Drops of Jupiter in her Hair

Cassiopeia Malfoy did not calm very easily, anyone could say.

She is a quiet person. She is a calm person. She is a lonely person. She doesn't like movement much. She was never the type to dance or broadcast her talents in any way, really. When she eats, she eats. There are no complications there. However, there is a time...

tell me, did you sail across the sun?
did you make it to the milky way to see the lights all faded
and that heaven is overrated?

Sometimes, you just let go.

She wasn't dancing - not quite. She was never that bold. Standing in line for treats, though, she swayed her hips. She tapped her feet repeatedly. She started to hum boldly, and then she began singing. (Quietly. She sang very quietly. It was singing despite that.)

The bell on the door jingled as Max entered the ice cream parlour. He scanned the small crowd and saw a shock of red hair.

That girl.

She was swaying and humming, he could hear it. It sounded like Train.

What was her name? He couldn't believe he forgot. She was Psyche's sister. How could he have forgotten, really?

Some Ravenclaw he was.

He cut in line, to the protests of quite a few people. "Oi!"

Max glared daggers at the man who called out. "Oi yourself."

He stood behind the girl and sang under his breath,

"Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star?
One without a permanent scar?
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?"

He wasn't a bad singer. Quite the opposite, actually. He just didn't like displaying it.

So he grinned and said hello. He didn't say her name, or ask her how she was. Just hello.

She heard yelping in line. Shouts. Irritation. She turned around.

That man.

Where did she know him from? Psyche's fiance? Yes. That was it.

That's not important! she yelled at herself. What's his name?

She didn't know. Great time for the elephant's memory to desert her.

His voice. His voice. She had to keep singing, just to hear his voice again.

"now that she's back from that soul vacation
tracing her way through the constellations, hey,
she checks out mozart while she does tae-bo
reminds me that there's room to grow, hey, hey"

She inclined her head, her way of saying 'your turn'.

Hello, she told him in reply. Just hello.

He could almost feel her looking at him. Weird. It felt- weird.

She had a really pretty voice. It reminded him of autumn or something cliche like that. Max wanted her to keep singing, needed her to.

Maybe it would be the thing that made them get to know each other.

"Now that she's back in the atmosphere
I'm afraid that she might think of me as
plain ol' Jane told the story of a man
who was too afraid to fly so he never did land."

He didn't care that he was probably making a fool of himself. From what he could tell, she didn't either. He liked that; someone who wasn't afraid of what others thought, would do anything she wanted publicly.

Unlike-

No, he couldn't think that. He couldn't think he had slight feelings for someone whose name he couldn't even remember.

He couldn't think that this girl's hair was pretty, her voice was pretty, everything beautiful. No.

But why was he anyway?

"So how've you been?" he asked.

He wasn't handsome or pretty or any of those things she always imagined guys to be him. He was...unique. Unique and completely unexpected.

Were they friends now? She wasn't sure.

She just knew that she had to keep singing.

"tell me, did the wind sweep you off your feet?
did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
and head back to the milky way?
tell me, did venus blow your mind? was it everything you wanted to find?
and did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?"

She liked the way they could sing together without overpowering each other too much. She liked how focused he seemed on her, not paying attention to the rest of the line or even the ice cream. She liked the way he talked, just the soft cadence of his voice.

Suddenly, it was imperative that she know his name.

"I've been good," she told him softly. "I'm sorry, but your name is...?"

She was just- wow. Just wow. She was so different. Different from Psyche, different from the rest of her (or their) family. He'd expected her to be just a bit similar, but no, here she was, red hair, blue eyes and all.

"Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken
your best friend always sticking up for you
even when I know you're wrong?
Can you imagine no first dance, freeze-dried romance,
five hour phone conversations,
the best soy latte that you've ever had and me?"

Why did nothing really matter to Max right now? They were singing quietly and the line was moving, everyone just staring, not saying anything. He could sense it. It was just nice knowing he could sing or talk or whatever he wanted without being reprimanded.

He laughed softly. "I'm Max. I can't remember your name either, sorry. What is it?"