"One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood."

-Lucius Annaeus Seneca

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There were some dark days which brightened as she revealed her bunny teeth. On other days, even the sun outside could do nothing to remove the dread in her heart.

Today, all Elena wanted was a friend, a sister... to just listen to her.

Speaking of her sister, the pale Kate Russo was tucked between two sacks of soil.

With a sigh, Elena scooted closer to the younger twin and hit her palm.

Kate looked up with an innocent frown and before Elena could slap her hand again, she licked her smudgy fingers.

"Kate..." Elena sighed again. "Eating mud won't solve your problems."

Kate shrugged, her mouth chewing another pinch of soil like it was Skittles candy.

The younger twin smacked her lips. "At least it tastes good."

Elena glanced at Kate with a disapproving look and yanked her arm away from the sacks.

"What happened, Kate?" she whispered.

"A lot," Kate's eyes seemed to say, while her chapped lips let out a sigh.

"It's Max... he saw the tattoo, El."

"And?"

"He wants to know why I hid it."

Elena placed a finger under her chin. "You didn't tell him and he's mad."

"Precisely." Kate nodded, her fingers reaching to pinch the soil from a potted plant.

Elena rose from her squatted position and held Kate's arm, pushing her out of her soily haven.

"Just tell him, okay? He... cares about you, Kate."

"I don't want to relive everything again."

"You're reliving it every day." Elena's gaze softened. "Whether it's a glance at your arm or..."

Kate's eyes lowered to the carpet beneath their feet and Elena shook her head.

She wished for a screen which could portray human emotions.

Why was it that the sound of the breaking of one's heart was limited only to one's ears?

Why couldn't others feel the pain one felt?

Why were they deceived by bunny-toothy grins and sparkling, dark eyes?

"You look like you're about to burst into tears, El."

Elena smiled softly.

The only exception were sisters--they could directly see within the soul, past fake laughs and forced grins.

Elena gulped, hoping it would be enough to stop the waterfall her eyes wanted to let out.

"Van... Co... Mrs. Moore... why does everything seem like a mess?"

She ran a hand through her knotted hair, which she hadn't bothered to straighten today.

"El." Kate wiped Elena's cheek and placed an arm around her shoulder.

"Why can't things be like they used to?" Elena sniffled. "He's back to being an icy jerk."

Kate sighed. "El, I don't blame him. Something has happened. We don't know what it is, Van doesn't either... I guess."

"Who will give us the answers?"

"That will be Van himself, El."

"You know, he's ignoring me since Co came home."

"El, I won't call that ignoring. Maybe, he's figuring things out. He won't ignore you, he won't."

"Wow! When did you get so positive?"

Kate shrugged and grabbed their alien-themed backpacks.

"Kel! Don't you have school?" their mom's voice echoed.

"It's a new day. Things will be fine, trust me."

"Hope so," Elena whispered, however, her gut feeling said otherwise.

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After the twins entered the school hall, the students gestured them to the smart board room.

Some of their faces were filled with awe, while others snickered.

The twins, unaware of their behavior, stood to watch the school news.

The smart board flickered to an image or so, Elena assumed.

But it was a video. Not just any video.

It was the video of Ivan singing "Let it go" on the top of his lungs.

Elena's widened eyes met Kate's as they took in the laughing forms of the students.

Ivan pushed his way against the snickering boys and girls.

Elena stared at him and shook her head vehemently, the shock had shushed her lips.

She gazed at Ivan's baby blue eyes which stared at her. The hurt in them cut her heart into pieces.

The disbelief in those light orbs of his made Elena's mouth dry.

"How could you!"

"We didn't do this, Van," Kate stated, her honey-like eyes seemed to be marinated with shock.

Ivan's eyes flicked back to Elena's and she shook her head like a battery-powered toy.

"We'd never do such a thing."

"Let it go... let it go... let it go," the students chorused and strolled out of the room, snickering.

"How do I believe you, Russos?"

"Van, please." Elena held his arm. "Trust us, we'd never do this."

At this point, she didn't care if she sounded desperate.

Her watery eyes showed her the blurred image of Ivan's face.

All that mattered was her friendship with Ivan: her friend, her crush, her...

Love?

Was she in love with him?

The way his face contorted in anger as he blinked at her, caused a stir in her heart.

