Amelia leaned closer, rising on her toes to whisper into Drake's ear—far quieter than necessary, as if the girl in front of them could somehow hear her.
"Is that the Demon Queen you told me about?" she asked, genuinely confused. "She doesn't look like a demon at all… she's really pretty."
Elle stood at the bottom of the stairs, frozen. Her eyes were locked onto Drake with such intensity it was almost uncomfortable.
Drake noticed immediately.
"What are you staring at so hard, Elle?" he snapped.
She flinched.
Her face flushed red—
And then she suddenly rushed forward.
Straight into Drake's arms.
"Ah—?" Drake froze, completely dumbfounded.
"FUCK!" Amelia shouted, panicking. "The Demon Queen is attacking Drake! What do I do?!"
Drake barely registered her.
Because his shirt was getting wet.
"Drake…" Elle's voice trembled as she clutched him tightly. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"
Her apologies spilled out endlessly, broken and desperate.
Drake stood there in shock.
Sorry?
Elle… was apologizing?
Amelia, meanwhile, stared in total confusion, floating awkwardly nearby.
"I… I never meant to treat you like that," Elle continued, her voice cracking. "Never."
Drake felt something snap.
"You never meant to?" he shouted, pulling back just enough to look at her. "What the hell are you talking about?!"
Elle squeezed her eyes shut.
"I know it's wrong. I know it's disgusting," she said shakily. "But when I realized… when I realized how I felt about you… I couldn't accept it."
Drake's anger vanished instantly, replaced by pure shock.
"…Felt?" he echoed. "About me?"
She nodded weakly, her head hanging low.
"Y-Yeah… I hate myself for it," she whispered. "We're family. We're cousins. That's why… that's why I convinced myself I didn't feel anything."
...
Ten years ago.
A younger Drake and Elle ran across a playground, laughing—
Until a group of older kids surrounded Elle.
They were bigger. Louder. Meaner.
Drake stepped in without hesitation.
He threw the first punch.
And paid for it.
By the time an adult arrived, Drake was on the ground, his right arm bent at a wrong angle.
Broken.
"Drake! Why did you do that?!" Elle shouted later from the backseat of the car, tears streaming down her face. "You didn't have to hit them!"
He grinned through the pain.
"That idiot insulted your teeth," he said proudly. "So what if they look like a rabbit's? I like them!"
Elle had looked away then.
But her heart hadn't stopped pounding since.
...
"I treated you terribly all these years," Elle continued in the present, voice trembling. "Because I wanted to prove to myself that I didn't like you."
She buried her face in his chest, her grip tightening as she broke down completely.
"But when you snapped the other day… I realized how much it hurt you." Her voice shattered. "And how much it hurt me."
Her tears soaked through his shirt.
"I'm disgusting," she sobbed. "For loving you."
"As a girl."
Drake stopped thinking.
Stopped calculating.
A year of resentment, anger, and humiliation faded into the background.
All he felt was the pounding in his chest.
Thump.
Thump.
"…Elle," he said quietly.
She looked up at him, eyes red and swollen.
"If you're disgusting," Drake said slowly, the realization finally settling in, "then…"
He exhaled.
"So am I."
Her eyes widened.
Drake leaned in—
And kissed her.
She shoved him back instantly.
"W-What are you doing?!" she exclaimed, flustered and panicked.
Drake grabbed her waist and pulled her back against him.
"Let go…" she whispered, her face burning red. "We can't—"
She hesitated.
"…Ah, fuck it."
She kissed him back—harder, hungrier than anything Drake had expected.
He responded immediately.
They stumbled into the kitchen, Drake lifting her onto the counter without breaking the kiss—
When—
"Elle? Drake?" Maya's voice called from upstairs. "What's all this noise?"
They froze.
Instantly separating.
Maya came down the stairs, arms crossed.
"And why were you two shouting?" she asked suspiciously. "Another argument?"
Her eyes narrowed.
They were both bright red. Avoiding eye contact. Clearly hiding something.
'…It almost looks like—' Maya thought.
She shook her head immediately.
"No, Maya. Don't be ridiculous," she muttered to herself. "That's impossible."
She turned away, dismissing the thought completely.
...
The three of them headed to school together.
The moment they stepped outside, Amelia burst out of the pendant in a flash of pale light and immediately floated beside Drake.
"Drake!" she hissed, her face bright red. "Wasn't she a Demon Queen?! Then why were you kissing her?!"
Her voice wavered—sharp, flustered, and unmistakably offended.
…Is she jealous perhaps? Drake thought.
Unfortunately, he couldn't answer her.
Not without Maya or Elle hearing.
He still didn't have any kind of telepathy with Amelia, so—
He simply shrugged.
Amelia stared at him in disbelief.
"What is that supposed to mean, you pervert?!" she snapped.
She grabbed his ears and yanked them upward.
"Ah—! Stop! That hurts!" Drake winced, stumbling slightly as she pinched harder.
Maya immediately turned around.
"Drake? What's wrong?" she asked, confused.
Elle turned as well—but the moment her eyes met his, she quickly looked away, cheeks faintly red.
"N-Nothing!" Drake stammered, ears burning as Amelia finally let go.
…
They arrived at school.
And the moment Drake stepped through the gates—
"Aaah, Drakey!"
Ava came running toward him at full speed.
Before he could react, she grabbed him—
And kissed him.
Right there.
In front of Maya.
And Elle.
Drake froze for half a second—then instinctively returned the kiss.
Only to suddenly remember—
Elle.
The reminder came immediately.
A burning, murderous gaze drilled into the side of his face.
…This bastard.
Elle's fists clenched, nails digging into her palms as she barely restrained herself from charging forward.
Drake quickly pulled back.
Ava blinked up at him, smiling brighter than ever—like someone who'd just won the lottery.
"What's wrong, Drakey?" she asked cheerfully.
"Ah—nothing," Drake said quickly, scratching the back of his neck. "It's just… kissing in front of my cousins is kinda awkward."
"Drake…" Elle's voice came out low.
Dangerously calm.
Drake didn't wait.
He grabbed Ava by the hand.
"Come on! We're gonna be late for math!"
And dragged her away before Elle could explode.
As they left—
Elle stood there fuming, aura practically crackling with rage.
Maya watched them go in silence.
…So you found a girlfriend, Drake?
For some reason, the thought made her chest feel… strange.
Unsettled.
And she didn't know why.
To be continued...
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