Valentine's Strings

I: Their Hearts Connect

The sun rose over the great city, already noisy by the time the hour hand ticked on the five o'clock marker. Young boys and girls are already scurrying ahead, thinking that they're really late for the first day of school. Loud slams of doors, fast brushing of teeth, running with toast in their mouths... yep, this was typical in this little city. Well, except for a few things.

We turn our focus to a certain family living in the city suburbs. They are the Santiagos, a well-to-do family that everyone seems to know and hold in high regard. No, it's not because of their financial status, oh no, but rather, it is because of their unique children.

Older twin sons and a younger daughter, this was the build of the Santiago youngsters. Their names are seemingly themed after the months of the year. There is Janus, the older twin. He's popularly known as the kid who could easily differentiate the truth from false words. Then, there's the youngest daughter, Ides Marche, more popularly called as Marche. She has great intelligence for a twelve-year-old and has already aced Pre-calculus by the time she reached the sixth grade. But these two aren't our main focus. Valentine is.

Valentine is the younger twin brother of Janus, both of them just turned sixteen. Nothing special can be mentioned about Valentine, except his weird routine of playing matchmaker for his friends and fellow classmates.

"Hngg... it's already morning? Sheesh..." grumbled the boy as he got off his bed and stretched. His eyes were still half-closed, so he didn't see the pillow thrown by his older brother, Janus. "About time you woke up, Valentino."

"Can you... Yawn... stop calling me Valentino, Janus. It's Valentine."

"Shut up, I'm the older brother!" Janus rebuked. Janus may seem to have a ton of ego flying over his head, but it's just a ruse to hide his care for people, partly because of his quirk to quickly debunk lies.

"Just... Yawn... because you're the eldest... doesn't mean you can butcher my name..."

Janus rolled his eyes, trying to say that it's not "butchering," but instead it's "calling his younger brother affectionately." The younger twin stared him down before getting reminded that it's the first day of school yet again. He rushed to the bathroom and took a bath. It was crazily cold for a six o'clock bath, but Valentine ignored it, for he was excited for the prospects of meeting old and new friends.

After taking a good old bath, he swiftly changed to his uniform, which was a simple black suit, white long-sleeved button-up shirt with a red tie, and black slacks and shoes. Janus was still in the clothes he slept with, while Marche was still half-awake, yawning exactly when Valentine passed by. The young boy then descended the stairs and went to the dining table.

Janus didn't even care to sort his clothes right after changing, and by chance, their mother went inside. Spotting her son's messy dump of clothing just lying on the floor, she shouted in anger.

"Janus Bartholomew Santiago! Your goddamned clothes! Do I need to tell you so many times to put them in the laundry?! Get your butt up here, NOW!"

That particular shout was heard all throughout the household, scaring Janus, Valentine, Marche, and the father, April Harold. The elder twin then, reluctantly, went up and sorted things out.

"Sheesh, it's early in the morning, Maia..." muttered the father, itching his head, before looking back to his other two children. "Hehe, I'm reminding you kids again--Don't make your mom angry, for hell will break loose."

Valentine smiled. "I already know that, Dad. How about you, Marche?"

"I know that! It's only Janus-nii that's stubborn. He always makes mom angry every morning," answered the twelve-year-old lass.

"Well, that's good to hear. Oh, and eat your vegetables, Marche," the father mentioned, earning a cute pout from the youngest daughter. Valentine just laughed it off and proceeded to eat his breakfast.

"Janus, don't you DARE jump off that window to escape!"

The guys below laughed awkwardly after hearing their mother's screeching shout. The father just remarked, "Ah, same old Janus."

[----------]

It was just walking distance from the Santiago house to the high school. Marche was then accompanied by his father as she went to her elementary school. Meanwhile, Valentine walked by the sidewalk, resting his laptop bag onto his right shoulder. He did nothing but stare at the sky as he walked and walked. Minutes later, he noticed that the number of people surrounding him began to rise. They were wearing the same kind of uniform as them, which means that they were also going to the same school. Valentine smiled as he stared at the couples, who were too sweet for others. You know what they say about "public display of affection", but Valentine can never be disgusted by the pure sense of love, even though he has yet to experience this himself.

The crowd finally reached the school. The golden plaque outside said, "St. Isidore's Memorial School of Technology." If the golden plaque isn't that much of a clue, this school is one of the best in the nation. Valentine couldn't help but whistle at the ton of people inside school grounds, new and old. In one corner, there are first-years already being friendly with each other. The other side had the older teens finally reuniting after a long summer vacation. But bigger than any of those was the commotion right at the center of the school's open grounds.

"Please. Stop following me. I'm not interested," said the boy right in front of a girl. They appeared to be the same year as Valentine and seemed to be rich kids. The boy walked away while the girl kept shouting, "We're meant for each other, you know! We're supposed to be a couple."

"I'd like to think otherwise. You two are not meant to be. Your Strings openly show it," whispered Valentine. Indeed, he was spot on to say that. Even if they are kids of big companies, or just handsome and beautiful teens, if there isn't any love and just lust, there will be troubles in the future. Valentine let out a sigh, saying, "Whatever happens, I am not to get them together, or else bad stuff will come for them."

