Chapter 50 – Bye-Bye Butthead, Octopus-head
A few days after their short vacation at Kristopher's amazing villa, everybody was preparing for the next major event: New Year's. It was the last day of the year, and Kristopher told Kristina and the rest that he and his cousin will be leaving a day after they celebrate with fireworks. Though the news was sad, everybody took it maturely, especially Kristina and Daniella.
Lizzy just found out about it two days ago when Jonathan, Daniel's dad called. She was frantic of what to do and what to make those two do. Her husband had to calm down his silly wife. Without further ado, Lizzy sprinted towards her daughter's bedroom. She opened the door so suddenly that Kristina almost dropped her phone from the shock. Perfect timing. She was texting him.
"Honey," Lizzy said sweetly with pretty eyes, but Kristina knew that look. She knew that sly look too well. She suspiciously eyed her mother.
"Yes?"
"What is Danny doing right now?" she asked innocently like a little girl.
"Packing," Kristina simply said as she glanced at her phone screen again and tapped a few buttons.
Lizzy cocked a brow and grinned widely. As one would probably expect, she quickly went behind her daughter and pushed her out her room.
"Mom! Hey!" Kristina argued. "What are you doing?!"
They were finally outside the room and on their way downstairs. As she continued to push her daughter, she checked her wrist watch and explained her reasons. "Act like a good fiancée Kristina! My poor son-in-law is leaving tomorrow; you're a girl, so that means you have to—no. You must help him pack his things. That's only natural! How come you didn't think of that! It's still early; you still have time to go there now!"
"Mom!" she repeated. "I don't have to—"
"Yes you do!" she cut her off stubbornly. "It's you're duty as a woman! Now go! Go before I send Danny all your embarrassing baby photos together!"
"MOM?!" Kristina shrieked, obviously affected by her mother's threat. They were outside the house now and towards the street. There was really no stopping Lizzy once she sets her mind on something. "MOM! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS AGAIN?!"
"DON'T TELL ME YOU DON'T WANT TO GO BECAUSE HONEY, I KNOW YOU DO! I'M JUST GIVING YOU A LITTLE PUSH BECAUSE MY BABY GIRL'S JUST TOO SHY TO DO IT HERSELF! NO GO! GO! GO!"
"OH MOTHER—" she furiously groaned as Lizzy finally released her. She didn't have a ride; so obviously, she had to walk to Daniel's house. It was only a few blocks away but she still thought her mom's logic was... stupid. Grudgingly, she carried her feet towards his house and prayed nothing weird will happen between them.
She remembered that the New Year party will be held at his house as well, so it was like killing two birds in one stone. Their friends will come later that evening as guests and her parents will be the ones in-charge of the food... which made her quite suspicious.
Maybe that was the reason why her mom technically kicked her out of the house? Because she might kill the flavours of the food again? She scoffed. She wasn't that bad at cooking. She shrugged. Who was she kidding? Of course she was. She had a great talent of sucking at the culinary arts. Why didn't she inherit some of her dad's awesome cooking skills? She blamed the lack genetics. Kristina sighed and just walked quietly, straightening her thoughts.
Daniel was supposed to be packing. Instead of doing that awesomely boring task, he decided to lazily hang around his room while reading his favourite comics. He was actually waiting for Kristina's reply to his text, but half an hour already passed and she still hasn't replied. Did she fall asleep or something? He checked his phone again and felt disappointed and overly bored that there were no new messages.
After he finished rereading the fifth volume of Dark Magician which he borrowed from Kristopher, he got up from his bed and decided to clean up. He forgot he had guests coming this evening. As he lazily bended over to pick up the shirts and socks lying on his floor, Kristina had come in without knocking.
"Sorry for distur—" she politely tried to say but was cut off when Daniel jumped from the shock. Both of them were pretty surprised—Daniel, because he wasn't expecting her early arrival, and Kristina, because of his reaction. After a few seconds of staring at each other with equally startled and bemused expressions, they both laughed at their silly selves.
