The Veilwalker

Zol just looked at her niece. He had never seen her niece show this much interest in a person before, much less a guy. \'I hear he is the one she had been keeping tabs on as well.\' Of course, he also knew about the little incident about her getting lost when she was little back when she visited Earth. At the time, she wouldn\'t keep quiet about the boy she made friends with.

"Hmm, he\'s all yours," Zol said, making way for her niece to see the wonder boy.

Watching her go inside, he sighed thinking to himself, \'She\'s already at the point, huh? That boy better not disappoint.\'

...

Julia slowly opened the door and first peeked inside. The boy she was hoping to see was too distracted to notice her actions. She took a deep, long breath before entering and closing the door behind her.

Still, whatever Alex was thinking about distracted him too much to notice her presence. Initially disappointed by the lack of attention, Julia decided to think of how to make a long-lasting impression. It\'s been many years after all.

\'Do I call him by his name or just draw his attention?\' While she thought about how to go about her impression, Alex was almost done with whatever he was chiding himself about.

Seeing as how her time was running out, she decided to just go with the flow.

\'Okay, Julia. It\'s going to be fine, and he probably doesn\'t even remember me.\' The thought still made her sad, but that was largely her fault for not staying in touch with him.

\'Here I go…\'

"Em… hello…" She softly called out.

...…

Alex was frozen speechless when he turned to see who called out to him. Before him was a girl about his age. She had silvery white hair and dark eyes. The smile she adorned brought out her charm and cuteness. Coupled with her attire, she was the embodiment of grace and style.

Catching himself staring for too long, Alex cleared his throat before replying,

"Hello…"

\'Damnit! What if she thinks I am being a creep?\' he rebuked himself once again. \'Now, what do I say? I mean I\'m not one who came to see her, so, maybe she will take the initiative?\'

Yes, he had no experience dealing with girls. The girls he dealt with daily were either his sister or his class girls. And if he was being honest, amounts to just the bare minimum. He hadn\'t had a crush on a girl before and even if a girl did, he was clueless as to what to watch out for.

"My name is Julia Knight," she said getting closer to him. Her heart was already racing, and when she got closer, she reached out her hands for a handshake.

\'I see… So, she is related to Sir Zol Knight. That explains why she is here, but it doesn\'t explain why I feel like I\'ve met her before.\'

He thought to himself while actually responding with a smile on his face.

"My name is Alexander Gray, but you can call Alex." He introduced himself as well, bringing his hand to meet hers in a firm handshake.

\'Wow, her hands are really soft. She smells nice too,\' while he was lost in his thoughts about Julia, Julia was also in the same boat.

\'He\'s even better looking than the pictures I\'ve seen of him.\' The more she stared, the more her heart raced. And while they were lost in their own thoughts, their handshake had gone on for more than it was required. Immediately noticing their blunder, they quickly separated their hands. But it was already too late, the awkward air around them had gotten thicker.

Alex looked away while Julia had a slight blush on her face. In an attempt to dispel the awkwardness, Julia cleared her throat to regain her composure.

"I don\'t know if you remember, but we\'ve met before when I was young." She said calmly, subtly observing his reaction.

\'I knew it! Wait, when we were young?\' Alex wondered at what point he had met such a girl in his younger years, but he still came up blank.

"I see… Can you be more specific, I can\'t recall exactly when." As he said so, he felt bad for not remembering.

\'Great, go ahead and disappoint the lady.\' He reprimanded himself.

"Oh… Yes, of course," she responded a bit dejectedly. Though she had expected as much, it still stung her he forgot.

"Eleven years ago, I got lost roaming around a park on the outskirts of Central City on Earth. You met me then and kept me company till I was found."

Alex searched his memory for that particular memory. \'Eleven years ago, I was four years old. While I don\'t remember much from back then, I recall we used to visit the park on special occasions like sis\'s birthday when she wanted to celebrate her day outside.\'

As he went through his memory, he recalled a time when he came across a little girl around his age crying and looking confused. He subtly glanced at her and compared it to the girl in his memories, and while her hair was different, their faces matched.

"Wait, were you the one crying with snot all over your face calling out for James?" He stated vividly.

Julia lightly frowned and said, "You didn\'t have to include the last bit, did you?"

Alex immediately understood where he went wrong and chuckled.

"Yeah… Sorry. In any case, I\'m glad we\'re meeting again after so many years." He stretched his hands for another handshake to which Julia reciprocated with a bright smile.

"Likewise, Alex."

\'Damn, she\'s pretty.\' He silently thought to himself all the while still shaking hands.