#unknownwrites

Damen. Damen, are you there? a voice asked. It felt distant. Far. Unreachable and untouchable. He wondered whose beautiful soft voice, it belongs to.

He had many dreams of the same voice calling out his name in the room of darkness. Though the darkness was kind of overwhelming, lonely and silent, he liked it. For once, he liked the feeling of being alone; he was able to think for himself without anyone judging and be himself in this dark world known as his mind. 

Who are you? he asked, surprised to hear his own voice in his dream where he thought everything was real. 

Suddenly, rays of light started peeking out of his dark world until a burst of white light consumed the black room. There was a figure, a silhouette of an unknown person whose white long hair covered their face and a white dress wrapped around the pale skin body. He felt disappointed for not being able to identify their face, thinking he might know the person because their voice was familiar.

She flew closer to him, hair still cover her face but he saw a glimpse of their dark black eyes. It blinked but was then covered by layers of hair. She leaned in closer to embrace him and whispered, You will soon find out. 

He slid his arms around her tiny waist but from his touch, her body disappeared; leaving white dust that sparkled from the bright light. It was blinding as he called back for the dark room again but it never returned.

                                                      + + +

"Wake up!"

Damen slowly opened his eyes, being awaken by his alarm clock and the constant jumping on his bed. He grunted, turning his body to the side to cover it with his warm blanket and hide himself under the covers from the sunlight. He swore he closed his blinds before he slept, knowing he hated the sun shining on him during his slumber. However, there was one explanation to who might be responsible for opening them plus they knew he hated the light more than anything.

"Wake up, dammit! You're going to be late for school!" his sister shouted, jumping on his bed and pointing at the screaming alarm clock.

"Five minutes..." he said, his voice low and sleepy.

"You mean, five seconds!" she yelled, tugging his blanket away from his body.

He felt the cold air covering his body. He was wearing a baggy t-shirt and boxers, his skin barely protected by the dreadful cold autumn season of Woodbridge, Ontario. The weather was constantly changing in Canada. First it was blazing hot in the middle of autumn and somehow, the cold pitched in to be part of the odd weather.

"Plaid boxers, really classy," she commented.

"Can you leave?!" Damen shouted, trying to cover his body with his pillow.

"Nope, not until you wake up," she said, pulling his pillow away.

Damen wanted to kick his littler sister off of his bed but arguing with her was tiring. He might as well wake up instead of dealing with her nagging. He let out a loud sigh and kicked himself off of the bed, falling down on the floor.

"You're hopeless, you know that," she said, jumping off his bed. She took his arm, pulling him off of the floor. He thanked her and started walking to his bathroom connected to his bedroom.

He brushed his teeth, washed his face with cold water to wake himself up, did his business and combed and used a bit of gel to style his wavy chestnut brown hair.

Turning off the light and closing the door behind, he walked to his bed where his sister already laid out clothes for him. She chose the right set of clothes for him; white high-collar shirt, black flannel, dark faded jeans and as for accessories, two leather-string necklaces with cross pendants and a leather bracelet band. 

Wanting to become a fashion stylist like their mother, she did a good job for styling himself up like she does everyday. He patted at areas where wrinkles formed, grabbed his bag and ran straight out the door, heading towards the kitchen downstairs.

Leia was already at the table, eating her toasted bagel covered in mashed avocado. Mother has already prepared eggs and toast for him and a glass of orange juice. He dropped his bag on the floor, sat down and started munching down his breakfast.

"Morning, sweetie," she said, adding another sunny-side up egg on his plate. "Happy birthday to both my sweetheart."

"Thank you," he managed to say after a big bite of toast.

"I forgot it was out birthday today," Leia joked, taking a bite of his egg.

"Do you want your gifts now or later?" their mother asked, washing her hands.

Leia and Damen both looked at the clock at the same time. They were going to be late for school. They both stood up to clean their dishes, kissed their mother on the cheek, telling her that they will come home to accept their presents.

