A & A

[06]: the meeting

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06

the meeting

"Here you are again

looking so poetic,

looking like a scene

made to perfection."

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"Dad?" Aurora called out as soon as she opened the door to the house. "Are you here?"

"In the living room, princess." Frank replied, his feet propped up on the coffee table as his gaze stayed on the ongoing football game on the television.

Upon hearing her father's answer, she made her way to the living room, jumping in surprise when she felt someone hug her legs. Her gaze glanced down at her brother, smiling when she found Theo looking up at her with those big, doe-like eyes of his as he plastered on a cute smile on his face.

The moment his sister arrived yesterday afternoon, Theo has been looking forward to every moment he could spend with Aurora, thinking of ways and ideas for the both of them to enjoy for the day. Not seeing her for two years was enough to make him think of a lot of ideas, especially since he's been waiting for this day, imagining what it would be like to finally be able to be with her everyday. Not living with your sister in one house tends to suck, you know.

"Hey bud." Aurora said, wrapping her right arm around the little boy as they both continued on their walk towards the living room. "How was your day?"

"It was okay. I'm going to play with my friends today and dad's going to take me there. Can you take me there instead?" He asked.

"No problem. What time are you meeting them?" She looked at him with clear adoration in her sea blue eyes.

The answer Theo was about to say was instantly swallowed down when Frank's voice and cheering was heard in near them. Aside from the noise coming from the television, the noise their father made only added into it. Both siblings looked at each other with knowing looks on their faces before looking back at their father, whose eyes are still locked on the screen, a big grin on his lips.

"Dad?" Aurora called out.

It took longer than expected to get Frank's attention, seeing as when he's watching the television, it would inhibit all of his senses. He would pay no heed to anyone, not wanting to get distracted from the show or game he's watching. Aurora has always thought it's ridiculous, but what could she do? Not even her mother could tear him away from it. And judging by how things are, neither could Sally.

"Oh. Yes, princess? Did you say something?" Frank said when he finally heard his daughter's call and his son's chuckle. He looked at the both of them with big, questioning eyes before it went fleetingly to the television then back at them.

With a chuckle and a shake of her head, she said, "I was just asking what time you were taking Theo to the park."

"Wait, let me think." Frank furrowed his eyebrows in deep thought, trying to recall the time his son told him. When he was finally able to remember it, his eyes lit up. "Ah yes. We're supposed to be there at half past two."

"Can Aury take me there instead?" Theo asked with the excitement still dancing in his eyes.

"Sure, honey. No problem." Frank replied. "The both of you should eat your lunch first before you go."

"Okay." She replied, moving away from the living room and into the dining room, Theo following in tow. "Were you the one who cooked or was it Sally?"

Frank stared at her daughter's back, releasing a chuckle and shaking his head at how he can already imagine what Aurora's reaction would be. Just like any other times, it would probably be something rude. Not that he hasn't reprimanded her for it a lot of times, but because she just really refuses to listen to his words. Sure, she's always been a good and obedient daughter, but not exactly all the time.

His daughter's personality and attitude has always amused him, but there were also times where it pissed him off to no end—especially when she starts arguing with him over everything. And this time, he's still trying to figure out which is which.

"If I said it was Sally, would you still eat it?" Frank asked her, smirking when she stopped dead in her tracks to think over his words.

Aurora knows exactly what her father is trying to do. It doesn't really take a genius to know that he's trying to make her choose over her hatred for the woman or her hunger. Despite what her father thinks, sating her hunger is still her number one priority. She doesn't really hate the woman that much that she wouldn't eat any of the food she makes, considering how she even just ate one of the muffins she made earlier—and all the other cakes and pastries she brings over when she visits.

"Oh what the hell." She muttered. Looking back at her father behind her shoulder, she said, "Sure, why not?"

Frank gave off a loud laugh, Theo looking back and forth between his father and his sister before releasing a chuckle of his own. "See, this is one of the reasons why you never fail to surprise me."

Aurora laughed. "I like surprising people."

"That I do know." replied Frank, who gave her one last grin before turning his attention back to the television still showing the football game he's been watching for who knows how long.

She shook her head in mirth before continuing her walk towards the dining room, Theo humming happily behind her.

