I hurriedly walked into Allegro, no doubt Alexander would be mad at my tardiness. Mariano was standing behind the counter, arms crossed.

School had ended two hours ago and I had a shift at my sister's cafe.

"You're late," he said.

"I know, it's raining and I had to drive myself so you know how that goes," I said as I walked into the backroom.

He followed me and asked, "Why didn't you ask Niko to bring you?"

I hung my coat and glared at Mariano. "He lives on the other side of town."

Mariano looked uninterested. "Alexander isn't here, had to take care of some things with his girl."

"Good to know," I muttered as I walked back onto the floor.

There weren't any customers and the probability for them to come on a Friday was slim. Most of the people were out enjoying life elsewhere. Made me wonder why we couldn't close on Fridays since there weren't usually any customers.

Gymnopédie No.1 was playing softly. I decided to wipe down tables to keep myself busy. Mariano stood behind the counter also cleaning the machines.

After cleaning the tables I went upstairs to my sister's version of a library. Nocturne in E Flat Major started playing. I hummed to the melody, thinking of my sister Lillian who still hadn't texted me. I wondered if she decided to audition for orchestra so she could continue piano in college. I knew she would be busy since her major was chemistry but playing the piano was something she always enjoyed doing.

Valeria always suggests books to read while Lillian was always eager to perform new pieces for me. She had a way of playing that instantly immersed people the moment they heard her play.

It made me wonder if that was what captivated Mariano. I didn't know much about their relationship except that they started talking their senior year. I thought they were endgame, Mariano brought out the side of my sister I only saw when it came to playing the piano. Of course, that flame died out when they ended things sometime in the summer. My sister didn't tell me nor Valeria, I always asked myself why she went through a rough breakup by herself quietly. I didn't find out until college move-in day.

I was riding in Lillian's car while our parents followed behind us. It was nice to get some alone time with my sister since she was always cooped up in her room most of my time growing up.

"Is Mariano going to meet us there?" I asked Lillian as I looked out the window. It was a little over four hours and as we got closer we entered the mountains. The university was literally within the mountains and the sights were to die for.

Lillian didn't say anything and turned the music up louder. I didn't think much of it, Mariano probably told her he couldn't make it so he could surprise her, he was like that. I hummed to the tune of a DPR Ian song playing as we continued going deeper into the mountains, rain began to fall.

Lillian got a full-ride scholarship to the university of her choice. If I had a full ride scholarship I would have chosen a university not within our state where our family lives. Especially since my smart sister got accepted into some major ivy league universities. Maybe she planned to transfer after the first year but one could never tell since she never spoke what was on her mind. But even if it was located in our state it felt like we were in another region. I bet when it was winter the place looked amazing, almost like a winter wonderland.

The GPS announced we would be at our destination in five minutes. I sat in awe, the pictures I saw of this college didn't do it justice, not only did Lillian choose a school in the middle of the mountains but the campus was made up of many renaissance style buildings you would see in Europe. One of the buildings seemed to be coming out of one of the mountains. I was thrilled hoping to go into that one. There was a part of me that liked seeing the different architecture and interior designs. I wondered if I could see myself attending a university like this.

Lillian pulled up to one of the parking lots and looked around.

"This should be it," she muttered.

She turned the engine off and climbed out. I also got off, stretching and popping my back from that horrendous car ride. I looked over to my sister, she was looking around with a small frown on her face.

"You don't like it?" I asked.

"I like it," she replied. It sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

She took out her phone and looked around.

"My hall should be this way," she said walking towards a building, stuffing her hands in her hoodie. There were people sitting under tents, they all looked happy.

I let Lillian figure out her dorm situation while I looked around. There were other students moving in with their parents. Our parents texted me saying they were going to be a bit late since they got lost along the way and were stuck in traffic. I had a gut feeling it was a lie and they were only going to come by to pick me up and make us do all the moving in.

I walked back to the car since check-in was taking longer than I expected.

Shoes without the s

ara is bella: how is it?

me: sights are breathtaking but Lillian seems unhappy

ara is bella: maybe she's nervous being away from home

me: maybe I dunno, hoping Mariano gets here soon to save the day

bird boy 🦅: lol

I slid my phone into my pocket when Lillian came back with a huge rolling cart.

"That thing is half your size," I joked.

She let out a dry laugh and opened the trunk. I helped her pile everything in so we didn't have to make too many trips. We entered her hall and took the elevator to the fifth floor. We looked for her room and entered. She had gotten lucky and got a single with an attached kitchen and bathroom.

"Ooo this looks nice," I said as I sat down on her bed.

"Let's just hurry and unpack. Are our parents almost here?"

"They got stuck in traffic," I said looking out the window. "You have an amazing view, I bet the stars are going to be brighter with the altitude we're in."

I helped her unpack when I realized that my sister was in no mood to talk. I helped her make her bed and even started decorating when we finished bringing her stuff in from the car. I pulled out a framed photo from a box, it was a photo of her and Mariano during prom.

"Do you want me to put this next to your bed or where?" I asked her.

She looked up from the desk she was organizing and froze. "Take it home."

