GEMINI.
Percy kept driving without saying a word while Penelope kept asking me more questions about myself. She asked about my hometown, my family, and friends back home. I saw no reason to hide the fact that I'd lost both my parents when I was ten years old and that, it's just me and my grandma now.
As for friends, I only had acquaintances, and they mostly enjoyed teasing me and picking on me, but I kept that part to myself. I didn't miss the subtle change in Percy's aura when I talked about my parents.
Penelope did apologize for asking me about my parents but I told her it was fine. I didn't mind talking about them. Still, she looked uncomfortable so I tried to lighten the mood by asking her where we were going and she said we were going to eat.
I think my mouth was hanging open by how surprised I was.
We're going to eat?
Wait!
That's it?
I was freaking out all afternoon about why he asked me to wait just so he could take me to dinner?
He wasn't taking me somewhere to murder me for waking him up in the library?
He's just taking me to eat?
But why?
I have never been so confused in my life!
My grandma did say I had a thing for meeting strange people.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't even know when we arrived at the restaurant, and I was completely taken aback by its lavish decor. The tables were set with fine china and crystal glasses, and the aroma of exotic spices wafted through the air. Penelope chatted excitedly as we were led to our table, but Percy remained silent, his eyes scanning the room with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.
When the waiter came to take our order, Percy surprised me by ordering a variety of meals, one of which included steak, and when our meals arrived, he reached for the plate in front of me and started cutting up my steak in a smaller, chewable chunks. His sister raised an eyebrow, clearly taken aback by his actions.
"Percy, what are you doing?" she asked, her voice tinged with amusement.
Percy didn't respond, simply continued cutting up my steak with a precision that was both fascinating and unnerving. I felt a shiver run down my spine as our fingers touched when he handed me a fork, his eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made my heart skip a beat.
"Eat!" Percy said simply, his voice firm but low, as he returned his attention to his meal.
He ignored Penelope's questioning gaze, his expression unyielding, and I started feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.
There was something in his tone that brooked no argument, a quiet authority that commanded absolute obedience.
I quietly did as I was told, picking up my fork and taking a bite of the steak he had cut up for me. He actually seemed satisfied when I did what he wanted. Something about Percy's demeanor told me that he didn't take well to people defying him, that he was a person who expected to be obeyed without questions. I didn't want to test that theory, not yet, so I ate in silence, my eyes darting occasionally to Percy's face, searching for any sign of what he might be thinking.
Penelope stared at her brother for a while, her eyes narrowing slightly as if trying to decipher the mystery behind his bizarre behavior. Then, she shook her head, a gentle smile spreading across her face as she turned to me.
"So, Gem. How are your classes going so far? Got a favorite professor yet?" she asked, her voice warm and engaging.
I hesitated for a moment, I wasn't sure how to answer her question as Percy's attention was now fully back on me. I tried to focus on his sister, but my eyes kept drifting back to him, searching for a clue, any clue at all, about what was going on behind those enigmatic eyes of his.
"My classes are going great so far," I said finally, "and I wouldn't say I have a favorite professor just yet...or maybe except Professor Luna Nightingale? She's very..." I trailed off, unsure how to describe her without sounding too enthusiastic.
Penelope's eyes lit up with curiosity. "Professor Luna Nightingale?" she repeated, her voice tinged with amusement.
I nodded, tearing my gaze away from Percy's intense stare. "Oh, she's the lecturer for ARCH141...Building Blocks!" I added, watching as Penelope's expression transformed from curiosity to understanding. Then, she laughed, a melodic sound that was both infectious and soothing.
"Oh, you mean that whimsical and quirky professor who's always smiling?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief. I nodded, wondering why she described Professor Nightingale like that, but she wasn't wrong.
"I'm sure her assignment are just as fun as she is," Penelope added, her tone playful.
I winced, remembering the latest assignment projects that I hadn't even started.The second one was, in fact, not fun at all. Penelope noticed my expression and raised her eyebrows.
"That bad, huh?" she asked, her voice laced with concern. I nodded lightly, feeling a twinge of embarrassment. "What's it about, sweetie?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
I glanced at Percy, who was still watching me with an intensity that made my skin prickle.