All she wanted was to hug him tight. To make him believe that they were innocent.

"I never said anything all this while. The pranks, the teasings."

"But this," Ivan's voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm humiliated. You guys have shattered the image I had built since so long."

"Trust us, Van!" Kate balled her fists. "Why would we do this? To you out of all the people?"

Elena sighed. This wasn't the time to answer anger with anger.

"I never expected this from you, Russos."

"We're your friends."

"If you were, you wouldn't have hidden things from me." Ivan glowered at them.

"What do you mean?" Elena asked, her palms enclosing his arm tighter.

She wasn't sure whether he minded her touch or not, but he hadn't said anything.

That was a good thing, right?

But she felt she had jinxed it when he brushed her palms off the next second.

"If you guys knew me, why didn't you say so?" he demanded, the wrinkles deepening on his forehead.

"Don't you know us?" Kate questioned, her lips set in a thin line before they pursed up.

"Don't you have any idea who we are?" Elena asked, hoping he would say yes.

But the frown intact on his face and the shake of his head were the only answers he gave.

Elena watched his rigid walk, her hope crushing with his every step.

He didn't remember them.

He had forgotten them.

Forgotten.

How could one word feel like an iron brick hit on her face?

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School had almost ended--or dragged in Elena's summing of it, except for the rehearsals.

The hours had felt slower than any other day. Was it because Ivan's blue eyes had filled her mind instead of lectures?

She couldn't forget the way he had approached her. Though he hadn't said much, his eyes, those beautiful icicles that lit under the sun...

Get a grip, Elena.

Those eyes, which usually looked like Antarctica had been like an open book today.

The deception, the shock, the hurt, everything was so clear that she winced each time her eyes fell on his brooding form.

How could she practice being Sleeping Beauty?

It would be so much better if she could sleep and wake up from this nightmare.

She shut her eyes, half in the mind that things would be fine, but the reality was still miserable.

To distract herself, she glanced at Kate, who stood beside Max.

Max wasn't smiling. Heck, he hadn't smiled even once since morning.

Watching him with his jaw clenched and green eyes without their twinkle seemed scary to Elena.

Max entwined his fingers with Kate, earning an unsure look from the pale twin.

He didn't spare her a glance but handed her the script.

Elena sighed. Even though that sunflower was mad, he hadn't stopped comforting Kate.

After knowing Kate's stage fear, there wasn't a day where he hadn't held her sister's hand.

How could someone be so gentle, despite being mad?

Only Max could do that.

Only Maxwell Steele could do that.

His last name though Steele didn't define his personality.

He was gold, malleable in every way.

Elena stroked the bridge of her nose. She knew she had asked herself not to gaze in Ivan's direction, but she couldn't help it.

After all, Elena would definitely understand and sympathize with "Crusher Elena".

She found Kate shaking her arm and she glanced at her.

Kate glimpsed at Ivan. "He'll come around, El. He can't stay away from you."

"Do you think so?"

"I know so." Kate hugged her.

"Who would do this, Kate?"

"It could have been anyone... maybe." Kate scratched her eyebrow. "Our phones were placed on that stand. Anyone could have taken mine."

"Any doubts?" Elena asked as she took in Kate's thin, furrowed eyebrows.

"Ashley had my phone. She wanted to make a call."

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Hey, people! 💖 How are you all doing?

I'm back with a new update. I know I'm late, but I got stuck. I had the idea ready, but I was waiting to get more ideas.

How was this update? What do you think of the leaking of Ivan's video? Everyone seems to be making fun of him.

Do you think Ivan will forgive the twins? Will he realize they are innocent?

Did you like this update? Yes?/No?/It could have been better.

What do you think of the story so far? Please leave your feedback by commenting below. I'd love to know what you think. :)

Like this update? Please vote by clicking on the star sign below. Thank you so much for reading so far.

The Alien Memory👽 has crossed 7K reads and the new year has been so blessed for me already. A big hug to all those who have supported me, my book, and MIKE (Max, Ivan, Kate, and Elena) so far. It means a lot to me. 💗

Sneak-Peek of Episode 37:

Ivan and Elena are back to bickering with each other. Will this spoil the rehearsals for Sleeping Beauty?

Keep smiling! 💕
Lots of love❤💙
Sakina

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