I know your face.

[Maia Purdue]

Maia strod through the streets of London. It was so long since she'd been home, but she'd met Taylor, and she wasn't afraid any more. She was happy, and she loved the city. "How did I ever leave?" she smiled to herself, laying her hand on the wall of the theatre. That was where she had spent the last hour. London theatre, it was her favourite. It was great to be around her place again, everyone here had an English accent, and there was never a confused look when they heard her voice. She grinned to herself,and continued walking. Starbucks, that was her next stop. She needed a frappucinno. She'd missed the shops, the sights. She planned to meet up with Megan at some stage during her visit here. It seemed that finally, her life was getting back ontrack, and she could not be more happy about it. The sun was shining, and it was a bright, brisk day. She was dressed colourfully, to match her mood, and everything was great.

She'd forgotten how many people she'd known here. She missed them, and she'd forgotten how much she'd distnced herself. It was a sd thought to think of why it had all happenened, but it was over now, and she was back, back in her city. She stopped as she reached the coffee shop. She loved coffee, just the smell of it was completely enticing. She walked in, almost skipping. The place was quite crowded, as it always was. She stood in line, tapping her toe against the ground in time with the background music. It was Ed Sheeran. She loved his music. "I wanna be drunk, when I wake up. On the right side, of the wrong bed..." she sang quietly under her breath, as she waited.

when she finally reached the counter, she was greeted by a smiley young girl, wearing an apro. "One frappucinno please, and...some chocolate cake." she grinned, she hadn't planned on eating, but the lucious chocolatey filling was too tempting to pass up. Sheate quite a bit, which just meant she had to excercise more, when she did have a treat. She grinned as the girl nodded, and got her a slice of cake, a good sized slice too, not a tiny sliver. Her drink would be ready in a few minutes.

She took a seat in the corner of the shop, all the window seats were taken, and looked around the room. there was a fine mix of people here, that was what she missed about London, it's diversity. There were students, and transexuals, and elderly couples, all here in the same place. How could you not love a place like that. She took out a spoon, and began to eat, she first seperated the icing, the filling and the sponge, the way she always did-she liked to eat them seperately.

 

[Jack Kaster]

Jack took a deep sigh as he walked through the streets of London, he was glad that it was no longer cold, his jacket had been having a real work out because he hated the cold and it seemed to always be cold in the United Kingdom, something that annoyed him, but he could survive, a little chilly weather never hurt anyone, most likely.

There were only a few things Jack did not like about staying with Parker. One was Parker's weird accent, it set Jack off. When Parker wakes up in the morning, he would seemingly speak gibberish to Jack and expect him to understand, then he would throw a fit because Jack would laugh at him. The second thing was Parker's neighbours. At first, Jack found them quite funny, they would always try to talk to him and he would pretend that he didn't speak english because they annoyed him with their small talk, but now? They were rivalling stalkers. Jack was very close to aparating them to the moon if they kept up with following him everywhere.

Jack rolled his eyes and entered a starbucks, he'd never been here before and decided that it was worth a try. Jack had been craving cake for a while, but Parker was a vegan or something and didn't let Jack have super rich, covered in cream chocolate cake. Jack was starting to think that Parker secretly hated him and wanted him to die of rapid diet change. Sure Jack was happy that Parker let him stay with him and let him burst into tears on his couch and not judge him for it, but it didn't mean that Jack didn't want to kill him, because he was close to it.

Jack waited in the rather small line quietly. He didn't feel like dancing or even registering the music in the backround, wasn't his favourite song, so he didn't acknowlegde its existence. "I would like some chocolate cake thanks." He said, waiting politely for his cake and smiling, paying for it and turning around to find somewhere to sit, he wasn't about to eat his cake standing, was he? Jack tilted his head slightly and stared at a woman, she looked very very familiar, so Jack decided that he would walk up to her and say hello and ask if he knew her, because it was starting to bug him. "Hi, have we met?" He asked, smiling. He wasn't sure if that was the best opening sentence, but it would do.

 

[Maia Purdue]

Maia smiled as she seperated the pieces of the cake. First she ate the sponge, which was delicious. She prefered the icing, and the filling, but she wanted to leave them 'till last, they were the best part. She took a bite, and grinned to herself. She didn't care how it looked, but she would marry this cake if it were legal. She laughed silently at the thought. The waitress arrived with her frappucino, which was delicious and creamy. She loved extra cream on frappucino''s. She smiled at the waitress, she'd already payed, and took the glass. She raised it to her mouth and took a sip, it was perfect-as usual.

It was a matter of moments, before she'd finished the sponge, she ate neatly, but very quickly, she always did. She looked around the room at the people gathered there, the line was shorter now, there was a man near the front of the line, tall, blonde hair. Tall-that was important for some reason. His sillhoutte seemed familiar. He turned around, holding a piece of cake, and she caught a glimpse of his face, she knew him, she knew she knew him. They'd met-a few years ago? Just a chat on the street, but she remembered him. She lowered her eyes to her cake, starting on the filling as she saw him look at her, she hoped he recognised her, she remembered enjoying herself in his company before.

She heard his voice, and looked up, a small smile on her face. "Yes, I seem to recall you messing up my hair and calling me small." she laughed. "Maia Purdue, we met in New Zealand a few years ago." she grinned, this was an unexpected surprise-a good one at that.

 

[Jack Kaster]

Jack nodded slightly and searched his memory, the last few years had been a blur of depression and isolation for him, so it made him feel good that he could remember something positive, though he had a few good memories, the people he shared them with had disappeared off the rader of Jack's life, he had meant to keep in contact with them, but the downward spiral of the last few years had made him a little anti-social, but that was starting to change now and he was slowly getting back to his happy days. "I knew I knew you." He said, looking at the empty chair curiously. "I hope you don't mind if I sit." He said, sitting on the chair and putting his cake down, he hated standing when he was eating, he tended to drop his food.

Jack laughed slightly when he remembered Maia's messy hair, it had been his fault entirely, but that didn't mean he was going to admit to that. "I don't think I messed up your hair..." He shrugged, looking around innocently. It was obvious that he was different, even if he tried his best to be the same, Jack couldn't hide how differently he carried himself now, that and the fact that he still had Ben's name necklace on, that was always a negative sign for people who knew him, though most of the time they didn't notice the necklace, Jack's collar usually hid it from sight. "So what have you been doing lately?" He asked, curious as to how Maia had been doing, it had been a long time since they had spoken, even if they had only met once, it was a good meeting.