"Have a nice day at school!" she shouted, just in time when the door closed behind them.

Damen noticed their father left early for work due to his missing car that was usually parked inside of the garage. "Are you driving?" Leia asked.

He nodded, catching the car keys. Leia slipped into the passenger seat, throwing her bag at the back. She waited for him to turn on the engine so she could blast her pop-music.

He backed out the car from the garage and driveway and made a turn, driving towards school. Leia turned up the radio, started flailing her arms as if she was in a club except it was a car.

Damen remembered something he had to do, he lowered the radio and Leia started arguing because her favourite song was on. "Choose, listen to Maroon 5 or opening your present," he said, looking at her when they stopped at a red light.

"Can I choose both?" she asked, reaching for his bag from the back seat.

"Front pocket," he said, indicating where it was.

She unzipped the front pocket and took out what she thought was her gift. She looked at the envelop closely, opened it and smiled. "Tickets to Haunt at Wonderland!" she screamed, kissing the tickets.

"Three days and it's those cut-in-line pass to go on rides. I bought two so you can tag a friend along," he said.

"Thank you!" she yelled, leaning in to kiss her brother on the cheek. He smiled for accomplishing the impossible, impressing his little twin sister. It was a surprise that they were both turning eighteen; the age of adulthood. Though, Leia didn't consider herself an adult just yet and Damen agreed, knowing that she was still immature.

"I'm scared about my present. It's not amazing like yours," she confessed.

"It doesn't matter, I'm going to like it anyways," he admitted, turning to wheel to make a left on the road.

She reached for her bag, opening the front pouch of her bag and took out a small black gift box with a blue bow sticking on the corner. She handed it to him but shook his head, telling her that he will open it when he parks the car.

He was lucky to get the last parking space. Pulling the keys out of the ignition, Leia handed him the box. To his surprised, she went a bit overboard with his birthday present. A silver chain necklace with a plain silver-plated dog tag and one matching silver ear cuff. 

"Where did you get the money for this?" he asked, staring at her gift and then to her face.

"Not telling you," she answered, smiling. She took out the necklace and wrapped it around his neck and stabbed the earring through his already pierced ears (that their parents doesn't know of). "I wanted something imprinted on the dog tag but I didn't what you would like."

"It doesn't matter, I like it plain," he admitted, looking down at his new necklace matching with the others. "Thank you."

He leaned in to kiss his sister on the cheek when someone knocked on the window. They both looked at the same time. It was Trish, his ex-girlfriend who was the one who suggested to break up and now, she was begging him to come back. However, Damen didn't care about any; their relationship was already down the drain when they started dating, breaking up with her was his plan and he didn't plan on being back with her.

"You obsessive stalker is here, I'm leaving," she said, grabbing her bag and walked out the car. He watched as she met up with her friend at the front of the school.

"Damen..." Trish begged, asking him to get out of the car.

He did, locking the door and started walking towards the entrance, passing and ignoring Trish until she wrapped her arms around his and purposely pushing them back so her breast could wrapped around his arm. He wanted to pull away when his group of friends called him out to join them as well as Trish's group of screaming girls at the foyer.

"Happy birthday, bro," his friend, Matt, announced, patting his shoulders.

The rest of his friends said their happy birthdays to him but he knew they didn't care at all. The reason why he was part of their group was because of image and popularity pride and adding him was like adding a cherry on top. When he first arrived to school, two years ago, automatically everyone wanted to be friends with him. Girls confessed their feelings to him when he didn't know any of them. He dated four girls in total but the relationship didn't last long and he was known as the "Hot Player".

"Trish, I heard our history teacher is smoking hot. When I mean hot, I mean gorgeous celebrity hot!" one girl screeched, jumping with amazement.

Trish didn't say anything. Instead, she was looking at Damen most of the time while ignoring her friends. The bell rang for class and already, Trish was wrapping her arms around his. He let out a sigh and started walking towards their World History class where he heard their new teacher was hot.

