To Love A Villain

Chapter 227: Forever

>>Pen

Val’s eyes darted around the kitchen, his mind racing. His gaze fell on the empty plate and then on the crumbs scattered all over the counter. He suddenly snapped his fingers, his face lighting up with an idea.

"Okay, I’ve got a plan," Val said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "We’ll blame it on a stray dog."

I blinked at him. "A dog?"

Dad tilted his head, skeptical. "How are we going to make that believable? And where are we even going to get a dog?"

"Leave that to me," Val replied. He quickly ran to the kitchen door, swinging it open. "I just need to grab one from outside. There are always some strays around here."

Before either Dad or I could protest or offer a better idea, Val was already out the door, sprinting down the garden path. I watched him go, my stomach tightening with anxiety. I wasn’t sure how he was going to pull this off, but at this point, any plan was better than no plan.

Dad and I waited

"Honey?" Mom called Dad. We both flinched at her voice, "I need a little help!" She was looking around the lounge.

We could hear her walking.

"Dad!" I placed my hands on his back, "Go!" I urged him, "Stall Mom!"

He nodded and made his way out of the kitchen

"Darling!" He stood in her path, "What do you need help with?"

"Oh?" She stopped, "I brought the shop’s boy along, can you take the things from him and put them in the kitchen?"

My heart started pounding.

Oh No!

"Uh- sure," Dad nodded while I remained hidden, "Come with me," He grabbed Mom’s hand and began to take her out.

"Where are the kids?" She asked.

"They must be here somewhere," Dad replied as he took her out of the house again.

I looked at the kitchen door and ran out to see where Val was.

I was expecting him to have caught a dog by now but I was surprised by what I saw.

He lunged forward, grabbing a pig by its belly. The pig let out a surprised squeal, wriggling in Val’s grasp, but he held on tight.

"Sorry, buddy, but you’re gonna help us out today," Val grunted, hauling the pig toward the house.

"Where did you find a pig?" I was baffled

"I have no idea why it was here but it’s better than nothing!"

As he ran, he deliberately stomped his feet into the muddiest patches he could find, splattering his shoes and pants with dirt. The pig, struggling against him, also got even more covered in mud. Val grimaced but pressed on, determination etched on his face.

By the time he reached the back door of the kitchen, he was a mess—mud all over his clothes, dirt smudged on his face, and the pig still squirming in his grip.

At the same time dad came back in with groceries, putting them on the shelf high above the floor.

"Val, what are you—" He started to ask, but Val cut him off.

"No time! Help me!" He whispered urgently.

Val set the pig down in the kitchen, where it immediately began snuffling around, leaving muddy tracks all over the floor. He then grabbed the empty cookie plate and smeared a bit of mud on it, as if the pig had knocked it off the counter. Dad caught on and quickly brushed some crumbs into the mud to make it look more convincing.

I, meanwhile, grabbed a broom and started strategically brushing crumbs and bits of cookie toward the muddy footprints, making it look like the pig had knocked them off and devoured the cookies right there.

"Okay, okay... this might just work," I said, my heart racing as we worked together.

"Almost done!" Val said, wiping his muddy hands on his already-soiled pants. "Make sure everything looks chaotic, like a real mess happened."

Dad moved some chairs around, knocking one over on purpose. "We need to make it look like the pig was really rampaging," He added.

Val nodded, then took a deep breath, looking around at our handiwork. The kitchen looked like a disaster zone. Muddy prints covered the floor, the counter was smeared with dirt and crumbs, and the pig, now calmed down a bit, was nosing around near the stove.

"Okay, I think that’s good enough," Val whispered, nodding to himself.

Just then, the sound of the front door opening and Mom’s humming reached our ears. My heart skipped a beat, and I saw Dad tense up.

"She’s here!" I hissed, panic surging through me again. "Everyone, act natural!"

Val grabbed a dish towel and pretended to wipe his face, while Dad quickly bent down to pick up the knocked-over chair. I tried to look as innocent as possible, standing with my hands behind my back.

Mom walked into the kitchen, her humming stopping abruptly as she took in the scene. Her eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in confusion.

"What on earth happened here?" she asked, her gaze darting from the muddy footprints to the crumbs, and finally landing on the pig happily rooting around near the counter.

Val was quick to jump in. "Mom! You won’t believe it! This stray pig must have smelled the cookies or something and barged right in! It was a complete mess. We were trying to clean up before you got back."

Mom stared at him, then at the pig, then at the mess. She put her hands on her hips, looking from one of us to the other, as if trying to decide whether to believe this ridiculous story.

"The pig, huh?" She said slowly, her eyes narrowing. "And it just happened to eat all the cookies, too?"

Dad nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! We tried to shoo it away, but it was too quick!"

I nodded in agreement, putting on my best innocent face. "It’s true, Mom. It made such a mess, and we were just trying to stop it!"

The pig, as if on cue, let out a loud snort and knocked into the empty cookie plate, sending it clattering to the floor. Mom sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I swear, you three will be the death of me," she muttered, shaking her head. "Alright, clean this up, and make sure that pig gets back outside. And next time, try to be a bit more careful."

We all nodded, trying to suppress relieved smiles.