 

[Maia Purdue]

Maia smiled aas Jack asked to sit. "Of course." she replied, gesturing to the seat. He had changed, from the way she remembered him. Less smiley-though at the time... A brother? Or a sister? Someone had been missing, and he was trying to find them. She couldn't remember it fully. He looked more solemn. she guessed that it had been bad news, or something had happened recently, there was something wrong, but she wasn't going to mention it, it wouldn't help anyone, especially not Jack. "How are you?" she asked, as she scanned his face, he seemed okay, just a bit..tired.

"Sure.." she replied, chuckling, she remembered that, he'd contradicted practically everything she said, she'd found it funny at the time. She took another bite of filling, she knew it seemed odd, the way she ate, but it had become a habit, and she liked eating the different things seperately. "I'm okay, finally mustering up the courage to come back to England, mending old fences and such." she replied, taking a sip of her drink. "How about you-what brings you to England?" she asked, she'd last seen him in New Zealand, though as far as se could recall-he'd grown up in Australia.

 

[Jack Kaster]

Jack was grateful that Maia didn't mind him sitting down, obviously she was not execpting anyone anytime soon, something Jack was grateful for, he hadn't been in the mood to make new friends for awhile, but someone he had already known? He was up for that. Jack nodded slightly, he guessed he was okay, he wasn't about to tell her that he had suffered a depression for the past three years at the lose of his twin and parents, that wouldn't help anyone and would make Jack feel worse and Maia feel bad, so he decided to just suger-coat, that never hurt anyone. "I suppose I'm good, the weather is killing me, but otherwise, I'll survive." He said, eating some of his cake, now that he was thinking a little bit more of the past, he didn't feel like eating much and it showed. Jack had always found it difficult to hide his thoughts.

Jack watched Maia eat curiously, she had to be one of the oddest people Jack knew, other than Chase and Parker. He didn't get why she broke up her cake and ate it all seperately, in his opinion, it tasted better all together. "I don't mean to sound weird-" He began, realising that his question was going to be odd. "But why have you broken up your cake?" He asked, tilting his head slightly, like a puppy in thought.

Jack's smiled faultered slightly, just for a second, it could have been considered a frown, but Jack did not frown, not anymore. "I came to England... to visit a friend." He explained, missing out a large part of his visit to said friend. He had just re-met Maia and from memory she was an awesome person, he was not about to tell her that he left his family with nothing but a note, blindly went to his mates house and cried on his couch, it would be weird and very awkward.

 

[Maia Purdue]

Maia smiled at Jack's response. "I suppose all the clouds are hard to get used to, but it's not so bad today." she replied, gesturing outside, it was a lovely day, really fresh outside. Not exactly warm, but it wasn't cold either. She continued to eat her cake, this filling was like a little piece of heaven, she resisted the urge to sigh, it was so chocolatey, and rich. "I have to admit, this is some of the best cake I have ever eaten, if it were legal-I would marry this cake!" then, realising how stupid she had just sounded, a blush crept into her cheeks. "Um..I mean..." she added, but realising she couldn't undo what she'd just said. He wasn't eating much, she hoped nothing was up. She looked into his face, her eyes searching, she didn't want to seem nosy, but he didn't seem okay. She couldn't ask though could she? She didn't know him that well, not yet anyway.

Maia laughed nervously as Jack's question. "Um, well...I always have, I like them to be...seperate, so they're not all.. I don't know it's just the way it works in my head, they're right if they're seperate, but if they're not-it's wrong, it doesn't taste right, or look right." she tried to explain, she knew that it made her sound, a little...crazy, but she always had, she liked things to be right, to be in order, she couldn't explain it properly, it was just the way it worked in her head.

"Cool." she replied, not fully believing him, his voice sounded a little off. "So, what have you been up to?" she asked, curious. She hoped he had found his..brother-that was it! Though..he hadn't seemed too positive the last tie they'd met. It was good that he was with a friend, even if he was hiding something, and she was pretty sure he was hiding something.

 

[Jack Kaster]

Jack nodded in agreement, the other night he couldn't sleep because of how rainy it was, for a second he thought his mates place would blow away, but it didn't, fortunately. "Yes, it's not like this in New Zealand..." he said thoughtfully. He had to admit that he was a little home sick, but he couldn't return home, not just yet. If he did, Lisa would grab him by the neck and squeeze until his head fell off and rolled along the floor, while Tess? Jack didn't want to think about what Tess would do to him, he wanted to sleep tonight since he had been missing out lately. Jack smirked at Maia's exclaimation, he was sure the whole shop heard, it was very funny, but he stopped himself from laughing, he knew it would just make her more selfconcious and the blush that had worked itself onto her cheeks would probably spread to her whole face. "Well... maybe some day it will become legal, though at the rate you're going, the love of your life will be gone soon." He joked, purposefully not using the word 'deceased' or 'dead', it was still too early.

Jack had no idea what Maia was trying to say to him, once again, it was gibberish to his ears. "But Maia," he began playfully. "Cakes are cakes because they are all together and are baked that way, you're just eating... stuff." He said, still trying not to laugh at her, it would be so wrong to laugh at something she believed it, even if it did make her sound absolutely crazy, it wasn't Jack's place to laugh his head off at her and bring them back to the attention of the whole shop.

Jack got the feeling that Maia didn't believe him, he knew that he didn't sound too convincing, he would have to work on that before he returned home, he couldn't go home to his family still being hung up about Ben, it wouldn't be fair on them. Jack bit his bit slightly, what was he going to say? That he was currently missing his brother like crazy and felt like dying? No, that would be insane. "Parker and I?" He asked, deciding to keep the subject strictly on himself and Parker, so it wouldn't stray to his real reason of going to his best friends house. "Oh you know... we've being doing, like, guy stuff and that..." He said, mentally slapping himself, guys stuff? Like that wasn't going to allow more questions to be asked, and the fact that he sounded as if he was carrying the biggest secret on the planet didn't help, Jack truely was a horrible liar.

