Chapter Fourteen

Gabby's POV

My twin sister was insane.

I mean, I've always known she's an OCD-bearing prissy little worrywart, but now I was officially positive that she was out of her mind.

Like I said: she's a worrywart. Always making a mountain out of a mole hill. Don't get me wrong, her concern is kind of sweet, especially when it's for other peoples' wellbeing. But this… She was completely overreacting. Let me review. She accused our smokin' boyfriends (well, my smoking boyfriend and her… special little love muffin) of being gay for each other because Lukas said "Jeg elsker dig" to her. At least, I think that's what she claims he said. Norwegian and Danish are so freaking similar, anyone would mix the two up.

I digress: I'm all for two hot guys lovin' each other. For God's sake, I love, love, love yaoi. I pair guys together left and right, in anime AND real life. But there's no way in HELL I'd accept those two gay guys being the men my sister and I are in love with. If they're bisexual, I truly don't give a damn. Hell, I'll admit it, I am too. And if they're gay… Well, I've always imagined I'd end up "dating" a guy who's just using me as a cover-up for his homosexuality. Although it's never crossed my mind that that guy would be Mathias.

Stressing out about this wasn't gonna get me anywhere. For all I knew, Caliegh could have just heard Lukas wrong. Seriously: "deg" and "dig." That's a one vowel difference! So what if Caliegh'd always had an extraordinary sense of hearing- or was it smell? I dunno, it's been over 5 years. Really, that just supports my case; maybe that sense of hearing (if that's even what she had) has worn off.

Say she did hear him right. It could have just been a simple slip of the tongue. I screw up words all the time! Then again, I talk a hellova lot faster than Lukas…. Still. I don't really know the specifics on how his accent goes- I haven't heard him say that much- but maybe he said "deg" but it sounded like "dig." The possibilities are endless. You must be paranoid to jump to the conclusion that he's freaking gay for my boyfriend.

God, this whole thing was just ludicrous. So let's change the subject, shall we?

I knew straight off that it wouldn't take long before people knew of my sprained wrist; I mean, every time you see someone in a cast, it's almost second nature to ask them what happened. I did not, however, anticipate word of how I sprained my wrist to spread as quickly as it did.

Thankfully, I was released from the hospital wing a mere day after I'd been admitted. The nurse told me I was supposed to ask someone to help me carry my stuff, and I did intend to… But I simply couldn't bring myself to so early in the morning. So on the way to breakfast (after a very frustrating shower; you try cleaning yourself with one god damn hand) I attempted to piece together in my mind how the hell I would mange my lunch tray with one hand. In the end, though, I just grabbed one of those preassembled lunches in a paper bag. All I had to do was pop a bottle of water in there and I was good to go.

When I returned to the BTT's lunch table, I was caught off guard to see everyone there- even Matthew, a little bit- let out a collective sigh of relief after I sat down and pulled a cheeseburger out of my lunch sack, feeling much like I'd just come from a fast food restaurant. Just to be a smartass, I let out an overdramatic sigh too, a lopsided grin twitching onto my face. Alfred rolled his eyes fondly, while Francis chuckled almost sadly.

"Very funny, Gabrielle," the Frenchman murmured.

"Well what are we all," I sighed again, "-ing about?"

The Bad Touch Trio exchanged glances with each other. "We're just glad to see you're not starting a pattern," Gilbert told me in that heavy accent of his. I raised an eyebrow, starting to attempt to unwrap my burger with one hand until Alfred reached across the table and did it for me. I aimed an awkward smile his way, a "thank you" suddenly caught in my throat.

"We were afraid you were going to starve yourself every day," came Matthew's quiet voice from somewhere beside me, answering my puzzled expression. My face fell, my mouth ever-so-slightly open, as I simply blinked stupidly.

"How'd you uh… hear about that?" Did they just assume? I didn't think they were that clever. Mattie, yes, and maybe Francis, or Antonio on a good day, but the other two…

Gilbert linked his pale fingers together, propping his elbows on the table and leaning forward with his chin atop the back of his hands. "It's quite simple, really. 'Thias sent a mass message to his bro-hoes on his contact list, saying you were in the hospital wing, right? Those guys included me and Al. We both asked why, and he told both of us that it was 'cause you starved yourself, passed out, and fell down some stairs. I told Francis and Tonio, Al told his bruder, und we all ended up telling each other. Und, heh, a few other people along the way."

Geez Mathias, did you have to be so honest? He could've at least sugarcoated it a little… And how many people were "a few other people"? God, Mathias was gonna get it when I saw him….I glanced around the cafeteria, noting his absence. Come to think of it, Lukas wasn't here yet either…

No. Bad thoughts. Stupid thoughts. It was just a coincidence. Stop it. NO.

Besides, who was I kidding. "Gonna get it…" I couldn't give it to a freaking Chihuahua with the state I was in. "He was exaggerating… I wasn't really starving myself, I just skipped a whole days' worth o' meals. No biggee…" The 5 guys sitting around me stared at me as if I had just escaped a mental institute. It made me feel like a bug under a microscope, and I didn't like it. Glancing down at the table, I took a swig of my water. I looked up to find I was staring into a lovely pair of light blue eyes. Not nearly as gorgeous as Mathias's, but hey, they were a sight.

