sky on a clear day. His chestnut hair, no matter how messy the curls were, seemed to work perfectly with his face, making him look somewhat mischievous. He wasn't wearing his goggles today, but I liked the way they always sat slightly crooked on his head when he did. Okay, I might have been trying to think like my sister a bit too much.

I shook myself out of my thoughts and entered the kitchen again. Phoebe was still sitting at the table, though her teacup was long forgotten. My mother had disappeared, Ada too, leaving me alone with Phoebe.

"Why him?" I asked, sitting down next to my sister.

"He's cute and interesting. I have a feeling that he's a hard prize to win. You're a boy, Julian, I wouldn't expect you to understand," Phoebe huffed.

Actually, I did understand. From a different perspective, of course. From a different perspective, he was attractive, to say the least. He was still temperamental and mean though. He might have been growing on me, but I still couldn't get too close. I had a mission to complete. I didn't need my feelings getting in the way of that. That reminded me, I needed to turn in my report to the police force. I had compiled a list of dates and times that would be helpful in shutting down the races.

"If he comes around again, don't flirt with him," I said. "It makes him uncomfortable. He's...let's say, socially inept."

"Yes, I could tell from the blushing and stuttering. I think he actually blushes more around you though, which proves that he might be just a little bit crazy."

"You're making stuff up now," I muttered.

Ada came back into the kitchen from the direction of the dining room. "Okay, now what's this with you being a mechanic?"

I thought about my answer a lot before saying it out loud. They weren't allowed to know too much. "I'm investigating something, meaning I'm undercover."

Ada frowned at me. "Julian, I'm no expert on undercover missions but, isn't bringing one of the people you're investigating to meet your family sort of a...bad idea?"

I sighed. "I actually came into town to give my report for the first few days. There were a few complications."

Phoebe looked even more intrigued than she had before. "So, the handsome boy is...what? A criminal?"

"Not exactly," I shrugged. "He's exactly what he said, a mechanic that builds wind-up toys in his free time."

"As long as he's not dangerous," Phoebe said, scrunching her nose in a way that made most guys swoon.

"He's thrown enough wrenches at me in the past few days for me to consider him dangerous," I snorted. "He has quite a temper around people he's comfortable with or just really hates. You should see him and Theo fight. It's quite the spectacle." I had seen plenty of arguments between the two boys in my last days with Gears and Steam. They were usually pretty stupid and ended in a lot of yelling. The fights were never serious and neither of them ever got physically hurt since Theo knew how to dodge Edmund's tools.