《Selena Arabella Calos》

"Why are you still up?" Alessandro asks me as he walks into my room. Alessandro's family is very close to mine, so we have a weekly get-together. I wasn't in the mood to deal with my parents again today, so I informed them that I was sick and going to bed early. I got a short lecture for being rude, but they agreed in the end.

I look up from my phone and raise my eyebrow. "Did you really think that I was actually sick?"

He looks at me; his expression is impassive. "After lunch, I wasn't sure that you feeling sick was a lie."

I rest my head against the headboard of the bed and sigh. "Sometimes I wish I was normal."

"Normal is overrated," Alessandro murmurs as he starts walking around my room to clean things up. If it weren't for Alessandro and his obsession with putting things in order, my room would always look like a war zone. "With our families and our lives, we could never be normal."

"Alex is."

Alessandro glances at me. "Do you ever think that maybe that's why you don't like him like that? He's too normal for you."

I laugh. "Am I supposed to feel offended?"

He rolls his eyes. "You're not, but if Alex was here, he would get offended."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Why? Also, what did you mean when you told him I'm not his girlfriend yet at lunch?"

"Come on, Lena, you know he likes you. Even though he doesn't know you as well as I do, he's known you long enough to know that you will never be into him as long as he's normal. He knows that kind of relationship will never be exciting enough for you. And as for lunch today, well, he wants to ask you out."

I groan. "Did you tell him not to?"

Alessandro sits beside me on my bed and looks at me with an unreadable expression. "I did, but why don't you give him a chance?" I give him a look. He knows exactly why. "Don't give me that bullshit about him not being Italian. Sure, you may not be able to marry him for that reason, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't date him."

I look at him in silence. I know he's right. I know that if I give Alex a chance, I might eventually fall in love with him. But that will only cause heartbreak- for him and me. Alex does not understand why my parents don't want me to marry a person with a different ethnicity from ours. He does not understand my family's traditions. He doesn't understand our secrets.

"What happened today after lunch?" Alessandro says after a while.

I glance at him and then pick up my phone, not wanting to see the disappointment on his face when I tell him the truth. "I felt sick because of how much I had eaten, so I went to the gym."

"For how long?"

"Two hours."

"Did you work out in the morning too?"

"Yes, for an hour."

Alessandro sighs, but before he can reprimand me I say, "Can we please talk about something else, anything else?"

He purses his lips, like he is about to argue but then he closes his eyes and says. "Like?"

I grin. "So, I bumped into this really hot guy today..."

-

"What do you want?" I snap into the phone when I pick it up. I hate it when people call me when I'm asleep, especially when I have amazing dreams, like the one I just had.

"Thank you for finally answering my call. I've been you calling for 30 minutes. I thought that you may have died," Ajax says cheekily, and I roll my eyes. Why in the world is my brother so overdramatic?

"What do you want, Jax?" I repeat impatiently, still annoyed that he woke me up from my peaceful slumber.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," he comments, and I almost snap at him again.

Calm down, Lena.

"I wake up on the wrong side every day," I remind him, sighing, and he laughs. Why is he laughing for no reason? I want to kill him. No, I don't actually want to kill him- he's still my brother, and I love him. I want to kill him in a way in which he won't die. "Stop laughing! What do you want? Why did you wake me up?"

"Aren't you already supposed to be up? It's nearly eight over there."

"Ajax Maximus Calos, shut the hell up and get to the point if you don't want me to kill you," I threaten angrily.

"You just technically swore," he replies, then starts laughing again. Oh, for the love of God, get to the bloody point.

This reminds me of when he used to live with us. He always used to come to my room in the morning, turn on all the lights and play Fall Out Boy on max volume. All that just to wake me up and help him decide what to wear for the day. He's such a fantastic brother, isn't he?

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he says, probably trying to control his laughter because he knows that if he laughs, I'll probably act on my threat. "You have to go to dinner with the Castello's today, right?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Mamma called me to ask if I would be able to come, but I told her that I have important meetings which cannot be rescheduled."

"Lucky," I mutter, and he laughs.

"I'm not that lucky, sorellina. I'll have to endure hours of boring people talking about boring shit."

"I'm not little anymore," I argue, ignoring the rest of his words.

"You are to me," he replies. "Believe it or not, I'd rather be there."

