Archive of Our Own ^omega

Chapter Text

Have you ever dreamt a dream so delicate and pure that you felt the need to fight off anyone who would dare to wake you? So filled with color and equal parts wonder and whimsy that you wished it was your real life? A dream so powerful and filled with hope that it would be embedded in your memory for the rest of your life? 

Well, neither has Elizabeth. She doesn't dream. 

She simply closes her eyes and wakes up either to the smell of food or the blaring sound of her alarm clock. At least today was food. 

6:42 .a.m

Her eyelashes fluttered against each other, moving up and down until she forced herself to shimmy out of bed, looking to her left to see clear evidence that a smaller figure was hogging the left half. He must’ve woken up before her again, she thought, while yawning. 

She’s really going to have to give him another talk about boundaries and why he cannot barge into her room and bed anymore. It’s her fault he’s grown accustomed to waltzing in at three in the morning half awake-half asleep, but that was way back when he would whine and cry about needing a light on in the hallway due to his fear of the dark. 

She was growing, so was he, and she’d rather not have to change her sleep habits, but at least he’s trying to be respectful. When he was younger, he’d jolt her awake by forcing himself into her arms, burying into her warmth and holding ever so tightly,  just to make sure she wouldn't go anywhere while he tossed and turned in his sleep. 

She didn't even notice he was in her bed this time around. 

“Hmm..” She groaned, throwing the sheets off her midriff and walking to her closet, pulling a random a large sweater over her body, finally becoming the slightest bit presentable. 

She walked downstairs to greet her family, the one responsible for a fresh scent of butter and pancake batter with hints of bacon and or sausage, it’s always hard to tell which one he prefers. 

“W-Who’s that?” He murmured, taking his eyes off the stove and looking toward the door. 

“How do you do that?” she asked, “-Always knowing when someone enters the room? I was on my tippy toes for crying out loud.” 

“T-They’re l-louder than you t-think.” He smiled, politely waving from the top of his stool. 

“So you’re calling me heavy now?” She grinned, pulling out a chair from the dining table and moving it slightly closer to the stove, just enough to supervise him, while not setting her glamorous hair on fire. “And what have I told you about using the stove?” 

“B-But I’m wearing a t-shirt..?” He responded, showing her his very apparent lack of long sleeves. 

“Not that one, the other rule.” She smiled. 

“B-But you were asleep…how was I supposed to tell you?” he whined, “P-Plus you a-always groan and start p-pulling on my cheeks every time I try to wake you…” 

“Fair,” She yawned, “How’s the cooking coming along?” 

“G-Good, b-but we didn't have enough bacon for everyone, s-so I just made some sausages for M-Mikey.” 

“You’re much too considerate.” She reprimanded, “You can't earn your way to his good side; there's no good side to begin with.” She huffed under her breath. A harsh thing to say for such an early time of day, but much needed if you ask her.

He didn't reply, only shrunk away in silence. She hated how often he tried to do things for their older brother, just to be shoved out the way or lectured about how he was doing a “woman’s job”. She got the same exact treatment when they were younger, before Evan was even born. She eventually gave up the same way she’s telling him to, deciding it was better to spare herself the annoyance of dealing with someone who was so inconsiderate. 

He never wanted to play toys with her. He always shooed her off whenever she wanted to be around him, and he always gave her the stink eye whenever he got in trouble. Dealing with that man-baby was just plain exhausting after a while, and it hasn’t gotten any easier after their mom’s passing and her now-favorite-brother’s birth. 

“I’m just saying,” She started, “When was the last time he even said ‘hi’ to you?” 

“Hi.” A more gruff voice curtly interrupted. His hairy arms crossed and his permanent scowl in its full effect as he bore daggers into his sister’s skull. 

“H-Hi-Good morning.” The little boy stumbled, his hands shaking as he waved. 

She licked the roof of her teeth, glaring at the dark-brown-haired dickhead. Refusing to waste her breath on the older boy with a hello, as it wasn’t directed toward her to begin with, she walked out of the kitchen with her hands resting on her hips.

“Hm.” He sighed, swiping a pancake from the open plate and snatching a piece of sausage, stuffing both into his mouth in a disgusting show of his lack of tact and etiquette. “Happy birthday,” he groaned, food still in his mouth with bits of crumbs escaping his mouth as he chewed. 

“T-Thank you…” Evan meekly muttered, not looking his older brother in the eyes, which Michael noticed. 

“You really gotta learn how to grow out of this whole ‘shy’ thing you got going on.” He said bluntly, using his palm to highlight his entire figure, “Nobody’s going to respect you if you can't even look them in the eye. It’s part of being a man.” 

“G-Gee, I-I’m….” the little boy breathed, other words caught in his throat as the rupturing beating of his heart stopped his airway. “I-I’m s-sorry.” he squeaked out, tightening his lips as he watched Micheal roll his eyes. 

“And the stutter, too, hasn't William told you to get over that? Believe me, it's the only time that asshole has been right.” 

The curly haired boy stayed quiet, knowing that if he apologized again, Michael would have another thing to point out. It was always so hard to tell if he was bashing him out of care or disdain… 

“Thanks for the food, little man,” He snickered, smacking Evan in the back of his head. “Dont die in the passenger seat with the witch.” 

Probably disdain…

______

Evan plated his food, his eyes still directed at the floor, as usual. Dragging his feet along the wood until he reached the table. He placed his rear on the only neat chair left, shifting his knees on the brittle wood as the table still proved too high for him. 

He caught a glimpse of his fingernail, a hint of baby-pink polish stuck to the otherwise opaque flesh color of his nails. He felt a lump in his throat again, and an electric tingle crawl down his spine in disgust. 

He pushed himself out of the chair, rushing to the bathroom, locking the door, and turning the right-most nozzle until faint grays of steam rose from the water that beat against the porcelain sink. 

He winced as he shoved his hand under the harsh water, unable to grit back his mewls of pain- as he squeezed dollops of soap onto the back of his fingers and roughly scratched against his nail, abandoning all forms of delicacy. 

It's not manly. He repeated in his head, as if it were a mantra. Using it to push his self image further down as warm streaks stung his rosy cheekbones. Boys shouldn’t cry either…. Micheal’s words plagued his mind, doing more work in eliciting pain than the combination of scalding-hot water and rough scrubs against his skin which made his finger ache. 

He pulled away from the water, shrinking back as he saw a tiny amount of blood race down from the end of his nail. At least the polish was gone…

He remembered the elated feeling he had when his sister was talking to him about what high school was like while painting one of her solutions against his fingers. She always said it was to “See the color on someone else, before myself”, but he knew she was doing it because they found it rather fun. And not because it was taboo, but because he liked the look of his nails being…regardless, it's not manly.

He pulled the mirror out, revealing the medicine cabinet and the almost empty carton of Band-Aids. He plucked one out of the box and wrapped it around his finger, finally able to smile as all the evidence was gone. 

He didn't notice it was there until Michael was lecturing him, and he knew if Michael caught a whiff of that kind of thing, he’d be a dead man walking, getting another earful of how much of an embarrassment he could be as both a brother and a man.

He’d love to argue back, “man this, man that, just let me be me”, but…

The worst part is Michael’s right, he can't be going to Elizabeth’s room and bonding over painting nails and doing hair…He’s a boy; he needs to get into a sport or something…all his other friends can…And if he does, he’ll finally stop being looked at like a sissy! 

With a sudden loss of appetite, the boy placed his food in the fridge, throwing the dirty dishes in the sink and walking to his room, ignoring the pang of hunger in his belly with the efficiency of someone who’s done so multiple times over. 

He closed the door to his dull room, the only sense of flair being the golden teddy bear wrapped in a red ribbon with messy permanent marker streaks covering sitting atop his sheetless bed, and a mirror caked in dust and grime— a reminder of how little time he actually spends in the room that’s his. 

“Hi-ya T-Teddy,” he waved, before walking further in toward his perfectly organized closet. He avoided looking at the mirror while pulling out a sweater and shorts, not needing another reminder of the things that already bother him.

He scurried off to the bathroom, taking a quick shower and rubbing lotion over his skin before putting on his picked out clothing. 

He always regretted how soft and perfectly blemishless he was, and how much he preferred this to Michael’s gorilla-esque punk-ish appearance. The unruly hair, broad shoulders, unfriendly scowl, (disturbing musk), he claimed as manly, and anything opposite as girly. Does being manly really have to constitute as being…that? For goodness sake, does he need to have a cavity just like Mike does in order to be more ‘manly’?! 

