METANOIA

CHAPTER ONE

"Your birthday is next week, what are you going to do?" my younger brother, Gabriel, asks as he pours a bag of Cheetos into his mouth all of us staring at the movie playing on the large screen. And by all of us I mean myself, Gabriel and Ivan- my older brother's best friend.

"I do not plan on doing anything. I am turning twenty, no big deal" I shrugged as I put a spoonful of nutella into my mouth.

"That thing is going to give you serious stomach pain and you will be writhing in pain." Ivan, my brothers best friend scolded me as he eyed the jar in my hands. He was the one that literally made me obsessed with it.

I rolled my eyes, putting another spoonful of nutella into my mouth, "mind your business."

"We could go to the club?" Ivan suggested as he stood up from the couch beside my brother and then sat beside me.

I gave him the side eye as he lifted my blanket and then extending it on his thigh. "What are you doing here?"

"Sitting near my favourite Bianchi sibling of course." He whispered into my ears.

"My older brother is your favourite sibling."

"No, he is my bestfriend, you are my favourite."

"Hmn I see."

"But don't tell him I said that. He will kill me."

I laughed out loud, Ivan chuckling, while Gabriel shushed both of us and then increased the volume of the movie he was watching.

We became silent, my gaze trained on the movie playing in front of me while I could feel Ivan eyes on me. Suddenly cold hands were on my thighs making me jerk, my nutella jar almost falling.

Eyes wide I turned to him, "what the fuck are you doing?" I whispered. Gabriel could not hear us anyway, he was knee deep in his Disney movie.

"Nothing." He smirked.

"Take your hands off my legs. Gabriel might see."

"There is a blanket covering both of us," he eyed the blanket, "I doubt that."

I rolled my eyes at him but resumed watching the movie. My brother and I were making comments here and there while Ivan just sat beside me, all quiet, his hands mindlessly roaming on my thigh. I nudged him with my shoulder taking him out of whatever trance he was in,

"What are you thinking about?" I licked my spoon and I could feel his eyes tracing my movement.

He gulped and shook his head, "nothing."

"You're lying."

"How can you tell that I am lying." He chuckled.

"Because I know you." I looked up into his eyes, "I know you, Ivan so that means I know something is bothering you."

He was a quiet for a little while, until he spoke, "I'm fine. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Are you sure?" I probed, scraping the remaining nutella left in the jar and the putting it in my mouth.

"hmm hmm." He nodded and then gave me a small smile before grabbing the spoon in my mouth and licking the remaining Nutella off it.

My eyes grew wide as he licked the spoon clean and then handing it over back to me.

"Ew, you guys are weird. Just fuck each other already." Gabriel groaned as he rolled his eyes at both of us, grabbing his phone from the couch and then standing up.

I could feel my cheeks heating up at what he said but still managed to pull it off like it didn't affect me.

"W- what?”I spluttered, no one is fucking anyone.

"Little sis, I can literally feel the sexual tension oozing out of both of you." He placed his hand on my head, roughing my hair up, "just do it and get it out of your system." He said, looking over at Ivan.

"I do not want to fuck your sister." He exhaled loudly as he stood up from the couch. This talk was making him uncomfortable, making both of us uncomfortable.

Well, we both know that's a lie.

"Oh shut up. I have literally caught both of you eating each others face off and you were too caught up in each other to notice." He smirked at both of us shocked faces, "you are not as sneaky as you both think you are."

"Did you tell him?" Ivan asked as he tensed up.

"You mean tell your best friend that I caught you eating his little sisters face off? No." he grinned, "but he is going to kill you once he finds out about it and knows that it has been going on for weeks." He dragged his finger across his neck, making the “kill” motion.

I breathed out a sigh of relief and I could see Ivan relax a little.

"He won't find out." I glared at my brother.

"He will, later on. That guy knows everything."

"What do you want?" I rolled my eyes as I threw myself on the couch. I know he wants something, that's why he has been insisting on my older brother knowing. Fucking snitch.

"A month of knives lesson from you plus a movie night without him." He nudged his head towards Ivan.

Well, I was not expecting that. What type of deal is that?

"The guy always interrupts our movie nights and he doesn't even watch them. I need some time alone with my baby sister." He explained himself when he saw the expression I had on my face.

"I am older than you, moron."

"Three weeks of knives lesson." I bargained. The guy is fucking unteachable but he keeps on bugging me about it.

"Two."

"Two and a half weeks." He squinted his eyes at me, daring me to reduce the duration again.

"One week."

"Two and a half."  He insisted.

Now I have to deal with him for that long. Two and a half weeks of him whining about not getting how to throw a knife the right way.

"Deal."

"Good. Now I will leave you two to making googly eyes at each other." He saluted and then left.

"We don't make googly eyes at each other." Ivan muttered underneath his breath, looking confused, making me giggle.

I stood up from the couch and then walked towards him, "are you ready to leave?"

"Do you want me to stay?" he asked, pulling me closer by my waist, "Just say the word and I'll wait."

"As much as I would want that my brother will soon be home and like Gabriel said I think he might be suspecting already."

"Wouldn't want to feed his suspiciousness now, do we?" he smirked, placing a soft kiss on the side of my neck.

"Hmm Hmm." I pulled him closer by his shirt as he continued laying soft kisses on my neck.

"Okay, you have to go now before this escalates." I laughed pulling away from him after some time.

"Okay." He chuckled but still pulled me against him to give me a kiss.

"I'll miss you." I muttered under my breath as I walked him to the door releasing my hands from his.

"I know." He winked, a smirk on his face as he made his way out of my house.

I frowned at him, "fuck you."

"Soon princess."

I shook my head at him, the corner of my lips lifting up in a smile I was trying to hide. I watched him enter into his car and then drive off.

You know the way everyone has that one person who makes them smile no matter how they are feeling? Ivan is that person for me. He might not know it yet, but he is.

"Is your boyfriend gone already?" I heard my brother say, his loud steps echoing round the whole empty house.

"He is not my boyfriend." I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, friend with benefit." He shrugged.

"Shut up." I snapped.

"I'm only speaking facts." He said as he opened the door to our refrigerator and poured himself a glass of orange juice. I watched him as he downed the entire cup in one go before pouring another one. "I don't want him to hurt you that's all. I am older than you, that means it is my duty to watch over you."

"I am older than you moron. I don't know why you keep saying that." I heard my phone make a notification sound. I removed it from my back pocket before checking the text that entered, it was from Ivan:

I miss you already.

I grinned.

"It's him isn't it?"

My smile faltered, "he won't hurt me, I can take care of myself."

He exhaled loudly,

"I can take care of myself, you know that."

"I know." He responded with a tight lipped smile.