Today's chapter is dedicated to the amazing @alarue15 I wanna thank you for your support on all my stories, it means so much to me ❤ I hope this little chapter will warm up your heart like you do all the time with your support 😊😘🎄
A crack on the old wooden floor makes me open my now-dried eyes, and as soon as I peek the brown boots through the slit between my arms, I bury my head back inside the cocoon of my knees hugged against my chest. "Go away."
Another crack, and then it's a soft tug on my arms that startles me and makes me tighten my arms around my knees. I shouldn't be surprised; he never listens to what I say.
"Look at me, Penny."
"I don't wanna see your stupid dimples," I groan as I feel Theone pulling a little bit more firmly on my arms, yet I know if he wanted he could push my arms away easily.
"I promise they won't show."
"I can already hear them." I narrow my eyes, even if he can't see me.
He clears his throat and repeats, "I promise."
This pulls me to lift up my eyes, just to check if he can hold his promises, and he is; well, he's fighting his smile tightly with the hold of his teeth. This is cute, but I know his left dimple is threatening to appear at any second, so I focus on his eyes instead, surprised to find the concern so clear there.
"Everyone is worried about you."
"I'm fine." At least, that's why I've been trying to repeat myself for the past two hours.
"Curled-up in your old treehouse? Sure, it looks fine, hidden there," he notes with sarcasm, though it's already a Christmas miracle that his dimples still haven't shown up.
"Yes, that's the aim. How did you even find me?"
"Once we've done all the bathrooms of the town, it was obvious." He shrugs, and once again, he makes it look easy.
Yet I haven't stepped there in such a long time, and that's why I've chosen this place – that, and also because it's been the first place my feet have led me to in my escape.
This is my cocoon, where I've escaped during my whole childhood, whether it's been from my annoying brother and his even more annoying best friend, from my parents when I've done stupid things – often because of the two mentioned before – or even just to escape in my bubble of creativity.
"Well, it turns out milk and rum don't make me reach the world record of vomit, like eggnog does, so I haven't thrown up more than on Aden," I announce, not finding one ounce of humor in my words, but Theone does, and he's fighting hard against his dimples.
"My romance plan is over." I go back to my curled-up position to avoid his laugh. "This is the worst humiliation ever," I mumble what's been overflowing my mind for the past hours.
You would expect that after having emptied my stomach and my eyes, I would feel better, but no. I always come back to the same image: my vomit on Aden's feet and his wide eyes before I've run away.
"Come on, don't say that." I hear him move around from his crouched position in front of me, and I hope that he's going away, even if I know better.
Of course, he's still there, and actually, closer, as he sits on the wall next to me. Yet I'm glad that he stays. His warm presence fills my chest with some comfort, and his dimples distract my mind a little.
"I promise seeing a girl throwing up doesn't stop you from falling in love."
My heart starts in something more than hope, and once more, he makes me believe his words easily, even if... how would he even know?
"But I've thrown up on him," I lift up my head to point out the most important detail.
"I'm sure it's a courtship ritual in some culture!" His dimples pop up proudly.
"You're idiot!" I swat him, yet I still laugh lightly. I don't know how he manages to do it, pulling the lightest laughs from me in the worst moments.
"And I thought it was on your list, you know, the humiliating experience?" He leans closer, bumping my shoulder with his nose.
"Yes, and it was quite enough with the eggnog incident yesterday!"
"With a Miss Disaster like you, so used to humiliating experiences, it has to be bigger than in cheesy movies!" He doesn't even hide his smirk anymore, but I don't avert my gaze away from his dimples.
"I'm not!" I gasp.
I know I don't sound credible right now, but... "And most of my humiliating experiences are because of you." I feel the need to illustrate my argument in front of his lifted eyebrow, so I add, "Just here, I almost fell off the treehouse when you decided to make me believe it was haunted and then scared me with sheets and all, or when I ended glued on my chair at the cafeteria in middle school because you 'accidentally left glue there'." I mime the quotation marks with a deadpan expression, while he starts laughing.
