VALENTINA

"I feel so ordinary, sad when you around me. Treat me like corduroy, wear me out. Arguments, you air me out."

. . .

"Are you ok-kay, Dante?"

"Are you?"

"I'm okay," I sigh and take out the food, placing it all on the table. I then walk to the kitchen and get us plates and utensils, before walking back to the living room.

I get down on my knees and situate myself on the carpet.

"Today was just a-annoying. Alessandro behaving like a child and causing my allergic reaction... I mean, who does that?"

Before he can say anything else, I continue. "School is stressing me out as well. And then I have my grandmother's birthday this weekend and I'll have to go see my family. Ugh, you know how much I hate those weekends. And how my mom gets when we're around other family members."

"You don't want to go?"

"You know I don't," I whisper, and feel my shoulders deflate as my mind takes me to some unwanted memories. "I don't want to be around my mother when she gets like that."

"You can always give it another shot, see how she is this time."

"That's like saying Alessandro will wake up one day and decide not to be a pain in the ass," I snort and roll my eyes.

It's silent for a few seconds before he continues. "Why do you think your mother won't change?"

"I just feel it," I murmur. "I remember that last time, I went into a corner of another room and started silently crying."

Mami always gets annoyed with me quicker than usual on these trips and doesn't hesitate to berate me in front of other family members or friends.

"That's fucked up, Valentina."

I hum in acknowledgment.

"Too bad I don't care."

My head snaps up at those words and a chill runs down my spine.

Dante leans into the light, and all the blood drains from my face when I realize it's not Dante at all.

Any other person wouldn't see the differences between the twins, but I do.

Just the way the moonlight falls across his angled features gives him away, that, and the slight difference in the shape of their eyes.

Dante's are just a tad rounder and filled with so much warmth and kindness like they're etched into his skin.

Alessandro, however, is pure evil.

They're fox-eyes. Their color like honey pools in the sun, but it's just a façade to his interior.

That, and Dante doesn't have this barely-there dimple when he smirks.

Alessandro, aka the devil, does.

"You," I breathe, and my face scrunches up in disgust.

I just ranted about my feelings to this... monster. The one person who seeks out my weaknesses.

I feel bile rising up my throat, and my face feels hot.

He's so... so... ugh!

"You're despicable," I spit out and stand up, my hunger having completely left my body.

"Look in the mirror," Alessandro replies dryly. I get distracted by the door opening, and Dante steps through.

Upon seeing the both of us, he frowns and pauses in what he's doing.

"What's going on here?" he asks, and I send an accusatory glance at Alessandro, who just maliciously grins.

"I live here, too."

"You don't," Dante sighs and walks further inside. "You just crash here sometimes when you're too drunk to drive to your own apartment. And you don't look drunk to me."

"I'm not," Alessandro replies, and the grin leaves his features, smoothing out his face and it's now that I notice his tense posture.

Something's going on. And I've known Alessandro for too long.

I know all his traits. Because there was a time I used to be obsessed with him.

Barf.

My coming here caught him off-guard, he didn't expect me to be here and he was just waiting on his brother.

Then, he decided to just be a dick and fuck around with me.

A small, curious part of me wants to know what's going on, but I bite back the question. Like he'd ever confide in me.

I wouldn't trust him with any of my secrets either.

And yet, I just ranted to him about my feelings and awful day.

"Just wanted to check in on you," he sighs and stands up, throwing me a glance. "But the spawn of the devil is here, and I'd rather be anywhere else than here."

"Talking to you k-kills my brain cells," I retort.

"Surprised you have any," he calls back and stalks out of the door. As soon as it slams shut behind him, Dante gives me an apologetic look and spreads his arms.

I immediately walk into them for a hug and relax.

"I didn't know he'd be here," he tells me, and I nod. "I know, you would've told me otherwise."

When we let go of each other and take a seat on the couch, I can see that something is bothering him. Namely, not knowing why his brother showed up for no reason.

"Hey," I call out to Dante, "I can always leave," I suggest, and put my hand on his knee. "And you can call Alessandro to come back or you can go to his place. I know you're concerned."

But Dante just shakes his head.

"No, it's fine, Val. Even if I did reach out to him, I know he's closed up and would brush it off, anyway."

"I bet it had to do something with his car or bike," I snort. "A scratch he can't get over or something and doesn't want to drive home like that."

"That's lame," Dante chuckles and grabs the remote for the TV. "Now, let's eat, hm?"

We start plating up and get comfortable on the couch.

"I've been craving this for so long," I hum in contentment and feel my happiness overflow when I see the bao buns.

