[14]: the apology

________________________ 14 the apology "In your subtleties, In the way you know how; In those things I see, The sincerity in your heart.”  ________________________ Sally slowly made her way towards the two unlikely pair, one with an ear-splitting grin, and the other with a barely contained scowl. If anything, the latter's scowl only became more prominent the moment Sally is already near them—she ignored it, of course. The determination she felt about finding out what the hell happened between the two for her stepdaughter to feel extremely annoyed overpowered any other emotion she might be having, especially since Aurora wasn't at their house when she woke up and when she called all of them for breakfast. As soon as she stood in front of the pair, she assessed them with her eyes for a second before she focused her gaze on the two of them with her arms crossed. "Do I want to know what happened?" She asked as she raised an eyebrow. "Why would you?" Aurora retorted, the disdain in her voice clearly palpable to the parties involved. "It's nothing that concerns you." Alexander glanced down at the woman beside him. Even though he has always known of the role of the woman standing in front of them in Aurora's life, he has never really met her—or her brother. Well, until now that is. Whenever Frank visits her and asks the both of them to go with him to meet his new wife and new born son, Aurora would immediately refuse and drag Alexander along with her somewhere far away from her father. He knows that Aurora has already met them since she always tells him about what happened between her and Sally, but it’s just that—stories and news; never any real meetings. It didn't bother him though; calming his ex-girlfriend down was the top of his priority. While the woman does look cute even when she’s mad at almost everything, dealing with her anger is still a pretty challenging task to do. However, now that he's finally here, he's able to witness the never-ending vile comebacks and retorts Aurora tells her stepmother--the ones that he only ever got to hear from his ex-girlfriend through the stories she tells him. Honestly, now that he’s able to see everything with his own eyes, he can definitely say with confidence that the words he always hears from Aurora were slightly biased. With what’s happened, he can’t exactly blame her for it either. Still, the woman Aurora has claimed to dislike with every fiber of her being isn't really all that horrible; she just made a mistake that she can't ever correct, taking into account how considerable damage has already been done. Sally released a sigh. "I'm merely curious about what happened." "Well don't be." Aurora muttered with a glare. Transferring her gaze between Alexander and Sally back and forth, she shrugged away the former's grip on her—which surprisingly, he let her—and trudged her way towards the kitchen albeit begrudgingly. Her former lover and her stepmother shared a look. The former released a tentative smile while the latter only released a breath and said, "She has always been a temperamental woman." "Oh trust me, I know. Her temper is quite the sight." He replied, eyes never straying from the entrance of the kitchen, not noticing that the woman he was talking to is already looking at him with an amused smile. "For the two days you have met her, you have already seen how temperamental she is?" Sally asked him, mirth lacing in every word that she uttered. His eyes finally turned to her then, just staring at her for the longest time as he tried to work out all the things she just said. Did she not know that him and Aurora have known each other their whole lives? Or the history that they share together? He looked at the direction of the entrance to the kitchen with questioning eyes, wondering just how much her stepmother knows about him and her. But judging by the things she said just now, he's guessing it's not much. Or maybe she really doesn’t know anything at all. If it came to that, he wouldn’t be surprised if the woman actually has no clue about whatever ironic circumstances that occur between him and her pissed off blue-eyed stepdaughter. Finally, he turned to look at her. "Excuse me?" He asked, not knowing what to say or do about the situation he just landed himself in. "You've only just met her, right? By the short span of time you've spent together, you've already seen how temperamental she is." Sally said with a chuckle. He was finally able to understand the gist of the situation after hearing the response that Sally gave. It’s absolutely like Aurora to not tell her stepmother anything at all. He’s pretty sure Frank wouldn’t take it upon himself to tell Sally things about Aurora’s life since he does know how much his only daughter dislikes the woman he’s currently married to. With a jubilant smirk, he told her, "Actually, I've known Aurora since we were still children. Childhood friends and all that." The surprise Sally felt was clearly tangible on her face, but it quickly subsided. It didn't really astonish her that much that for the whole six years she's known her stepdaughter, she doesn't really know something significant about her. She understands of course, since Aurora isn't all that willing to be spending time with her anyway. But why Frank didn't inform her of this little detail, she's not sure why but there has to be some reason. As much as she wants to know why, she still respects Frank's choice—maybe it has something to do with Aurora not wanting her to know anything about her. She