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Harmony had an assignment due on Monday for her photography class. While her professor praised her abilities with portraits, citing that she had an eye for whimsy and glamour, he was less enthusiastic about her ability to capture action shots and had challenged her with that for her next assignment.

She’d been busy this week with Espresso Yourself and catching up after the long winter break. She was happy it was Friday so she had time over the weekend to work on her submission without being scheduled every minute of her time. While working had provided the freedom of being able to live near campus on her own with her mom and stepdad only having to chip in minimally for expenses it did seem to sap all of her spare time. Weekends were about the only time she could sleep in or catch up and usually never on the same day.

Funny, she never used to be a morning person before she went to college.

She was at the park after class now, trying to get a few clean shots of some kids playing tag. It was a little slow going because the children were so fast and the setting sun kept dimming her light. She needed to hurry or she’d miss the light entirely and was focused more on that than what was happening around her. Which, in a crowded park, was probably not an especially good idea. She was getting closer to the biking and running paths without realizing in an effort to expand her shot.

The day had been a long one. Between his teachers once again decided that he should apply himself to his lack of fundings to buy dinner instead of make it and then even towards his father’s staring eyes and sigh as Jasper suited up to hit the pavement. The male needed a break from reality and the best way to get that was the wind in his face and the burning muscles in his legs.

As was his ritual, he closed the door behind him. pulled out her earphones, and whispered hello for the wind to carry to his mother. Then he was off.

How long he had been going, Jasper couldn’t tell nor did he care. This was his escape, his freedom. Even running for the school was nothing like running alone. But track season was upon him so as he came to the running paths in the park, Jasper pushed more into his legs to pick up the pace. He had to do better this year and no one got there by walking or jogging.

It was not two moments after he put on the burners that his purple eyes caught movement and a form coming onto the track. “Watch out!” Jasper screamed, trying to stop but it was too late. He was going too fast and they were far too close. All he could do was cover his face as his body smacked straight into hers.

Harmony heard the disembodied warning and didn’t realize it was for her until she felt another body colliding with her own. She went down with a cry, thinking first of her camera and holding it aloft to avoid hitting anything. It was only once she felt a sharp pain in her hip from hitting the ground that she wished she’d been more considerate of her body. The air got knocked out of her as she landed and she closed her eyes for a moment, dazed.

But at least the camera was safe and still dangling from its wrist strap.

After that they were a tangle of limbs and she wished she’d been paying more attention to her surroundings as she gently tried to extricate herself from the bundle. This was what happened when she focused too much on things: bodily injury.

“Oh, I am so sorry! I wasn’t even paying attention. Are you ok?”

Harm pushed a section of silverish hair back and found violet eyes to match her own. She looked mortified. Ignoring her pain she started trying to dust the dirt off from her outfit. It was easier to focus on that than the alternative.

“Really, are you ok?”

The impact knocked the wind out of Jasper’s lungs. He wasn’t sure what he hit but had a sneaking idea it might have been an elbow or a hip the way she was protecting that cursed camera from the ground. But it was the impact of his hands to keep his nose from fulling smashing into the ground that really caught him. He had stopped the worst but knew his chin had some how found a way to split open at the bottom.

Staying still for a moment, Jasper forced his body to roll to the side, not knowing which way the other’s form was. He got lucky that she was moving to free herself because that allowed him to remain on the ground. And there he remained trying to breathe as he eyes shifted under the mess of hair that had come loose from the fall. Something in the back of his mind told him the old rubber band had given out upon impact.

Light quickly flittered in as he felt soft fingers brushed back his hair and he looked up at eyes that could have matched his. “Am I bleeding?” He moaned, his left hand running down and wincing as he touched his ribs. Okay, so those were in all honesty fine but he would milk it if it meant her attention. “I feel like I’m bleeding.” His voice shook as he raised his right hand to his chin and pushed on the bottom part with the back of his hand.

Her jeans and jacket had protected her from the worst of the fall. She usually swore that denim was better than kevlar at preventing injury. Harmony wasn’t sure the jeans would survive to be worn again but so long as she wasn’t damaged she’d call it a win and get a new pair at a local vintage store she liked to shop in. Her top was torn, though. That was a shame.

“You’re bleeding.” she confirmed, looking at his chin guiltily. “You should come back to my apartment with me and get cleaned up. It’s the least I can do. I don’t live very far from here. Just by the DCU campus.”

