Author's Note: Ahh how I love feedback! Thank you guys! Here's the first official chapter of Say Yes

- lostconcoctions (add me on MCL)

"Come in." The blond boy was the one who opened the door for me. We had gone to school together, but thirteen year-old girls still get unnerved at the sight of a boy. Any boy. At least, that's how Amber acted.

Not me, though. Not with this particular one.

Nathaniel Luca Truos Bristol was not the type of boy that sent girls squealing. He was tanned just like Amber, had a round face but a skinny, lanky body. He didn't have acne, his skin was rather nice for someone at the peak of puberty, but he sure had a lot of stuff in his hair. I would find a pen sticking in it one day, then the next a couple of leaves. He used to be the type of boy that always found something to do. Once, I caught him climbing up a tree with a book tucked in the back of his pants. He looked stupid, sweat dripping off his forehead as he hoisted himself up a sturdy branch. When he got up there, he wiped the sweat with the back of his forearm and pulled out the book to read. It was the Hardy Boys, and he was eleven. It was rare to find eleven year-old boys read, so I made a face when I caught this sight.

Nathaniel was wearing an old t-shirt, a faded brown color, and black denim jeans that were a size too big for him. An old black belt was looped around his waist to keep them on him, and he looked a little grimy from whatever he had been doing before I arrived. His shoes were caked in mud and looked worn out so he couldn't claim he was a neat freak.

He had only recently gotten over his bullying phase, I would know. I had witnessed the insults, the doll-breaking and/or flushing them down the toilet, the "surprise haircuts" and so on. Nathaniel was a creative one, I'll give him that. I was always at his place for a playdate with Amber, or a study date later on. Study dates were never with Nathaniel. It was not because we didn't ask each other or it was forbidden, but because we were both overly proud and too competent back then to ask for a "study session." The word "date" was technically too strange to use as thirteen year-olds.

I stepped past him, not saying anything. He was much shorter than I was, the top of his head barely reaching the tip of my nose. He closed the door behind me and ran off to the backyard. There was an air of respect that we always had for each other even when we were this young. He was the top of the batch, the smartest one ever since day one, the natural-born leader, the prodigy. He was also very unruly and shy, his social skills towards girls limited to running away or picking on them. On the other hand, I was quick-witted, calm and collected when the pressures came, with my academic grades I excelled, but with debating, planning, and executing out those plans, I was good. More than good. I was great. In dealing with others, I didn't run away or bully like he did, but I knew how to talk when I needed to. I didn't particularly enjoy it, but I knew what to do. Nathaniel knew this. We both knew of our respective skills.

This was years ago. Now, things haven't changed too much. He was still opening the door for me, telling me to come in. But the faded brown shirt was gone, and so were the old jeans. Switch that with a long-sleeved polo shirt, and khaki pants. Three pens were perfectly lined in his breast pocket, always. His hair didn't have anything in it, and it wasn't just blond anymore now that he had straightened up, it was gold just like everything else. His skin was an even golden tan, his eyes were like freshly shined Egyptian coins and his hair was the same, just the same gold as the little star stickers he would receive in kindergarten over anyone in the class. He had also grown much taller than anyone expected him to. I had grown too, but now the roles were reversed. It was the top of my head that reached the tip of his nose. It was me that he would have to tilt his head slightly to speak to instead of the way he used to look up to me before. God, it was weird growing up with this boy.

I still wasn't here to see him, and he already expected this. I was to sit at the living room until Amber came in from a usual shopping spree with her mother or Li. I never took part in these shopping trips, only because there would be nothing done other than spending and gossiping, no real tasks. I had no time for that. When Amber arrived, I would help her with her homework by reminding her that it existed, then when she was done—albeit, it took a lot of prodding on my end—I would go downstairs.

Nathaniel would be in his room, studying or fixing his things, sending me a confirmation text when he got something done, or if he even went the extra mile and did something for me. That last part only happened if his Father wasn't home and he didn't have someone breathing down his neck.