quickly masked her surprise by a look of indifference. "Really? Well that's some news. I thought the both of you only met each other two days ago." She told him. "Oh right, I have been meaning to ask." He raised an eyebrow at her, silently questioning her what it is. "Why did she punch you?" Alexander choked on his saliva then and felt like the world was slowly crashing down on him. He thought that maybe Sally would never ask that question since she never really did ask him about that, but here he is, proven wrong by his ignorant theory—of course people would be curious of the reason why someone would just punch another person out of the blue, especially since it was done with so much unmasked rage and the intent to really hurt the person receiving the punch. Why did he ever think that Sally would be any different? Swallowing the lump in his throat, he tried to regain the composure he had from earlier. It took him a while to do just that, but with how taken aback he was, it was to be expected. "There just have been some…misunderstandings between Aurora and I before I left for Columbia." He mused, eyebrows now furrowed together in deep thought. Aurora, who was waiting for her enemy s***h sort of friend and her annoying stepmother, looked at the entrance of the kitchen impatiently, wondering what the hell is taking them so long to walk in through those doors. The distance isn't even that far, yet there they are, standing idly by or whatever the hell the both of them are doing. She fixed her gaze on the shiny silver table perched in the middle of the kitchen, shining against the light that managed to stream in through the open windows and the clean and unused utensils glimmering brightly along with it; she kept her gaze there for as long as she could, trying to calm herself down by the sight of such satisfying finesse. However, when her patience reached its peak, a growl escaped her lips as she strode out the kitchen, a scowl plastered on her pink, plump lips. "You know," She started when she stood once again in front of the duo, their eyes shimmering with surprise upon finding out that she graced them with her presence once more. "there's actually someone waiting for the both of you inside the kitchen. We're baking today, yes? Well I suggest let's get on with it. We don't have all day, surely." The first thing that popped into Alexander's mind was whether she had heard his and Sally's conversation and whether it was a great idea to have told Sally about his connection to Aurora. Surely, she must have had some reason for her to keep from her stepmother the history that had gone between them. Whatever that reason was, he’s confident that it’s connected to Aurora’s ridiculous pride. But, he relaxed instantly when he saw that her eyes were missing that certain glint in them that only appears when she's angry at him—it would have been hell (again). Maybe it was the look on her face or the unfathomable glint she saw in her eyes, but Sally was quick to apologize. The genuine apologetic look on her face had been somehow too much for Aurora to take because the next thing she knew, she's sighing on her place and telling the woman that it's fine (albeit rather begrudgingly) while she patted her back in an awkward manner, the guilt instilled deep in her gut starting to resurface. Six long years would have been sufficient in getting her stepmother on her good side, but she always finds it a little disconcerting to do so. But she has to give it to the woman though—she has a hell lot of patience stored up inside her. If it were her in her place, she would have given up a long time ago and just let her be. Why the woman didn't give up on her yet, she has no idea. However, now that she has finally been given the chance to really get to know her stepmother and be able to live with her in one roof, she found out that Sally wasn't as horrible as she made it out to be—not that she's going to say that out loud though. She's only starting to warm up to her after all. Besides, she wouldn’t have known all that if she didn’t accept her father’s offer. She would have still remained highly hostile towards her stepmother because she’s pretty sure that she wouldn’t give the woman a chance for them to get to know each other if the situation doesn’t call for it. Why would she even want to willingly spend her time with her stepmother anyway? The amusement dancing in the cool silver eyes fixated on the exchange between stepmother and stepdaughter didn't waver. He knows that what Aurora did took a lot in her to do, seeing as she was never really one to get all affectionate and comforting to the people she's not particularly fond of, so he let her have her fun—well, as fun as it can be. But he also knows that it's something he doesn't really like imposing on since this is probably a one time thing. It would have been a problem if he decided to butt in on that exchange since he does have a nasty habit of pissing her off--no matter what it is that he says or does. Yet as great as is the sight in front of him to see, he knows that they also have to get moving and start with their baking lessons. With the rate their going, him and Aurora would have a hard time if they don’t learn things more diligently. So with a clear of his throat, he said, "Sorry Aur. Baking lessons?" That seemed to have snapped Aurora out of whatever trance she was on. She quickly pulled her hand away from Sally's back and took a step back to get some distance between the both of them while smoothing out whatever wrinkle