✶⊶⊷⊶⊷❍⊶⊷⊶⊷✶

Crying does not indicate that you are weak.

Since birth, it has always been a sign that you are alive.

✶⊶⊷⊶⊷❍⊶⊷⊶⊷✶

-Chapter 38-- Child-like innocence-

"Shhh..." The librarian let out as she shot a sharp glare at the teenagers that were getting rowdy in the back corner of the library.

They instantly quieted down as they realized some other students who were reading their books or doing some assignment were throwing them a hard, deadly stare.

The old books inside this huge library emanate this smell of fresh-cut grass and vanilla. The scent was faint, but it was there, and it made my body loosen up a bit.

My mind wouldn't let me focus on any of my other classes. It always goes back to those soft lips and those grey eyes. This is the third, fourth, or fifth time he has kissed me....

This time, my body took more time to flinch away from his kiss.

Fuck me... he's confusing me more with each passing day. I needed to get my act together before I head home later.

The last thing I need right now is Ms. Nancy on my case about why I'm so quiet and locked up in my bedroom all day.

Maybe this is the thing that will make her speak to me, because honestly, these past few days she hasn't altered a single word to me. Not even to talk about what happened between her "lovely " son and me.

"Can I sit here?" My gaze picks up from the table to the low voice. Green eyes stare back at me. My head automatically nodded, and a beaming smile took over his face.

Observing him silently, the first thing I noticed under this soft white glow casting down on his features were the faint freckles on his cheeks. They complimented his light-waving brown hair. The dark blue sweater that he had on made his dark green eyes with blue flecks appear more striking and almost entrancing.

My cheeks tint a little when I notice he's doing the same thing to me. Observing me the same way... I observed him.

Gosh, I only hope I don't look like a mess in his eyes. He hands out his hand, trying to break the little awkward moment we both created for ourselves. "Hi, I'm Alex."

"Hi, I'm Emma... " Wow... This dude's large hand felt so smooth against my palm.

"I hope... I didn't bother you. "

"No... no, you didn't. I was just spacing out... nothing important. " When I realized what the heck came out of my mouth, My cheeks instantly warmed up as I cast my gaze down to the wooden table in embarrassment.

Communicating for me didn't come as effortlessly as for other people. My communication skills are non-existent.

His soft chuckles make me peek up at him, as I suspected he has a nice smile, too. Some people are just lucky enough to get the best genes in their family.

"I like your honesty," he mumbles as he opens his large textbook.

"Now, I know why you're always disappearing to the library. You have a whole girlfriend waiting for you here. " My head snaps up to a girl who has pink long dreads reaching her low-rise jeans. Her white top hugged her figure to perfection.

Her smooth, dark skin shone like a diamond under this soft glow that emitted from the ceiling's long bulbs.

Her dark eyes settle on me as a smile beams on her face. "Hello, I'm his best friend, sadly, we have to meet under these circumstances." she let out as she sat right next to me.

I sat there confused as to what to say to this girl... Jeez, I'm not good at conversing with new people.

Again, not wanting to make a fool of myself, my lips stayed sealed shut. It was better for me to just not say anything at all...

"Juliet, she's not my girlfriend... I only asked her to sit here. That's all. " A smile spread on his face as he saw his beautiful friend frown at him. Her dark eyes were a mixture of disbelief and confusion as her perfectly shaped eyebrow rose.

"Oh..." She looks back at me as her tinted cheeks redden as she clears her throat. "It's just, I thought... Sigh, I'm not getting out of this one so smoothly, right? "

I nod my head as a soft giggle passes my lips at her straight-forwardness. I wish I was more like her-straightforward and not scared to talk to strangers.

"So are you meaning to tell me that you skipped class to come here to just study?" Her whole attention was back on the dude, again. Who right now has his eyes cast down on his book. It looks like I'm not the only one skipping class.

"Yup."

"Wow, that sucks. What kind of teenager are you? You don't go to parties, you hardly ever eat junk food, or come with me to the skate park.

Like are you an AI malfunctioning or what?

Did you forget to upgrade your system to Fun Alex 2.0?" He chuckles at her little rant and strange questions.

Her dark eyes resettled on me when she heard my stifling soft giggle, again. "Would you like to be my friend? Instead,

I know, I can be overbearing at times and a little bossy.

