A & A

[07]: the encounter

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07

the encounter

"You shroud my sight

with your dazzling eyes

and charming smile

that I never really forgot."

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Alexander Giovanni is a lot of things—handsome, intelligent, sporty, and cold-hearted being one of those things. Despite him being cold-hearted through and through, only four people—aside from his family—has been able to thaw his ice cold heart. They were the people who became his support system—not that he told them that, of course—and they were the people he trusted with all his heart. But in those four people, only one of them has managed to thaw it completely and has managed to bring down all the protective barriers around him—Aurora Crover.

But that's a story for another day.

However, Alexander Giovanni was also not a lot of things—being a punching bag being one of those. Truth be told, he saw Aurora's punch coming but he didn't do anything to move out of the way or to try and avoid it; he just stood there and waited for her fist to connect with his face. Why, you ask? Because he thought that he deserves that punch.

But now that he sat down on one of the benches outside Sally's bakery with an ice pack held on his hand as Aurora reluctantly tended to his wound, he's starting to think that he didn't really deserve it at all. Now that he thought about it much carefully, it wasn't really his fault as to why he went away in the first place; she just refuses to listen to him every time he tries to explain things.

With a scowl now plastered on his face, he said, "You didn't have to punch me, you know."

Aurora gritted her teeth together as she tried to keep her cool and continued wiping the blood from his cheek. After the punch she threw on Alexander's face, he staggered on his place as he held his cheek in pain, wincing and grimacing every time. In the corner of her eye, she saw his cousin, Edward Giovanni, stand up from the booth he was on and quickly made his way towards the bleeding Alexander while Sally instantly rushed to get an ice pack and the first aid kit. Aurora just stood there in front of the two cousins, still seething and glaring at Alexander, while the cousins conversed.

"Why the hell is your cheek bleeding? How do you even bleed by a punch to the cheek?" Edward asked, his eyebrows furrowed together.

Alexander winced again when his cousin touched his cheek. "Her ring grazed my cheek." He said, eyes cast upwards at Aurora as he took in her completely enraged expression.

Edward turned to Aurora, as if he just remembered that she was there the moment Alexander mentioned her. And just like the years before, Alexander's cousin gave her an amused smirk as a greeting, the smirk that has always annoyed her no matter the circumstance. "Good call wearing the ring, Aur." He told her, making the guy beside him give him a scowl.

Aurora merely rolled her eyes at him. However, it didn't seem to insult Edward since he just gave out a chuckle and the humor in his eyes didn't waver.

"Honestly." Alexander said, snapping Aurora out of the reverie she was in, reminiscing what happened moments ago. "You even managed to graze me with your damn ring."

Aurora just finished cleaning up his wound when she heard him say all those things. Feeling insanely irritated with Alexander's useless babble and complaints, she grabbed the ice pack in his hand and pressed it against his cheek as roughly as possible, emitting yet another wince from him. She smirked when she heard his pain, ignoring the glare he sent her right after. "Oh I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" She said, feigning innocence.

"Yes. Quite." The coldness in his voice was palpable. "Give me that before you bruise my bruised cheek even more." He snatched the ice pack from Aurora's hand and pressed the ice pack on his cheek, this time, without her help—not that he wanted it in the first place after she just punched him for no reason.

"Well then, I better get going." She said, standing up in the process. Alexander stared at her then, the glare and the scowl still on his face, not bothering to hide the fact that he completely dislikes her at the moment—not that it matters since the feeling is mutual.

For the first time that Alexander has seen her again after years of being apart, he absolutely didn't expect that she would be this...cold and well, violent. Sure, she was cold and violent before but it wasn't like this—at all. He could even still sense that sweetness and gentleness even when she was a mile away and she keeps flashing him that infectious smile of hers that blows him away, no matter where and when. But now? He can't even see that in her anymore. The moment his eyes landed on her when she walked in the bakery, he was stunned for three reasons.

One: Aurora turned out to be more beautiful over the years. Her wavy, blonde hair looks so smooth and silky that it made him have the urge to want to run his hand through it all day. But those bright, hypnotizing sea blue eyes was what instantly got his attention when he saw her stand there, completely out of breath—but she still looked beautiful either way—and her forehead creased together in a frown. Those pink, plump lips that were pulled up in a slight scowl still looked adorable, especially since it was coated with a matte nude pink lipstick—one of her favorite colors of all time. And yes, he would know since he would look at her apply her makeup when they go out, genuinely asking what some of those stuff do and how to put it. Aurora was even happier to teach him all about it, especially since he looked really attentive.