 

[Maia Purdue]

Maia grinned at Jack's response. It was certainly much hotter in New Zealand, she'd forgotten how used she was to it. It was a good wake up call for her to be back here again. "Very True." she replied, smiling. She tried not to look to obviously embarrassed, she hadn't realised how loud she was, and a few people were giving her odd looks. She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at them. That would be chidish, fun, but childish. "I know, but "'tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."" she quoted, taking another bite of filling, she hadn't very much left, just some filling and all the icing, but this was so delicious. She stopped, and took a sip of her drink, trying to draw out how long she could keep the cake, she didn't want it to run out.

Maia laughed slightly at his response. "I've just always done it, the icing and filling are my favourite I like to eat them seperately to the sponge." she answered, trying to explain what she meant. She knew it made no sense, but it was how she liked to eat it, it tasted better that way.

She waited for him to answer her question, she was guessing that something was up, but she couldn't figure it out-which was weird. She just didn't get it-at all. Guys were so complicated, they never made sense. Her eyebrows crinkled at his response. Guy stuff? "Parker's a cool name." she commented as he mentioned his friend, she'd never known someone called Parker. "So, um guy stuff...intresting..." she commented, trying not to laugh, he was obviously trying to avoid her question, but she couldn't laugh at him, that would be mean, and uncalled for.

Out of Character:

Sorry-no muse.

 

[Jack Kaster]

Jack smiled in agreement, mostly because it proved what he said to be right, no matter how sad he felt, his obsession with always being right was far too great. "Once again I am proved to be correct." He joked, deciding that remembering the past would make him and possibly Maia happier, his moping around was annoying him. Jack nodded, he was positive that Maia would probably not realise this, but her quote, actually made Jack feel much better than he let on, a small smile grew on his face. "I guess it is." He agreed, thinking about Ben and his parents, but then he started thinking about how the rest of his family was dealing the loss. He shook his head, it was amazing, Maia had helped him quite a bit, simply by quoting someone and talking about cake, it was amazing.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but the flavours of the icing and filling make the sponge taste better, that's why its all together, so you don't just get a bad tasting sponge." He explained, acting as if his explaination was the answer to the universe and everything, which was good, this meant that some of his old self was coming through, this made Jack feel better about himself. It would good that he re-met Maia, better for his health because she stopped him from acting like a zombie.

Jack nodded slowly, Parker was a cool name, though Jack suspected Maia only said this to carry on conversation, something that was never a problem when they first met. Jack knew that his guy stuff excuse was the worse thing going. It was a hopeless response to Maia's question, there were so many other possible responses out there and he choose that one? It was pathetic to say the least. But atleast she was kind enough to not come right out and say so. "Yeah, you no, fixing cars, getting drunk, eating redvines, the usual." He said, decided to put in a little bit of a back story, just to make it more believeable, though the picture he was painting was not the greatest, it would have to do, besides, Maia would probably never meet Parker because Jack would never introduce them, Parker was far too embarrassing for Jack to allow him to meet his friends that were outside of Durmstrang, Parker knew far too many hilarious stories about Jack, so Jack never introduced him to anyone he knew, if he could avoid it.

 

[Maia Purdue]

Maia almost laughed aloud as Jack smiled. She remembered him liking to be right. "Of course." she replied, bowing her head to him in defeat. "I bow to your superiority." This was fun, Jack was nice to be around, even though he obviously wasn't in the best of moods. He seemed to cheer up after what she quoted. She liked English, it had always been her favourite subject in school. The quote stirred thoughts of her own. Taylor, she'd loved him, she'd lost him, she'd gotten him back, then lost him again, and now she had him again-at least as a friend. How long before she lost him again.. She wasn't going to think about that, she liked Taylor, but she couldn't trust him-not yet. Focus on Jack, that was what she was going to do.

"Yeah, but I like it all. Seperately at least." she replied, her eyes as innocent as a bunny. She laughed at Jack's serious tone. She laughed a lot recently. "So, how do you eat your cake?" she asked, her head tilted to one side. She smiled at him, her hair falling into her face. she frowned at it, and blew it out of her way, her lips pursed. She looked pretty stupid.

Maia grinned as Jack nodded, she liked names, and this guy was seriously blessed with his. She realised how stupid a conversation started that had been, and almost grimaced, but she knew that if she did, she'd have to explain herself. She wwasn't particularly good at that. "Um..hate to show my ignorance, but....what are redvines?" she asked,pointing at him with her spoon. She'd never tasted redvines, and she had no idea what they were. Some kind of food, obviously, if they were eating them, and piossibly they were red, but other than that-she hadn't a clue.

 

[Jack Kaster]

Jack nodded proudly, happy to finally be feeling good without feeling guilty. That had been a common occurrence, the feeling of guikt every time he did something remotely fun. But not this time, and it felt great, it was obvious that Jack was very happy about something. ''You should, because my superiority shines, because I am always right.'' He said, poking his cake a little. He still wasn't reall y up to eating it, even though he really wanted it not five minutes ago, now that he had it, it didn't seem like such a great idea anymore, that had been happening a lot lately.

Jack rolled his eyes. ''You're silly, how can you bare to eat it separately, that's just crazy talk.'' He said sarcastically, pretending to judge Maia's eating habbits sternly, though it wasn't working veryy well, his green eyes revealed all he was feeling. Lonely, happy, sarcastic... a large mix of multiple emotions, some seemingly unrelated. He started laughing at Maia's question, at the moment his cake was sitting on its plate, gathering dust, but he was sure he uusually ate it like a normal person. ''Well I presume I eat my cake like a normal person, you know, all together.'' He said taking a small piece of his cake and eating it, though he didn,'t really want it anymore, so he didn't enjoy it as much as he could have.

Jack was slightyl shocked, how could Maia not know what redvines were? Though he was pretty sure they were not native tto the United Kingdom, Parker seemed to always have a supply, though it was very simple for him to just pop into any store on the planet and buy them, so Jack just smiled and laughed. ''They are like licorice, but they are like little red pipes, B- I love them.'' He said, nearly saying Ben and I, but stopped himself, Ben was not going to be eating any redvines, so why should Jack mention that he likes them? It will only dampen his mood and in doing so would destroy this meetings mood completely. ''I think you'd like them too, most people do, though unfortunately I left them at Parker.'' He said, trying to carry on the conversation without creating a lul, he knew that Maia was trying to not mention Ben and was trying her best to not mention anything that could relate to him, which Jack found really nice, it was nice that she was restricting her natural curiosity for him.

