Aline Ribeiro
Aline woke up early that morning, rising to the blare of her alarm. It was Monday, which meant she had a week of classes to look forward to—not. Surprisingly enough, Aline wasn’t totally dreading this Monday morning as she usually did because today would be her first day back at Cerulean High for her senior year. She certainly didn’t think her first day would be in January, but ah, how plans change.
The trip to Brazil had been nice, Aline had enjoyed seeing her Tía and Tío, but meeting her grandparents, well. Aline could understand why her mother had been estranged from them for so long.
Her black-and-white cat, Hope, rose from her spot on Aline’s bed, meowing at her as she moved around her bedroom. Aline smiled at the cat, walking towards her to give her head a rub. Hope purred contendly, moving underneath Aline’s hand to give her different spots to pet. Satisfied, the cat jumped down from the bed and slinked out her door.
After getting dressed into a long-sleeved yellow crop top and some low-waisted ripped blue jeans, Aline headed downstairs, where her mom was serving some food for her and her brother and sisters. Her stepfather, who was the only father she’d ever known, hadn’t come down yet. Aline took a seat on the barstool at the counter, where her mom slid a plate of eggs in front of her. “Beunos días, Aline,” she said, giving her a warm smile.
“Buenos días, Mami.” Aline returned, digging into the plate. Her brother padded down the stairs at that moment, an open laptop in his hand as he turned into the kitchen. He was wearing a plain white shirt paired with a blue, unbuttoned blouse and some dark blue jeans. “Ali,” he called as he came into the kitchen, “have you seen the new Blue Bloods?”
“No, not yet.” Aline had completely forgotten that the new list would be posted today. “Who are they?” Luciano slid the laptop in front of her, and Aline took in the new members of the Blue Bloods, nodding thoughtfully. Most of them were Luciano’s friends, which stunned Aline. She had found a lot of his friends boring, but obviously she had underestimated them.
She hadn’t betrayed any of this on her face, but Luciano knew her inside and out, which was why he regarded her with a smug expression. Aline looked up to see this, and rolled her eyes. “Ay, cállate.”
Their Mami looked up sharply at this, scowling at Aline. “No tell Lui to shut up, Aline.”
Aline was about to apologize when her stepfather’s voice boomed through the halls. “Goood morning!”
Aline caught Luciano’s face darkening at his entrance. He slid into the seat beside her, slamming his laptop closed and quickly shoving some food in his mouth, so he wouldn’t have to talk. Aline looked at him questioningly but he avoided her gaze. Luciano had been acting weird since yesterday, at their parent’s anniversary dinner. She could tell that he was actively keeping something from him, which normally doesn’t happen. She’d find out what it was eventually, she always does, but she wished that he would tell her.
Her stepfather came into the kitchen, greeting their mom with a kiss, which only further deepened the scowl on Luciano’s face. “Morning, Papi,” she chirped at him, smiling brightly. Luciano and her had called him Papi sing after their marriage, even though he wasn’t their real father. He stood with an arm wrapped around their mother’s waist, she leaning into him. Aline could admit they were an odd picture, her mother only 36 and her stepfather almost 65. But this was her family, and they were perfect to her.
“Morning, niña.” He walked over to her, planting a kiss on their forehead. His Spanish was atrocious, even after 10 years of marriage, but Aline appreciated the effort. She giggled, swatting him away. He walked to Luciano, but Aline could feel the air of caution surrounding him. He gave Luciano a good morning, but he ignored him, continuing to spoon egg into his mouth.
Their mother frowned at him, smacking him with a kitchen towel. “Luciano, no ignores tu Papi!” He scowled at his now empty plate of food, before looking up at his stepfather, his face collected and betraying none of his thoughts. “Morning… Fred.”
Silence reverberated through the room. Aline and her mom gaped at him, their eyes wide. He got up to put his plate in the sink, and his mother started yelling at him in a mix of Spanish, English and Portuguese until their stepfather raised a hand, speaking in a firm and authoritative tone. “Maria, it’s alright. It’s not a big deal.”
Luciano scoffed, shaking his head. He turned to his Mami, smiling without mirth at her. “Gracias, Mami, for the food and bye, I’m going to school now.” He didn’t wait for a reply, just stalking out of the room. Aline watched him leave, a hand pressed to her cheek.
Her Mami looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “Que pasa?” She asked her, but Aline shrugged, genuinely having no idea what his bad mood was about. Outside the house, Aline heard the car turn on, and she hurried to grab her things.
“Adios, Mami, Papi.” She turned to walk out the room before pausing and turning back to face her parents. “I’ll talk to him. He’s probably just in a bad mood.” Her Mami nodded and with that Aline walked out of the house.
Luciano Ribeiro
He sat in the driver’s seat of their sleek, black Mercedes, feeling the strength of his anger fade as he put distance between himself and his stepfather. He let out a sigh, closing his eyes tightly. What he needed was to speak about this with Aline. He knew she would understand why he was upset, but he also knew she would go beserk.
So, he had to keep this from her and deal with it on his own. It was a struggle, but it was for the best. He hoped it was, at least.
Moments later, Aline slipped into the passenger’s side of the car, throwing her bag into the backseat to join his. He could feel her gaze boring into the side of her cheek, but he refused to look at her, afraid that the twin telepathy would kick in and she’d see into his mind. He turned the radio on, and bright, cheery music filled the silence between them. Luciano backed out of the driveway without a word.
He’d just gotten onto the road when Aline finally voiced her thoughts, even though he pretty much knew what she was going to say: “Okay, what the f*ck is going on with you, Lui?” He stole a glance at her, saw her arms crossed and a confused yet annoyed look to her face.
“It’s nothing.”
“No es nada.” She switched to Spanish, her brown eyes piercing through him. He kept his eyes stubbornly forward, keeping his focus on the road. “¿Por qué no me hablas?”
“I can’t talk about it, okay?” He said through gritted teeth, his grip tightening on the wheel. How many minutes until we get to school? “It’s not a big deal.”
“Since when can’t you talk to me about something?” She asked him, a slightly hurt undertone in her voice.
“Can you just drop it?”
“Luciano—”
“Drop. It.” He knew Aline could tell when he wasn’t going to budge on a topic, and this was one of those times. She sat back in her seat, looking out the window. The rest of the drive was filled with a tense silence.
As the car pulled up to the school, Luciano could feel his sister gearing up to jump out of the car. He looked over at her, a small sigh falling through his lips. He raised his pinky in a peace offering. “De poeira?” He asked her in Portuguese.
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Growing up Roman Catholic, this was a saying that they heard on Ash Wednesday, a religious day that commemorates the beginning of Lent. The priest would say this or a different phrase as he put a cross of ashes on your forehead, and from the first time Luciano and Aline had heard it, they had loved the phrase. So now, they’ve coined the phrase “from dust to dust” to say to each other, which just means to them that they’re in it together, until their deaths.
Aline looks back at his outstretched pinky, hesitation battling other emotions. A brief pause later, she stretched her pink to his, and the two wrapped around each other. “A poeira,” she replied, smiling slightly at him.
He parked the car and they walked out together, the brief spat they shared not entirely remembered but not entirely forgotten either. Luciano and Aline walked into Cerulean High side-by-side, pushing through the front doors. It was the last year for them, but certainly would be the most memorable.
~
Both Approachable~
I don’t care if you approach them together or apart or where you put them lmao I’m pretty lax like that 
ORP: Jesus Christ idk why this is so long lmao I’m so sorry 
