Terra chuckled intoxicatedly, leaning closer to Elara's face to take in her enraged look as much as possible.
"What did you expect?" she explained wistfully, "I told you before, you're addictive. Especially this side of yours, if it's you then yes, I'm a goddamn junkie."
Elara's frown deepened; she must have been a fool to think Terra, this freak, would've dropped this bad habit of hers.
"But can you blame me?" she continued with a sigh, "The difference between the two sides is just so intriguing; you're like my favorite actor. I can never get tired of your acts."
Leaning close to Elara she stated, "Don't you get it Elara? I'm completely hooked! I just wish you'd show this side of yours more often… I guess it's better–" she trailed off pulling Elara into a warm embrace, "If only I knew this side of yours."
Feeling the loud but rhythmic thumping of Terra's heart, Elara rolled her eyes before ruthlessly ripping herself away from the female's hug, leaving Terra's hand hanging out awkwardly in the air.
"You," Elara spoke sternly with a frosty look, "Control yourself."
She leaned into Terra, who was blushing in excitement, speaking coldly, "Not in front of Terry, you perverted fuck."
Terra's baby blue eyes glinted as she groaned softly, "Yes ma'am."
Elara's face twisted with disgust as she let out a loud sigh in frustration. She really, really disliked doing this, but she had to 'satisfy' this perverse freak, or she'd run rampage again. The last thing she wanted was to drag Terrence into all of 'this'.
Suddenly cupping Elara's cheeks, Terra whispered sultry, "I wanna kiss you so bad…"
Elara snapped back, angrily slapping away Terra's hands, "Do that, and I'm calling the fucking cops!"
Glaring at the female one last time in warning, she turned and left without looking back.
A completely flushed Terra cupped her cheeks in a bid to calm her volatile emotions down, today… was worth it.
***
The rest of the event passed with a blur but it was pretty accurate to assume that no one had any fun.
Elara apologized to Terrence for the mishap while covering up that Terra did anything. Since everything had become lackluster, they ended up taking a ride and playing a game in which Elara won a soy-flavored candy that Terrence absolutely loved.
If there was anything odd about the whole event it was Terra. Usually, she'd get all touchy with Elara to assert ownership, infuriating Terrence; however, not only was she weirdly docile, but she also had this oddly satisfied expression throughout the whole experience. Very strange indeed.
"Goodbye," Elara waved at him calmly by the end of their three-way 'date' while Terra simply waited for her in the car, tackling something on her phone.
Terrence nodded at her with a small smile, which was hidden due to the mask, but before entering the car, he paused, "Did something happen between you and Terra?"
Elara blinked in confusion before replying with a nervous smile, "Nah, I just scolded her for being too confrontational."
Terrence smiled emotionlessly, what a fucking impeccable liar.
Had he been a bit dumber, Elara might have had him completely fooled. She structured her words so well that if you weren't sharp enough you wouldn't realize the multi-layered deceit within them.
She pretended to cover for Terra's act of blocking his line but did it so terribly that anyone could guess Terra did it.
This perfectly masked what actually happened and instead reduced it to a mere light trifle between friends she wouldn't want to get him involved in. And maybe he'd believed it had he not had them followed to get the contents of their conversation.
Watching Elara go back to Terra, who instantly became energetic, excited, and like a pup whose owner had come back after a long day away, he realized– this was probably the only person who truly knew Elara.
He smiled meaningfully, unlike what he expected, this made him more invested in Elara. He hated deceit, specifically kindness without truth, that was manipulation to him. However, something odd about Elara was that her lies weren't built on deceit– it was genuine, one of the most genuine ones he had seen in a long while.
Instead of manipulating him, it was more of a trust thing. Elara did not trust him enough to reveal herself.
Apart from that, he was also intrigued by Elara's act; everyone had hidden layers to them; however, the truly fascinating thing about Elara was how good she was at hiding it.
Even though he was so good at reading people, he couldn't get a read on her.
One minute, she was sweet and kind, and the next minute a completely different side no one knew about would surface, but the most interesting thing about it all was that every side of her was completely genuine; none was a lie. She was truly an odd individual…, but it kept him invested.
***
Later on at home, while eating, Terra suddenly spoke, "I didn't know you liked him that much! I'm a bit curious but even more– excited!"
Elara rolled her eyes at the mischievous female, "Be careful with him. If you mess around too much even mommy might not be able to save you."
"Come on Ela stop being so mean! Besides," Terra added with a wide grin, "I just wanna play a bit. You'll help me, no?"
"Don't kid yourself; if you fuck around, I am gonna make sure to let you find out without interference," Elara replied saucily.
"Rude!" Terra booed with a pout.
"If you're trying to elicit a response from me by provoking Terry, then I'll advise you to stop now," Elara advised seriously, "You're right. He holds a special place in my heart, but I am not the one to watch out for. He's not someone to be trifled with lightly."
Terra scoffed, "I don't care, as long as I get a reaction from you~."
Elara slammed her cutlery down in anger, glaring at Terra, "Don't you get it? I'm not saying this for him but for you. Terrence Astridge is not a simple man; forget how he indulges me; he won't hesitate to fuck your shit up if you mess around. I'm speaking out of love! Don't you get it when someone is genuinely worried for your safety?!"
