Tainted Snow

“So what time should your plane arrive tomorrow?”

“Around noon, I think. Will you be able to pick me up or should I call a cab?”

“I don’t have classes tomorrow so I’ll come get you! Oh, I’m so excited! It’s been almost half a year since we’ve seen each other. I’m looking forward to spending some alone time with you again, Demetrius.”

“Like we used to, right? I’m looking forward to it, too.”

“I hope you haven’t been too lonely without me. Well, as long you aren’t sleeping around…”

“You know I’m not like that. You have nothing to worry about, my dear. Oh, jeez, looks like my cab is here already. I’ll call you right before the plane takes off, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow! Bye!”

“Bye,” Beatrice said, lowering the phone to its receiver, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Can’t wait…” she said, though the person she was speaking to couldn’t hear her anymore. Beatrice turned around, still smiling, and brushed a lock of long white hair behind her ear, her stomach doing excited somersaults. Her bubble of happiness burst quite suddenly with the sound of the doorbell ringing. Blinking in surprise, Beatrice headed over to the door of her small apartment and opened it to find her raven-haired, freckled-faced friend Arrabella beaming up at her.

“Hey there, stranger!” Bella said, waving her hand happily. “It seems like we haven’t been able to see each other a whole lot lately so I wanted to come visit! I tried to call you but your line has been busy all morning so I just came over! Thought it’d be a nice surprise.” Beatrice nodded, stepping aside to let Bella in, not saying a word. “So who were you talking to all morning?” Bella asked, stepping into the small apartment and casting a sly glance at her friend. “A boy, no doubt.”

“I’m glad to see you, too, Bella, and maybe it was a boy,” Beatrice said, closing the door and trying to ignore the feeling of dread rising in her stomach. She hoped that Bella would let the subject die but the other girl was perceptive and would always know how to get Beatrice to talk.

“Your boyfriend, I presume,” Bella said, smirking up at the older, albino girl. “I know you’ve got one; so don’t try to avoid the subject. He goes to another school out-of-state, right? Tell me more about him! Not every detail about him, of course, but tell me more!”

“Yes, you’re right, he goes to school out-of-state. We’ve been together a… long time. A very long time. Almost our entire lives, you might say,” Beatrice said, twirling a lock of hair anxiously around her finger, attempting to give her friend the details she wanted while remaining as vague as humanly possible.

“Oh, your childhood sweetheart?” Bella questioned, moving around the apartment, green eyes roaming over the pictures on the wall. Even though the two had been friends for almost a full year this was the first time Bella had seen the inside of Beatrice’s apartment. She’d only ever seen the outside of the building on days when she would drive Beatrice home after classes. It made sense that she would be curious but it made Beatrice uneasy nonetheless.

“You might say that…” Beatrice said, avoiding Bella’s eyes. “We’ve always been together, it seems. I could never imagine being with anyone else and if I lost him I think I’d go insane. He’s very dear to me… but Bella, I know you don’t understand why, but I’d just rather not talk about it, alright? I promise you someday soon I’ll tell you more but for now that’s all I can offer you.”

Bella sighed, and looked away. “Alright, fine, if you’re going to be stubborn about the whole thing I’ll let it go. For now.” They remained quiet for a long while before suddenly Bella emitted a high pitch squeal. She snatched a picture off of the wall and charged over to Beatrice. “You never told me you had a twin brother!” she yelled, thrusting the picture into Beatrice’s hand. Sure enough, the photo was one of Beatrice in her high school years with a boy whose hair was as white as hers but much shorter, same eyes, same everything.

“He’s adorable,” Bella said, eyeing the picture curiously. “Is he seeing anyone?” she questioned.

Beatrice felt a sharp sting in her chest and forced her lips into a smile. “Yes,” she said coolly. “Yes, he is. Why?”

Bella pouted, disappointed. “Oh, I see,” she said. “I was wondering if maybe… no, never mind. Anyway, what’s his name?”

Beatrice stared down at the picture, blankly, before her lips curled back into a fond smile. “Yes, that’s my twin brother… and his name is Demetrius.”

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Written for school. 8D Our objective was to write a conflict story, and the conflict here is about Arrabella finding out about Beatrice's secret. So... uh. Yeah. I went there. 3
Beatrice, Demetrius, and Arrabella all actually exist in the same universe as Dante and Whimsik but I haven't had the opportunity to write them all in the same story together. Arrabella is also supposed to be a lot younger, I altered her age to work in this piece simply because I couldn't think of someone else to put in that particular role. Her personality is also a lot different. So when she shows up again in my writing, don't expect her to be like this. Unfortunately, here she only worked as a plot device. T.T Poor Bella.

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