 

[Maia Purdue]

Maia laughed "I feel I may have had this argument before." she replied to his comment about always being right. "Excuse me while I get out mys unglasses, basking in your glow is great and everything, bu it doesn put awful sttrain on one's eyes." she joked, taking a pair out of her handbag, and placing them over her eyes, before laughing, and putting them back. She didn't comment on his not eating the cake, something was bothering him, and she wasn't going to point that out, Jack had his own problems, he didn't need her pointing them out.

"A little crazy never hurt anyone." she replied, biting her lip as soon as she realised what she'd said. He was going to pull some reference or other now, she had completely walked into that one. "Gahh, I'm losing my touch!" she admonished herself, laughed. "Where's the fun in being normal?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow, and smiling at him mischeiviously. She took a final bite of her cake's icing, and it was gone. She pulled her drink toward her and took a sip, lovely.

She tilted her head to one side in confuseion. Red pipes? Wait a second. "Are they the red one's, with white...stuff..in the middle?" she asked, her head straight again, and her eyes attentive. She didn't like liqourice, but she'd have to try these...redvines. She overlooked his slip where he started to say something else. Her tongue was itching to ask about his brother, but she had a feeling it wouldn't be good news. "How can anyone like liquorice!" she exclaimed, Maia had never really been into that many sweets, except for chocolate, Tayto's and a few other treats like that. "I'm a chocolate girl myself, and jst to get all the shockers out of the way-I don't like fizzy drinks, except cidona, and I don't like penny sweets." she added, as a child people had always been shocked by that, though her parent's had approved.

 

[Jack Kaster]

Jack chuckled quietly as he began to remember their first meeting, it seemed to slowly be replying before them once again, though there were some major differences, for starters, they were not in New Zealand and Jack was no longer looking for Ben, they were both older and instead of Maia coming from out of a traumatic experience, it was Jack. Strange how three years lead to the tables being turned in their next meeting. What made him laugh out loud was when she pulled out her sunglasses, this brought them more attention from other customers, but Jack shrugged it off, Maia was far too entertaining for him to think of the people that looked at them with slightly annoyed expressions. ''I am dazzling, aren't I?'' He asked smugly, with a small shrug. He didn't feel particularly smug at the moment, but there was nothing wrong with acting like it just so his facade kept up, he was determined to come off as happy so he didn't destroy Maia's day.

Jack smirked, he was considering whether to let the chance slide, just this once, but he couldn't, his older personality refused to allow such a statement to be uttered in his presence without him poking fun at the owner, in this case, Maia. ''Maia... does this mean you finally admit that you are infact related to Einstein? First the hair, now the personality?'' He questioned. If there was one good thing about Jack, it was his fantastic memory, this memory allowed him to remember the simplest of things, it also enabled him to get through school without study or practise, but it also gave him the ability to hold very long grudges. He shook his head slightly in mock disappointment. ''Though they do say, impersonation is the highest form of flattery.'' He said shrugging. ''So you must really love Einstein!'' He accused playfully, pointing at Maia from across the table.

Jack laughed slightly at Maia's reaction. ''No, they're like pipes, hollow pipes and they're red and that, but they don't really taste like liquorice, more like... strawberries and raspberries.'' He explained, trying to make a better picture, but he wasn't sure if it was working very well. He rolled his eyes at her exclamation, this earned them some annoyed looks by old members of the public, Jack knew what they were thinking, 'noisy youth', it was written all over their old faces, it was quite funny. ''They're not liquorice, they're like liquorice, but not flavour wise.'' He clarified. Jack nodded. ''Well... I don't like fizzy drinks because my little brother is addicted to them and he bounces off walls, so that turns me off them and but I do love chocolate, my favourite is the aero bubbly chocolate one.'' He said, deciding that it was about time to mention a little of his family, since Maia had been trying so hard not to mention Ben, it looked like she was about to die, so perhaps talking about other members of his family would help them both.

 

[Maia Purdue]

Maia grinned as she saw that Jack remembered. She'd had great fun that day, and she'd been going through a bad time, she'd been attacked a few weeks before, and Jack had cheered her up considerably. She laughed with him, her sunglassses casting him in a rosy light. She almost wished she could keep them on, though they were getting weird looks. She winked at an old couple who were staring at her incredulously, confusing them even more. "Of course you are Dahhhhhlinnng." she replied, gesturing wildly with her hand, this gained even more odd looks, but she really couldn't care, she was having fun, though Jack didn't seem okay. He'd cheered her up before, now she planned to do the same for him.

"Einstein? Oh yes, I remember that." she replied craftily. He'd messed up her hair completely the last time they'd met. "Einstein was a great man, but he was German, I'm English. Also, I don''t think he had children." she contemplated. "Though of course, it is possible that he might've moved to England or something?" she added, it could be possible after all. She laughed at his next comment. "Oh yeah, me and einstein, we're like this." she demonstrated, crossing her fingers. "But you. I think you are the one with an obsession, buddy." she replied, a grin on her face, pointing back at him. Her lips were pouted, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"That's werid, I've never tasted them." she commented, looking confused, her elbow leaning on the table, she observed Jack, these sweets sounded weird. She blushed as she noticed that people had heard her, she hadn't really bothered earlier, but that outburst was extgremely odd. "I suppose, but it still doesn't make sense to me, I'm, going to have to get myself one of these things." she replied, speaking more quietly now. "I love plain milk chocolate, and dark chocolate with mint." she smiled, chocolate was the best invention ever. "How are they all now, I seem to remember a sister who liked spiders?" she asked, she wasn't going to ask about his brother, if he didn't volunteer anything.

 

[Jack Kaster]

Jack looked around and observed the old people in the cafe, sometimes nose people could be jfunny to watch. Some of the faces they pulled when failing to hear a full conversation, it was simply priceless. They never failed to make him laugh slightly, and right now, he needed a good laugh, though that was quite simple right now, since Maia seemed to be replicating the humor he had shown her a few years back, it was refreshing to say that least. He laughed, holding his sides, he felt like he had stitches that were starting to rip out of his torso, but in a good way, in a 'I'm laughing so much I'm going to didie', sort of way. It was quite pleasant. What made him laugh more was that she actually remembered his teasing of her hair, it brought back happy memories. He was suddenly starting to like his stay with Parker, because if he had not have gone to him, he would not have met Maia, and he would not currently by dying from lack of air. "Dear Merlin..." he muttered as he recaptured air, his face turning back to its normal pale completion. "You're trying to kill me, arn't yyou?" He asked, running his hands through his short blonde hair and closing his eyes for a few seconds.

