PeaceMaker

Justin stared at his sister as she performed. She looked lively, it was nice to see that expression on her face once in a while. He had gotten so used to seeing frightened faces that he almost forgot they could make other expressions. 

Seeing her smile almost made him want to smile back at her. Almost. 

He examined her movements and her mood. She had improved immensely since the last time he saw her play for them. Her amateur mistakes had been reduced to none and she finally looked like she was in her element. 

That was a big improvement. Especially since that instrument wasn't hers.

Her voice sounded as heavenly as ever. She had always been a great singer for as long as he could remember in his 19 years alive. It was still impressive how she seemed to age backward. Her skin only got brighter, her figure only got better and her aura only got lighter. He wondered when was the reversing point for her. There seemed to be none for her physical looks but one for her mentality.

It only got darker the more she aged. It was such a frightening concept being around someone with such a positive outside look and such a rotten mentality but then again it was the only reason why he was able to stay sane and remember his place. 

'It was at moments like this…' he thought to himself as he turned to Antonio, who locked eyes with him and gave him a sweet smile in return. He turned back to Jena. 'It was only at times like this. That I seem to forget who I am.'

His eyes falter, closing for a second before fluttering open again. He was tired. He didn't want to stay awake any longer. 

It was at moments like this, where he remembered his position after long periods of happiness that he wished the sweet fragrant teas that sat in front of him were filled with doses of rice wine. He didn't feel like being sober anymore.

He wanted to go home. He wanted to rest. He wanted to see Alice. 

He let out a weak chuckle as he placed his elbow on the small table before him and rested his head on his hands. 'What a scum of the earth I am. Who am I to miss her?' he thought to himself.

Antonio flinched when Justin's head fell onto his hands. He immediately leans into Justin. 

"Are you ok?!" he calls out to Justin, his hand twitching as he debates tapping Justin. 

"I'm fine," Justin replied. He lied. He looked up at Antonio and smiled, "just a bit tired."

They locked eyes for a second and Antonio looked away, an emotion showing on his face. Justin's eyes follow Antonio.

"Are you sure?" he asked again.

"Yea… just tired," Justin replied reluctantly, his eyes glued on Antonio's face. 

Antonio nodded and turned back to Justin with a smile. "Ok then, I guess this celebration is getting a bit too long for us."

Justin nodded as he lifted his arms off the table and picked up his teacup to take a sip. "Hmm."

'What in the world was that?' Justin thought to himself as he recalled the look on Antonio's face. 'What was that.. Expression.."

For a split moment, it looked like something washed over Antonio and he had looked away from Justin so quickly. Almost like he was revolted. 'No… he was revolted. He was disgusted at me,' Justin thought to himself as he peered down at Jena. 'Why in the world… did that expression wash over his face.'

Justin set down his tea and continued to stare down at Jena. He felt this urge to look at Antonio again. To evaluate his expression to check if he saw wrongly if he read his face wrongly. He had this feeling that even if he rewound that memory 20 times he would still look the same. He would still have the same expression, the same slight scroll on his face, the same annoyance in his eyes.

'Did I do something wrong?' Justin thought to himself, resisting the urge to touch his face. 'Did I put up the wrong expression? Did I not smile? Was it not convincing enough?'

He was perplexed. Trying to find out all the possible explanations for the expression Antonio had given him.

"No.. that isn't possible…' Justin thought to himself. 'Everything was perfect. My gaze, my smile, and even my reaction… then why? Maybe I just saw incorrectly. I'm sure that was beyond convincing.'

Justin's hand clenched a bit as he watched Jena. He knew he didn't see incorrectly. Antonio had made that expression. While staring so deeply into his eyes, it was like he read him and saw straight through him. 'Since when was I so transparent?' Justin thought to himself as he picked up his teacup again and took another sip. 

'No.. when did he become so attentive?' Justin thought to himself. 'Or was it just me that didn't notice? Until his gaze was directed at me, was it just me that didn't notice the way his gaze seemed to fix on people and stare right through them?' Justin set down his cup and bit back a smile. 'This is new…'

Justin forced his lips into a thin smile and focused on Jena. It struck a new interest in Antonio, this little and small interaction that just had. 

'Seems like those innocent eyes do a bit more than just sparkle at people,' Justin thought to himself. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to click. 

Antonio was fixed on Jena. She had such a pretty smile, created such a pretty sound from her Guzheng and best of all, her voice sounded immaculate. The more he listened the more it seemed like it was unreal. The talent was unreal, everyone from the Crowly family simply seemed unreal. Or at least the offsprings of the family did. They were interesting. 

From their beauty, to the way they held themselves, to their smiles, their auras, their dressing, and their eyes. Those heavy beautiful eyes seemed to say a lot more than just beauty. 

If he was, to be honest, he was confused. Confused, surprised, intrigued, and at the same time disgusted at something he didn't even know. He wanted to see more.

It was true that he hadn't looked into all their eyes yet but he was sure he was to find the same things. The same mystery they seemed to be hiding their gaze. 

Maybe that was one of the reasons he was drawn to her. Maybe it was her gaze. That short moment when their eyes had met and the others that came after when he had a conversation with her. Maybe it was her hand, her physic, her tendencies. Maybe it was the smile he had yet to see.

'Oh god I'm crazy,' Antonio thought to himself as he buried his face in his hand. 'I'm obsessing over someone I haven't even spoken to yet. I haven't even heard her voice, seen any expression on her face and I'm sitting here going crazy.'

He glanced down in the direction of Jena and smiled, his gaze being watched by Justin. He seemed to be love-struck. 

Justin turned away from Antonio and lifted his teacup up to his lips before realizing it was empty. He held back a chuckle.

It was funny. Antonio's smile and gaze, that was. And the fact that it wasn't fixed on Jena but rather the exit door. 

*

Annabeth was bored. 

She was done getting dressed and as her servant said, she looked, 'gorgeous.'

Her servant, Doe, also said that such a beauty like herself shouldn't have such an uninterested expression on her face. But she couldn't help it. She was so bored. 

There was nothing to do while she waited but to stare at the mirror and adjust the strand of hair that occasionally got loose. No offense to all the beauties that sat in the waiting room waiting for their turn, but, those things were boring. The mirror was boring, the waiting was boring and the silence was boring. She was even bored with seeing the bored expression on her face.

She was so bored. 

It didn't seem fair for her to wait. Especially since she was one of the last people to go, it made it all the more unfair since she already had to wait for so long. 

She was happy for one thing though and that was that she at least knew her turn was coming soon. It was the time difference and the fact that the 14 performer hadn't come back yet. 'It's Jena isn't it?' Annabeth thought to herself. She remembered hearing that Jena's piece was a bit long, consisting of two parts. 

She was excited. It wouldn't be long that she would be performing. 

She stood up from her seat and walked over to her harp, her hands running over it's gold intricate designs. Excitement pushed through her boredom for her moment before she sat back down and sighed. 

She was bored.