Can We Just Call It a Tie? Chapter 8

Say hello to chapter 8!
It took much longer than I wanted to, but it's finished =).

24 - Ahw that's so nice to say, thanks! (I'm curious, what is your first language?)
Amanda D - They're adorable, aren't they? Maybe I should give them their own story.
Hannah - I commented on The Vision, but I only saw the first chapter, didn't see the other chapters. Sorry about that. Oh and the Vampire pet, so sad! The poor girl. I do like your writing style though.
June29 - It's a bit more than a week....But I'm glad you liked it.

To make it up to you all, this chapter is extra long
Have fun reading!
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"You stole my heart before I could say no"

Chapter 8

*Opal’s POV*
‘Ther, if you don’t stop that right now, this will be the last time you help me prepare for a gala.’ I warned my way too excited friend. She was looking in my drawer with underwear, trying to find my most sexy lingerie.
‘Aahw, don’t ruin my fun’ she pouted ‘Lingerie is extremely important, who knows what happens when he sees you looking absolutely beautiful and seducing.’
I glanced at myself in the mirror. ‘Beautiful and seducing are not exactly the words I had in my mind to describe myself at the moment.’
Thera waved my words away ‘You will when I’m done with you.’
Half an hour ago, she’d arrived with her complete beauty things collection and had started with putting at least a thousand curlers in my hair and ordering me to sit still for an hour or three. Geez.

She wanted to know everything about my time with Quinn after she left with Ky and almost fainted from delight when she heard about our...pastime.
‘So now you know everything’ I said.
She smiled ‘No, there’s one last thing I want to know.’
I sighed ‘Shoot.’ I expected something not important, like the brand of his shoes.
‘Are you in love with him?’
I blushed.
‘Are you?’ Her curls bounced up and down, she just couldn’t stand still. (while still powdering my face)
Was I? The answer was as simple as taking another breath.
‘Yes’ I said softly.
Her smile got wider and she hugged me.
‘Oh I’m so happy for you! He is so good for you, in case you didn’t notice, you’ve been shining these last days.’ I hadn’t realized that, but I could imagine why.
‘I’m not sure if he feels the same…’ I cringed inwardly at the picture of Quinn with another girl.

‘I know he does.’ That is such a friend-thing to say. How could I be sure? Why would he want to be with me…Well, obviously he wants to, otherwise we wouldn’t be making out all the time.
It was just hard to believe that someone liked me as much as I liked him…
‘Trust me girl, after this gala, he’ll be close to marrying you.’ Thera assured me.
I laughed out loud. ‘Marrying? Don’t you think that’s a bit overdone?’ But I did like the sound of Opal Cleaver. Time to change the subject.
‘Thera, we’re only talking about me, but you haven’t told me anything about your date with Ky!’
Her turn to blush. Oh this was going to be fun.
‘Before you say anything, remember that this is my brother we’re talking about, so I don’t want to know all the horny details, thank you very much.’ She grinned.
‘I’ll spare you. Okay, so first we had dinner, the four of us and that was so much fun. Your brothers are hilarious, did you know that?’
‘Yeah I’d noticed’ I answered dryly.

‘Well, and after that we went to some club, I forgot the name already and well, with all those people, you lose each other quickly, so we split in pairs and I’ve spent most of the evening with Ky.’ She paused and smiled at a memory. The look on her face was one I hadn’t seen in a long time. The last time was when she just met Ron.
Could Thera possibly be falling for my brother?
‘Opal, you know what I like the most about Ky? He doesn’t want anything.’
I raised an eyebrow, that did not sound like Ky at all.
‘No, no, not that way. It’s just that he knows how I feel and leaves it at that, he just focuses on having fun.’
Ah. That did sound like him. He and Jas knew a bit about what happened to Thera and so he understood her problem and left her free to be afraid of trusting. I was proud of him.
One thing I had to know. ‘But, does fun include kissing?’ I asked grinning.
She blushed again.

I giggled. ‘I guess that’s a yes.’ She nodded, grinning.
I bit my lip, torn between wanting to know and really NOT wanting to know. She looked at me, pleading.
‘Okay, okay, you can tell me.’
‘Opal, he is such a good kisser!’ She blurted out. ‘I can’t believe you haven’t told me before.’
‘Ehm Thera, how on earth do you think I could’ve told you? You think I kiss my brothers everyday?’ Ky was so going to hear this. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday...