As both siblings took a seat on the seats surrounding the dining table, Aurora's attention was instantly diverted when she heard her phone ring in her pocket. She closed her eyes for a moment while releasing an annoyed sigh before she opened them again to find Theo's bright blue eyes staring at her with curiosity. The smile she gave him was short and sweet as she got her phone out of her pocket, looking at the screen right after. Dexter's name was the first thing she saw, her eyes instantly narrowing on the phone as she released yet another sigh, but this one now laced with irritation.

For her, it doesn't matter who's calling—whether it's her parents or her friends, she hates it when someone calls when she's eating. Sure, it's not really the caller's fault because how would they know she's eating, really, so it's obviously just a bad coincidence, but do you get how annoying it is to hear your phone ring when you're about to eat? It's very annoying—that's always her mentality; this time's no different.

With a certain coldness lacing in her voice that only she could ever pull off, she excused herself from her brother and answered the call—but not before telling him to continue eating and she'll be back later, to which he replied with a nod of his head.

"What?" She said when she stood in the kitchen, a room found next to the dining room she was previously standing on.

It took Dexter a moment to answer her question, recognizing the tone of her voice in an instant, knowing just exactly what he did. "You were eating, weren't you?" He answered after awhile.

"I was about to, but all that's ruined now." She released another sigh as she leaned against the countertop. "The food was delicious too."

Back at both friends' hometown, Dexter lied down on his bed as he looked at the blank ceiling of his room while talking to Aurora on the phone. He doesn't want to admit it to her vocally, but hearing her voice always makes him feel at ease. Not just because he likes her, but there's really just something with her voice that makes you want to listen to it for all time; the kind of gentleness and sweetness it has despite it being laced with negativity most of the time.

He has heard all kinds of comments from his friends, both positive and negative, regarding the things he tells them about Aurora. He has always wanted to make a move on her, especially when they became closer throughout the years. But it always makes him feel like it will remain a dream; a dream that is impossible to reach, yet all possible at the same time—because of the fact that he sees her everyday and because of their closeness.

It's hard enough reaching that dream when he knows that the girl he likes doesn't even like him back, but it's harder when her ex-boyfriend is one of his closest friends; a kind of forbidden love that is extremely hard to cross—not that he would be courageous enough to cross it anyway. So for now, he can settle with the subtleties—even when it's not even subtle anymore.

"I'm sorry." He finally replied after a long pause that kept Aurora wondering if the call was cut off, but never voiced it out. "I can just call again if you want. You can eat your meal first."

"No, it's okay. You already managed to drag me away from it anyway so might as well just make the most of it." She replied as she took a seat on one of the bar chairs. "So, what's on your mind?"

Dexter contemplated if he should tell her again about how he feels. He knows it's already obvious enough, but is it enough to be able to penetrate the very high wall—along with the cold exterior—she built around her heart? He could always just try. But the instant he remembered the happenings for the past few days, he's starting to think that maybe it's not a good idea at all, especially since Alexander just recently graced them with his long-lost presence.

Luckily for him, he had just the perfect idea to get him out of his trouble. He planned long enough to be able to make at least a book out of it and spend a day or two choosing which option would be the best to go with. He's just insanely prepared like that.

So as he cleared his throat, he was already able to decide which topic he would go with. "Well, have you seen your grades yet?" He asked, thanking the heavens that he was able to think ahead.

"It's already out?" She asked, immediately perking up in her place.

"Yeah. Didn't you check online?" His hands reached out for his grade slip resting on the bedside table and looked over his grades once more.

"No. It somehow slipped my mind. With all the stress I've been under lately, I'm even surprised I still managed to remember a lot of things." Aurora released a tired sigh, that certain action not going unnoticed by Dexter.

He chuckled. "Well, it's not like you have to check your grades anyway. You did great—as always."

"What do you even mean by that?" She questioned. She instantly felt both nervousness and excitement at the same time as she tried to think what her grades are. Dexter just told her that she did great, but there's no harm in wanting to see for yourself, right?

"I mean that you're on the top three." He told her with a smile.

The scream that left her lips was almost immediate. Even Dexter had to pull the phone away from his ears for a minute or two to prevent himself from being deaf, already anticipating that this would be Aurora's exact reaction when she finds out. If there's one thing that Aurora values most aside from her friends and family, it's her grades. Even when he sees her falling asleep a couple of times when she's studying at the library, she still manages to stay on top. The girl is seriously just gifted with impeccable knowledge.