"As I was saying," Kristina cleared her throat as she entered his room and made herself comfortable on the cozy chair Daniel seldom used. "Sorry for disturbing and coming earlier than the agreed time. It's just... My mom said. Ugh. You know." She rolled her eyes and gave him a quick smile.
He grinned at her upon rapidly taking all the dirty clothes on the floor like a ninja. It was so fast that Kristina could've sworn he had four arms. She snorted and felt satisfied with her new discovery. That butthead was actually embarrassed because he left his clothes scattered all over the room. He managed to conceal it though. "It's not a problem at all. I'm actually glad you came earlier."
"I'll help you clean and pack," she said as she picked up the worn-out shirt hanging on the chair she was sitting on. Daniel stood up made his approach. He snatched his shirt from her grasp and put both his hands on each side of the chair, seemingly trapping her. He smirked smugly as he leaned closer.
Kristina was unaffected though. "Oh butthead. You're just embarrassed to have me helping you clean up this dumpster you call a room. Now if you don't mind..." she stood up to escape but Daniel prevented that. She found herself glaring at him now.
"Yeah," he stuck his tongue out like a kid. "I do mind. I can clean this place up in no time. You just go wait downstairs and—"
"In your dreams butthead," she interrupted. "I know you're just gonna stuff all this pile up inside your closet. You're not that diligent."
Completely stunned that she read his mind, he released his grip on the chair and Kristina stood up with a triumphant grin. Doing things at her own will, she took a black garbage bag from the kitchen and stuffed all of Daniel's dirty clothes inside. She fixed his bed and arranged his comic books. She dusted the desk which was obviously left unused for a long time and she even cleaned his bathroom. Daniel stood there in awe and shame. Yes, shame.
As Kristina robotically walked towards the window because her cyborg-eye must've sensed dust, Daniel took her wrist as she passed by and pulled her so she could face him. He was still pretty confused himself. "Is this wife-training or something? You're really weird."
The word 'wife' caused her cheeks to heat up, and obviously, Daniel noticed because a mischievous grin formed on his face. Kristina took her hand back and sat on his bed, pretending she didn't hear. She already began folding his clothes and neatly placed them inside a large suitcase. Daniel sat down on the opposite side of the suitcase and helped her put in his other clothes and other stuff.
Kristina had been meaning to ask this a long time, and she thought right now would be the best time to ask it. Upon placing his toothbrush, shampoo, soap, shaving cream and other guy-stuff inside a separate bag, Kristina broke the short silence. "Can I ask something?"
Daniel stopped as soon as she opened her mouth. He raised his brows and motioned for her to shoot the question. She brushed loose hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "You're going back to Europe tomorrow right?"
"Yeah?" he replied, sounding more like a question.
"Um..." she didn't know how to put to words what she was going to ask. "At... which part?"
Confused, he asked. "Part?"
"Of Europe." She quickly said. "It's not a country but a continent. I'm asking you, where, specifically, in Europe will you be staying in?"
"At Tops' mansion probably, the place where I grew pretty much grew up," he answered smartly. She punched him lightly on the shoulder and eyed him seriously. "What? You said specific right?"
"You know that's not what I meant," she sighed. Daniel smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
"London. Why?"
Her eyes snapped open and she looked at him surprised. "Why am I only knowing this now?"
"Because you're only asking this now?" he said, unsurely. Kristina knitted her brows and looked at him again. She looked like she was deep in thought.
"So you, Kristopher and Anne lived in London since you were kids?!"
"Umm..." Daniel didn't understand why she was so surprised. "Yeah?"
"Then how come you didn't pick up an accent or something?!" she practically screamed.
Daniel laughed and poked her nose, causing her to flinch. It was pretty random, but he just felt like doing that. "I was surrounded by American people inside the mansion. All the employees, maids, security guards. They were all American. So, that's why I don't have a British accent, if that's what you mean."