She offered him her hand to help him off the ground. Harm winced, her body asking what the hell she was doing putting more strain on it than she should considering how bruised and sore it was. This was certainly not one of her finer moments. All thoughts of her photography assignment aside for now she could only focus on what was in front of her.

“I’m Harmony, by the way. I’m sure I have proof of insurance somewhere if you want to exchange information,” she joked.

Jackpot.

At least that is what Jasper felt in the back of his mind as he received such a lovely invitation. How could he refuse? By the time he got home otherwise, he could have ended up covered in blood or worse, it could have infected. So how could he say no.

“And what? Sue you for standing in the middle of the road? You know there are easier ways to get my attention.” Jasper commented, his hand still on his chin as he used his left to take her’s. The lift was met with a smile that quickly turned south. His ribs really did hurt.

Hunching over, Jasper moaned. “Harmony, I might need that proof after all.” He joked back, reaching to grab onto her arm as he tried to lift his middle back up. “Because you are going to owe me dinner after this.”

He forced a smile as he looked over. “Jasper by the way. Not as musical or as lovely as you but rather affective.”

“Well, you were going so fast I wasn’t sure I’d catch you. I’m a photographer, not a runner.”

It was easy and rather welcome to switch from a serious tone to a flirtatious one. He looked about her age which was good. It was hard to tell sometimes and since she was a legal adult it was usually prudent to know who you were flirting with and how old they were. Still, a little banter helped to relieve the tension from their accident.

Harm wished she’d brought her car today. She didn’t want him bleeding longer than he had to.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”

She had to wait while he dealt with the pain of standing, another pang of guilt lancing through her. By comparison dinner didn’t seem like such a big request. Romances had been started by less, she was sure of it. It was like the plot of some romantic comedy come to life.

“There are easier ways to get a girl to dinner that are less painful,” she joked. “Though if you have time I could probably whip up something once we get back to my place.”

Her mother had done well to teach her how to cook and it seemed to be the right way to go, the weakness of the Darrow men. She never underestimated the power of a good home cooked meal and something cute to wear.

“You’re not allergic to anything or a vegetarian or something are you?”

“Green Grapes.” Jasper tried to smirk through the pain. He was half way up and taking a deep breath before forcing himself up right. It hurt. It hurt alot. He would make use of it later but right now, he wanted off the track. Falling over again here might result in more dirt and more blood. “Nasty things.”

The cool wind was blowing his silver hair back as he finally fully looked over at her. “And you know, taking my photo is one thing. But it would have come out better from the side than such a close up. My nose isn’t that cute.” Though it did fit perfectly on his face.

A deep breath and he motioned for her to lead with his head, though his hand still gripped onto her arm. “But I’ll suffer through pain if it means dinner with a lovely lady.”[/colo]

“I’ll try to remember that,” she responded dryly, looking bemused. He was definitely cute enough to get away with boasting about it a little bit.

It was lucky that Harmony didn’t have work or class for the rest of the evening. A Friday night off was rare and though she’d wanted to spend the time trying to get a good photo she supposed she wasn’t too disappointed by how things were working out. She might even get to have a dose of this fun she used to remember having back before most of her life was a planned activity.

She led the way out of the park and up Pine street past the university campus. Her apartment was tucked back out of the way and quiet, a forgotten unit on the back side of a small complex. She was renting it for practically a song, the only reason she didn’t need a roommate, and the small size suited her. She even had a room for her studio.

She let him go in first.

“The bathroom’s straight through there.”

She pointed across the main hallway to the door next to her bedroom.

“Thank you.” Jasper forced a bloody smile as he excused himself towards the door she had pointed out. The bathroom was quite clearly a woman’s, but that did not stop him from grabbing the nearest towel, forcing it under running water and throwing it to his chin. The male let out a moan as the liquid touched his flesh. And this didn’t even have soap on it! Still, it stung and he had to bit his tongue.

When the worst of it had passed, he pulled the towel from his face and gazed in the mirror for the first time. “Well you look like a wreck.” He commented, eyeing his hair. The rubber band had caused a crease and without showering or a straightener, he had to deal with it. It would poke him in the back of his mind though.

Jasper’s chin though was indeed split. It wasn’t in need of stitches but it would show for awhile. “Lovely.” He commented, lifting his head up to check if the bleeding had stopped. It was slow but a few more minutes would be enough. Taking the time to re-wet the towel, he again placed it to his chin and dared exit the bathroom.