I stared confused. "Why? Is this about him not coming? That's how Mariano is, he's going to surprise you and everything will be good."

She shook her head. "He's not coming," she said with a tremble in her voice.

"Why?"

"Because Mariposa we ended things, it's over. Please take that photo with you." She took a deep breath and occupied herself.

"What when? What happened?" I pried.

"Last month, it happened last month. You should go ask him about it," she said the last part with distaste.

"Did he- did he cheat on you or something?" I dreaded the answer since Mariano was so in love with my sister, there was no way he would do that.

Lillian closed her eyes. "Mariposa please drop this."

Lillian was always so focused on her studies and never had time for herself except when she played piano. I never understood but she always said it was her escape from trying so hard to be recognized by our parents. She said that with me being the youngest I wouldn't understand what it felt like being the middle child and having to meet standards to be noticed.

My parents wanted us girls to follow in Thiago's footsteps in being successful. My older sister didn't listen and followed her dreams of opening a cafe. I always assumed Lillian's dream was to become a doctor so I counted that as being successful since she was halfway there in a sense.

I put stray books on the shelves and tidied up the couches.

"Mariposa," I heard a voice behind me.

"What's up?" I turned to Mariano.

He avoided eye contact as he placed some books back on the bookshelf. "How- have you heard from Lilly?" He seemed unsure.

"Why? You two haven't made up after all this time?" I paused. "Does she even know you work here?"

"She has me blocked on everything so we can't really make up and no she doesn't. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell her or her anger will only grow."

"She'll be home for fall break in like two months. Ready to face her?" I asked curiously. I had yet to find the reason for their break up. No matter how hard I tried to get it out of him he never budged.

He rolled his eyes. "Has she mentioned a boyfriend or anything?"

"Yes," I lied. "He lives on her floor."

He frowned and harshly shoved the book back into place.

I chuckled. "I'm joking. She hasn't contacted me so I don't know what's going on. Whether she auditioned for the orchestra or whether she finally broke out of her shell and parties."

He seemed to be in thought. "Look I don't know what happened between you, god I don't even know why you chose my sister since you two are complete opposties. But if you really loved my sister and if you cared for her then you would've gone to her move in day or gone to see her, she's only a couple hours away, not in a whole different state."

I left him to ponder his thoughts and headed downstairs when I heard the cafe's bell ring. I grinned when I saw who walked in.

"Niko! Hi Julian," I waved.

Julian nodded and looked around, his eyes trailing on the piano.

"Do you play?" I asked.

"He started learning after a certain someone caught his eye playing the piano," Niko answered for him. I was a little surprised at this, Julian was extremely good looking but I've never seen him converse with any females.

"Oh really? My sister also plays piano. If you ever need help I can ask her to help you," I said hoping to somehow befriend him.

"Yeah Julian, maybe Lillian can help you," Niko said as he elbowed him teasingly.

Julian ran a hand through his curls, a small smile forming on his face, his cheeks the lightest shade of pink. "I'd actually appreciate that."

"So what brings you two here?" I asked as I walked behind the counter. "It's Friday and I know for sure you're not here to spend it in a cafe."

Niko leaned on the counter with a smirk. "You're right, we're here to take you away."

I looked at him shocked. "I'm working right now."

He shrugged. "So? It's your sister's place, just close early, not like you're going to get customers at this hour."

"Still I can't just leave Mariano here," I said, reaching into the baking display case for a slice of chocolate cake. "I remember you used to be obsessed with chocolate cake." I handed him a fork and he happily ate.

"I don't think Mariano would mind, just close early," Niko said in between bites. I looked at him in disgust, my pet peeve was always people chewing and the noises they made as they chewed.

"Yeah right, what does he like?" I asked, pointing at Julian.

"Cheesecake," Niko put another chunk of cake in his mouth.

I neatly placed a slice of cheesecake and walked over to Julian who was examining the piano.

"Here you go bud." I handed it to him and his eyes instantly lit.

"Thank you."

I turned around and saw Niko conversing with Mariano, they were laughing and it seemed awfully suspicious. I walked up to them and looked between the two.

Mariano patted my back and said, "We're closing early."

"Why?"

"Because Valeria said it was fine," Mariano said as he walked to the back, cleaning everything up.

I looked at Niko suspiciously. "What did you tell him?"

"Nothing, we'll be waiting for you over there."

"I still have to go home and change," I told him.

He waved a hand over his head, not looking back at me.

After deep cleaning everything and making sure everything was set. Mariano and I were done with our closing tasks.

"Ready?" I asked and startled the two cousins.

"Finally," Niko exasperated as he got up from his seat.

I rolled my eyes and said my goodbyes to Mariano who was turning off the lights. "See you Mariano!"

Once outside Niko threw the keys to Julian. "I'm going to ride with her. Just follow behind us."

Julian nodded and got into Niko's car.

Before I could get in the driver's seat Niko took my keys and pushed me over to the passengers side.

"Don't worry, I can take you home." I plugged my phone to charge while we waited a bit for the car to heat up.

Niko made himself comfortable and relined the seat a bit. "You better not put shit music, " he grumbled.

