UNENDING

3: That Ibanez Dude

A voice boomed in their direction, followed by approaching quick but decisive footsteps. As the girl turned her head towards the voice almost spontaneously, Sean followed the movement and found a curly haired young man walking towards them.

In a glance, he looked a couple years younger than Sean was, but not by much. Maybe around seventeen or eighteen. As the guy stopped by the girl's side, Sean noticed enough resemblance between the two. Perhaps it was safe to conclude that they were most likely siblings.

"I've been looking for you everywhere!" The guy half-shouted at the girl. At the same time, he hauled her up with genuine care while casually shoving her stuff back into her bag. A scowl rested on his face the whole time.

The girl visibly pouted at the older guy. Despite that, she neither refused his help nor pulled away. Even as he made a quick inspection if she happened to hurt anywhere.

"I was just here, checking the flight schedule," the girl rolled her eyes.

"Then you should've told me first before disappearing like that!" The older guy barked. "Mom's going to chew me a new one if I lose you!"

"Well, you didn't!" The bob-haired girl answered heatedly. "And just because mom's not here doesn't mean you can be the boss of me!"

Eyes still alternating between the two, Sean chuckled silently. His earlier assessment appeared to be on point. They were siblings after all.

"Yeah well, they've changed the gate to B3 and they're boarding soon. We need to scram if we don't want to miss the flight," the elder brother huffed in annoyance. The guy did not seem to be aware of Sean's presence at all.

The girl glared at her brother for a little while before eventually surrendering. 

"Fine," she said, obviously sulking. No more than a second later, she whipped her head towards Sean. And almost like magic, her features had resorted into her earlier dreamy state.

"Sorry about that," she said timidly while chewing her bottom lip. "My brother can be a pain in the ass, but he's right. We've got to go now. However..."

The girl fidgeted, as if looking for the right words. Sean canted his head to the side.

"However what?" he prompted while offering her what hopefully looked like a genuine, encouraging smile.

"May I take a picture of you?" the girl finally hurled out.

Sean blinked. "You mean... taking a picture with me?"

"That too would be great," she swiftly replied, her cheeks a shade redder, "but I really mean a picture of you. Just... you. With your permission, of course."

As her words hung in the air, Sean found himself going dumb.

At Sean's apparent bewilderment, the girl took turns looking baffled. In the periphery, her brother made an exasperated eye roll.

Dismissing his rude gesture, the girl continued to narrow her eyes in Sean's direction. Perhaps trying to judge if he was being real. A strange glint passed quickly in her eyes and all of a sudden, her expression melted into one of an understanding.

Puffing her rounded cheeks, the girl waved her hand in Sean's general direction. She said almost sheepishly, "Actually... I kinda dig your fashion style."

There was a rather loud snort. Sean suspected it came from the girl's older brother.

"Don't bother him. He's just jealous," the girl hurriedly said without even sparing her brother a glance. She ignored his furious glare as she took out her phone and waved it in the air. "So, may I?"