He searched his unnaturally souless room for a comb, hoping he didn't leave it with Elizabeth and all her hair stuff, and letting out a sigh when he surmised it could only be there. It’s only natural, she began to do it solely when he was young because nobody else would. Eventually when they started having conversations to avoid the awkward silence of the house, it became almost second nature for him to walk to her about it. After a while, it stopped being about the hair entirely, and about finally being around someone who was nicer than he expected. 

He hung around Mike all the time because they were both guys. A commonality of sorts. He was the oldest, the tallest, so he seemed like the best option for the protection someone so young would naturally look for. A role model, and trusted source of affection. But that idea needed to be scrapped or Evan felt like he’d go insane.

Elizabeth was different, she always had a smile on her face whenever he was nearby, even though she was quick to talk about herself, even when they were much younger, she still asked him about how he was doing…eventually, it just felt like second nature to do what she did and be around her. 

Maybe the bar was low, or maybe they were more compatible due to being closer in age, maybe both; all he knows is that from his perspective, she was the greatest thing the world could’ve given to him.

______

Elizabeth brought the curling iron down her last strand of bed hair, fastening it with her signature red ribbon; she never left the house without it- a staple of her ever-perfect appearance! With a pleased hum, she peered into the mirror, looking at all her favorite angles of herself with a proud smile. Only stopping when her door creaked open. 

“You always walk in like I bite.” Elizabeth giggled, turning her body around and outstretching her arms, her usual way of saying ‘come here’. 

He closed the door behind him, making sure to hear the click of the doorknob before jogging to her legs, taking the free spot on her lap. 

“You know the drill.” She nodded, bringing the curling iron to his delicate head and running it through his shorter locks of similarly ginger colored hair. “Your eyebags are getting worse; we really need to go to the doctors about your sleeping issues,” she murmured, turning a knob down on her radio-player, “And your lips are so dry…let me hurry up with this curling iron.” 

The young boy melted into her touch, finally able to relax his mind as he calmly sat through her routine, making occasional conversation about his friends and how “cool” they all are. 

Did she agree? Heavens no. 

In all honesty, she couldn’t bother to remember anything about them, but that’s exactly why he could use some new ones. Actually “cool” ones.

“All done, how’dya like it?” She smiled, cupping his cheeks and directing his small face into her enormous mirror set. 

With rosy cheeks and a perfectly aligned smile, he gave her a simple nod, his way of saying ‘thank you’. 

“Eyes closed,” Elizabeth giggled, grabbing one of her favorite perfumes and dousing them both with a few sprays. “Dont you just look so cute?” 

Boys don't look cute, they look handsome. His mind spat at him. 

“H-Hah..ha…” He stuttered, wanting to correct her, but losing the heart to do so after his voice came out so weakly.

“It’s about time to leave, let's go, we can't have you being late!” His older sister smiled, taking his hand and grabbing the bookbags messily stuffed under the bed. “Not on your birthday!” 

“I-I was w-wondering if you forgot…” He smiled, a brightness in his eyes shining with earnestness. 

“How could I? I'm the one who circled it on the calendar downstairs.” She smiled, withholding other special information about what she schemed. 

…

“Mike. We’re leaving. Go to school,” the middle child yelled from the doorway. Any sense of emotion was completely devoid, not frustration, not happiness, not sorrow, and definitely not regret.

 He simply groaned back at her, mumbling what can only be assumed was ‘shut up’. 

_______

“Guess who’s finally big enough to sit in the front seat?” Elizabeth smiled, opening the passenger door to her pink convertible, “C’mon, sit up here with me! You can control the radio today if you like?” 

“I-I’m fine,” He smiled back, strapping himself into the seat, and laughing to himself as he played with the seat’s reclining function. “L-Look at me! I’m laying d-down!” he chuckled, holding his stomach as he feigned sleeping.  

“Okay, comedian-” She laughed, “Sit right, we’re picking up Liv and Lyn.” 

“Aww…” 

“Dont say ‘aaww’, that's not polite,” she smiled, “They’re actually cool.” 

“Y-Yeah right.” He groaned to himself, forcing his seat upward. 

________

“Who’s that big man in the passenger seat?” A dark-skinned woman laughed, throwing her purse into the back seat and hopping over the car door. “I heard you turned 12 today? Is that right?” 

“Y-Yeah…” The timid boy nodded, waving to Elizabeth’s friend Lyn, short for Lynda. She was about as meticulous about her appearance as Elizabeth herself, possibly even more. Adorned with a cream-like-white colored ribbon fashioned at the top of her ponytail, and an outfit so eye-catchingly green he couldn’t bring himself to inspect the rest of her, he watched her make herself comfortable, placing both her legs on the front side’s arm rest/compartment. 

“Hey, Lyn.” Elizabeth called, blowing her a kiss from the driver’s seat.  

“You keep blowing girls kisses, and eventually some of them’s actually gonna think you’re a raging lesbo.” The girl smirked. 

“Ha! Me? Oh, please,” the ginger-haired woman snickered, giving her friend’s mom a wave from the driver's seat. “That stuff’s so weird, isn’t it.” 

“Raging l-lesbo?” The younger boy questioned, looking at the two older girls. 

“Oh you don’t know? It’s your sister in a few years if she keeps directing her lips at girls instead of saying ‘hi’ like a normal person.”

“Dont-! Never mind her.” Elizabeth smiled, her lips curled uncomfortably, and her eyebrows knit in a defensive manner that only Evan recognized. “Look, maybe…maybe when you’re older, we’ll have that talk.” She muttered, an eerie seriousness coating her words. 

“Nonsense, might as well tell ’em, listen up sport, a lesbo’s a girl who likes to give special kisses to other girls!” Lyn snickered, poking her friend in the cheek. “Can you believe that? A girl kissing another girl? Yuck, right?’ 

“Y-You’re going to confuse him, just be quiet back there! Unless you want to walk!” 

“****s’ don't treat other girls like this!” Lyn teased, her snickering turning into full belly laughs. 

Evan was about to ask his sister if she was a quote-unquote “raging lesbo”, but the look in her eyes demanded that he drop it. 

“I-I don't think it's t-that weird…” He said into the sky, looking at another massive cloud, “K-Kissing a girl…” 

“Yeah? Well, you just watch where you’re giving them kisses, Casanova!” Lynda teased, throwing another joke that she knew would go over his head. 

“LYN!”

“Fineeee, fineeee.” 

…

“C’MON LIV, WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR LIKE TWENTY MINUTES!” The driver screamed, glaring at the girl who was stepping out of her door. 

“Is that my other little brother all grown up?!” A pink-haired girl squealed, forcing the young boy into a tight hug from outside the car. “Happy birthday!!” 

“H-Hell-Hi, ‘L-Livia…” He stammered, lightly fighting against her enthusiastic hug, which was turning more and more into what felt like a hostage situation.

Compared to Lynda who moved here from the east coast, Olivia’s been in Utah all her life. Her and Elizabeth have been friends since the second grade, back then they were much less…cutthroat with their peers. It’s much different to who they are today… 

Evan could still remember the day Elizabeth opened the door with him in tow, only to see Olivia’s hair freshly bleached a platinum strawberry-blonde, the pinks in his hair shining brightly and capturing his gaze as he’d never seen something before that was so brazen and demanding of attention. She said it was a rebellious act against her parents, and that they’d both get boyfriends in no time, pointing at Elizabeth and her simultaneously. 

She wasn’t far off, as she gossiped about all the new looks she was getting, and a boyfriend not too far in the future, although Elizabeth never seemed to follow suit with that last part.

“Liv!” the dark skinned girl smiled, smacking the seat next to her in the back, “C’mon, you can't seduce your way to the front seat, greedy bitch.” 

“Dont say that in front of him! He’s too young to be learning those words!” the strawberry pink-haired girl yelled. “Never call a girl a bitch, she might slap you, okay, sweetheart~?” 

“O-Okay…” He droned, desperately wishing to put some distance between her and his reddened face. 

“Liv,” Elizabeth grunted, “Maybe a little bit of space?” she mouthed, her frown amplifying when the pink-haired girl stuck her tongue out playfully. 

“Liz!” she smiled, releasing the young boy and walking over to the driver’s side, lowering herself to the ginger’s eyeline, “Where’s my kiss at~.”

“Even you?! It’s even reached you!?” The ginger glowered, “That blabbering-!! Ugh…just get in the car.” 