And he was, to the girls. Damen admitted that their teacher was good-looking and pretty young to become a teacher. His curly hair was a dark rusty orange colour, green emerald eyes, diamond shaped face and a tight jawline with no shrub or after-shave. Clean and smooth.

"Good morning class. As you may all know, your previous World History teacher is having a baby so I will be her replacement from now on. Let me introduce myself, name is Vincent Allen but you can all call me, Vince. I prefer that than Mr. Allen," he addressed.

One girl raised her hand and Vince nodded at her to ask him a question. "Vince, may I ask where you're from?" she asked, smiling at him.

"I was born in Ireland, my father was Irish and mother, Korean. We lived in Britain for a while but moved to Canada for six years now?" he answered, trying to remember how long he lived here.

A different girl raise her hand and asked about his age. His answer was, "Will I be lying if I told you that I'm twenty one?"

The whole class laughed except for himself as if he was serious about it. Many other girls asked more question which started to irritate Damen who came to World history to learn about history, not the stories about Mr. Vincent Regan.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, interrupting their question session. Vince walked to the door to open it revealing the school's secretary. She blushed when she saw how handsome Vince was but she told him what she came in for as a professional. He nodded and smiled, "You can bring her in." 

 Everyone in class was confused even Damen. They all looked at the door when a girl walked in and all the boys in class started drooling (not literally) but they were awed by her beauty.

She walked in with brown leather ankle boots, black stockings, a red skater skirt and a white dress-shirt with lace on the bodice. Leia would love to meet her. Her long chestnut hair flow as she walked to her seat; she had a round diamond-like shaped face, high cheek-bones, tinted pink lips and cheeks and dark black eyes? Or what Damen thought looked like black eyes but when she blinked, they were a dark brown colour.

"Introduce yourself to the class," Vince motioned.

She looked at him, gave him a look and returned to look at the class. "Hello, my name is Marie Cassum," she introduced, bowing her head in front of the class.

"Marie, you can sit at the empty seat there in the corner," Vince instructed, pointing at the empty seat beside Damen.

She nodded, walking towards him and then to her seat a few inches away from his. She placed her bag on the floor, taking out her textbook and notebook.

He couldn't stop staring at her. There was something about her that he felt attracted to; like a magnet was pulling him in and the desperate need to know her. What he thought was insane but he felt he has seen her before but doesn't remember where.

"Mr. Reid, can you answer this question for me?" Vince asked, smiling at him and pointing his wooden stick at the SmartBoard.

He looked back at the board, examine the multiple choice question and told him the answer was C and explain his reason for choosing it. He got the answer right but he felt Vince was trying to tease him in front of his class.

Class continued with Vince explaining about how Europe was formed and how each countries became independent. Already reading the chapter ahead, he understood everything so to kill time, he was secretly watching Marie writing notes on her notebook. But when he looked closely, she was writing lines and dots as if she was writing in a different language and somehow, he could read it.

The European Union contains 28 member states... was the first thing she wrote, including a list of European countries. "Is there something wrong?" someone asked.

He looked up to see Vince standing in front of his desk, holding his wooden stick. He smiled at him, cocking his head to the side; he didn't look pleased for not paying attention in his class.

"Mr. Allen, Damen was helping me with my notes," Marie answered.

He looked at her and smiled, not giving in to the lie and returned to his desk. Damen looked at her, their eyes meeting. He was confused on how she knew his name when she just arrive in class and he had not introduced himself before.

"Thanks for covering me," he thanked, trying to look away from her stare.

"No prob," she said, writing on her notebook while staring back to the white-board to copy the notes down.

His eyes watched her, trying to figure out if he knew her when something touched his fingers. He looked at the edge of the desk to see a small piece of paper, folded many times. He read its content when he opened it: Hey, do you want to hang out after school to celebrate your birthday? Apparently, Matt and Corey planned something just for you.

