Fragile Heart

40

Landos pov

Stella looked absolutely stunning tonight, especially in that orange dress, and her skin glowing under the sunlight.

And the fact that we were matching just elevated everything, we truly looked like a perfect couple, but we weren't, we weren't even a real couple.

"Lan? Hello?" Stella snapped her fingers in my face, jolting me out of my thoughts.

I shook my head, pulling myself back to the present, and smiled. "Yeah, sorry about that."

Stella turned to me, her eyes sparkling with warmth. "Do you want to share a margherita pizza? Is that okay?" she asked, her voice soft. I nodded, smiling

She then turned her attention to the waiter. "Okay, we'll have two large margherita pizzas and one large meat lovers, please," she said with a bright smile, the waiter nodded as he wrote down our order and disappeared into the kitchen.

As we sat and waited for our food, we all began planning what we would be doing for the next couple of days.

Some insisted on going hiking, while others suggested hitting the beach, but for me, it didn't matter what we did, all I cared about was being wherever Stella was.

If that meant going through lava or swimming through a pool of sharks, I'd follow her without hesitation.

"Why don't we just stay at the villa for a couple of days? We just arrived, so why don't we just rest?" Stella suggested with a shrug, as if she could read my mind.

After all the traveling we've done for weeks without much rest, it will be good for us to just relax and enjoy the moment.

"See, this is why my sister is the smartest in the family!" Charles said, pointing at her and smiling.

"I agree, Charles. Why are you so dumb, unlike your sister who is—" Carlos started, but Charles cut him off. "Carlos! Let's stop this conversation now. Stella, we're going with your plan." Charles clapped his hands to finally declare that we were just going to stay at the villa for a bit.

And I couldn't care less.

Soon the food arrived, and we dug in, savoring every delicious bite. Throughout the meal, Stella and I shared jokes and laughter, making the evening feel perfect.

Stella laughs, rubbing her stomach as we walk to the car. "I feel pregnant, like seriously," she exclaims. I chuckle, nudging her playfully. "Don't say it too loud, or we'll end up with an article claiming you're pregnant," I quip.

As we hop into the car and drive back to the villa, everyone shares a chuckle. We listen to music and sing together, and I feel so at home, like I can just be free.

As we return to the villa, Charles rushes to the toilet, his footsteps echoing down the hallway. "Welp, I hope he'll be alright," I mutter.

"Alex, you might want to check on your boyfriend. He doesn't seem too good," Carlos suggests with a smirk, gesturing towards the bathroom where Charles disappeared. Alex's expression changes from happy to one like 'seriously don't want to deal with this right now' but she ends up going, hurrying towards the bathroom.

The rest of us share a knowing chuckle, amused by Charles "Poor guy," I comment, shaking my head with a smile.

We continue up to our bedroom, the laughter from downstairs fading into the background as me and Stella reach are room, where we will share room once again.

As Stella disappears into the closet to change, I quickly strip off my shirt, going shirtless, and exchange my pants for a pair of plain grey sweatpants.

As I lay comfortably in bed, Stella emerges from the closet with her hair pulled up into a ponytail. She's dressed in a lace crop top and snug shorts that accentuate her thighs.

I smile up at her and pat the mattress, gesturing for her to sit down beside me. But instead of sitting, she jumps onto the bed, landing right on top of me with a giggle.

"Stel!" I laugh as we tickle each other, she then ends up turning over and sitting on top of me, tickling under my arms. "Stel!" I laugh again, squirming under her touch. "If you can't tell Mr. Norris, you're on the right side! Not the left," she teases, pointing to the empty space where I was supposed to be.

"Is this... why you're tickling me?" I manage to ask between breaths, the laughter proving too much. Finally, she stops the tickling but remains sitting on top of me.

"Exactly why," she smirks, her cheeky smile infectious. I roll my eyes as if I'm annoyed, but truthfully, I'm amused by this all.

"Hey, don't roll your eyes at me," she teases, leaning down closer to my face and pointing her finger in my direction. Before anything else happens, she rolls off me and nudges me over to the left side so she can lay on her preferred side.

"Got it," I chuckled, settling down as I leaned over and flicked the lamp off.