Chapter 2a: Nine-O

"See y'all tonight at Emporio?" Dominic asked the bros, his tone flat, more out of habit than enthusiasm. His arms crossed tight as he stood on one of the steps. Though..

His eyes weren't even on them.

Tyler, already sliding out of his seat, flung his bag over his shoulder with a grin as he teased, "Yeah bro, you can invite your girlfriend if you'd like," bouncing his right brow mischievously as he nudged Liam, who's also sliding from the seat behind him with a grin. And for once, Dominic's gaze snapped to them—more like a glare, though.

"Stop talking nonsense, would ya?"

"Come on, maaaan~ We know you want her to comeeee~" Liam slung his own bag over his shoulder, couldn't resist jumping in.

Rolling his eyes, Dominic gave a sarcastic retort, "You slept the whole class, Wyatt. What do you know?"

Without missing a beat, Liam stretched out his arm, to dramatically throw it over both Dominic and Tyler's shoulders, pulling them closer. "After nine years," he paused and bounced his brows to Tyler, confirming backup as Tyler reciprocated with a loud laugh—so he switched back his attention to Dom, flipping his hand who's been dangling on Dom's shoulder.. to boast, "We can read you like flipping the back of our hands."

Struggling under his bro's grip, Dominic gruntled, "Shut up."

"Should we remind him how he was for the past hour, Liam my bro?" Tyler excitedly offered as Dominic continued his growl. Mirroring his bro, grinning from ear to ear, Liam nodded in agreed excitement as he made an Oscar worthy performance.

"Once upon a time.. in a lecture class faaaar~ far away from home~ Dominic met a girl.. who bumped into him in the hall~"

Tyler, caught up in the moment, elbowed Liam with unnecessary enthusiasm, trying to wake him from his peaceful nap. His eyes hadn’t left the scene unfolding beside him, and he  definitely wasn’t about to let Liam miss out.

Pissed, Liam slapped Tyler’s hand away, his face contorted in irritation as he groaned, "Stop. fucking. bothering me! I’m trying to sleep Goddammit—"

”Stop whining like a fucking baby and look. to your right!” Cavill hissed.

Still grumbling, Wyatt shot him a death glare—but did as told. “I swear, if this is just some bullshit you—” and he stopped mid-sentence, eyes finally catching sight of Dominic and the girl exchanging serious intense glances. "Fucking hell, Cavill. What. is your point—“

Before Liam could finish, Tyler grabbed him by the cheeks, forcibly tilting his head downwards to the scene.. below. And that’s when Liam finally saw it.

“What the fuck—“

“That’s what I’m talking about you airhead,”

If this wasn’t urgent, he’d be decking Tyler by now. But for the moment, he was just. stunned. Liam blinked, still processing the sight. Until.. with mouth slightly open, he muttered,

“What kind of rom-com shit did we stumble into?”

"Dominic's in loooove~"

"Stop stop stop—alright. I get it." Dominic groaned, dragging his hand down his face.

“Admit it, man. You were practically writing love letters back then,” Tyler chuckled, clearly proud of their little performance.

“Our bro’s got it baad~” Liam chimed in, bouncing his eyebrows teasingly.

“Real bad,” Tyler added with a wink.

Dominic rolled his eyes, but even he couldn’t help the small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. Liam folded his arms across his chest and leaned in, one brow arched as he challenged, "Ok—now that you remember~ Don't be a chicken and ask her."

Liam Wyatt.

Truly a master of leading people to their painful death.

"Do I really have to—"

”Or should I make a bet—“

“NO!”

Two people disagree in unison. Flinching by themselves, they looked at each other in a startle, quickly realizing the traumatic shout they engaged. Clearly it drew attention, but also—

Her, included.

Dominic noticed her and her friend turning around, both glancing up curiously, until the friend leaned in, whispering something. Though she quickly turned away, he surely caught that faint smirk playing on her lips.

Meanwhile, Liam stared at his bros with a sorry look, hesitating, ”I see some unhealed wounds in the two of you, and I get it. I’m sorry,” when Dominic glanced back at them—still with a little smirk on his lips, “now let’s move on—”

“Just—go! Don’t be a pussy!” Tyler pushed Dominic forward.