Two: The sweetness and gentleness that always coats her entire being was not there. Well, it was there, but it was extremely faint. He even had to squint his eyes and observe her movements to be able to say that it was there. But what did he expect, really? People were bound to change over the years so it was to be expected that Aurora wouldn't be like how she was years ago.

Three: She was actually helping in her stepmother's bakery willingly—just like how Frank told him. It was really hard to believe at first since all he heard her say about Sally is how much she despises her for breaking their family apart. And being the guy that he is, just let her rant and rant about everything until she couldn't take all her emotions and she just cries. That's when he comes in and tries to comfort her—well, the best comfort he knows really. He doesn't exactly know how to deal with crying women since he's never seen his mother cry and he doesn't have a sister; his female cousins don't really go and cry to him so how would he know?

Just when Aurora was about to walk out and make her way back to the bakery, Edward acted quickly. He stood up from his place beside Alexander and held on Aurora's wrist to prevent her from walking away. She looked at the hand in surprise before slowly looking up, tracing the hand that held on to her with her eyes, and came eye to eye with the grinning Edward. "You're going now?" He asked.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes." She tried snatching her hand from his grip, but he held on tighter, making her grit her teeth in annoyance. "Yes, I am."

"What? Oh come on. Hang out with Alex and I for a while. Didn't you miss us?" He asked her, the impish glint in his eyes never wavering. He turned to Alexander. "Right, Alex?"

Alexander didn't answer his cousin. All he did was glare at his cousin's hand that was gripping Aurora's wrist with such carefreeness.

Edward chuckled, noticing his cousin's stare. Just to annoy Alexander even more, he pulled Aurora closer to him using the hand that was gripping her wrist and casually put an arm around her. If anything, Alexander's glare turned into a murderous stare.

Edward thinks it's absolutely ridiculous of his cousin to keep on denying that he still has feelings for his past lover, especially since it's so clear to everyone's eyes that he's still as hung up on her as he was before; he's just too stubborn to realize it himself. Alexander always thinks that maybe he should just move on from Aurora because he's sure that she has moved on too, but how would he know? He didn't even keep contact with his friends when him and his family moved to another country — Colombia, to be specific — for his father's work.

But the moment Alexander knew that Dexter was trying to court Aurora a few days ago, his expression became extremely angry and all he saw was red. All he wanted was to get Aurora back and apologize for all the idiotic things he has done. Thus, the idea of going back to his hometown for the summer was brought to life — and staying in Edward's hometown — the town they are all in now — when Alexander saw Frank three days back and the latter told him all about Aurora staying here for the summer to look after Sally's bakery.

"Alex?" Edward tried to get Alexander's attention once more. "You agree with me, don't you?"

Aurora's gaze moved back and forth towards the two cousins, her gaze turning to Alexander a minute too long — long enough for Edward to notice — before she shrugged away Edward's arm and crossed her arms as she said, "Look, I don't plan to spend my entire day with the both of you and there are actually things that I'm supposed to do. With that, I'm going to leave once again so I can't be bothered with any of your shit." She looked at Edward with a glare. "And you! If you touch me again, I will castrate you, understood?"

Instead of feeling intimidated by her stare, he laughed and held her gaze. "You've actually grown to be pretty feisty throughout the years. The last time we saw each other, you were this sweet and gentle girl. I was actually afraid of touching you or something because you looked so precious — much like a porcelain, you know." He told her, ignoring the annoyance on her face.

It was in that moment that Alexander finally stood up from the bench as he removed the ice pack from against his cheek and pushed Edward out of the way so he could stand in front of Aurora. He saw slight panic in her eyes, but it was gone as soon as it showed. However, it was enough for Alexander to catch a glimpse of it.

He gave her a smirk, not telling her what he just saw, and took in the blank look that is now plastered on her face. "You really don't think I'm going to let you walk away that easily, do you?" His smirk widened when he saw the panic in her eyes resurface once more. "After you punched me?" And just like that, the panic was gone in an instant. "No. You need to make up for what you did."