Downstairs, Mrs. Bristol and I would have our usual small talk. It happened so frequently that it was not a strange thing at all anymore. Talks of the weather actually became more interesting, the conditions of our families were suddenly a real topic, politics became fun. I liked her a lot, and I knew she liked me too. It was Mrs. Bristol that reached out to me to befriend Amber. I won the spelling bee in middle school, and as the top of the class, Nathaniel handed me the trophy and was obliged to take a picture as he gave it. Mrs. Bristol was the one who snapped the picture, and they kept it on the coffee table in their living room until today. It was afterwards that she spoke to me, telling me about Amber—a spoiled and bratty little kid I knew in class. She needed some straightening up, Mrs. Bristol told me, and I looked like the type of girl that could do it without pulling her hair like her brother.

Today was the same. Every single pillow in the Bristol house—no, sorry—mansion, was stuffed with goose feathers only. This was true even for the throw pillows in the living room area. The couches here were all velvet white, so any spot or stain would be easily noticeable and efficiently cleaned up. When the sun was up, the house was gorgeously lit, with numerous of its walls made of glass, white concrete and gilded with tall windows with silver frames. The first storey flooring was mostly mahogany, the best kind, and shaved down to sharp detail that it would be near impossible to get a splinter from it even if you tried. The walls were painted mostly beige and alternating with off-white. Every time I was here I couldn't help but take in my surroundings. It was truly a beautiful home. I was even particular about the way my heels clicked, the pressure my weight was putting on the floor, as if I was scared to damage it and pay a fortune to fix it. Nathaniel walked past me with brisk steps, dragging his socked feet to the living room where I normally waited. His hair was a little tussled and his shoulders looked tense, so I knew he had just gotten home from S.A.H., probably just minutes before I arrived.

At school, I caught sight of the new twins that he was talking about, though I couldn't tell at all that they were even related except that they were both shorter than I was. Petite. I concluded from their body types and face shapes that they had a hint of Asian possibly—but which ethnicity exactly? I wasn't sure. They were definitely mixed, because their eyes were nothing like Li's, nor their lips. I knew they couldn't be purely Western, maybe half; our bodies couldn't possibly be shrunken to that size no matter how many times we tried to diet.

One was a couple of inches smaller than the other, curvy and bubbly-looking, curls in her long brown honey hair. She looked absolutely chipper and okay—fine, somewhat—maybe…cute, as she navigated around the school. Something about her had obviously sparked Amber's interest, so I knew she was Bridgette Whitman before the girl had to introduce herself to me. She had a skip in her step, like she didn't have a care in the world and almost looked like she was giddy for everything. The other one looked to be the opposite of her sister. She was the taller one, lacking the curves that the other twin had. She looked kind of like a stick, with some breasts and hips that were made more visible only because her waist was even tinier. Her hair was cut short into a messy bob, with jet black locks. While Bridgette's face was made up like a pretty little porcelain doll, this one didn't seem to pay too much attention, only bothering to fix her eyebrows, slide on a lip tint and wing her liquid eyeliner on. She didn't even bother to conceal the dark circles under her eyes, no doubt from staying up too late for her own good. When I glanced to look her over, she locked eyes with me and didn't quickly look away. This was interesting because normally, my glare sent new girls scampering. This was Skylar Whitman, Li gathered. She had become the new object of Amber's bullying, but the girl's stoic expression told me that she was not one to care much for Amber's antics. I had to give her props for that. One was practically radiating with energy, the other one seemed to be ready to find a dark corner in school and snooze off. Both had matching dark eyes and fair skin, the only features that reminded me they were even sisters.

"What did you think of them?" I asked Nathaniel. Amber and her mother hadn't arrived yet. Judging by the time, they wouldn't be back for another half hour.

"Who?" Nathaniel asked. I didn't know why he did. He knew exactly what I was talking about. "The twins?"

See?

I didn't reply, waiting for him to continue.

"They were fine." Nathaniel said.

"They were 'fine'?" I said smugly. "Well, Luca, your vocabulary may be shrinking. Offense intended."

"Still none taken." He frowned, leaning back against the backrest of the soft velvet couch. There was a tea set for the two of us that one of their maids had brought over before he even opened the door. Nathaniel poured the Earl Gray into teacups for the two of us. The strong aroma told me that the tea leaves infused were imported from Europe. The Bristols lived a luxurious life.

