Kapitel 7: Six Years Later

In the garden, two young children were playing chess with each other. A boy, and a girl, sitting on the bench, were staring intensely at the chess board in front of them.

The boy had silky black hair that framed an oval shaped face. From the side, one could see the sharp jawline that accentuated his features even more, as striking blue eyes looked through long lashes onto pieces on the chess board.

He pursed his lips, before breaking into a small smile, which revealed a dimple on his left cheek. He made a move and said smugly, "Checkmate."

His chess partner puffed up her cheeks, making her delicate features even more cute than it was. Her soft, wavy black hair reached just below her shoulders, and it framed her heart shaped face perfectly. Her pink lips were put out in a pout, while her blue eyes looked at him in indignation.

"That's not fair!" she huffed, crossing her arms.

"What's not fair?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her.

"You distracted me and made that move," she complained, pointing an accusing finger at him.

Kyle laughed and leaned over the chess board, "Is it my fault that you're so easily distracted?"

Kay leaned over as well, touching her forehead to his and replied, "It's not that I'm easily distracted but it's that you're just too bad!!"

Kyle laughed, the sound reverting all around. Those who heard the laugh couldn't help but smile in response. His laughter was contagious, full of life and joy that one simply felt happy upon hearing it. If one was to look at the laughing boy, they would also be taking a sharp breath inwards as it transformed his already striking features even more blindingly handsome.

His features were delicate yet masculine, and though one could describe him as beautiful, no one would mistake that as being feminine. His eyes had a sharp look, although right now it was twinkling as he laughed and looked at the girl across him adoringly.

There was also this rather kingly and noble aura that he emitted, which was somehow fitting on him. In most cases, adults were often caught speechless at seeing that type of aura from a mere six year old, and they took note of this extraordinary boy. Not all were with kind thoughts, however, for some viewed him as a potential threat in the future.

The smile that radiated from Kyle's face after his laugh was only bestowed upon Kay. It wasn't that he didn't smile at other people, but somehow, the smile that is given to Kay appeared special. Even his parents noticed it, though they couldn't quite pinpoint what was the difference between the smile he gives Kay, and the one he gives others.

Even the smile to them, his own parents. It wasn't the same. Kay knew the answer of course, but she wouldn't have told them if they had asked. The answer was quite simple. His smile to others were fake as he smiled for the sake of smiling. He smiled when he was content. He smiled to ease the atmosphere. He .. simply smiled.

It was still a lovely smile, truth be told, but it wasn't the same. When he smiled to others, he looked handsome. When he smiled to Kay, however, it was breathtaking. For when he smiled to Kay, it reflected in his eyes and his face softened. For her, his smile was unguarded and free, showing his bottomless love and complete trust.

Kay looked at her brother adoringly, a ghost of a smile on her face. Every time he smiled at her like that, she would melt and find herself doing anything he asked. It wasn't fair! He knew he had that effect on her!

Just because he was her twin, who knew every single thing about her and understood her like no one ever could, did NOT mean he could manipulate her like that! Even though he was the only one that would never let her down, whether consciously or not, did NOT mean he had the upper hand!

Kyle's smile widened even further as Kay pouted cutely as those thoughts ran through her head. He could guess quite accurately what made her pout like that. Despite the fact that they could communicate telepathically, it did not mean they could read each other's mind. Even if they could, they wouldn't. That was the level of trust that they had for each other.

Upon seeing that blinding smile, Kay shouted, while pointing her finger at him again, "You're doing it again!!"

Kay then squished his cheeks hard, making his lips pucker up and then proceeded to pinch them hard. Seeing the slight twitch that Kyle gave made her let go quickly, regretting giving him the slight pain. Not that it was really painful, but she still regretted it. She then kissed both his cheeks then looked at him with a small pout, asking for forgiveness.

Kyle laughed again, patted her head and they both sat down before resetting the chess board again.

Patrick and Delilah watched this scene from afar, a smile on their lips. The twins had been inseparable since birth, and shared everything together. Truth be told, even though Delilah was happy that they were so close, she was also a bit worried.

Kyle tended to be quite over-protective over his sister. He would glare at any boy that was overly friendly with Kay, respond curtly to any adult who kept gushing and pinching Kay's cheeks and would even growl at strangers that would stop and pat her head. Kay would happily follow her brother around, and seemed to welcome hiding behind his shield. Which, in turn, made him even more protective.

Kay wasn't any better either. Although she didn't act as aggressively like Kyle did, the fact that she would never leave his side made it slightly difficult for others to approach him. He would be indulging her, and making sure she was well taken care off, and would not truly be listening to other people as they talked to him. Though he wasn't rude, and his replies were proper, it was quite apparent that he wasn't giving them his attention 100%.

Kay, did, however, have one thing that she did not like and that was when girls would surround Kyle trying to get his attention. They would even try to be friendly with her, just to get closer to Kyle. During those times, Kay would seem to stick like glue to Kyle. She would act all clingy and drag Kyle away when any girl tried to talk to him and would be pouting silently by his side if he paid any attention to anyone else but her.

Kyle indulged her and would give her that heart-melting smile for everything that she did. He would only give a short response to whoever was talking to him, then take her hand and walk away. Kay would then be so happy that she practically skipped away. Sometimes, she would turn around and give a smug look at whoever was watching them.

It was like a vicious cycle. Each twin feeding each other's actions.

Delilah bit her lips in worry. They lived in their own worlds, and for each other. How good can that be?

What Delilah didn't know was that it wasn't that the twins were possessive, but they were actually protective of each other.

Kay didn't like strangers who would often come and gush over her as it made her feel uncomfortable. Adults tended to think it was fine to rub her head and pinch her cheeks. Worse, some even were so bold enough as to try and pick her up!

Kay was too gentle to reject them, so the duty fell onto Kyle. Luckily Kyle was always there to protect her and no one ever dared to touch her freely. Kyle knew who Kay was comfortable with, and thus, he didn't stop them.

However, people were under the impression that one needed Kyle's permission when one wanted to be close to Kay. They never knew that it was Kay's own desire and needs, and only Kyle understood it without any words needed to be said.

As for Kyle, he couldn't stand the girls who, in his words, 'were like endless chirping birds pecking at him' and always trying to cling on to him for one reason or another. Although he could be curt and to the point with adults, Kyle found that he could not be so with such young girls.

After all, although he looked like a kid, his mind and heart wasn't one. Kyle knew that the girls didn't mean anything bad by it, but it still made him uncomfortable. Thus, the duty fell onto Kay to shield him from vultures.

Kyle was truly grateful for this, and would often show his appreciation by patting her head or kissing her forehead. Kay loved such actions from Kyle, and she would smile contentedly whenever he did so.

If people didn't know that they were twins, they actually looked like a loving couple. This was what worried Delilah even more. She couldn't help such thoughts and was intensely worried that such care and devotion could lead to ... something else.