The Hanes Enigma

Chapter Three - Jeon Jungkook and Park Jimin

Brynn Clough

I climb onto a nearby tree trunk, large enough that I can't reach it's top from the ground and my legs dangle pleasingly from the edge and allow my weary feet to rest. The library is one hell of a trek from the school and the quickest route is straight through the nearby forest. The walk is long and always lonely as Taehyung has never failed to complain about ruining his shoes and refuses to keep one pair specifically for walking through the muddy terrain in. He calls it sacrilegious. I remind him technically worshipping shoes is a blasphemy and therefore could be seen as sacrilegious too, but he happily skips over this point.

A faint chime of laughter trickles through the surrounding branches and I frown. I've never seen anyone else while walking through this way.

A robin lands on a branch near me. And this distracts me enough to ignore whatever sign of humanity I may have previously been intrigued by.

"Hello." I smile and turn to face the tiny bundle of feathers.

It chirps happily and flutters onto the trunk next to me, causing my smile to creep into a beam. I've always got on better with animals than people.

"Who are you then, Mr Robin? What's your story?" I tilt my head and he mirrors the action, chirping repetitively and filling my ears with the beautiful noise.

"Now that sounds exciting! What a life you lead, Mr Robin... Any family, people who love you?" I grin as he continues, hopping to a stop mere inches away from my hand.

"That's a lot of people! You must be grateful to have them in your life.." To my dismay he flutters off, spreading his song to luckier spaces. "Mine appears to be somewhat lacking in that area at the moment..." I mumble quietly to myself.

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Mother of soggy biscuits on a barstool!" I jump at the unexpected reply and feel myself slipping. With a squeal, I am a cascade of limbs as I fall from the trunk, saved only by two strong arms, holding me slightly off the ground.

"Soggy biscuits? You should be more careful, you'll twist an ankle.." A chuckling boy, seemingly near enough my age, lowers me the final inches to the ground.

"You're not a robin!" I blink. What the heck? Why, Brynn, just why?

"Well spotted..." The boy frowns but chuckles slightly, and reaches up to the trunk, pulling my rucksack down and handing it to me.

"Th-Thanks.." No, stutter, you stay in my childhood where you belong, thank you very much.

"No problem.. What happened to your face? Who did you piss off?" He smirks slightly and I look away.

"It's nothing."

"Are you celebrating your last week in this hell hole like us?" The boy nods his head to the left, gesturing to what seems to be a group of people laughing and pushing each other happily. "You can join us if you want. We're all headed to the bonfire anyway."

Bonfire? Tae had talked of a bonfire; he wasn't sure if he wanted to go or not. These must be other people going to the same new school as him.

"Ah.. No, no I'm not. Just heading to the library.." I look away awkwardly, trying to hide my jealousy.

"Through the woods?" He laughs.

"It's the quickest route.." I shrug in return.

He blinks at me, and I recipricate. "Wait, seriously? No... I could've sworn that was a rune of some sort!.." He looks pointedly at my hand and I frown. The wonky cross?

"A what?"

"A rune..?" He raises his eyebrows slightly. "Oh come on, you're walking through the woods alone with a pendant around your neck and talking to robins. You seriously think anyone's gonna miss that you're a witch?" He laughs.

My expression falls. And here I was thinking he was nice. "I'm not a witch." I grit my teeth determinedly. I might have to let Freddie push me about what with her father able to expel me, but I sure as hell won't let this a random stranger bully me.

"Oh god, you're one of those.. Sorry, mage, druid, whatever.." He rolls his eyes.

"You.. Huh?..." I frown, genuinely confused now.

"Jungkook!" A boy runs over from the group. "Come on, Laila wants to get there before they light the fire. Oh, who's this?"

"I dunno.. Just heard her talking to a robin.." 'Jungkook' replies to his friend.

"So what if I was. They're cute." I glare again.

"Jesus, what did you do, Kook?" The new stranger chuckles. "So, witch, are you coming to the bonfire?" He smiles.

"Why the hell do you both insist on calling me that? Seriously, what is it?." I glare.

"Hyung.. I think.. She might actually be human..." The first boy mutters.

"Well duh.. No, I'm an alien. Take me to your freakin leader." I scowl further.

Both boys blink at me.

"C'mon, Jimin. Let's go.." The first boy begins to walk off, and the second follows quickly, both occasionally looking back with odd looks.

I glare daggers until they're out of my sight.

Why today? I'm already losing Taehyung, why did I need all of this too?

***

The librarian nods at me knowingly and I muster up a semblance of a smile as my body automatically walks me to my usual window seat, picking up a random book on the way. Somehow, no matter how hard I search, the best books I can find are the ones I randomly pick up.

As I sink into my comfortingly cushioned surroundings I excitedly wonder what world I will be entering today. My favourite part of books was always the pictures, so when my mother told me I needed to read books without pictures in order to grow up, I decided I would make my own. And I've made worlds in this little corner of this little library. I've seen more lives than I can even remember. The small corner of bookshelves, of which I appreciatively and consistently tuck myself into, plays flashes of previous worlds my vivid imagination has conjured up for me. It paints Lucy meeting Mr Tumnus for the first time, the bookshelves and walls groaning, growing and entwining into themselves until they are trees glistening with a thick coat of paint-like snow. But soon a wind whirls around the forest, carrying a little house presumably far away from Kansas, and creates a blizzard, blowing away everything until there is only the twinkling of stars left in view. At once, Zaphod Beeblebrox swings his stolen ship around a bookshelf and cackles out some jargon I don't quite understand but is probably incredibly intellectual nonsense. Gravity caves in on itself and stars fall as rain; they begin to pelt onto the hard ground as Christopher Boone walks through my little corner in my little library, thinking of white noise.

I open the book and Christopher disappears. The rain dries up quickly and the bookshelves become a blank canvas, ready to be painted. I've always loved making pictures.