At the Crover's residence, both Aurora's father and brother were with her the moment she screamed with unadulterated joy. They both looked at her with concern, alarm and curiosity before it all turned to confusion when they saw that she was perfectly fine.

"Princess, what happened?" Frank asked as he looked around the place to search for any possible danger that made his daughter scream bloody murder.

Looking at him with a grin, Aurora said in an extremely happy tone, "Dad, I'm on the top three!"

Theo, ever the blunt one, looked even more confused as he looked at his sister. "But you've always been among the topnotchers. What makes this one any different?"

Aurora looked at him with a blank look on her face, all previous joyous expressions she had instantly going down the drain. Frank chuckled in his place as he took in the sight in front of him: Aurora trying to explain to her brother how it's different and Theo listening intently to his sister's words, throwing in a couple of questions in between. It's seriously a sight to see when both siblings start conversing with the way they are conversing now; one overly curious boy, and one very irritable woman, both trying to make the other understand their point.

Recognizing the voice of the little boy he hadn't seen in person for a long time when he pressed his phone against his ear once more, he said, "Hey, Aur, tell Theo I said hi."

"You actually heard his voice?" The bewildered expression on Aurora's face didn't waver. "He's so far away from the phone, you know."

"What can I say? I have magnificent ears." He replied, chuckling when he heard Aurora release a scoff from the other line.

"Nothing is magnificent about you." She said, looking at the teasing smiles Frank and Theo are giving her. She rolled her sea blue eyes before telling Dexter, "Hey, just wait a sec. I have something to do."

"Do you want me to call back again later?" He asked.

"No, it's okay. It will just be brief." She told him, muting the call when he heard Dexter's sound of approval. Holding the phone away from her ear, she turned to Frank and Theo, who are still looking at her with teasing smiles.

"So, who was it?" Frank wriggled his eyebrows at her.

She rolled her eyes once more. "It was just a friend. You can go back to watching your game now."

Frank let out a chuckle as he took in his daughter's words. "Alright, I know when I'm not needed." He said. "Congratulations on the great news today, by the way. We should totally celebrate tonight."

"Sure, dad. Whatever you want." She gave him a smile that was enough to satisfy Frank, making him leave the room and back to the football game on the television without looking back.

Knowing that it wouldn't be so hard with her brother, she turned her attention back to him and gave him a sweet smile before saying, "Go and eat your food again, bud. It's not good to leave the table without finishing your food."

Theo thought about his sister's words for a moment before he nodded his head. "Okay." With one last smile, he went back to the dining room, skipping happily on his way back.

Aurora released a sigh before unmuting the call and pressing the phone against her ear. "Hey."

"Ah, so you're back." Dexter replied, a smile on his face as he turned on the other side of the bed.

"It seems so." She chuckled. "Anyway, how did you know I'm in the top three?"

"Well, I went to the school yesterday to get my grade slip and as I was walking in the hallway, I passed by the bulletin board and saw that it was the list of all the topnotchers. I looked at it for awhile, and when I got to your department, I saw your name and tada." He told her as he recalled his day yesterday afternoon.

With the sun's heat blaring down at him along with the air's humidity, all he can say was that it was a very irritable day for him. Despite the fact that he was feeling pretty good about himself for getting good grades, the moment he went out the school and started his journey back to his house, the weather was still a complete let down. Of course, he understood that it was summer and the weather was bound to get hot, it still didn't stop him from complaining again and again about how much of a shitty weather it is.

He was never really fond of summer—well, it's weather at least—and just endured it because it would mean no classes and he can do whatever he wants without having to worry about an exam or homework that is to be passed the next day. It also gives him the chance to see his family again after being away for almost the whole year and a chance to spend more time with them, knowing deep down that even though he keeps telling himself that he's going to be just fine, he still ends up being homesick.

He's just extremely thankful that he passed this school year without any hitches.

"No wonder. So how were your grades?" Aurora replied.

"Surprisingly, it was good." Dexter laughed. "Can you believe it? All my hard work actually paid off."