She realized her mistake and rolled over the floor laughing. ‘I think I should focus on your hair’ She said when she was done laughing. And so she did.
While she pulled and pushed at my hair, I thought about what she’d said. All those years after Ron, I’d hoped for a guy that would learn Thera how to trust and love again. But was the one I was looking for so close? My own childish yet absolutely wonderful brother? I imagined the two of them together, for real. And the picture was perfect. This was going to work, if I could help it.
After what seemed another fifteen hours, Thera was finally done. ‘If I say so myself, I think I’ve created a masterpiece tonight.’ She said to her invisible audience.
‘Oh so now I’m art?’ I snorted.
She smiled at me. ‘Just look in the mirror darling’
I stood up, turned around and was amazed. Okay, she was right, I did look pretty.
She had curled my hair (as it should be after all those curlers) and applied not too heavy make-up, except for my eyes. Thera had practiced years (on me) to perfect her smoky-eyes skill and she used it tonight.
‘You’re the best!’ I exclaimed and flung my arms around my best friend.
She received the compliment smiling. ‘Thanks. Now put on that gorgeous dress, because your knight will be here any moment.’ And speaking of the devil, the bell rang. Crap!

*Quinn’s POV*
Waiting on the doorstep, I remembered the first time I stood here.
On again, one of the twins opened the door. This time, I recognized him.
‘Hello Ky’ I said, while entering the house.
‘Opal told you the trick to keep us apart?’ He asked.
‘Yeah.’ I smiled.
‘You’re not going to tell me, are you?’
‘Not a chance.’
‘Too bad’ He sighed ‘Jas and I have been trying to figure that out for ages…’
If only they knew it was as simple as a birthmark on Jasper’s little finger, where Ky didn’t have one.
Jasper came down the stairs. ‘Opal is almost ready, Quinn.’
They both looked at me, suddenly serious.

‘You better take care of our sister.’
‘Of course’ I assured them. ‘The last thing I want to do is hurt her.’
Thera appeared at the top of stairs, almost floating from happiness.
‘Here she comes’ she chirped.
Opal’s frustrated voice sounded after that.
‘Thera, I’m not doing the ‘I’m-having-a-prom-and-walking-down-the-stairs-while-everyone’s-aaahing’ thing. I’m not some desperate teenage girl.’
I chuckled. Opal was definitely the most no-nonsense girl I ever met.
‘Quinn, Jasper and Ky, I’m coming down the stairs and if any of you dares to ‘aah’ me, I’ll make your life miserable for the rest of the year.’

And there she was. My jaw dropped. Really. She looked…just…beautiful.
Jasper, who was standing next to me, helpfully pushed my jaw up again.
‘Stop drooling dude.’ He said, grinning.
‘Eer...yeah’ My ability to speak malfunctioned for a moment.
Opal stood before me now, flanked by her brothers.
She looked a bit dizzy, while she looked at me. I hoped Thera didn’t spray too much hairspray in her face.
‘You okay?’ I asked.

She nodded, looking a bit dizzy. I leaned towards her and whispered ‘I’m honoured to spend this evening with such a beautiful girl.’
She blushed and her brothers, who saw that, aaaahed at the same time, but two seconds after that they gasped for air, because Opal had lashed out left and right to their stomach.
‘You bitch’ Ky gasped ‘that was below the belt’
‘If you check your anatomy Ky, you’ll notice that your stomach is obviously above your belt and you should now better than to mess with me while I’m wearing a dress and enough hairspray to suffocate a middle-sized rhino.’ Opal snapped.
I made a mental note to myself: Opals in dresses are not to be trifled with.
I took her hand ‘Shall we go?’
She took a deep breath ‘Yeah’

When we reached the car, she froze. ‘A limo?’
I shrugged ‘Why not? We’re important guests after all.’
She shook her head ‘No, you and your dad are important guests, I’m not.’
I stroked her cheek ‘You’re important to me and that makes you limo worthy.’
She smiled and got in the car.
When we were driving she observed my clothes.
‘You’re wearing the blue shirt I recommended!’ She said happily.
I grinned, because that was exactly the reason why I wore it. ‘I’m glad you recognize it.’
‘Of course I do, like I’ll ever be able to forget the most annoying costumer ever’ she teased.

I pouted. She immediately moved over next to me.
‘Shall I tell you a secret?’ she whispered. I circled an arm around her waist, while nodding.
She drew circles on my stomach ‘I can’t forget what I saw in the mirror that day.’
A shiver ran down my spine, but I chuckled ‘I knew I was right about you checking me out’
‘I knew it too, but admitting that was the last thing I was planning that afternoon’ She looked up at me, her eyes swirling with excitement and...lust? Only the thought of that made certain parts of me react.
Very carefully, not to ruin her hair, I kissed her. I’d noticed the last days that Opal was always happy to kiss, didn’t matter when, probably thanks to the fact that this was all new for her. I was more than willing to oblige to her craving.
Within no time, we arrived at ‘the Silver Swan’, the ballroom where we would spend the night. It had started to rain, so men with umbrella’s were waiting for us and escorted us to the entrance.
Shane was standing there, obviously waiting for me.