"Oh, yes, this was a good one!" He shakes his head, his laughing calming down in front of my glare. "But you know it's still haunted?" His face turns serious, looking as convincing as when he's been nine. "Boo!!"
I don't even flinch at his pathetical attempt, yet his hands up and wide eyes make me laugh again.
"I'm not scared! I don't think any ghost would want to possess my body and have my life right now." The lump in my throat comes back before my laughter even fully vanishes, the present reality catching up with me.
Strangely, thinking about my past embarrassments has made me feel better. I know it's weird, but maybe it's just that I'm more focused on Theone and his dimples.
So I continue my listing like some would count to 10 and breathe to relax. "And let's not forget when you bombarded me and my date with paintballs before the Winter ball, just down the garden there."
"Hey! Thanks to me you've grown closer and ended up dating for all high school. You should have thank– okay, maybe not," he interrupts himself with a wince as he remembers what I've told him yesterday.
I've never thought about this, but Theone is definitely responsible for most of the disasters in my life. So why I don't want him to leave right now? I choose to ask another question that I've never found the answer either instead.
"Why did you always pick on me? I mean, there were plenty of other kids, and girls, easy to prank."
The question seems to take him aback, like he's never even thought about it, like it's natural for him to pick on me. But again, with Theone, everything looks natural.
"I don't know." He shrugs, yet he answers with no hesitation, "You never whined to the adults like the other girls would do, and you tried to get revenge instead."
It's true that I've always taken to heart to revenge by myself, even if it's got me in a lot of trouble!
"And it was fun, especially seeing you fail each time!" he adds with a cocky grin, the one I've always tried to make disappear.
"Hey! Not everytime!" I protest, racking my brain for an example.
"You always came up with crazy complicated plans, that's why it didn't work."
"Come on! You also planned a little! Like for the paintballs or the glue, you had to get the tools and plan the moment." I try to distract myself from this little voice of doubt, still echoing in Theone's whisper, that things haven't really changed with my plans.
"Yes, but I didn't write it, neither think too much." He shrugs. "Sometimes the best things in life are made out of impulse."
I almost choke on literally nothing – because I have nothing left in my stomach, except for my heart bouncing everywhere – as his words lead me back to my last impulsive move, the indelible taste and the shivers going with it reappearing in my body: the kiss, or I can even say the two kisses. Indeed they've been some of the best kisses I've ever shared.
I avert my gaze from his penetrating green eyes, afraid they can read my thoughts, or at least, the red tinting my cheeks.
"Speaking of not thinking..."
I freeze as those words bring the kisses back in my mind and all my body again, and more exactly, they just intensify the memories that are still there.
"I have a little gift for you." His voice sounds unsure, hesitating, and it pulls my gaze back to him. "It's not much, but um... I thought you would like it... I've followed your advice, and you should follow it too." He leans closer, his eyes focused on the piece of paper in his hand. "Stop worrying, stop thinking too much."
He puts the paper in my hand, and I realize how hard my heart has been thumping when it stops for a second.
"The quality isn't really good, but I've done it quickly with your parents' printer..."
"Oh my god! No! This is perfect! It's the best gift." My fingers trace softly the outlines of the photo, and it's like I'm traveling back to the moment captured in the picture.
I can almost hear Lilly's giggle and Alexis's soft laugh, smell the scent of pine cone and glue, and mostly, I can feel the simple joy we've shared in this moment.
Besides, I look quite nice on the photo, which is rare because I'm always wearing this weird wince-smile in the pictures, but in Theone's photo, I'm smiling naturally, and the whole scene is beaming happiness with the two little angels by my side. I don't even know when Theone has snapped this pic; I haven't noticed, yet I know it's from this afternoon, when we've been lost in making table centerpieces.
I lift up my gaze to find Theone's jade eyes already on me, and my heart skips another of its erratic beats. It's like the fast rhythm is trying to express everything this simple picture is bringing me, yet only stumbling over the right words to say.
"It's... uh... you're... You're really talented." I smile, glancing at the picture, yet my eyes are drawn back to his shining ones. "We can really feel the emotions, and... well, thank you."
