"People are more what they hide than what they show."

-John Spence

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Kate groaned out loudly. She stood in the middle of the street which was completely silent. Elena hadn't returned. It had been more than two hours since she had gone to prank Ivan.

Kate felt that she couldn't wait anymore as midnight had already struck. What if she's in trouble?

She quickly climbed up the pipe, wishing for the window to be open. To her luck, it was, and she stepped inside the room nimbly.

Amidst the slow breathing of the boys, Kate whispered her twin's name. She felt like a fool doing so, calling out in the dark, but she had to make sure that Elena was okay.

She waved her hands in the air, looking for the bed. Once she touched it, she bent down and slid under it. She came in contact with a body and froze. Taking her mobile out from her back pocket, she hovered it in no particular direction.

She let out a sigh when she noticed that it was Elena. The older twin had fallen asleep with her face buried in the fluffy carpet, making her roll her eyes.

Her lips were folded in a thin line as she had to wait for so long while the former had fallen asleep peacefully.

Sleepyhead.

Should I wake her up?

I think I should.

No, what if she screams?

Yeah, she does scream when woken up suddenly.

Let's wait till the mighty, sleepy, Queen El gets up.

But the waiting part wasn't prolonged as Kate fell asleep in a few minutes. She had tried staying awake, but her heavy eyes and Elena's scary costume wouldn't let her.

Guess all the waiting had made her tired. Well, so not a guess, duh! Waiting does make one tired.

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The next morning, Ivan strolled towards the window. He remembered the night's happenings and shuddered involuntarily.

"That was one scary dream," he whispered.

He looked at the twins' window and noticed their mom pacing nervously in the room.

Her face depicted an expression of anger and worry, each one in a battle of gaining the upper hand.

A pillow was clutched tightly in her hand and the twins' bed was empty, pillows in their place.

"So... they were the tarantula monsters," Ivan spoke with a grumble. "That means they're still here."

He grinned slightly as he noticed the twins' mom with an angry scowl on her face.

"Guess who's gonna get into trouble?" he whispered.

Ivan looked around his room carefully, taking nimble steps in case the twins sprung out any moment. His blue eyes seemed to scan every inch of his room, his long feet careful not to make much sound.

"Where are you Russos? Come on out, I got you a big book of pranks," he muttered.

Before he could take another step forward, he stopped. His foot had come into contact with something soft. He looked down and noticed an open palm lying on the carpet.

He let out a short yelp, then stifled it and put a palm over his mouth. He crouched down on his knees and looked below his bed slowly.

There, laid down on their stomachs were two girls whose faces were hidden by their long hair, masses of brown against the blackness of their clothes.

He took in everything, their clothes, the spider stickers, their deeply asleep states and their unknowing selves.

"Ah, the Russos are quiet for once," he whispered. "Too bad they can't be any longer."

Ivan then noticed Max entering his room with a plate of freshly baked scones. His mouth was full and he chewed with difficulty, his cheeks, and nose slightly red.

Ivan looked at him and rolled his eyes.

"This is what happens when you stuff your mouth with probably half a dozen scones," he muttered under his breath.

He then put a finger to his lips and pointed below the bed. Max nodded and bent to have a look, keeping the plate on top of the bed. Ivan whispered something in his ears and he nodded again.

He left and within a few minutes brought a small bucket of water with ice cubes floating over the top.

Ivan took the bucket from him and kept it aside. He asked him to slide under the bed, doing so himself too.

He caught hold of Elena's face lightly and tried to turn it sideways. Her hair looked wavy and a part of it was curled, similar to her twin sleeping beside.

"Who's Elena?" Ivan whispered to Max, the latter trying to turn Kate's face sideways.

"The one in your hand," Max whispered. "Look at her hair, it isn't entirely curly like hers," he said, taking a strand of Kate's hair. "How can you forget the dyed streak?"

"But, Elena's hair is always straight."

"Who knows? She might be straightening them."

"Yeah, whatever, turn her face quickly."

Ivan turned Elena's face sideways and looked at it triumphantly. Then he glanced at Max whose lips were centimeters above Kate's hair. He felt Ivan's gaze on him and looked at him with pursed lips.

They got out and Ivan threw the cold water under his bed. The twins woke up with startled expressions, their heads hitting against the wood.

They groaned simultaneously, glancing at each other with confused, wet faces.

Elena rubbed her ear and shook her head wildly, spraying water droplets over Kate's sleepy face.

"Where am I?" she questioned with a splutter.

She crawled out from under the bed with Kate beside, looking at the amused expressions of their rival prankster team.

"Rise and shine, Snarky Mouth," Ivan commented with a small smile. He tried hard to hold back a grin as seeing the twins' faces made him want to laugh hard.

Elena rolled her eyes at him. "Thanks for the free bath. I needed it," she replied with a smirk, making Ivan drop his grin.

She leaned over the window and started making her way down. Just before she disappeared completely out of view, she winked at Ivan and saluted him in mockery.