“Okay okay!” Dominic swatted his friends’ hands, annoyed, before with determination in his eyes, he muttered, “Watch me.”

Grinning, Tyler and Liam followed closely behind as their favorite bro enthusiastically jogged down the steps. Well, this is the moment of truth.

Just as she and her friend were about to exit, a hand reached out to block the door, causing both girls to stop in surprise. Her friend turned—and once she noticed who, her face lit up instantly. With a Flynn Ryder rizz, Hunt striked,

 “Hello, ladies.”

”Why hello handsome,” the friend responded, beaming.

Dominic chuckled at the much taller girl—but his eyes met hers for a brief moment before saying, "There's this bar called Emporio. The others will hang out there tonight. Do.. you—" he trailed off as he noticed her kept glancing over his shoulder.

"Your.. friends..” she hesitantly asked with a raised eyebrow. Confused, he followed her gaze—only to see Tyler and Liam frozen with their mouths hanging open. Hunt closed his eyes and threw back his head in irritation as the girl continued, “They.. want to say something..?"

Dominic fought the urge to strangle his buddies on the spot as he exhaled a heavy breath and chuckled, “Sorry, they can be pretty dumb.”

She giggled, the sound lighting up his mood. He didn’t know whether it’s the shape of her full lips.. or the super white teeth that she had—but.. she’s cute. With a grin still plastered on his face, Dominic scoffed, “I don't know how I still stick with them anyway."

“Hey!” came Liam’s offended voice from behind him, but he just shook his head nonchalantly.

Giving the girls an apologetic laugh, he confirmed, "Yeah, I was about to ask if you guys could join us tonight."

“We could use the nice view,” Liam joined in, winking flirtatiously.

Her friend jumped in, nodding vigorously. “Oh absolutely, we’ll be there.” But then the girl snapped her head toward her friend, giving her a death glare. “What? I wouldn’t miss a hangout with a bunch of hot guys,” her friend said with a wink.

”God you’re embarrassing.” she cynically retorted.

Dominic stifled a laugh as Tyler grinned, pointing to the bold girl. “I like her already.”

Still, Dominic’s focus stayed on her as he beamed, “So, Emporio. 9 o’clock. How’s that sound?”

She exchanged a brief glance with her friend.. before finally nodding with a small smile.

“Yeah, sure. See you tonight—”

“See you tonight.”

Dominic cheered, unable to keep the goofy grin off his face. For a brief moment, they gazed at each other, and Dominic’s grin bloomed. But before he could say anything else, her friend grabbed her by the arm and said, “Ooookay, we have somewhere to be—see you guys!”

Waking up from their moment, they exchanged a quick nod, before she left the room. Dom coughed before gaining his composure and turned back to his friends, smug as ever,

"How's that for a chicken, huh?"

“Yeah—thanks for showing us your little eyes-fuck parade, man.” Liam scoffed, shaking his head as Tyler laughed amusingly. Dominic’s tongue protruded on his left cheek out of embarrassment, but he scoffed before turning away from his two bros.

Just as they reached the door, Tyler asked, “So, what’s her name?”

And Dominic froze mid-step.

His brain processed the colossal mistake he’d just made while Tyler and Liam kept walking.. until they noticed the missing space between them. Turning around, they saw him already massaging his temples, suddenly looking irritated.

“What now?” Tyler called out, already sensing something dumb about to be revealed. Dominic looked up, his tough-guy façade cracking as he gave them an apologetic, nervous laugh.

“I.. I haven’t asked her name yet..”

Tyler’s face immediately twisted, his eyebrows knitting together like he was about to explode. “Are you kidding me, Hunt?” Tyler snapped.

Dominic scratched the back of his head, letting out a weak laugh as Liam blinked, his eyes going wide with disbelief before he slapped a hand to his face, rubbing it like he was trying to wake up from a bad dream—

before he finally lost it.

“YOU STUPID—“

“BITCH!”

