Flashback...
"Maen(ma-en), either you get up already or I'm going to bath you on your bed. You choose!"
Aimaengel forced her eyes open, tilted her head towards her bedroom door to re-check if it was locked, bolted up, and the security chain hooked securely on its place because no doubt her mother, Melody, wasn't joking on her threat. If she won't be down for breakfast the next minute, she will be giving her a bed bath--minus the soap and sponge.
She glanced around her room, she was lucky she had a brother and not a sister. She had the privilege to have a room by herself and decorate it the way she wanted. She loves the color blue. It reminds her of the sky and ocean.
She lazily gets up, stripped herself from her pj's and headed straight to the bathroom.
She washed her face and looked at herself in the full body length mirror on the wall. A lady with hazel brown-eyes, straight and silky hair that reached her lowest rib and a tiny rose-colored mouth stared back at her. Her body once had extra bulks but is now like a chiseled stone, and her complexion where once it had been a color of deep gold, had faded to the palest brown, all these due to the extensive medications she had undergone as a child.
She quickly showered, and brushed her teeth. It was Sunday so she chose to wear white racer-back shirt with angry bird printing in front just above her left chest, paired it with purple Capri pants, and grabbed a white sneakers which is half opened at the back part with only a strap.
She went downstairs to find her brother, Alexander, wolfing down his breakfast. He really has a bottomless stomach, yet he is able to maintain his very good physique because of his swimming hobby, and they both jog at dawn.
She opened the fridge and took out the milk carton and filled a glass which she put in the microwave. She scooped fried rice to a plate, stole a slice of mango from her brother-she got a glare for that-and took off to heat the beef siomai in the oven.
Once she's done mixing her dip, she plopped down the table, taking with her a bowl of raw chopped cauliflower.
She's on her second bite when she noticed the white bandage on Alexander's upper left arm just above the elbow peeping from the hem of his t-shirt sleeve.
She strategically circled around the table while her brother is focused on his food and without warning, she grabbed her brother's elbow--making him wince the tiniest bit of fraction she would've missed if she's not only paying him close attention--and hiked his sleeve up to his shoulders. She can see a hint of blood slanting from the middle of the bandage down for maybe 3 or 4 inches. She gasped.
"You are hurt!" it's not a question. "Xander, what the hell happened?" that's the question.
She had the feeling she sensed him stiffen a millisecond before he pulled an 'I-don't-care' stance.
"Umn, Angel? I'll tell you when you're ready."
Angel. A name her brother doesn't permit anyone to call her except him. It was his pet name for her. Anybody else call her Maen or in her full name.
"Alexander Gillian de Dios. Why should I need to get ready first before you tell me what happened to your arm? Wait-did you fought with someone that's why you're injured?"
"Well-ah-I-"
"WHAT!?"
"Well, we can say that, but it's not really a fight per se. Just-"
"Why on earth would you let somebody hurt you Xander? You're a Katana master for goodness sake."
"It's not that easy to dodge when who you're fighting is someone you don't want to hurt."
"Oh, and may I know who that person is?"
"Sure. This day won't end without you knowing...probably."
"Why on earth do I still love you? With you being so crazy and all!"
He gave her a breathtaking smile that she's sure made every girl outside their family bloodline whimper and drool.
He winked at her and continued devouring his remaining food.
She, on the other hand, took her time to chew before swallowing. They both have fast metabolism but she enjoyed tasting her food languidly while Xander preferred wolfing down as much as he can in a short period of time.
A while later, after they both scrapped their plates for the last crumb, she went back to her bedroom and logged-in on her computer to check for e-mails and her facebook account.
She got a message from her best friend, Addy, saying she would pick her up at 10 at their front gate and that they will go swimming at a resort near the beach to join Addy's brother and his friends on a party; and she specifically said, in bold and all caps, that SHE WOULDN'T ACCEPT NO FOR AN ANSWER!
Upon closing her laptop, she grabbed her duffel and begun stuffing clothes in it and changed her underwear to her two-piece bikini and pulled back her clothes on top.
After grabbing a towel, she went out their house and into the gates, waving hi to patrolling guards whenever she crosses path with one. She's already outside their front gate when Addy's car came screeching to a stop.
Sticking her head out the window, she half shouted at her.
"Hop in! The party's raging on for a while now! We're going to be oh so late for fishing hot boys!!"
Ma-en rolled her eyes as she gets into the car. She noticed Addy had an overnight bag in the backseat.
"Hey Addy, are you going to stay the night at the resort?"
Addy gave her a mischievous look before answering, "Nope" popping the p.
"Then why did you bring an overnight bag?"
"Aimaengel de Dios," sigh, "I'm going to stay at Troy's Haven since my brother is spending the night with his hot friends in there. Mom and Dad are on a trip and there's no way in hell I am going to spend the night alone in that cold edifice I called home."
Aimaengel just shook her head in amusement at her best friend's predicament. She isn't really an introvert person but she don't enjoy staying overnight at someone else's house. She loved the comfort of her room.
By the time they reached the beach resort, the place is already teeming with people. The music blasted in her ear as soon as she opened the door of the car.
As she entered the resort, her eyes automatically rested on the huge cake in the shape of a basketball at the center table in the party area overlooking the beach. Yes, a ball. Not the regular flat-rounded cake decorated like a ball, but a 3D ball.
"Hey Addy, is this some kind of birthday party we're crashing at?" She asked her friend jokingly with a teasing smile.
"Ah, yeah, I think it's one of Troy's best buds...Aiden...Yeah, that's his name." her friend answered without looking at her, because she's busy "scoping" the whole place for 'steaming Adonis' as she calls it.
"Well, if you are too busy surfing the beach for hot men, I'm going to go find some food. It's almost twelve and I'm already starving. You want me to grab you a plate too?"
Aimaengel said to Addy after they got changed into their bikinis. Everyone in the beach is already in their two-piece except for her. She threw a loose t-shirt over her bikini. She plans to take it off only when she goes for a swim.
"Oh, don't mind me girl, I want to drink some punch first with the boys. Just go on, eat and enjoy!"
The banquet table is not crowded. She picked up a plate and started to fill it with chicken sandwich, salad, and some hotdogs.
A minute after, she heaved a sigh of relief that she didn't put spaghetti and cake on her plate for it would have made her a canvass for tomato-sauce and icing sans the brush. She really just has to go and bump on someone while turning around looking for some place to eat.
"Ow!!" She exclaimed as all of the foods including her plate came clanking down the floor. She looked up to the person she collided with and exclaimed, "I'm sorry!" to find a pair of perfect hue of heaven looking down on her. The person she's staring at is breathtakingly handsome and has an apologetic look on his face.
"I'm okay. Are you alright?" he grabbed a plate on the table and filled it with her choice of food-according to the ones on the floor-but he added a cake to it. "Here take this. I'm sorry for what happened. I hope you will enjoy the party. By the way, I'm Adenase (Ey-de-neys), but you can call me Aiden." He extended his hand offering a handshake.
She accepted it and they shook hands.
She didn't feel any electric shock akin to those described in the books and movies when the heroine meets the hero. What she felt is something weird. It's a cool and burning sensation that started from their point of contact spreading throughout her entire physique with rapid escalation. It is like there's a fire of ice that blazed when their skin meet, exploding outward.
The shockwave was so intense it could have made her went flying backwards if only Aiden didn't gripped her tight and pulled her to him. She landed on his broad and hard chest shocked and shaking. She thought that he might have felt it too because the moment she holds his hand, his heaven blue eyes went icy blue for a moment as he stiffen and tighten his grip on her.