“What a shame, I was really hoping today specifically, I could get a smooch~” she teased, slowly taking the ginger’s sunglasses off and placing them on her own face. “On these lips, by the way, not the ones you would like.” She snorted, pointing at her lips doused in her signature rebellious orange lipstick. 

“J-Just get in the back seat! I don't wanna hear anything more out of you two! And I’m not a fucking homo!” 

“Aye aye!” 

_______

“Okay, we’re here, come let me walk you inside,” Elizabeth said, unbuckling her seatbelt. “Get his bag, you two.” 

“I-It’s okay, I c-can walk m-myself in.” he blushed, not wanting to look like a weirdo for rolling in with three older girls from the high school unit. 

Their school went from kindergarten to twelfth grade, (that’s the one Michael’s in!) The elementary and middle school was one part of the school, and the high school was another; they shared some things, like the cafeteria, the gymnasium, the auditorium, and, honestly, anything else the staff utilized. The middle school department just wasn't allowed to go past floor five, and the high school department, vice versa. 

“We all have to go the same way regardless, no point in us trailing behind you, sport.” Lyn smirked, “Plus, think about all the things your friends might think.” 

“Oooo, who’s that cute boy with the three older girls? Lucky him! I should ask him how he pulled that off!” Liv teased, “Or all the girls who might be jealous? You will be walking in with us after all~” 

“They’ll be jealous regardless, and it's because they’re not me.” Elizabeth chuckled. “And they’re right, you know, don’t you want to be a little more popular? Or at least not have the reputation of an easy target?” 

“N-No, I-I’m fine…” He smiled, “I have f-friends now.” 

“Eugh…  ‘friends’,” Olivia replied, a disgusting sound erupting from her throat as she said the word friends with airquotes. 

“Word.” Lyn nodded, “You can do better, your selection is…odd, kid.” 

He only glared at them, hoping they’d catch his displeasure with how they badmouthed his friends. They’re not perfect, as obvious as they make it seem, at least. But it’s okay that his friends are a little quirky; it's what makes them nice to be around! 

“Aw, I’m sorry, cutie,” Liv teased, “Your friends are…fine.” 

With a huff and desire to take what he can get, he grabbed his bookbag from the black haired girl and looked over at his sister. 

“You really don’t want us to come with you?” She asked, sounding half relieved, and half perplexed. “As Lyn said, we’re going to be walking in after you anyway?” 

“I-I’m fine.” He smiled. In truth, he wanted to save himself from the whispers of being a weird boy, but he predominantly wanted to save his sister’s reputation. 

He knows how much she cares for it, bragging about her high test scores and lying about not studying, even if she’s sometimes up longer than he is, re-reading her textbooks and scouring notes like a maniac. If she were to walk in with him, his reputation for being…himself could rub off on her. And then he’d be an embarrassment again. Even if she’s told him that he was the one person who could never embarrass her, her word isn't set in stone; it's easy to watch it all crumble. 

In fact, he’s sure there’s probably someone who would like to see it turn to dust. 

He’s no fool; he knows Elizabeth’s not as amazing as she portrays herself. She’s vindictive and almost as curt as Michael; she’d hate to hear it, but they’re not that different. The apple never falls far from the tree, she just rolled down the opposite side of the hill.

“Okay, we’ll let you walk in alone, have a good day at school, sweetie.” She smiled, giving him a delicate kiss on the forehead. 

“My turn!” The pinkette smiled, giving the boy a small peck on the cheek and wishing him a happy birthday. 

The last girl smiled, giving him a wave instead. 

“Oh, and Lyn has cheer today, so would you do me a favor and stay near the school? I’d ask for them to allow you to watch, but middle schoolers just aren’t allowed. So just wait on the stairs, okay? It should only take an hour.”  

“A-An hour…?” the ginger-haired boy whined, obviously not happy about the assignment he was given. “Fine, I-I’ll stay on the steps…B-Bye, then…” he waved

“Ciao, I love you, have a good day, and see you soon, okay?” Elizabeth smiled, wrapping her pinky around his, and kissing him on the forehead again.

“I-I know.” He smiled, attempting to walk off. 

“Uh-uh, say it back.” She glared. Locking the car doors on him. “I don’t tell anyone ‘I love you’ and they walk off on me.”

“Li-Li Im twelve now…and we’re in front of e-everyone…” He whined back. 

“Dont act like you’re all tough and too grown and strong  for me now, where’s my ‘I love you’ back?” 

“I l-love you too, now gooooo!” He whined, laughing to himself as he kissed her cheek, trying to push her away back into her seat as the driver as he let himself out of the car.

“Good enough,” She smiled, keeping an eye on the younger boy as he walked up the steps, nearly stumbling over his foot and landing on another child, (as usual). She yelled another “Happy birthday”, making him turn and give a slight smile with a flushed pink  face, before becoming lost in the crowd of children. 

“Okay, girls. We’re off.” Elizabeth smiled impishly, lowering her shades and pulling out of the school’s parking lot.

_______

Micheal afton peddled as lightly as he could, tip-toeing the line between coasting and biking as much as possible. Why would he put effort into getting to school on time? He’s a senior now, so he can just take things lightly! To prove it to himself, he left his bag at home; now all he needed to do was meet up with the rest of his boys, spend a bit of time outside, and then get to the school by third period. 

“Hey, dude, pick up the pace, I know you don't care about being late, but I'm not wasting my time to skip just to catch the scenery.” His best friend groaned. 

"Don' t be mad at me cuz’ you ain’t got a bike.” 

“I’m not using my bike because I live right there, fucking dipwad.” The dark-skinned man sighed, pointing at his house, which was now only a block or so away.

“If I started moving faster, you wouldn’t even be able to keep up, ‘tard.” 

“‘Scuse me, even with you on that bike, I got a good feelin’ I'm faster. Trackstar, athletic scholarship; you forgot?”

“I did, actually, because that's something only a *** would brag about.” Mike snorted, “‘Oh my god, I love running around in tight ass shorts and gay colors.’”  He mocked, his voice only being able to be described as “homophobicily homoerotic”.

“It's the school-mandated ‘fit, the fuck you want me to do about it?” 

“Not look so gay while wearing it, duh?” 

“Fucker, Anthony does wrestling, yet I’m the ***?” the dark-skinned man in blue sighed, “We literally watched him get ***** by that one dude, and I'm somehow gayer?” 

“Anthony didn't have a choice; his pops forced him to sign up. You, Jeremiah, run like a clown for funsies and rainbows, fruit cup.” 

“Only a *** would say ‘funsies’.” 

 
“Shut the fuck up,” Michael snorted, “We’re here anyway, aren't we? Get your head out of your ass and open the door, dude.” 

Jeremy looked up to see the green Starbucks logo, letting out a dilapidated groan.

“Yoo.” Jeremiah waved, meeting eyes with his other two friends who were… suspiciously close. “We interrupting something…?” 

“Nah, not really.” A woman in yellow chuckled, finally making some room for the renowned holy savior between them. “We were just waiting for our homos to show up.” 

“Word.” Anthony snickered, “Why are you two always together? I’ve never seen one without the other.” 

 “We might be the ones interrupting, actually.” she laughed back,

“Ha ha ha. Very funny, Mel.” Jeremiah dryly ‘laughed’. “You two’re the ones who said we should meet here anyway.” 

“We were giving date recommendations,” Mel teased, poking fun at Michael’s unamused scowl. 

“Order your stuff, make it quick. I got in touch with the dude you guys were talking about last week. He said he can get us some fake IDs.” Anthony smirked, “The real shit too. It’s just gonna cost a bit of money, so… Michael?” 

“Can’t help, the old fuck fired me a while back, spent all the chump change on other shit.” 

“By ‘other shit’, he means weed.” Jeremiah sighed from the cashier’s counter, snatching a receipt from the kind lady. “Told him not to, but ‘nooooo, my daddy’s an assholeeeeee, my sister’s a bitchhhhh, my home life suckssssssssss, woe is meeeeeeeeee’” smoked it all in the same night.” 

“You took from my fucking stash, don’t act innocent?!” 

“Girls, girls, get your knickers out of a twist, like a certain man here would say,” Mel huffed, “-So how are we supposed to get these IDs? I only had the money for the drinks? I can’t do shit else.” 

“Shit!” Michael groaned in frustration, “Ant-“ 

“No, I don’t have any extra money, douchebag.” 

“Of course you don’t, trailer park fuck. Hide the gold, you guys, the poor somehow always know where the pawn shop is.”