He scoffed slightly at the mention of Tamalia and he like for creatures that were creepy, though now she was a lot more somber and quiet, but Jack wasn't worried, he had spoken to her and he let her do her own thing, which in her case, was painting. While Samual's was being crazily happy, Tessa's was being overly responsible and kind, and everyone else was. He shrugged slightly, they had all changed in three years. ''Well, spider girl, also known as Tamalia, she's picked up painting, umm... Sam is acting like. Mexican jumping bean, my sisters Amanra and Abbey are travelling around the place, last post card I got, they were in Hawaii, while my big sister Lisa is going slightly crazy I think, like, she's always cleaning, non stop.'' He explained, his eyes widened when he realized that he had accidently forgotten little Hamish. He had purposefully skipped Ben, he figured that Maia would be able to put two and two together, Jack had sort of come tto terms with Ben, but it didn't mean that he wanted to comment on the subject. ''And I had to job of baby sitting my baby brother Hamish, he's nearly four now." He explained, chewing his lip slightly. ''But I must say, they all probably want my blood right now...'' he added, he knew that they were all annoyed with him right now, considering the circumstances of which he left.

 

[Maia Purdue]

Maia laughed as Jack exploded in laughter. Her giggling increased as she saw the reaction of their fellow diners. They'd been looking at them before, but now she even saw a few dropped jaws. "Jack, you're going to give some old age pensioner a heart attack!" she laughed, lowering her head conspiratorally. "If you die-I get your cake!" she replied, as she watched him, he was holding his sides, and looked hilarious. She couldn't stop a grin from spreading across her face. At least she'd cheered him up. Maia laughed at is accusation. "Of course, I can't have anyone knowing about my Einstein obsession-you have to be terminated." she stated very plainly, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Jack had returned to normal now. "You looked hilarious you know." she commented, a slight giggle escaping her lips.

Maia smiled as Jack scoffed, she remembered him having a lot of family. "I guess Im showing my ignorance, but-mexican jumping bean?" she asked, looking quizzical. She assumed it was an American, or New Zealand-ish saying, she'd never heard it in Enland, and though she'd lived here a long time, she'd never get used to the coloquial language. "He must be adorable!" Maia enthused-she loved kids. Actually, when she thought about it, Jack's brother was probably around the same age as Taylor's little girl. Jessica was adorable, she looked like a little angel, with her burls and blue eyes. "What?" she questioned as he said they wanted his blood. "Do they not know you're in England, or something?" she asked, quickly. That definetly wouldn't be good.

 

[Jack Kaster]

Jack wiped his eyes and sighed slightly. Now his ribs hurt, just great, not that he overly minded it, it was happy pain, and he liked happy pain, to an extent. He rolled his eyes at the mention of pensioners. "They can leave, it's not like I have themm all bound and gagged to their chairs." He said, laughed slightly when he realised that an old couple near them had heard what he had said, they were now scowling at him, it was quite funny. What made him scoff was the fact that Maia thought that he would allow himself to die before eating his cake, he didn't feel like eating it at the moment, but that didn't mean he would allow Maia to have it in the event of his untimely death, he'd gobble it all up just to spite her. "No, I don't think so." He said, shaking his head stubbornly, pulling the plate closer to him. "And don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your deep dark secret." He said, winking slightly and poking his cake with his fork, his attention being brought back to the fact that he had cake in front of him. He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know, havn't laughed like that for ages." He admitted, in a serious tone, this was bringing him back to when he met Chase, great guy, they just sat around drinking and laughing all day long, like he was with Maia, except they weren't drinking, but eating cake instead, well they were.

Jack stared at Maia for several seconds, then laughed. "Mexican jumping bean, that basically means he is a little bubble of fun that bounces around everywhere like a crazy person, he's a very happy kid." He explained. He envied his little brother for that exact quality, nothing was easy for Sammy anymore, he was the closest with their parents and he lost both of them, then he lost his big brother and Jack was the first to admit this, but no-one in the house would tell him anything, they didn't properly explain to him that things were now changing and he was kept out of the loop about a lot of things, like when they had some money troubles and such, but he never complained and instead decided to see life half-full, it was amazing. He laughed. "Yeah he is, he's ridiculously adorable." He added, rolling his eyes slightly at the thought of Sammy running around, he missed his little brother. But his smile was wiped clean off his face when he realised that he slipped up, and Maia caught it. Damn. He ran his hand through his hair nervously, he had a feeling that Maia was going to kill him after he said what he was going to. "Not exactly... I've sort of been hiding out with Parker, without letting them know that I'm there..." He explained, breaking eye contact, something he rarely did. He knew he was in the wrong with acting in such a stupid and impulsive way, but he needed space, he needed a change, he needed to leave and he knew that he could lean on Parker for support.

 

[Maia Purdue]

Maia laughed at the image of Jack binding the old people. "I doubt they see it that way!" she replied, almost choking. She took a sip of heer frappucino, and that calmed her down a bit. She smiled brightly at the couple Jack glanced over at. "Lovely weather we're having!" she announced loudly, smiling at them widely. She turned back to Jack, the light was shing in a rainbow pattern on the table. She traced it with her fingers, and looked over at Jack. "You would deny me your cake?" she feigned sadness. She shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips; "I'm ashamed of you Jack." she let herself laugh and stuck her tongue out at him. "You'd better not-or I'll be informing the world of Jack Kaster's terorism of the elderly!" she replied, leaning back in her chair, so that it was only supported by two legs. She grinned at his nxt comment. "Glad to be of service." she answered, tipping her haty to him, then , realising it was bad manners to wear it indoors, she took it off and placed it on the table.


Maia squirmed uder Jack's gaze. no doubt about it-he thought she was crazy. She didn't exactly blame him. "And what's wrong with being incredibly happy may I ask?" she raised an eyebrow as she questioned him, and leaned forward once more, so that her chair was once more on all four legs. She wished she had a family. She had no brothers, or sisters, just her parents. Megan had been the closest she'd ever had, to a sister. Taylor had been like a brother, but then he became more, and Maia had never had the real thing. "I love kids." she commented, smiling. She loved children, always had. "So....They don't know you're here." she answered. It wasn't exactly right, for him to hide from his family. Still, it was Jacks life, and he could do what he wanted.