Talia stood in the middle of the room, hands on her hips. You know that pose—she. is. out of it. And all you could do.. was nervously rub the back of your neck and offer a sheepish grin.

“Ren. You are not. this dumb!” Talia groaned in internal pain, rubbing her temples. Probably just convincing herself to not have an ill thinking about your intelligence.

“Sorry okay?!” you shouted, throwing your hands up defensively. “We were about to—but the announcement came out earlier than expected!”

Talia’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Wait, so you didn’t get his number either?!”

You cringed and shook your head.

She let out an exasperated shriek, “Renata—how?! This level of disaster?! Do you really have to annoy me with every fiber of your being, sister?!” She flopped her body to the bed after flaunting her hands in the air. Giving up, she mumbled, “Thank God it worked, if it isn’t—then this—”

”I know right—?!”

”Do not wish you could change the subject, you—noob!” Talia grunted, throwing her hands.

“You’re the one—” you huffed, heading over to your closet instead, trying to find something to wear as you muttered, “whatever. Didn’t want to be pushy anyway! I’d rather die than come off desperate. So you know what?” Your ramble woke Talia like Viktor woke his Frankenstein. No difference, really. Same rolling eyes.. same.. stupid face.

“It’s all. his. fault.”

“Desperate? Oh, please. Honey, there’s a significant difference between desperate and not knowing his name,” Talia scoffed, stomping over to yank a blouse from the closet, “at least we know where and when,” she exhaled slowly.. finally implementing the breathing technique her pilates coach taught her—till she got reborn with a big smile on her face.

“We can salvage this.”

“Yeah, well, it’s my sleeping hour. Too tired~ Bad mood~ Might just skip it,” you said with a dramatic sigh, half-joking.

Talia’s jaw dropped. “Skip it? You baby! Now pick an outfit before I go nuts,” she yanked another shirt off the rack and threw it at you.

You caught it, giving her a sarcastic smile. “Thank you sooo much, bestie. I’m so glad you’re here to help with this life-altering decision.”

Talia rolled her eyes, stepping forward and grabbing more clothes. “You should be grateful to have a bitch like me. Without me you’d be wearing your ugly birkenstocks.”

”Hey! That baby is comfortable—“

”Shut up and wear it!”

Still clutching the outfit of her choice, you start to undress while rolling your eyes, eliciting a seething teeth from Talia.

“Bro—you did all that flirting, all that smooth talking—and you didn’t even ask her phone number—let alone her fucking name?! And people still call you the greatest playboy of all time. Un-believable. What a disgrace to this human race.”

Tyler threw his hands up dramatically in his seat. At the bar, Liam’s still talking to the bartender, deciding on the menu. Not far from them, the live music blasting through the speakers. Some people danced in the front, some chilling and drinking with their company.. Dominic on the other hand..

Stared to the band in the front, eyes blank, mind reeling. Still wondering how the hell all this could happen. At Tyler’s complaint, he winced, narrowing his eyes while pointing a finger at his bro. Still hoping for any redemption as he defended, “Hey that was—“ eventually speechless, he reluctantly dropped his finger as he realized he had no comeback. “Harsh.”

Taking a deep breath, Dominic tried to explain to the whole table, stammering, “We were about to get there—but—nevermind. I was just—”

“—too busy gawking at her?” Liam interrupted, already back from the bar. Dominic seethed through his teeth as Tyler pinched the bridge of his nose like a disappointed parent.

“Dom—bro. How do you expect to text her? Send a pigeon? Write her name in the sky?”

Groaning, Hunt ran his hand through his hair. “Why’re you guys such a pain in the ass?! Why is this becoming such a big deal?! Who said I’m going to text her?!”

Giving him a look of pure disbelief, Liam shrugged off his mounting irritation, advising, "We need a strategy for this—"

"Fuck! I came here just to have fun—not to plan some fuckup operation," Dominic furiously retorted.

Tyler threw his arm around Dominic’s shoulder, shaking him like an older brother giving a life advice. “Nah, bro. Never thought you’d need this—but listen, I’ll take any moment of glory to irritate you—so! Ok. Rule #1: Introduce yourself.”

