Fiona's Revenge

CHAPTER 3 - SPECIAL GIFT

I pouted slightly as I turned to look behind me — and there was Threvon.

Without saying a word, I quickly handed him his cute little dog, Cookie, which he immediately took into his arms.

“S-so Cookie was with you all along. Thank you,” he said, stuttering a little. I just nodded and was about to turn away when he called my name.

“Fiona, are you mad at me?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I-I’m not,” I said softly, though I knew he still heard it.

“Then why have you been avoiding me?” he asked again, confusion clear in his voice — and just like that, guilt came rushing over me again.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered apologetically, confirming what he probably already knew — that I really had been avoiding him. I wasn’t used to lying, but even so, I had no intention of telling him the real reason — that it was because of what my twin sister had said.

He didn’t speak right away. He just stared at me, his face full of sadness.

“So—” I was about to apologize again when I heard Yaya Terry call from inside.

“Fiona, Aviona’s awake. It’s time for breakfast!"

I took a deep breath, then gave Threvon a small smile. “I’ll go inside now, okay?”

I didn’t wait for his reply — I quickly turned around and went back through our gate. I could feel tears threatening to fall, so I just kept walking straight into the house.

But as soon as I stepped inside, I was surprised to see Aviona standing by the doorway. She immediately wrapped her arms around me — and that was all it took for my tears to fall uncontrollably.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, which only made me frown in confusion. Sorry? For what? What did she do wrong? As far as I knew — nothing.

Unless… was she apologizing because she thought that was the last time we’d talk — since she saw me speaking with Threvon earlier?

My chest tightened at the thought. I didn’t want us to fight. I hugged her back tightly, afraid that it might be our last hug — that she might pull away from me forever.

“Aviona, I’m sorry! I only talked to Threvon earlier because I—I just returned his dog that got inside our yard. P-promise I won’t talk to him again. I’m sorry, twin. Please don’t be mad at me. I don’t want us to fight,” I cried, clutching her tightly as tears streamed down my face.

To my surprise, she gave a small laugh. She gently pulled away from the hug but didn’t move far. Then, using her hands, she wiped the tears from my cheeks.

“You and your wild thoughts,”** she said with a chuckle. **“I’m not mad at you. I’ll never be mad at you — ever.”

“Then w-why did you say sorry when you didn’t even do anything wrong?” I asked, sniffling.

She took a deep breath and hugged me again.

“Because I know you want to be friends with Threvon… but you couldn’t, because of me.”

"I-I just don’t want us to fight, Aviona,” I sobbed.

It was true. I didn’t care if I couldn’t be friends with Threvon. As long as I had my twin sister with me, that was enough. I could live without Threvon — but not without Aviona.

She started rubbing my back gently — something she always did to calm me down. And just like every time, it worked.

After a while, she whispered, "Go talk to him.”

I quickly shook my head. “No! What if you ignore me after that?”I said in a panic, hugging her again tightly.

She laughed softly. “I won’t get mad. Promise,” she said, smiling.

“Really?” I asked again, still unsure even after her promise.

“Yes. I promise. So stop crying now, hmm?”

Hearing that made me so happy that I pulled away from her and jumped in excitement.

"Yay! Then I’ll go visit him now—”

But before I could even turn to leave, she grabbed my arm.

“Oops, we’re eating first,” she reminded me, making me scratch my neck sheepishly.

“Ah, right! Yeah, okay. Let’s go,” I said with a laugh, pulling her toward the dining room where breakfast was already waiting.

After we ate, I was already outside the gate of Threvon’s house, feeling too excited to stay still. I wanted to see him — I wanted us to be friends again.

I didn’t have the courage to press their doorbell, so I decided to wait outside instead, hoping he’d come out on his own. And soon enough, he did — carrying his adorable little dog, just like always.

“Threvon!” I called out loudly so he could hear me from where I was. The gate between us was a bit far, so I was thankful when he actually turned and saw me.

His eyes widened in surprise. He probably didn’t expect me to show up here, not after admitting earlier that I’d been avoiding him.

He quickly walked toward me, still holding Cookie. Once he reached the gate, he opened it without hesitation and stepped out to where I stood.

“Fiona? What are you doing outside our gate?” he asked, clearly puzzled — but in his eyes, I could also see something else.

Happiness.

Maybe because he was happy to see me?

“Let’s play,” I said with a bright smile.

For a moment, he didn’t say or do anything. He just stared — then suddenly, a big smile spread across his face.

“Sure,” he said simply.

From that day on, the three of us — me, Aviona, and Threvon — became inseparable.

Aviona and Threvon made up too. She had apologized to him for pushing him that day at the park, and Threvon told her it was fine — that he understood she only did it because she loved me so much.

From then on, we were together almost every day. Sometimes we played at our house, sometimes at his — though we usually preferred his place since Mommy often worked from home and didn’t like too much noise.

Two years passed, and our friendship only grew stronger.

And me? I had to admit… I had the biggest crush on Threvon.

Of course, Aviona knew — and sometimes, she’d secretly tease me about it in front of him.

Just like now.

"Ayyieee! What a pretty gift for Threvon,” she teased, grinning from ear to ear.

I pouted, sulking. She’d been teasing me nonstop ever since she saw the bracelet I made for him — something simple but handmade. I couldn’t think of any other gift, especially since he already had everything.

Today was January 16 — Threvon’s birthday — and I knew he’d be getting tons of expensive gifts. That’s why I was starting to hesitate about giving him mine.

I’d only finished it yesterday, right after Yaya Terry finally bought the beads I’d been begging her to get for weeks. She’d kept forgetting, so I cried a few times out of frustration — but thankfully, she remembered yesterday.

“Maybe I just shouldn’t give it to him,”** I muttered, frowning.

“And why not?”** Aviona asked, tilting her head.

I didn’t answer right away. I looked at the bracelet in my hands — three letters spelled out on it: *T*, *J*, and *S*, for *Threvon Jake Salgado*.

**“It’s ugly,”** I said sadly. **“It doesn’t even compare to the expensive gifts he’ll get later.”**

She sighed. “There you go again — overthinking, as always.”

“I can’t help it,” I mumbled.

**“Give it to him. He’ll love it, I promise. I bet he’d be happy with anything you give him,”** she said, nudging me gently.

"But it’s ugly—”

She cut me off right away. "Better to give something than nothing, right? You don’t want him to be sad, do you?”

I quickly shook my head. “No, of course not.”

“Then there you go. Give it to him. It’s beautiful — you’re just being too hard on yourself.”

Taking a deep breath, I finally gathered the courage to follow her advice. We went next door to Threvon’s house, which was already full of guests.

My eyes immediately searched for him — and there he was, sitting lazily at a table with his parents. I even caught him glancing toward our house, like he was looking for someone.

I couldn’t help but smile.

Was he… waiting for me?