Copyright © MonMoncheese
All Rights Reserved
37 Published 04.05.2020

•••

ROSEANNE

Walking on the crosswalk, Nathan and I eat our ice cream.

He texted me earlier in school, telling me that he wanted me to head to an ice cream parlor as soon as schools ended. 

So I was still wearing my uniform. 

Unlike him, who was dressed in workout clothes.

Because of his training, he arrived later than I did, but it was worth the wait because he was next to me right now.

And I was enjoying every second of it.

Despite the voices in my head, I was eating my ice cream. 

I refused to let the voices ruin my time with my brother. 

Not right now.

If they wanted to overpower me, I wouldn't let them do it with my brother next to me.

I couldn't let my brother see me at my worse.

I just couldn't do that to him.

"Do you like it?" My brother nods to the ice cream in my hand.

"Yeah," I smile. "Thank you." 

"It's fine." He nudges my arm. "It's been a while since we ate ice cream together." He says.

It's been a while since I ate ice cream at all.

"I know," I answer sadly.

"Don't be sad. I told you, you're going to get better. I will help you. And if it comes to it, mom and dad will help you."

I say nothing and he simply puts a hand on my shoulder in a comforting way.

After that, we don't say anything else. We simply continue walking until eventually, we arrive at a park.

I grab Nathan and walk towards the nearest bench. 

"Let's sit," I say as we stand in front of the bench.

Taking a seat first, I pat the space next to me. 

As Nathan sits down, I cross my ankles and take a deep breath in content.

I glance around the park and smile at the squirrel climbing a tree.

As I stare into nature, a thought crosses my mind.

"Hey, Nathan, are you really okay with me hanging out with you and the lads?" I wait for him to answer.

"Rose," He turns to me. "Why wouldn't I be?" 

"I don't know," I mumble. "They are your friends."

Nathan chuckles before answering. "I'm happy that you decided to hang out with them one day. And for the record, they want to be your friend. That's why they are trying to get close to you."

"Oh," I look down to my lap.

"It feels weird. I haven't had friends in a while and suddenly there are a few people that want to be my friend. I just don't know how to act. And I don't want to make a mistake, otherwise, they will leave me." I tell him.

"Roseanne, I hate what they are doing to you. And I'm still hoping that you decide to be homeschooled, but just know that Ethan and Bryson like you for who you are. So don't worry about acting in another way. Just be you and they will love you."

As he says this, I can't help but feel sad.

Nathan seems to notice this as he brings my head to his shoulder.

We simply stay there. Both of us engrossed in our own thoughts. 

Eventually, we both finish our ice cream and Nathan throws it away inside the trash.  

•••

Entering my room, I change out of my uniform and change into something more comfortable.

It's a good thing I had no homework because I had the rest of the day to do what I want.

And what I want is to watch Sherlock.

My body was filled with joy. And I couldn't help but feel a sudden energy in me.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, I place the laptop in front of me. 

But before I can click on the show, my phone rings.

Picking it up, I look at the caller ID and grin.

《THIRD POV》

Alec walks inside James' room quietly. Nico following behind him as he waited for Alec to get caught.

But Alec had his attention somewhere else.

James happened to go out on a walk with Theo.

But the moment Alec saw him exit the door, he darted upstairs to his room.

Nico being the curious one, decided to follow him.

It wasn't until they arrived in the room, that Nico knew exactly what Alec was looking for.

The phone.

James didn't always take his phone with him when he was going to walk Theo through the neighborhood.

But Alec hoped it was his lucky day.

And much to his surprise.

It was.

There, on top of his study desk, lay a pile of books. All stacked neatly in place.

But right on top of the books was the phone.

Alec grinned and wasted no time before picking up the phone.

Once in his hands, Alec turned it on.

"Please be right," Alec mumbles as he types in the password.

Once the phone unlocks, he beams.

"Why he didn't change the password is beyond me," Nico mumbles, walking towards Alec.

If James found out what they were doing, he would kill them.

But with a shrug of his shoulder, he decided to enter the tiger's den. 

"It's my lucky day, mate," Alec tells him before turning to the phone on his hand.

It's also the day we die. Nico thought to himself.

Alec searches through the contacts until he finds the name he's looking for.

Princess.

"Got you," Alec says.

Clicking on the call button, both guys wait as the phone rings.

"Stranger!" A sweet voice exclaims.

Nico and Alec glance at each other the moment the girl speaks.

"Princess?" Alec says.

"Stranger? Is that you? You sound different." She replies.

Oh, she's smart. Nico thinks to himself.

"Hello, love." Alec smiles at her.

There is a moment of silence before she speaks again.

"You're not James." The girl says.

Her voice remains sweet, but it no longer holds the chirpy tones she had in the beginning.

"You are correct, love. I'm a friend of James. His best friend, actually. Well, one of them." Alec explains.

"Oh, nice to meet you." Rose's voice goes quiet which causes Alec and Nico to smile fondly at her.

"Awww, you're shy! You're so cute." Alec cooes. "The name is Alexander, by the way."

Nicolas rolls his eyes at his best friend's introduction and Alec snaps his finger.

"Oh, wait, meet our other best friend." Alec suddenly says as he hands the phone to Nico.

"Hello?" Her soft voice questions.

"Hello, Rose. It's a pleasure to meet you. You've been mentioned in many of our conversations." Nico tells her.

"I have?" She questions. 

"Of course, darling."Nico smiles.