her shirt had to get out of the awkward situation she was in. She put her blank face back on as she stared at both her former lover and her stepmother. "I've readied everything in there. All we have to do now is perform the current task at hand and we'll be done and over it." Then she walked back to the kitchen, never looking back at them. Remembering how she was always like this ever since they were little, he shook his head in mirth before commenting, "Ever the perfectionist." Sally, on the other hand, just observed Aurora and Alexander, her thoughts instantly turning to the direction of the matchmaker she's been when she was young, thinking how nice it would be if the both of them would get together. So with a sly smirk on her lips, she made up her mind about discreetly working her magic in playing cupid between the two friends whilst unbeknownst to her that the two people she's trying to get together, were already together in the past. — • — • — "Stop it!" Aurora screeched, her eyes wide and hands on the dough in front of her, Alexander's stormy gray eyes now trained on her with a look that bordered confusion. "What do you mean stop? It's supposed to go in here, right?" He queried, hands gripping the whisk as it hovered over the bowl of mixture containing a full cup of cream, a hefty dose of milk and three drops of vanilla extract. "No, you idiot." She rolled her bright blue orbs when she saw the look she was getting from him. "Well yes, technically it does, but you still lack one ingredient." As Sally continued decorating the cake they had finally been able to complete (after doing a whole lot of do overs, of course), she couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her lips. If she was doubtful about whatever progress they were going to make in baking a cake successfully, the result was times two fold. She now knew that not much work would be done if the both of them work together, but she still holds the small hope that maybe things would work out just fine. It’s wishful thinking, of course, but that small voice calling out to her made her want to crush that hope altogether. She really had no problem with the both of them looking over her bakery since she's sure she could trust them with it, but seeing them now, not really knowing what they're doing, made her somehow rethink her idea—she pushed it out of her mind in an instant though. God help her that she's making the right decision. It has been exactly three hours since their lesson started, and it's almost time for lunch, the one thing that Alexander is looking forward to the most. They're just finishing up the last batch of cupcakes they're making, but it's a slow process albeit it's still a process. The past batches were a success (thankfully) considering how neither of the two childhood friends were gifted with a cook's hand, and the pride they felt was something extremely unforgettable, what with Alexander smirking triumphantly and Aurora cheering at the top of her lungs. It's a sight to see, of course, but the latter was not too eager to share her thoughts, unlike the former, who teased her for it until he ended up provoking her—again. But still, the irony of the situation didn't leave Aurora. The fact that Alexander was the one being all smug and loud instead of her said a lot. They both knew that, but the only thing the former can do is to try and make the latter see that it's fun to do it along with him--how it’s still fun when they do things together. Alexander's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "No, I think I got everything right. I am the one reading the recipe after all." "But you read it wrong!" Aurora exclaimed. Irritation flashed in his stormy gray eyes. "Are you suddenly a baking expert now? Last time I checked, you don't even know how to cook, much less bake." The glare he sent her never wavered even when she threw him a glare back. "How miraculous it would be if you could suddenly cook and bake." Sensing that a fight would no doubt ensue, Sally quickly moved away from her decorated cake and made her way in between the arguing friends. She glanced side to side, releasing a sigh when she saw that neither of the two dropped their glares. She doesn't really know what happened between them before, but she at least gets that it wasn't pretty; childhood friends fighting the way they are definitely spells disaster. "Let's take a break, why don't we? I'll finish up the rest of the cakes later. In the meantime, let's go and have lunch." Both parties stayed quiet in their places, Alexander being the first one to relent when he remembered his plan from before. As he released a sigh, he said, "Fine. Aurora?" The scoff that went out of her lips was immediate. "No thanks. As if I would ever have lunch with the both of you." She said, crossing her arms right after. Despite the fact that she's already terribly hungry, it was currently clouded by her anger and frustration that she didn't even notice her hunger. Lunch would definitely be like heaven and she wouldn't even mind doing it with her stepmother—she has been having meals with her for the past six years anyway and three times a day for the past two days—but when it's with Alexander, it's a completely different story; she could even barely contain her anger when he suddenly joined her for breakfast unannounced. What more now that they’re eating a meal together intentionally? She honestly hoped that a shared meal with him would end during the time they had that celebratory dinner, but it looks like it’s not