"She asked us to design a modular housing unit..." I began explaining, then i realized that Penelope might not understand what that is since she wasn't in my department. "we're supposed to design a modular housing unit that can be easily assembled, disassembled, and reassembled, using sustainable materials and minimizing waste." Penelope nodded thoughtfully as I finished speaking, a smile spreading across her face as she turned to her brother.
"Wasn't that similar to what you did in your first year?" she asked her brother with genuine curiosity.
Percy nodded, sparing her a polite smile, and my eyes widened in surprise. One, because his smile was breathtakingly beautiful, and two, because he actually smiled genuinely at someone, revealing a glimmer of warmth beneath his icy exterior.
I didn't know he could do that!
Penelope and I continued talking as we ate, or rather, she did the talking and I listened, all the while aware of Percy's intense gaze boring into me. It was both unnerving and exhilarating, like walking a tightrope between fascination and fear. I still don't understand why he just looks at me like he's trying see into my soul.
As we finished our meal and prepared to leave the restaurant, Penelope turned to me with a smile. "It was nice meeting you, Gemini. Maybe we'll see you again soon?" Percy nodded in agreement, his eyes never leaving mine as he waited for an answer.
"Sure, I'd love to do this again. Thank you both for dinner." I said politely and he spared me a little smile as he sister gushes about how cute I was.
As they dropped me off at my dorm, I couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder.
What had just happened?
Why had Percy gone to such great lengths just to feed me?
He took me to dinner when I thought he was upset about me waking him up in the library and then he barely said a word to me throughout dinner. The questions swirled in my mind like a vortex, leaving me feeling dizzy and disoriented.
As I stepped into the cozy comfort of my dorm room, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. The past few hours had been a whirlwind of bizarre encounters, and I couldn't wait to share it all with Ohio. I flopped onto my bed, grabbed my phone, and dialed her number on a video call.
"Hey, cutie! What's up?" Ohio's cheerful voice and face came through as she answered on the first ring.
"I have the craziest story to tell you..." I began, taking a deep breath as I launched into a detailed account of my encounter with Percy at the library, followed by our unexpected dinner date with his twin sister, Penelope. Ohio listened attentively, her silence encouraging me to spill every detail.
Just as I finished my story, Ohio's eyes were almost hanging out of their sockets in shock, her breathing uneven, and her voice barely above a whisper.
"Are you trying to tell me you ate dinner with the one and only Perseus Ser-Dominic Sinclair Moore and his sister Penelope Agnes Sinclair Moore?" she asked again just to be clear, her tone a mix of surprise and awe and all I could think about was,
"That's his full name?"
It fits him perfectly, like a god or some higher being.
Ohio's reaction when I nodded in reply was not helping to calm my nerves one bit.
"I can't believe you ate dinner with the Moore twins." she whispered as if saying it out loud might summon make the whole thing clearer.
"Who are they and what's wrong with me eating dinner with them?" I was clearly confused about the whole thing.
"What have you gotten yourself into?" She suddenly exclaimed and my eyes widened at her words.
"Gemini, listen to me, the Moore twins are not to be trifled with. They're like the gods of our school, and I'm not just saying that because their grandparents founded the place."
I felt a shiver run down my spine as Ohio shared the scary rumors she'd heard about Percy and Penelope.
"Apparently, Percy's got a reputation for being ruthless and merciless. He's the one who always gets what he wants, no matter the cost." she concluded.
I thought back to my encounter with Percy, his piercing gaze and authoritative tone. It was easy to imagine him as the ruthless and merciless person Ohio had described.
"But what about Penelope?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me. "She seemed really nice and down-to-earth."
Ohio's laughter was skeptical. "Don't be fooled, Gemini. The Moore twins are a package deal. If you're dealing with one, you're dealing with both. And trust me, you don't want to mess with them."
"She's right, I really don't."
I ended up going to bed with a lot on my mind, trying to clear my head of the conflicting emotions and impressions.
A part of me hoped that Ohio was exaggerating, that the Moore twins weren't as scary as she made them out to be. But another part of me couldn't shake off the feeling that I had just scratched the surface of something much bigger and more complex.
As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn't help but wonder if I had seen the last of the Moore twins. Hopefully, today was just a bizarre coincidence, and our paths would never cross again. But deep down, I knew that was just wishful thinking from the way Percy looked at me.