Kate now alone with the boys, shook her head. With a cheeky grin, she advised Ivan, "Clean the mess before Co finds out."

She took two scones from the plate, stuffed them in her mouth and showed them a thumbs up.

She made her way down, almost too quickly.

After they left, Ivan turned to face Max. "Were you sniffing her?"

"What? No... I mean yes. Yeah, I did. She smells nice," Max replied with a grin.

"Dog," Ivan said and shook his head. "Bad liar." This was met by just Max's grin.

BAM!

The boys' attention was grabbed by the loud sound and the twins' screams.

Max, alarmed by this, quickly took out the first-aid kit from one of the drawers and grabbed Ivan's arm.

"Let's go, they might be hurt."

"They pranked us, I'm not going to help them."

"Don't be ridiculous."

They rushed outside and found the twins sitting on the street. Kate's knee was wounded and she was found rubbing her scratched palms together. Elena, on the other hand, rubbed her back and started to help her get up.

Max sprinted towards them with an antiseptic tube in his palm. He sat in front of Kate and hastily applied the cream on her hurt knee.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Does it hurt?"

"Does it burn?"

"This is so much blood!"

His questions, exclamations and soothing words never ended and he quickly pulled up the sleeve of her left arm. She looked at him widened eyes and furrowed her eyebrows at his panicked state.

"Max, I'm fine--"

"Does this sting?" he asked, looking at the long red line which stood against the whiteness of her arm. But, it was no longer red as the cream had marred its color.

Without giving her a chance to speak, he attempted to pull up the sleeves of her right arm. She stopped his hand abruptly and glanced nervously at Elena.

"Max, I'm fine."

"What if there's a scratch there?"

"I don't think so."

"But--"

Ivan looked at both of them with furrowed eyebrows. He couldn't understand the immense haste behind Max's tending of Kate's wounds. He felt that something else was on his friend's mind.

"Max, it's just a scratch," Elena said slowly and noticed Kate putting a hand over his palm to stop him.

"Trust me, I've faced worse," Kate replied drily, her eyes never meeting any of their blue, brown or green ones.

"But--"

"Max, just relax, okay?" Kate almost snapped at him, unable to notice him masking the hurt look in his eyes--something which he was used to doing.

"Max and relax, that rhymed! Woo!" Elena stated with glee. Her voice broke into giggles which abruptly stopped when the others stared at her emotionlessly.

"Awkward."

The door to the twins' home opened and there stood Eleanor, their mom with an angry scowl. Her hands were folded against her chest and looked at the twins with narrowed eyes.

"Ladies, I need an explanation."

"Um..." Elena began.

She chuckled and then looked at the other three who were sitting near her.

Suddenly each one blurted out the first thing that came into their minds.

"Tarantula," Elena said.

"Cold," Kate stated unsurely.

"Blood," Max replied and pursed his lips when he noticed the twins' facepalming.

Finally, Ivan replied with confidence, "Liars!"

Three narrowed gazes met his, their intensity dominating him like how their eye colors did over his blue.

"Well?" Eleanor asked, her eyes darting between each teen.

"The Tarantula Cold Blooded Liars," Elena replied quietly.

"Our group's name," Kate added, hoping that their mom would not ask further questions.

But she was wrong.

"What group?"

"Drama group," Ivan answered before anyone could and narrowed his eyes at the twins. "They're really good at it."

"Really, really good."

The twins entered their home. Elena noticed Ivan grinning at her which he stifled by turning around. Max did the same after he waved at them.

"You may fool others, but not me," Eleanor commented once inside, glancing at the twins who looked at her with pursed lips.

"Look at your state, Kel. Messy hair, wet faces, spiders stickers on your clothes," she paused, "and graffiti marring your pretty faces."

"Drama group, it seems." She scoffed with a shake of her head, giving their chuckling faces a lopsided grin.

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Hey, people! How are you all? I know I'm late with the current chapter, but I got the idea ready just two days back. I don't know, my mind didn't seem to be helping me out with it.

But, I'm here now with the 20th Episode and I guess I can say that this book has pretty much reached its half. Keyword: Guess.

So, how did you find this update? What do you think of Max? Any idea what's up with him?

What do you think of Ivan? And the twins? Oh, and their mom too? :D

Please let me know if you find any part confusing by commenting. Also, I'm feeling quite low about this chapter. I'm not sure if I've written it up to the mark or not. What do you think?

Constructive criticism is always welcome and please let me know if I can improve in any way.

If you like my book and the current chapter, please leave a vote by clicking on the star below. It will make my day and I'll feel appreciated. Thank you to everyone who's reading my book. It means so much. 💖

Sneak-Peek of Episode 21:

More drama coming up in the twins' life. Any idea what's going to happen next? Anyone missing Ashley? Just asking. 😜

Keep smiling! 💕
Lots of love❤💙
Sakina

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