After a while, he began to look for his older twin, Janus. He actually escaped through the window; this was always the norm for the boy and the Santiago family. Although he was nowhere to be found, Valentine knows that the twin might already be in his classroom, waiting for the new school year to start.

[----------]

A new student sighed while walking towards his classroom. He doesn't have any friends since no one in his old school ever dared to enter this prestigious school. He feels like he's just alone and that he thinks that he can't make any new friends because of his middle-class status. He adjusted his necktie and said to himself, "Okay, Bradley, don't think negatively. You can make friends here... you... can..."

Why did he stray off, you ask? It was because a beautiful upperclassman walked by the same hallway. She was purely magnificent that even the girls chase after her. Her aura is so calming, yet so intimidating. Judging from her looks, she must be one of the richest teens in the whole school. The young first-year, named Bradley, gulped in amazement. She was so beautiful, so friendly, and so becalming, that the boy was just left with a tinge of red on his cheeks as she passed by.

"Who... who is she...?"

[----------]

The strawberry blonde-haired Valentine finally reached his classroom. His class was the Special Course in Animation, while his twin's was just the regular class. Valentine was always interested in animated stuffs, like cartoons and anime, since he was still a young boy, and becoming a top-tier animator was his greatest goal in life. He put his laptop bag down beside his desk and rested his head on his arm. The wind picked up from the open window, blowing a gentle breeze onto Valentine and his classmates. "Well, at least the wind is calming..."

"Oi, Valentine! Hello!"

Valentine was pulled back to Earth by a greeting. It was from a girl.

Valentine replied with, "Ah, I should've expected you, Lana."

The girl wore a black vest and white long-sleeved polo shirt. She had a thin red ribbon under her collar, and the left collar had a golden clip on it. Her bluish skirt was just above her knees, and underneath were white thigh-high socks. She also had black school shoes that looked expensive. She was smiling at the young matchmaker like they were close friends. Oh, wait. They are.

"You know, it's really hard when a ton of people surround you all the time, isn't it?"

"That's why I stay in the shadows. I don't like being the center of attention," quickly replied Valentine. Lana sighed, disappointed at the answer that she received.

"But you keep being in the center because of your matchmaking business."

"It's not a business, Lana. And besides, it's not my fault that they keep coming to me for love advice."

"That's what's so interesting! How can you give advice when you haven't been in love yourself?!"

Valentine gave a cheeky grin, "Because I had life lessons, Lana."

Lana scoffed as she heard that tone from Valentine's voice and then seated next to himself.

"Oh, really, we're actually seatmates again?" Valentine said in a small voice. He doesn't mind seating next to her, but this has always been this way ever since...

"Wait, you transferred?!"

Valentine pushed his chair back and suddenly stood up. The chair made a loud screeching sound, so everyone turned to look at them. Lana gave the boy a smile. "Yep! I also wanted to learn animation, don't you remember?"

The boy sighed and sat back, "Geez, I remember that, but still... moving from New York to here? To this no-name city?"

Instead of answering, Lana smiled while shrugging her shoulders. Valentine's head drooped down, not because she's an annoyance, but in that she's quite skeptic of his matchmaking skills. Back when his family lived in New York a few years ago, Valentine was a hit among his peers when it came to gathering up their strength to confess to their crush. He always said that "the Strings were already a clue" and that just telling it out loud was better than hiding their feelings forever. Lana always wondered how Valentine could give love advice, when he hasn't been in love himself. When Valentine moved two years ago, Lana didn't get a chance to ask him of his great secret to success in giving legitimate love advice.

"Does she still doubt my skill?"

muttered the young Valentine whilst staring at his old friend.

Valentine then threw his glance away towards the open doorway, ignoring the calls from Lana. Then suddenly, he spotted a first-year staring at something inside the classroom. Oh, not 'something...' it's 'someone'. And the lucky someone is Lana. When the boy finally realized that someone was looking at him funny, he dashed out, gaining a silent shock from Valentine. "Was that a first-year? Why was he looking at Lana? And more importantly..."

"Ah! Their Strings are..."

[----------]

"Alright, let us start our first class of the year with an attendance. Amarillas, Kenji."

"Present."

"Azaiah, Shen Pryce."

"Present."

The homeroom was already starting, but Valentine was still amazed at the 'link' he saw. "A first-year and Lana the skeptic, destined to be together? That's really weird for me, you know. But it's really not a bad thing, since we're just third-years anyway. But still... right off the bat when she transfers here?"

"...Francisco, France. Kyrst, Jia. Memorias, Rick John..."

Valentine cupped his hand onto his chin and stared off to the scenery that the window beside him gave. There, the teacher finally called out his name.

"Santiago, Valentine."

The boy unconsciously raised up his right hand and stated, "Present." He was still out of it. No, it is not because he was jealous or anything.

Lana is known to avoid confessions back when Valentine was still in New York. When she hears anything about a boy planning to confess to her, she may dash off, keep changing the subject, or ultimately just reject the poor guy blatantly.

"Huh. I guess Lana will just have to learn to accept being loved, I guess," Valentine muttered, with a smile on his face.