 

[Jack Kaster]

Jack Kaster rolled his green eyes and glanced at the old people once again. In true youth thought, he dreaded the day that he would turn into a grumpy old man, though he could be a grumpy twenty one year old, he had his bubbly moments, like now, he was quite happy right now, even if at the back of his mind he was thinking quite deeply about problems in his life, he could still manage a warm smile. ''They'd love to be held captive by me.'' He insisted. Laughing louder when Maia called out and the old people seemed highly shocked and completely disapproved of his and Maia's behavior, it was priceless, if only Tess were here, she would make everything ten times funnier, especially since she would be yelling at him right now, which would have caused him to fall to the ground laughing. He then nodded. ''Yes I would deny you my cake, it's my cake, not yours, nor will it ever be.'' He said stubbornly, pulling his plate closer protectively. He rolled his eyes, but then started laughing again when he realized that the old people had over heard her outburst, the old people shifted in their seats, a man let out an awkward cough and Jack hung his head. ''Parker lives near here!" He exclaimed. ''Do you uunderstand tthat I will probably run into these old people?" He asked, looking around the whole cafe, he recognized some as Parker neighbors, Parker was definately going to hear about this one through the grapevine that was his street.

He blinked slightly, what was wrong with being happy? Nothing, but there wwas difinately something wrong with being too haooy when you should be really sad a depressed because you had just lost your parents and brother. Samual didn't understand that they were not coming back, it was sad to watch. He than bit his lip. His siblings had no idea where he was, to them, he could be on the moon, he knew Lisa would kill him when, or if, he returned. He could feel it. ''No. They have no idea where I am at the moment...'' he said, it was obvious that he knew he was iin the wrong, but that didn't mean it would make him go home quicker.

 

[Maia Purdue]

Maia grinned as Jack replied, "Oh I'm sure they would-how would you keep them amused?" she inquired, lifting an eyebrow. She had missed good conversation, the shop wasn't as busy as usual, well, it was, but people seemed to have less time to talk nowdays. Especially the younger ones, third years to fifth years. The first and second years were a delight, they were so cute. "I mean, you can't st go around kidnapping, or maybe...oldienapping..if you don't have a plan." she speculated, not sure if she may have insuted some people, because they were looking at her oddly. She pretended to be insulted. "So basically, if I were on fire, and you had water-you'd drink it?" she replied, folding her arms, and frowning at him, but she couldn't keep it up, and began laughing. "Oh Jack, I promise I'm not going to steal you cake!" she admitted, laying a hand on her heart in mock sobriety. "Sure, it depends how long you stay here-think about it-Parker will probably be the one living with the consequences." she replied, leaning on er elbow. "Hmm, I'm not sure if that's a good, or bad thing." she mused, sticking her tongue out at an old man who was staring at them.

She noticed that Jack didn't answer her question, and became more morbid-great-she'd touched a sore spot. Idiot-trust her and her big mouth. She nodded as he answered her. "Sometimes people need some space-I mean I left England for over a year, just to escape, I can understand trying to get away." she replied, sitting back in her chair, no mirth on her face now.She could understand completey. She'd done the exact same thing after Taylor had ruined everything. She wasn't sure what was going on in Jack's life-maybe something to do with the brother who had been missing? Still, she understood to some extent, and she knew how hard it must be for her right now.

 

[Jack Kaster]

Out of Character:

Sorry for the lateness

Jack shrugged. "Oh you know, I could get them to bake cookies, or knit, or go fishing and smell like cheese. Old people like that stuff." He said, poking his tongue out and ignoring the horrible glares he received by using his cliche sentence. He knew not all old people could knit and bake, in fact, he was sure if he ever lived to be an old man, he would be a complete fail, he didn't know how to fish or tell storing in a boring way, or smell like cheese. It was settled. Jack Kaster, would not make a good old person. Jack then scoffed, he was quite sure he could get an old lady to follow him home, if he really wanted that to happen, but he didn't. Old ladies were not his thing. "I'm quite sure it wouldn't be too hard to kidnap old people, just get a big potato sack, throw it over their heads, tie the sack up with rope and run away. Making sure the old person in the sack is with you, of course, otherwise you're just creating Olddie-sacks." He tried to appear like he was seriously considering 'oddienapping' old people, and he held the face for maybe... five seconds, before he started laughing, revealing that he wasn't even considering 'oldienapping' the poor old person population that resided in the cafe, most of whom were glaring, or smiling in Jack and Maia's direction. Some got the humor for what it was, humor, others were not so forgiving. Jack pretended to consider the situation, if he had water and Maia was on fire... would he drink it? No, definately not, but he wasn't going to let Maia know that too quickly, he was in his old playful, childish mood right now, and he was going to continue to run with it. "Hmm... it depends... is it a glasss of water? Or a large container?" He asked, looking at Maia side on, resisting the urge to laugh, very well. He then looked down at his virtually untouched cake, then at Maia, then back down at the cake, and then back up at Maia. Finally he shrugged and pushed the cake over to her, there was no sense in just leaving it there forever, he wasn't going to eat it, and if she seriously wanted it, he would be happy to give it to her. "You're lucky you're not on fire and the cakes not a glass of water." He joked, pretending that he wouldn't use his water to put her out-if she were ever on fire. He nodded slightly, he wasn't sure how long he was planning to stay, maybe forever? Maybe no, though he was helping with the bills, if that spoke anything about his intentions. He laughed slightly. "You're probably right, Parker would live with the consequences, because I try not to speak fluent English around the people on his street, so they don't talk to me. But I think that facade might be over now-" He glanced around the room, recognising two old ladies that sat together, probably gossiping, at the corner of the room. "-Thanks Maia." He finished, glaring playfully. He then smirked. "Oh it's definately a good thing." He then winked at the same old manMaia was poking her tongue at, he didn't seem to like that too much, not at all.