“I’ll make sure to ask for just three IDs. You can have fun pulling your dick at home.” He snorted, flipping the brunette the bird. “Fuck, man...” 

“Okay, so none of us have the money for the booze, what now?” Mellisa groaned, matching everyone else’s frustration, “the fuck is a party with no booze!?”

“I mean…Mike, you could just…”

“Unless you want me to start bumming with you for the rest of my life, no, I can’t just steal that much from William.” 

“Not your dad, but maybe…?” 

“Maybe, who?”

“Just ask your sister.” Anthony coughed, placing his hand over his mouth to hide the sound. He avoided Michael’s direct glare, not wanting to hear another one of his tirades about how his family amounts to absolutely nothing. 

“No. I’m not asking that golden child for jack,” He curtly said, “Not only would she not pass me a buck even if I asked, but she’d just give that stupid smug-ass smile and hold the money over my head again.”

“Where’s my money, Michael? You can’t pay the weed dealer this time, Michael? Gas money? Oh, wait- you can’t even drive!” He imitated, making her voice thirty octaves higher than it properly is. “She’s such a bitch. One day, someone’s really going to get her and bite her in the ass.” 

“Yeah, well, I bet you hope it happens soon. Preferably while driving.” The brunette girl sighed.

“Okay, so your pops and the golden child are a no-go, but you do have one other sibling?” 

“Oh, right…he probably doesn’t carry money on him, it’d be too easy to take his lunch money, and I guess he probably knows that.

“Either him or his mommy.” 

“Aye,” Jeremiah interrupted, knowing how Michael gets around that word. “Look, we could just ask the kid to ask her, keep things vague, and we’ll have some money. Sounds like a plan?” 

“Large Coffee, for a…Jeremiah?”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

…

“Okay, we might as well start heading to the school, it’s halfway through second period.” Mel chirped, taking a quick gander at her wristwatch. “9:15” 

The rest of the group murmured in with blank conversation, but Michael heard none of it as he focused his attention toward the hot pink convertible coming closer and closer from the far distance. 

Is that the golden child herself outside of school? If only William were here to see this one… maybe a little bit of evidence would do it some good. 

With a smirk, he snatched the drink from his best friend’s hands, charging his hand back before flinging the canister into the street. Its surface exploded as it hit the windshield of the moving car, its tires now screeching against the road as it forcefully stopped. 

With a laugh, he took off, hopping on his bike and calling out to his friends, making sure to stay ahead of the rest just in case one of those girls would throw the cup toward his head. 

He smiled ear to ear as he heard their shrill screams from the distance, multiple curses and words now unrepeatable ripping through the air directed toward him and his group.

“You fuckhead I paid seven dollars for that!” 

___________

Elizabeth seethed silently, dragging her tongue against the roof of her teeth while raking a shoddy brown paper towel against her thigh and the ends of her skirt that were accosted by that iced coffee. Her brows furrowed further the more the scent of that stupid drink entered her nose, overtaking the elegant fragrance of her perfume. 

She was thankful to at least be less drenched than Olivia, who took the biggest brunt of that damned Starbucks missile. 

Speaking of, poor Liv was currently staring out the window, watching the cleaners scrub the car in envy. 

“Okay, so, bad news, and good news. Which one do you two want first?” Lynda spoke up, returning from the bathroom, her socks now conveniently gone from view, unlike the glaring brown stain on the front of her shoe. 

After not hearing a response from the two enraged girls, she decided to just start with the bad; nobody likes hearing the good news first anyway. 

“Okay, so the cupcakes you wanted, Liz? Since you hit the brakes so hard they’re now a total mess.” She coughed awkwardly.

“I saw.” The ginger seethed, her fake british accent dissipating in her throat, revealing her much thicker and raw western accent. 

“ And the good news?” Liv uttered, her empty stare burning holes into Lyn’s shinning cocoa colored skin. 

“My clothes weren’t hit!” She smiled, giving the two her signature thumbs up, along with her special-awesome-galaxy-supreme-twin-finger-cannons.

When neither girl responded to her, she realized she needed to reload her guns. That’s the only possible explanation for them not breaking out in laughter. She made comical robot sounds as she fiddled with her fingers, “reload complete,” she said in her best impression of a metal woman. “Pew pew pew!”

…..

“Fucking-Bitch-dumb-fuck-asshole-fucking-GRRAAAHHHHHH!!” The woman spazzed in anger, swiping her card for the final payment and ignoring the looks of all the concerned and ticked customers. She walked out the car wash’s doors and inspected her prized possession, analyzing its poppy-red radiance for any tiny mistake that could give her the excuse to release some steam by grilling the owners.

Once she confirmed to herself that the car was indeed returned to its former cleanliness, she opened her trunk, putting the banged up present box back into the trunk along with the now worse-off cupcakes. 

Her desperate need for perfectionism called out to her to go all the way back to the bakery and plead for a new batch, knowing it would probably take an hour. Frankly, if she weren’t under such a time constraint, she would’ve. 

“Get in. We’re now officially late.” Elizabeth grumbled; sure, she skipped classes rather often, but she could blow those over with her prim and proper reputation with her teachers, but an absence?!  That man-child is SO annoying! Not the cutesy ha-ha ‘you’re such a dork!’ Annoying, the kind of annoying where she could wake up and the sun would magically shine just a little bit brighter if her dream involved pushing him down a flight of stairs. 

“Fuck him. I swear to god I’m going to get my boyfriend to beat his ass.” Olivia grumbled, slouching in her seat. “What a fucking pussy!” 

…..

Elizabeth walked in front, with her two friends following in tow, the perfect sounds of their heels clicking against the floor in unison, relieving some of the intense anger that bubbled in the depths of her soul. 

Prim. Proper. Alluring. Magnificent. Distinguished. She loved these words almost as much as the sound of her own name for a reason, and not because the way these ants said her name always carried an air of awe to it. 

Things need to be perfect, and they’re only perfect if they’re done right, it’s why the two who always walk behind her place their steps at a specific interval of time, specifically a quarter of a second after her heels click against the floor. Perfection comes with being particular, and to be particular, you need to be aware of everything. 

Always aware of the glamour-struck eyes of those who partition the waves of the crowd in your wake, aware of the ire in whispers from the gals whose life purpose all amountted to “be jealous of the girl nobody could afford”; to enhance the performance of the center stage, the star of the show. 

And with all that being said, she looked down at the cupcakes with a scowl. It’s inevitable that jester would play his role, he’s been doing it his whole life, why tug at the ginormous stick in his behind now? It is what it is. Let him roll around with his skates, multi-colored hat with dingy bells, and an offendingly large red nose. Be a part of the circus act he’s always meant to be.

 Before they go inside the classroom, she’ll just try her best to reshape everything. Make it perfect like it’s supposed to be. Life feels better when things are as they’re supposed to be.

“Do I still smell like coffee?”

“A little, wait here.” The pinkette groaned, her hand diving into her purse, pulling out a tiny bottle of perfume and spraying light gusts onto her wrists and neck. 

“Mostly gone now, but you have way too many smells on you now. Try not to get too close to any of them, who knows who may have an allergic reaction.” 

“Ughhhhh…” 

“Hurry up, we already missed a bit of the period.” 

“We’re right here; one of you opened the door for me.” 

_________

Evan couldn’t help the way his smile reached his eyes; things were going rather well today, which isn’t something he can say too often.

Almost everyone who passed him wished him a happy birthday; his teachers somehow knew before he said anything (which he wouldn’t have). Their current teacher even said, as a surprise— just this one time— that today’s class would be in a study hall fashion, due to a previous favorite student of hers visiting! Bless whoever that would be, he just earned a period of relaxation and because of them! 

He was sitting in a corner with his quote-unquote “super best friend”, Fritz, listening to his blabbering about the tri-pod fish, a species he was reading about in his new edition aquarium encyclopedia; something Susie and Gabriel teamed up to get him for his birthday. His legs were sprawled out, shoes on the desk and everything, much more unrestrained than Evan’s knees-to-chest self-cuddle.

The lesser-ginger haired boy was lost in his train of thought, enjoying Fritz’s soothing company; at least until the door swung open.

“Hello, everybody!” Their leader drenched in red apparel and a fancy looking neck brooch said, giving a small cough to clear her throat before she spoke again, “My name’s Elizabeth, and today is my little brother’s birthday! I brought cupcakes for your class, and you’re all welcome to have one!” She smiled, her usually curt voice gaining a sickeningly sweet addition, along with a slightly higher pitch.

