Eloquence

Thai.

Autumn settled in quickly, completely eliminating the warm late-summer air and replacing it with it's crisp, cold breeze. The once-green leaves slowly faded into deep reds, burnt oranges and yellows, falling from the trees and littering the cold earth beneath it. Night set in earlier; the sky turning a deep, inky shade by merely seven in the evening.

Along with the changes in climate, there were changes in Jordan's and Andrew's relationship. Andrew no longer irritated her, the way he used to on those late, summer nights. Infarct, he did quite the opposite. Slowly, she was finding herself more and more infatuated with him. To the point where, in her eyes, he was perfection. The way he spoke down to the way he moved; she had memorized every bit of him, but still had yet to truly understand him. They didn't have an average relationship--Far from it, actually. Usually, being younger like Jordan was, she would have strived to be more like Andrew, because he was her elder. She would have wanted to impress him, to seem mature beyond her years and to be accepted. But Jordan didn't want to impress him because of those reasons. She wanted him to see her as more than just that little friend he meets up with when he goes out to have a smoke, or that young girl who needs a hide-away for when her parents argue. He wanted to see her as a girl he wanted to be around because she was interesting or beautiful and perhaps he'd want to kiss her or touch her in ways that a friend usually wouldn't.

The day was October seventh, and the air was surprisingly warm in comparison to what it had been the last couple weeks. Jordan could get away with merely her knitted cardigan and knee-high leather boots for warmth as she stepped outside that morning. Her fingers played with the ringlet curls she had spent nearly an hour on that morning, and her teeth clamped down on her glossy lower lip. In the last two months, a few changes had been made in Jordan's appearance. Though, a few of them were things she changed on her own to impress Andrew, the rest were natural ones that her body had seemingly sprung out of nowhere. In such a little time, Jordan had grown and inch in height. Her hair was almost three inches longer, and she had gone up one cup size.

Andrew definitely noticed.

Before, she had been a B-cup, and now she was a C. Her mother said that was odd for her age, considering most girls were merely an A-cup until they were sixteen or seventeen, but she grew very quickly. Sometimes, she noticed Andrew staring at her chest, when he thought she wasn't paying attention. She hadn't really minded, though. She was rather flattered by it, actually. Though it may have been slightly degrading, at least he thought some part of her was attractive.

Jordan started wearing make-up in early September. Her sister had come down for the weekend and taught her how to apply eye liner, and pick shades that would enhance her blue eyes. The world of cosmetics was so appealing to Jordan, that she was hooked by the first stroke of golden eye shadow. Her Mother said that she had grown up so fast, but Jordan didn't really see it that way. The changes were merely physical, so she was still the same girl she was inside. She just was just more feminine; crossing the line from little girl to young woman.

"Fancy seeing you here."

She glanced up at the boy perched on the newly-rebuilt, rod iron stair case, newly-lit cigarette sticking out from between his thin lips. She smiled up at him, sliding her hands into the ridiculously constricting pockets of her very tight jeans. Her sister had sent them to her a month back, claiming the tight-to-the-ankle style was very big in the fashion industry, and that she'd have the eye of every boy that walked past her when she wore them. She decided she'd give them a shot when she got dressed that morning, feeling the unbelievable urge to look good.

"You make it like you didn't expect me."

He parted his lips, releasing a ribbon of gray smoke from his lungs.

"Maybe I didn't." He smirked, hopping down from the platform and flicking his half-finished cigarette to the ground.

"You did." She looked up at him from beneath her lashes. "You asked me to come here today."

"Okay." He chuckled. "You caught me."

"Why did you want me here?" She asked curiously.

"Well-" He paused, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small package. "I just wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday."

She took the poorly-wrapped parcel in her hands, peering up at him. "How did you know?"

"Two months ago you told me this was your Birthday." He explained, placing a hand on her waist. "I'm just really good at remembering things."

She blushed. "That's so sweet."

"I know." He smirked. "Open it!"

She used her nails to tear through the baby blue paper, letting it fall to the ground in a crumpled mess. In her hands was a long, thin, green velvet box that looked worn; as though it had been made back in the eighteen-hundreds. She glanced up at him, then back at the box before carefully opening. She gasped at the sight of the golden locket before her, letting her finger tips trace the intricate carvings on the pendent.

"You said you liked old things." He explained, scratching the back of his neck. "It looked like some of the stuff you wear."

She was flattered. Both because he remembered that talk, and the fact that he actually payed attention to what she wore.

"It's perfect." She glanced up at him, then back at the necklace. "I love it."

"Really?" He tilted his head to the side. "Because like, if you don't want it I can take it back..."

She took a step forward, wrapping her thin arms around his waist tightly. She pressed her cheek to his chest, giving him a squeeze when he was unresponsive. He was stunned at first, but eventually coiled his arms around her shoulders. He rested his chin on the top of her head, letting their intertwined bodies sway from side to side.

"Thank you, Andrew." She mumbled, looking up at him. "It's perfect."

He grinned crookedly, letting his hands slowly slide down her body until they were resting on her thin waist. "I'm going to take you out to lunch."

"Are you now?" She raised her brows.

"Yepp." He grinned. "I've got money, and it's your Birthday. Perfect excuse, I think. What do you feel like eating?"

"Thai." She answered without hesitation, smiling shyly as she bit down on her lip.

"As you wish." He took her hand in his, pulling her out of the alley way. "I actually know this place that just opened up a month ago down the street."

She nodded, letting him lead her down the Memphis streets. They walked for about ten minutes, basking in the comfortable silence that had taken over. They listened to the sounds of cars speeding past them, and birds singing above their heads. The streets were filled with people, walking aimlessly in groups of two or more. Jordan had noticed a few of them had waved and shouted greetings to Andrew, and gave him curious looks that he merely shrugged to. Jordan had a strange feeling that the looks were regarding her, but chose to brush it off. Andrew's hand was still tightly clamped around her's, and that was all that mattered.

"Okay, here we are."

Andrew pulled open the glass door, guiding Jordan inside by placing his hand on the small of her back. The inside of the building was decorated with dark, mahogany woods and bamboo. There were flower designs painted on the walls, and a variety of different symbols written on the walls with their means in English just below them.

Andrew pulled her past the tables, to the woman standing at the front counter. She looked away from him as he glanced down at a menu, ordering a variety of dishes she hadn't listened to the names of. By the time her attention was ripped away from the water fountain to her left, and back to the exchange before her, she had heard Andrew utter a simple to go, and the waitress nodded and walked into the kitchen.

"Come sit." He gestured to the stools by the bar, pulling one out from beneath the counter and patting the surface.

Jordan smiled, climbing onto the chair and turning her body to face his. Andrew smiled crookedly, taking a step toward her and placing a hand on her knee. He drummed his fingers on the skin through her jeans, glancing back and forth between the kitchen and the lovely girl in front of him.

"Thank you so much for this, Andrew." She leaned forward, whispering in his ear.

A shiver went down his spine, and he clenched his jaws to keep from visibly shaking.

He grinned. "The pleasure's all mine."

She chuckled, nodding toward the counter where the woman was piling cardboard containers into a particularly large brown bag. She typed a few things into the computer, muttering a price to Andrew and he reached into his back pocket, extracting a simple, brown leather wallet. He payed for the food, grabbing the bag and turning back to Jordan.

"Shall we go?" He gestured to the door.

She jumped off the stool, pushing it back to it's place beneath the counter. "Where are we going?"

He took her hand in his, biting his lip as he stared ahead of him.

"Oh, just a little place I want to show you."
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