”Fuck you and your rules—“

“Rule #2: Ask her name.” Tyler grinned wickedly as Dominic groaned, pushing his arm off, starting to get pissed off.

Liam snorted, nodding enthusiastically as the black haired boy sat back and continued, “And Rule #3: Don't be shy to ask for her number.”

"Tryna be sarcastic, huh Cavill? Tryna be cute, huh?" Dominic nagged, rolling his eyes, clearly not amused by their antics.

Tyler smirked, "Just wanted to see your reaction—totally worth it, bro."

Watching the bickering in amusement, Wyatt laughed. However, the conversation struck a chord in him, causing him to innocently ask, “Hey! Speaking of the damned rules—Ty! How’s Em?!”

Tyler’s expression shifted instantly, his gesture tense. For a slight second, his eyes darted around, but he managed a quick bounce of his eyebrows as he fixed himself.

“G—good! Apparently she loves writing, so.. she's currently taking a break. She’s taking writing courses,"

Wyatt laughed, “Not surprising with her delulu mind of hers.”

But somehow, the air shifted when Wyatt realized what he’d just done. Again, he grimaced. Closing his eyes, he silently seethes through his teeth. Slowly.. he braced himself for turning his head..

To check on Dominic.

He’s spinning his glass on the table, staring down at the swirling liquid. Sensing the silence among them, maybe he thought it’s the best time to finally put on his hollow attention. His voice came out casual, but his eyes flickered with something deeper.

“Oh. She’s taking a break?”

Colder.

“Yeah, just chilling at home.” Tyler chuckled, but heaven knows the guilt is there.

Dom chuckled too, but there was a beat of silence that made Wyatt fidget in his seat. The flicker of pain in his eyes was brief—but unmistakable. No matter how much they tried to laugh it off.. as much as they buried the hatched.. as much as they hated to admit..

It still stung.

"Emilia Hunt."

Dominic said, his voice soft, almost like he was testing how the name rolled on his tongue. The night was quiet except for the soft rustling leaves. The couple lay side by side beside the pool, their heads tilted toward the night sky, where stars twinkled like tiny promises.

Like the ones he used to believe in.

Emily giggled. She turned to look at him, but Dominic was already gazing at her, eyes full of softness that made everything else in the world feel irrelevant. “It suits you,” he murmured, still watching her, the stars reflected in his eyes.

Emily chuckled, shaking her head as she returned her gaze to the sky. “You’re cute, Domdom,”

He smiled, a slow grin spreading across his face. He couldn’t help it. She made him feel.. light. She felt.. different.

“How about we make this our thing?” he said, voice teasing but sincere.

”What? Staring at the stars in your lawn?” she turned her head, eyebrows raised.

“So. Every Friday, 9 o’clock sharp. It’ll be our little ritual,” Dominic encouraged as she laughed. “You can call it something weird—like you always did. We’ll call it..” he paused, eyes twinkling as he gestured dramatically to the sky.. before he finally revealed—

“Nine-O.”

She stared at him for a second before bursting into laughter. “Nine-O? Like Hawaii Five-O? Are you serious?”

He threw his hands up in defense, grinning from ear to ear. “Hey—it’s better than those other names you come up with—what was it again? SMASH and WEBBS—?”

“Hey! Those were sacred! Take it back!” Emily gasped, playfully swatting him.

Dominic laughed, catching her hand mid-swing, still teasing. “Not gonna lie, though. This whole ‘tradition’ is just an excuse to get you to come over.”

“Not gonna deny it, huh?”

Emily rolled her eyes, she tried to tickle him, and soon—they were tangled up in each other, until they fell into the pool! The cold water surrounded them, but they didn’t care. They came up, splashing water at each other, laughing harder than ever. Until Dominic, soaking wet, pulled her close, her hair dripping, eyes sparkling. He reached out, his hand moving toward her head like he was about to ruffle her hair—but he stopped.

