I stood there, my brain on overdrive, and luckily, an idea kicked in. With my face already set in a shocked expression, I just needed to add a little fear to it. "Who are you?" he asked.
"Paige invited me here. B-but..." I replied, my voice trembling. I widened my eyes and let some tears well up, pretending to be completely terrified. I saw him flinch—at least that worked. I pushed it further, letting my voice shake. "We were about to eat, but I forgot my drink in the kitchen. When I came back..." A few tears escaped down my cheeks. Thank God for those acting lessons I took back then.
"Please help me," I whispered, my voice pleading. I didn't care how pathetic it sounded. Desperate was the goal here. He looked at me, both confused and concerned.
We returned to the living room, where everyone was still asleep. Zeke checked on each of them while I stood off to the side, trembling. "They're just asleep. It's nothing serious," he concluded. I nodded, and right on cue, my stomach growled again. I glanced at the pizza and a new plan clicked. I needed to wipe away any doubt about me. This might be crazy, but Zeke was helping me unknowingly.
I reached for a slice, but he shouted, "Stop!" I turned to him, confused, and he looked thoroughly annoyed.
"Are you stupid? Don't you think that might be the reason they're all asleep?" he snapped.
I smirked internally. Gotcha.
"But—" I started.
"Just drop it," he cut me off.
"Is someone picking you up?" he asked, his voice weary.
"Y-yes, I called a friend for help. Then I bumped into you," I said softly. He nodded, sat down, and massaged his temples. I bet his dad is still giving him a hard time.
What are you saying, KD? We don't care. It's his fault anyway.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, eyes closed.
I studied his face. He had changed so much. That question sank in. I just repeated what I told him earlier. "Paige saw me and invited me here. I twisted my ankle when my foot got stuck on a tree root. He helped treat it."
He nodded again. Time passed in silence. Awkward.
"You're hungry, right?" he asked, hand covering his eyes. I answered with a shy, "Yes."
He sighed and stood.
If you don't want to cook for me, then don't! I wanted to say. But I was too hungry to argue. I hadn't eaten since I left earlier. And I wasn't about to eat that pizza with sleeping pills in it.
"Is a burger okay with you?" he asked.
I nodded.
He started gathering the ingredients while I watched him. He still knew how to do so many things. I was glad some things didn't change.
Shut up, Kends. You're just hungry.
As I battled myself mentally, he placed a plate in front of me. A burger with melted cheese on top. My eyes sparkled. I looked up at him and muttered, "Thank you." Then I froze. Damn those habits!
I avoided his gaze, suddenly uncomfortable. I finished eating just as a honk came from outside. Finally! Took them long enough. I thanked him quickly and said goodbye. As I stepped outside, Lonia hugged me, and Arsyn opened the door.
"What took you guys so long?" I asked as Arsyn started the engine.
"We saw Zeke go in. We couldn't just barge in, so we waited," she replied.
I nodded, yawning. "I'm tired. Just head back to the hotel." Then I remembered. "Lonia, I'm sorry about earlier. You too, Arsyn."
Lonia smiled. "No worries, Kends. We were just worried about you. But it looks like everything's fine now."
Arsyn glanced at me. "What about you? Are you okay?"
"I guess I'll live." We all laughed and settled into a comfortable silence.
Yeah, I'll live.
=====
(Curtis' POV)
I felt a little dizzy when I woke up and immediately checked on my brother. He was asleep next to me. I sighed in relief.
Everyone was still in the living room. Then I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and saw Vaughn.
"Oh, you guys are awake," he said.
Apparently, we all crashed here. I nudged Calvin awake, and he looked as clueless as I felt. I couldn't really remember what happened last night.
Paige brought a girl over, we ordered pizza, and then?
"Ugh, what happened last night?" Thoven voiced the question on everyone's mind.
Vaughn shrugged. "Ask Zeke. He got here before me."
"Where is Zeke?" Paige asked.
"Kitchen," Vaughn answered.
We all stood up. My body felt stiff. "We are never sleeping on a sofa again," I groaned. Calvin would say I was whining, and judging by the laughter around me, they agreed.
I dragged myself to the kitchen. "Eze~ my body's stiff. Make me some waffles!" I whined. Eze gave me an annoyed look but grabbed the ingredients anyway. He always caves.
The others joined us.
"What happened to us?" Thoven asked again.
Right then, my waffles were done. I started eating as Eze explained.
"I came back and found you all asleep. A girl was crying, panicked."
Paige looked up, worried. "Is she okay? What happened to her?"
"She's probably the one who put us to sleep," Vaughn added.
"I don't think so," Eze replied. "There were crushed sleeping pills in the pizza. She almost ate it."
"Is she okay?" Paige asked again.
"Yeah. Her friends came and picked her up," Eze replied.
We all sat and began eating. I thought about how today was our last day. I should go visit that place.
After finishing, I took a shower and headed into the woods. It's deep, but I knew the way. A few minutes in, I heard rustling.
"Calvin, if you wanna come, just come out," I called.
My twin stepped out, hands in his pockets. "Looked like you wanted to be alone, so I followed."
I laughed and slung an arm around his shoulder. "Come on! It's better with you there."
We arrived at our special spot—a serene lake with a tiny treehouse nearby. But we stopped in our tracks.
A girl stood there, wearing a plain light pink dress, her hair in twin tails.
"Iya!" I yelled and ran to her, heart pounding. Calvin followed. We hugged her tightly.
"Iya, how have you been?"
We pulled back to look at her. She looked at us, confused.
"Who are you guys?"
"Iya, what are you talking about? It's me, Curt, and this is Calv. Don't you remember us?"
She shook her head. "You must have me mistaken for someone else. My name's Lonia."
What...?