"Oh this is going to be interesting." Edward commented as he crossed his arms, eyes dancing with mirth.

Aurora held her head higher. "And what makes you think I'm going to listen to anything you say?"

The problem Aurora always faces when she deals with Alexander is how much of a cheat the guy is. He always has something he can use against her, be it for intentions both good and bad, and she always ends up just doing what he says. It frustrates her to say the least, so she does everything to piss him off as payback for the things he's making her do. And so, Alexander being the cheat that he is, widened his smirk as he matched her stare and said, "Well, I was just saying that Frank obviously wouldn't be happy about hearing what just happened, especially since you just punched me out of the blue, but you can always find a way to get yourself out of trouble, wouldn't you? I'm pretty sure Sally would be calling Frank later to tell him what happened."

Aurora glared at him with all she's got, already knowing the meaning behind his words and the implications that come with it. It's true that she could get into a lot of trouble when her father finds out about what she did, but like Alexander said, she could always find a way out...right?

Oh who is she kidding? There's no way she's getting out of this one — especially since it involves Alexander and her father likes Alexander way too much; it's even almost like Alexander is his son. Which is ridiculous because how could her father like him? The guy is an absolute devil.

Knowing that she's been backed into a corner, she released a huff before begrudgingly saying, "Fine. What do you want?"

The grin on Alexander's face was immediate. "Good choice, Aur."

"Just tell me what you want." She gave him a scowl.

Alexander glanced fleetingly at his smirking cousin before transferring his gaze back to the irritated and annoyed Aurora Crover standing in front of him. "You are going to be my personal assistant."

If he thinks that she's going to give in to that, then he's gravely mistaken. That request just seems completely ridiculous — not to mention asking a lot — since it's just for a bruised and grazed cheek. She was expecting more like fetching him something or telling someone something, but not this. So to show him how much of a ridiculous request he has, she gave off a laugh, surprising not only the guy in question, but also his cousin, who is standing idly by, and looked at him with a look full of mirth. "You're insane if you think I'm agreeing to that. Why do you even need a personal assistant? Are you handicapped or something?" She asked him as she looked at him defiantly.

He pointed to his bruised cheek. "See what you did? That's why."

She scoffed. "That's an extremely stupid reason. You don't need a personal assistant just because of that. Do you have a broken bone?"

"No, bu—"

Aurora instantly cut him off. "Is your head fractured?"

"Well, no—"

"Did your skull break?"

"Well, that's also a n—"

"Are you physically impaired?"

"N—"

"Then you have my argument." She gave him a smug smirk. "Do you even realize how stupid you are?" She was not going to lose to this stupid guy no matter what it takes.

Alexander was both proud and annoyed for what Aurora did and said. It was true when he said that she could get herself out of trouble when the circumstance calls for it and this was one of those times. She actually does have a point, but his plan is not going to work as good as it will when he doesn't get her to agree to his request, right?

And so, resorting to his ways of cheating and lame bargain, he matched the smirk on her face. "Then I guess you want Frank to know what happened?"

Then the scowl was back on her face. She stared at him with so much dislike, thinking that no matter how many years have passed, Alexander was still as cunning as ever. She could actually just let her father know what happened, but then she would get scolded and then get grounded right after—no doubt—and she couldn't have that, can she? It's summer—the only time she can ever enjoy her life and be able to do anything she wants—and she's not going to lose that just because of how much of a blabbermouth Alexander is.

It looks like she's losing to this guy after all.

"You know what? f**k you, really." She released a big breath. "But fine. I'll be your damn personal assistant."

Alexander gave her a grin, thinking that he still hasn't lost his charm and his ways to get what he wants—the side of him that he only really uses when it comes to things related to Aurora or Aurora herself. In the corner of his eye, he saw Edward give him a smirk, shaking his head in amusement right after. "That's a very good choice, you know. So now we—"

"But before anything else." She said, making him raise an eyebrow at her. "You convince my stepmother not to breathe a word to my father about what happened."

He gave her a wink. "That was the plan." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Now, we set some ground rules."

She honestly couldn't believe her ears. "Ground rules? Are you actually serious right now?" She looked at him with disbelief. Honestly, this guy has seriously gone insane.

"Everyone needs rules and you're no different." He flicked her in the forehead, ignoring her yelp and the s***k she landed on his shoulder. "I'm going to start talking and you're going to shut up."