"Oh, I hope only good things were said about me," Rose says quietly.

"Oooh! Rose! You have to meet our other best friend. He's the last one, I promise." Alec suddenly says. "Just give us a few seconds and we will introduce you to him."

"Oh, ok." She answers.

With that Alec drags Nico with him.

And Rose stays quiet, completely and utterly confused as to what was happening.

Walking down the stairs, both Nico and Alec head to the center in the living room where the last boy sat. 

Vincent.

Alec wastes no time and walks towards him.

"Mate, guess what? I'm on the phone with Rose." Alec tells him.

Vincent looks up from the textbook below him and stares at Alec with wide eyes.

Noticing Alec's bright smile, Vincent's eyes dart to Nico, who was currently holding the phone in his hand. 

Noticing his best friend's gaze on him, Nico looks at Vincent wearing a shocked expression on his face.

"What?" He asks, no longer paying attention to the book.

With no words, Nico simply hands him the phone.

"Hi?" Rose says.

But Vincent frowns at the voice.

There was something about her voice. It sounded familiar to him.

Alec nudges, shaking him out of his reverie.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, darling. Are you Rose?" He waits for her to answer.

"I am." 

There it was again.

The familiar voice.

But Vincent couldn't recall where he had heard her.

"I'm very pleased to meet you," Vincent tells her.

"It's nice meeting you all." She responds.

"She's cute," Nico tells the guys. Thank you, Rose."

"Rose, you have a pretty voice," Vincent tells her.

But before anyone could say anything else, the front door opens.

Causing all three of the boys to freeze in the process.

Soon enough, James appears through the door, the little puppy beside his legs.

James, completely oblivious to what was happening, kneels down to the puppy's eye leve and he proceeds to unclip the leash off of him. 

As soon as the least is removed, Theo runs away from everyone.

With a chuckle, James stands up to his full 6'3 height. 

As James stands up, his eyes land to the three boys who stood in the living room with shocked expressions.

He frowns at them, completely unaware of what was happening. 

What's up with them? He thinks to himself as he removes his jacket.

That's when his eyes dart to the bottom where Vincent was currently holding his phone.

But what confused him more was the fact that his phone was in the air.

"Hello?" James finally hears it.

Her voice.

Terror was to be unleashed.

And in the midst of a second, James runs to the boys. 

The jacket, long forgotten as it landed on the armrest of the couch.

"You fucking assholes," James yells causing the boys to disperse in hurry.

Vincent wastes no time to give the phone to Alec, who runs away from James as if his life depended on it.

Because it did.

This was a chase, after all.

"Rose, I have to go. James is about to kill us. It was really nice meeting you. I look forward to talking to you again, Bye, love!" Alec yells before ending the call.

"Alexander! Get your arse over here." James threatens as he chases Alec around the house.

"Adri! Please, let's discuss this like the civilized people we are." Alec tries to reason.

"Are you fucking mad?" He says and Alec runs faster in fright.

In the end, luck wasn't on his side since Alec ended up tripping on an item of furniture that was pressed against the wall.

"Shit," He curses as he lands on the floor.

In a matter of seconds, James was next to him.

"Mate, please." Alec cries out, putting his hands in front of his face to block James.

But it was no use.

He was going to die.

•••

An hour later, all the boys were sitting in the living room. No signs of the earlier havoc were present.

The house was completely cleaned.

And everything had been organized.

The jacket that at some point has landed on the couch was now folded neatly on the couch.

"What did she say?" James asks his best friends.

He only hoped that she was okay after talking to her best friends.

"Nothing much, she's shy. So it was mostly us talking." Nico tells him. "But she's really sweet."

That she is. James smiles.

"You're not mad at us, are you?" Alec grimaces slightly at the thought.

"Of course not, mate. I was just worried about her reaction. Like you said, she's shy."

"Then why did you attack me?" Alec exclaims. His heart was still beating fast from the fear.

"Heat of the moment." James grins smugly leaving Alec with his mouth open.

Nico snickered at him.

"But mate, there was something about her." Vincent suddenly leans forward with a thoughtful look on his face.

He had yet to forget her voice.

All the guys turn to him and James frowns.

"What do you mean?" James questions.

"Her voice, it sounds familiar?" 

"Familiar?" Alec questions.

"Yeah," Vincent nods at him before bringing his palms together as he places his chin on top of them. "I've heard it before. I just can't remember where. But I heard her recently."

"Hmm," James hums.

"Maybe she goes to our school," Nico says.

"No," James nods his head. "She attends another school."

"Perhaps I heard her voice when we went out on one of our outgoings. But since she has a pretty voice, I guess it stuck to me." Vincent purses his lips.

"That she does, mate. She sounds so cute!" Alec cooes again.

And James nods his head in agreement.

He didn't bother denying it, because there was nothing to deny. 

The lads continued talking about Rose leaving James with one thought on his mind.

Where did Vincent hear her voice?

○○○

AAAAAAAAAAH. I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO POSTING THIS CHAPTER.

AND, TWO CHAPTERS IN A ROW!!!

CLAP FOR ME, PLEASE.

BRAVO, BRAVO, BRAVO.

*THROWS FLOWERS AT MYSELF*

HAHAHAHA.

Apparently this chapter is listed as a draft. Meaning that it was never published. So I'm not sure what happened because I thought it was published, but here you go. I'll be looking to see if any other chapters is listed as a draft.