“While I admire the little touches in your bathroom, I fear I will owe you a towel.” He said coming out and finding himself leaning against the wall to give slightly to the pain in his chest.

Harmony took the time to clean herself up a little in the kitchen and then changed clothes in her room, changing into something more suitable to having a boy over for dinner. School clothes were great and all but something more girly was cuter. That notwithstanding she poured herself a cup of soda and started wondering what to make for dinner. There was a thin line between tasty and what Nathan sometimes called “chick food.”

She pulled out a package of steak. Boys liked steak, right?

Harm started prepping what it would take to throw food together. It wasn’t much more effort than just making things for herself. When he came out she smiled, shaking her head.

“Don’t worry about it.” She smiled. “Want something to drink? Is steak ok?”

It took Jasper a moment to realize not only had she managed to clean up without use of her bathroom but she changed as well. How long was he in the bathroom? Oops. But it had been worth it in the end because wow. “That outfit suits you. Try shooting your photography in it next time.” He said turning to look for a place to sit. “I bet you will have people lining up to be your subject matter.”

Finding a chair, he pulled it out and took a seat to where he could watch her. Well, she knew her way around a kitchen. Already better than him. “Steak? Now I cannot ask you to prepare something that should be used as a treat for yourself. A special celebration meal for say, having your work published?”

And he smiled at her sweetly. Of course he wouldn’t turn down a well prepared steak. Not to mention if she had faith in her’s, Jasper was impressed. “Speaking of your work. What do you take photos of anyway?”

“It’s not really practical to run around shooting photos in a dress.”

She had sometimes out of necessity or when she was wearing tights underneath the skirt but the fact of the matter was she often found herself in plenty of strained or compromising positions just to get a good shot and in a skirt that could definitely get strange. She’d be showing off things that probably didn’t need to be shown off in public. In an indoor session? Maybe...but she’d be more comfortable in pants.

“I’m still in school for all of this, you know. I’m a photography major at DCU. I’ll worry about getting published once I graduate.”

She started cooking despite his protests. A good steak was just something she craved every now and again and her budget did not leave her a lot of room for eating out. Harm learned how to cook for herself in order to make her money stretch a little farther. There were a lot of nights where she spent all day in class all night in the shop and came home to cook some ramen and fall into bed.

She managed to whip together a good medium steak for them both and some mashed potatoes, real boy food. Something Nathan even designed to eat when she was home. She served it with pride, smiling.

“Right now I take photos of the outdoors, of people. I like telling a story with my work. I’ve done some sessions for friends that have turned out really good. You can look at some of them if you want.”

There was Bjorn the Norse god. The nude shoot she’d done with a friend as Dionysus. The shoot she’d done with Lily as a wood nymph made her particularly proud.

“I would be honored.” Jasper smiled up as what little he could smell of the steak came through the air. His chin was finally closing up and he was able to relax his neck. “But you shouldn’t sell yourself short. Being in school is more of a stepping stone. You can teach many things but raw talent is something else.”

Waiting for her to join him at the table, Jasper took a moment to glance around the room. “You should at least try to submit something. If not a photo then your cooking. Based on smell alone, that will be heavenly.”

“Maybe I will someday.”

She picked the steak up off the grill and set it on a wooden cutting board to rest while she dished everything else onto the plates. She smiled to herself, chuckling softly and shaking her head while he complimented her. She was not used to being flattered so much. In her experience boys that talked like this were usually never serious, if precedent held true.

One of these days, maybe someday soon, she would find herself a good boyfriend that actually liked her for her.

She offered the plate out to him.

“You are laying it on thick, Jasper.”

Not that that was a complaint because she was a girl and liked to hear such things about herself. She sat down and lifted her glass to him.

“Bon Appetite.”

“My dear, the only thing thick here is this steak.” He grinned back at her before lifting his own glass to her. “Cheers to you.” Leaning his glass over, he clinked it against her own before lifting it to his lips. The attempt to take a large sip backfired and Jasper ended up with water going down his chin, stinging his cut and attempting to wash more dirt and blood from his shirt.

Putting the glass down on the table, Jasper spent the next moment acting as if this had never happened. He picked up the fork and knife, turning his attention to the meat. Cutting several small pieces, he took the first and placed it on his tongue. Silence followed.