Rolling her eyes at him, she crossed her arms and said, "I'm not listening to you."

He sighed before lifting his free hand—the one not holding the ice pack—and used it to cover her mouth. He felt her flinch in her place, but he paid no mind to it. She's going to get used to him again anyway so might as well start now. "Better?" He asked.

The defiance in her eyes never wavered. Instead of nodding her head like he was expecting her to, she licked his hand, smirking when he instantly retracted his hand from her mouth. "This is better, thank you very much." She said.

This is one of the reasons why he never does things without thought when he's dealing with Aurora. She's extremely unpredictable and you wouldn't know what hit you until she's already done it—and this one's no different. He stared at his hand, his face conjured up in disgust before he looked back up at Aurora's smirking face. Deciding to get even, he wiped his hand on her cheek before wiping it again on her shirt—she was too astonished to do anything until he was already pulling his hand away and rested it back on his side. "That was better." He told her, smirking in the process.

He could actually feel her rage and irritation right now. It was even clear when he looked at her eyes and her body movement, but he ignored it all, really. He was too close to let it bother him—he can let it bother him later when he's on his bed, thinking about all the other ways he could have handled the situation. But right now, he just has to get through this one and make sure that Aurora agrees to everything he says.

Fed up with all the petulant banter they're having, Aurora sighed in resignation, kept her face void of any emotion, wiped her cheek and wiped it on her shirt right after, and said, "Let's hear your stupid ground rules and get this over with."

"You want to be away from me already?" He asked cheekily.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Say the rules, or I'm out of here."

"Alright, alright." He said. He held his right hand up and folded four of his fingers to form the number one sign. "One, you listen to what I say and do them without question."

"Bu—"

"Two," He interrupted her, now forming the number two sign. "You can't interrupt me when I'm talking."

Her dislike for him only heightened. He is absolutely insufferable and he does nothing but drive her to the brink of insanity. It's like he finds joy in seeing her almost losing her mind because of his stupid and childish antics. But then again, she also does the same thing to him, so she's really in no position to complain.

When it came to rule number three, he brought his hand down and faced her with a smirk. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Three, you're free to fall in love with me all over again." His smirk widened. "Not that you need that, really, since you're already in love with me."

That was the last straw. She absolutely couldn't stand any more of his presence or his words. She felt her blood boil the instant those words escaped his lips and jabbed him on the chest using her finger. "Do you know how big your head is? It's practically swollen! You really have some nerve telling me all that. What do you know anyway? I'm not in love with you!" She shouted, eyes glinting dangerously and murderously.

He gripped her wrist, the one that kept poking him on the chest, and looked at her with an unfathomable emotion in his eyes as he moved his head closer to hers. She instantly tensed up when she took in their proximity. "Aren't you really?" He challenged her.

In all honesty, it took her a moment to reply—and it's all because of those eyes; those damn grey eyes that always gets her no matter what. It held so many unspoken emotions, one that she can't quite grasp nor decipher, and it instantly left her mesmerized. There was always something about those eyes of his that makes her feel things that she only feels when she's looking at him. It also doesn't help that he's staring at her with such intensity, the kind that makes her feel like he's looking deep into her soul and into her heart, deep enough to be able to penetrate her protective walls and be able to discover her true feelings—that yes, she was still in love with the bastard despite everything.

She looked away first, not wanting to feel any more of how stripped and bare she felt when he was merely looking into her eyes, and pulled away from his grasp—which she managed to do, surprisingly. She righted her clothes and looked at him with her head held high. "No, and I haven't been for a long time."

Alexander narrowed his eyes at her, but let it go. Because despite all the things she just said, he knows it's not true. He was given the chance to prove just that when he was staring into her eyes and saw all kinds of emotion pass through them—and he knows what those emotions are; practically memorized it, really. It was the same look she always gives him years ago, after all—and the same look he looks at her even until now.

"Really?" He replied after he was able to get himself together. He cleared his throat and gave her a smirk. "Well, just like I said, you're free to do it all over again."

She released a breath and stomped her feet, walking away right after. The annoyance in her face was unmistakable but it still managed to emit an amused chuckle from his lips, eyes still on Aurora's retreating figure.

Aurora huffed. Looks like this summer is going to be anything but peaceful.