Chapter Text
“Hey Dorkin! Look at this book, Grandma used to read it to us!” Deacon skeptically looked at the book until his eyes gleamed in recognition. “Barnätare.” Chase opened the old book, brushing off the light film of dust that coated the edges of the paper with his hand. “No way man. I can’t believe Grandpa Ralph still had this. This book used to scare you! Remember that?” The two Hollow boys had been going through boxes in the basement, helping Grandpa Ralph rearrange things.
“We haven’t read that book in years.” Deacon came to Chase's side examining the pages. Colorful illustrations, depicting events within the book clouded below boxes of text. “The book may be old but I don’t see any damage. I could take notes later and then tomorrow we could go into the book.”
“Sounds good! I already know this story by heart though so I don’t need any notes. Buddy's going to be so surprised when I do everything right. I’m not even going to have to ask him for help!”
Chase remembered having sleepovers with Deacon at his grandparents house when he was younger. Grandma would always read them a book before bed. Mostly because Deacon insisted, BUT Chase didn’t hate the stories. He was always able to picture a mind movie of everything that took place in the books. After the story the two of them would always try their best to stay up late together but once the clock hit 9:00 PM they would be out cold.
Chase held the book out to Deacon grinning. Deacon took it and furrowed his eyebrows in return with a scowl on his face. “Chase, I WILL be writing notes, and you WILL be reading them. Not always sticking to the plot can be dangerous. Especially for a book like Barnätare.”
“Sure. Sure.” Chase agreed while Nodding.
Pssh. Dorkin has no idea what he’s talking about. Barnätare is a children’s story, and I know how it goes. I practically have the whole book memorized.
When Grandma used to read to the boys, before bed Chase would purposely pick “Barnätare” over and over again. It was such a fun story. (But also because the book terrified Deacon, and little Chasey thought that was hilarious.)
“Charlie, Deacon! Time for Dinner!” Chase turned towards Deacon, quickly snatching the book back.
“Deacon! I know that you want to go into the book now but it’s time for dinner!” Deacon rolled his eyes heading upstairs. Chase followed behind with his arms wrapped around the book. “Grandpa, I'm just gonna run this upstairs. I’ll be back soon.”
“Hey guys! Guess what me and Deacon found downstairs?” Silver tilted her head to the side and she contemplated what it could be, while her brothers glanced at Chase waiting for an answer.
“It’s a book.” Bronze whispered to Silver. His eyes somewhat looked past Chase, gazing out into the mirror in the room
“Woah! How’d you know?” Chase pulled the book from behind his back, showing the keys the beautiful cover. Chase proudly grinned after hearing Silver’s and Goldie’s approval.
“Barnätare? Is the book perhaps in Swedish?” Silver asked, pointing at the title.
Chase looked down at the title. He never thought of that or considered the book being in a different language. “Uhh… I think it’s in English. My Grandma used to read it and I don’t think she knew Swedish.” He flipped open the book and tried to read the first sentence. “Yeah. The book is in English. Maybe the story takes place in Sweden though.”
“Charlie! Get down here!”
Oh I forgot about dinner. I hope Deacon didn’t eat all the mashed potatoes. Chase apologetically dipped his head towards the keys before setting the book down on the top of the dresser. “Sorry guys. I’ll talk to you later before bed.”
Morning light crept through the windows filling the room and blinding Chase. The boy just pulled his blanket over his head, sighing into his pillows. No matter how much sleep he got it never seemed to be enough. Chase heard his cousin swing the door open, mumbling something under his breath.
“Chase, get UP!” Deacon called from the bed post leaning against the wall. Chase tried harder to bury himself in blankets as he curled up into a ball.
“Go away Dorkin, I need my beauty sleep.” Deacon huffed, pulling Chase's pillow from under his head.
“You NEED to get up. Grandpa Ralph has been calling you for the last 10 minutes. Your eggs are going to get cold.”
Chase groaned in response, moving his Alistair body pillow from the side of him to replace the pillow Deacon had stolen.
“Come on Chase. We can’t do that book you wanted to do unless you eat so get up.” The book! Right! Chase had nearly forgotten about the book. Chase peeled back his blankets and fetched the closest pair of pants.
“I’ll get ready after breakfast, and then we can go into the story.”
A cool breeze stirred leaves in the air and apparently Chase's hair too. He pushed the hair that had fallen into his eyes back up while brushing down the hair pieces that stood out.
The Hollow boys were in the middle of a Nemoral forest. Long trunks of beech and oak covered the ground while soft moss covered the woodland floor. It was chilly but the wind wasn’t too harsh. The breeze in a way was kind of refreshing. The way it danced with his hair and rushed against his cheek.
Chase outstretched his arms to the sky and took a deep breath. The earthy aroma really cleared his senses. It had been awhile since he had been to the woods like this. His dad used to take him on hikes through the forest when he was younger but it had been so long ago. Too long.
“Huh. I don't look too bad.” Chase turned towards his cousin. Deacon was dressed in a cream colored long sleeved shirt with a black vest that had little bronze buttons with encarved apples . A sturdy pair of trousers hung from his waist while an orange colored cloth was wrapped around his hips like a belt. On his head he wore a black cap that matched his vest.
“Looking good Dorkin! But I think Silver did a better job.”
“Chase, it's not a competition.” But it was. Life was a competition and Chase wanted to win, and win he shall.
Silver always did her best when creating outfits for Chase. They were always well thought out and cute. Today he wore a blue cotton blouse and a vest similar to Deacons. Chase's vest was a deep pink that almost appeared red and contained a beautiful golden flower pattern. Each flower looked as if it had been carefully stitched in place. Navy trousers with a similar flower pattern blooming from the bottom of the hems, hugged his legs. Around his neck close to Silver's key rested a small mirror in the shape of a heart shaped locket. Chase did recognize the importance of the necklace but couldn’t remember why it was so important.
“Is the kid not with you two today?”
Chase turned to see Buddy. The young man was sitting on an oak tree branch as his long legs dangling below. “No, she had a doctor's appointment today.”
Buddy's gaze did not break. “Hmm… maybe that’s for the best. This story can be rather dark for a kid so young.”
Chase made an attempt to agree with Buddy by nodding although he didn’t fully remember what the hero did within the story. Sure he remembered how everything ended but to get to those points…
Man. Could Buddy get any hotter? Apparently he could. His black wispy hair was moving around in the wind as well but instead of Buddy looking like a hot mess he looked like some sort of actor being portrayed in a dramatic film. That wind was a paid actor for sure.
Buddy wore a long black coat. Thick fleece lined the edges of the coat. Chase could visibly see Buddy’s icy blue button up from under the coat as it matched his eyes. The young man was always effortlessly beautiful. Violet always managed to make him look stunning. Finishing off his beguiling look Buddy had two thin black leathered bracelets on his left wrist and a pair of black hoop beaded metallic earrings.
“Come on Chase!” Deacon called. “We need to head off to the first scene.” Chase sighed, waving up at Buddy.
“See you soon Buds!” Chase saw Buddy cringe at the new nickname but he chose to ignore it. Buddy used to hate the nickname “Buddy” as well. If only Chase knew his real name.
Chase still didn’t know much about Buddy but he strived for a deeper connection. He wanted to know everything about Buddy but the situation at hand made that difficult. It was hard to get to know someone when you were on opposite sides of the track.