*Opal’s POV*
Some guy standing at the entrance, was looking at me. Before I had the chance to properly glare at him, he grinned at Quinn and walked over to us.
‘Quinn, you’re finally here, you took your time.’ He said, while shaking hands with Quinn.
‘Hello Shane’ Quinn said, also grinning. ‘Let me introduce you to Opal. Opal, this is Shane.’
That was Shane? Damn, another one to prove my theory. You see, I had this theory: handsome people always have handsome friends. Especially guys. Not on purpose, I guess, but it just happens. Shane and Quinn were no exception. Shane was your typical surfer. Blond messy hair, friendly blue eyes and muscled. Geez.
When he heard my hand, he smirked and looked at me. ‘So you’re the lovely lady I had the pleasure talking to last week?’

I smiled at the memory. ‘Yup, that was me. Nice to meet you.’
Together we walked to the ballroom and I froze on the spot, again.
Quinn and Shane noticed I’d stopped and turned around, to see me staring at the room.
They both started laughing.
The room was huge. And so pretty. Everything was black, white and gold, with drapes and sparkles and fountains and flowers and endless tables with food. It was breathtaking.
‘Easily impressed girl?’ Shane teased; I returned to reality.
‘If you’re not, you must be one spoiled rich guy’ I shot back.
He narrowed his eyes, towering above me (he was, of course, way too tall) ‘What did you say?’

I rolled my eyes. ‘You heard me’
Quinn gently pushed Shane aside. ‘Easy now, when did you get so short tempered?’
He huffed and ignored the question. What on earth was his problem? He looked way too stressed for a gala. I put that thought aside and slipped inside the girl’s room to check my hair and make-up. When I wanted to walk outside, I suddenly heard Quinn and Shane’s voices. Curious, I listened.
‘Shane what the hell is going on?’ Quinn sounded worried.
‘I couldn’t tell you before because of your girl’ My heart swelled when I heard those two words ‘but we think she suspects something.’
‘How’s that possible?’ Quinn asked.

‘We don’t now ‘ Shane talked softer ‘We think someone’s betrayed us.’
Quinn swore and I decided that was the moment to walk out.
‘I’m back’ I said ‘When does it begin?’
Quinn smiled, his whole ridiculously handsome face lit up ‘Right now, come on’
Shane had vanished. I didn’t have time to think about that, because we entered the now full ballroom.
The diner was actually quite entertaining. I’d expected men in their mid-fifties talking about money and golfing, but nothing of the sort.
I had a hard time swallowing my wine, while Tom and his friends were joking about almost everything, including each other.

When we all had eaten enough, a orchestra started playing.
Quinn came up to me and held out his hand.
‘Do you want to dance?’ He smiled.
I hesitated. ‘Well yes, but there’s no one on the dance floor, everyone will be watching us.’
‘So? And they’ll be watching anyway, with you looking like a star.’
I shrugged of my fears and took his hand.
Followed by way too many eyes, I followed him to the dance floor, where he gently laid a hand on my waist, while still holding my hand with the other. And so we swayed to the music.

‘You see, this isn’t that bad, is it?’ He murmured against my hair.
‘I’m concentrating on the knot of your tie, so I don’t have to look at the people.’
He chuckled. ‘And what do you think of it?’
‘I’m surprised you actually remembered it correctly.’
He squeezed my waist, which caused me to giggle.
‘A bit more faith in my memory, thank you very much’ he said quasi-mad.
‘Relax darling’ I said, completely at ease, not thinking three times about what I said to him, as I usually did.
He smirked. ‘So I’m your darling now?’
That made me curse myself. Always watch what your saying.
‘Maybe you are...’ I said flirty, the tone I used to despise.