just going to be possible--unless she tries her best to make it ridiculously impossible to attain again. So yes, her refusal has nothing to do with her stepmother (miraculously) but has everything to do with her ex-lover s***h sort of friend s***h definite enemy. Alexander was having none of it though. He’s aware of the mood that Aurora is currently in, but right now, he doesn’t really care much about all her bitching; he could care about that and tease her about it some other time. His top priority as of the moment is make sure that they all get to have lunch. He rolled his gray orbs and said, "It's just lunch." "Who cares? I'm still not going to lunch with the both of you." The defiance in her eyes was tangible. "I'd rather starve than go with you." "You're being unreasonable." Sally said, a tinge of frustration lacing in her tone of voice. Aurora didn't know what got into her but when she heard the tone of voice her stepmother was using, she felt oddly…disappointed with herself. Was she bewitched by the woman? Just how fast did she soften up to her wretched stepmother? Surely, this was just a fluke of some sort. There's no way she would feel this connected to the woman standing in front of her just by being with her for two days. It just seemed like such an impossible thing to ever occur. And so, as she shook herself out of that ridiculous thought, she glared at her and said, "No." Sally released a breath, trying her best to calm herself down. "Aurora, please." "You can't tell me what to do." She hardened her glare. Alexander knew he needed to think of a solution quickly; he knew the woman more than her stepmother anyway so it was only reasonable for him to be the one to come up with something. He knows full well that the tactic that works best on her is challenging and goading her, so how would he utilize that fact to his advantage? Surely he would be able to come up with something, right? He racked his brain for anything. With that thought alone, he was finally able to come up with something. So with a subtle smirk plastered on his lips, he said, "Are you afraid of being with us? Are you afraid that you might realize how horrible you are when you're with us?" His smirk widened when he saw her eyes flare up. "I thought you claimed to be strong and courageous? Those were probably just words. Emotions weren't your strongest asset in the first place anyway; it's bound to go out of control." In that second, something snapped inside of Aurora when she heard those words. She knows that this was just Alexander's ploy to get her to agree to the planned lunch, but she just couldn't help herself. There’s just something about the way Alexander does things that makes her end up doing something totally impulsive. "You think I'm afraid of being with the both of you?" The fire in her eyes grew when she saw the smirk gracing his face. "Fine. I'll go to the stupid lunch and prove you wrong." Sally could only stare in amazement while the smugness Alexander felt was insanely palpable. "Great. Now let's go." After a few minutes of growling and shouting, they were finally able to get out of the kitchen and have their much needed lunch. On their way there, Alexander slowed his pace to walk beside the scowling Aurora. She looked at him. "What?" She spat. He knows he has to apologize for his words earlier. It's just that he doesn't exactly know how. Being that direct just isn’t what he’s best at and he’s pretty sure it would remain like that for a very long period of time. Doing something out of his comfort zone is fine with him once in a while, but there’s just certain things that he could never be so bold to do--e.g. apologizing in such a direct manner. So with the only way he knows how, he said, "All the things I said before...I didn't really mean it. It was rude and crass." He walked away after that and didn't look back at her, obviously not knowing what to feel or do about what just happened. That was fine, wasn’t it? He was able to say his own version of an apology, so why does he feel like there’s still something lacking with what he did? Aurora, however, had the most astonished expression plastered on her face, knowing full well that that was as close as an apology she was going to get from him. He was never really good at apologies to begin with and witnessing what happened a moment ago just proved to her that that certain aspect of him still hasn’t changed one bit. It’s ridiculous, but she felt kind of glad that at least there’s still something about him that she finds both adorable and frustrating. When she finally recovered from her shock, she jogged towards him, a smirk plastered on her lips as she said, "You're still horrible with apologies." And then she walked ahead, not looking back at him, and missed the low chuckle that escaped his lips along with his quiet words, "You could always teach me how to be good with apologies once more.”  He remained his stare on her back, smiling ever so gently when the wind whooshed around her, her hair flowing in the same direction as the warm breeze. He saw her look back at him slightly, a small smirk tugging at the side of her lips, before she looked back at the front and didn’t spare him another glance. Chuckling, he mused to himself, “Maybe this time around, my apologies will be good enough to win you back.” He released a breath, feeling more determined than ever to reach his end goal. “But, even without that, I’ll still make sure I would be able to do that. Just you wait, Aurora Crover. I’m going to make you mine again.”