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Chapter 11 *Visitor*

~Sophia

A loud thumping of the door wakes me up. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I get up from the bed. A groan escapes from my lips when I notice that it’s just seven in the morning. It’s so early. Whoever is at the other side of the door should have a good explanation on why he or she is woke me up this time of the day.

The person continues to knock at the door.

Opening it, I step back as someone envelops me in a hug.

“Whoa!” I try to gain my balance to no avail. My knees buckle from under me and I fall down on the floor with Driana.

Driana!

She laughs at my expression; no doubt, my eyes are wide with shock. She helps me stand up, smiling like there’s no tomorrow.

“What are you doing here?” I ask when I find my voice.

“Visiting you.” She grins cheekily.

I raise my eyebrow. “Early in the morning?” Driana is not an early person so seeing her this time of the day surprised me. Furthermore, it’s Sunday.

She smiles sheepishly. “I can’t wait to see you. And I want to know what happened in the past few days!”

I should have known she’s coming here. Knowing Driana, I should have expected it. She’s not the type of girl who’s willing to wait. And then I realize something.

“I’m just going to brush my teeth,” I tell Driana.

She playfully covers her nose, as if I have a morning breath.

Rolling my eyes, I say, “Make your self comfortable.”

Before going in the bathroom, I knock once, and then twice. Maybe Drake’s not here. Opening the door slowly, I listen for a second if there’s an unnecessary sound. None, so the coast is clear.

After brushing my teeth, I go to my room and find Driana looking at the walls thoughtfully.

“Hey,” she says when I enter the room. “Nice murals.”

Pursing my lips, I decide to tell her that Drake helped me in doing that.

Driana gives me a knowing look.  The look she and I share when talking about Drake. It’s not that we always talk about him. It’s just that –

“Breakfast is ready!” Andre yells from the other side of the door.

“Do you think he heard something?” I whisper. I don’t know why I don’t like Andre knowing we’re talking about his best friend.

Driana shakes her head and says, “I doubt it.”

“We’re going!” I say a little more loudly.

“Let’s go,” Driana says. “I haven’t eaten yet, you know?”

“Yes, because when you woke up, you went directly to my room.” That’s when I remember something. “Who let you in?” I ask her as we walk down the stairs.

“Andre’s mom,” she answers.

“I hope you didn’t wake her,” I tease.

She flushes. Her pale cheeks redden at the thought. “Of course I didn’t!” She scowls at me.

A smile appears on my face as she turns towards the hallway leading to the kitchen.

“This is the dining room,” I say, pointing to the room across from the kitchen.

“This is such a huge house,” she mutters under her breath.

“Tell me about it,” I murmur.

When we walk in the dining room, Aunt V, Andre, and Drake are already sitting on the table, talking to each other.

“Good morning ladies,” Aunt V greets us.

“Morning,” Driana and I say simultaneously.

Driana takes the sit across from Andre. I have no choice but to sit across from Drake. Looking at him with a bored expression makes me remember of yesterday’s events.

Yesterday was kind of fun, minus the bathroom part. After we bought the paints and brushes, we went to McDonald’s to buy our lunch. Of course, Drake paid for everything, considering I haven’t brought any money with me. When we went to the house, we took all the furniture and push them outside the room so that we could paint the walls. It was just Drake and me. Andre hadn’t come at that time yet. We just splashed the paint on the walls. We – I mean, Drake, bought different colors of paint. We painted different kinds of flowers and butterflies. After that, we waited for the paint to dry before putting back the furniture in the room. Now, it looks like a mural from an art museum. And I like it.

A loud clearing of the throat breaks me from my reverie.

“What brought you here?” Drake asks Driana.

“I’m making sure Andre is helping you study,” Driana says.

Andre smiles sheepishly. “I will. Later.”

“Why do you care?” Drake glowers at Driana.

“Because I’m your sister. Twin sister.”

“Just tell us the truth. You came here because you missed me.”

Driana gives Drake a scornful look. “The house is perfectly fine without you.”

“Oh, come on,” Drake says sarcastically, “I know you love my company.”