The class erupted in gleeful hoorays and “hell yeah’s”, each child soaring out of their seat and closing in on the ginger-haired woman. 

“Wait, everyone, at least let me say hi to my brother first, yes?” She fake laughed, inching backward and avoiding the grubby-mittened little pricks. “Then, I’ll come around and give you all one.” 

“Hold this for me, please?” The ginger in red smiled, looking over to the pinkette girl on her right. 

As she shimmied through the classroom, she first went to the class’s teacher, giving the older woman a large hug, and a ‘thank you’ before departing toward the corner where the short boy she was originally here for was sitting. 

“W-What is t-this?” He asked, standing up and giving her a quick hug, not wanting it to last any longer than needed to avoid any new teasing material. He wouldn’t like the sound of 'sister's boy’, even if it's not nearly as shameful as sissy. 

“A celebration! Don’t worry about it too much, we’ll be in and out!” She giggled, placing a finger over her own lips. “We’ll see you in gym, and happy birthday again, Vie-Vie” 

“Hello!” Fritz yelled, ignoring the social convention called whispering. “My name’s Fritz! Nice to meet you!” He smiled, bearing his slightly yellow teeth (and missing incisors) on full display. 

“….hello.” Elizabeth replied, licking the roof of her teeth, trying her best to disguise her blatant disgust, hiding the word “ew” behind the jail cell of her lips and pearly white teeth.

“Now, we’re going to pass these out. If you have an allergy to chocolate, we have vanilla, and vice versa! And we have enough for everyone, so please, help yourself!” 

….

Once everyone looked satisfied and the whispers of praise and renown entered Elizabeth’s ears, she was ready to depart. (Not before answering one of the young girl’s questions on her makeup routine with a very intense and expansive regimen, making sure the younger girl was taking very detailed notes.) 

With another performatively enhanced “goodbye,” she shut the door, rolling her eyes and letting a sigh escape her lips. 

“You’re so fake,” the girl with black hair laughed, “it’s almost unbelievable sometimes, until you see it in person.” 

“I’m not fake, just making sure the social hierarchy treats him well. I mean, look who he was hanging out with!” She whispered, jog-walking away from the door and dipping into the stairwell. 

“That’s not why you’re fake, and you know it.” Lyn laughed.

“Regardless,” the ginger smiled, “Liv, your boyfriend understands what he needs to do, right?”  

“Yeah, I told him what happened, cute little thing got all red faced and huffy for me!” Liv chuckled, “Only made it worse when I told him it was my ex, I swear, he looked like he had steam coming out of his ears.” 

“I still don’t know why you even entertained the thought of Michael; you knew he was a total douche.”

“What can I say? I have a thing for bad boys in a band.” 

“A garage ‘band’,” Elizabeth specified. “It’s not even a proper band either, they just fuck around with instruments they stole from the school, they don’t even know how to read music.” 

“And you do?” 

“Yes, actually, it was my poor mother’s dying wish that I learned to play the piano over the summer with Ev, so I signed us up.”

“I’m going to ignore your dramatic sarcasm.” Lynda sighed “but I swear, whenever you need to make a good impression, you always bring him along.” 

“He has my face; it works well on building a positive impression. Plus, it’s hard for me to leave him to be all by himself. He doesn’t look like he’s having much fun until I’m around.” 

“Well, if he’s gaining new friends, eventually there’s going to be a point he wants to spend more time with them than you.” Lynda teased, enjoying every second of the very offended glare Elizabeth was giving her. “Soon it might be, ‘Li-Li, can I take your car? I want to go see my girlfriend.’ or you might just find a sock on his doorknob one night when you’re walking to the bathroom.” 

“You’re so lucky, my brother’s a fucking prune.” Liv sighed, “After we all went skating with little E, I thought, ‘maybe I could be a better sister too’, so when I brought it up, he just said ‘that shit’s for girls’”. 

“Well, not every sibling strikes gold, only the one raised by me!” Elizabeth laughed, her hand resting on the top of her chest as if she were posing for an invisible camera. “It sucks to not be me, I know.”  

“Elizabeth, Have you ever heard of the term narcissism?” 

“Of course not, I pride myself on being humble.” 

“That's my girl!” The short pinkette smiled, wrapping her arms around the egomaniac’s sharp shoulderblades. 

“...hmph.” The ginger grunted, climbing the stairs a decimal faster than her normal speed, breaking the perfect unison sound of their heels to escape possible embarrassment. “Do either of you two have a cig? I don't feel like going to English, I need a break.” 

“Yeah, but I think they added a smoke detector to the fifth-floor bathroom. We’ll have to walk to the seventh.” 

“Motherfucker…” 

…

Being physically active is NOT something Elizabeth Afton excels in; it's the one talent she wasn’t born with and refuses to pick up. After fourteen stairs, she wants to give up; after twenty, she’s feeling sticky and icky with sweat; and after thirty, she needs a full break. The constant choice to wear heels probably doesn't help either. 

So when she was positively out of breath and opening the door to the women’s bathroom only to see the special face of an even more special someone, it only made her day! She truly is a lucky one!

“Vanessa! My sweet, sweet Vanessa!” Elizabeth chuckled, “How are you doing? Good? Talk to me, girlfriend.” 

For such a friendly interaction, she can't understand why the blonde-haired girl looked so unnerved! 

It's not like Lyn and Liv were now resting with their backs against the bathroom door, chuckling amongst themselves. 

It's not like Elizabeth was stripping herself of her red blazer and even more red ribbon, pulling up the sleeves of her baby blue blouse past her elbows. 

It's not like Vanessa’s hair was currently being pulled to a painful degree making her hunch forward a little just to meet eye to eye with the girl interrogating her. 

“Cat got your tongue? That's weird, you’re usually such a blabbermouth! I certainly couldn’t get you to shut up.” Elizabeth smiled,  

“-And because you didn't, now I have to work twice as hard to not be called some lesbian,” she whispered. “Do you have any idea how quickly that spread you gutter-skank?” 

“I-I’m sorry, I-” 

“‘I’ nothing! You didn't run your mouth when Stacy and Troy kissed, and Troy got herpes the next day? No-no, you didn’t mutter a word about how Brian and Hunter were in that closet suspiciously longer than required? Or when Bethany and her sister Becca fought over the same genetic monstrosity, or when that mangled faced creature and his little tramp girlfriend went at it in the detention room.” She glowered, increasing the strength she tugged at the blonde girl’s hair with, “But when I have to kiss a girl, all hell needs to break loose, right?” 

“Look, I-I was just telling the story to my f-friend, I-  didn't know someone was eavesdropping, okay?! Jeez!” The blonde haired girl stammered. “It’s not like anyone even believes it!”

“It doesn’t matter if they believe it or not. It’s about the principle. For every joke at my expense, that's another day I want a noose to be wrapped around your neck.” The ginger seethed, “I bet you that’ll get more attention; better gossip than me just kissing a girl, right? For your little newspaper club?” 

“F-Fuck off! So your perfection streak got ruined, whatever?! Girls kiss other girls all the time! Fuck off already!” The blonde roared, wringing her straight strands of blonde hair out of her tormenter’s grasp. “You’re not above it all just because you have your daddy’s money! Y-You can't just treat me like this!” 

They both stumbled back from the clash of energy, the blonde’s finger slamming against the dirty sink with a nasty clunk. 

“You bitch…” The ginger fumed, stomping her way closer, pinching her wrist with her sharpened nails. “Listen, freak, when you’re eventually writing your ******* note, don't bother to mention any name but your own, you did this to yourself. Now take your book and get the fuck out of here. I’m here to smoke, not waste my time with you. Next time you open your mouth, and it’s anything but an apology, don’t bother coming to school the next day.” 

“You didn't see anything, right?” Lynda smiled, her arms crossed, still blocking the door as the blonde made her way to the door with her head down, avoiding the embarrassing stares of the foul mouthed woman and her lackeys.

“N-No,” the blonde whispered, “I… didn't.” 

“You got hurt in here?” Olivia asked warmly, bringing a paper towel to the other girl’s finger, gently curling the brown paper around the horribly red spot that was clearly beginning to bruise. “I’m so glad it’s not looking too bad! Now, you should probably get that finger checked, running up the stairs and tripping can hurt pretty bad, hm?” 

“Y-Yeah…tripping…y-yeah-r-right…” 

“Bye-bye now! Be safe, Vanny! Tell your therapist that it’s all your fault when you kill yourself!” Liv waved, pushing her out of the bathroom and closing the door immediately after. 