It was Trish's writing. She turned away when he looked at her, her face blushing with embarrassment. To be honest, he didn't want to go; it was troublesome plus he promised his mother that he would return home after school. Though, Leia said she was planning to hang out with her friends.

Suddenly, his phone started to vibrate; producing texts from Matt, Corey, and his other guy friends to join them after school. They begged and begged until he replied with a yes. He ripped a piece of paper from his notebook and wrote: Matt is begging me to go so I might as well; throwing the small folded piece of paper on Trish's desk.

She slowly opened it and smiled, hooking a strand of blond hair behind her ears and smiled her over-glossed lips.

Then the bell rang, out of instincts, everyone started packing their books into their bags and ran out the door for their next class. While other girls stayed behind to talk to Mr. Allen about why he looked so young to be a teacher.

Damen stood up his seat, grabbed his bag and Trish was already hugging his arm when he pulled away. They weren't dating anymore so there was no point of showing off to everyone that they were dating. "Trish, can you stop? We're not dating anymore," he complained, looking deep into her blue eyes.

"No, I will not accept the fact that we broke up. I want you back, Damen," she pleaded, trying to hold onto his hand and forcing him down so their lips could touch.

Immediately, Damen pulled away; covering his lips. He protested, telling her to stop with the act because he didn't like it and confessed that he never liked her in the first place. As a selfish, prideful and naive girl like Trish, she didn't care; if she couldn't have him, no one else can.

"Marie, may I ask where you came from?" one guy asked, leaning against Marie who was slowly putting away her books.

"Why are you interested?" she asked, in a cold and threatening tone.

"Don't know, just want to know about your nationality because you look like a mix," the guy answered, leaning in closer as well, his group of friends surrounding her desk to get closer to the new girl.

"You're bothering her, Troy," Damen advised.

"Shut up Damen, go on fighting with your girlfriend there," he refused.

Damen forgot how Troy was in love with Trish and how he threatened if Damen were to break her heart, he would pay for it. Not that he was moved or scared about Troy's threat, the boy could take her away if he wanted to because Damen would offer it and never complain. The girl was already annoying, he would do anything to get away from her.

"So, where are you from?" Troy's best friend asked, moving in closer to the side of Marie's face who didn't look creep out.

"None of your business," she replied, standing up with her messenger bag on her shoulder.

One guy grabbed onto her wrist, stopping her from escaping their circle. Now, Damen wanted to punch all of them for ganging up on the new student. They were disgusting and creepy, he thought; no wonder why Trish denied Troy though, they could have been a good couple.

"Mr. Terran, would you like me to report you to the office for your act of molesting another student?" Vince asked, looking disappointed and mad about his student.

The boy let go, putting his hand on his side. They dispersed, leaving the room. Damen watched Marie bowing her head to thank the teacher and he patted her head with a smile. 

Vince noticed Damen was staring, "Mr. Reid and Ms. Lovewhite, should you be going to your next class? I don't want you to be late."

Damen didn't say anything and walked out with Trish skipping beside him. Something was bothering him; how Marie knew his name and Vince patting her head when a teacher shouldn't be touching their student. It's not like he cared but it was bothering him; maybe, they were related or knew each other somehow but for the first time, he felt... jealous.

English and geography were two classes he dreaded the most; they were boring and he had read Hamlet twice, at his old school and out of boredom. Geography was easy so he used up the time to take naps during class but the teacher didn't care. 

His last period was art, something he enjoyed because it wasn't the same thing being repeated and Leia was in the same class as him. Through the glass wall, he spotted Leia talking to Marie who was also in his art class. They were talking about something that made Leia smiled and examined Marie's outfit.

"Oi Damen!" she shouted, waving her hand when he entered the classroom.

He sat next to Leia who was still talking to Marie about what she missed during the years in school and activities involving with art; the Spring  and Winter Art Fests, their trip to the AGO, photography exhibits and art competitions. 

"I won second place while Damen, here, won first place," she said, showing her pictures of their art piece on her iPhone.

