(01) The Asian Potterhead and The Lovestruck Bad Boy

There is no friend as loyal as a book. Ernest Hemingway.

reference: TBNB — Chapter 23

M E Y W A N G | The Asian Potterhead | Cast: Choi Tzuyu from Twice

I looked at my reflection in the mirror and turned to watch Jess hovering over Autumn with an eyeshadow palette in one hand and a brush in the other. It has always been her dream to become a makeup artist one day, which was why she could never pass on an occasion like this where she could practice her talent on us.

The bathroom door swung opened and my best friend, Norma, stepped out, looking so gorgeous in a black cocktail dress. Jess glanced up and stared at her in complete awe. "Oh my god, Norma," she gasped. "You look so hot, girl!"

She was right. Norma looked really gorgeous. Her tanned skin, curly black hair, and perfectly trimmed dark brows gave her the sexy points. Not forgetting the fact that she's Arabian and we all know how hot they all look.

"Jess, are you done?" asked Autumn, pulling Jess' attention back to her. She was the last one to get her makeup done by Jess. Still wrapped in bath towels, she tilted her head to the side and tried to see her reflection in the mirror. "Don't you think the eyeliner is too much?"

She was about to touch her eyelid when Jess snatched her hand and said, "No ruining my masterpiece!"

Autumn rolled her eyes. Our eyes locked in the mirror for a second before she opened her mouth. "Mey! You look gorgeous!"

I looked down at my dress and smiled. "Thanks!" Unlike my other friends who were totally okay with wearing short dresses, I wore a long white dress and topped it up with an open sweater.

I actually had no problem wearing short dresses, but my parents would never allow me to do that. They were quite conservative. My parents did not allow me to wear sleeveless shirts, skirts, and shorts. Well, we, Asians, always tried our best to avoid showing too much skin, anyway. If you see Cheongsam, a Chinese traditional dress that Cho Chang wore to the Yule Ball in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, you'd probably know what I mean.

I glanced one last time at my reflection, making sure that my makeup wasn't too much. I wore a pale lip gloss instead of bright lipstick, light brown eyeshadow instead of darker colors, and no mascara let alone eyeliner. Jess knew my parents would scold me if she saw me wearing too much so she always kept my make-up to a minimum.

I let out a small sigh. I've spent hours studying to nail the geometry test today, I deserved to have fun tonight.

⚯͛ ϟ △⃒⃘

Once we got to the party, I immediately went to the corner and pulled out the Harry Potter book that I had hidden inside my bag. What was more fun than rereading Harry Potter?

I was in the middle of the part where Snape went to the Shrieking Shack when I felt someone was looking over my shoulder, reading the lines on the book with me. Shutting the book close, I finally turned, ready to shout 'go away!' like what Moaning Myrtle had said to Tom Riddle, but I lost my footing and stumbled right into a solid wall of muscles.

"Sorry," I quickly said once I steadied myself. As soon as I looked up, I caught my breath. He was handsome. Like really, really handsome. Even more handsome than Tom Riddle in Chamber of Secret or Cedric Diggory in Goblet of Fire. His dark eyes stared back at me and the smile on his face made my heart beat faster

"Yeah, no problem." He smiled. I looked down at his hands, still holding my waists, and he immediately dropped them to his sides. Although judging by the look on his face, he didn't look sorry at all.

"What's that book you're reading?" He pointed at the book I held close to my chest.

I turned the book so he could see the cover. "It's Harry Potter." I felt the need to add.

"Oh, cool. I've never read them but I watched the movies," he ran a hand through his hair and nervously glanced at the surroundings before put his gaze back on me. "Why are you reading a book at a party? Don't you want to dance, get drunk, and, you know, have some fun?"

Perhaps I did not like being interrupted while I was reading, whatever it was, I felt a bit offended hearing him say that. I mean, what made him think I'm not having fun? I tried to hide the annoyance in my voice as I replied, "this is my type of fun."

He opened his mouth to say something when Tyler Vincent showed up next to him and put one hand on his shoulder. "Dude," he turned and offered me a smile. "Where's Luc?"

For someone who skipped class to make out with my best friend Autumn, he looked like he didn't recognize me at all. Maybe I should remind him I beat his score on the last Biology test.

The handsome guy which I still have not figured out his name, shrugged while keeping his eyes locked on mine. "Don't know, don't care. Probably with Shan, making out somewhere. I don't know, man, stop bothering me and go look for your sister. I'm in a deep conversation with a lovely girl."

Ty shook his head and left. I was about to do the same thing but he caught my elbow. "Hey, don't go. I don't even know your name yet."

I looked around and couldn't find any of my friends. I figured it wouldn't hurt to stay here a little longer and chat with him. "Mey. What's yours?"

"Hunter. Hunter Jones," he smiled. "So, you're a nerd, huh? That's so cool!"

That was the first time anyone has ever said that to me and I couldn't help but wonder what made him say that. "Why?"

"I don't know," he scratched the back of his neck. "I think nerds are the only people that can make others feel pretty stupid." He smiled.

I knew I should not return his smile, considering he had a lot of tattoos on his arms, not to mention he had his bottom lip pierced. Yet I shoved those thoughts away and smiled back at him. "I guess you're right."

⚯͛ ϟ △⃒⃘

1DNarry4ever [jess]: does anyone see Autumn? I couldn't find her.

I frowned as I typed down my reply in our group chat, A Gaggle of Giggles.