Once the meek blonde was out, Elizabeth repaired her image, covering her blue blouse with her red blazer, putting her brooch back into where it’s meant to be, and tying her red ribbon back into her hair. “Lyn, pass me a fucking cig.” She sighed, “I never had to deal with any of these fucking jokes until now. I mean really, girls, how many times should I have to say I’m not a lesbian? And then she walks out with such a pathetic expression. Pitying.” 

“Girl, I’m here to smoke, not listen to you groan about gayness and shit.” 

“Shut up and pass me a cigarette already!”

…

The door to the bathroom swung open as if it didn't have hinges, pushing the tiny pinkette into the wall with a grunt. 

“Oops, my bad.” An unenthusiastic voice called, dragging her foot across the floor. “...The fuck is this?” 

“You a snitch?” 

“No?”

“Then take a piss and keep it moving-” Lynda glared, “Wait- are you even a high schooler? I’ve never seen your face before.” 

“No.” 

“Then get the fuck out of here?” Elizabeth sighed, not feeling like putting back on her angelic mask, not while taking the edge off at least. “The middle school bathrooms are downstairs.” 

“Psh, shut up.” The ink-haired girl snorted, “You’re not my mom.”

Stunned, Elizabeth watched as the black-haired girl went to the stall closest to her; the eventual sound of the body expelling liquid filled her ears. 

“Bitch?!” She finally screeched, all the disrespect against her finally being processed, taking her body out of a frozen shock, chucking her cigarette out of the window, and banging on the stall door. “Who the hell– open this fucking door!” 

“Perv.” 

She grunted in frustration, stepping back from the stall with her face flushing a thin hue of pink. “Fine,” she grunted, licking the roof of her teeth, vaulting her behind onto the sink, fixing her skirt, and crossing her left leg over the other. “I’ll wait.”

“I think that bitch gave me CTE..?” Olivia grumbled under her breath, rubbing the red spot on her head. “Fuck…” 

“Dont stand in a doorway then,” The intruder blankly snarkly replied back. 

Elizabeth couldn’t help but smirk; she’s never seen her childhood friend look so wrathful. She wasn't even that mad-looking when they were hit with coffee, and she had the worst of it. 

Once the brown-skinned girl exited the stall, she walked up to the sink Elizabeth sat herself directly next to, ignoring the one that was a straight line from the stall. 

It was obviously a test of character Elizabeth wasn’t used to, as she faltered in pushing her planned threat out as relaxed as she usually did. 

The ginger just watched, her mouth feeling locked, the plain-faced girl washed her hands and met her gaze with her unamused stare. 

“You got a staring problem?”

“Do you?” She replied back, pushing herself off the sink and glaring down at her, but not looming; the Hispanic was just an inch too tall for the intimidation to be successful, they were almost the same height. Elizabeth herself was quite tall, everything considered, it was something she found added to her mystique. So how was a middle schooler competing with her!? The hell are they feeding kids nowadays..?

She is NOT about to be punked by a middle schooler. Not. Happening. Not today, not ever. Elizabeth Afton doesn’t get punked, she sets others in their place, and her place is above all the others. 

“Get out my face.” She glared, the first instance of emotion since her ape-like entrance. 

“Make me.” Elizabeth taunted, only getting closer. In truth, she kind of regretted that one, but what the hell else was she supposed to respond with? ‘Yes, my queen, not only will I back up, but  I will also shower you in diamonds and wear only a leash on my naked body since I apparently now follow orders better than Wendy the Good Girl, world-renowned for her ability to bend over backwards as a spineless human being’? Fuck no.

“You ever been kicked in the pussy before?”

The ginger reflexively took a step back, her knees closing in on each other. “Pardon me?”

“Thanks for moving back.” The girl snorted, her slant eyes rising along with her cheek bones as the girl across from her only became more enraged. Taking two yellow beads from her pockets and putting her short black hair into twin pigtails. “Although…hm…we met before?”

Poor Elizabeth was still too stunned from the events unfolding in front of her, never experiencing such an apathetic display towards herself in general. It just doesn’t happen; so give her a break for not knowing what to say next! She clearly wasn't leading the conversation! Her mouth felt hot and locked, and a snarl was the only response she could manage to formulate! 

“What business would I have knowing a random middle school girl?” She uttered, still glaring at the Hispanic-Asian middle schooler. Not admitting her mind was working overtime to remember the face of this child she was possibly planning to torment later. 

“…Orange hair…girly face…droopy eyes… Ohhhhhhhhhhh! you’re uh-shit- you’re Ev’s sister!” The Hispanic girl laughed, “Yeesh,” she muttered, looking around the bathroom. 

….I might kill this little girl. 

“Your brother talks about you all the time,” the pigtailed girl smiled, “I mean, sure, I don’t get the hype, but it’s whatever, a sister isn't really competition.”

Dont get the hype…? DONT GET THE HYPE?!!! COMPETITION???!!! 

“Oh, wait- while you’re here…what kind of girls is he into? A-Asking for a friend. Like…what’s his type? Does he like soft-spoken girls? Do you know if he may like them taller, or shorter? Or-like- is anybody into him right now?” She asked, looking away from the ginger in embarrassment.

“You’re out of luck. He likes cute girls.” Olivia answered for her, knowing Elizabeth was still too hornswoggled to even force a response out. 

“I don't remember asking you?” The pigtailed brat answered back, not even bothering to turn to her. “Eh, whatever, I’ll just ask him later,” she blushed.

And with that, she was gone. Not moving out of the way to avoid the cheerleader’s shoulder, brazenly bumping into it as she walked through the door, letting it slam behind her. 

“Add a new face to the list.” Olivia glowered, her intensely pale skin flushed in a veil of embarrassed pink. “My head hurts, and it's going to be in pain until I force a tampon down her throat and choke her out with it.”  

________

“I’m telling you, that was the funniest shit I’ve ever done.” Michael smiled, “If I have kids, I’m telling them about that. Did you see Olivia’s face?” 

“Dude, her mouth was open so wide, she looked like she got shot! Nah-nah- she looked more like JFK’s chick when he got shot! Remember that face she made!?

“Your sister looked SO mad too, she was calling you all types of things, I could hear her ‘till the next block!” The brown-shirted man chuckled, “I didn't even think she knew half those words!” 

“Olivia’s totally going to get one of their lil’ boy toys or something to fuck you up after school or something, man.” Jeremiah chuckled, taking off his blue button-up and white undershirt, and replacing it with the school’s mandated gym shirt, a simple white tee with a red lining and their sports mascot. “Who’s she dating now? I bet you know, too, don’t lie!” 

“If you lie, you’re a pussy!” Anthony added, throwing his pants to the ground. 

“It’s some lame-ass dude on the football team, I’d tear that little shit in two if he ran up on me.” Michael snorted,  “I’ve been wanting to beat his ass anyway.” 

“Because you’re jealous~?” 

“No, dipshit, because I can. He keeps giving me that ‘I stole your bitch’ look; he has it coming if he walks into this gym. I don’t care.” 

“You’re jealous as fuck, stop trying to hide it.” 

“Pound sand, ******.”   

“Aye, shut up, someone’s coming in here,” Anthony uttered, watching the door closely, expecting it to be the man they were talking shit about. 

If it was, he had about three steps before someone would pounce on him and start the ass beating. 

“-And that’s stupid, how? I’m telling you, dude, what’s really stupid is how your parents refuse to bring you to a dentist.” 

“That's because I don't need to, this one right here just hasn't grown back in yet! Tell him, Ev!” 

Ev? That fucker’s name is Peter? 

“W-Well, I…think…a-actually, it’s probably j-just as you said. M-Maybe that tooth is just…d-delayed?” 

“It's delayed because you’re probably not brushing your teeth properly.”  

Oh. Even better. 

Michael brought the gym shorts up to his waist and walked around the corner of the locker room to see if his ‘assumption’ on the mystery men that entered was correct. 

Lo and behold, it's exactly who he ‘thought’ it was, with two probably like-minded losers around him. 

“Aye,” he called out, getting their attention, noticing the two randoms’ eyes lingered longer than his little brother’s. “You two, I need to talk to my little brother about something. Mind giving us some privacy real quick?” 

