Sunday: December 12th, 2015

"Morning," Jasper greeted me at the entrance of Winter Wonderland on the twelfth day of Christmas. His eyes twinkled a little brighter this cold morning, and I couldn't stop the smile slipping on my face to see his gaze looking a little more like the friend I used to know.

"Good morning," I replied.

"Good? It is cold... and early."

Scoffing, I said, "When do you normally get up?"

"On weekends? Eleven."

"Sleepy head."

"When do you get up?"

I hesitated momentarily before answering. "I was up at six today."

His eyes narrowed. "And back in Australia?"

Pausing in step, I glanced his way before turning back to the path ahead. Muttering under my breath, "Eleven," I took off in haste through the crowds towards Santa's Workshop to grab our riddle.

∘◦ ❈ ◦∘

We hadn't even made it out of Winter Wonderland when Jasper started unravelling today's scroll, tied together in gold ribbon adorned with small, wintery houses.

I held my hand out for the ribbon and Jasper cocked an eyebrow. "I'm collecting them," I defended. Each day I had been shoving the ribbons into my bag as momentos to take back home with me.

Smirking, he grabbed my hand, pulling me closer to him. Leaving my arm hovering in mid-air, he began tying the ribbon around my wrist before he glanced up at my eyes. After staring at me a little too long until I forgot how to breathe, he finally turned his attention back to the riddle.

Taking a deep breath and clearing my throat, I huddled close to him to peer at the paper myself.

"Well that's just... unhelpful," I commented, stepping back to think. Because being that close to Jasper had me noticing too many things—like that he still had that freckle on his left hand, right by the knuckle of his pointer finger. And that he had residue of polish on the edge of his nail beds, meaning he still painted his nails long after I left. He used to complain so much when I insisted I test a colour our on his nails when we were younger. And finally, he smelled of musk and sandalwood—but the smell was too deep to come from a deodorant or laundry detergent, meaning he had put on some cologne. And I did not want to read into why he would do that.

"It says prize and success... do you think it might have to do with money?" Jasper asked.

I shook my head. "I've found decoding these is easiest by starting with the last line where it tells you to head somewhere. This one mentions bells..." But bells could mean school bells, or church bells... I glanced through the riddle again, back to the first line. "Time... bells. Clock tower?" I asked.

"Big Ben?" he replied.

"It does say 'big' romance... Let's try it."

∘◦ ❈ ◦∘

Miss Elf really had to stop being surprised by seeing us because it was honestly getting old. But as per usual, when we spotted her green costume in the masses nearby Big Ben, her jaw dropped and her eyes widened.

"You two are amazing," she gasped.

I shook my head. "You got me with this one. It was a little tricky."

She glanced at her watch. "Didn't take you much longer than normal."

"Yeah but it had me stumped at least an extra ten minutes."

She heaved a sigh. "Guess I should expect people will take much longer to come here today."

"Don't tell me you're getting bored!"

"No! Of course not." But the look in her eye said otherwise. Seemingly now wary of our attention to her attitude, she shoved the entry slip into Jasper's hand and bid us goodbye.

But as we strolled towards the underground station, Jasper came to a stop.

Noticing a little late, I glanced over my shoulder at him. "Everything okay?"

He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before clearing his throat. "Do you... want to hang out until the competition?"

"To... strategise?"

"I mean... at first, yeah. But then maybe... just to catch up?"

I'd be lying if I said a part of me wasn't wary.

One side was too scared to trust Jasper again after that unfortunate night, worried his kindness was part of some bigger prank now.

But the side that wanted to get close to him again was also scared that getting too close to him would bring forth feelings I couldn't afford to have for him. Because, at the end of the day, when Jasper wasn't being a jerk, he was ridiculously charming. And our moment earlier, when he tied the ribbon around my wrist, reminded me what it used to be like to be close to him, inadvertently resurfacing some repressed feelings from all those years ago.

But at the end of the day, December would end and I would have to leave. So what would be the point getting close?

However, unable to stop myself, I said, "What did you have in mind?"

∘◦ ❈ ◦∘

Sitting in a booth at Five Guys, we each had our own large burger and chips meal, with a milkshake on the side. We weren't saying much, attention at first focussed on the entry slip.

"Do you think when they say 'end of Hyde Park' they mean within Winter Wonderland?" I asked, eyes not leaving the line that mentions we'd be 'wrapped' together... wrapped how?