Marie looked at him and smiled, "Are you two related because you look really similar?"

"Damen is my older twin brother and do we really look the same? I tried so hard to make it not look obvious," she joked.

"Twins?" Marie questioned, surprised about Leia's reply.

"Yeah, surprising isn't it?" she asked, nudging Damen's arm.

She nodded, looking away as if she was disappointed about something. "Let me introduce my bro---"

"I have her in my World History class," Damen interrupted, looking at Marie to agree but she didn't. She was staring at something like she was thinking hard about something.

"Oh, well, I have her in my Instrumental class. The girl is musically-talented. You should see her play the guitar, all the guys were jealous of her skills," she said.

Mrs. Arin just entered in class late with her hands full of art supplies, canvas, newsprint and rolls of parchment paper. She dropped them on the table in front of her desk and started teaching. She talked about their assignment; to choose a famous artist and copy a painting in their style. 

Leia chose Emily Carr. Damen picked to paint Snow Clouds by the Canadian painters, the Group of Seven and Marie chose to repaint the Mona Lisa by Da Vinci.

Not only was she musically-talented, according to Leia, but she was a gifted artist. Everyone was in awe especially the teacher who had nothing to comment on the accurate painted picture of the Mona Lisa created by a high school student.  

Marie sat there, not caring about the people who surrounded her to look at her art piece. She was concentrated on her painting; mixing her colours on the palette, adding in strokes to the canvas and humming small tunes as she painted.

"Where did you learn how to paint like that, Marie?" the teacher asked, interrupting her mood.

She just noticed everyone was looking at her but continued to paint. "My father taught me how to paint," she replied, adding in another stroke of paint and placing her paintbrush on the easel.

The teacher nodded and continued to look around the class to comment on the other student's work. Leia came to grab onto Marie's wrist to help her with her piece. Marie gladly accepted, instructing her what to do; Leia seemed to be having a lot of fun when Marie arrived. It's been a while since Leia smiled and laughed like that.

Class was over. Leia and Marie stayed after class to clean up. Leia shooed her brother away so she could hang out with Marie while telling him to join his stupid group of friends. Though, he sat there to supervise them because Ms. Arin had to go out for a meeting.

"Ya done, Damen?" Matt said, poking his head into the classroom. "Oh, who do we have here?"

He walked into the classroom, extending his hand out to greet Marie who looked really confused. Though, she let him shake her hand and told him her name. Damen thought Matt experienced love at first sight, how he was looking at her with sparkles on his eyes and a big smile on his face.

"Can we hurry up now?!" Corey shouted, walking into the room with his girlfriend beside him.

Trish showed up in the room, running towards Damen and giving a peck on the cheek. Leia looked unimpressed to see her around Damen especially when she knew for sure from Damen that they broke up. Leia mouthed out something to Damen as if she was saying, Are you dating that bitch again?

Trish glared at Leia where she instantly closed her mouth and continued to clean the brushes; ignoring Trish's existence.

"Want to hang out with us, we're going to celebrate Damen's birthday," Matt offered, trying to convince Marie to join them.

To be honest, Damen wanted her to join them. At least there would be someone interesting a new to be part of their group though, Matt would be stealing her most of the time.

"I'm sorry but I have an important appointment to attend to after school," she kindly denied.

Matt looked disappointed, feeling he got rejected after a confession. Damen felt bad because Matt doesn't have a good history with relationship though he was the most popular dude in the school.

"Marie! Let's go --- Oh, am I interrupting something?"

Everyone's face automatically looked at the door. Damen was getting a bit annoyed with random people entering the art class. Though to his surprise, it was Vincent without his suit or tie and looked like a teenager than an adult.

Everyone in the room was surprised except for Marie, not being effected by the sudden change of atmosphere. Now, Damen wondered if Vince and Marie were really related somehow.

"Mr. Allen, why are you here?" Corey's girlfriend asked. And Damen forgot she was in his World History class.