"And Kristopher? Anne? Do they have English blood or something?" she asked eagerly. It was such an amusing sight to see her so interested and excited in all these. He partly blamed himself for not explaining these things sooner.
"Tops? Yeah. Anne? Half, I think?" he closed the suitcase and zipped it close. "Why are you asking all these?"
"Just curious," she quickly replied. Not waiting for another moment, she wanted to ask another thing. "Say," she excitedly kicked her shoes off and sat on her legs on his bed. "What's your business like? The... Curtis Corporation? What do you and Uncle John do?"
Now that was new one. How did she find out about that? Smiling, he replied with all honesty, because he seriously didn't want to lie to her anymore. He knew she'd find out sooner or later anyway. "Fuel, oil, gasoline. We sell and trade that sort of stuff. Dad handles the business and marketing while I do the boring meetings and paperwork. Our employees do the hard stuff."
Kristina's eyes glinted in admiration. She didn't know that butthead was capable of such things. He was already working and helping his dad. She felt like she somehow respected him more now. "That's so cool."
"Not really," Daniel shrugged his shoulders, remembering the stacks of paper on his desk. He had to balance work and school back when he still lived there. "It's really boring and annoying too."
Kristina smiled knowingly. She wasn't out of questions yet. "That hobo you were talking about last time. You said he was the reason why you're leaving again. Who is he? Is he that important?"
Daniel chuckled when she said 'hobo'. He knew exactly who she meant, but she didn't. She knitted her brows when he laughed. He took the large suitcase and put it under the bed, since it was the only thing keeping their distance. With that old thing gone, he shifted his weight on the bed, closer to her. "Yeah, he's pretty important, I guess? He's bald, just so you know, and he's Japanese. He kinda owns most of the oil factories at Europe and a few banks too, yeah. Oh. He is important," he said as if he just realized.
"His wife is Anne's aunt so that makes him Anne's uncle. He doesn't like Tops very much for that matter, because of, you know. Of what happened years ago. I don't know why he wants to see us now, but since my dad flew there as soon as that baldy called, I guess it should be quite important."
Kristina nodded as she quickly registered the information in her brain. "What's his name?"
"Nah..." Daniel nonchalantly shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "It's not that important."
"It is to me," she insisted. With that, Daniel sighed. Why couldn't he just say no?
"Richard Yao."
"Richard Yao, Richard Yao," Kristina chanted, as if she was making sure to memorize the name. "Hey, that name rings a bell somehow. I think I heard about him before."
"Of course you did," Daniel said. "He's a famous. All rich baldies are famous. I think." Hearing a car arrive from outside the house, he stood up and took Kristina's arms, pulling her up and then linking his fingers on her left hand. "C'mon, let's go downstairs. Tops and the others are already here."
"Okay," she nodded as he led her down.
True enough, Kristopher, Daniella, Sean and Ella already arrived, and they were kind enough to give Lizzy and Jacob a ride too. They all beamed when they saw Daniel and Kristina walk outside the house, still holding hands. The girls squealed of course, and the boys... did nothing, actually. "Aaw! Look at them! They look like a newly-wed couple!" Daniella cooed as her fellow girls (except Kristina) agreed.
They all helped put the food on the table and set the plates, utensils and cups. They planned to have a dinner at the front lawn and then light up fireworks after that.
As soon as the preparations were done, nobody hesitated to start eating already. Lizzy and Jacob prepared their specialties: carved turkey, Caesar salad, pasta, homemade mini-pizzas and small parts of grilled meat. The adults prepared a few bottles of red wine to celebrate the New Year, and even offered a few glasses to the kids. Jacob laughed and took the glass Lizzy was holding.
"No dear," he sweetly, but pleadingly said. "No alcohol for you. We don't want you to get drunk like last time now do we?"
Lizzy pouted as her husband continued to tease her. "Her side of the family seem to have weak tolerance for alcohol. I'm sure Kristina inherited strong tolerance from me, right honey?"