"Why would you want that? No, I'm sorry. I meant, why would anyone rather spend time with our parents than do anything else?"

"It's not because of them. Do you remember Francesco?"

"The cute, funny, blonde one?"

Jax pauses for a second. "Should I be worried?"

I smile. "About what?"

"That you called my best friend cute," Jax says, and I laugh.

"I think many people are cute, but that doesn't mean I want to date all of them."

What I don't say is that I wouldn't be entirely opposed to dating Francesco. Not only does he meet the conditions my parents set, but he's also one of the nicest, charming, and not mention hottest guys I've met. There is the small hurdle of him being Jax's best friend, but I'm sure if I truly wanted to date him, Jax wouldn't stand in the way.

Jax starts to say something- probably something dumb- but then stops. "Yeah, him. He's going to be at the dinner tonight."

"Why?"

Jax sighs. "For such a smart person, you're really dumb, you know."

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult."

I can't see him over the phone, but I know he's rolling his eyes.

He probably meant it as a compliment then because he knows better than to insult me and not explain himself. I think.

"Do you not remember his last name?" He says, disregarding my previous statement.

"I'm good at remembering people's faces, not their names," I remind Jax. "But yeah, now that you mention it, I remember his last name. Why didn't father get into business with the Castello's earlier if you were already friends with the heir?"

"Francis is not the inheriting the business. His twin brother Daniel is, and he's already the CEO."

"So that's the reason Father didn't go into business with them sooner. He didn't trust that Francis's brother would be successful in running the company."

"Not exactly. Daniel is known for succeeding in anything he puts his mind to. I have a feeling that Papà didn't go into business with them sooner because of an entirely different reason."

"What reason?" I question him when he doesn't continue to explain.

"Hopefully, it is nothing that you need to bother yourself with." What's that supposed to mean? Now I'm even more curious, but I know that Jax will not tell me, no matter what, so I don't ask him again. "You're going to be late and have an argument with Mamma again, which will probably ruin your day. So get up from your bed and go to work."

"I'm working for Father today," I reply, and Jax sighs.

"That's even worse," he remarks. He would know better than anyone what it's like to work with Father- he worked with him for most of his teenage years. I wonder if that's why he started his own company- because he realised what Father was like.

"Don't worry, I have to be there by nine. I still have a lot of time until then."

"Okay, just don't be late, 'kay?" He says in a tone resembling a teenage mean girl, and I smile. He will always remain a child.

"'kay, bye," I reply with the same tone, and I know he's smiling too.

"Bye-bye. Take care and eat properly," Jax says and hangs up.

I put my phone on my side table and lay in bed for another minute. I'm not even out of bed, and I'm already tired, but what else is new?

-

"Hey, Lena," Alessandro chirps as I slide into a chair opposite him and Nat. He reaches across the table to try and ruffle my hair, and I slap his hand away.

"Bye, Sandy," I reply, and he rolls his eyes but smiles.

"Glad to know that my best friend is still four," he retorts, and I prove his point by sticking out my tongue.

I roll my eyes and look at Nat. "Hey, Natty."

Nat smiles.

"You're late," she says, and I narrow my eyes.

"The dictionary definition of late is doing something after the expected, proper, or usual time. And we planned to meet at 3, and it is currently 3, so no, I am not late; I am right on time," I reply proudly.

She blinks. "Is it just me, or did that seem rehearsed?"

"Not rehearsed but repeated. I said the exact same thing to someone else this morning."

Alessandro shakes his head and smiles, knowing exactly what I'm talking about. Nat, on the other stares at me in horror.

"Please don't tell me you said that to one of your parents."

"I said it to Father, but Mother was there too, so I guess I said it to both," I reply, and Nat looks at me disapprovingly. "What? You probably would've done the same thing if you were in my position. I was five minutes early when he accused me of being late and told me that I would not be getting my salary for today because of it."

"What did your sass get you?" She asks me.

"A lecture from Mother and extra work from Father."

"Was it worth it, then?" She asks me, and I smile.

"No, Mamma. I'm sorry it wasn't worth it," I reply, and she throws a straw at me, which I manage to dodge. "Better luck next time."

She, being a child like me, sticks out her tongue too.

Alessandro rolls his eyes at us, then turns to me, "Don't tell me you read the dictionary definition just to say to your parents."

"What do you think?"