“Harmony, it is delightful.” He commented with a smile. “Much more so than it appears my handsome company is providing. It appears today, the gods are against me and I shall forever be a fool in your eyes.” He placed the fork back onto the plate in time to raise the hand to his forehead, faking distraught. “Oh woa is me. Forever a fool in front of such a graceful lady. Now I shall never be invited to the ball.”

Harmony had to work quickly to stifle a giggle at his misfortune. She wasn’t the sort of person to delight in other’s misery. She offered him a napkin demurely, trying to be polite without calling direct attention to the incident. Her eyes shone with merriment, though, so that was something that gave her away.

“I don’t exactly have people lining up to take me out.” she pointed out softly. “But thank you.”

The food was good and she could appreciate her own cooking. Silently she thanked her mother for teaching her how to do it. It seemed to render a lot of boys and men helpless, like her stepdad and brother. Even Nate could be coaxed out of a bad mood with some of her mom’s cooking. It wasn’t often she got to exercise the talent so it was nice when she had situations like this where it came in handy.

“Anyway, I’m still the one that caused the collision in the first place. You’re already going to be a step up on me no matter what you do.”

Jasper’s hand returned to his meal as he worked to catch her eye. “Collision or not, I think I’m catching up to it at this rate.” Glancing down at his shirt as he took another bite of the meal, the male sighed. “My sister would have a field day with this.” He was smirking before looking at Harmony again.

“So what were you shooting anyway? I didn’t see anyone posing. But not as if I had much time to see anyone…” He commented with a sideways glance. “Running is relaxing. Normally you know when you are about to have to dodge something. I’m just glad you weren’t carrying a window or something.”

“My professor seems to think my action shots could use some improvement so I was trying to photograph some of the kids playing tag in the playground.”

This was something she took seriously even though her mother told her that it probably wouldn’t be a main career. Her own dreams of stardom had been crushed early on in her life so Harm tried not to hold it against her mom. Had to be hard to lose a twin, especially for a reason like what took her Aunt from the world. She’d never met her but she’d heard a lot about her over the years.

“Running has never been relaxing to me but I admire the people who get enjoyment out of it.”

She was much more likely to be riding a stationary bike or doing yoga than running on a track. She ate a little between thoughts, her appetite quite a bit smaller than she’d prepared dinner for. Two more years of school and she’d be able to call this a career with the right opportunity.

“I get it isn’t for everyone but for some, like myself, there is just something addicting about it. I would stop eating before I gave up running.” And then he took another bite of steak. “Well, maybe not.”

Smiling, he glanced back to the bag she had used for the camera, or at least, was looking around for it. “Would you mind showing me some of your work? Even if the professor disagrees.”

“Sure, I’d like that.”

Harmony always kept her portfolio at hand just in case. She didn’t shove it at people but it came up often enough that keeping one closeby became prudent. She got up from the table and went into the living room to grab it from a book shelf. The thick album was full of photographs. Some were recent and some weren’t. A lot of the loves in her life shone within its pages like her family and the friends that agreed to help her further her passion.

They ranged from relatively mild, shots of her mother and baby Sarah to more risque things like Bo draped just in a sheet as the God of wine. All of them showcased her unique aesthetic.

“I’m really proud of these.”

And, of course, she was happy to answer questions about any of them.

Jasper took a moment to wipe his mouth and hands before pushing the plate to the side. He dared not even make a mark on these images. In his mind he could picture his own beloved carvings and how he would feel if oil got to them. It would send him into a depression! Or at least an appearance of one.

Lifting up his hands, he took the portfolio from her hands and brought it down gently before turning the pages. For a few moments he remained silent and then stopped on one of a mother and a baby girl. His eyes locked onto their expressions and smiled. “Who are they? Your sister?” He asked motioning to the older woman before glancing at the smiling girl. Amelia had come to his mind. Images like this would never be taken and she would never be able to smile with their mother.

That broke his heart.

“Yeah. My mom and my baby sister, Sarah.”

She took images of them for granted, a family she had never had before her mother met and fell in love with her somewhat bookish librarian. Harm had no idea that nearly everyone in her family was in the forefront of this war and took for granted that they would always be there for her now that she was used to having them in her life. She needed them, grumpy stepbrother and all.

It was such a stark contrast from where she’d been even three years ago when she and her mother barely spoke. She resented that her mother was never home to be with her and didn’t have a father in the picture. Her mother said he was dead. She had never met him.

