Aria

Chapter 26

-Aria-

"Can I open them now please?"

"Not just yet, we're almost there," Gabe says as he continues to guide me with his hands covering my eyes.

As we walk through the gate he explains how the boys wanted to pick the theme for the picnic and couldn't wait to see what they decided. It was also a surprise for him since the younger ones were in charge of the decorations.

As we got to a stop I felt his hands tighten and hear an inaudible mumble under his breath.

"Eh- uhm on a second thought, why don't we do this another day?"

I scrunch my eyebrows at his sudden shift of mood.

"I-is everything alright?" I ask bringing my hands up to lower his. He resisted before finally letting go. The moment I opened my eyes I let out a gasp.

I see balloons of various sizes laying all across the lawn, the tiniest one being the size of a golf ball. There was a huge picnic mat laid out with a ton of snacks on it. Streamers hung from the trees reaching all the way to the grass and plastic plates were scattered through the lawn. As the wind picked up the plates flew further away and some of the streamers fell from the trees. The colors ranged from pinks and red to greens and browns. Matteo, Leo, and Zeno rushed around the yard to pick up the mess.

Zeno was looking at the ground trying to catch a green balloon rolling away as he neared us, accidentally stumbling into Gabe.

"G-Gabe I can explain man I-" Zeno glances at me for a quick second before whipping his head my way, the tips of his ears turning red. "Shit you're already here?"

"Zeno." Alessandro calls before placing his shoe above the tiny balloon.

Matteo and Leo notice and walk over slowly. Leo reaches to scratch the back of his neck while Matteo tries to avoid eye contact.

"H-hey, what's with t-the expression? I love i-it! Thank y-you all s-so much!" I stuttered quite a bit but my brothers had to know my appreciation. I meet everyone's gaze with a bright smile. I truly felt so loved, it was the best feeling ever!

"But it's not good enough." Leo sighs as he looks at the balloon that was caught by Alessandro.

"No, d-don't say that! It's perfect!" I walk up to Leo and give him a big hug. He wraps his hands around me and lowers his head to my shoulder. "I truly a-appreciate this, thank you." I whisper and pull back once I feel Leo nod.

"W-well what are w-we waiting for?" I let out a laugh and step forward, hoping the rest would follow. I reach the mat and pick up a pink balloon, looking over my shoulder I toss it towards Gabe.

He smiles and walks forward, hitting the balloon up before it touched the ground. Soon after Leo and Zeno join in. We played for around 10 minutes until the pink balloon popped because of how hard Zeno hit it. We laugh as we reach the mat and all sit down. It felt so odd to see Alessandro and Matteo sitting on the colorful mat, the complete opposite of their serious personalities. Though what they wore suited them really well, wait that's-

Matteo wore a shirt with the same print as my dress. When I look to my left I notice Leo wearing shorts with the same print as well. I'm surprised that I didn't realize it earlier. 

I have to keep in mind that they love strawberries.

Just then Gabe pulls open a box of chocolate covered strawberries. He hands me one and passes the rest of the box around. He pulls out other items such as sandwiches and cookies, laying them on the mat so everyone could pick whatever they would like to eat.

He hands me a sandwich and gives a light kiss on my forehead. As we were eating there was a tiny bird who decided to fly in. It continued to chirp and walked closer to the mat, tilting its head a little. I took a piece of bread from the sandwich and ripped it into a tiny piece. Tossing it to the bird, I see the little cutie walk forward and chirp at the bread. He soon yips at it and takes it in his beak, I laugh as he flies away. A second after however, I felt an odd gut feeling. I turn to look beyond the gates, into the forest at the back. I strain my eyes to focus into the shadowed darkness created by the trees. 

Before I could ask, Gabe gets up from the mat and claps his hand.

"Alright kiddos, we are going to play Jenga!"

He brings out a box and sets up several wooden pieces into a large tower. I watch curiously as everyone sits to make a large circle, waiting for Gabe to finish. I've never played before and without wanting to trouble anyone, I reach for the box beside Gabe, to read the Instructions.

As I turn the box around to read the first few sentences, a light tap on my shoulder distracts me. A voice lightly grumbles, "you have to pull out a wooden piece and set it on top. If the tower falls then you lose." Although I had some questions I nod hastily and watch Matteo lean back and take the box from my hands. "Just follow my lead."

Gabe begins the game and selects a pretty loose piece, which he was able to slip out and place on top of the tower. The next turn was Alessandro and then Matteo. I feel my face heating up  from the nervousness and began to play with my hands as I observed closer, hoping I don't cause the tower to drop. When it was my turn I looked at Matteo who nodded and pointed at a piece.

Following the direction, I tapped on the smooth wooden piece lightly, which was located at the side of the tower. I gently use my pointer finger and thumb to slowly but eventually pull it out. I smile widely and place it on top before turning to see if Matteo saw. He gives a nod without looking and continues to stare at the tower.

Next was Leo's turn, who brought his hands together and cracked his knuckles before inhaling deeply. Gabe lets out a chuckle and Zeno simply rolls his eyes. He observes all the pieces of the tower before reaching for a corner piece. When half of the piece was out, the tower started to tremble. Zeno started to blow on it and I watch intently, hoping for the tower to not fall. Leo takes my hand in his left palm and says a small prayer, which causes Matteo to smirk. With a deep breath he reaches forward and quickly pulls out the piece, successfully!

"You're my little lucky charm!" Leo says enthusiastically and gives my hand a kiss. I laugh as he reaches for my other hand. Before he could, someone clears their throat and I quickly pull it away after giving his hand a small squeeze. 

I'm sure they want to focus on the game.

After Zeno's turn, two whole rounds passed before it landed on Matteo. It was tougher than before now, I was barely able to stop the tower from moving last time and all the loose pieces were gone except for one.

Matteo was watching intensely as the other brothers started egging on him. I lean closer and point discreetly to the only loose piece which was in the fourth row, if he does it gently he should easily be able to move it. He glances at me before turning back and reaching for the piece, he pulls at it slowly before yanking it out, causing the whole tower to fall.

Gabe raises an eyebrow at him while Leo and Zeno jump up and give each other a high five, celebrating the win.

"Pensavo fossi competitivo."

Matteo shrugs at what Gabe says and looks at me before staring at the fallen pieces.

Why did he do it so suddenly?