Devoted: Chapter Two

"Gloria, wake up, honey."

A young woman stirred from her sleep and she opened up a single hazel eye at the man standing next to her bed. She smoothed back her long black hair and groaned.

"What is it, dad," she asked, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Well, I just came back from a pet shop and got you a pet."

She sighed and looked up towards the large blanketed figure on her desk. She raised an eyebrow.

"Just how big is this pet?"

"The owner assured me it would be perfect for you, so I took his word for it."

The father pulled off the blanket to reveal a young man sitting on a pedestal. He had an air of pride around him, unflinching from the sudden yank of the blanket. His face was towards the wall on his side, hazel eyes studying the contours of the walls. He was decorated in golden ornaments around his white speckled shirt, which flowed over his brown leather pants. What surprised Gloria the most were the dark brown wings folded up against the person's back and the long sharp black nails on both the person's hands and feet.

"Dad…"

"I know… a hawk isn't the best idea for a, um… pet, but…"

"That's not a hawk! That's a—

"I was told it was a hawk by the pet store owner, Gloria. I think he knows a little something about birds…"

"But, dad—

"Now, now… I was worried you were being really lonely since we moved lately. But, honestly, honey, you should have at least some type of companionship."

"Dad—

"Now, listen, I'm late for work. I took my lunch break to get you a pet and bring it home to you. If you have any problems, please talk to me tonight. Okay?"

"Wait a minute," she said, kicking off her blankets. "Dad!"

Gloria followed her father out the door and stopped when she heard the front door close. She gave out an exasperated groan before going back to her room. She hesitated in the doorway when she saw the "hawk" looking directly at her. On a second look, he had a handsome face. She squinted her eyes a bit and noticed her poster behind the pet.

"Wait a minute…"

She stepped into her room and closed the door, looking from the hawk to the poster. The poster was a slightly old picture of a celebrity singer with blonde hair and green eyes.

"You look just like June, if you had blonde hair and green eyes," Gloria said, leaning in closely.

The hawk didn't move and stared back at her carefully.

"Well… I guess it's fine then… My dad believes you're a hawk and it's not bad to have someone that looks like June in my room…"

The hawk was silent for a bit before it looked away, uninterested in what she had to say. It stepped down from its pedestal and walked over to the window. It tapped jadedly at the glass with one of his claws.

"I guess I'll name you… Junior! It'll be a play on words!"

Her hand touched a piece of paper on her desk. She looked down and read it. "Gloria, the shop owner said to make sure it has plenty of exercise, feed it fresh rodents and fish, and make sure it never leaves your sight… yadda, yadda, yadda… Okay. They're just the normal guidelines for taking care of a bird. I can do that."

She looked back up to see the hawk sitting on her bed with its legs crossed. It was obviously annoyed about something.

"Oh," she exclaimed. "I guess you want your exercise now?" She opened the door and waved her hands out. "Go on now. You can fly around the house."

He remained on the bed, staring at her with an intensity that caused her to fidget.

"You can't expect me to take you outside… What if you never return?"

Juniper rolled his eyes and went to his pedestal, picking up a thick leather glove, and holding it out to her. She was a little taken aback by the length of his claws, but he was silently staring at her.

"I see… So, there was this arm guard here, huh?"

Again, the hawk rolled his eyes and sighed. She could tell he didn't like her already. She pouted and grabbed the glove from him.

"Okay, but I need to change first, so get out."

He stayed there and crossed his arms. She felt almost mocked, as if he wanted to say "There's nothing interesting to see about you." But, then she reminded herself he was a bird.

She shook her head and pushed him out of the room. Bird or not, it was still a male that looked like June. When she closed the door, she sighed and looked around at the multitudes of June posters around her room. Since the accident last week, he has disappeared from the public's view. A smile appeared on her face, which quickly disappeared into gritted teeth.

"We're home now, Jay," Mr. Liang whispered to the bundled up angel in his arms. "I left everything exactly the way it was before you died... I couldn't bring myself to move any of your things. Not yet, at least."

He let her stand on her own, wiping away a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face. Since she was sick, he had kept the heat high in the car to prevent her from getting cold. He took off the wrap around her and she slowly opened her eyes. She gave him a big warm smile that made his heart melt.

"My name is Jun," he said, placing a hand against his chest. "Jun. Your name is Jay."

His hand held her left cheek and his thumb caressed her softly.

"Jay." He repeated back, softly.

"J… Ju…"

Jun stopped for a second and looked at her with wide eyes.

"Ju… n…"

"Yes." He smiled excitedly. "Jun."

"Jun," she repeated back, placing a hand on his cheek. "Jun."

Tears flooded his eyes, but they didn't fall. "That's right. Jay's really smart, you've learned my name so quickly." He took her hand and linked his fingers between hers. "I've missed your nagging voice…"

"Jun," she said again, with a smile.

She then looked around the room. The walls were pristine white plaster, enclosing over porcelain tiled floors. There was a chandelier with many sparkling gems hanging from it. She flew up and sat on it, causing the gems to make soft tinkling sounds. She tapped a few gems, smiling at the many colors dancing in front of her.

She looked back up. Jun was leaning against the stairway with an absent smile on his face. She smiled back at him and flew down to nuzzle against his cheek. He was going to hug her, but she flew back towards the kitchen. He followed her out of curiosity. She was leaning against the glass patio, hands against the glass. Her eyes were targeted towards the pool in the backyard.

"Do you want to go outside," he asked.

"Jun," she said, facing him, but still leaning towards the glass.

"Okay, I'm opening the door. Careful now."

She stepped back a bit when he opened the patio door. She looked outside and then back at Jun. He motioned with his head towards the outside. From this, she cautiously stepped onto the patio deck. She gave off a clear laugh before soaring into the sky and circling over the pool. Jun held back a chuckle and went into the kitchen. He needed to find his granola reserves. Later, he'll need to keep her warm and bundled in a blanket when night comes. He found the granola reserves in the corner cupboards and was about to go find blankets when he heard a splash.

"Jay," he called out, rushing back onto the patio. "Jay, are you okay?"

"Jun," came the reply.

He kneeled next to the pool to see Jay flapping her wings against the water. Her long ponytail was trailing around her in a circle. She smiled brightly at him and hummed a little tune. He breathed out a sigh of relief and shook his head. She suddenly sneezed and her wings ruffled up.

"Oh, we need to get you out of there. Come on."

He bent down to scoop her out of the water. She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled against his neck. She was surprisingly light, something he noticed when Count D suggested carrying her to transmit body warmth. Her clothes weren't wet, either. The pool water slid off the cloth in little beaded droplets.

"You shouldn't go into the pool yet. I thought you just wanted to fly around."

Jay looked at him and tilted her head to the side. She then flapped her wings to get rid of the remaining water and sneezed again. Jun quickly went inside and rushed up the stairs. He passed a few dark mahogany doors before hesitating in front of a pink painted door. He held his breath and glanced down at Jay, who was shivering and clamping on to his neck. He then exhaled sharply and opened the door, entering a tidy blue-carpeted room.

He placed Jay down on the white downy bed and pulled the blankets over her. He then climbed onto the bed and pulled her up close to him. The sun was already starting to disappear behind the mountains. The glow of the sky showered the room in orange and red through the large bay windows. Jun rested his head on top of Jay's head.

"If only time would just slow down for us," he said, holding her hands in the blankets. "I love you, Jay."

Comment: Before people start throwing fits, no, there is no incest going on here… *sighs* It may sound like it, but I'm seriously against incestual relationships. Therefore, no. Stop thinking about it.