Two days went by like a flash. They came here to the beach to enjoy their weekend, but Poll feels like he wasn't able to do a lot of things because he kept getting distracted by a certain someone yesterday. First, it was because of his beach outfit in the afternoon, and then, it was the way he behaved at night that led to them having a confrontation. On the upside, that incident helped them finally settle their differences. They might not have talked about it out loud but they decided to make peace with each other at long last.

When Poll woke up this morning, Eujae was no longer in their room, which he kind of expected, knowing the guy was an early riser unlike him. Before breakfast, he made sure to catch the man so he could warn him not to tell their friends that he cried last night.

He tried to intimidate him into agreeing to keep silent about it, but it only earned him a teasing remark.

"Oh? I thought you didn't cry?" Eujae asked with an infuriating smirk.

Despite his annoying behavior, the man never mentioned a word about what happened last night to anyone, much to Poll's relief.

With his concerns out of the equation, the male twin was finally able to appreciate the sea and have fun swimming. There was nothing major to lead his mind astray either because Eujae didn't take a dip for the day. Instead of walking around half-clothed in the area, he stayed under the umbrella tent the whole morning, wearing his light blue polo and white three-fourth pants.

Engrossed with the book he was reading, Eujae paid no heed to the people giving him second looks as they walked by his spot.

He didn't notice, but Poll did. It didn't escape the male twin how some beachgoers, mostly women, would give Eujae an appreciative gaze and how they would walk away giggling with each other after that.

Poll couldn't blame them as even he couldn't help throwing furtive glances at where the man was situated.

He was distracting. Even when he was already out of his swimming outfit from yesterday, Poll still found him distracting.

With the way he dressed and his casual reading position under the umbrella, Eujae looked like a model for a beach photo shoot. A picturesque view. That was what he was.

At one point, while Poll was staring at him, Eujae looked up from his book. The man sent him a soft smile just as their eyes met.

Because he didn't know how to respond, Poll averted his eyes and shammed oblivious to the expression that Eujae showed him. His face was warm but he chose to chalk it up to the heat of the sun.

The morning happened in a blink of an eye, and the time after that felt even shorter. Now, at four o'clock in the afternoon, they are starting to get in the van, ready to go home.

The first thing that catches Poll's attention once he sits beside Eujae in the third row of the car is the look that the other man is giving him. Disbelief is painted on his face, as though he's seeing something incredible.

"What?" Poll asks, making a moue of irritation.

With a straight face, Eujae asks back, "Is there a particular reason you're sitting here?" The question comes off wrong, and Eujae must have also realized it a second later, judging by the hint of guilt that fleets across his eyes. "I'm sorry. I mean–"

"And is there a rule that says I can't?" Poll cuts him off, having had enough of hearing Eujae's apologies. Seeing the other man lighten up, the male twin quickly adds, "And it's not because I want to sit beside you!"

"I didn't say anything about you wanting to sit beside me, Apollo," Eujae points out in a relaxed voice, "You don't need to be defensive. I am just wondering why you suddenly decided to change seats."

Poll turns to his other side when he feels Nick settle next to him. He gives his friend a quick acknowledgment before he looks down at the tote bag that's resting on his lap. With a pout, he delves into the bag and then pulls out a box of chocolate wafer bars. "Tem kept telling me off every time I ate my snacks in the car, so I wanna sit here this time. This way, she won't be able to see me anymore. She's just so uptight."

At the same instant he says the words, his twin sister climbs into the car. "I heard that Poll," Tem states as she takes her seat in front of Eujae. "It's not like I have a problem with you eating in the car, but the thing is, you were so messy when you ate. You were spilling crumbs all over Lia."

Poll waits for their other two female friends to enter the van and for Lia to close the door before he asks the young woman innocently, "I wasn't, right, L.A.?

With an understanding smile, Lia turns to him. "I didn't really notice it, and I don't mind."

"See? L.A. didn't have any problems with it. It was just you exaggerating, Tem," Poll gloats, looking at his sister.

"That's only because she's too nice to call you out," Tem retorts. Sighing, she shakes her head, and then shifts the conversation to their friend. "Seriously, Lia, there's no need to coddle this kid. It's exactly because people keep spoiling him that he got so accustomed to behaving like a baby."

"I'm five minutes older than you."