"I bet they mean the end of Hyde Park... as in the whole length of it."

Tied together for the whole length... I gulped. A couple of days ago, I wouldn't feel so weird about this. But now that Jasper and I were on speaking terms, on have-lunch-together terms, on tie-a-ribbon-around-my-wrist-with-no-comment-as-to-why terms, I couldn't help but feel a little nervous at the idea of being 'wrapped' to him. Because surely that will be a little awkward now.

"The wrapped part," Jasper started, causing me to look at him. I hadn't touched my food since I read the entry slip. Did he notice this? Eyes flickering to his meal though, he hadn't either. "What do you think it means?"

Jasper wasn't making eye contact with me. So I was worrying more about what that means. Unable to gather my thoughts, I said, "I don't know."

He finally met my gaze, then, slowly, his eyes trailed over me. "You're still a shorty," he said.

All awkwardness I had before evaporated in that second. "And you're a twat!" I spat back.

Rolling his eyes, he then added, "Depending on how they wrap us... it might be more effective for me to carry you. Considering you're still a shorty..." he struggled to suppress a smile, seeming to enjoy teasing me, "I think you won't weigh much. So it should be easy."

Sending him another glare, I began to start picking at my food. But as the amusement began to break out on his face, I grabbed a wad of my chips, reached across the table, and shoved them in his mouth. "Stop making fun of me and eat."

Thankfully, he obliged, allowing the comfortable silence to fall around us. But it didn't last long. When he finished his meal, he asked, "So... I told you yesterday about Penny. I think it's your turn to share your heartbreak story."

Mouthful of food, my eyes widened and I shook my head.

"Come on, Zar! I can't be the only one with an embarrassing story out there."

Swallowing my food, I said, "Yours wasn't even embarrassing."

Shrugging, he rested his elbows on the table, head on his hands and said, "Okay. I can't be the only one with their sad story out there. We should try bonding before we are wrapped together."

"Won't that... just make things more awkward?"

The humour left his eyes as his brows turned down, hurt tinting his gaze. "I want to hear what you've been up to these past four years."

Looking to the table, I whispered, "It's too fresh, Jas."

"Did it end recently?"

As his emerald eyes and honey blond hair flashed in my mind—an image I had managed to forget for almost a whole day thanks to the distraction Jasper and the competition brought—I said, "He broke up with me the night before my flight."

"What an absolute wanker," Jasper said a little too loudly, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossing over his chest.

I gave him a smile for his sympathy, but focussed on picking at my chips, despite being beyond full now.

"How long were you two together?"

"Two months and one day," I muttered.

"And one day?"

Sighing, I met Jasper's gaze, his eyebrows were turned down and expression soft and welcoming. "He was known for being dumped before the two month mark and when I didn't do that... he took it on himself to break up with me. The first girl he ever dumped." I shrugged, and looked back down at my chips, feeling like I was drowning in my shame.

"But you knew this was part of his reputation going into the relationship?"

"Yeah," I muttered, still knowing I was an idiot for expecting anything different from him.

Rather than commenting further or knocking my pride about how ultimately I only have myself to blame, he instead asked, "What made you two fall out?"

Shaking my head, I looked back up at him. "I really don't want to talk about it, Jas," I whispered. "It's too soon."

Biting his lip, this time he averted his gaze. 

Hating the silence that swelled around us now, I quickly searched for a new topic to discuss with him. "So how's your sister?" I asked. She was always one of the loveliest people I knew. Even if Jasper's mum was never too welcoming to me, his sister was.

Glancing up, a small smile slipped onto his face as he said, "She's good. Just got married actually."

"Congratulations to her," I said, leaving out my pessimistic comments that raced through my head whereby marriages never last. "And... are you still going to pursue comic book design?"

Rolling his eyes, his face finally lit up once more. "No. I'm not thirteen anymore, Zar. I'm actually going to study gaming."

"That could be fun. So like designing them? Making them?"

He nodded. "Any thoughts about what you're going to do?"

"Undecided, but something in science. Maybe veterinary science?"

"I could see you working with animals."

We continued on like that for the rest of the afternoon, catching up on the small factors of life, bridging away from the bigger ones that seemed to weigh down our hearts. Eventually we ordered another drink to stop the glares from the staff at Five Guys. But then the afternoon got later and we decided it was best to head back to Hyde Park.

