Forgotten Colors

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇʟᴠᴇ

"Where were you?" Felip asks as soon as Theo gets in the car.

He had to bring Ayane home first because Theo wasn't responding to any of his messages. He couldn't get into the school because Theo had once asked his siblings to never show up in his school. He hated too much attention to himself.

"I had somewhere to be." He replied nonchalantly.

"Where exactly is it that you can't even reply to my messages?" Felip grumbles and furrows his brows at the younger.

Theo looked at him with a tired expression. He knows his brother will refuse to drive unless he tells him where he went.
He lets out a huff and rubs his temple.

"Fine. I was outside the school."

"Outside where."

"Do you really have to know!?" Theo snapped and Felip simply gave him a 'yes-tell-me-or-we're-not-leaving' look.

"Just because our parents are busy, it doesn't mean they're not asking about us. Am I supposed to deliberately tell them you cut classes because you're bored of your life?" His brother scolded and the younger could only look at him with disbelief.

He knows Felip is just concerned. But it irritates him that he has to tell him everything that he's too conscious to share.

Theo looked away and squinted his eyes.

"I took Cleo home." He said almost inaudibly. Felip heard him enough and he knew exactly who Cleo was.

"Didn't you hate her?!" He asked almost immediately with a rather baffled expression.

"It's complicated." Theo sighed and leaned his head on the headboard. "It's all a misunderstanding. And she's been getting caught into fights because of me."

Felip watched his brother's expression. He looks exhausted and deeply bothered by his own statement.

"How so?" He asks and starts the engine of the car.

"The girls at school think she's my girlfriend. They won't stop bullying her and I had no idea she kept getting hurt had I not found her earlier." Theo began to explain.

He can only open to Felip when it comes to his deep thoughts. He doesn't usually open up to Seth nor Harry despite them being friends. He feels like there are still things he can't easily talk about with anyone if it involves his past unless it's someone who has seen what it was like for him. And those are only Ayane or Felip.

"Why would they think that?" His brother asked.

"I think someone overheard us when we were talking during her first day. Then Erin suddenly assumes she's my girlfriend or something."

"Erin?! Your stalker! I told you to just file a restraining order against her!" Felip exclaimed.

"And I'm about to." Theo replies almost immediately.

"You should. As much as you hate, Cleo. No girl deserves to get hurt because of a misunderstanding." Felip's statement felt like a stake and Theo couldn't help but throw him a glare.

It sounded like his brother was adding salt to his wound. But he's not wrong either.

"What changed though? You used to swear to your life that you hate her. What happened that you even ended up taking her home." Felip continued to ask.

"It wasn't her fault." Theo hums and Felip immediately looks at him only to see his crestfallen expression.

"I don't understand. What do you mean?"