The freckled one happily obliged, no fear (or thought) passing his eyes, rushing out of the changing room. Seems like an idiot. The Asian one was clearly more in tune with what was actually happening, but once one leaves, it’s impossible to stand your ground. It's like dominoes, everything tumbles the moment one falls out of place. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he simply sucked  his teeth and left, grumbling on his way out. 

“C’mere,” The older brother called, his hands in his pockets. “We need to talk.” 

He watched in irritation as the pity party incarnate dropped his head low, hugging his arm as he inched closer, clearly apprehensive about the whole thing even though nothing happened yet.

“Oh, it's just your brother, heard it was your birthday, squirt, you get your punches yet?” Anthony chortled, watching the little boy’s skin pale at the mention of physical harm. 

“Yo, man, I need him for something real quick, go outside for a minute.” 

“Dude im not even fully changed yet.” 

“Then put some fucking pants on and get out for a second.” 

Once the coast was clear, Michael leered down at the boy in front of him, releasing an annoyed grumble as he set his plan in motion. 

“Yo, I need you to do me a favor.” He bluntly stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “Your sister, ask her for some cash, she’ll throw you a bone, and I need some.” 

“B-But…I-I- T-That’s…”

“C’mon, be a man, grow some balls and just do what I’m asking.” Michael sighed, already sounding mildly irritated and wanting this interaction done before someone walks into the room. 

“I-I-I…B-But–A-ah…I s-shouldn't…” he slowly nodded, swallowing the pooling amount of nervous saliva in his mouth. 

“Im just asking for one god damn thing, kid.” The older boy huffed, “Do me a favor won't you?” 

“I…She…I-It’s n-not my m-money…” He stammered, rubbing his knuckles to curb his nervousness. “I-I c-cant…” 

“Fucking…whatever, what should I have expected?” the older man rolled his eyes, walking past the younger boy and flicking him on the head, “When I leave this room, try not to look too hard at me.” 

….

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!” Cassidy’s voice ran out, echoing through the entire gym as she ran up and forced the boy into her arms, almost lifting him off the floor completely. “Hey, Ev! How’s your birthday going?” 

“G-Good, H-Hi Cass.” He blushed, a part of his heart swelling in size from her touch. He tried to swallow his giddy smiles and wispy chuckles, but some would fight past his lips and escape, entering her ears with a hum. “H-How’s your day…” 

“Good, better now that I’m seeing you!” She joked, taking Jeremy’s advice to be more direct. Although, she wasn't really flirting, she truly felt her day getting slightly better in the presence of his smile. 

“Okay, you two, if we can maybe spend our gym class doing something and not this?” Jeremy smiled, eyeing a red ball in the bucket of sports equipment that the gym teacher would throw out to the class and allow community picks. 

“Where’s your sister? Doesn't she usually pick you up and do your hair in gym?” Fritz asked.

“I-I dont know, she d-doesn't really like gym, m-maybe she’s just doing something right now…” He smiled, his feet still off the ground as Cassidy hadn’t let him go yet. 

“Did you know I met her earlier? She and her friends were in the bathroom when I was taking a walk through the school.” 

“S-She was nice, right? Sometimes she-” Evan was silenced as he watched a red ball whoosh by his face, only missing by a hair as it smacked Cassidy in the nose instead. 

“YOU FUCKER!” She cursed, dropping the boy from her hands and rushing to pick up the ball Jeremy threw, firing it back and only missing as Jeremy jumped over the red missile. “DON’T BE A PUSSY! COME HERE!” She roared. 

His laughs only taunted her as he ran around the gym, holding the ball she threw and launching it at Fritz, who ducked underneath it and smiled as he chased the free ball and threw it toward Evan, who caught it (surprising himself more than anyone else) 

With a smile, the boy aimed the ball, throwing it toward Jeremy as a form of payback for Cassidy, slightly frowning when the Asian boy caught the ball; deciding to take refuge behind Fritz to not be targeted. 

Luckily for him, Jeremy pelted the Hispanic girl with the red ball once more, only fanning the flames of  her playful anger. 

“I’m sure we can find another ball, c’mon!” Fritz whispered, running toward the community bucket and picking up a dusty and slightly beaten-up yellow ball, sharing a smirk with his best friend as they ran back. 

“Let’s do teams!” Fritz yelled, holding his ball in the air. “I call team captain!”

“Dibs!” Jeremy smiled, putting his hand over Cassidy’s mouth to stop her from taking the roll. 

“Rock, paper, scissors on who picks first!”

“I’m throwing out paper,” Jeremy smugly smiled. Watching the gears turn in Fritz's head as he struggled to pick between the other two options. 

“Rock!”

“Paper!”

“Sisscors!”

“Shoot!” 

Jeremy won by throwing out rock, beating out Fritz’s scissors. 

“Another win for me,” he smugly smiled, “Pretty boy, get your butt over here, I have a plan.” 

Perplexed, Evan took the red ball and walked next to the auburn-haired troll, “W-What’s your plan, t-those two are actually g-good at this stuff! W-We aren’t?!” 

“Yes, but they’re both stupid,” Jeremy whispered, “you’re not, and I’m not,”

“Cassidy’s not going to dodge, she’s going to try and catch, so throw toward her legs and feet, and Fritz…well, I don’t know yet, but don’t get hit, you’re needed for us to win.” He smiled.

Being called needed for some reason made him swoon…certainly a weird feeling, especially since it was a boy, but if he’s r-really needed, he won’t disappoint Jeremy! 

“O-Okay!” He nodded. 

Ev walked up and put the yellow ball into the middle of the invisible up court, meeting eyes with Cassidy and mouthing, ‘you’re going to lose.’

She giggled to herself as she put down the yellow ball. ‘Sure,’ she rolled her eyes. 

The short boy went back to his teammate, stopping in his tracks when he began to whisper a plan into his ear. 

“Cassidy‘s going to try and get me out. I hit her twice, and she clearly wants revenge. Go for the red ball since it’s further from her, Fritz won’t charge for one since he’s going to want to ‘play fair,’” he ordered, going back to his spot before beginning the game with a clap.

Things went almost exactly like the boy predicted. Cassidy full sprinted for the ball in front of her quickly, making Ev’s motivated strut look pathetic in turn. 

Jeremy took off and ran to a corner of his court, dodging the ball by a hair, and stepping out to chase it. Evan, as instructed, threw the ball as hard as he could at her feet, missing due to his horrible hand-eye coordination and below-par throwing skills. 

He blushed when she looked at him with a mocking smile, relishing in the idea that he missed on purpose to be romantic, not aware of the fact that he plainly just sucks at throwing things. 

In her distracted fervor, she didn’t notice the yellow ball she threw, coming back and smacking her in the ankle, causing her to be out. 

“OH COME ON!!” She groaned, leaving the invisible court and sitting off to the side.

Evan backed up as he eyed Fritz, grabbing the stranded ball and eyeing both him and Jeremy down. 

“Plan time!” Jeremy yelled, putting all eyes on him. 

If Evan knew that this was his plan, he probably would’ve joined Fritz’s  team like everyone knew he kind of wanted to. 

Jeremy’s hand snaked around his hip, putting a ball to his head in a way reminiscent of a gun, the static electricity playing with the tips of his hair. “I HAVE A HOSTAGE!” He yelled, clearly taunting Fritz’s desire for fairness. 

“You can’t just hold him as a hostage!” Cassidy laughed, “he’s on your team!”

“And now he’s not! Fritz, if you don’t put the ball down, I promise you I’ll smack this thing against his face!” 

“F-Fritz! P-Put down the ball!” Evan played along, shrinking himself in Jeremy’s grasp to make him look more helpless. This isn’t manly, but he at least has the excuse of it being for the sake of winning, which boys love, so it evens out, right?

“Fritz, fuckin’ throw it!” Cassidy yelled from the sidelines, confused about why he’s now sweating in confusion. 

“He’s gonna be taken out, Fritz! Put down the ball, and we can all go free and alive! Roll it over here!” 

The freckled-faced boy eventually caved, placing down his ball and rolling it toward the enemy team. His hands in the air, “I surrender, let my friend go!” He played along. 

“Get him!” Jeremy yelled, releasing his hostage, who sprinted toward the ball, throwing it once it was in his clutches, synced with Jeremy. 

With two balls soaring to his direct position, poor Fritz failed to dodge the second one, being clipped in the arm by the ball Jeremy threw.

“We won!! Yeah!” The auburn-haired clown smiled, holding onto his partner’s shoulders and rocking him back and forth like a ragdoll, who replied with a much meeker “yay.” 

