.•° ✿ °•.
Twenty

°•. ✿ .•°

[Javier]

"Morning Rochelle," He replied, tactically using her own middle name, as she'd done his, and feeling a wide grin take his face over.

The previous night had left him lying on his bed, just like he'd done countless times before, thinking of April—just as he'd done countless times before.

When he had started the song, the last thing on the list of 'possible April reactions' was a kiss. He had spent more energy trying to filter the non offensive content than he he'd ever had while writing it. Whether it was him giving in to his old ways of doing absolutely everything to abolish tears from her life or him just trying to push away the rising guilt in his chest, it was never clear, and all his thoughts were as gone as ever in the single moment in which she'd kissed him.

He didn't know exactly what she'd been thinking, but to him, he knew he had failed. Failed to follow his dreams, failed to stand up to his father, and failed to get revenge on April...just like Jules had said he would.

Was that such a bad thing though?

"Okay, are you gonna keep me hanging here, or are you gonna answer me?" She asked, ruffling his hair.

He shook her hand off, deciding to give his own question a few more days of thought. "What's up?"

"Did you suggest the name Autumn for my new sister?" She asked, her cheekbones high as the ceiling. "Cause if you didn't, someone was poking into our convos."

"What convos?"

She let go of him and leant her elbow on the sink beside him. "The one where we named our kids on my balcony...Autumn, Adler and Renée."

"You planned to make Renée the odd one out."

April giggled and shrugged. "It'd be awesome to to have a kid like that...she'd keep a diary and she'll be super fabulous. She will choose me over her dad no matter what, and she will fall for Adler's best friend."

Javier shook his head. "You're still freakin' crazy!"

"It could happen! I just need her Dad, you watch me nae nae," she replied and almost doubled over with laughter.

Javier didn't laugh, however. He was too busy picturing April and her three kids...all with their last name Klein. The thought brought him a certain joy he hadn't thought he'd feel again, deep inside of him. He leaned in and gave her lips a small kiss.

"People are hungry, so you might just wanna postpone that," Paige's voice separated them. When he turned to her, she passed him a wink. "So I'm guessing by that little freak show, you're back?"

Ignoring her question, April chuckled. "What do you want, Paige?"

"Food, duh. I'm starving."

"Almost done," Javier chuckled, gesturing to the bacon he had just set down.

Paige walked closer and grabbed a strand, taking it to her mouth immediately and ignoring his 'that's not for eating yet.'

"How does it taste?" April asked.

"Not bad," she shrugged. "Anyway, I'm gonna go find Amanda, she's missing. Feel free to resume pointlessly predicting names like you'll ever use them."

"What?" April asked.

He didn't speak, but only because his gut felt like mush.

Paige shrugged innocently. "You're gonna give your children whatever names I choose." And with a goofy smirk, she skipped her way out of the kitchen.

April turned to him, fighting a snicker. A battle she badly lost, because the next thing she did was burst into laughter. He also laughed, more relieved to know that she'd only been joking.

"Is Amanda alright?" He asked, remembering Paige's words.

April picked up a wooden spoon. "What do you mean? You were with her this morning."

He shook his head and reached a hand to her. She rolled her eyes and gave it back to him. "Paige said she was missing."

"She probably wandered outside, she's fine. She won't talk to me anyway so what's the point?"

He smiled sadly, now watching her go through his bowl of salad ingredients. He wasn't about to stop her, though. "She's still your best friend, no matter how secretive she is," he mumbled, hoping she heard him. "She's pushing you away, but it might just be the time she needs you the most."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶

[April]

With Javier's words still ringing in her brain, April left the kitchen and reached the sitting room, where the non-stop sounds of chit-chat filled the air. Both men and women she didn't care to know moved about in different directions, reminding her of those functions she used to attend back in Washington, during the period of her father's run for governorship—which he had lost, by the way.

She swept through, searching for shoulder-length blonde hair on the head of a woman with the biggest smile she knew. She spotted her step mother by the door that led to the back of the house.

"Hey, Hannah."

She quickly excused herself from the group she was in and hurried to April's side. "Oh hey sweetie, what's up?"

"I didn't mean to intrude, but have you seen Amanda?"

"Oh I saw her earlier when she delivered food, then she spoke to Nathan for a while and then Paige, but after that, I don't know where she went. Maybe check upstairs?"

April nodded. "Okay, thanks."

"And maybe ask Malia too," Hannah added. "I saw them together a while back."

April nodded again, more dreadful this time. "Yeah, thanks."

"Is everything okay?"

"Er yeah. It's fine, of course it's fine."

She left Hannah and hurried up the stairs that led to the bedrooms, her mind a swirl of possibilities. Where could Amanda possibly have gone? And what was she doing with Malia of all people?

The noise of chatter had died down, now that she was upstairs, opening the patterned doors on either side of the tiled hallway one after the other.

Amanda was nowhere to be found.

She got to the last door–the room they shared, and wasted no time in twisting the knob to open it.

Nothing, she wasn't there either.

Stomping footsteps approached from behind her. She turned around to meet a stressed looking Paige. "Great! Mom said you were up here," she said with a sigh of relief. "Have you seen her? She's not outside, I saw and asked Shawn and Axel and they haven't seen her and I'm getting worried."

April breathed in, realising Nathan wasn't anywhere to be found, either. Her stomach churned but she hoped it wouldn't be what she was thinking. "Have- have you seen Nathan?"

Paige nodded quickly. "He's also looking for her. He said they were together earlier but he went to get her a drink and when he returned, she'd wandered off."

It still sounded suspicious.

"Nathan went to get Amanda juice?"

"Yah, I know right?" Paige supported with a slight roll of her eyes. "Like since when did he ever–" Her slight smile faded. "Wait, you don't think–"

April shrugged. "I mean, Javier may have mentioned something like that but of course I don't believe it...seems too stupid to be true. Nathan and Amanda?"

Paige scoffed. "Welp, we can't ask her if we don't find her first so get your butt moving and let's go."

April took in a shaky breath. "Fine."