Aurora, however, didn't find it the least bit amusing. A frown graced her lips. "Of course it would—you worked hard for it. You underestimate your abilities too much."

It's at times like these that he truly appreciates Aurora's presence in his life. Whenever he's feeling down or feeling sad about something, may it be about his grades, his family, or whatnot, she always manages to make him feel better. She never stopped believing in him, believing that he can do it and he can make it through despite all the negative circumstances hindering his progress—she was always there, never leaving his side, no matter what happened.

So as you can see, it's not hard to tell why he has come to develop feelings for her.

A smile slipped on his lips. "Maybe I do, but this time, I really am genuinely surprised. I was doing absolutely horrible with all my subjects. I had to ask you to tutor me, remember?"

"Oh I do. It was also extremely difficult by the way because we were in different departments and I don't know half of your subjects." came Aurora's reply.

"But you still helped me anyway." Dexter couldn't keep the smile off his face. Honestly, he was just glad that Aurora still helped him despite the both of them being in different departments.

"Of course I did. I don't want to see one of my friends fail, you know."

And there it is—the reminder that she only looks at him as a friend. It doesn't matter to him anyway. At least she became one of his close friends, and that's more than he can ask for. Even if he can't get her to be his girlfriend, being a friend is already enough; he's still important to her either way anyway. That has always been his mindset to keep the pain away from his heart and for the most part, it did work. There were just those times that he couldn't help but let the hurt invade his heart—it doesn't last long however.

He chuckled in reply. "But thanks anyway."

Aurora shook her head even though Dexter can't see her. "Even if you had my help, all that was still you. You still managed to get good grades because of your effort and perseverance."

"And because you were by my side." He added cheekily.

Aurora, not knowing that Dexter is already meaning it as genuinely as he can, simply took it as a joke. "You just can't help but always add that, can you?" She laughed.

"No." Dexter said, the gentle smile still on his face, despite the aching on his heart. "I just always have to add that."

— • — • —

"I'm here, I'm here!" Aurora exclaimed in between pants as soon as she pushed open the door to Sally's bakery.

Sally, who is serving a customer, jumped slightly in surprise because of the sudden noise, but instantly plastered an amused grin on her face when she saw that it was only Aurora, looking absolutely out of breath. She excused herself from the customer she was serving and made her way towards her stepdaughter, whose cheeks are already stained with deep red upon noticing the attention on her. "Aurora." Her stepdaughter instantly looked at her, the relief in her eyes clearly palpable. "Are you okay?"

Aurora instantly nodded her head. All she wanted was to get out of this place and hide in the kitchen to get away from all the customers' stare—even if it meant being around her stepmother. "I just need some water. Can I go to the kitchen and get some water?" She asked. "I'm sorry for being late, by the way."

Sally waved her away. "No, don't worry about that. It's absolutely fine."

Aurora, who was deeply into her conversation with her stepmother, didn't notice the soulful grey eyes staring at her with a smirk to match his handsome face. His brilliant mind is already thinking of ways on how to approach her in the most amusing way possible and just managed to do so when his companion suggested to take her by surprise. He looked at the person sitting across from him, gave him a smirk and stood up from his place.

"I can see the wheels turning in your head, you know." His companion, who leaned against his seat and crossed his arms across his chest, stated with a smirk on his own.

The guy in question merely widened his smirk before striding towards the two women as quietly as he could. When he stood behind Aurora, he dug his hands deep into his pocket and said, "I wasn't expecting that you were going to help around here."

Upon hearing the voice behind her, Aurora's eyebrows furrowed together, her mind registering that the voice was somehow familiar. Deep down, she knew who it was but she just wasn't sure—and because she was afraid that her guts was right. She heaved in a big breath before slowly turning around to face the person speaking to her—and then she was absolutely stunned; she felt all emotions surging through her.

Facing the smirking face of the person behind her, the rage she felt a few hours ago now came crashing down on her in full speed. Her blue eyes sparkled dangerously, something that wasn't left unnoticed by him, before she narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms, all shock now out of her system. "Hello, asshole." She said, not even bothering to think and question why he was here, standing in front of her with that annoying smirk of his.

He laughed. "Oh come on. Is that any way to greet your co-manager?"

And then all Alexander received after that was a punch to the face.