And you seem fun to hang out with, unlike a certain someone who always has his head in a stupid book. " She throws some of her long pink dread behind her shoulders as her frown returns when she hears him softly chuckling again.

"I wonder, who could that be?" He momentarily looked up at her, and a playful smirk took over his lips. A gleam of amusement shone in his dark green eyes the more he stared at her little frown that adorned her soft, beautiful features.

She, on the flip side, rolls her dark eyes in annoyance. But her cheeks reddened even more the more we both looked at her.

Maybe I should be the one asking her if she's his girlfriend... Because, in all honesty, they seem good together if they ever decide to date.

If I ever saw them outside, I would never have thought they were so down to earth. They looked like models, and at this moment, I felt like a photographer behind the screen, witnessing two pretty best friends conversing with each other while I took many beautiful pictures from the shadows.

It was lunchtime, and my new friend Juliet dragged me to lunch. At first, I was just going to stay in the library and take a much-needed nap.

But she had other plans for me... She wanted me to meet her younger sister... that she talked about the whole period without a pause.

Her sister was the complete opposite of her. while the older sister was a chatterbox with a never-ending battery life.

This one was more reserved in saying something... almost thinking about what to say next to cut off the conversation as quickly as possible. And she was straightforward and very brutal with her words. She doesn't beat around the bush to not hurt your feelings.

Even the way they dressed was the complete polar opposite. While Juliet's style was sexier in your face, kind of girl. Romania was more toned down and boyish. Her white dreads are short and platinum white, complimenting her brown light eyes more. It kind of looked like her eyes were made out of honey. It also complimented her olive skin.

She looked like a storm ready to eradicate everything in sight if someone talked to her the wrong way. But there's one thing I noticed about her is that whenever she talks to Alex, she becomes more... how could I say this... more aware of every word he says.

Like she enjoys conversing with him more than all the others at the table.

Surprisingly, Juliet has a full-on boyfriend. It was strange to me because of her and Alex's underlying chemistry, which made it hard to miss... When they talked to each other,

Her boyfriend, Asher, is a nice guy. He was the funny guy in the group of friends. Just like everyone at this table, he was extremely good-looking. The blueness of his eyes against the contrast of his dark skin makes him look surreal. And whenever he smiles, his eyes twinkle with child-like innocence. And just like his girlfriend, he was very talkative.

And right now, he was trying to convince me to give him my juice box. His persuasiveness is on point. The only reason I'm not giving him my drink is because I'm too afraid to stand in line to get another one.

"Asher, just stop pestering the new girl. She's not giving you her juicebox... Stop being such a fat ass. " Romania let out annoyed with Asher's behavior, who was right now playfully glaring at her.

I stifled a laugh as he acted as if he was offended by her harsh words.

"Girl... if I was fat, I'd still be hotter than you." He let out and his girlfriend beside him laughed. Her laughter was contagious, making all of us laugh.

"I don't know how you got with that fool..." her sister let out when Asher was out of hearing range when he stood up to get his drink.

"It's because... I love him." Juliet softly says as she looks at her food. Her cheeks look redder than before as her lips carve into a sweet smile that would have made anyone fall in love with her at first sight if she had shown that smile.

From the corner of my eyes, I noticed Alex's small smile dropped instantly. And I guess I wasn't the only one who noticed that because Romania seemed pissed and hurt for some reason.

"Well, love is fake. " Romania mumbles out with a peak of bitterness seeping through those harsh words.

"You're just saying that because you have never been in love."

And just like that, the conversation was dropped when Asher came back to the table. Oddly enough, he brought me one more juice box.

"Here's one for you."

"What for?"It amazed me that he could hear my small voice in a room full of chattering teenagers.

"You seemed so tense when I was in the line. Shorty. I thought you spilled your juice or something. "The other three on the table gaped at me as if they had forgotten I was here.

"Oh... umm. Thank you." My head automatically nods as I say those words." The awkward atmosphere here still lingered, but it wasn't as strong as a few seconds ago. Thank goodness.

"You're a girl of few words... I see. " Asher sat right back down next to his girlfriend.

Before an answer could slip through my lips, our attention was drawn to another table when a girl started shouting... I knew that familiar, strong voice, and it's pretty difficult to forget.

When I turned my head, the first thing my eyes captured was the red flaming hair that was hard to miss in a sea of browns, blondes, and the few exceptions of colorful ones. The beautiful, rude redhead seemed so angry and unhappy about something.

