My Severe Brother

ch 35: Not even an answer

Peter's pov

Three days after the incident™

I've hardly saw Cole around lately. Dude's been swamped with work – investigating who messed with Sofia's place and keeping tabs on Miles' rehab. Luckily, Miles hadn't been on that drug grind long enough to get hooked. Thank God for small mercies! He's even showing signs of recovery. It's all about stamina!

We found ourselves in the cafeteria after surviving three mind-numbing classes.

"You know, Stella, the famous girl, is throwing a party tomorrow at 8 pm," Oliver dropped the bomb.

"Oh, that's awesome," Miles chimed in, all hyped. "Are we on the guest list?"

"They invited me," I casually mentioned.

"You and me, no Miles," Oliver clarified with a smirk.

"Ah, because I'm friends with you," Miles rolled his eyes.

"No, because you were dating one of her friends, but who cares? We're going," Oliver declared.

"So, we'll meet tomorrow at 8 pm," Miles high-fived him.

"But I can't go. You know my brother won't let me," I lamented.

"You didn't ask him yet," Miles nudged, rolling his eyes.

"I know he won't let me go."

"We'll take care of this. I have a plan," Oliver interjected.

"Let's try first," Miles gave me a look, urging me to talk to him.

"Okay, I'll keep you updated."

"You need to do your best. I heard that Aria will be there," Oliver winked at me.

"Tomorrow at 8 pm, I'll be ready," I said, excitement in my voice.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the conversation, and we headed to our respective classes. I caught up with Aria, and we strolled into the room together. Suddenly, the teacher summoned us to the board, leaving us baffled. Following her instructions, we obliged.

With a grin, she announced, "Ladies and gentlemen."

We exchanged puzzled glances but burst into laughter at her playful presentation.

"Such rude students, but hey, here we have Aria and Peter with the top marks on their project. Let's give them a round of applause."

"Wow!" Aria exclaimed, shooting me an impressed look.

Our classmates clapped and gathered around us.

"Genius move, you two. I'm thinking of putting you in the inter-school competition. We proposed this to all our classes, and yours stood out. The best one goes to the competition, and the winner gets a prize." She emphasized the word 'prize' with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Our teacher is so cool!

"Are you okay with it?" our teacher inquired.

"That's great," Aria replied enthusiastically.

I found myself in a mental deadlock, uncertain of how my brother would react. I rolled my eyes at the thought.

"And you, Pete?" the teacher turned to me.

"I need to think," I responded.

"Take your time," she said with a warm smile.

After the bell rang, the teacher called me over. "Pete, I need to talk to your brother," she said.

"Why?" My body tensed up.

"Nothing bad, honey. I just need him for something."

"Fine," I replied, my confusion evident.

I stepped outside, and Aria was already waiting, excitedly chatting about our high marks and the upcoming competition. She praised me for the idea and insisted that I was amazing.

To my surprise, my brother showed up to pick me up after school. Aria stopped me in front of the car and asked, "Are you coming to the party?"

"Shh," I hushed her, pulling her away from the car. "I haven't asked him yet."

Luckily, he was engrossed in a phone call and didn't overhear her.

"Oh, okay. Good luck," she said, heading over to her father.

I hopped into the car, and my brother concluded his phone call.

"How surprising to see you!" I remarked, fastening my seatbelt.

"I had some free time, so I thought I'd pick you up," he explained.

"Thanks," I grinned.

He drove us home, and after changing, I joined him in the garden. He was occupied counting some cash.

"Cole?" I called out.

"Yeah?" he responded, focused on the money, seemingly unfazed by me addressing him by his name.

Well, it seemed he had eased up on getting mad when I called him by his name.

"You remember that project I was telling you about with Aria?"

"Yeah, I remember Aria," he said, smirking. The jerk!

"The project?" I rolled my eyes at his annoyingly smart memory.

"Yep."

"We got the top mark."

"That's good... Bravo!" he praised.

"Merci," I replied, laughing. "The teacher wants to see you."

"Fine. She didn't tell you why?"

"No, I don't think I did anything wrong," I said.

"Better not," he quipped.

"And she wants to put my project in the competition. Can I say yes?" I asked.

"Of course, if you want?" he replied.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. If it's something good for you and your education, I won't say no," he said, smiling.

We sat in silence for a minute before I spoke up, "Cole?"

"Yes?" Cole glanced at me, his attention shifting from counting money.

"I'm... Mm... It's because... Uhm..."

He paused, giving me a curious and somewhat amused look.

"Oh, nevermind," I sighed, conceding defeat.

"Pete, come on, speak it out," he encouraged, surprising me by calling me Pete.

"My friend is throwing a party tomorrow. Can I go, please?"

"Nope," he said simply.

As Cole casually shut down my plea with a simple "nope," an internal storm brewed.

"Why?"

"Because I said so," he replied, still calm as he grabbed his keys.

"It's not even an answer," I pouted.

It wasn't fair. I had mustered the courage to ask, stammering through my request, only to be met with a dismissive response lacking any concrete reason. 

"Lose the attitude," he said, glaring at me.

A classic Cole move – assertive, nonchalant, and frustratingly effective!

This is ridiculous!

To be continued...