Staring at Elara's angry yet worried gaze Terra sighed softly, so harsh yet so loving. Her Ela was so cute!
"Fine, I'll tread carefully," she replied in defeat.
Elara groaned, fed up by her stubbornness, "I don't even want you to tread! But if you insist then knock yourself out! And I thought all those times would cure your freakiness."
"Didn't cure yours so how could it cure mine? Also, should have known from the calls," Terra replied casually.
Elara glared at her, "I probably should have."
There was a moment of silence between them for a while before it was shattered once more.
"You know," she started, "I did miss you dearly. I even cried sometimes."
"No, you didn't…"
"I sure did! I even recorded a video to show you in order to guilt trip you into doing lots of stuff with me only for you to be so busy…" Terra sighed sadly leaving Elara once again shocked by the sheer shameless.
Elara sighed in exhaustion before suddenly bursting out into loud laughter, "This is why I give you so much attention, if I don't, who knows? With how reckless you are you might just try something stupid and thrust yourself into serious trouble."
Terra joined in the laughter, "I guess you're right! This is why you're my favorite; you're probably the only one capable of tolerating me."
"Star and Dominic do their best, though; I mean, they've been with you longer."
"Meh, I prefer you though. I guess we're a bunch of weirdos, probably why you fit in so naturally when you came."
Feeling Elara stare menacingly at her she immediately changed the subject, "So… why him?"
This was something that had confused Terra for a long while; she observed for the past week, wondering if Elara was just playing around because she was missing their company since they (her three friends) had been too busy to hang out.
However, this was instantly proven wrong with the amount of attention and care she was showering the male.
If she didn't know how freaking impossible it was for Elara to be attracted to anyone romantically or sexually she'd have concluded her Ela got a new crush.
However, this wasn't a crush; it was something else, something entirely different.
She found it difficult to believe that Elara, this hard-headed lady who had difficulty opening up to others, would accept someone so easily, but Terrence was a curious case. She accepted him completely; however, opening up to him was a different thing.
It was so odd… what type of relationship was this?
Elara paused, lightly biting her cutlery as if pondering her response only to dismiss Terra heartlessly, "Personal reasons."
"Oh come on! Don't leave me hanging like this girl!"
"I don't care. Anyways tell me about your sexual ventures during your world tour," Elara questioned curiously.
"Ugh, don't change the subject, you vulgar being!" Terra exclaimed, frowning her face in playful disgust, "You know, for an aroace, aren't you a bit too interested in sexual stuff? I guess slutiness does transcend sexualities."
Elara rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, "Go fuck yourself."
"Like you do?" Terra snickered naughtily.
"….."
"….."
Crash! Bam!
Terra dodged with superhuman reflexes as plates came flying at her from every angle.
"I am not reimbursing you for the plates!"
"Don't worry, you'll pay for your hospital bills instead."
"Hey!!"
***
The next day after putting on her pink lenses, Terra was done with her preparation. She was back in her usual element– peach and pink.
Elara dropped her off at the airport, and while waiting for the plane to arrive, she kept on clinging to her like a child, drawing attention from many people who couldn't resist glimpsing at the intertwined duo.
They were probably wondering why two grown women were acting like children.
"Why do you keep doing this to me?" Elara asked in exhaustion.
"Because I like you," Terra responded in an exaggerated tone sounding like a poor impression of an anime girl.
Looking at Elara's face, staring condescendingly at her as if to say: have you no shame? She whined sadly.
"Damn, you don't even bother to put on your façade around me anymore."
Dina: ...and whose fault is that?
Terra: （-_-;）
Soon, the plane arrived, and after struggling to tear Terra from her grasp, she shoved the reluctant female forward.
"Stop embarrassing me!"
"I don't wanna go! Noo~!"
Turning the whiny female to face her Elara pulled her into her arms, encompassing her in a warm embrace, "Don't let the fun get to your head–remember Dora. And call whenever you need me. Remember, I'm always here for you no matter what."
Releasing the teary female from her grasp, Elara gave her a peck on the forehead before patting her head indulgently. She smiled warmly, "Be good, okay?"
Terra pouted before nodding. Looking up at Elara, she spoke softly with rose-tinted cheeks, "I'll miss you."
"Aww! Don't act cute now you sneaky thing! Shoo!"
"Fine!!"
She eventually entered the plane just before its doors shut. Staring at the smiling female, they kept waving at each other till her figure faded as the plane rose farther and farther into the air. Sighing sadly, she leaned into her seat before her phone rang, grabbing her attention.
"Mother? I couldn't, Ela first. Hmmm, yes, maybe next time. Oh also, can you tell me everything you know about Terrence Astridge, owner of the entire Neva conglomerate?"
***
Meanwhile, Terrence surveyed a bunch of documents submitted by Merlin. This held nothing new or different from what he heard about her.
He frowned in displeasure as he kept the document aside, visibly disappointed.
"I guess the only way to find out is by knowing the person in question personally."
He smiled at the thought, and for the first time after a long while, he was genuinely interested in someone.