Seeing them argue is kind of amusing. I won’t be surprised if they will throw the meals they're eating at each other. The way Driana talks about Drake, it feels like he's the most evil person in the world. Whenever she says his name, it’s always full of venom. I wonder why they don’t like each other. Can it be true, that it’s more than sibling rivalry? I doubt it. They don’t even have the same gender and it’s not like their parents will pick a favorite among them.

“Learn to appreciate what you have before time forces you to appreciate what you lost,” I say.

 “Thinking about Matt?” Driana asks.

“Yeah,” I murmur. “Even if you hate Drake –"

She cuts me off and says, “Not hate, just dislike.”

“He’s still your brother. Your twin, to be précised. You should try to be friends with him.”

“I’ll try. But I guess it will take a lot of time to gain that. We’re just not . . you know?” She frowns. “Look, I’m sorry. You missed your little brother, and here I am, complaining about my twin.”

Driana leans on me, interrupting my thoughts, and whispers, “It feels like a day off without him.”

I can’t help but laugh at that. Everyone looks at us oddly, though.

“Care to share the joke?” Andre asks dryly.

“Nope,” Driana says, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

“What did you tell her?” Drake asks through gritted teeth.

“Nothing,” Driana says slyly.

Drake opens his mouth but before he can say something, Aunt V says, “Children, don’t argue in front of the food. It’s bad luck.”

Andre snorts, making Aunt V look pointedly at him.

This breakfast is so bizarre. There are a lot of conversations going on; I don’t know where to focus.

“Sophia,” Aunt V suddenly says, “I heard you painted your room.”

“Um, yes,” I say, “Drak. .  Drake helped me.” I almost said Draky in front of them. I’m glad no one, except for Drake, seem to notice it.

Rolling my eyes at him, I see Aunt V looking approvingly at us. Maybe because I followed her suggestion about changing the style of my room.

 “That’s good to hear.” She smiles. “I want you to make this your home.”

“Sure,” I mumble.

After eating, I suggest that I will clean the dishes, but Aunt V declines.

“No, you should have fun. I can take care of it,” Aunt V says.

“Can you tutor me now?” Drake asks.

Driana turns and gives me a scowl. “You’re going to tutor him?”

“Uh, yes,” I murmur.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I haven’t?” I ask incredulously.

“No.” She frowns, looking disappointed.

“I guess it slipped off my mind,” I explain.

Drake smirks, while Andre looks amused, watching us. I’m about to snap at them when a plan crosses my mind.

“I have an idea,” I tell them. “Andre will tutor you first so that Driana and I can talk.”

Driana grins enthusiastically. I’m so glad she’s here. At least, it’s equal now. Two girls and two boys. They can’t boss me around now. Not that they ever did, but still. Knowing someone will have your back makes you brave.

“After that,” I continue, “I can tutor you.”

Drake narrows his eyes. “What if Driana is still there after Andre and I finished our tuto –“

“Don’t worry,” Driana cuts him off, looking smug. “I’ll leave before that happens.”

“Good,” Drake mutters darkly.

Andre chuckles quietly. I have no doubt he enjoys watching the twins argue. “Let’s start then,” he says.

I’m proud of Driana. She doesn’t flinches with the daggers Drake throws her way. Perhaps she’s used to it.

We make our separate ways. The boys go to Drake's room to study, while Driana and I go to my room to have a chat.

“I want to hear all about it,” Driana says, sitting on my bed.

“Um, I don’t know where to start.” I sit beside her, getting Shea from the corner of the bed.

“Start from the very beginning,” she suggests.

“Of course,” I mutter, rolling my eyes. “Once upon a time,” I begin. And then I tell her everything -- the reason why I am living in Andre’s house, the awkward dinner, the movie time, and last but not least, the painting session. I omit the bathroom part. No need to add humiliation to myself. For sure, she’ll just tease me to death.

“Really?” She asks dubiously. “He helped you paint this room?”

“Yeah,” I murmur. I can’t believe it either.  “He even paid for the things needed and he treated me lunch.”

Driana looks thoughtful for a moment. “I guess my brother has a good heart after all.”

“Yeah,” I agree, chuckling quietly.

~ Drake

“Do you think you can make Sophia fall in love with you?” Andre asks me seriously.

“I don’t know,” I tell him honestly. “I will try.”

“I know you will.”

Am I that easy to predict? Or maybe he knows it because he’s my best friend? “What do you think about her?”