“To be honest my mom and I weren’t close until I…” She paused, not wanting to share that with a relative stranger. “Until a few years ago. She was never around when I was growing up and I never knew my dad. I consider myself lucky to have a complete family now.”

She reached out and stroked the album page next to the photograph.

Jasper’s hand reacted before she could turn the page. “Wait.” He called out, his hand resting on top of her own as his eyes scanned the images. Biting his lip, the man let out a sigh. “I have a sister. She’s four now but seeing this really ….” He stopped and leaned back in his chair, other hand coming up to brushing away some lose hair. “She will never know our mother. Seeing this image, as wonderful as it is, really brings home to me how much she will miss…”

Finally, after a moment longer, he released her hand and gave her a weak smile. “Sorry. Just when it comes to Amelia, I’m a very different person.” He admitted with a shrug and the appearance of a sly smile. “I take it she remarried?”

“She married Dad two years ago.” She said dad, he’d adopted her, but caught herself. He may not know who that was. “Um, Tony. Mr. Darrow.”

Sarah had come soon after their marriage, a couple months max. She had been kind of grossed out at first but now that her little sister was here she loved her, unconditionally. In that she understood what he was talking about in regard to Amelia.

“I know what you mean. I mean, there’s so much space between me and Sarah but I love her to death. I’m worried that we’re not as close as we could be since I’m usually so busy with school.”

And work. And all of the other things she was usually up to. She saw the little girl when she could but it was a real point of guilt for her.

“I’m sorry about your mom.” She touched his arm, reassuring him and feeling badly for his predicament.

If her own mother died she had no idea what she’d do.

Jasper had not missed the fact she had called the man ‘Dad’ before correcting herself. He was slowly smiling at her, his hand coming to rest atop her own on his arm. Trying as he might, he couldn’t bring back that cheerful flirt he was normally with beautiful women. So he settled for calm. “I’m sure she knows how much you love her.”

Squeezing her hand, Jasper moved to stand up out of the chair. “Don’t apologize. I’m just lucky I knew her. That way I have stories to tell Amelia as she grows. Dad….” He stopped talking. His eyes closed as he inhaled deeply. “Dad doesn’t like to talk about Mom. It took him until Amelia was two to even have photos of her in the house again. Hit the guy hard…”

Purple eyes shifted to meet hers. “Silly huh?” He tried to plaster a grin on his face and force out a laugh. “You ask me here for steak and I bother you with a sob story about my dead mother. Here I am just talking your ears off. Instead, you should have just asked me to model for you instead of getting me all emotional.”

“It’s ok, Jasper.”

Harmony honestly didn’t mind it. Obviously they were things that affected him and she wanted to be sympathetic to them. She knew what those feelings were, in a different way. She put her arm around him and tried to cheer him up in a totally non-judgmental way.

“If you want to model for me you’re welcome to. I won’t ever turn down models.”

She took the portfolio and set it aside, trying to be a good friend, even though they had really just met. She didn’t have it in her to be unkind to anyone, really.

She was a little bit like his dad, though. She didn’t like dealing with the things that hurt her.

“How about dessert?”

“Oh? Now explain to me how you could be short on models? Seriously, I would have expected two or three to walk in your door just in the time I have been sitting here.” So he was trying. It wasn’t his best because his tone was shaking but at least he was getting his face back up. The smile was true now. “Unless that is, you inspect every inch of your model.”

He turned his head to give her a look out the corner of her eye. Then, Jasper winked.

“Dessert sounds lovely. And you know what, my treat. For listening to my tale of woe and misery.” Lifting one hand to his forehead and holding the other out as if holding the famous Shakespeare ‘skull’. “Alas, I knew him well. But he refused my offer for ice cream and thus I was forced to leave him to his pouting ways!”

“Being a model is demanding, you know.”

She was meticulous with her models, trying to get the best out of them. She needed the experience and a good portfolio to gain exposure. Someday her work might appear in magazines. She might even put together a coffee table book. Fashion was not too far off from burlesque, she imagined.

“Sometimes I have to beg my friends to pose for me. They know how exacting I am. I have to say, your hair would photograph well.”

She picked up her purse, taking up his offer for dessert. She wasn’t going to turn it down. She leaned up and kissed his cheek lightly, hoping to bring his mind out of the gloom of before.