Chapter 6: Playful Banter

Ziva's lips couldn't help but twitch continuously as she looked at the expression of Jash.

Currently, it wouldn't be wrong to say he felt baffled and dumbfounded at the sudden entry of Ziva and then her laughter.

As if that wasn't enough, there was also the fact of Emma's mischievous laughter before leaving.

Not understanding their reason for their excessive laugh, he wanted to ask but he stopped right in his tracks.

'She just wiped a tear from the corner of her, didn't she? And her eyes... they are anywhere but me...'

It didn't take a second longer for him to deduce the cause of it all: 'ME!?'

Jash directly turned to face the mirror and finally noticed the abnormality.

Ignoring his still perfectly dressed and styled attire, the abnormality lay on his face.

Some black marker was used to draw circles around his eye and random scribbles on his cheeks and forehead.

His expression darkened at his unsightly appearance as he shouted with frustration. "Damn that Emma! Just you wait!"

However, his entire countenance froze as he remembered Ziva was also in the same room.

His lazy brain seemed to work as he easily connected Emma's last greeting, his current face, and Ziva's entrance.

Too coincidental.

'Did she...?'

As if to prove his doubts true, Ziva looked away from him and tried to stifle her laughter yet her eyes couldn't get enough of this sight.

He also noticed a small black device in her head and suddenly felt dizzy.

"You...! You are saving it!" Jash barely accused her, feeling indignation at her act.

'Not only did you ask Emma to do it. You even save it to tease me later!? I'll definitely tell...'

His thoughts broke as Ziva tried to speak amidst her stifling laughter.

"Puaha... Haha... Hold your... haha... horses... Aunt... haha... already... haha... knows..."

Hearing her barely audible words, he understood that anything he does regarding this won't benefit him in the least.

'A wise man knows when to retreat and when to strike.'

Iterating the quote inside his mind, he walked to the washroom with a livid expression.

...

"Damn it! This just doesn't get off!" Jash mumbled in frustration before giving the chuckling girl a death glare.

It was all her fault, after all.

Jash thought the worst she could've done was colluding with his mom and made him go through such an embarrassment.

Yet the moment he tried to wash it off in the washroom, he immediately realized that either Emma or Ziva had decided to worsen it.

The ink just didn't wash off from his face.

He was currently using a wet towel to try and scrub it off slowly, even if his skin was already slightly red.

If not for the chuckling girl and the ink on his face that he desperately tried to get rid off, this scene could pass off as a boy blushing in front of his crush.

Despite not knowing such things, given they were just 12, especially the boy whose birthday banquet was about to start alongside his younger twin sister.

He knew for a fact that she was weak to compliments, so he decided to hit one casually. "You look pretty."

His words immediately brought the response he thought it would as she stopped laughing and stared straight into his eyes.

A small smirk played on his lips but it crumpled not soon after as Ziva didn't take more than a second to start her second round of laughter, albeit with a hint of red on the tips of her ears.

Not noticing how his words affected her due to the lack of focus on her, he continued to ignore her as they sat together on the balcony of his room.

It didn't have much. Just a few potted plants and a dark brown polished wooden circular table, paired with four chairs.

Of course, the two just sat together at the end of the balcony, gazing down at the preparations and arriving guests every now and then.

Those below were far too focused with the hustle and bustle of their friends, partners, rivals, or families that they didn't even bother looking up.

Well, the fact that the banquet was held in the main building which was easily a few hundred meters apart helped a lot.

"Anyways, why are you here?"

After having his fill of the scene, Jash seized the perfect moment to ask the question that's been on his mind since he saw her.

"Can't I come and celebrate my future fiancé's 12th birthday?" She said cheekily with a smile tugging at her lips as her head tilted cutely.

Her black night-like hair seemingly blended in the night with her movements yet they shone as bright as the night sky.

Her purple amethyst eyes stared into his gray eyes while the wind blew her hair ever so slightly.

Tranced for a second, Jash couldn't reply before he eventually did, "Hm? Didn't our parents already agree to it? They might even announce it now that you are here."

Jash felt intrigued by the sudden trance he felt for her but his attention was more on their engagement announcement.

"Who knows? We both already agreed. So, if you want to, you know, *ahem* scurry away... just find me."

She ended her statement with a wink before standing up, allowing her gown to unravel its vastness and grace.

The amount of jewels and gold used just on the outer layer was probably more than enough for a large family of 10 or 15 to live out their entire lives easily.

Not bothered by the extravagance of her dress, Jash's eyes followed her movements as she closed the distance between them and swiped her finger on his cheek before flicking his forehead, eliciting a painful grunt from him.

"Ouch!"

His hands covered his forehead as a reflex and by the time he removed them, her figure had already moved away with a hint of red creeping up on her neck.

Jash didn't yet come to his senses from the scene of her approaching figure to notice it and Ziva had already turned around to leave.

"You still bully me..."

He muttered in a small voice before looking at her parting back with a hanged breath.

Her dress didn't seem suitable for a 12-year-old as it was just too big for her size. Excluding that, only one could describe it: Perfect.

'Isn't she only a teeny bit taller than me? 154 cm, if I remember correctly.'

Jash mused as he appreciated the color of dark blue which matched his own suit jacket.

'Mom definitely had a part in this.' He didn't even need to think to know that.

He admired the tresses of her dress matching well with her falling night-like hair.

At the moment, Ziva was too self-absorbed to even notice his stare. Even if she did notice, she wouldn't really mind.

"Congratulations on your successful awakening!"

Hearing his loud voice filled with sincerity, a smile inadvertently came to her lips as she continued her brisk pace before replying.

"Thanks! All the best for yours, Jash!"

She didn't stop or turn around to say it as her feelings would be conveyed regardless.

'How do I tell you?' Jash thought with furrowed brows as Ziva approached the door.