My mood seems infectious, because the mischievous sparkle appeared in his eyes.
‘Good’ He whispered and bent down, but I stopped him with a finger on his lips.
‘Quinn, not here’ I said, stressing each word.
‘Are you ashamed of kissing me?’ He mocked.
‘No of course not’ I assured him ‘It’s just...all those people make me feel uncomfortable.’
‘I know a way to cure that’ He smirked and started to draw patterns on my back, which was totally unfair.
‘Stop it...’ It didn’t sound very convincing.
‘You don’t mean that.’
‘I do’
‘You don’t’
‘I do’

‘I know you don’t’
The people around us saw two people, smiling and flirting, while dancing to the music, he even rubbed her back. But in reality, we were quarrelling about whether we should kiss in public or not. The irony.
‘Tie?’ I asked.
‘Means you lose.’ He said triumphantly.
I shrugged. ‘Since when does it really matter?’
‘Since now’ And before I could do anything he kissed me and, I couldn’t help myself, I had to kiss him back. Oblivion is the right word to describe my feeling. At that moment, I didn’t care who was watching us, even the presence of my brothers wouldn’t have mattered.
I was the one who pulled back after a while, much to his disapproval.
‘You hormone crazed cheater’ I murmured.
He smiled, unabashed ‘You can’t deny you enjoyed that’
I winked ‘I’m not.’

The rest of the evening went by pleasant enough. We talked, we danced, I even danced with Shane, who turned out to be pretty cool, only a bit too stressed for my liking.
After a round of speeches, it was over.
I was a bit slow, thanks to the wine, so I decided to go outside. The air refreshed my senses and I hummed, while waiting for Quinn to return, who was fetching our coats.

I stared at the stars, so that was the reason I didn’t see the moving shadows around me.
Suddenly, a hand covered my mouth and I felt that someone tried to twist my arms on my back.
I petrified for a short moment, but soon my survival instinct kicked in. Literally, because I thrust my elbow backwards, into the guy’s stomach. With a groan, he let me go and I decided to run.
Well, I tried to run, but after taking two steps I realized I was surrounded by three other dark hooded guys.
I stopped, petrified with fear again, while they came closer.
‘Why don’t you come with me little girl?’ the one closest said.
And that was the moment I snapped. Who did they think they were, trying to kidnap me?
He grabbed my arm, but I lashed out with my other arm and hit him on the nose.
Another one grabbed my other arm, but I kicked him against his shinbone.
‘Let me go! Quinn! Help! Someone!’ For the first time I realized that yelling might be a good idea.

‘No one’s gonna hear you’ The first one said, with blood dripping out of his nose. ‘Especially not your dear Quinn.’
This distracted me for a moment, what did they do to Quinn?
And that was of course my mistake.
They jumped at me, all four of them, and even though I scratched, kicked and bit, they were too strong. They blindfolded me and together they dragged me to a black vent, and pushed me inside. The door slammed shut, the vent sped away and I was alone.
‘Hello?’ A voice asked
I could hardly believe my ears.
‘Quinn?’
‘Opal?’

I moved over to the voice, depending on my hands, until I felt his arm, and I sat down next to him and started to cry.
‘Shhh honey, it’s going to be okay, I’m here’ He whispered and sighed after that.
‘I wish I could hug you right now, but they tied my hands together behind my back.'
Despite the situation, I giggled. ‘The bastards, they blindfolded me.’
We were silent for a moment.
‘Quinn, why is this happening? What on earth did we do? Are you mafia or something?’
He chuckled. ‘No, are you?’
‘No. But why did they kidnap us? My parents are not filthy rich. Wait. Yours are.’
‘Yeah. But still...Opal, do you think you can undo the knot of the rope?’
I felt he turned around and a few frustrating minutes later, Quinn could move his hands again.

‘Thanks a million’ he sighed.
‘You’re welcome, now can you remove my blindfold please? I tried myself, but the knot is too tight.’ I asked
He pulled me into the circle of his arms and said ‘Actually, you blindfolded is quite a turn on.’
How did he do that? Why wasn’t he completely freaked out by the fact that we were kidnapped? That didn’t mean that I was immune for his words. The opposite actually.
What was the matter with me, this guy made my hormone go into overdrive and beyond.
‘Oh really, and why’s that?’ I replied.
‘Well, now I can do this and you can’t see what I’m doing.’ And I felt his hand stroking my leg, but every time a bit higher. He buried his face into the crook of my neck.
‘Did I tell how utterly gorgeous you look tonight?’
‘About eight times’ I blushed.
‘Good.’

And he removed my blindfold.
The driver of the vent hit the brakes and the vent stopped. We heard people get out of the car and someone opened the doors.
They took no risk this time and immediately twisted my arms on my back.
‘Ow, that hurts!’
He didn’t answer, but pushed me on the ground and a moment later Quinn fell next to me.
The men entered the car and the vent sped away, but not before I saw a familiar face in the mirror.
Shane.
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Aaaaaaand comment pretty please!