The female twin turns her head at Poll and lifts a brow, seeming unfazed by her brother's assertion. "Yeah, but with the way you're behaving, it's like you're five years younger than me. Anyway, if you think I was uptight for simply telling you off for eating messily, then good luck not getting chided by the person next to you right now." Tem then swivels her upper body to give Eujae a quick look before she returns her eyes to her brother. "I guess you have no idea how much of a neat freak that guy is."

Poll scowls. Understanding who his sister was referring to, he looks at the said guy. He sees him leaning his elbow on the car's window frame and resting his face on his hand. His eyes are hidden by his palm, but based on the awkward smile on his lips, it's pretty clear that Eujae heard what the female twin said and knows he's the one who was being talked about.

Of course, Poll has an idea that this person wants things to be in order. He'd been in his house and seen how organized his place was, after all. However, he's not sure if he'll go as far as calling Eujae a neat freak.

The male twin holds the box of wafers close to his chest, hugging it protectively as if someone is going to snatch it away from him. With determination in his voice, he tells Eujae, "I'll still eat my snacks even if you tell me not to."

Removing his hand from his face, Eujae reveals the resigned look in his eyes, along with a tolerant smile, as he assures him, "Of course. I'm not going to stop you. Don't worry."

Their conversation is interrupted when they feel the vehicle's engine start. They all look at the driver in silence, waiting for their car to move. Once it's in motion, Lia opens another topic. "By the way, it's the first time I'm hearing that Poll is older than Tem."

"That's right," Poll confirms without bothering to look at anyone since he is more interested in the task of ripping the packaging of his snacks apart. He takes out a piece of individually wrapped chocolate wafer and tears its plastic wrapper before he continues talking, "I came out before her, but she's always acting like she's older."

As Poll sticks the bar of confectionery in his mouth, he hears his sister scoff. "As if a couple of minutes actually matter. And it's not me who's acting like I'm the older twin here, Poll. It's you who's always acting like a child."

Displeased by Tem's argument, Poll deepens his frown. He wants to bite back, but his annoyance gets neutralized when the taste of chocolate hits his mouth. In the end, he ignores his sister and just focuses on savoring his sweet treat.

Just when Poll thinks they are done with the subject, Nick throws in a question. "But do you guys know that there are some people who believe the second one who came out is the older of the twins?"

It seems to get Lia's interest as she asks, "Eh, why is that?"

"I don't know either. I just heard or read it somewhere," Nick answers with a shrug.

With the same frown he gave his sister earlier, Poll turns to his male friend. After swallowing his food, he remarks, "That's total bs. You're just making that up, Nick. What's even the logic for that?"

"I wasn't the one who said it, Poll. I told you I just heard it from somewhere, and even I don't know why those people believe it that way."

Before Poll can call bullshit on his friend's trivia again, he hears the person on his other side speak, "That's because the one who came out last is located deeper in the mother's womb."

Poll directs his unamused face toward Eujae. "What?" he asks and then takes another bite of his chocolate wafer.

Eujae stares at the male twin for a moment before leaning away from the window. Patiently, he starts to explain, "The logic as to why the older twin is the second one who came out is because that one was positioned higher or deeper from their mother's womb, so people believe that he or she had been there longer than the other."

This is the first time he's learned about it, and wherever this idea originated from, Poll sure is not impressed with it. The order of their birth is one of the major advantages he has over Tem so there is no way he is going to give it up.

Staring at the newly opened box of wafer bars, Poll starts to sulk. To make himself feel better, he keeps munching on the piece of snack in his hand. "I still don't understand it. And that's not a fact, right? So I refuse to accept it. I'm older than Tem because I came out first, and that is what's commonly accepted."

"I don't see why it's a big deal who's older between you two, Poll," Risa chimes in, "Maybe you're older. Or maybe Tem is. Either way, it's not going to change the fact that you're twins who were born on the same day."

From the front passenger seat, Cloud also joins in the conversation. "Since we're on the topic of birth, your birthday is coming in more than a week, guys. Any plans?"

"Just a simple celebration like usual," Tem answers her boyfriend, and then addresses the whole group, "You guys should come."

"We always did, so you might want to tell that to Eujae. He's the one who was absent on your birthdays these past two years."

At Risa's comment, Poll's interest gets piqued. That's right. Eujae always found an excuse not to go to Tem's birthday, but the male twin—and probably everyone in their group—knows that it was because of Poll that he never attended. It's understandable, considering how bad their relationship was during those years.