AsianPotterhead: I'll go look for her.

I glanced up at Hunter, realizing that he has been looking at me the whole time. "Hey, it's really nice to meet you but I have to find my friend."

"Let me help you," he offered.

I wasn't sure if that was a good idea but desperate times calls for desperate measure and four hands were better than two, so I answered him with a nod.

I've looked around the living room, kitchen, backyard, yet there was no sign of Autumn anywhere. "Where is she?!" I shouted at no one out of frustration.

"Is her name Autumn?" asked Hunter as he tapped my shoulder lightly. We were outside Leah's house, sitting on the porch after running around the house searching for Autumn.

"Yeah," I answered. I stole a glance at him and saw him looking at his cell phone.

"Oh," he glanced up and a smile appeared on his lips as he saw me. "She's with my friend."

Well, that wasn't really comforting. "Who?"

"Ty," he shrugged. "She'd be alright. He's a gentleman."

I let out an exasperated sigh. Geez, Autumn, why didn't you just inform one of us that you wanted to go with the nerd?! I quickly relayed the information to Jess and Norma. I stood up and brushed the back of my dress. "Okay, I should probably go too." I glanced at the clock on my phone screen. It was midnight. I knew I've told my parents I'd be staying at Jess' but I could be in trouble if they suddenly decided to call Mr. and Mrs. Williams to check up on me and found out I was still outside.

"Mey." He looked up at me and ran one hand through his dark hair. "Can I have your number?" His voice sounded unsure and if I wasn't dreaming, I would say that he looked a little nervous.

I shook my head. I wasn't the type of girl who would simply give her number to any attractive strangers she met at a friend's party. "I don't give my numbers to people I don't know."

He frowned. "But you know me." His eyes reminded me of a puppy.

I smiled. "Yeah, for like, two hours."

"Then how many hours does a guy need to get your number?" He was still looking at me, the moonlight shone on his face, making it harder for me to tell him that he'd never get my number. "Mey, what does it take for a guy to get your number?"

"You tell me the three unforgivable spells in Harry Potter." He fished out his cell phone, probably going to Google it up, so I quickly added, "by reading the book, without searching the Internet, and I'd give you my number."

"Fine," he pursed his lips and stood, making me realize that he was way taller than me. I honestly thought he would give up and look for other girls who were probably looked prettier than me and were more willing in giving their numbers, instead he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and asked, "Which book should I read?"

I had to bite my cheek to refrain from smiling. "Take a guess. There're seven books, excluding the earliest Harry Potter and The Cursed Child." I finally gave in and smiled. "Pick one and the next time you see me, you have to know the answers, okay?" I turned around and walked into the house to search for Jess. After all, I still needed my ride.

⚯͛ ϟ △⃒⃘

H U N T E R  J O N E S

I watched her go, knowing that I would get the answers, no matter what it takes.

I looked down at my phone, for a second felt tempted to look up the answers on the internet, and ran to her, but I knew if I wanted this if I really wanted her that bad, I had to do it the right way.

I walked to the backyard, knowing Luc would be there. I saw him leaning against the wall with a cloud of cigarette smoke surrounding his head. The little girl he has been trying to impress was nowhere near him, which was probably a good thing because I doubted she'd be impressed if she saw him looking like a heavy smoker.

"Where's the girl?" Luc asked me casually, but I could tell he was going for a kill by the look in his eyes.

I shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about." I went to his side and leaned my back against the wall.

Lucas nudged me hard with his elbow. "Don't lie. Ty said you've been madly in love with this girl, so where is she?"

Damn it, Ty! "She went home," I answered truthfully, knowing there was no point in denying.

"Well, did you get her number?" Luc exhaled a long stream of smoke as he tilted his head up at the sky.

It was embarrassing to admit that I didn't get Mey's number, but again, these guys were my friends. I knew the more I lied, the more they'd tease me about it. Because you could never hide anything from your buddies.

"Nope."

This got Luc's attention. He turned to face me. "You didn't?" His eyes widened in confusion. "What the hell is wrong with you, man? Did you lose your charm?"

I rubbed my face and slid my hand to the back of my neck. "She's not like any girl I know. She's different. I'm not losing my charm," I smiled sourly. "I just didn't use it on her. This time I'm going to do it right." I nodded to myself. "She's worth it."

Luc frowned. The corners of his mouth twitched and I thought he was going to burst into laughter but instead he dropped his cigarette and put his hand on my shoulder. "She's the one, isn't she?"

I was the type of guy who knew I wasn't a good guy so I've never tried to be one. I did whatever I wanted, the way I wanted, regardless of the consequences. My friends called me a wild card because I often did unexpected things.

When life throws lemons and I'd make orange juice, leaving everyone wonder how the hell did that happen.

Even though I dated many girls, I knew that one day I'd meet someone and feel the unexpected. I knew that one day I'd meet the one and fall so madly in love that I'd give up all the game and be good for her.

Tonight, I knew it happened when I first saw her in the corner of the room, with her head buried deep in the book she carried like a precious treasure. And when our eyes met, I felt like I've been struck by a lightning. The tingling sensation running through my body told me that I've found my treasure.

Lucas and Tyler knew about this, they were the only ones who didn't laugh. The only people who didn't think that this was stupid. Now that it happened, I knew they'd have my back. "Yeah."

Luc patted my shoulder. "Then go get her, man. No matter what."

⚯͛ ϟ △⃒⃘

© All Rights Reserved 2018 AgathaRoza