“Why? You want to cancel the bet?”

“No,” I snap. “A deal’s a deal.” I lost, so I should continue what I started.

“Why are you asking then?”

“I’m just curious about your answer!"

Andre pauses, and thinks for a moment. “She’s brave,” he says finally. “And like I said before, she’s pretty. Just by looking at her pale blue eyes makes you want to protect her.”

She’s tougher than she looks, I thought. But I have to agree, Pie is brave. A lot has happened to her already, and she survived them all. What will Andre think of Pie when he know about all the hardships and sufferings she experienced? Of course, I can’t tell him about it. It’s not my secret and it feels wrong to tell anyone about it.

“Drake.” His tone makes me look at him from the calculator on my hand.

“What?” I ask.

“If you want, we can forget about the bet.”

I shake my head. It’s not fair to him.

Is it fair to Pie?

"Quitting is not in my vocabulary,” I say, ignoring the thoughts that are clouding my mind.

“I know,” he mutters.

Of course, I haven’t because it’s my first time to lose.

Changing the topic, I ask him about the assignment in Calculus. It’s the reason why I’m here in the first place after all -- to study. Even if Andre is patient in teaching me, my mind is drifting in and out of focus.

Tomorrow’s the fifth day. What am I going to do?

~Sophia

“Read the play again from the start and tell me what you don’t understand,” I instruct.

Drake and I are sitting across from each other in the library. Driana left a few minutes before Drake knocked at my door.

“What?” he asks, taken aback. “I’m going to read it again from the very start?”

“Yes,” I say, biting my lip to stop the smile that’s threatening to form on my lips.

He groans, but still reads it.

I’m glad he’s paying attention to what I say. I hope he’s not escaping some stanzas just to finish it quickly. To be fair to him, I get my copy of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and begin to read, instead of staring at him while he’s reading. Some part of me says I do it because of moral support, though.

“Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind.”

“Huh?” I say brilliantly.

“What do you think about it?” Drake asks.

“What do I think about what?” When I’m reading, I’m not here because I’m inside the book I’m reading.

He rolls his eyes and says, “Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind.”

The quote is familiar. It was what Helena said Love should be.

What do I think about it? “Um.” Yeah, 'um' – a great way to start a sentence.

“For me,” I say, “you should not love someone because of their physical appearance but rather, love them because of what they are inside. You may be beautiful outside, but what’s the sense if you have a black soul, right?”

“Right,” Drake mutters, looking away.

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye,” I quote from The Little Prince.

“That’s by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,” he states.

“How do you know?” I ask curiously.

He smiles sheepishly. “The Little Prince is my favorite book.”

I can’t believe Drake likes to read. My mind makes a mental image of him sitting beside a tree, a book in hand. A smile appears on my face at that thought.

“You’re spacing again,” he observes. “Am I that boring that you find yourself daydreaming instead of being with me?”

“No,” I say quickly. “I just thought of something, that’s why.”

He tilts his head to the side. “Care to share it?”

“Nope,” I say, smiling a bit. I don’t know where the conversation is headed so I come back to the topic. Clearing my throat, I say, “Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind.”

Drake puts down his copy of the play and looks steadily at me. “I think if you love someone, you shouldn’t care about her appearance at all. Loving someone because of her physical attribute isn’t love. It’s either lust or crush.”

Crush.  . . Yeah, I know. What I felt about him was like, and not love. I know the difference between the two.

“Truth is,” he continues, “a lot of people look at the physical appearance when it comes to beauty. Of course, the first thing you notice in a person is her face. Perhaps it’s the reason why people fall in love with good looks. For some, the attitude of the person just comes after that.” He said it like he’s an expert when it comes to love. Well, considering he’s Drake Swift . . .

“Isn’t it,” he says, oblivious to my thoughts, “when you already love someone, you don’t notice what they look anymore after you get to know them? It’s because you don’t just see them anymore. You see what they are inside. And that is love.”

Wow. Drake Swift made a speech about love. Never in my mind had I thought of him as a poet. I guess I should expect the unexpected when I’m with him.

*****

I hope you liked this ♥ The song is Vindicated by Dashboard Confessional. (:One of the best bands:) Banner by Candyyyyyyy.

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