As soon as she turned her back, I glanced at Val and Dad. We shared a silent, triumphant grin. We’d pulled it off... barely.

***

>>Val

The sun was warm on my face as Pen and I sprinted up the hill, laughing like we’d just gotten away with the greatest heist of all time—which, to be fair, we kind of had. The wind rushed past us, carrying away our breathless giggles as we raced each other to the top, the thrill of our successful cookie stunt still buzzing through our veins.

"Bet you can’t catch me, Val!" Pen shouted over her shoulder, her hair streaming behind her like a banner.

"Is that a challenge?" I called back, grinning. I pushed myself harder, my legs pumping faster, though I didn’t mind letting her lead for a bit. Seeing her so happy, her face lit up with that playful grin... it was kind of nice.

The hill was steep, but neither of us cared. We were free, our feet barely touching the ground as we ran. When we finally reached the top, Pen spun around with her arms wide open, her laughter ringing out into the open sky.

It was like music to my ears.

Just listening to her laugh made me smile while I felt all bubbly inside.

"We did it! We actually pulled it off!" She exclaimed, collapsing onto the grass. I flopped down beside her, the soft blades cushioning my back as I caught my breath. The sky above was a perfect, endless blue, and a light breeze kept the sun’s warmth from becoming too much. It was one of those days that felt like it could last forever.

"Yeah, we did," I chuckled, still feeling the rush of adrenaline. "I can’t believe Aunt actually bought the whole pig story. I mean, that was kind of a stretch, even for us."

Pen burst into giggles. "I know, right? I thought for sure she’d figure it out. But the pig really sold it. The way it snorted at the perfect moment—I swear, it deserves an award."

I laughed, turning my head to look at her. She was still giggling, her cheeks flushed with excitement, and her eyes sparkling like she’d just won the greatest prize in the world. There was something about seeing her like this—so carefree, so alive—that made my own heart lift in a way I wasn’t expecting.

"We got lucky, that’s for sure," I said, shaking my head. "But it was fun. I haven’t had that much fun in a while."

Pen smiled, her gaze drifting up to the sky. "Yeah... me neither. It’s nice to just... be like this. To be free."

I nodded, feeling the same. "Free," I echoed. For a moment, we just laid there, side by side, the wind brushing over us like a whisper.

Pen turned her head toward me, her face still bright with that post-adventure glow. "You know, Val, I think we make a pretty good team," She said, grinning. "We should pull off more stunts together."

I laughed. "Yeah? And what do you have in mind, partner-in-crime?"

She tapped her chin, pretending to think. "Oh, I don’t know... Maybe next time, we could sneak into the bakery at dawn and swipe a loaf of that honey bread. Or—oh! We could switch all of Dad’s socks with Mom’s just to see his reaction."

I laughed at the thought, but then my laughter faded as I looked at her. She was talking animatedly, her hands waving around as she described all the mischief we could get up to.

And as I watched her, I felt my heartbeat start to thud a little harder,

A little faster.

And I knew well enough that it wasn’t from all the running. There was this weird flutter in my chest, like something had shifted, something warm

I found myself staring at her. The way the sun made her hair shimmer, the way her eyes crinkled when she laughed, the way she seemed to light up just by talking about the silliest things. My cheeks flushed lightly, and I didn’t know why I couldn’t look away. It felt like I was... mesmerized.

"Val?" Pen said, snapping me out of my thoughts. She was looking at me now, her head tilted slightly. "You okay? You’re being kinda quiet all of a sudden."

I blinked, realizing I hadn’t said a word. "Oh, yeah, sorry," I mumbled, feeling my face heat up even more. "Just... thinking."

"Thinking about what?" she asked, a teasing lilt in her voice. "Plotting our next great adventure?"

"Uh, yeah," I said quickly, nodding. "Something like that."

Pen giggled and nudged me with her elbow. "Come on, spit it out. I know that look. You’ve got some kind of idea brewing in that head of yours."

I shrugged, trying to play it cool. "Maybe I’m just thinking about how you got us into this whole mess in the first place."

She laughed. "Me? You were the one who suggested we blame it on a stray dog. I was just going to hide the evidence!"

"Yeah, and your ’hiding’ would’ve been so obvious," I shot back, grinning. "You’re terrible at keeping secrets."

She pretended to be offended, gasping dramatically. "I’ll have you know I’m an excellent secret-keeper! It’s just... this one was too good to keep to myself."

I chuckled, and she laughed too, and for a moment, everything felt simple and perfect. Just us, lying on a hill, under a big blue sky.

I didn’t know why I felt this way, why my heart was beating louder when she was this close, or why I was noticing all these little things about her—like the way her laughter seemed to fill the world or how her smile could light up the day. All I knew was that, for some reason, I didn’t want this moment to end.

I didn’t want to stop looking at her.

Pen turned her face back to the sky, still smiling. "You know, Val, I’m glad you’re here," She said softly, her voice almost lost in the wind. "I’m glad we can share stuff like this."

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. "Yeah... me too."

And for a while, we just lay there, the sun warming our skin, the wind whispering through the grass, and the world feeling just right.

It was at that moment I realized my feelings and how much I desired to always be with Pen

How much I wanted us to be together

Forever