"Yeah, same. Now, tell me about your day. You look tired and like you could use a food coma."

The next day, I start getting ready for classes. I stare at myself in the mirror, and let my gaze trail down my body.

Pressing my hands against the sides of my bra, I push my boobs together and try to create some sort of cleavage.

The keyword being try.

The day I will have boobs is the day that cows will start to fly.

They look like mosquito bites.

When I turned eighteen, some hormones started acting up and instead of having a double A-cup, I now had a full A-cup.

I was so proud.

I've always had some sort of complex when it came to my small breasts, but just like I had trouble accepting my small ones, I grew up with Alyssa complaining about her bigger breasts.

So, at the end of the day, no woman is ever satisfied and the standards of society keep switching up to what size is or isn't pretty.

All titties are beautiful.

I love to wear push-up bras, though.

Averting my eyes from my body, I start putting on my clothes.

I go for a beige, plaid skirt with tights and black boots, and pair it with my trusted brown sweater.

I wear my straight, midnight-black hair half up and down and let the two front pieces escape.

As for makeup, I settle with mascara, eyeliner, and some lip balm.

At this time in the morning, I could not be bothered doing a full-face.

When I'm done, I exit my dorm and make my way to campus. As I'm walking to the lecture hall, I see a lot of people I share classes with.

Most of them are sitting in groups, talking or drinking some hot beverages.

I don't really have a lot of friends in class, which is fine. But I've always had trouble socializing.

The two friends I did manage to make, are Sylvia and Jane. And that's because they decided to sit next to me, and we got talking.

I turn a corner in the hall and halt in my steps as soon as I see those blonde locks.

Like a coward, I blanch and turn back around the corner before she sees me.

Alessandro pales in comparison to Katherine. She's the real devil.

The girl who's always had it out for me, ever since we first met. As if torturing me in high school wasn't enough, she's petty and childish enough to continue in fucking university.

Like she doesn't have anything better to do.

She has never hidden her dislike for me. And while she doesn't outright bully me, I hear the whispers and the dirty looks thrown my way by her group of friends every time we cross paths.

Something she has taken pleasure in is mocking my stutter.

An issue that I feel has defined me for most of my life. That I feel like has stopped me from doing so many things, from making friends because I'm scared of humiliating myself.

And Katherine knows that.

While I know I shouldn't let her have such an effect on me, I can't deal with her and her stupid group anyway.

My social anxiety is skyrocketing and I know I'm going to be an awkward mess if I have to pass them.

The vision of golden blonde hair and blue eyes terrifies me, even though Katherine is the definition of beautiful.

And I've always envied her for it and everything else. She's got a perfect family, social life, money, and beauty, yet she's still such a bitch.

I make a detour to get to my lecture hall, and exhale in relief once I get there and take a seat all the way in the back, where Sylvia and Jane are already sitting.

"Hey guys," I smile when I take a seat next to them. "How are you?"

We make some small talk before the lecture begins, and then I sit through it for two hours before we pack up and head out for lunch.

I'm texting Dante about how I'm second-guessing choosing psychology as my major. Because statistics is making me want to jump off a bridge.

"Crybaby."

The hairs on my body stand up upon hearing that voice, and then I feel the weight of an arm being thrown around my shoulder.

"What do you want?" I grumble and glance up at Alessandro, who's at least a head taller than me.

Alessandro looks intimidating on his own. He's got that whole broody and mysterious vibe going on – while I know how much of an attention seeker he actually is – but to anyone else who could be looking at us right now, he looks non-threatening and borderline charming.

But I know his true intentions and the hold he has on me right now is everything but sweet and charming.

Fifteen-year-old me would be swooning, though, if she saw us now.

"Itching powder, hmm? Really?"

I can't stop the evil grin from forming on my face.

"What about it?"

"Don't appreciate it, sweetheart."

My blood starts boiling.

"I don't appreciate someone letting a cat roam around my apartment."

He tightens the grip he has on my shoulder and pulls me in closer, making me take a whiff of his intoxicating scent.

"You're so fucking dramatic," he sighs and rolls his eyes.

"Well, if you go low..." I murmur.

He triggered an allergic reaction.

I just snuck into his place and put itching powder in all of his underwear. I call that even.

"Well, crybaby, I won't forget about this."

. . .

surprise update!

Sorry for any grammar mistakes.

it's been a while, but i'm kind of taking a break and really taking my time with updating, without putting pressure on myself.

also started uni :')

love it there. went to a club last night and saw some hot men but they were so drunk it was an ick.

anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you so much for reading.

I love you