BELOVED BY THE TWINS

CHAPTER 48

"BELOVED BY THE TWINS"
by: Dark Flame Master

At the age of 14, both Ruka and Luca had grown into their high school lives, though it seemed as if they were in their own world. They looked so alike that people often couldn’t tell them apart and they both carried a cool, distant expression that made others too intimidated to approach them. Their presence was like a silent bubble that no one wanted to disturb and soon enough people began calling them “the Cold Princes” behind their backs, though the twins had no idea about it.

One afternoon, as they walked down the hallway toward the cafeteria, Ruka, who is walking behind Luca playfully leaned closer to him. “Hey, Luuuuca,” he whined, a hint of mischief in his voice as he quickened his pace to catch up and wrap his arms around Luca from behind. “Do you think Mother and Father will be home tonight?”

Luca barely reacted to Ruka’s sudden embrace. His expression remained calm but his voice softened as he spoke, almost to himself. “I don’t know,” he replied quietly. “They’re hardly ever home... and even when they are, it’s like we don’t even exist to them.”

Ruka sighed and pulled away slightly, then nudged Luca’s shoulder with a smirk. “You’re such a loner, you know that? No wonder you don’t have a girlfriend,” he teased, trying to break the quiet mood with his usual joking tone.

Luca’s face hardened and he glanced away with his typical cold expression. “I don’t need a girlfriend,” he said, keeping his voice low and distant. “Besides, it’s not like you have one, either.”

“Oh, just you wait,” Ruka said, laughing. “I’ll get a girlfriend before you and then you’ll be alone forever.”

Luca’s eyes narrowed slightly and his jaw clenched. Though he didn’t say anything, a faint flash of irritation showed on his face. Without responding, he quickened his pace, walking ahead of Ruka without even looking back.

“Hey!” Ruka called, realizing Luca had pulled away. He ran to catch up, “I was just kidding! Wait for me!”

LUCA'S POV

I thought that we were always gonna be  together but lately, the way he talks about getting a girlfriend irritates me more than he’ll ever know. He has no idea how I feel. I realized that my feelings for him went beyond that of a brother a long time ago, though it’s something I barely admit to myself. It all started when we were six. I always thought Ruka was cute even back then but everything changed when we entered high school. He started showing up in my dreams, and I couldn't deny it anymore. I really do like him.

He’s so different from me. He's kind and energetic but it drives me insane to think that one day, Ruka might belong to someone else, that he might look at someone the way he’s never looked at me. The thought alone makes me so frustrated.

Everyone says we’re alike, that we’re “two sides of the same coin,” but they don’t see the truth. I’m nothing like him. Every now and then, girls leave confession letters on my desk or his, all asking to meet us behind the gym. I can’t stand it but Ruka doesn’t know what I do with those letters.

Just like now, there’s another girl waiting behind the gym. Her face lights up when she sees me though she’s clearly mistaken.

“Ruka, I—I like you!!” she says, cheeks flushed. “Please be my boyfriend!”

A wave of irritation runs through me but I don’t let it show. Instead, I lean in close, so close that I see her eyes go wide with excitement. “Sorry, but I’m not Ruka,” I say, smiling a little. “Does it really have to be him? We look the same… why not date me?”