"I think you're petty enough to do so," he replies with a smirk and I fake gasp, throwing a straw at him. And it nails him in the face.

That's what he gets for calling me petty.

Even though it is true.

But that's beside the point.

Nat pushes a plate with bacon egg cups and a mug of black coffee towards me.

"Can I ask why we are having breakfast in the afternoon?" I ask them as I place an egg cup on my plate.

"Why not is the real question. I hate that there are no rules for lunch or dinner meals, you can have them any time, but with breakfast, there's a certain time," Alessandro replies, pouting, and I blink in surprise.

"I- did Blake add some of his DNA inside you or something?"

Nat shakes her head. "First off, never say that again; it sounds wrong and second, I share DNA with him, and yet I've never talked about food like that. I think Alessandro is spending too much time with Blake."

Alessandro smiles sarcastically. "Do you guys want me to point out your similarities to Blake?" Nat and my eyes widen, and we shake our heads. "I thought so."

Blake is well... Blake. And the similarities we have with him are not good ones.

"I didn't have breakfast today because I had that fashion show at noon. I wasn't supposed to eat before then, so I thought I should just compensate for my missed breakfast, and Sandy followed."

Alessandro makes a face. "Don't call me Sandy. It reminds me of that underwater squirrel from the sponge show. Before either of you says anything, no, I did not just insult your beloved cartoon."

"We weren't going to say anything, Sandy," Nat replies to aggravate Alessandro. "Anyways, are either of you attending Amy's party tonight?"

Alessandro shakes his head. "I'm going out with a couple of friends tonight, so I won't be able to make it."

I pout. "No, I can't either. I have been ordered to attend a dinner with my parents and these other people. Are you going?"

"Yeah," Nat replies, looking a bit lost. "I need a distraction."

Alessandro and I exchange a worried look. This is the first time Nat has implied that something is going on with her. We want to ask her about it, but she doesn't like to talk about her problems with anyone.

She looks at our expressions and sighs. "I didn't want to ruin everyone's moods, so I didn't bring it up."

"Nat, how many times have I told you that you can tell me about anything no matter what?" I ask her, and Alessandro nods.

"If you keep looking out for other people and not share your problems, you'll suffocate yourself. What's wrong?" Alessandro asks her, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Mom and Dad. They're getting a divorce. Well, technically, Mom is divorcing Dad because he cheated on her, and she found out last night. Apparently, this wasn't the first time he cheated on her. I can't believe Mom didn't even tell me. I used to think he was perfect in every way, but I was wrong because she didn't tell me about him," Nat tells us. She isn't crying. She looks angry. But I know her and know that that anger is because of sorrow.

I stand up and hug her. "Your mom just wanted to protect you. She knew you loved him, and she probably didn't want to ruin your relationship."

Nat loves her father more than anything in the world, and as she said, she used to think he was perfect in every way. Now, when her illusion of him is broken, so is her heart.

"It's going to be okay," Alessandro says soothingly to her as he kisses her forehead. "We are here for you."

"Does Blake know?" I ask her after a while, and she nods.

"Yeah, he does. He wants to be alone right now. We both found out last night, and Lena, it was terrible. Dad- he didn't even have an excuse. He didn't even protest when Mom said she was filing for divorce. I don't understand how he could do this."

Her sorrow turns into anger, and she glares at the table. "I thought my father was the perfect husband, one who didn't feel threatened by his wife's success- turns out he did. He was never a perfect man, just a perfect liar. All those times he reassured Mom that he would stand by her through all her successes and failures were a lie." Nat looks at Alessandro. "Why did he feel the need to lie?"

For a moment, Alessandro is stunned, unsure how he should reply. But I know better than anyone that Alessandro is really good with people- talking to people, reading people, and discerning why people do things they do. It's one of the things that annoys me most about him.

"Sometimes when a person wants to believe something, they say it a lot, especially to the people that thing relates to so that one day the person believes it too. I don't think your father was lying intentionally, he told your mom that so that he could make himself believe it, but his mind wouldn't allow him to. I think... I think he was jealous of your mother, not because she was a woman who was more successful than him, but because she was successful..." Alessandro pauses. I understand what he's trying to say, but it doesn't make much sense. "Okay, maybe this will make more sense. He wasn't just jealous of your mother, he was jealous of everyone who had more success than him, but your mother was the only person he could act out against."