Everybody turned to look at Kristina. She was nervously holding the glass on her palm and she threw a fit of unsure chuckles at her dad. They looked at her strangely. "Y-Yeah. Strong tolerance..."
Lizzy raised her glass, despite the fact that Jacob already warned her not to drink, and grinned cheerfully. "To the New Year! May all our wishes come true!"
Everybody raised their glasses and mumbled 'to the New Year' as a response and drank their glasses. The glass was already on Kristina's lips. Before the wine even touched her tongue, Daniel took her glass and gave her a smug look. "Does our little Poopy want to get drunk and confess to me all over again?"
She glared at him as a blush crept to her cheeks. She pinched his leg from under the table and kicked his foot with all her might. The table actually shook and earned their guests' attention. Daniel bit his lip to prevent himself from yelling, although it was unlikely of him to do that. Kristina gave him another glare. "Butthead."
Her mom and friends were grinning like idiots. She had no strength left to argue anymore. It was one against... six or seven. She was clearly outnumbered. After dinner, Kristopher, Daniel and Sean went to the car and took the boxes of fireworks out of the trunk.
As they waited for midnight, they lit up small, colourful sparklers and firework fountains. The neighbours did the same in their own lawns and there was even an indirect competition of whose sparkler lasted longest. Daniella wanted to capture these wonderful moments with her new digital camera.
She took a lot of photos. Lizzy was predictably drunk and Jacob had to drive her home first, so Daniella took a shot of him carrying his giggly wife to the car. Ella screamed and jumped when she accidentally dropped her sparkler so she took a shot of that too. Kristopher was treading towards her with a smirk that she accidentally took multiple shots of him due to nervousness. Yes, she was still nervous even though they were practically a 'couple' now.
He put his hand on her shoulder and secretly pointed at his cousin. Both of them watched as Daniel helped Kristina light up the sparkler. At first, she looked afraid because she thought it might burn her hand, but after a while, she got the hang of it. They noticed that those two were stuck to each other the whole evening.
Daniella giggled and Kristopher motioned for her to take a picture of them too. She nodded her head in agreement and happily skipped towards them. Daniel was squatting on the ground as he lit up a new sparkler and Kristina was standing up, staring at the pretty colours the sparkler emitted. Daniella positioned herself and called their attention. "Smile at the camera you two!"
Noticing her presence, Daniel did smile at the camera. Kristina went behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck, their sparklers were intertwined and the lights and colours combined looked even more beautiful. Daniella wanted to jump and squeal but didn't miss this sweet opportunity and took the shot. "One more!" she chirped. Daniel turned his head a bit and kissed Kristina's cheek, they both looked so sweet together. Daniella took the photo again and yelled a big YES because she saw how much they were comfortable with each other now. She felt so proud of her best friends. A sad thought crossed her mind when she remembered what will happen tomorrow.
After Daniel's sparkler went out, he stood up and took the camera from her hands. She looked a bit surprised but he just grinned and called his cousin. Kristopher came and Daniel asked them to pose for a nice picture. They did.
As goofy as this couple was, they did the same pose they did when they were still kids. Kristopher put his hand around Daniella's shoulder as Daniella put her hand around his shoulder as well. With their free hands, they made peace signs and made huge and silly grins. Kristina laughed as Daniel took the shot.
Daniel noticed Sean and Ella, sharing a light for the sparkler. He went to them and told them to pose for a picture too. Unsurely, they made awkward smiles. Daniel frowned and didn't take the shot. "Closer you two." He waved his hand for Sean to move closer to Ella. They were really feeling uncomfortable now. "C'mon, closer!"
Sean went closer about an inch, but Daniel still wasn't satisfied. Ella semi-glared at him for the first time and her eye even twitched. Daniel could see how irritated she was, but he just grinned at her. "Closer!"