Vince didn't like being called Mr. Allen or his last name but he kept it to himself and answered, "Uh... Um... We're... dating..."

This surprised everyone; a teacher dating a student! Was it allowed in school? But no matter what the answer was, Damen felt disappointed. Surprised to why he felt heartbroken. Questioned as to why he had these mutual feelings towards the new student who just arrived at the school.

The answers was, he knew her somehow. She looked like someone familiar; her face, voice and the way she acts. But the memories wasn't coming out as he tried to figure it out.

"Did you wait long?" Marie asked who was now in front of Vince.

"Not at all, it looks like you made a friend," he said, pointing at Leia who also looked shocked.

"Yup, her name is Leia," she said, motioning at Leia to come join in the conversation. She walked towards them and introduced herself while mentioning Damen and the reason they stayed after class.

"I'm sad even heartbroken that the girl I thought I had a chance with is in a relationship with a teacher!" Matt proclaimed, hooking his arm around Damen's neck and pretending to cry.

Damen nudged him off of him. Leia walked up to him, asking if she could hang out at Marie's house. Without asking further details. he agreed; letting his sister and that Vince was going to drive her house before dinner.

The three left the art room, leaving the remaining people alone but soon after, no body mentioned about the surprise and all left to go out to celebrate Damen's birthday.

It was a Friday afternoon which meant illegal drinking. Damen wasn't the type to enjoy the taste of alcohol or the idea of getting drunk for fun. He had tried but the experience was something he regretted for the rest of his life; getting on with Trish as in a hardcore make-out session while hammered. And thinking about it didn't please Damen especially remembering the horrible feeling of getting a hangover and Matt telling him what happened while he was drunk.

No wonder Trish wanted to be back in a relationship. Though, it was her idea to break up in the first place. Now that she was drunk at the party, she thought she was able to slip a kiss or a make-out session with Damn again. But not this time. He was prepared and promised himself to never drink.

They drove to the Finch station area which was one hour away from school to go karaoke. Their thoughts of getting drunk and singing was the best idea ever. Not for Damen who felt uncomfortable in a tight space with his drunk friends yelling into the microphone and the sexual touching from Trish. She was really close to stab her tongue into his mouth but with the help of Matt's drunk clumsiness, he accidentally fell on top on her. 

His phone started to vibrate in his jean pocket. He looked at the contact and was happy that it was Leia. She called asking him where he was and if he was getting drunk with his friends because she didn't want to deal with her brother's hangover. So, he answered all of her questions and agreed to buy three baguettes on the way home.

He left his party without telling them but they were perfectly fine without him when they were having a drunk party of their own. Damen was still talking to Leia while he was walking towards his car.

"Her house is huge! It's the biggest mansion in the rich people area! Apparently, her and Vince live under the same roof together, isn't that cute?!" she asked, getting all excited.

"Ya... ya..." he answered, trying to forget about their relationship because he didn't like to be reminded about Vince and Marie.

"Why do you sound cranky? Did Trish do something?" she asked, lowering her voice for the first time during the conversation.

"I'm not cranky. Just tired and you know what Trish is like when she's drunk," he lied, trying not to think about Marie.

"Urgh... don't remind me, that slut will do anything in her powers to sleep with you," she said, sighing through the phone.

Damen sighed too, thinking about the possibilities that Trish will get what she wants. He arrived at his car, opened the door and started the engine. "I'm in my car so I have to go. I'll be home around an hour with the baguettes," he said, hanging up the phone without letting Leia reply.

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Damen successfully returned home less than a hour (or close to an hour). As he parked his car in the driveway, he noticed his dad's car was there which meant his father arrived home just in time for dinner. His father worked as schedule manager for a lawyer. With a job like that, there are times he doesn't come home for dinner and return during the evening but today was rare. However, it wasn't a surprise because his father would come back home early to celebrate his children's birthday. 

Damen rushed to the door and unlocked it, walking inside of the dark quiet house. He wondered why the lights were off but continued to walk in further to the darkness without turning on the lights.