I rolled my eyes and pressed a song I knew he would love: Baby by Justin Bieber. I turned up the volume singing along as we drove back to my house.

***

"Alright do you guys want to come in?" I asked as all three of us stood on my front porch.

"Obviously Mari, why else would we be standing here like idiots?"

"Geez calm down." Luckily my parents weren't home so it wouldn't be awkward having to explain what I'm doing with two dudes.

I opened the door for us and let them come through. Niko looked bored, hands in his pockets. Julian looked around, his eyes stopping at a family portrait that was hung near the entrance.

"That's mom and dad, that's Thiago my older brother, Valeria and Lillian, my older sisters," I said pointing to each of them. "Well I'm going to go change, Niko can give you a tour since he should know the place. Also, how should I dress?"

"I don't know, casual but comfortable?" Niko responded as he walked over to the couch.

I quickly got to my room and opened my closet doors. After a few minutes of internal debate, I decided to wear a tight black turtleneck tucked in some mom jeans. I struggled to put on my high-top converse and touched up my makeup. I brushed out my hair and looked at the final look. I grabbed my wallet and keys and headed downstairs.

"Ready!"

"That was fast." Niko looked at me. "Not."

"Let's go," Julian said exiting the house.

Niko looked back at me with a smirk. "You look good. I can see you're wearing the necklace I gifted you when you won that dance competition in our seventh grade." I stood there nervously since I didn't think he would notice.

I smiled and motioned for him to get out so I could lock up. I closed the door making sure to lock it, and got into Niko's car. Julian had sat in the back seat leaving the passenger's seat for me.

"Finally," Niko said as he held the door open for me.

"Thank you again for the cheesecake," Julian said while Niko walked around to get to the driver's side.

I waved him off, "Oh don't sweat it."

"Alright kids, buckle up, we have a long ride ahead of us." With that Niko reversed and drove, rather fast.

***

"Laser tag really? We drove for over an hour to play laser tag?" I asked as we walked into the building.

"This is just a warm up my dear Mariposa. We'll get to the fun later," Niko said, draping his arm over my shoulders.

I looked over at Julian who also had a smirk on his face. This was the first time I have seen so much emotion on his face.

Niko paid for all of us and we geared up, honestly, I was pumped. We were all going against each other and I was ready to annihilate Niko.

I cracked my knuckles and put on my best scary face.

"You look like a constipated chipmunk," Niko laughed, I looked over at Julian who was trying to hide a smile.

I looked at both of them offended. "You two are going down."

We walked into the "arena" and listened as the guy explained the rules.

Julian and Niko had cool expressions as if this were just a walk in the park, I didn't think so. I wanted so badly to show them up.

We all split up and hid until the game began.

My tactic was to hide until they found me, I'd let them take each other out. I was crouched in a far corner, they'd only find me if they tried hard enough.

"Well look at what we have here." I looked up to see Niko with a smirk. "Did you really think I'd let you stay here and hide for the round?"

"Maybe?"

"I'll give you five seconds to go off and hide somewhere else, maybe actually try."

I didn't hesitate and stood up, taking off. There was a chance Julian was still in the game, I didn't want to find out.

I could hear Niko teasing me somewhere from behind. I knew I stood no chance especially since I was so uncoordinated.

Suddenly I tripped over who knows what was on the floor. Niko came over and tried helping without hesitation, I blasted him.

Julian came from the other side and I blasted him as well.

"I knew I could annihilate you and your cousin!" I said excitedly.

Niko had a small smile on his face while Julian was scowling.

"You could've taken her Niko," Julian said grumpily.

Niko shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Let's go to our next destination."

"Where are we going?" I asked as I buckled my seatbelt.

"Better you don't know," Niko responded as he pulled out of the driveway.

***

"So you take me to play laser tag and now you want me to do something illegal?"

We were in a sketchy part of some random town, a little over an hour away from the last place we were in. Julian pulled out a bag full of spray paint and they were expecting me to vandalize a wall in a sketchy alley.

Niko handed me a can of spray paint and pointed towards an empty wall. "Come on. Hasn't this always been on your bucket list?"

Shaking my head, I took the can from him. "Is this what you two losers do in your freetime? Judging from that bag full of cans, it seems like you do this all the time."

"Just spray the wall."

I took a deep breath and pressed down on the nozzle. "If I go to jail, I blame both of you." I sprayed the wall, making my signature mark. "I mean you've changed Niko, never expected you to vandalize."

"Mari, do you ever shut up? With your loud mouth, we will get caught," Niko said, rolling his eyes.

I didn't say anything and hummed as I drew a butterfly, it was poorly done but it still looked like one.

I looked over at Julian's. "Wow, you're actually good. Who is she?" I stared at his portrait some more. "She looks familiar, I feel like I've seen her somewhere." It was an abstract portrait with bright colors.

Julian opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by police sirens. I dropped the can and dramatically cried. "We're going to go to jail!"

Julian hurriedly picked up the cans and threw the bag over his shoulder, he gave Niko a look and then took off running. Niko took ahold of my hand and we took off running in the opposite