Now that they are starting to patch things up between them, Poll wonders if Eujae will still try to avoid going to his and Tem's birthday.

He'll never say it out loud, at least not around their friends, but he wants him to be there this time. It's not only because it's his birthday and he wants to celebrate it with him, but also because he wants Eujae to see that he's sincere about making up with him too.

He remembers that when Eujae gave him the muffins, he said to treat them as a peace offering. In exchange, Poll is planning to give something to the man as well, although he has yet to decide what to pick for him. A book is a good idea, but Poll doesn't know what kind of story Eujae prefers to read.

In any case, he's been thinking of handing it to Eujae when he comes to their house on their birthday, but the possibility that the person may not even make an appearance again completely slipped Poll's mind.

"Nothing against you, Tem," Eujae then says, his voice taking the male twin away from his daydreaming, "But you know there's a good reason why I was never there, right?"

When he looks up, Poll realizes that Tem is already staring at him. With a sigh, his sister returns her eyes front and then asks Eujae, "And how about this time? Are you not going to be there too?"

Instantly, Poll turns to Eujae to send him a look of anticipation, hoping the guy will get his message. He senses their friends' silence as if they, too, are all looking forward to the answer.

Whether Eujae understands what the male twin is trying to get across or not, he doesn't let it show as he stares back at Poll. Smirking, he offers an ambiguous reply, "Who knows?"

His unclear answer draws a disappointed pout from Poll. Just as the male twin is about to look away and continue eating his sweet snack, he feels a hand on his chin that gently turns his head to face Eujae again.

Poll opens his mouth to ask what the guy is doing, but before he can get a word out, he gets cut off by Eujae's helpless sigh.

"Tem was right. You're too messy when you eat, Apollo. Look, there are chocolate crumbs all over your bag. That's a way to attract a flock of ants, you know," Eujae points out. Despite his scolding words, there is no sharpness in his tone. If anything, his voice and his eyes are so soft that Poll can no longer be sure if he really is being reprimanded. "There are even some on your face. And you say you're not a child."

Using his thumb and forefinger, Eujae picks up something from the corner of Poll's bottom lip. The male twin can't see it, but he assumes it's the crumb that he was telling him.

Eujae pulls his hand away, and Poll follows the movement with his gaze, expecting the man to flick the tiny piece of chocolate off his finger. However, Eujae's next action strikes him dumb.

Poll's eyes go wide as he watches Eujae nip the tidbit of chocolate with his teeth.

"Wh-why did you eat it?" the male twin exclaims and grabs Eujae's wrist with the hand that's not holding the chocolate wafer to check his fingers.

They're clean. There is nothing there anymore.

Poll looks at Eujae incredulously, flushing as he is reminded where the guy got the crumb of chocolate from. For crying out loud, it was from his lip, something that might have actually dropped from his mouth. What was Eujae thinking—if he was thinking at all—when he put it in his own mouth?

Unlike Poll who's already going crazy inside, Eujae still appears calm. "I was curious what it would taste like since you seemed so happy munching on it." With a grimace, he asks, "Why do you even like this stuff? It's too sweet."

"That's because I like sweets. And I don't need a reason for liking the things I like," Poll argues, his original concern immediately forgotten. He doesn't even notice that their hands are still connected as they stare straight into each other's eyes.

Eujae is wearing his contact lenses again. They're amber, matching the shade of his hair. Realizing that he can't see their actual colors, Poll feels a little bit disappointed. He likes this one too, but for him, nothing beats the beauty of the real thing.

An unreadable expression crosses Eujae's face as he mutters, "So you can actually say something wise."

As much as Poll wants to rebut, he isn't given a chance when Risa suddenly snorts, "Ants will flock alright, but I'm pretty sure it's not because of the chocolate crumbs."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

lia_annika sent you a photo

Lia Annika Castillo @lia_annika
Thank me later :)

Tired, Eujae absentmindedly opens his cousin's message to check the image as he drops on his couch. He doesn't give much thought to what he is going to see since the only thing on his mind at the moment is the fact that he wants to rest.

His exhaustion, however, instantly vanishes as soon as he sees the picture that Lia sent him. Grinning, Eujae sits up on the couch and clicks on the image to save it on his device. It's a photo of him and Poll sleeping in the car. Not only were they very close next to each other in the photo, but Poll also had his head resting comfortably on Eujae's shoulder.