"Mom, dad... Leia? Y'all home?" Damen shouted. But there was no reply.

He continued to shout, waiting for a reply but there was none. He thought that they were pulling a prank but surprising him like what happened last year.

"Leia, it's not funny," he said, walking to the kitchen. The room was dark but light was coming outside from the moonlight. He couldn't see anyone so he thought they were hiding behind the counters or chairs.

He searched for the switch, turning it on. "Surprise!" his parents shouted, surprisingly him with a group hug.

"Thanks," he said, looking at both his mother and father.

"It's been a while, son," his father said, nudging his head.

"I'm surprised they let you out early,"

"Can't miss my son and Leia's birthday, can I?"

They both kissed him on the cheek and his mother was able to give her gift. His parents bought him a hundred dollar EB Games gift card and new set of headphones; something that he wanted but never expected from his parents. He thanked them both and kissed them while saying that he loves them deeply.

"Where's Leia?" he asked, noticing that his little sister hasn't greeted him home yet.

"She's in her room, waiting for you and she's been in there for a while," his mother answered, looking up the stairs.

He thanked his parents again for the presents and started walking upstairs. Leia's room was right beside his. He stopped at her door and knocked. No answer. He knocked again. No answer.

"Leia, I'm coming in," he informed, taking the doorknob.

Suddenly, his heartbeat was beating rapidly against his chest that it hurt at some point. He clenched onto his chest, trying to breathe in and out air. There was a strange vibe around his body that made him uncomfortable, giving him a feeling to vomit but just when he was about to leave to go use the washroom, the door opened.

A gust of cold air blew, leaving shivers around his body. Without thinking, he walked into Leia's room. Her room was the same; slate colour walls covered in posters of bands and paintings, and her black dresser and desk.

As he turned around the corner, he was expecting to see Leia sleeping on her white comfy bed. He wondered how long she was waiting for him. He purposely slumped on her bed to wake her up when he heard a small grunt from her.

Her eyes slowly opened, revealing the tiring teal eyes. She yawned, letting drop of tears fall off and pulled herself up where her back touched her bed-board.

"Finally, you're home. I was waiting so long for your return," she said, wiping the tears off of her face.

"Sorry it took so long," he apologized.

She smiled, pulling her blanket closer. "How was the party?" she asked, getting ready to hear his story.

He told her how everyone at the party were getting themselves drunk. Corey was ferociously making out with his drunk girlfriend. Matt almost passed out when they started taking shots. Katrina and her stupid boyfriend, Francis, butchered one of Leia's favourite song by Linkin' Park with their squeaky drunk voice and Damen tried to avoid mentioning about Trish but Leia wanted to know. 

"That bitch, and she thinks getting drunk will give her an opportunity to make out with you! Who does she think she is?!" Leia complained, her voice raising.

"I can't get rid of her," he admitted, leaning his head on the wall.

"I think I have a solution to your problems!" she said, crawling closer to her brother.

"What is it?" he asked, looking confused when her face was closer to his.

She smiled, "You should date someone so Trish doesn't have to bother you when you belong to someone else."

"What?!" he protested, knowing Leia's idea is a really stupid idea. He wasn't going to use a girl to become his fake girlfriend so he could get away with Trish.

"I think Marie would be the perfect person you should start dating," she suggested, sitting back down to her regular spot.

"Marie?! Why are you bringing her up into this conversation?!" he asked, not noticing that his voice was gradually growing louder and his face turning red when Leia mentioned her.

She smirked, one eyebrow up. "I see how you look at her like all the other guys. You have a thing for her," she answered, trying to put her brother on the corner.

"I only met her once. I don't have a thing for her," he said, trying to calm down.

"We will see about that," she said, grabbing her phone on the counter and started texting someone; knowing it was Marie.

