Of the Twisted and the Lost

Chapter 21:

Standing by yourself in an empty harbor is one thing. 

Standing by yourself in an empty harbor, in the cold, waiting for someone who's ten minutes late? 

Well, that's clearly another story. 

Sera lets out an annoyed huff, checking for the fortieth time to confirm what time it is. 

"Please tell me that I didn't come all the way here for nothing," she mumbles, glaring at the numbers on the phone. 

8:10. 

"If they aren't coming, I swear to God, the next time I find them. . ." 

I will viciously murder them even though I have no freaking clue who the hell they are, she thinks. 

Sera kicks at the rubble, squinting at the inky darkness. 

"If they don't come in four minutes, I'm going to leave." 

Nothing but the sounds of a crow's cawing answers Sera. 

"Well, fine!" Sera bursts out. "I don't even need you, after you stood me up!" 

After letting out some swear words and receiving no answer, Sera slumps in defeat. 

"Whatever happened to keeping promises?" Sera mutters, before shaking her head. "I can't believe I fell for it." 

It's now so obvious that this is a prank, a joke, to make fun of Sera's all of the naivety she possesses. 

And there's only one person who would be cruel enough to do that— 

"Hello." The voice is cool, smooth, velvety, almost like a bundle of silk, just waiting to be spun. "My apologies for being late." 

Sera spins around. 

No. 

What? 

Impossible. 

She watches as Junjie casually fiddles with his navy-blue scarf, each stride purposeful and deliberate until he reaches Sera. 

"You're—" Sera sputters, unable to find her voice. "What—" 

Junjie shoots her a baffled look. "You alright?" he asks. 

"You're Anonymous." Those two words come out in a whoosh. "You're the person who kept texting me." 

He cocks his head. "Is there a problem with that?" Junjie questions. 

"Well," Sera falters. "No." 

Except for the fact that my crush has been texting me! a voice shrieks in her mind. Oh God, oh God, oh God, I think I'm going to faint. 

"Good." Junjie pauses. "Though I have to ask, why do you sound so surprised?" 

"What do you mean?" Sera sputters. "I'm not surprised. Do I look surprised? Because I'm totally not." 

"Your pupils are dilated," he points out. "You're definitely surprised." 

Sera giggles nervously, digging her nails into her palm. 

Act chill, act chill, act chill. . . 

"Though I thought it would've been fairly obvious to guess that Anonymous was me." Junjie's eyebrows furrow. "Maybe I should've been less subtle." 

"But—" 

"Yes?" Junjie asks, arching a brow. 

"But when Anonymous was sending the text, you were with me!" Sera says. "So how is that possible?" 

"You humans always think what you see is the truth," Junjie sighs. "It was a premeditated text." 

Sera blinks. 

"That's possible?" she asks. 

"Of course it's possible. If my brother can break into the most highly secure bank, why can't I send a premeditated message?" 

Stop staring at him, stop staring at him, stop staring at him. . . 

"Uh, I guess when I think about it, that makes sense," Sera admits. 

Junjie smiles, before straightening his dark coat. 

"Direct me to the crime scene," he orders, and Sera walks over to the place she was just a few weeks ago, completely aware that Junjie is following her. 

"So basically—" 

"No, no, no, start from the beginning of the action." Junjie looks slightly bored. "No one really wants to hear when your phone died or when you abandoned your friend in that fair." 

Sera spins around. 

"That." She jabs a finger against his jacket, before dropping her hand, realizing that she's touching Junjie's coat. "How the hell did you know that I left Cami?" 

Junjie gives Sera a look, one that she can't tell if it's good or bad. 

"Well, isn't it obvious?" he asks, motioning for her to continue walking. "That day you said you were going to kidnap a merperson, there was fair before that day. Cami had come to school, pupils constricted, signifying that there might've been a slight disagreement. But what would cause the happiest night to become a disagreement? Why, unless you abandon her, there are no other options. I mean, yes there is, but that one — the one where you abandoned Cami — seems to be the best option. Quite simple, if you actually think about it." 

"Quite simple—" sputters Sera. "That is not quite simple!" 

"It's not?" Junjie asks. 

"No! Why the hell would anyone think that's simple at all?" 

"Because it is? You humans just tend to not notice things." 

"Well, okay, you do have a point. People don't pay attention — but if they did, they wouldn't go around guessing things with a hundred percent accuracy based on the color of someone's scarf!" 

Junjie smirks, running his fingers through his dark hair. "I guess I'm just a special case," he says. 

"Oh, shut up," Sera sighs. "You're such a show-off." 

Oh God, Sera thinks, eyes widening in alarm. Did I just tell my crush to shut up and also say that he was a show-off? 

Yes. 

Yes, she did. 

"Sorry," Sera says weakly. 

To her surprise, Junjie laughs. 

"What's so funny?" she demands. 

"You," he says, lips curling. "It's just, no one besides my brother tells me to shut up. Guess they're all too scared of me." 

"Is that a good thing?" Sera asks hesitantly. 

Junjie gazes at her, a smile playing against his lips. 

"Yeah," he finally says. "It's a good thing." 

Sera feels heat travel through her cheeks. 

"Uh, okay." She breaks the unbearable silence. "I heard someone screaming, so then I ran towards the sound and that's when I saw people jumping into that water." 

Sera points at the still, calm ocean. 

"It didn't make sense because everyone was jumping and screaming — except for me and this boy. So I swam over to him."