The Kissing Thief.

“Juniper! Hey!” Charlie greeted as we walked in the door of the Wood Household. To say it was not a mansion would be a great understatement, but it wasn’t really a mansion at all. It was a building, split in to three parts. In the west wing, for lack of a better name, was a small house-like setting for Sam and Aaron. In the middle, or rather, North wing, there was a grand staircase, a ballroom, and a living room that the family often gathered in. In the east wing, there was a small apartment where Valerie lived, with Charlie. Each main wing had it’s own door, with it’s own number. Val’s apartment had a light blue door, which lead to an old factory lift. I drove the pastel-green Vespa in to the main doorway in the East wing, and took off my helmet. Val got off of the back of the scooter, took off her helmet and shook out her hair. As Charlie and Val were rejoicing after his flight from England, I parked the Vespa, and then strolled in to the living room.

“I was thinking Madison for a girl, and Chevy for a boy- Oh, hey Juniper!” Aaron greeted as I walked in on his conversation with Sam. Sam sat in her chair, big baby-belly bulging from beneath her shirt, and I’m pretty sure I could feel my soul being stabbed to death by the daggers being glared at me.

“Sorry, did I interrupt something?” I asked nonchalantly. Sam stood from her seat and smiled.

“No, we were just thinking baby names. What do you think about Chevy, Juniper?” Sam asked.

“Well, um, I think it is a rather traditional name…” My heart rose in my throat due to my nervousness. Sam glared at me, and then looked at Aaron.

“That’s the name of a dog I had while I was a child.” said Sam. Quite defensively actually. Aaron grinned, and stood beside Sam. I could tell the age difference while looking at them. Aaron’s skin was pale, and dotted with light freckles and sun spots. Sam’s skin was wrinkling at the corners of her eyes, and around her mouth. Aaron’s plump, pink lips were protruding slightly as if pouting, and Sam’s lips were thinning. The sight made me frown. Not only would she die before him- but she would be older while raising a baby. I furrowed my brow subconsciously, and turned around.

“Is everything alright, Joon?” Sam asked me curiously. I shook my head, and began heading toward Valerie’s elevator.

“Everything is peachy.” I muttered, punching the up button and watching as the couple disappeared behind a wall of brick and stone.

On the couch, Charlie sat with a guitar in his hands while Val fiddled around in the kitchen.

“Why so glum, chum?” Charlie inquired. I took deep breaths, and tried to even out my thinking. Many things were going through my mind. Everything from my own career to Sam and Aaron’s life together. It would be stupid to say that it didn’t bother me, when it clearly did.

“Take a guess. Winners get a hug from their girlfriend and, or boyfriend.” I said quietly. The front door was in the open space of a large, loft-like living room dotted with orange and blue fixtures. To my left, a kitchen was set up just below a bedroom, with a staircase just above the fridge. The bedroom was open, but covered by sliding doors. To my right, there was a bathroom, and another bedroom that was build right in to the wall. It too had a staircase leading up to it, and I was glad to call it my home-away-from-home. Posters dotted the walls and ceiling, and I had a dresser, bed, and beanbag chair set up in the order I was used to. Off to the side, a bathroom was built in the wall, so nobody could even see it. Inside there was a plain white toilet, and a French copper claw-foot tub. Valerie’s bathtub was the same, only it was white, and very shiny.

“Aaron’s on your mind again?”

“Bingo! Ladies and Gent’s, we have ourselves a winner!” I announced as if I were a ring master. I walked toward my staircase, climbed up quickly, and reached for the rope, which was attached to my garage-like door.

“Hey! I thought you were drinking with us!” Val yelled as I pulled down my door.

“I am, I’m just getting dressed first!” I replied, stripping my clothes and scrambling around to find my pyjamas.

I settled on a large Loony Toons T-shirt I had from god-knows-when, and a pair of boxers I had taken from my friend in grade nine. I re-joined Charlie, Valerie, and Aaron in the East wing after I had gotten settled, but Sam wasn’t there.

“Where’s Sam? Is she okay?” I asked, sitting on a pile of pillows that were thrown on the floor. I tried to make myself sound worried about her, but I didn’t convince anybody. Aaron grinned, and stood up.

“She’s fine. Went to bed Early- she doesn’t like it when we drink around her.” Val said in a standoffish tone. Her hate for her mother completely baffled me. I wasn’t all surprised though. Sam hated her daughter too.

“Oh.” I said quietly. Aaron glanced at Val out of the corner of his eye, inhaling deeply.

“You know, you shouldn’t be so hard on your mother.” He stated while heading toward the wine rack.

“And you shouldn’t even fucking be here! You’re twenty. You should be with somebody your own age.” Val hissed. I became very uncomfortable, so when I was offered a bottle of wine, I took it and hastily popped the top.

“And you both should be aware of how arguing makes my nerves get all screwy.” I said loudly. I took a gulp of wine, its taste calming me down slightly. Charlie and I stood to meet Aaron’s wine bottle and Val’s wine bottle, and with a chorus of “Cheers,” we began to drink and forgot about the small disagreement.