Individual

Chapter 22

Olivia confronted her brother at night.

"You like Kay, don't you? Don't try to deny it, you know you suck at lying." She had him cornered and was holding up an accusing finger. Apart from her serious face, Clyde could notice the hint of a satisfied smirk on her face, like she'd accomplished something huge.

"Kaydence?" Clyde asked calmly, internally praising himself for not getting flustered. After the encounter that afternoon with Kaydence's strange friend—who he was ninety percent sure was flirting with him—he had gotten over the beautiful image of Kaydence that had been on his mind for the past few days. He was glad, because he'd felt weird during that period.

"Don't act dumb in front of me, dear brother," Olivia said, her face only a few inches away from his.

He pushed her face away as casually as he could, asking, "Why do you think that?"

Olivia removed his hand from her face and rubbed her face, sporting a look of annoyance. "You definitely ruined my makeup now," she huffed. She'd only been hanging out with Kaydence for about a week or so, but Clyde couldn't believe how much that sigh reminded him of Kaydence. "Anyway, it's really obvious, bro. I'll dress her up more often until you admit that you're attracted to her!"

"She's not a doll, Olivia," Clyde said, running a hand through his hair exasperatedly. "And I'm not attracted to her because she looked nice when dressed up."

"Aha! So you are attracted to her!" Olivia exclaimed happily. "Tell me, dear brother, what exactly draws you to her? Her dazzling smile? Her cute raspy voice? Her—"

"Stop that, Olivia," Clyde interrupted. "Why do you only assume I like her because of what she looks or– ...sounds like?"

"I haven't finished!" Olivia protested. "I know of a lot of traits Kay possesses that has probably attracted you. Like her friendliness, her politeness, her easygoingness, her intelligence, her athleticism, her love for coconut water..."

Clyde stared blankly at her. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It has to do with everything!" Olivia said. "I mean, that's what brought her to you, or you to her, in the first place. Literally. It basically caused your fate."

"I don't think that's how it works..."

Olivia glared at him. "Suck it up bro, it does. But you're so blatantly into her, don't even bother denying it. I just want to know the reason."

"Didn't you just list down all of them?" Clyde asked, exasperated.

Olivia's eyes grew wide. "Oh my gosh, you admitted to liking her! You like everything about her, exactly as I've listed! From her dazzling smile to her love for coconut water—"

"Except the raspy voice thing," Clyde said.

"Why?" Olivia whined. "Her voice is super cute! Don't tell me you don't think so too. All I've ever heard from girls are high-pitched, squealing voices..."

"Like yours?"

"Screw off, brother. When did you get so brutal?" she said. "As I was saying, her voice is absolutely lovely, and you should cherish it whenever you talk to her."

"Thanks, now I will never be able to hear her voice normally," Clyde said. "It sounds like you have a crush on her instead."

Olivia gasped. "How could I steal her from you, dear brother! You have so little faith in me. Luckily for you, I regard Kay as a younger sister. I've always wanted one," she said dreamily.