Everyone was so worn out from their trip earlier that they were all out like a light in the car for half the time they were traveling home. Eujae didn't even have any idea that something like this happened. He wonders when Lia had the chance to take this picture.

While he is considering typing a reply to his cousin, another notification on his social app arrives. He blinks, surprised when he learns that it's a message request from Poll. This is the first time that the male twin has sent him a private message.

Eujae goes to his inbox to accept the request. As the message appears in the chat box, he chuckles at what he reads.

call me poll @poll_aht
hey give me your contact details

Eujae Nigel @jn_gl
Oh, what's this? Are you trying to hit on me, Apollo? And we were just together less than an hour ago, did you miss me already?

call me poll @poll_aht
i'll hit you if you dont stop being annoying. just give me your email and number, i didnt wanna get if from l.a. without your knowledge

Eujae Nigel @jn_gl
Heh, so domineering. Say please?

call me poll @poll_aht
you know what? forget about it. you're annoying, i dont wanna talk to you anymore

Eujae shakes his head in amusement as he thinks it's really fun to tease this guy. Whether he's Ten-Ten or Poll, and whether he's talking to Gaele or Eujae, his reactions are always so entertaining.

Eujae Nigel @jn_gl
Alright, alright. I'll stop teasing you. Jeez, you're so easy to annoy. You really are a small angry bean, aren't you? Here you go. Give me yours too, okay?
Attachment: vCard_EujaeNigelCastillo

call me poll @poll_aht
Attachment: vCard_ApolloHeliosTorres

call me poll @poll_aht
and dont call me small angry bean. i'm not small

Eujae Nigel @jn_gl
Oh?

call me poll @poll_aht
that's not what i mean!

Eujae Nigel @jn_gl
I didn't even say a thing.

call me poll @poll_aht
anyway i just wanna tell you that you should go to tem's birthday. i'm sure she'll be happy if you go

Eujae Nigel @jn_gl
Oh, just Tem's birthday? How about yours?

call me poll @poll_aht
we have the same birthday

Eujae Nigel @jn_gl
Okay, I'll see if I'm not busy that day. But if a certain someone invites me on his birthday, not just his twin sister's, I'll make sure I'm hundred percent available to go then.

He doesn't receive a reply after that, but Eujae keeps his app open, hoping Poll will still get back to him. While he is waiting for the male twin's answer, Eujae checks his feed. After a couple of minutes of looking at random posts, boredom builds up within him. Nothing is interesting to see here.

Just as he is about to close his account, he receives another notification.

poll_aht tagged you and 5 other people in his post

Curious, Eujae checks the said post and nearly chokes on his laughter when he sees that it's an invitation card, something that looks like those he often sees on children's birthdays.

He manages to suppress his mirth as he begins looking at the comments.

Risa @simpforcale_
huh, wth is this? Are you going to have a kids' party Poll?

C L O U D @devera_ii
Why do I feel like this invitation is intended for a single person and we're all just a cover-up here?

It's Yo Boy Nicko @nickguzman
^ fr

La Lune @_ArtemisSelene
Why am I even tagged on this?

Eujae Nigel @jn_gl
Okay, you win. I'll go. Happy now?

call me poll @poll_aht
why would i be happy just coz you said you'll go?! dont be so sure of yourself, hmpf, i'm out of here!

But before the male twin goes offline, Eujae gets another notification from him.

poll_aht followed you

Eujae grins as he taps the follow back button. Since he is already on Poll's profile, he decides to scroll down a bit to look at his recent posts. What gets his attention the most is a photo of the male twin with two costumed people. One is a gray and round animal-like creature, while the other looks like a ghost with its peculiar white mask and black cloth that's covering its whole body.

In the photo, Poll was posing in between them, making peace signs with both his hands and tilting his head to the side. He was wearing a denim jumper with one of the straps unbuckled over an oversized white shirt. Along with a carefree smile, his outfit accented his youthfulness.

He is indeed kid at heart.

At first, Eujae thinks the other two people in the photo were just random promotional mascots. When he reads Poll's caption, it becomes clear to him that they were cosplays for some anime characters.

call me poll @poll_aht
i saw kaonashi and totoro in the mall! so cute. >.<

Going through the comment section, Eujae sees a lot of people saying how they also love those characters, and some asking where they could find those cosplayers to take photos with them too.

Once he reaches the last reply, Eujae taps on the little speech bubble icon and starts typing to leave his own comment.

Eujae Nigel @jn_gl
Definitely very cute.