"You didn't find any of them even remotely attractive?" I joked. "Or dumb, maybe."

Nathaniel smirked, still working on the tea. He mixed in two spoons of honey for me, and four for him.

"I did." He nodded. "Attractive. Neither were dumb."

I was taken aback. I was just kidding, but he sounded serious.

"Oh, really?" I cocked my head and raised an eyebrow. "Which one?"

"I can't decide yet." Nathaniel laughed. His eyes squinted and his dimples showed themselves when he did that. "They both have very different looks to them. Hard to believe they're twins."

"It's not that hard to believe." I shrugged, folding up my knitted sleeve and picking up the tea he readied for me. "The mother's egg, fertilized by two separate sp—"

"You don't have to get technical with me, Charlie." Nathaniel sipped, chuckling. "I took up the reproductive system too, you know."

"We weren't in the same class. I could never be so sure."

"Well, it was a good thing. Or we would've been at each others throats for who would be at the top."

"We have too much respect for each other to tear each other's throats out." I said, sipping the hot tea. I was right, this was definitely imported.

"Or it's possible that I have too much respect for myself that I would never get my hands dirty like that." Nathaniel chuckled.

"Hmmph." It was my signature thing to say when I didn't feel the need to reply. Sometimes, there was no point in jabbing back at Nathaniel, and vice versa. He knew that.

"What does Amber have in store today?" Nathaniel asked me, but he was leafing through a book he had in his hand.

"Trigonometry." I answered. "She's needs more tutoring time or she'll be hopeless."

"That's what you're here for, right?"

"That's what you could be doing too, Luca."

"I don't have time for that. You already know what I have to be doing with my time, Charlie."

I frowned. He was right, I knew more than I bargained for. "Fine. But I'm just letting you know, the more your sister has her daily shopping sprees and wastes time, the less hours she has with me."

"I already know. But it's not my problem." He murmured the last part. "Anyway, enough about school. How have y—"

"My God, the bougainvilleas are wilting! Maria, have these changed immediately." a shrill voice moaned from the foyer, cutting off Nathaniel. Stiletto heels clicked against the wooden flooring, followed by heavy footsteps behind her. It was Mrs. Bristol.

"Just when I was about to finally relax…" Nate mumbled, stretching his arms out. He straightened himself up.

"Nathaniel." His mother stepped into view along with Amber holding big shopping bags in her arms. She was a very slim woman, with thick, plump lips that were no doubt the product of lip enhancement injections. She wore dark lipstick, and a chiffon shawl draped around her shoulders. Today, she was in an all black tube jumpsuit and dark black heels. Why Amber didn't at least inherit her fashion sense, I didn't know.

"Mother." Nate rose up, and so did I. He placed a gentle peck on her cheek. "Charlotte and I were just discussing plans for the new school year."

I bowed my head with respect and kept my hands folded in my lap. The air was suddenly thicker. "Yes, Mrs. Bristol. Nathaniel and I were thinking of some fundraisers. He already came up with an idea for a field trip."

"Charlotte already designed track suits for the students to wear."

"Nathaniel was just looking over which forests would be fit for it."

"Charlotte was thinking Pine Oaks would be a good choice."

Nathaniel and I were good at this game, whatever it was called. It was kind of like art, the way we could supply these things off the top of our heads.

"Your Father would be pleased to hear that, Nate." His mother set a hand on his shoulder.

Nathaniel winced. I looked away.

In his mothers—or actually, anyone's presence, nicknames were prohibited between us. It was just an unspoken rule, I figured.

Of course, for Amber, she could call anyone whatever she pleased.

"Charry, you're early." Amber rolled her eyes at me. "Come on, help me with these bags and I can show you these new shoes I got."

"I'm not early." I glanced at my wristwatch. "You're late."

"Oh, stop being such a Nathaniel." she groaned. "You're my best friend, not my brother! Let's go!"

I sighed, grabbed my notebooks and followed her upstairs.

"Thanks for the tea, Mrs. Bristol." I said as I climbed up. I caught Nathaniel's eyes following my movements before I disappeared.