Alex froze on the spot.  With her heart beating fast, she watched Junmyeon continuing to walk ahead before he realised she had stalled.  He turned back to look at her questioning her with wide eyes. 

‘Alex?’ He asked.

‘How do you know the title of my book?’ she said in barely a whisper.

‘I Googled you,’ he said simply, his eyes still watching her warily, but his face was blank.  ‘There’s this thing called the internet see –‘ he smiled at her simply.

She found air again, rushing back into her lungs, of course, Google.

‘O,h’ she forced a smile back at him.

His eyebrows crossed as she took small steps to where he was stood waiting.  ‘It’s a nice title, The Butterfly Catcher.  Nice artwork too.’ He said, slipping his arm around her waist, though she barely noticed. 

Her mind was going into over drive.  Had he really only googled her?  It wasn’t impossible, he knew her surname after all, and he was right, the first thing that would come up was her book, big blue title, the Blue Morpho butterfly, blue shimmering wings, and black edges.

In an attempt to cover her shock, she told him, ‘Ella did the artwork,’

‘It’s really incredible but why the blue butterfly?’ he asked. ‘Why not a different colour?’

‘Blue is rare in nature.’ She told him simply.

‘Is that the only reason?’ he questioned.

‘What do you mean?’ she asked beginning to worry.

‘I – read - blue butterflies have - meanings behind them.’ He told her, choosing his words carefully. 

He was right.  She had researched and chosen that butterfly specifically.  They symbolise love, change and transformation, joy and a person’s essence, their soul.  Her butterfly, with its iridescent blue and black edges, symbolises a wish granter, to make your dreams come true.  In China, where the book was set, butterflies symbolise an undying bond between two lovers.  It was everything the book was about. 

‘I – yeah sometimes they do.’ She told him, she felt awkward, stupid even explaining the meaning behind the blue butterfly to him.

‘I should read it.  It sounds interesting, from the reviews I saw.’ He told her lightly. 

So he hadn’t actually read the book.  Of course not, or he wouldn’t be asking her why the blue butterfly.  It would be obvious if he had read it. 

‘You haven’t read it.’ She asked, voicing her thoughts out loud.

‘Not yet.  But I will.’ He told her with a smile. 

It didn’t take long for them to get back to the apartment block.  Jongin was practically asleep on Sehun, Baekhyun not far behind, and yet when asked to move he kept talking about partying. 

‘Ella’s still out, will you be ok?’ Junmyeon asked her, taking a step towards her door with her, as the others struggled with getting Jongin and Baekhyun into their apartments.

‘Yeah I’m fine.  I’m just going to go to sleep.’ She told him with a smile.  As she began to turn towards her door, he grabbed her hand, squeezing it once, lightly, before letting her go. 

Alex woke up to clattering in the kitchen.  Falling out of bed and wrapping her fluffy dressing gown around her she went to investigate the source of the noise.

‘El?’ she asked sleepily.

‘Sorry, did I wake you?’ Ella poked her head from behind a cupboard.  She had been searching for bowls. 

‘Kind of, how come you’re awake now? What time did you even get home?’ Alex questioned putting the kettle on. 

‘4am,’ Ella said lightly with a smirk at Alex’s raised eye brows.

‘Alex, he’s sooooooooo nice,’ Ella gushed over her late-night stroll with Kyungsoo.

Alex laughed, ‘So where did you go?’ she asked.

‘Just down the river, a long way down.  He took me to this late-night bakery place about 2am for cake.’ Ella practically sprang around the kitchen filling her bowl with cereal. 

‘Cake at 2am?’ Sounds like a keeper.’ Alex laughed filling two mugs with hot water for tea.

‘I know, but I can’t keep him can I.’ Ella pouted as she sat down.

‘Why not?’ Alex asked her.

‘I told you before, you don’t keep them.  You squeeze them and let them be free,’ Ella said matter-of-factly. 

‘So did you squeeze him?’ Alex asked, with a tone of ‘you’re being ridiculous.’

Ella’s eyes flashed, indicating she did. ‘Little bit.’ She grinned but then her face fell.  ‘I want to keep him Al.’

‘I know, I told you before, you squeeze them once and that’s it, you’ll want to do it again and again,’ she laughed making Ella eat her words. Ella pulled a face back at her. 

‘Anyway, what if he’s the one, you’re going to just let him go?’ Alex questioned her. 

‘Al, only you fall for that soppy romance .  I’m a realist.’  Ella quipped.

‘Listen, I’d rather break a few bones while I’m flying, -‘

‘Than stay on the ground where there’s no chance of hurting anything.  I know, I’ve heard that before.’ Ella grimaced. 

‘So, you’re not going to see him again then?’ Alex asked her, brushing off her sisters’ comments.  Alex had always preferred to live with her head in the clouds, life was just more fun that way, taking chances to reach the sky, Ella preferred her feet on the ground, where she didn’t run the risk of injuring anything. 

‘I didn’t say that.’ Ella’s voiced raised a little. 

‘What have you got to lose by seeing what happens.  You could get everything you want, or you’ve lost nothing.’ Alex shrugged drinking her tea. 

‘If he wants too.