It was the midsummer of 1982 when an out-of-place city girl forged a friendship with a shy yet outgoing village boy who was completely unaware that his beloved town was bound to face a serious turmoil for not too long.
A KEANU REEVES AU:
⠀° set in 1...
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❝ you guys are gonna have a sleep over? ❞
CHAPTER TEN: OUR OWN NEVERLAND
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I heard a knock on the front door downstairs, so I snuck my head out the room to eavesdrop on them. "Hi, is Dahlia there?" Jovi said groggily to whoever greeted him downstairs.
A fire was sent to my spine when I found out it was Auntie Nida who greeted Jovi. I muttered innumerable "oh shit"s to myself as I hoped and crossed my fingers that Auntie wasn't in the mood to pick a random fight. Good thing she wasn't. I sigh in relief.
"'Course. Come in, darling."
My eyes widened in shock as she treated Jovi with the utmost respect like he was the Dalai Lama. "Why'd you come here, darling?" she asked in such an odd, mellifluous tone that I also heard from her back when I first arrived here. He didn't answer her; he was too busy looking around the house.
"Why're you lookin' for Dahlia, Karr Jovi?" my Auntie asked. I felt this weird cringe that was sent down my body when I heard Auntie call Jovi by his full first names.
I quietly descended downstairs, trying not to make a creaking sound because of the slightly frail, wooden floors. I waved my brother 'hi' and gave him a signal to come near me.
I saw him smile at my aunt when he said: "We're gonna have a sleepover."
But Auntie Nida didn't smile at that. So did my father.
And there I were again, muttering curse words to myself as Dad, Auntie Nida, Jovi and even my little brother all looked at me simultaneously.
I was on the hot-seat. I stood there frozen with an awkward ─ very awkward ─ grin of humiliation and embarrassment. My father and Auntie darted glances at each other as if they were having a top-secret meeting just by the look of their eyes. All of us started at the both of them. They nodded slightly which kind of raised our confusion.
"You guys are gonna have a sleep over?" they both asked. Their tones were so stern and serious that we just all stood there with nothing to say.
"Okay! Don't do anything stupid!"
Sigh of relief. That's the first thing we all did. Jovi immediately ran to me with his backpack and scurried upstairs. I pulled my brother along with me so they wouldn't raise suspicion.
"Geez! That was close!" Jovi jumped around as we slammed the door. He jumped to my bed and coughed right after. "You still haven't cleaned your room?" he said in between fits of coughing. I nodded at him.