The distance between them became smaller and smaller every time Daniel yelled closer. Daniella and Kristina were observing from the back and knew exactly what he intended to do. Sean, a bit annoyed since he kept yelling 'closer', finally put his arm around Ella's waist and pulled her towards him. She silently gasped and kept lowering her head.
"That's better," Daniel grinned. "Okay. Now smile!"
Click! As soon as he took the shot, Sean let go immediately and Ella walked away. Ella wanted to thank Daniel somehow. Because of him, she realized something tonight. She sighed as she smiled at Daniella and Kristina. She finally lost her feelings for him. She was sure about it this time. And it was such a relief. What she didn't know was, as she had fallen out of love with him, Sean was starting to fall for her. It was obvious because he kept staring at her the whole evening.
"Twenty seconds before New Year!" Kristopher yelled. They all gathered around and group-hugged as they excitedly exclaimed the countdown altogether. Ten seconds before midnight, they were tightly locked in each other embrace, smiles on everyone's faces. "Five... Four... Three... Two... One..."
Loud and colourful fireworks enveloped the dark sky as soon as the bell chimed. There were screams and cheers all over the neighbourhood. Cars honked, dogs barked, toy trumpets blasted and the entire sky was bombarded with beautiful, dancing lights. "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"
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"Oohhhh!!!" Lizzy hysterically wailed and wiped her non-existent tears. "My future son-in-law! I'll miss you so much!" she hugged Daniel for the nth time. They were at the airport now, and Kristopher's private plane was already waiting for them. Jacob patted Daniel's back. "Have a safe trip son. You better make sure to come back for our daughter."
Daniel lightly laughed and nodded. He glanced at Kristina and smiled, she smiled back, concealing her real emotions. On the other side, Kristopher was talking with Daniella. She gave him a tight hug upon saying, "See you later?"
Kristopher sighed and buried his face in her hair. "Yeah. " He kept his cheerful tone up. "I'll call you every night."
His personal pilot told them that it was time to go. Lizzy cried again, this time with real tears. This woman will never change. Kristina felt frantic all of a sudden but didn't let it show. She didn't even have the chance to give him a proper farewell since her mother kept wailing and hugging him like she wasn't going to see him again.
Daniel saw his cue and gave a last glance at his uncle and aunt, his future parents-in-laws. He internally grinned with those titles. He looked at Kristina and saw that he smile was twitching. He nervously scratched the back of his head, wondering if what he was about to do will earn him a punch or something. He glanced at Jacob, as if sending him a message through his eyes, asking for his permission or something. Jacob chuckled and nodded his head, understanding what he meant.
He faced Kristina again and smiled. "I don't know any tear-jerking words, but I hope you'll get what I mean." Kristina looked at him in confusion. He suddenly pulled her into a light embrace and kissed her tenderly on the lips. Lizzy almost melted from the scene, Jacob just looked around, pretending he didn't see. This was the first time they kissed in front of her parents.
Daniel broke away and smiled at her again but she hugged him again and stood on her toes. She wanted to tell him something, and as much as possible, she wanted only Daniel to hear it. Her mother was really nosy. No doubt if Ella was here, those two'd team up again. Ella was at her parents' house to have a late celebration to make up for last night. Kristina leaned in. "Hey butthead," she gave him a quick peck on his cheek. "I love you."
Daniel grinned silly and hugged her again. To hear her say those words were music to his ears. He wanted to ask her to repeat it but he knew she wouldn't, knowing her personality. "I love you too,"
The pilot literally had to mess up the mood and cleared his throat, tapping his finger on his wrist watch. Daniel groaned and smiled again at Kristina. He gave a last nod at her parents before his cousin pulled his arm to go to the plane. "See you soon Poopy."
As they both disappeared from the crowd of people, Kristina smiled warmly as her mother hugged her, intending to comfort her. She sighed and still kept up her smile. "See you soon butthead."
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A/N: THE END!!!
Lol joke. I kidd. >:DD This is NOT the end yet! Okay?! Bwahaha. ;) Vote and comment on this cheesy chapter. :DD