"You were Annie?! Now that is badass." Munkustrap laughed. He and Jemima sat on the sofa which was now slightly stained from various drinks being spilled on it. Jemima knew Victoria would go crazy tomorrow but she seemed to be having a good time drunkenly dancing with Pouncival now.

"Hey, she is small but mighty! As am I." She gestured to herself dramatically.

"Okay, I confess. I was the Artful Dodger. Cockney accent and all." He put his hands up in surrender.

"No way! Hey, aren't you a bit too tall to play him?" She winked.

"Contrary to popular belief, I haven't actually always been over 6 foot."

Munkustrap laughed and Jemima gawked at his smile as nonchalantly as she could but it was becoming increasingly difficult as the night went on. They'd been talking for at least an hour straight. Neither had left the others side and Jemima felt like she was in her own personal heaven. His smile was amazing. It was infectious and wonderful and she'd definitely had too much to drink.

"Lies." She cried, giggling herself. He looked down at her fondly, then without warning his eyes darkened. His attention locked onto something just above her head and his gaze stayed trained behind her at the crowd of people who just entered the room.

"Demeter, Bomba!" She heard Victoria shout over the music. "You came!"

Munkustrap's eyes were glued to the younger of the sisters and her tight black dress.

"Do you know them?" She asked, clicking him out of his daydream. Her wide eyes must have seemed panicked.

"Um-"

Just then, Victoria came bounding over with the sisters in tow.

"This is Munkustrap! And obviously you both know Jem from class." She grinned her tipsy grin, looking between both parties.

"Munk?" Demeter stared at him with an awkward smile. "Oh my gosh, how are you?"

"I- um… I'm okay. I'm great actually. Great." He said, his voice squeaky and uneven. His eyes didn't leave hers.

A few moments passed before Bomba took a hold of Victoria and asked her to go and get a drink with her so Demeter and Munkustrap could catch up. It took Jemima a second to realise that this invitation had extended to her as well. She slowly rose to her feet and Demeter took her place on the sofa, their knees touching as she began to talk animatedly to him about how long it had been. Munkustrap only flicked his eyes to Jemima's for a brief moment to smile before he returned his gaze to the beautiful woman in front of him. It wasn't the beautiful smile like before, it was uneasy and fleeting.

"What was that about?" She asked Bomba once they were at the drinks table. She couldn't help but look over to the couple with a look she assumed was full of jealousy.

"What?" She began pouring herself a glass of red wine. "Oh right, they used to date. It was a pretty recent thing actually. Less than a year ago. They were sweet together but I don't think she liked him that much."

Jemima's head spun and Victoria gave her a concerned look. "Oh." Was all she could bring herself to say. They used to date. Munkustrap dated Demeter, the gorgeous and refined dancer who was at least ten times as beautiful as she was. Her stomach felt like it was going to drop right out of her, she felt so small. So young. Demeter had a good 8 years on Jemima and for the first time since she had met him, Munkustrap seemed old too. She'd never asked but he must have been at least 5 or 6 years older than her, which made her stomach squirm. She must seem so young and naïve to him. She was very aware of her short height and her wide and innocent face, she literally looked about 5 years old.

"Now, miss Victoria! Let's dance!" Bomba had chugged her glass of wine in record time and now held her hand out to Victoria who giggled and took it gladly.

"You sure you're okay, Jem? Do you wanna dance?" Victoria asked. Her face was clouded with worry.

Jemima tried to laugh. "No, it's cool. You go ahead, I'm going to get another drink." She lifted her empty glass.

"Well, okay. Shout if you need anything." And then they were gone, leaving Jemima to stare at Demeter's hand on Munkustrap's knee.

An hour passed and Jemima tried to distract herself by taking care of a very drunk Quaxo.

"Come on, now. Lie down here." She cooed as she lay him down on her bed.

"I feel fine, Vic! Really I do!" Quaxo slurred. Despite this, he rolled onto his side and wrapped the sheets around himself.

"No you don't, honey. My name is Jemima. Now get some sleep, okay?"

Quaxo responded with a loud burp and Jemima snorted with laughter. Gross.

As she entered back into the party, she noticed Munkustrap standing by one of the kitchen counters, drink in his hand. He was alone.

After a few minutes loitering in her bedroom doorway, she mustered up enough courage to talk to him, despite all her embarrassment and insecurity. She couldn't believe she's believed that he liked her. He'd made it seem that way in her mind. She remembered their encounter in her room, his closeness, the feeling of his breath on her skin.

"Hey stranger." She smiled a small smile as she walked towards him.

"Oh hey." He took a swig of his beer. "Where did you go?"

