The Philippaerts Twins

Chapter One

The disembodied voice of the flight attendant resonated through the airplane, telling us it was okay to take off our seat belts now. I took this as a cue to stretch as much as I could in this cramped space without bothering the two other guys beside me. Eventually, I got up and grabbed my backpack off the floor. I made my way slowly through the plane, till I reached the entrance. I would love nothing more than to tell you that when I first set foot in Belgium, the scenery blew me away. Instead, I grimaced at the gray and rainy clouds that covered the sky and darkened the day.

After some insanely long lines, I managed to get my bag and saddle. Once outside the airport I tried to get a cab, but with the rain everyone seemed desperate to get one and pushed me out of the way. I sighed and tried to regain my bearings, and then I would be giving the cab thing another attempt. I made my way to a bench that had another person on it and plopped down. You'd think that after being in such a long ride sitting down I'd be full of energy, but traveling always took a heavy toll on me. Especially when I had to be dragging my saddle and horse equipment around.

I reached inside my backpack and turned on my phone. Not long after, it rang. I wasn't surprised to see mom's caller ID on my screen. I picked up after the second ring and waited for the sound of her voice to fill the silence on the other side.

"Hey sweetie! How was the plane ride to Belgium?" She gushed. I couldn't help but smile lightly at the sound of her voice. I was starting to realize that I'm not going to see my mom for the next couple of months and it was freaking me out a little.

"It was okay," I answered.

"Jeez, here I am missing you to death and wondering how are you doing and all you can say is 'okay'?" Mom said teasingly. I laughed lightly and told her all the little boring details about the trip until she was satisfied. Heck, I told her so much she could probably picture being on the plane herself.

"Look mom, I have to get a cab, but I'll call you once I'm settled in at the farm, okay?" I said once I noticed the sky was clearing up slightly. She agreed and after a thousand times of saying 'I love you', I hung up.

I really didn't want to cry right here and now. This was my first time being away from home without my mom for so long, and to be honest I was scared to death. I wasn't even on the same continent as her! Sure, I had gone to a few shows in Wellington without her, but Central America was less than a few hours away. Belgium was twelve. It had always been my mom and me since the divorce. The checks dad gave me to pay for show jumping was as close as our relationship got, but with mom by my side it was all right. Now, I have to fend for myself... and learn to cook.

A voice pulled me out of my thoughts, "Do you ride?"

"Nope," I said popping the p, "I just enjoy carrying ridiculously heavy saddles around when I travel," I added sarcastically without even turning to look at the voice's owner.

I realized it had been rude of me to answer like that and instantly felt bad about it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to answer like that," I apologized.

I finally turned to look at him, and I froze. To say I wanted to crawl under a rock and die for talking like that to him would be the understatement of the decade. I recognized him instantly; I would know that jawline anywhere. Nicola Philippaerts gave me a brief smile, as if to say it was okay. My pulse became slightly unsteady, and by that I mean it was ready to win the Kentucky Derby. Before I could embarrass myself any further, someone came and interrupted our small talk.

"I can't find her anywhere, and I swear she'll have to get a cab to the farm if she doesn't show up soon," The new comer said. I looked up only to be met with the gaze of twin number two. Olivier Philippaerts. The fangirl inside of me was having a mayor heart attack. He looked photoshoot-ready even when he was glaring and the aura around him radiated annoyance. He held a paper with something written on it, with what I am assuming is sharpie or some other kind of black marker. Giving it a closer look, it read 'Nina Whitehill'.

"Shit!" When both twins turned to look at me with matching confused expressions, I realized that I said this out loud. Oops. I chuckled nervously and ran a hand through my messy brown hair.

"Um... Hi," I started, "I'm Nina, nice to meet you," Nicola smiled and I felt like I was about to melt into a puddle. Olivier, on the other hand, looked like he was just about ready to murder me. I should probably sleep with an eye open this first week.

"Well, that makes this a lot easier," Nicola began, "I'm Nicola, and this is my brother Olivier," I had to stop myself from blurting 'I know!' and at the same time trying not to blush and giggle like an idiot. Olivier looked away with disinterest, and I was beginning to get the feeling he wasn't the warm and fuzzy type. For the moment, Nicola seemed by far much more approachable than the younger twin. When Olivier remained quiet, Nicola elbowed him not quite subtlety but with the smile still remaining on his face.

Olivier grunted and turned around to face me, "We should get going, or else the traffic will get even worst," He tried to add a smile into the sentence, but it came out more like a grimace. I almost laughed out loud at his attempt at friendliness. Instead, I nodded and stood up.

I reached down to scoop up my bag and saddle, when someone else beat me to it. Nicola flashed me a grin as he held my bags effortlessly. I opened my mouth to protest and tell him I could carry them by myself, but he cut me off before I could even get the first word out of my mouth.

"You did say they were heavy..." The elder twin said, using my own words against me.

I opened my mouth to reply, but then realized that I had no comeback. "Fine," I sighed, defeated. 

With that said, the twins led the way to their car. I lagged slightly behind as they bickered back and forth between themselves. I couldn't help, but chuckle. This was going to be one hell of a summer.