Chapter 9: A Wrinkled Envelope

Junie glanced curiously at Kian throughout the drive, trying to figure out where he could have decided to take her. All the typical date spots flashed through her mind: fancy restaurants, movies, arcades, or amusement parks. Kian kept his one hint vague, explaining he got the idea from one of the few childhood stories she had told him.

Her curiousness morphed into downright confusion when they pulled into a rundown strip mall. The pavement was faded and cracked in several places and the buildings looked like they were built back in the seventies. Kian pulled the car into one of the few spaces before turning to look at her.

Junie furrowed her eyebrows, pressing herself against the side of the car, but her lips quirked. "Is this the part where you reveal yourself as a bounty hunter and kill me?" She was teasing him, but she really couldn't even begin to imagine why he would bring her to a place like this. A couple of rough-looking guys were smoking in the far corner of the dilapidated lot. The place seemed like the furthest thing from romantic.

Kian just laughed and opened the car door. "Trust me," he said, his dark eyes lit up. He was having fun.

Kian's easygoing chuckle immediately put her at ease and Junie obeyed, opening her own car door and stepping out onto the old, cracked pavement. Kian was at her side in a second and offered his arm to her, which she took without hesitation.

Kian led her toward the back of the strip mall toward a small shop. Understanding dawned when Junie read the sign, which said "Em's Comics" in a superhero-type font. Junie could tell that the store was not new by the faded blue and red colors of the letters. Perhaps this was just a stop in their journey and Kian was letting her choose a birthday gift from here, she reasoned. She loved comic book stores, but it was still just a comic book store.

Junie immediately felt at home when they stepped inside the small shop. There was a row of tables down the center of the store, clearly for tabletop games. The walls were lined with books from floor to ceiling. The carpet reminded her a lot of the ones that they had at Junie's elementary school – dark blue with tiny stars sprinkled throughout.

Kian and Junie were also the only two in the room, except for an older teen boy who barely acknowledged them when they entered, even after Kian offered a friendly, "Hi!".

The two walked over to the shelves and started to scan the titles. Kian pulled one out and showed it to Junie. "I read this back in high school. It was pretty good."

Junie nodded politely before looking up at Kian imploringly. "I really do like comic book stores, but what exactly are we doing here?" She furrowed her eyebrows when Kian didn't answer. He instead held out another book to her. The cover was lilac and had a brightly-colored fairy on the cover.

"Wasn't this your favorite when you were in middle school?"

Junie looked at the cover and nodded with a laugh. "Yes, my friends made fun of me for loving it because the writing isn't very good." She took the comic from him and flipped through it before showing Kian the page she had stopped on. "Listen to this: 'Not by the ribbons and bows on my dress! Now, let them go!' I'm embarrassed that I used to love this series".

Kian chuckled at Junie's impression and grabbed another copy of the same book off the shelf. He found the page Junie was on and started to read. "'Your ribbons can't save you this time! Your friends are minced meat!'" Kian shook his head and lowered the book for a moment. "This really is bad writing."

The two spent the next hour reading from the different comic books, assigning each other characters, and acting out the scenes. Junie was giggling madly after just a few minutes. Kian was hilarious. He was animated and was able to do a bunch of different silly voices. His voice wasn't extremely deep, but he was able to lower it considerably. He did this for the villains in the comic books, which made the whole ordeal even funnier because Kian was definitely not the villain type. He was far too friendly and gentle.

When it was clear that the two weren't planning on buying anything and since they were the only two in the store, the teen at the counter decided to leave them, most likely to take a nap in the back room. Junie and Kian made themselves even more comfortable by curling up on one of the old sofas, continuing to read from different comic books.

Junie watched Kian as he read for yet another villain. He was so engrossed in the act that he didn't notice her intense gaze. Her eyes traveled from his thick, messy hair down to his angular jawline.

She started to space out, amazed at the turn of events. It wasn't that Junie hated her birthday. It was just a day that wasn't that special to her. When she was a child, her parents would force her to be the center of attention on her birthday, either throwing her a big party or taking her out to a themed restaurant where the whole staff sang to her in front of everyone. It made the poor girl dread the day. As she got older, the celebrations had become way less extravagant, usually just a quiet dinner out, which is how Junie liked it.

She realized with a start that she was having the best birthday ever. Kian wasn't doing anything fancy. They had been sitting in the comic book store for a couple of hours and were just casually enjoying one another's company.

It was exactly what Junie needed. Her eyes widened when she realized that Kian's deep brown eyes were now focused on hers. He raised his eyebrows in amusement, tilting his head slightly in a questioning manner.

"Something wrong?" he asked, his voice low. He had set the book he had been reading down in his lap, sensing that Junie wasn't really paying attention to the story.

She smiled and shook her head. "No, the opposite actually," she said. She toyed with the edge of her shirt but forced herself to look him in the eye. "I was just thinking that this is the best birthday ever."

Kian's eyes widened but then he chuckled and shook his head. "That's honestly a little sad," he said, gesturing around the room.

Junie shook her head again, reaching to take the hand that was currently in midair. "No, this was perfect. Thank you for today."

Kian turned his wrist so that he was holding onto her hand instead of her holding his. He gripped her hand firmly. "We're not done yet," he said, smirking a bit. Junie laughed and shook her head. He was very far from being a villain. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a plain white envelope. It was completely wrinkled. Junie could tell it had been in his jeans pocket all day.

"Happy birthday, Juniper," he murmured softly.

Junie's face went red. Kian was the only one who called Junie by her full name. She was embarrassed by the odd name, but Kian insisted on using it and she had to admit she liked it more and more as he used it.

"A wrinkled envelope?" she asked in a teasing tone, taking the piece of paper from him and turning it over in her hands curiously. "I know I said I don't want much for my birthday, but…"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not very good at wrapping gifts. I almost didn't even put it in an envelope but then the gift might have gotten completely ruined."

Junie carefully opened the envelope and pulled out what looked like crudely folded sheets of computer paper. She unfolded them and read the print. It said, 'Congratulations! You are going to Kami-Con!'

Her head whipped up and she stared at Kian with wide eyes. "But, how did you manage to get tickets?" she asked in astonishment. "It's pretty much impossible to get tickets to Kami-Con!" Junie of all people knew this fact. She had been trying to get tickets for the past few years with no luck.

Kian winked. "I know a guy," he said ominously.

"You know that sounds super sketch, right?" she asked, rolling her eyes. She was practically shaking with excitement, though.

Kian wiggled his fingers like an evil magician but then laughed. "Alright, fine. A friend of mine from high school works for the convention center and was able to snag me a couple of tickets. Happy?"

Junie suddenly lunged at Kian and threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him fiercely. "Very happy," she confirmed. She felt him stiffen in surprise before he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her even closer against his chest.