Although the sight of Jasmine close to tears can break anyone's heart, Cal still doesn't waver one bit. He won't give her another option besides going home.

"Cal!" the lead guitarist's loud voice booms in the air as he suddenly shouts from the bottom of the stairs.

I swallow. His menacing glare is directed at Cal and his sister.

How could a person be so cruel? Even though I don't even know him, I know that he's the kind of person I need to stay away from.

Cal is still facing Jasmine. He doesn't even bother to turn around to see his friend, but I don't miss it when he mutters a curse to himself, "Fuck."

When the guitarist heads back to the second floor, Cal walks away to follow him, and my mouth drops open. Is he just going to leave her like that?

More sadness crosses Jasmine's expression as she stares at her brother's back before he's completely out of sight. Her lips tremble as anger fills her eyes once more.

"I won't go home," she mutters to herself. "I won't." She's definitely a fiery one, so persistent. She hops onto the stool and buries her face in the bar counter, while the bartender just shakes her head in disbelief and continues her job, serving a new customer.

I stare at the poor kid as she lifts her head from the counter, biting her lip. She's trying her best to hold her cry, but I can still see the unshed tears in her eyes. 

Carefully, I sit on the stool next to her, wondering how I should comfort her. My determination to leave has been thrown out of the window. I can't leave. Not when she's here alone and still doesn't want to go home as her brother told her to.

Before I can start a conversation, she turns to me. "Are you Cal's friend?" Her voice is hoarse as her eyes glint with curiosity.

I don't know how to answer her. Am I Cal's friend? I don't even know. We might not be total strangers to each other, but I don't think that we're friends yet.

So I just give her a soft smile. "How long are you going to wait for him?" I raise my eyebrows.

She shakes her head, looking away. A sigh of desperation escapes from her lips. "I don't know."

Even though I can't be sure, my gut tells me that Cal wouldn't just leave his sister like that. I have a feeling that he'll come downstairs soon, probably within the next five minutes, after he speaks to the guitarist, who seems to be the leader of the band.

Maybe I'm just being hopeful, but I want to take that chance. Otherwise, this girl here will be more disappointed than she already is.

"May I know why you wanted to be here so badly?" I ask softly.

Jasmine shifts her attention back to me. "I'm just worried about him." Sadness once again skates all over her face. "And I'm so fed up with him telling me that he doesn't want me around when he works."

I understand how Cal feels because a little girl shouldn't even be here in the first place. The new customer who just sat on another stool beside Jasmine smokes a cigarette, and Jasmine coughs, fanning her hand in front of her face.

My heart sinks.

See? This really isn't a good place for her.

I start to become restless and tap my fingers impatiently against the bar counter. Cal still hasn't returned. How long will it take? Does he expect that she would listen to him and go home?

Well, he's wrong here because it doesn't look like she's going to leave anytime soon.

Jasmine lets out another cough because of the smoke, and I immediately stand up.

"You know what?" I say, and she turns toward me again. "Why don't we wait for him at another place?"

She looks doubtful, staring down at her lap as she plays with her fingers. "But I want to see him work."

I sigh and tilt her chin up. She looks up at me with her pretty big eyes.

"Hey, cheer up." I plaster a warm smile. "He doesn't want you here because it's not safe for you. Not that he's doing something dangerous," I quickly add, noticing how worry flashes in her eyes. "Do you want me to send you home?" That seems to be the only option because I can't trust anyone in this place.

She shakes her head slowly.

"There's a bookstore just right outside this place," I say with a cheerful voice. "Do you want to check it out?"

"I don't want a new book," she mumbles, but then her brows furrow as she looks up at me again.

I raise my eyebrows in question, waiting for her to say more.

"Is there any place where we can sit down and eat ice cream?" she asks innocently.

A big grin creeps on my lips. "Ice cream, it is."

After telling the bartender that we're going to an ice cream parlor down the road -- in case Cal returns and looks for her -- Jasmine and I settle ourselves at the booth and devour our ice creams.

Hers is of bubblegum flavor, while mine cookies and cream.

"Our school has just got a new piano, and there's this cool guy from the sixth grade who can play really well," Jasmine keeps telling me what happened in her school, and I listen to her story intently.

She's been blabbering about her day at school non-stop. I find her story entertaining, especially when her eyes light up and she smiles from ear to ear.

It seems impossible that a cup of ice cream can bring such joy to her, who was sulky when she was in the bar.

"You seem to love your school very much." I smile, resting my chin on my fists as I watch her with adoration.

She nods, grinning widely. "I do. Of course, I do. Cal makes sure that I love every bit of it, and he pays for everything."

I nod again, noting that he's such a good big brother. I don't know how much money he earns with his talent in music, but he must have been working hard to afford everything for his sister.

Again, the fact that their appearance is strikingly different is still a mystery to me.

"Do you guys live alone?" I ask out of curiosity.

"Yep." Jasmine takes another spoon of her ice cream, licking her lips.

I wonder about what happened to their parents, and whether they have other families or relatives here, but I decide to not interfere with their personal life further.

The doorbell chimes as someone pushes through the door. It's Cal, striding toward us.

He's panting when he arrives at our table, which means that he was running here, probably dead worried about his sister.

"You're here." His jaw is tight as he speaks to Jasmine. "You made me worried sick."

Jasmine sticks out her tongue. "It's your fault cos you didn't listen to me."

Cal sighs in desperation, and I swallow as his eyes dart on me.

"Amelia treated me to ice cream." Jasmine grins. "And I told her about my music class. She kept me company."

Silence creeps in, and Cal still doesn't take his intimidating stare off me that I have to look away.

Cal's phone rings, and when he looks at the caller, he rejects it.

"Who was it?" Jasmine echoes.

"Zavier," Cal speaks through teeth.

"Did he ask you to stay at the studio?" Jasmine asks again. "Is he angry?"

My mind immediately goes to the guitarist back there. He's this Zavier, isn't he?

In the absence of Cal's answer, Jasmine scoffs. "Maybe he should go to a therapist. He's always angry. And he always makes you angry. Maybe it's about time that you leave the band." Her sentence, however, softens at the end of it as though she doesn't mean to say that.

Another awkward atmosphere falls around us that I have to stand up, excusing myself. "I need to go to the restroom."

I head to the said room and locks the door, realizing that I've been holding my breath. I can't help but think that Cal might be angry for what I did.

However, I clearly wasn't planning to kidnap his sister.

After finishing my business inside the cubicle, I wash my hands at the sink and let out a long sigh, staring at my own reflection in the mirror. The stranger I just met has affected me more than he should have.

I can't grasp his entire personality.

Sometimes, he's that bad boy, who then turns protective and gentle, then back to being the bad boy, and then pissed and angry and overall just intimidating.

When I exit the restroom, Cal is talking to Jasmine. "I told you not to go with a stranger, Jasmine." His voice is firm. "Did you ever listen to me?" he scolds his sister again, and my heart drops.

Stranger.

That's exactly what we are to each other, though.

Jasmine's lips purse, and Cal spots me standing here, watching them. He looks taken aback, realizing that I just heard everything, but before I can respond, he grabs Jasmine's arm, pulling her out of her seat.

"Are we leaving now?" Jasmine protests, begging me with her eyes to convince her brother to stay here. "But I still want to spend time with Amelia," she snaps.

But Cal doesn't care. He doesn't even say anything. He just throws me one last glance and drags his sister out of the place.

And just like that, they leave.