Jack nodded slowly, he felt horribly guitly for leaving poor Lisa all by herself-well, not all by herself, but Hayden was not much help, and Tessa had her own life to attend to. But the fact still remained, Lisa had asked Jack to be a rolemodel, because she couldn't be a magical rolemodel for the younger ones, she had no magic and wanted them to be raised with magic all around them, since he was living with her she thought that it would be a good idea, and so did Jack, which was why he had accepted the responsibility. But everything just kept falling down, him and Tessa were fighting ten times as much as they used to, and they rarely saw eachother, he couldn't look Samual and Tamalia in the eyes without feeling guilty for being such a fail to them, they never voiced it, but he knew. Jack knew he was not a rolemodel, he never could be, he may have gotten good grades in school, but his personality was not one that oozed 'Mr Responsible', he was more like: 'Mr Irresponsible' or 'Mr Playful'. But then there was Hamish, Beth and when he thought about it, even Lucy, they all saw him as: Daddy something that he couldn't exactly handle, he might have appeared like a father figure to their three year old eyes. but he was anything but. Jack was grateful that Maia didn't scold him, like everyone else seemed to, even Parker-after Jack calmed down-told him that he shouldn't have ran away without actually telling Lisa where he was going and that he was going to be safe. Poor Lisa was probably crying her eyes out on the family couch, thinking Jack had done something conpletely stupid. "Yeah... there's nothing wrong with just trying to get away..." He said, though it sounded like he was telling himself, more than agreeing with Maia on the subject. Which reminded him, it was time for a desperate change of subject, if things kept going, he was going to look like he had bi-polar, because if the conversation continued down this road, hot tears of guilt would surely come. "How's your life been lately?" It was the first resonable question that came to his mind, even if it wasn't the greatest ever asked.
​

 

[Maia Purdue]

Out of Character:

no problem

Maia laughed outright at Jack's suggestion; "You'd have hated my Grandfather-he liked sport, hated cheese and never baked in his life!" she replied, glancing around the room and seeing the glares they were receiving, she blushed. She actually like old people-she'd always loved listening to her Grandfather's stories. She'd been around thirteen when he died, and she'd found it hard to get over. She still got upset when she thought about it. She blinked rapidly, and shook her head slightly, banishing morbid thoughts. She wouldn't allow herself to ruin a perfectly good day. She returned her attention to Jack. Jack was the now, and God knew she spent too much time thinking about the past. She coughed to cover a laugh as he spoke about "oldieknapping." that had gotten a few odd stares-it sounded a bit fishy. As he began laughing, a smile spread across Maia's face. "If we're not careful-they're going to call the police-where would we be then?" she mock-whispered across the table, her eyes glittering with mirth. Everything had been pretty serious recently-and Jack's presence was a good reprieve. She leaned back in her table as Jack contemplated her suggestion. She knew he wouldn't-he was a nice guy, and really-a glass of water wouldn't save her if she were on fire. As he replied, she tapped her index finger against her chin, as though considering it; "Hmmm...let's say just enough to put out the fire?" she replied, leaning forward once more, and leaning her elbows on the table. She played with her hair, one lock was falling out from beneath her hat. She resisted the urge to gigle as Jack looked from the cake to her. She wouldn't be able to have any more treats today if she dideat his cake, but the first slice had been so delicious-she wouldn't mind. She smiled sweetly at him across the table as he passed her the cake. "Thank you Jack-that's very noble of you-and if I'm every on fire I'll know where to go." she thanked him, her tone polite and sincere. She knew she sounded a bit...odd, but then again her family had raised her to be grateful to people, and to thank them graciously.

She then proceeded to take her spoon and begin dividing up Jack's cake. She knew that he'd already teased her quite a bit about it, but she couldn't eat it any other way-another of her odd habits. As she took her first bite, she smiled at Jack's comment. "Hey-I'm not the only one to blame her-it takes two my friend!" she reminded him after she swallowed. "Anyway-I'll probably never be able to come back to this place-so that I can lay at your feet." she added. She raised an eyebrow at his last jibe; "Oh-you are such a loyal friend." she answered playfully.

Jack's silence was worrying. She hoped she hadn't upset him. She nervously took a bit of the filling, and looked up at Jack, her large doe-like eyes filled with concern. She didn't answer him when he spoke quietly, agreeing with her, she just swallowed, and waited. He would continue if he wanted, if not..If not-it was not her place to pry. His question threw her, and she took a moment to answer. how had her life been. she didn't know if all the change was good or bad. She'd met Taylor, she'd started going to auditions again. She'd seen Megan, she'd come back to England. "It's been...interesting...I've finally come home as you can see." she replied, then realising that Jack would never be open with her if she wasn't with him, she decided to give details. "Well, to be honest-the last time that I met you I said I'd moved to New Zealand to avoid complications in England-it seems those complications followed me. In fact they had a home in New Zealand, so we bumped into each other and...I realised it was stupid to hide." she explained, taking her arms off the table and crossing them in front of her.

 

[Jack Kaster]

Out of Character:

I give you permission to hate me.

Jack smiled slightly as Maia spoke about her grandfather. He didn't saound like a bad guy, but for the sake of the conversation, Jack sat there stubbornly and acted like he wasn't listening at all. "Nope, I refuse to believe it." He said, realising just how many people probably wanted to kill them right now, it was weird how something could be hilarious, but people that weren't with you and able to hear everything could hate you for it. Jack could almost feel the daggers they were glaring going through him and he looked at Maia, who seemed to be remembering something none too pleasent as she began to blink rapidly, like she was about to cry or something. Jack was going to say something, but since she reacted so quickly and seemed to want to move on, he didn't meantion it and acted like he didn't notice and carried on. Looking around them, he soon realised how odd and suss they sounded, and how serious the people near them appeared to be, especially when they looking in Jack and Maia's general direction. "Some people have no sense of humor." He said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. Jack hmmed in thought for a few seconds, then came up with what he thought was a reasonable series of events that could possibly happen. "Well, if we were arrested, we could just make a distraction, then apparate away." The last few words were said very quietly, so that only Maia could hear, because they already sounded like loud, annoying young people, they didn't need to sound any more insane than they already did. Jack sighed mockingly. "Ohh... I don't know... could I afford to use up my water to put you out?" He questioned. "Naahh I kid, I guess I could find it within myself to put you out with any water I had." Jack laughed as she took the cake, and thanked him, all be it very politely, but that didn't really matter, it was't like Jack didn't appreciate people being polite, because that would just be stupid. Who would want to be treated rudely all the time? With a small head-bow, Jack replied. "Thankyou for calling me noble." He said proudly. "I think it describes me perfectly." He added.

