☂ 𝑰𝑵𝑺𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻 || 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚂 𝚡 𝙾𝙲 || 𝑩𝑲. 𝟐 ☂

02. VIVA KENNEDY

The opening of the front door was announced by the sound of the tiny bell above it. A woman with curly light brown hair and tan skin walked in with a huge grin on her face. She held a cardboard box in her arms as she used her leg to close the door behind her.

There was a teenage boy with similar hair wiping down the wooden countertop with a rag as he looked up and flashed a smile at the woman. "Welcome back, Mamá," he greeted. "They finally came in?" he asked, eyeing the box in her hands.

"Si! Freshly printed this morning," she answered as she walked over and placed the box on the counter. She began to open it before looking around and stopping. "Where is she? Still sleeping?"

The brown-haired teen shook his head. "She's in the back cutting the onions," he replied as he lifted up the divider and walked around the counter to be on the same side as his mother. "I'll go get her." he said as he placed a peck on her cheek, earning a content hum from the older woman as she smiled sweetly at the boy.

"Thank you, Antonio."

He nodded as he went through the swinging doors on the other side of the room that led to the kitchen. He could faintly hear the sound of a knife hitting the cutting board as he rounded the corner. The teenager found the girl as she had her back faced to him, focused on the task at hand. Her wavy dark hair was done in a half-up style as the ends reached her mid-back. She wore a sleeveless light blue dress that was tapered at the hip with white flats. With the back of her wrist, she wiped her teary eyes as she kept chopping away at the onion. A smirk crossed his face as he tried to tip-toe his way toward her. He quietly got a couple of feet behind her as his fingers began to itch the closer they neared her.

The girl woke up early that day and decided to prepare the ingredients for lunch. She had gotten through most of the vegetables: the tomatoes, peppers, garlic, and even the cilantro. But she liked to leave the onions last for when she got lost in thought. It helped out on days that she felt down, no one would be able to tell if the tears were from the onions or not. Sometimes not even her. With a sigh, she looked down at her wrist and stared at the stars that decorated her bracelet. She was about to finish the last chop when she sensed a presence behind her.

"Tony," warned the girl, grabbing the front of her dress and dapping it under her eye as a tear threatened to spill. "Don't even think about it." she said calmly, turning her head to peek an eye over her shoulder.

Tony let out a frustrated groan. "How is it that you always know when I'm behind you, Els?" he asked with a slight accent as he walked to the side of her, leaning against the table to look at her.

"You're not as quiet as you think you are," she chuckled, finishing up the piece of onion before putting the sliced pieces in the bowl in front of her. "Try to take lighter steps and maybe you'll get me one day."

He sucked his teeth. "Whatever," he said as he grabbed an apple off a shelf beside him and took a bite out of it.

Elaina looked at him with an amused smile as she shook her head. "You're a mess, my friend." she said as she wiped her hands together.

Tony finished chewing and suddenly leaned into her with narrowed eyes. "Were you crying?"

She gave him a dumbfounded look as she motioned over to the bowl of fresh cut onions. "Well, I was prepping white onions, so..."

He rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. You could lie to my mom, but not to me, estrellita." said the teen as he crossed his arms, noticing the slight frown from her that formed at his words. "Thinking about starboy again?" he asked, his eyes landing on her bracelet.

"Was there something you needed me for?" she deflected his question.

He hummed as he took another bite out of the apple, deciding to ask about it later. "The flyers are here and mom wants you to see 'em."