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21. WAFFLES ワッフル
THE HAIRBRUSH MADE a small clattering as lia placed it back on her dresser carefully. taking a deep breath, she turned towards the door only for it to be flung open.
her lips parted in shock until valeria charged into the room. her lips pressed in a straight line, a brow lifted in question. "what the hell, val?" she let out when the door slammed shut and the younger girl barely stopped herself from running into her.
"sorry, sis!" valeria beamed, not in the least bit upset by lia's reaction. "okay. what's got you so excited?" lia tilted her head, her curiosity showing. the younger sister leaned in. "toni just came to see charlie and she's having breakfast with us." she whispered conspiratorially.
lia's eyes rounded with amusement. "where's darryl?" she asked. "he's still in his room." valeria beamed. "so he doesn't know." lia concluded. valeria bobbed her head excitedly. lia took her hand. "let's go. i want to see his face when he realises she's here." she made for the door, pulling her sister along.
both giggling girls hurried out of the room and down the stairs. "toni, hi!" lia chirped, clapping her hands together. the tall girl grinned at her in reply. charlie looked at her sister with narrowed eyes.
lia had never heard her speak. none of them besides charlie had. honestly, lia suspected that charlie did all the talking in their best friendship, which was all the better because charlie usually had a lot to say. and toni's face said all that her mouth didn't.
the loud thumps of someone running down the stairs made four pairs of eyes glance up. valeria and lia shared a look while charlie rolled her eyes. all three girls were used to this reaction whenever toni came around.
darryl slowed down as he reached the bottom of the stairs, assuming a cool disposition. lia snorted, attempting to suppress a laugh that was bubbling in her throat. "oh, hey, toni." he flashed her a smile, running his fingers smoothly through his hair. the girl returned the gesture before turning to her best friend.
valeria hid her face behind her older sister to hide the fact that she was battling laughter. charlie simply shook her head and took toni's hand. "let's go to the dining room. we're having waffles."
lia's eyes went big and she hurried after them. there was a chorus of "morning" as everyone made themselves comfortable at the table. valeria took a seat next to lia, gillian finding her way to her other side. gabriel shuffled his way next to his oldest sister.
lia barely held her laughter back at her mother's expression when darryl half ran to take a seat next to toni. she glanced at their father who only shook his head before returning his attention to the sports section of the newspaper he was reading.
everyone delved into their waffles once their mother had sat comfortably at one end of the table. as it usually was at the table, the silence was filled by random conversation, everyone – except toni – making a contribution to the early morning noise.
gillian tugged on lia's ruffle blouse towards the end of breakfast. lia glanced down with a soft smile. "when is kookie coming to visit again? i miss him." the seven-year-old asked, doe eyes blinking in waiting. lia's smile got bigger. "hm, i'll tell him you miss him, so very soon." she hummed out. gillian beamed brightly and her older sister patted her head lovingly.
when breakfast was over, lia kissed her mother's cheek and waved her father goodbye before heading for the door. she heard footsteps behind her as she reached for the doorhandle. glancing back, she saw charlie running after her. her brow went up in question. "what?"
"where are you off to, little sis?" charlie's eyes watched her suspiciously. "out to see friends." lia answered carefully. "so, jungkook." charlie concluded. "i never said–" lia started only to be caught off by her sister. "if it was one of the girls', you'd have given me a name so it's your little rain boy."
lia pressed her lips together, not able to find a response. charlie's lips curled in a very grin. "did he ask you out?" she wiggled her brows. lia opened her mouth, but something behind charlie caught her attention. "um, i think toni needs your saving." she pointed behind her sister, amusement sparkling in her eyes.
charlie twisted around to see darryl chatting toni up. she was twiddling her thumbs and smiling awkwardly. charlie groaned, waving half-heartedly at her sister before jogging towards the duo.
"bye," lia sang, pushing down on the handle and running out the door. she strolled to the bus stop, getting on a bus to jungkook's. plugging her earphones in, she listened to soft music and watched the sceneries go by.
she found that she could hardly sit still, excitement coursing through her veins for some reason that wasn't entirely the air hockey table. her hands kept moving, fidgeting with the phone she held, her foot tapping along to the music playing.
it wasn't long before the bus arrived at her stop. she hopped off, eyes moving around to find jungkook's apartment building. her mouth lifted when she spotted it. hurrying inside, she took the elevator to his floor.
she found his apartment number and knocked on the door. there was muffled ruckus coming from the other side of the door. "coming!" a voice called from inside. rocking on her heels, lia waited.
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ya girl is on a roll!! a third update in the same month (even though it's still kind of a filler). but it gets better from here on out (i think). hope you liked it!
