It took a moment before they managed to process The Maestro's words.
"Where am I going to live in this universe...?" Olivia absentmindedly said under her breath.
"Uh...?" JaNyx raised an eyebrow.
"With me?" Oliver looked at her as if this was supposed to be obvious.
"What?!" She gasped. "I can't do that!"
JaNyx brought his eyebrows together, wrinkling his forehead. "Why not?"
"He's... He's a ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ!" Olivia reasoned, her cheeks turning rosy.ย
"That doesn't make sense."ย
"Ew, a prude," Oliver exclaimed with a hint of distaste, his expression contorting in mild disgust at Olivia's conservative attitude.ย
"Just because you're a manwhore doesn't mean everyone who doesn't conform to your lifestyle is a prude." JaNyx pointed out. "Also, I'm surprised you're alright with the thought of Olivia living under the same roof as you."
"I can't let a girl be homeless." Oliver folded his arms across his chest, huffing.
"Let me guess," JaNyx teased. "You're only saying this because you don't want to lose your matches."
"Possibly." Oliver whistled, looking away.
"Definitely." JaNyx chuckled. "You were never the charitable type. Well, Olivia?"ย
He shifted his gaze to Olivia, who was still blushing madly at the thought of living with Oliver.
"You don't exactly have a choice here, Olivia." JaNyx reminded.
"H-H-How about with you?" Olivia stammered.
"What about with me?" JaNyx blinked blanky.
"Why can't I live with you instead?" She whispered her proposition shyly. "I wouldn't mind living with a man if it's my best friend...!" She paused before adding. "Well, technically, the other version of my best friend, but the concept is the same!"
It was JaNyx's turn to flush in embarrassment.
"I..." JaNyx whispered before erupting in a fit of giggles. "Living with a high school girl, huh? That's a dream--"
"Don't," Oliver interrupted. "He'd steal your underwear and watch you sleep."
"Rude!" JaNyx yelled. "No, Olivia. I won't. But as much as I would love to let you stay in my house, my house doesn't have a guest room for you to stay in. I also have siblings and my parents that'll make a fuss if we have a girl live with us."
'Now that I think about it,' Olivia thought to herself. 'I don't know much about my JaNyx's family... Actually, I've never been to her house before!'
Then, a realization struck her. She then turned her attention to Oliver, quirking an eyebrow at him.
"Won't Aunt Suzy and Azure mind if I live with you?"
"Who the f*ck is Aunt Suzy?" Oliver looked confused. "And I don't even see Azure in the house unless we purposely talked with each other to meet up."
"What... What does that sentence even mean?!" It was Olivia's turn to look baffled.
"It means even if they live under the same roof, their house is so big they rarely see each other." JaNyx translated. "Oliver basically lives in a mansion."
Olivia felt her brown eyes widen and her eyebrows raise as she processed this information.
"Oliver... is rich?"
Oliver frowned. "Don't tell me you aren't?"
Olivia shyly nodded. "I'm... in the lower class, more or less."
"Ew," Oliver exclaimed in disgust before JaNyx smacked him on the head. "Ow! Nyx!"
"Don't 'ew' us poor people!" He pointed an accusing finger at his best friend. "Classist!"
"Oh?" Olivia reacted. "Is he part of the bourgeoisie?"ย
"Even ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ," He paused for emphasis. "He's part of the elite."
"What the fuck is a ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ฆ?!" Oliver exclaimed in frustration. "And no, I'm not part of the elite. I'm just my parents' son, that's all."
"You're the son of the CEO of Tw1N! You can practically pay the tuition fee of all the students of Huxley and still give at least a million more kids a scholarship!"
"Wait," Olivia interrupted. "You're father is the CEO of Tw1N?"
Oliver shrugged.
"Is Tw1N also a multi-billion entertainment, technology, and services conglomerate company in this universe?" She probed.
"The one and only," JaNyx confirmed. "I actually work under their e-sports team."
"My father also works under Tw1N, but he isn't the CEO there..." Olivia said in a low voice. "Just a plain white-collar office worker."
Olivia knew she shouldn't feel embarrassed about her father's humble work. After all, his father was working with dignity and humility. He also wasn't trampling or hurting other people with his work.ย
But she couldn't help but feel bad that, in her universe, their family was living paycheck to paycheck.
"Ugh, can't we talk about something else?" Oliver groaned. "Talking about Dad makes me feel nauseous."
"I'm surprised that you know the word," JaNyx looked impressed.
"F*ck off," Oliver tried to punch JaNyx on the arm, but the latter dodged it without much effort.
"W-w-what about..." Olivia tried to finish her sentence, but her words failed her.ย
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed the imaginary lump in it. The two boys raised an eyebrow at her.
"Spit it out." Oliver urged.
"Mom." Olivia cleared her throat, fixing her collar. "Is she... alive?"
Oliver froze, his blue eyes widening at what Olivia said.
"She's dead in your universe?" He asked in disbelief.
Olivia slowly nodded.
"Car crash." She explained briefly. "Back when Azure was two, and I was seven."
"I'm sorry for your loss," JaNyx muttered. "if it's any consolation, she's alive here."
"Really?" Olivia sighed in relief. "I'm glad she's--"
"But she might as well be dead to me," Oliver snarked, turning his back on the two to hide the deep scowl on his face. "Olivia, let's go to my house. Well, I guess it's ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ house now." He added as an afterthought.
"Won't the guards...?" Olivia trailed, remembering how strict the security personnel were in her universe.
"I'll just talk to them," Oliver said simply. "They usually let me leave the campus whenever I want."
"Oliver is like a King here in Huxley," JaNyx explained to Olivia, who was gaping at her other self. "You'll get used to it."
Olivia hesitantly nodded, not knowing what else to do.
"Let me just call our chauffeur," Oliver said as he fished his phone from his pocket and began typing.
"Ch-ch-chauffeur?" She stammered and looked questioningly at JaNyx, to which he merely replied with what he had previously told her.
"You'll get used to it."