Nat blinks as if she's surprised by Alessandro's observation, but then she nods at him. "That's what I thought too. Subconsciously, I have seen him be jealous for years of everyone's success. Still, I thought that I misunderstood him, but I guess not."

She rests her head on the table. "I just want to forget about him. That's why I'm going to that party tonight."

"You can't go alone, not like this," I protest. "I can try and c-"

Nat interrupts me. "No, there's no need for that. I won't go alone, don't worry. I'm going to go with some friends from college."

"Are you sure? I can cancel my plans if you need me," Alessandro says.

"You don't have to cancel any plans, Alessandro. I will be fine. I promise."

Alessandro sighs. "I want you to promise me you'll be safe first, that you won't do anything stupid."

Nat lifts her head from the table and cracks a lopsided smile. "When do I ever?" Alessandro looks at her unimpressed, and she sighs. "I promise I won't do anything stupid. Happy?

Alessandro rolls his eyes. "Bloody ecstatic. I'm going to go and get some coffee, do-"

"I'll get it," I say, jumping from my seat. Both of them look at me and raise an eyebrow in unison. "What? Sitting still takes a lot of energy. I want to relax a bit. What do you guys want?"

"Caramel Frappe," Alessandro replies, not bothering to argue with me.

"Same," Nat says.

"Sure, I'll be right back," I say, already walking away from the table. I was just about to get another cup of coffee before Alessandro or Nat said anything. I'm feeling sleepy because of my late night and early morning- courtesy of my dear brother. But even if I wasn't exhausted, I would've gotten more coffee because I love it so much.

I'm so distracted by my thoughts about coffee that I bump into someone and almost break my nose. Why does the human body have to be so weak and strong simultaneously? And yes, by weak, I meant me, and by strong, I meant the person I bumped into. But I guess everyone's nose is weak and back strong.

Why am I even thinking about that right now? I'm so weird.

The person turns around, and I unconsciously catch my breath. It's him again- the blue-eyed angel.

He turns around with an angry expression, but it softens when he realises it's me. "I told you to be careful," he says, a smile gracing his beautiful face.

"I'm sorry, I was just distracted," I explain, blushing in embarrassment.

"Thinking about someone?" He asks, raising his eyebrow.

I shake my head. "No, not unless coffee counts as someone," I reply, and he smiles.

"I don't think it does." We stand in silence for a moment, and I just observe him. He looks tired today- if the dark circles under his eyes are any indication. And something about his look today matches the dangerous aura I felt from him yesterday. "How have you been, other than the tripping?"

Oh, no. Small talk means an awkward me because I don't know how to small talk.

I smile. "I've been good. How have you been?"

Was that the right thing to ask? Wait, did I answer correctly?

At times, I feel like I should Google search small talk examples, so I'm not this awkward around people.

He smirks as if noticing my awkwardness. Great, just wonderful, exactly what I needed.

"Oh, I've been good too," he replies, a glint in his eyes. "It's your turn to order next."

I blink. "No, it isn't. You were here first."

"That doesn't matter. I can wait, and you really look like you need coffee."

"I don't like cutting a line. It makes me think I'm anti-feminist."

He lets out a short laugh, then shakes his head. "I assure you, I'm not letting you cut ahead because you're a woman. I'm letting you cut ahead because you like you're about to fall asleep right now."

I blink, not sure whether to take that as an insult or not.

"That wasn't an insult," he replies before I can say anything.

"I didn't think it was," I lie.

He bites his lip. "Sure, I believe you, little liar," he replies, his voice dripping with sarcasm. I'm about to retort when he continues, "We have bumped into each other for the second time in two days, and we don't even know each other's names. I'm Nico."

"Arabella," I reply. For some odd reason, I want him to call me by my middle name instead of my first.

"Arabella," he repeats, and I mentally pat myself on the back for giving him my middle name instead of my first. 'Selena' wouldn't have sounded nearly as good from his mouth as 'Arabella' did. "That's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

-

A/N

I'm exhausted so no rants for this chapter unless you'd like for me to go into a 18 page rant (FRONT AND BACK!) about being tired and hating uni and fake people who make me want to go on a murder rampage.

Yeah, so what did you guys think of this chapter? Good, bad, horrendous, tolerable?

Just going to leave this here as a reminder - ☆

Hopefully you know what it means.