I can't put it into words, but I hope he realizes it through my gaze. This picture has erased all the knots in my stomach, all the shame and worries, and even if I know they'll come back, I'm enjoying every little tingle of happiness spreading on my skin.
"It's easy because when you look at Lilly and Alexis, we can see that you only have adoration in your eyes, there's nothing else, it's... pure."
What looks pure are his eyes right now; they're this indescribable shade of green, almost transparent but with so many colors and lights, as unique as a snowflake on the edge of a Christmas tree branch, and they're probably piercing through my soul because this is exactly what I feel for Lilly and Alexis.
"Yeah, I know it's weird, but I really love them, and they're so pure... they really deserve to be happy and loved." Before I can't control it, the tingles of happiness turn into warm tears in my eyes. They aren't like the ones I've shed before, neither they are sad, not happy. They're just from an overflow of emotions that need to come out one way or another.
I might look crazy, yet with Theone, I don't mind. He's seen me much worse, and the softness with which his fingers brush my tears away transforms them into something magical.
I wish I could capture this moment right now, like he's caught the happiness in his pic, and put it into a snow globe. That's how precious and magical it is, and I actually feel all those flakes of glittery snow inside. It makes me feel like nothing can get to me, and I don't know if it's thanks to the photo, or because of the way he's gazing at me right now, but anyway, it's thanks to Theone.
"You should definitely continue taking pics of people..." I sniff through a smile once my tears have dried.
"I don't know if it'll be as easy, but I'll try..." He looks down at the pic, his eyebrows pulling together for a second before he snaps back his gaze to me. "I was thinking that maybe... I could put this pic in one of my books?"
"Really?!"
"Yes, if you want, of course. I think it won't be a problem for Lilly and Alexis because they're from the side and we can't really recognize them, but ... you?"
I glance down at the picture, only realizing now that I'm in the center. The joy Lilly and Alexis are emanating in the photo is so bright that I haven't noticed that we only see a part of their faces, but me... I'm fully on the picture.
"I'd be honored." I smile, though it's so much more than honored than I feel.
If I've thought that the kiss from this afternoon has made me burn, well, it's been nothing compared to the flames tingling my cheeks right now, and he's just needed a pic, a few words, and his eyes. It's overwhelming, especially in the silence around.
The silence isn't awkward; no, it's cozy, but almost too cozy, and I'm much more used to Theone's snide remarks than this. So I search desperately for a way to bring it back before I suffocate in this warmth.
"But maybe I should ask for image rights, being your first picture, it could be worth a lot!" I'm the one to smirk playfully for once, and he blinks before bursting into laughter at my request.
"I can pay you with colorful sweet chocolates, that's my only offer!" He pulls a brown packet out of his pocket, bringing me back to our cooking session, and in fact, it hasn't been much different than right now: light and cozy.
"You always have them on you?"
"Always, you never know when you can need it!" He grins proudly, but his smile falls completely when we hear a voice calling from outside.
"Penelope? Are you here?" The lump of nervousness comes back in my throat, and before I can think of any plan to escape this, Aden climbs into the treehouse.
"I'll leave you two alone." Theone gets up before I can add anything, putting the packet of chocolates on my knees.
"Did I interrupt? I can–"
"No, we'd finished," Theone tells Aden, and I watch him leave with his green sweater still flashing, taking all the Christmas coziness with him.
My mouth opens and closes a few times, but nothing comes out, and I can't even say thank you through the thick lump in my throat.
"I'm sorry." Aden pulls me out of my stare at the now-closed trapdoor, and I have to blink a few times in front of his sorry puppy look.
"What?!" I widen my eyes, finally finding my words again, and I quickly rush them out. The best way to face a humiliating experience is like for pulling off a band-aid: quickly and without hesitation. "I'm the one who is sorry. It was... I'm really sorry! I hope you're not mad at me?"
"Mad at you?" Aden sits down, right where Theone has been seconds ago, yet not as close. "Why would I be? You were sick because of me, once again." He lets out a sigh, his cinnamon eyes glancing at me from under his lowered eyebrows. "I thought you were mad at me, I mean, you could think I'm trying to poison you!" He offers me a sorry smile, and I doubt those eyes could ever have bad intentions.