Jack crossed his arms acrossed his chest. "Oh please, this is your fault, I'm going to get stalked!" He protested, trying to prove his innocence. "If I were here by myself, I wouldn't be a problem to society, but you, I bet you always annoy the public." He joked playfully. Jack shrugged. He'd known Parker since they were in Durmstrang and they were pretty close, it was amazing Parker hadn't killed Jack after all the things the blonde had pulled him through over the years, the two of them practically lived in the Headmasters office because they were always there, now that Jack thought about it, he wondered why they weren't expelled, then again, they never done anything serious, just some mischief that could be considered annoying to people that weren't in on the joke. "I like to think so, Parker would be nothing without me." Although, Parker probably wouldn't have gotten into half as much trouble if he didn't know Jack, but it was also well known that Parker would probably be a very lonely person without Jack, besides, Jack introduced Parker to Tess, though he didn't mean to, and now they were happily together, no matter how strange he thought it was.

Jack cleared his throat when he realised that he had accidnetly caused an awkward silence, something he rarely did, but he had inadvertantly done this right now and he put a small smile on his face to try and fix it. Maia seemed to comtemplate his question deeply, a sign that told Jack that either a lot had happened, or it was all complicated-or both. Jack nodded slowly, it seemed that she was being pretty honest with him, and he felt a little weak for not being totally open with her, but while Jack had always been happy to share happiness, sharing problems was a totally different thing, and he always found it difficult to do. It seemed to run in his family or something, because no-one seemed to talk to anyone about their problems, which is what lead to the miniature family breakdown that was going on, and Jack couldn't help but feel that the blame should lay to rest at his feet. "It wasn't stupid to hide, you were well within your right to want to be alone." He replied, deciding that he might as well try to be as open as Maia had been, it was only fair, and he knew that deep down inside, he needed to tell someone that had little-to no connection with his family, because then their oppinion would not be clouded by the effects of Jack's actions on his family, even when people tried to be totally fair to both sides, their oppinions would always seem to be negative towards his decision, because it was seen as the wrong one, but Jack felt that it had to be done. "Well... if you remember, back then I was looking for my twin-Ben," he explained, distracting himself with the cloth of the table, which had suddenly became the most interesting thing the world had to offer. "Well... it turns out that... he died." Jack said this rather slowly, as it was no easy thing to admit the death of your twin, or any close relative, and since Jack wasn't exactly quite over it. "So when I came home to find out that I was expected to help my sister out with our younger siblings... I freaked out and now I'm here." Jack skipped a few details, mainly because they were not important and didn't need to be said, because he had just given Maia the main rundown of the last three years of his life. They were Hell.
​

 

[Maia Purdue]

Out of Character:

I love Jack's new siggie!!! (Not least because I ADORE Chad Michael Murray Jr.

Maia laughed aloud at Jack's reply. Reall,y it was good to have someone around who didn't take life too seriously, though she suspected that there was a rather more serious side to Jack-just that he didn't show it much. However, when tears began coming, she had to stop herself. Usually, she had more control, but her Grandad always got to her. She watched as Jack's eyes flickered around the room. She looked around and saw that even the waitress was watching them now, though most of her attention was on Jack. Well, he was a good-looking guy, but she'd be startled to learn he was a wizard. She laughed at the thought, though she secretly wished that magical people could be more open about who they were. She nodded in agreement; they weren't causing any harm, so why didn't people just relax? "Subtle-the poor policemen will be in hospital, because they think they're having hallucinations!" she grinned, then continued; "They'd lose their jobs; 'Disappeariing criminals!' their boss would say; 'You must be off your trolley-to the dungeons with you!'" Realising, that she'd been perhaps a bit too loud on her last sentence, she rememdied; "Okay, maybe not dungeons, but you get the gist." Now people were really looking at her oddly. "Well, unless we're in the Sahara-yup." she replied, taking the first bite of the cake, eating it normally this time, it tasted good, but she wasn't going to admit that to Jack; "And since you gave me your cake-I'll eat it your way." she smiled, and at his answer she nodded; "Undoubtedly, Sir." with a mock-salute.

Maia faked a sympathetic look; "Stalked by old people-it must be terrifying, especially for a guy who must be well over six foot!" She laughed; "If anyone's in danger here-it's me. they could beat me to death with their canes!" she glanced over at an old man who was holding a cane, and widened her eyes in false horror. He seemed a little perturbed and Maia mouthed the word Sorry to him, looking back att Jack, cringing; "Okay, now I think I have behaved suitably childishly-I'm giong to have to keep this up all day." she sighed. Still, it was good to behave a little childishly every now and then. She gaped at him, shocked; "Moi, no I entertain the public-part of the job description." she smiled, raising one hand above her head in a theatrical gesture, which startled a few patrons. She frowned at him when he spoke about his friend; "So you're like the Holmes to his Watson, the Podge to his Rodge, the Bert to his Ernie? Have I got that right? I've never actually seen the show." she joked, she hadn't ever seen the show, but she'd heard of Bert and Ernie, a show in America-she thought, though she wasn't sure whether it still ran.

She smiled at Jack's reply, it was sincere, and very sweet, though she still thought she should've stayed in London. "Thanks." she answered, with a grateful smile. Not many people understood why she'd left. She'd needed space, and though her parents, especially, had seen it as giving up-it had been the right thing for her at the time. however, looking back, she'd missed this city. She missed her work. She missed waking up every morning, happy to be alive.
As Jack began speaking, she focused all her thoughts on him; "Yes, I remember-worry lines." she replied, remembering what Jack had told her their main difference was. As he told her what happened, her face whitened. Poor Jack! Her she was laughing, and joking, and he was trying to get over his brother's death! though...perhaps that was what he needed, some normality. "Oh Jack, I'm so sorry!" she gasped, reaching across the table to touch his shoulder. She noted the tone in which he continued, and tried to reassure him; "And too right you're here-you needed time. You can't be expected to just carry on like nothing happened-and Jack, I'm sure your family understand that. As I recall, there are quite a lot of them, they can look after each other." she didn't remove her hand, looking up into his face. Even sitting down, he was taller than her. Here was she, worrying about her miniscule problems, when Jack was mourning. She couldn 't imagine what he was going through.