Kevin had another girl on his lap as He stared at the redhead with a neutral expression. Jeez... How could he just be like that, all calm and collected under her deadly, almost teary stare?

Strangely, Leo wasn't anywhere in sight. I wonder, where is he?

"Damn. Those twins are awful. Scratch that. That whole group at that table are straight-up jerks. "Juliet mumbles out as she eyed that group.

"Tell me about it..." Her sister agreed as she eyed the drama that was unfolding. Alex turned back, losing complete interest in what was happening behind us, and proceeded to eat his food quietly.

Romania's eyes settle on me and she lets out these words that made me almost choke on my juice. "New girl... One piece of advice... Don't get tangled up with those two demons or anyone on that table.

Trust me, you are better off not knowing their names or talking to them. Those people are bad news. "

"It's pretty impossible to do that. " She cocked her head when she heard my words. Everyone's attention was now drawn to me, ignoring the conflict that was occurring behind me. It was better to give them a heads up.

"Why? Do you have some classes with them, or something? If you do, change them quickly. "

"No, it's a bit complicated..."I let out, tucking a small chunk of hair behind my ear.

"Complicated like how?"

"Well, I live with them... They're my brothers. " When they heard the last few words, some of them looked amazed, and others seemed kind of confused with my little confession.

"But... But how is that even fucking possible? ... You're so shy and, may I say, a little bit of a pushover and probably a crybaby. I can throw you off a cliff and you'll thank me while crying your eyes out. " Romania lets out in one go. Her sister sends her a disapproving gaze.

"Those two are violent and problematic. And their womanizer tendency doesn't help. They can't keep their dick in one female for too long. It's like they have Adhd. It's like it is difficult for their attention to stay on a single female.

And in all honesty, they need their dick cut off and cremated. How the fuck did you guys end up like siblings? Who in Heaven made a mistake that they place you, two fallen angels, like brothers?

I simply can't wrap my head around this information. " She starts pressing her temples lightly with her fingers as she continues, "Damn, the generic lottery is a scary thing. I simply wonder... Which one of your parents is the timid one?

Or is it just you? "Romania stares at me, waiting for an answer.

I shrugged. Not knowing what to say to her. Leo told me not to say that we are step-siblings at school. Something about not wanting to make them think I'm adopted or something.

Curiosity shone in their eyes as they full-on stared at me... They are probably trying to find any similarity between the twins and me.

The dilemma behind me was hard to ignore, so I peeked back for a small moment just to turn right back around. When my eyes locked with enchanting grey eyes, my breath clogged in my throat.

It would be a feeble attempt to say I didn't feel my stomach flip and my heart squeeze when we locked eyes.

Juliet began questioning me like a detective on a case. "So are they like... I don't know... Like, mean to you? " "

"Kevin can be a little mean sometimes. But, Leo is nice. His caring. " Whenever he's not out of his element, Everyone looks at each other as if they are trying to see if anyone else heard my words correctly.

"Leo... Nice... and caring? You must be kidding me, right?

It's a joke, right? "Asher let out disbelief seeped out of his low tone as he eyed me like there's something wrong with my head.

"Why do you say that? Leo is a nice guy... " A spark of curiosity ignited in me. Why can't they believe that? He's a nice and caring person.

"I know... that they're your brothers and stuff.

But there's nothing nice about either of them. Especially Leo. That guy is a straight-up jerk and, if I may say more messed up, up here. " Juliet motions at her head with her index finger.

"Why do you say that?" Now the curiosity inside me has skyrocketed.

"Guys... Come on. . Emma, don't pay them any mind. They are just over exaggerating. " Alex lets out as he glares at everyone to just shut the heck up... And everyone did.

But... before I could start questioning them. A loud sharp ring interrupted me, signaling lunch was over. Many students started picking their stuff and exiting the enormous cafeteria and others who were a little behind threw away their half-eaten and started picking their stuff up.

Leaving me more curious than a little cat.

✶⊶⊷⊶⊷❍⊶⊷⊶⊷✶

AUTHOR NOTE:

Please ignore any bad grammar, for now, I'll fix that in the future.😇

🌟I would appreciate your vote a ton🌟.

🌜🌜THANK YOU FOR READING.🌛🌛

Please leave a comment, I would love to know what you guys think of this chapter. It would keep me more motivated and make me laugh a little. 😭😊

Until next time, bye.👌