∘◦ ❈ ◦∘

"Arms around each other," the elf instructed, voice monotone. Even he hated being here, it seemed. He was waiting for us to do as instructed, with what seemed to be almost twelve metres of tinsel sitting in a box next to him.

Hesitantly, Jasper and I wove an arm around each other's waists. To my dismay, feeling his warm hand even through my jacket stirred a weird sharp sensation in my chest.

"As in hug each other," the elf then said grumpily.

"Then be more specific," I snapped, turning to face Jasper. I knew he was looking at me, but I kept my eyes focussed on the people around us as I wrapped my arms around his waist, my head coming to rest against his chest. Then his arms enveloped me, holding my closer against him. As the elf began wrapping our torsos in tinsel, I could hear the rapid beat of his heart under my ear, which coaxed a smile onto my face. Did he also feel just as awkward about this as me?

Jas and I used to hug a lot when we were little. But in the last year, as puberty began to kick in, I began to feel a little weird about the gesture. Being too close to him had roused all sorts of bodily reactions, so slowly I stopped doing them with him. 

When the elf had finally finished wrapping us and moved onto the next couple, Jasper mumbled, "Zar?"

"Yeah?" I said back.

"How well do you think you can move your legs?"

"Pretty well... why?"

"When the bell sounds, I'm going to lift you, and you need to jump and wrap your legs around me. Then I'm just going to leg it, okay? But you will have to hold on tight because I can't move my arms from where they are around you, which means I won't be able to hold you too securely."

"O-okay..." I stammered, feeling my throat going tight. It was already weird having my arms around him, being this close where I could inhale the musk and sandalwood lacing his clothes, but wrapping my legs around him too? I could feel the heat begin to warm my cheeks.

His heart never calmed as we waited for the bell to sound, but at one point I felt his head rest on top of mine, and the butterflies partied in my stomach in response. Even with all the tinsel wrapping around us and making my skin itch, his arms were so warm and welcoming. Jasper felt safe... 

Yet the moment that thought popped into my head, I quickly reminded myself who this new Jasper could be. The type of person who holds grudges. The type of person who pretends to kiss a girl then insults them. The type of person who dates Penny.

Then the bell rang. 

As he had instructed before, I jumped as he lifted, and I managed to throw my legs around him. Everyone else had started waddling their way past the stalls, meaning we were falling behind as we waited for me to be secure around him. But once I had gripped tight onto Jasper with my arms and legs and gave him the go ahead, he began running.

My head was now resting on his shoulder, and I could feel myself slipping with each jostle. 

We had passed everyone else in no time, but Jas had to frequently stop so I could readjust my grip before I fell to the ground. 

A couple of others behind us tried mimicking our strategy—some succeeding, others failing epically. Nonetheless, we were the first across the finish line in the end.

The elf there came over to us quickly, unravelling the tinsel from around our bodies.

I pulled away the moment we were free. But then Jasper's hand grabbed mine, pulling me back into his arms as he gave me another hug. "Good work, Zar," he breathed into my hair.

"I mean... you did all the running," I mumbled back, wishing he'd let me go already, because I didn't want my heart taking off like it was in a race around him. It was too dangerous when he was already this untrustworthy.

He held on a little too long for it to be a friendly hug—but after how long we had been wrapped together before, it was nothing—but eventually he dropped his hold on me. "Took some killer muscles to grip on the whole time though," he said, grinning at me, eyes twinkling.

"Y-yeah," I replied, looking away. Zara, don't be a blushing idiot. It's just Jasper.  After clearing my throat and feeling a little bit more confidence overcome me, I said, "Let's head back to the stage."

∘◦ ❈ ◦∘

After collecting our entry passes for Winter Wonderland, we were strolling back through the park with a very evident gap between us now. Our efforts to avoid looking at each other were very obvious.

But the thing that really threw me was why he was reacting the same. Did Jas just feel strange about having been so physically close to me after holding all that resentment these years? Or was something else stirring underneath all that... potentially the very feelings I felt bubbling up?

Sneaking a glance, I let my gaze trail over Jasper, taking in the way his black hair contrasted his olive skin tone. The way his haircut was neatly shaved around his neck, highlighting the soft, delicate skin. But then his eyes flickered my way and I quickly looked back to the trees.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," I said abruptly, and began walking away as quickly as I could before he had a chance to say anything further.

____

Tomorrow's Riddle