"Just don't do it again, okay, mon ami?" Francis reached across the table and gently trailed his fingers down my cheek, letting them linger at the bottom of my jaw so as to cup my chin. This was way too romantic of a gesture for a chick in a relationship; I would have smacked his wrist away if my own wasn't sprained, and if he wasn't piercing me with such genuine concern.

I sighed, doing my best not to meet his gaze. That freaking French charm was like a damned magnet, I swear. "Don't worry, I won't. Je vous promets." Francis smiled so warmly at my use of French that it'd put the sun to shame. "I was stupid, and-"

"Hey man, paws off my girl." A tiny smile automatically appeared on my face at the sound of that Danish accent. It felt like a weight had fallen off of me as Francis withdrew his hand, and I prayed that it was relief I was feeling.

You would think that from the way Mathias treated me, my wrist had been amputated, not sprained. That darling boyfriend of mine showed up early for all 3 meals of the day from then on to carry my lunch tray, which made me feel like total crap although he seemed eager to be of assistance. Despite my protests, he carried over half my things to all of my classes- a delinquent like him didn't exactly give a damn that he was late to class. And after about a week, maybe less, had passed since I crippled myself, he offered to take me on another, milder date.

It was sweet, really; I didn't expect something so sentimental of Mathias. He packed this nice little picnic (I later learned he'd stolen all the food from the cafeteria, but hey, it's the thought that counts) and took me out to the benches by the pond where I'd accidentally asked him out. It's amazing, really, how just a brief string of memories flashing through your mind can make you feel fluttery, humiliated, giddy, and lovestruck all at once. I caught myself staring at the hedge Mathias had been trimming, and when he wrapped his arm around my waist to lead me to a bench, I was reminded of what it felt like to be held by his firm, strong hands for the first time.

I couldn't tell if Mathias had put a lot of thought into planning this date, or if it was just obviously ideal. Either way, this setting was perfect: it was so simple, so casual, that it was pretty hard to get stressed over. Anything besides a t-shirt and jeans wouldn't work for this kind of date. I didn't apply any makeup- not even mascara- for the occasion; shockingly, it was a decision I was happy about.

Mathias and I sat across from each other, chatting about various topics while munching on light foods like crackers and these cute little sandwich things. This was the type of romance I'd always, always dreamed about: one where you could be making out one time, then be acting like normal ol' best friends another. And here Mathias and I were, tossing bits of cheese at each other, laughing at stupid jokes, in relatively the same spot where we'd previously embraced, during which Mathias was half naked. I loved it.

I have no idea when or why, but after about our sixth cheese-cracker-and-pepperoni sandwich, Mathias and I got rather involved in a classic game of Would You Rather. "So babe, would you rather… Swallow a pine cone whole, or eat your own dog?"s

Where the hell was Mathias coming up with these scenarios? I bit the inside of my cheek, thinking it over for a couple seconds. "Swallow the pine cone. I don't even have a dog right now, but every dog I've had has been my baby. I could never eat 'em."

"Totally understandable," Mathias agreed, nodding multiple times. He reached into the picnic basket and pulled out a grape, tapping the little fruit against my lips. Grinning, I opened my mouth, and he popped it inside. "Now you ask me."

"Yeah yeah, I know how the game works. We've only been playing it for like, an hour," I replied snippily while chewing on my grape. I swallowed, pursing my lips as if that'd help me think better. Repulsive scenarios, repulsive scenarios… Ah ha. This one wasn't totally extreme, but hey, it'd bring me to Mathias's next turn. "Would you rather lick a bar of soap- three licks, I'd say- or kiss Lukas for, uhh, 11 seconds?"

"Kiss Lukas." The speed at which Mathias answered the question caught me off guard, and from his expression, he hadn't meant to answer so quickly either. Even with obvious choices, I'd noticed both of us paused for at least a second before answering. Not this time; it was as if Mathias had been talking about kissing my sister's boyfriend all his life.

"…You sure?" I almost said "Licking soap wouldn't make anyone question your sexuality," but I kept my mouth shut.

Mathias started to speak instantaneously again, but abruptly looked as if he'd second guessed his response and slowly closed his mouth. "Yup." He grinned like he usually does, though behind that youthful glow in his eyes I could detect some anxiety. "I mean, Lukas is-" His expression froze, as if he had been shocked so quickly that he didn't have time to change his expression. My heartbeat was starting to increase, even though it felt like something was constricting the vital organ. I wanted to scream, Lukas is WHAT? "So uh, your turn," Mathias said quickly.

Something about that hurt me. A lot. "Actually, um, how about we head on back to the school…?" I offered with meekness I didn't normally possess. Mathias blinked, obviously taken aback.

"Sure, whatever ya want, babe…"

Caliegh was right. Some damn voice in my head kept insisting that, over and over on a loop as Mathias and I made our way back to the Academy, him holding my good hand and carrying the half empty picnic basket with his free one. There was an unusual quiet between us, but I was too busy panicking internally to really be fazed by it.

Maybe my sister's paranoia was just rubbing off on me. Lukas apparently saying he loved her in Danish; Lukas and Mathias turning up to breakfast late on the same day; Mathias being totally fine with the option of kissing Lukas… Coincidences. All of them had to be mere coincidences. I wouldn't stand for anything else…. Yet something was telling me I was gonna have to.

I was used to Caliegh being right. In fact, Caliegh being wrong about something was, annoyingly, pretty rare. In this case, however, Caliegh's correctness didn't make me jealous or generally pissed off; it just made me totally, utterly sad.