"No, of course not. Were you?" I playfully ask.
"No, never to the little elf who has helped me find the Christmas spirit." His smile widens, yet his words don't bring me the joy I would have expected, and I don't even try to dig deeper.
"So everything is fine then? No one is mad?" he asks, as he seems even more embarrassed and worried about what has happened than I am –well, now, I'm better, but if this treehouse could talk, it would have a lot to say about the two hours I've stayed curled-up there before Theone has arrived.
"How about we forget it?" I suggest, even though I know the image of my vomit on Aden's pants will be imprinted forever in my memory, and I won't ever mix alcohol and milk.
"Gladly!" Aden laughs lightly, and I don't know if I should be worried or relieved, yet all I feel is an emptiness inside my stomach.
So almost instinctively, my fingers take a chocolate from the packet in my hand. Theone is right: the sweetness is really comforting and unique; it brings me back to our special cookies and how we've made them two days ago, a small smile stretching my lips.
"It's beautiful here. I guess you've made the decoration here too?" Aden once again brings me out of my thoughts, his cinnamon gaze wandering around the room, and I follow it.
It's true that the mix of clear raw lumber and painted mauve are perfectly matched, and the dark blue ceiling imitating a starry night is still making this place magical and cozy, even if now there's only a wooden desk and a small shelf left as furniture.
"Yes," I reply softly, tilting my head to the ceiling to admire each star that I've painted carefully with my mom.
At the view of these tiny points of light, my mind goes back to the infinite of stars and two particular lights getting lost there.
I always come back to the same... and I realize I'm still eating those little colorful chocolates, but they do nothing to fill the emptiness inside.
***
"What?!!"
The loud scream opens my eyes widely, pulling me out of my half-asleep state the way my alarm clock hasn't managed to for the past twenty minutes.
I haven't found sleep until really late, or should I say really early this morning, because once again, my mind has been too full of questions and confusion, and I haven't watched one of my romance movies like I always do in those cases because I haven't dared to put one foot out of my room for fear of bumping into Theone.
I don't even know why I'm avoiding him, when all I've wanted has been for him to stay with me just yesterday night, well, that may be the reason.
Anyway, right now, I have more important worries because the scream I've heard is clearly a cry of shock and maybe even help. So I get up quickly, trying to clear my spinning head and grabbing the first thing I see as a weapon, just in case.
I rush down the stairs and hesitate for a second to decide which room to go, but the ray of light coming from the kitchen door leads me.
I barge in the room, ready to attack, only to find my brother and Theone sitting casually on each side of the kitchen island.
Everything looks as normal as usual: the kitchen neat and clean, the island covered with various breakfast foods that make my stomach growl, and the two men sitting around. Well, these two men are now staring at me with wide eyes as I'm standing in a weird attack position with my teddy bear's butt aiming like a weapon in my hand.
"This girl right here, my sister?" Jason points at me before turning back to Theone with even bigger eyes, as if double-checking something that I have no idea about.
"Yes, no need to twist the knife," Theone replies with a blank expression, and I'm left blinking at the both of them.
"What–"
"I'll leave you two alone to talk." Jason suddenly grins, and I swear it's scary how his expression switches from shock to this devious Cheshire cat smile.
He grabs a toast and then walks away, still turning back to grab a muffin and ruffle my already messed hair before he finally leaves, and I'm still as confused.
What do you think Theone and Penny have to talk about? 😏 And why was Jason screaming? 😱😅 I'm so excited for next chapter... 🤭🤫😁😈
But for this chapter, what do you think? Theone and Penny keep getting cuter and cuter 😍 We've got a glimpse of why Theone was her biggest nightmare, but is he still? 😏 Also, she's his first model for the pics!! 😍😍
And poor Aden, isn't he too adorable? Even if he interrupted Peneone 😣
Let me know in the comments what you think 😉 and vote if you liked this chapter ⭐
If you're good and sweet, but you always are, and because I love you so much, the next chapter will be up soon... 😁😘🎄❤