Fiona's Revenge

CHAPTER 02 - SCARED AVIONA

"I'm Threvon," he introduced himself, even extending his hand toward me.

I quickly stood up and took his offered hand. I’d seen people do that a lot with Daddy and Mommy, so I knew it was polite.

"I'm Fiona," I introduced myself as well, our hands still clasped together. Wow, his hands were so soft—I didn’t even want to let go.

He let out a soft laugh, which made me frown in confusion. "Yeah, I heard. You just told Cookie your name," he teased lightly.

I immediately pulled my hand away and scratched the back of my neck in embarrassment. "Ah, right! Hehe, sorry."

"No need to say sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong," he said—and at that moment, I suddenly remembered what happened earlier at the park.

I was just about to apologize to him when I heard Aviona calling from behind me.

"Why are you outside, Fiona? And why is *that* boy here?" Aviona asked sharply, her tone laced with irritation that made me frown.

Why was she mad at Threvon again? He didn’t even do anything! She was being overprotective again—but that’s one of the many reasons why I love her so much.

"Aviona, this is Threvon. Their family owns the new house beside ours," I told her, pointing at the big house next door.

"Ah," she replied flatly, sounding completely uninterested. "Let’s go inside. Mommy said dinner’s ready."

She didn’t wait for my answer; she just grabbed my hand and dragged me inside. I had no choice but to wave goodbye to Threvon, who was left standing awkwardly outside our gate, scratching the back of his neck.

He’s really cute.

"See you later!" I called out as Aviona pulled me inside.

---

"You’re not going out. We still have homework to do," Aviona said firmly.

"But I already finished my homework, Aviona!" I complained, stomping my feet beside our bed. She wouldn’t let me leave the room. I just wanted to visit Threvon next door, but my twin was being extra strict tonight.

She kept insisting we still had assignments, but I’d already finished them at school—they were easy anyway. I knew she was just making excuses to stop me from seeing Threvon.

"Then help me with mine," she reasoned again.

I pouted, and she quickly looked away from me.

"I know you’re done too! And between the two of us, you’re the smarter one, so there’s no way you’d need my help."

She didn’t say a word. She just looked down, silent. I sat beside her and gently wrapped my arms around her.

"What’s wrong, twin? Why don’t you want me to be friends with Threvon?" I asked softly.

"Nothing—" she began to deny it, but I cut her off.

"I know there is. Don’t lie. We promised never to lie to each other, remember?" I reminded her while still hugging her tightly.

I love hugging her. I love hugging my twin so much. Every day, I make sure to hug her at least three times—sometimes even more. She never complains, even when I suddenly grab her out of nowhere, making us both fall over. She loves me so much—probably even more than I love her.

I pulled away from the hug to look at her face. She bit her lip and lowered her head, but I still caught a glimpse of the sadness and fear in her eyes.

"I’m scared," she whispered so softly that I almost didn’t hear it.

"Scared? Of what? Threvon doesn’t bite, you know," I said innocently.

"No," she sighed, her voice trembling, "I’m scared that once you become friends with Threvon, you’ll start spending more time with him. That you’ll realize he’s more fun to be with... and you’ll forget about me."

Her words shocked me—and even more when I saw a tear roll down her cheek.

Between the two of us, Aviona was the strong one. I was the weak one. She once told me she couldn’t afford to cry because she was my protector. And protectors had to be brave—always.

But that day, she cried first… though I ended up crying harder. She was startled by my sobs, but soon, she laughed.

"You’re the one crying harder,"she teased.

"It’s y-you’re fault! T-that’s never going to happen. I l-love you so much, s-so it’s impossible for me t-to forget you just because of t-that boy. If you w-want, I won’t even be f-friends with him. I d-don’t care if they live next door,"I said between sobs.

And I kept that promise.

For five whole days, I avoided Threvon. Even when he called out to me from outside the gate, I pretended not to hear him. Aviona, who was always beside me, never said a word about it.

I was happy being with her. I didn’t need anyone else. But deep down, I felt guilty for ignoring Threvon. I wanted to talk to him, but I was afraid Aviona would get upset. I didn’t want that. We’d never fought before—not even once—and I didn’t want to start now.

---

It was Saturday when I woke up early. Mommy and Daddy were leaving for an important trip and would be gone for a few weeks. I wanted to say goodbye before they left.

"Bye, Mommy! Bye, Daddy! Take care!" I called cheerfully after they kissed my cheek.

I smiled until their car disappeared down the road—then my smile faded. I already missed them.

After one of our helpers, Yaya Joyce, closed the gate, she reminded me not to go outside and to call her if anyone I didn’t know showed up.

"Yes, Yaya," I nodded sweetly. She smiled and went back inside.

I stayed by the gate, staring at the big house next door—the one that belonged to Threvon’s family.

How is he doing, I wonder?

I stood there for a while until I suddenly felt something brush against my leg.

"Ow!"I gasped and looked down—only to see a small, cute dog at my feet. Threvon’s dog.

I sat down and gently stroked its fur. The little thing stuck out its tongue and licked my hand, making me giggle from the ticklish feeling.

"You’re so cute, Cookie. You’re just like your owner," I told him, feeling my cheeks warm. Good thing he couldn’t tell on me.

"How did you get here?" I asked, looking around for Threvon—but he wasn’t anywhere in sight.

"Don’t tell me you escaped. You squeezed through the gate again, didn’t you? What if you got hurt?

He ignored me and just kept licking my hand.

"Alright, come on. I’ll bring you back before Threvon starts worrying,"I said, lifting him into my arms. Surely Yaya wouldn’t mind if I went next door for a bit.

I opened our gate, still holding Cookie, who kept licking my hands nonstop. If my hands were candy, they’d be gone by now.

I gently closed the gate behind me—but nearly jumped when a familiar voice called out from behind. I almost dropped Cookie.

"Fiona."