FIGHT OF LOVE AND HATE

Girlfriend?

"God, is it just me or does time seem to be passing by quickly today?" Andrea remarked.

"Maybe it's because you're nervous about tonight?" Liam suggested, yawning.

"Where is Ava?" Theo inquired.

"She's out playing with the kids," Mrs. Lopez replied. Everyone hummed in acknowledgment. "The kids love her. Charles even asked me to take her with us back home because she's so fun to play with," Lydia added, prompting laughter in the living room.

Everyone was present—my family, the Lopez family, the FBI agents, and their partners. Ava was outside, spending time with the kids.

"So, what time will we be leaving?" Andrea asked.

"Uh, nuh nuh nuh, it's only me, Ava, and the FBI. Not you, and definitely not you oldies. You all will stay here with your partners and the kids," I declared.

"What?" Mom shrieked. "No, I will go with you," Andrea protested.

"No, Andrea. You've never been out with me, nor have you ever hunted them. I can't simply let you dive in and get yourself killed."

"I'm not going to get myself killed, Liv."

"Not now, but you will," Olivia insisted.

"Ugh, Liv," Andrea groaned.

"No, Andrea. End of discussion. You will not come with us tonight."

"You're not the one who gets to decide," Andrea retorted, standing up abruptly and stomping her foot before storming off upstairs to her room. I sighed, preparing to go after her.

"Uh, Liv, let me," Theo offered, standing up to go after her. I nodded my head in agreement.

"Is something going on between the two of them?" Diana asked, sipping on her coffee.

"I don't know. Maybe something is happening, but she hasn't said anything about it," Olivia replied.

"I definitely feel like something is happening," Liam added.

"Mommy!" Rose exclaimed, running towards Sarah. We all turned to see the kids running in, with Ava trailing behind them. I picked up Ben and placed him on my lap, smiling at him as I ran my hand through his hair, fixing it back in place. He smiled back at me.

"Is someone hungry?" I asked him. He nodded vigorously. I smiled and picked him up, carrying him with me as I walked into the library and placed him on the counter.

"What does Mr. Ben feel like eating?" I asked him. He hummed and looked above, and asked for  pizza. I walked towards him, squeezing his cheeks gently. "If you want pizza, you shall have it."

In seconds, I felt arms wrap around me from behind. "What if I want something else?" Ava teased. I pushed her back playfully with my elbow, glaring at her.

"Ben's here, so start behaving," I scolded her. She slumped her shoulders and walked towards Ben, while I took out some biscuits for the kids to eat until the pizza arrived.

"Ava, do me a favor and go into the living room to ask the kids if they would like pizza or if they want something else," I requested. She groaned, kissed my temple, and walked out into the living room.

I glanced at Henry, who had a big smile on his face. I tilted my head curiously. "Why are you smiling?"

"Are you and Ava girlfriend and boyfriend?" he asked eagerly. I chuckled and walked towards him, ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Well, Ava and I are both girlfriends, not girlfriend and boyfriend. Do you find that odd?" I asked Henry, who shook his head. Eventhough Ava hasn't dropped the question but I feel we don't need to label ourselves, we are already passed the stage and jumped to I love you's.

"No, I love both of you together," he replied.

"Well, I love you more," I teased.

"More than Ava?" he questioned mischievously. I leaned in closer to him.

"Don't tell her, but I love you more than her," I whispered.

"I heard that," Ava said, entering the kitchen. "Stop spying, Ava," Ben scolded her.

"My bad, and not only kids but also their parents, my parents, your parents, and probably even Theo and Andrea, even though they're upstairs, probably doing God knows what," Ava remarked.

"Ava, Ben is still here," I reminded her, shaking my head. I picked up my phone to order pizza for everyone. Lydia entered the kitchen, picking up some bread and veggies.

"Aren't you eating pizza?" I asked.

"No, the sandwiches are for Sira. She doesn't eat," Lydia replied.

"Oh, so she's a health freak?" I queried. Lydia shook her head.

"I doubt that. During high school, if she could, she would have eaten pizza for every meal, but suddenly she just stopped eating."

"What do you mean, stopped?" Ava asked.

"Yeah, she just stopped," Lydia confirmed.

"How weird is that?" Ava remarked.

"What's weird?" Sira asked, entering the kitchen.

"Nothing," I quickly interjected.

"Are you making sandwiches for me?" Sira asked Lydia.

"Is that veggies I see in my sandwiches?" Sira groaned, and Ben laughed at her, making everyone smile.

"Sira, you gotta eat veggies to beat the bad guys," Ben advised and everyone in the kitchen laughed.

....................

"Only 2 hours left," I said, rubbing Ava's hand, which was in mine. Everyone was with their loved ones, spending time together.

"I know. Are you scared?" Ava asked, playing with my fingers.

"Do you want to know the truth?" I asked, and she hummed, pecking my forehead. I was lying on top of her in her chair on the balcony in her room.

"I don't know. This time, I'm very scared. Probably now that we're together, everything seems okay, but I have this gut feeling that something bad will happen. Like this is too good to be true," I confessed.

Ava took a deep breath. "Liv, nothing bad will happen. I have a positive feeling about tonight's mission. That man is scared; that's why he's hiding in the cave and sending his puppets out to hunt. So why should we be scared of him?"

"You are one optimistic person," I remarked, intertwining our fingers.

"Someone has to be the positive thinker in this relationship," she replied. I removed my hand from hers and positioned myself on top of her to look at her face.

"Relationship? I don't recall anyone asking me to be their girlfriend," I teased with a smirk.

She pulled me closer to her, our faces inches apart. "Miss Olivia Miller, will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

"No," I replied.

"No?" she asked, pulling her face back. I shook my head, got up from her, and knelt on one knee, taking both of her hands in mine, and stared into her eyes.

"Miss Ava Lopez, will you do me the honor and make me the happiest person in the world by being my girlfriend?" I asked. She didn't say anything, just pulled me in for a kiss. And I knew it that it was a yes for my answer.