"Had to put my child to bed." She chuckled before correcting herself after seeing the look on Munkustrap's face. "Oh no, I meant Quaxo. He's a drunken mess."

"Oh, right." He laughed. "Got a bit scared there for a second."

Jemima laughed. A moment passed. She bit her lip. She was going to bring it up, wasn't she? She could feel the word vomit forcing its way up her throat. She was unable to stop herself from bringing up the elephant in the room.

"So, what did you talk to Demeter about? I didn't know you knew her."

Munkustrap looked like he was in pain. His head lowered and his voice became quiet. "Oh, it was nothing. Nothing at all."

"Bomba told me you two went out?" She couldn't help but say it. Only after she had did she realise how petty it sounded. Like a petulant child.

"Um, yeah we did. She ended it."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Yeah. It's cool."

Jemima stared at him, waiting for him to relax. But he didn't. His shoulders stayed hunched up and his face was clouded with uneasiness. She became infuriated. Wasn't this the guy who a few hours ago had almost kissed her? He told her he thought she was great. Didn't that mean he liked her?

"Look, I'm sorry. I think I should go." He set his unfinished beer on the counter.

"What? Why?" She questioned him, her voice a little too shrill.

"I- uh. It's hard to explain. I'm really sorry. For everything." And with that he turned on his heel and walked into the corridor.

Jemima stood still for a moment. Her brow furrowed and her arms limp at her side. She was beyond confused. She was so sure he liked her. So certain that he wanted to get to know her. That's what he had said, wasn't it?

Before Jemima had time to question it further, she was walking in the direction Munkustrap had left and soon enough she found herself knocking angrily at Munkustrap's door.

His face appeared from behind it a few moments later.

"What the hell, man?" Were the words that came out of her mouth. She expected herself to say something more profound than that but it would do for now. "What is up with you? You are giving me so many mixed messages here and I'm sick of it. I don't understand, one minute you seem to really like me and I'm pretty sure earlier you nearly kissed me and then you do shit like this? Seriously, what the hell?"

He stared down at her for a few moments, a bewildered look on his face. He obviously wasn't used to small crazy girls shouting at him. His ex-girlfriend was a sophisticated beautiful older woman. And Jemima was only 22 years old, unemployed and still at University. It was a silly situation but he still hadn't spoken so she snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to Munkustrap!"

"I'm sorry."

"Yes, I know that. Care to elaborate?"

He leaned against his door frame and sighed. "I was with Demeter for about a year, okay? I was pretty sure I was in love with her but she really wasn't anything I thought she was. I – I – we grew apart I guess. I was just thrown off by seeing her tonight. That was the first time I've seen her since we broke up. She spent the whole time talking about her new boyfriend."

A moment passed. "Look, that sucks." Jemima replied and mentally slapped herself for that being her only advice to him. "But that doesn't explain all of your erratic behaviour. I'm sorry, I must sound like a silly child or whatever but seriously dude, you give off these vibes that you like me and then a second later you seem uninterested. Like the other night at dinner. One minute we're talking about acting and you ask for this one-on-one session or whatever and then you won't even talk to me. I just don't know what I'm meant to think." Jemima looked down at her feet, embarrassed by her sudden brashness. She felt out of breath, a burning sensation in her lungs that made her dizzy. This only spurred her on. She definitely would not have been able to say this to him sober.

"Jemima… I'm sorry. I do. I like you. I really like you, and I've only known you for a little while. I – It's just you're so young."

"What? I'm not that young. Don't give me that crap!" She stared him in the eye, suddenly filled with a rage she couldn't explain. "I'm 22. I'm an adult."

"And I'm 27!"

"You're acting like I'm still a foetus, Munk. It's not like the age gap between us is even that big! You're just scared." Jemima shook her head. "You're scared because Demeter fucked you up and you don't want it to happen again."

Munkustrap looked down and pinched the bridge of his nose. He said nothing for a while and Jemima's heart started to slowly sink. All her built up sadness began to convert to rage with every second that passed. He looked at her the way people look at people they want. He wanted her and would do nothing about it.

"I'm sorry." He sighed.

"No. Fuck your sorry." And with that Jemima did the most daring thing she'd ever done in her life. She stood up on her tip toes, grabbed his hair in her hands and kissed him. Square on the mouth for a considerable amount of time. So long that he actually snaked his hand around her waist. Her hands were now tangled in his hair at the base of his neck. It took him a moment to fully process what was happening but then Munkustrap joined in with the kiss at full force, holding her body to his. She pulled away slowly so that their faces were inches apart. His face was flushed and his eyes looked fiercely into hers.

"The ball's in your court, lover boy. I won't wait forever."

And with that she turned away and headed back to her party, in shock at her actions. She started to laugh a full and throaty laugh.