well... it's my birthday and this is my birthday update xD so I'm not gonna talk for long and just tell you to enjoy and maybe leave me a comment

Love

Hatysa Black

The following night Cherry admits to needing help with the hairtie with a chagrined expression. He tried to tie his hair back this morning but never really seemed happy with what it ended up looking like and Joe's commentary didn't help matters much either.

So here they are. Cherry holdind the hairtie out for Gem and asking for help while Adam drags Joe off to practice so he doesn't run his mouth again. Cherry already gets enough crap for his unusual and girly haircolour and his decision to let it grow out. He doesn't need Joe to add to that.

Thankfully and not at all surprisingly to him Gem doesn't judge. She just tells Cherry to sit down and gives his hair a contemplative look before she takes the tie and gets to work.

When Cherry and Gem join them a few minutes later there is a small smile on Cherry's lips that tells Adam that he's grateful for her help and quite happy with what she has done with his hair. She has put his fringe into a lose plaited braid and tied it with one end of the hairtie so it wouldn't unravel and then she had pulled the braid out of Cherry's face by leading the rest of the tie to the back of his head where she'd used it to create a small pony tail at the nape of his neck. It looks pretty good, Adam thinks and if Joe's whistle and his soft blush are anything to go by the greenhaired boy agrees with him.

'Looking good, Kaoru.', Joe compliments and Adam blinks when all of a sudden Cherry goes bright red. Did he miss something? Looking from Joe to Cherry and back again he feels like he did. He pushs the thought to the back of his mind because whatever is going on between his friends is none of his business. If they want him to know they'll tell him, he is sure of that.

At the end of the night Cherry tries to give the tie back claiming that he intends to get his own tomorrow but Gem just smiles at him and tells him to keep it, so he does. Cherry still drags them to the nearest mall to look for hairties like the one Gem has given him. It's a soft yellow with a soft pink flower embroidered at either end.

They find a few that Cherry seems to like and another few that Joe suggests might suit Cherry's colouring and Cherry buys them all. Still, when they meet up with Gem that night Cherry has his hair tied back with the one Gem gave him and the fringe is hanging lose. Cherry asks Gem to do his hair again and after a moment of contemplation she offers to show him how to do it when they take their snack break later.

That's how they spend thursday night. Practicing skating and once they grow tired and stop for snacks and drinks she shows Cherry how to braid hair and lets him practice on her. It's a very girly thing to do and Adam has to kick Joe subtly in the shin to stop him from teasing them but he is also really happy that she gets on so well with his friends and that Joe and Cherry have taken to her so well.

Cherry asks about the flowers embroidered on the hairtie because he's never seen that kind of flower before and is curious and Gem explains.

'It's a king protea. In western flower language it symbolizes diversity and courage. It's also my family's shield flower. A rather good fit I think. Especially considering my family's motto.', she explains drawing curious looks from Joe and Cherry. Adam remembers her letter with the courtship propsal mentioning that she's nobility but he'd kind of forgotten about it until now and he hasn't told Joe and Cherry that tidbit either.

'Shield flower? Family motto? I didn't know that's a thing.', Joe comments looking mildly confused.

'Only amongst noble families. And my family's motto is 'Fortune favours the bold'.', she answers with a small wry smile.

'You're nobility?', Cherry gapes and Gem shrugs carelessly.

'Yeah. It's not a big deal though so don't go treating me differently or anything now.', she almost demands and Joe snorts muttering something along the lines of 'Not a big deal she says.' but otherwise lets it be while Cherry only gives her a serious nod and a simple 'Okay.'.

'Thanks.', Gem tells them with a small grateful smile and that is that.

On Friday night Gem presents Joe with a cream colored manila folder. It has a rather cute looking light brown puppy with a tuft of dark green fur atop its head in the top right corner of its front. It's a very obvious reminder of Gem's initial assessment of Joe giving off puppy vibes and Adam can't help the snicker. Cherry can't help it either.

Their snickering grows into fullblown laughter when Joe takes the folder, looks at it and pouts at Gem only worsening the resemblance.

'Why?', Joe whines playfully and Gem proves her sense of humor - not that there was ever any doubt about it - when she stands on her tiptoes and pets Joe on the head.

'That's exactly why.', she answers with a broad grin and squeeks a moment later when Joe catches her in a bearhug.

'Should I slobber all over you then?', Joe challenges grinning as well.

'Don't you fucking dare.', Adam interjects joining the playful banter and steals his girlfriend from his friends arms.

That night Gem manages her first tiny jump with the board. It's not an ollie yet but she is progressing far quicker than any of them expected and if Adam has to make a guess he'd say she is likely to manage the ollie before she has to return to school on september first which is only three weeks away now.

Sadly the first week of august almost being over also means that there is only one week of summer camp left. It's far to little time for Adam's taste and he loaths that he'll have to leave her again so soon but he reassures himself with the prospect of maybe getting to see Gem again next summer and the knowledge of letters they'll be exchanging.

Maybe he can invite her to come visit next summer. It would heighten the risk of getting found out by his family but he could show her around his home, tell her about Okinawa while showing her all the places he frequents so often and as an additional boon it would get her away from her relatives entirely for a good few weeks. The longer he thinks about it the better an idea it seems to become and the more a plan takes form in his mind.

He'll have to ask her what she thinks about visiting him next summer.