"First of all, Leia, she's dating Vince. She's in a relationship," he pointed out. Leia was there when Vince admitted that him and Marie were dating. Not only did the rumor spread around the school when they left for karaoke, most of the female students were disappointed knowing it was wrong to date a teacher. But it was Marie, the new beauty, who is his girlfriend. Though, the female students weren't the only ones who felt heartbroken. Damen, as well.

"That was a lie. They're actually relatives or let's just say Vince is her father," Leia confessed, scanning her Instagram feeds and giggling at the funny posts.

"Her father? How old is he?" he asked, noticing why he was curious about his World History teacher's life.

"Twenty one. I know, right? So young to be a teacher and a father," she answered, knowing Damen would have the same reaction as her when she found out from Vince. "Though, it's not a surprise because he works for our government so he basically can do whatever he wants."

"If he works for the government, then why be a teacher?" Damen asked, wanting to know more.

"For goodness sake, Damen, do you think I have the answers to all of your questions? If you're that curious, I will gladly give you Marie's number so you can ask her instead," she complained, taking her brother's iPhone out of his pocket and started copying Marie's number into his contacts.

She threw his phone on his lap and continued to text. Now the atmosphere was awkward. Leia was busy texting whoever while Damen stared at his phone with Marie's contact number appearing on his screen.

Not only did he have Marie's number, he was tempted to start a conversation with her through text. However, he felt like a creep. They just met today. They didn't talk much during class except for that one incident and Leia introducing each other.

"Hey Damen," Leia called, interrupting his train of thoughts.

"What is it?" he asked, turning off the screen.

"Want to go out with Marie and Vince? Marie wants to celebrate our, I mean, mybirthday," she asked, smiling and looking at her brother to look at his reaction.

"Why are you tagging me along? Can't you invite someone else?" he asked, knowing that he really wanted to go and see what kind of people Vince and Marie are.

"I was joking about the my birthday part. Marie thought it would be nice if you joined along. If you're nervous to see how gorgeous Marie looks tomorrow, I'll text her that you won't be attending," she said, looking at him as if she knows that he wanted to go. 

"Where?" he asked, trying to avoid his sister's contact.

"Apparently at the Stock Restaurant in downtown Toronto, you know, huge Trump building. Most expensive restaurant in Toronto, fancy and stuff," she answered.

"I guess it's a formal celebration then," he guessed, not liking the idea of wearing a suit and making himself look presentable.

Leia looked up after she sent a message to Marie, telling her that Damen agreed to come without his consent. "Most likely, I don't mind. At least I can wear the fancy dress that mom gave me plus I can eat fancy food!" she cheered, slumping down on her bed and kicking her brother off.

"Night," he said, patting his sister's head and walked out her room to enter his.

He threw his phone on his bed and walked straight to his washroom to take a shower.

Returning from his business in the washroom, he sat down on the edge of his bed until his phone vibrated. Without looking at the number on the screen, he picked it up; knowing it was Matt who was going to complain about the early and sudden leave at the karaoke place. However, it wasn't him. His voice was sweet, melody-like voice.

"Is this Damen?"

His heart was beating too fast as his cheeks started to heat up when he recognize the voice.

"Yes, this is Damen," he managed to answer.

"Thank goodness. I'm sorry for calling so late. I tried calling Leia but she didn't pick up so I thought she was sleeping. Instead, I called you and if you're wondering, Leia gave me your number," she explained.

Knowing it was Marie on the line, he had to calm down. He couldn't let his voice crack or stutter. At first it was a surprise for Marie to have his number but at the same time, this was an opportunity to start a small conversation.

"Is there something you want to tell Leia? I'll pass the message to her," he asked.

"It's about tomorrow's event. I just wanted to let her know that Vince and I will be picking you guys up so you don't have to drive all the way downtown to meet up with us. We'll pick you up around five, is that alright?" she asked, politely.

"Not at all, we will get ready before then," he answered, smiling when he imagine Marie's face with a smile.

"Alright, I will see you and Leia tomorrow at your house. Goodnight," she ended.