For a moment, everything stilled. The laughter faded, the world felt quieter, softer. He looked at her—really looked at her—and she met his gaze, the playful energy replaced by something else. Smiling softly.. he leaned in. The kiss was slow, sweet, filled with all the things they didn’t get to say to each other.

Still, it meant nothing. When to him..

It meant everything.

"What did we miss?"

There they were—the girls. The air in the room shifted when they arrived. The bold girl arrived in a soft, flowy dress with pastel colors, her hair cascading in loose waves, exuding a delicate and feminine vibe. Instead, the quiet one, the unnamed girl, strode in with a Pink Floyd bodycon. While wearing flesh colored lips, it still showed how edgy this one is.

"Nothing. Just that Dominic right here~ is having a puberty after turning 23," Tyler teased.

Dominic shot him a furious look, seemingly fed up with any more constant nagging of his bros. He needed to salvage his ruined mood. He really need to.

"Okay, one more word from you—"

"Wow—someone elaborate. Now."

But before he could finish, the friend interrupted, eyes sparkling with interest as she slid into a seat next to Liam and immediately leaned forward, clearly not one to let juicy gossip pass by. With eyes wide in reluctant curiosity, the girl followed suit, quietly sliding to an empty seat beside Tyler.

Liam, mentally ticking off the vibe check in his head, eagerly jumped in. “Dominic? Forgetting to ask a girl’s name?” he teased, smugly gesturing to the girl. “Never happened before~”

The friend raised her eyebrows in delight, her gaze flitting to the girl, who’s been trying to hide the smile tugging at her lips. “Oh really~” she teased, giving her an encouraging nudge. But then she narrowed her eyes as if something struck her. “Wait.. D—Dominic—”

But then a sound of the legs of a chair screeched against the floor, catching everyone’s attention. In a flash, Dominic was across the room, moving toward the stage where a mic stood. People turned, eyes following him curiously as he grabbed the mic.

“Hi,” Dominic’s voice rang out through the speakers, low and confident. “So—I invited two beautiful ladies here tonight, but especially.. the one with beautiful curls over there—”

And all eyes turned to her, whose face flushed as she looked around, unsure of how to react. The room was buzzing, murmurs of curiosity and amusement filling the space. At the table, the friend had an amused face, hands clapped in front of her as she rooted for her girlfriend.

“But stupidly,” Dominic snickered, his smile broad but not quite reaching his eyes. He glanced toward her, something dark flickering behind his usual charm. “I forgot to ask about her name.”

Meanwhile, Tyler and Liam exchanged wide-eyed glances as they’re now on the edge of their seats. The usual cocky demeanor they had was all gone, and that‘s when the girl noticed something off.

“So, what’s your name, love?”

Her smile faded as she noticed the boys’ sudden serious gesture, and as she glanced back at Dominic.. he’s already looking back at her in a way—somewhat like.. hiding something. A flicker of hesitation passed through her as she managed to say, ”R—Renata..”

The name sent a jolt through him—but that’s before a little smirk tweaked on the corner of his lips. Dominic’s face softened as his eyes locked on hers. “Beautiful name,” he murmured, drawing cheers from the audience.

But beneath the cheers, Tyler and Liam’s eyes displayed dread. Liam’s about to get up from his seat when Tyler subtly gestured to him to sit back down. Behind all the dim lights, they could make out a sinister smirk of his, gleaming in the dark.

You watched me succeed in reeling her in?

Now watch me make it all burn.

“So, Renata,” he spoke again, his voice carrying an unsettling undercurrent as he took a step closer to the edge of the stage. His smirk twisted into something colder, sharper. Until he finally opened his mouth again to say—

“Wanna sleep with me?”

Thank you for reading! Don't forget to vote, comment, and add to your library!

Check out some additional content on social media:

Instagram: lifelorestudio

You can elevate your experience by also listening to songs I added to this story's playlist! I'll reveal the Playlist by the end of this story, so.. Stay Tuned!

The song that matches this Chapter's vibe:

Gracie Abrams - Risk (Official Music Video)

It still stung.

Bazzi - Honest [Official Music Video]

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***