“Fritz, I told you to throw it damnit!” Cassidy sighed, helping the playfully dramatic child off the floor. “But that was kind of funny, so it’s fine, we’ll just win next time.” 

“Yeah!” He smiled, “Besides, Ev could use a win here and there,” he whispered, pointing at how happy he looked hopping up and down with Jeremy. 

________

Elizabeth and her lackeys walked into the school’s gymnasium, a group of larger boys leading in front of them with angry looks and milk cartons with peanut butter sandwiches hidden behind her back.

“That’s him, right over there, Pete-y!” Liv whispered, pointing at the senior with dark, unkempt brown hair and a pathetic attempt at a beard— comparable to pubic hair on his chin. 

The football player nodded, bringing his posse with him as they separated from the girls. As much fun as it would be to watch Michael get smacked up and down and assaulted with food like she was earlier, she’d prefer to keep that sight away from a certain someone else. 

‘There you are.’ 

She walked over to a group of four, a bright smile and fake warmth in her steps. 

She recognized that same brown-skinned girl from the bathroom, a pit of hate developing in her soul, but she was not the focus; her little brother was. 

“There you are!” She called out, wrapping her hand in his, his infectious smile bringing warmth to her now-real one. He laughed giddily, repeating to her his story of winning in dodgeball. 

Everyone knew the drill at this point; once she showed up, she’d goad him into ditching them and joining her. It used to take some clear manipulation and emotional gaslighting, but now all it takes is for her to simply show her face. Since he wouldn’t want to start any argument or draw attention to them, he’d just wave at his friends goodbye and walk with her in tow to the dingy bleachers where the other popular older girls sat and gossiped.

“Come now, it looks like a fight might start over there. I wouldn’t want you to see anything like that.” She whispered, giving him just long enough to catch sight of who was involved in it, before bringing him to their usual spot on the bleachers. 

“Is t-that M-Michael getting into a fight again?” The boy whispered, now unable to keep his eyes off the rough sight. He never would’ve noticed if she didn’t point it out, but now that she did, it’s all he can see. There was a small bit of guilt in his belly for simply sitting inbetween his sister’s legs instead of even trying to go help his brother, whether he would be of much assistance or not.

“He gets people angry at him on a daily basis,” Elizabeth sighed, feigning ignorance to the fact that she played a part in orchestrating that entire fight, “Just don’t be like him. You won’t get into fights like that if you take my advice more often and keep a good reputation.” She smiled, that same mother-y voice peeking its head as she gave him another lecture about how important the public view was— and more importantly, how correct she was.

“O-Okay,” he nodded, squirming deeper into her lap as he watched the first punch fly. 

She put her palm on the side of his eye, keeping him from watching that display of violence. 

She wanted him to witness just enough to place his full trust in her words, yet still retain that same adorable sense of innocence. 

Was it a little manipulative? Sure, but who else does he have that he can trust in steering him in the right direction? 

Daddy? Of course not, he’s rarely ever even home. And when he is, Elizabeth has to protect her brother from that drunken deadbeat’s insensitive words.

Micheal? Over her dead body. Look at what’s going on right now with him! He has milk poured all over his hair and clothes, and his lip got busted after a good punch to the face! That ape’s gonna be some criminal in the future! She can see it now, Michael in handcuffs with policemen escorting him away to their car. How could she leave Evan around that? 

His ‘friends’ ? Hell no, those  kids’ look like they’ll totally end up getting him bullied out of his mind! And some of them looked rather…you get the gist by now, right? Total future high school dropouts…

So that’s why, even if her ways are a little unorthodox, it has to be her to protect him; nobody else would do it right! Mommy died giving birth to him, and the unfair world has been trying to kick him down lower and lower ever since, so excuse her if she’s trying her best to alleviate some of his stress!

She smiled to herself as she petted his hair, bringing him closer into her body with a warm hug. 

Although, doing her job wasn’t going to stop her from watching Michael receive proper payback for that little stunt from earlier. He should be grateful, she could’ve dealt with it with her own hand, but for such short notice this’ll do just fine. She watched from the corner of her eye as Olivia roared enthusiastically from the sidelines, chanting her new boyfriend’s name in excitement. That girl really loves watching men tussle if she can imagine it’s over her, and Lynda was right next to her, practicing her cheer routine, an obvious taunt to the losing party. 

“Losing party” was a bit harsh, maybe. Honestly, it looked more like a stalemate between both groups. Sure, Liv’s boyfriend brought more people, but they weren’t as large and brutish as Michael’s ragtag senior bunch was. 

At least it was being broken up by a few teachers, one of them almost slipping and busting their ass on the spilled milk, almost causing Elizabeth to laugh out loud. 

Although… with her two friends gone, she could release her air of perfection a little… Just a little. She cupped her brother’s cheeks, catching his attention again. 

“Hey, Ev-ie, I’ve been wondering a few things,” she began, eyeing the Hispanic girl from earlier who was thoroughly engrossed in the fight, almost lost in the crowd that built a circle. Not a good second impression. “Do you have a girlfriend yet? You could tell me if you do, I wouldn’t be upset.” 

She focused the young boy’s eyes intently, years of experience allowing her to know if he was lying or not. 

“N-No!” He replied, almost a little too fast, and with the pinkness in his cheeks, it was clear he was stretching that truth at least a little. 

“Is it a crush?”

“…” he looked away, his lips quivering in a flushed embarrassment, his mouth would open and close, clearly showing he didn’t know what to say. 

“Really?! Who’s the lucky girl?” Elizabeth smiled, letting him know it was nothing to be embarrassed about. 

It took the boy a second to collect himself, but he closed in to her ear, whispering the name and pointing at whom he was enamored with. 

‘Fuuuuuckkkk. Nooooooo.’ Elizabeth pouted, her pride deflating as she, for the third time today, caught herself looking at the pigtailed girl again, who had now somehow made it to the front of the circle, yelling words that were swallowed up by the rest of the commotion. 

The ginger-haired girl tried to smile and accept her brother’s horrible taste in women, just wanting to drop this topic as fast as possible. “That’s…good! I’m…………happy, I’m sure she likes you back!” She giggled, pulling at his rosy cheeks. She wasn’t happy that she was sure of herself in this context. 

She was planning to wingman for her brother, corner the girl he was enamored with, interrogate her, research her family, collect every rumor that could’ve spread about her name and what kind of girl she was, but this…? Come onnnnnnnn…She literally has 4 huge glaring white heads on her cheeks and crooked-as-hell teeth as they speak! Is it that hard to maybe look for someone cuter?! He doesn’t need to look through the bargain bin, not with a face so genetically similar to hers?!

“Regardless…” she huffed “That’s not the main thing I was thinking about.” 

“W-What’s on your mind?” 

The girl’s jaw tightened, feeling locked, she hid this queasy feeling away in the back of her head for the longest time, but time’s starting to catch up to her, and she’s still feeling lost on what to do.

“Sweetie, I…you know, there’s going to be a day when we both grow older…and in just two years I’ll be graduating school, and you’ll still be here.” Elizabeth began, “Michael’s clearly not going anywhere in life, and you’re going to be stuck living with daddy and him. I tried to do some research on whether I can take you with me to college, if I go, and it’s not looking positive.”

“W-what…?” 

“Listen closely. I’m not staying in Utah for college. I'm sick of this place, but…I can’t just leave you here, and I honestly don’t want to. That house is torture; if I leave you there, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. You’re my most precious thing, but if I can’t bring you, I don’t know if I should leave at all.” She ranted, a sense of panic in her voice as her breathing began to unravel in an uncoordinated manner. “If I left…would you want to come with me? We’d have to get daddy’s permission, I’d have to become your legal guardian, and I wouldn’t mind it at all if it were possible; we could try convincing daddy over time! But then there’s the problem of your education…and you’d be so lonely there…freshmen need dorms so I don’t know where you could possibly stay…and I don’t think the courts would favor the application.”

“Li-Li,” Evan nervously smiled, “y-you’re worrying t-too much. It’ll be lonely without you, but I’ll be okay. You need to go to college.” 

“I do, but I also learned I can take gap years. If I stay until you graduate and do something to make more money than just daddy’s, we could easily go to college together, maybe even be dormmates just like at home! You’ll finally have your own bed too!” Elizabeth laughed quietly, trying to tame her shaking body. She didn’t know she bottled her stress this far, but it feels nice to release some of it…

“Li-Li…w-well, how f-far are you going…?” 

“As far as possible. And I mean it. Like Harvard, or Yale, or maybe even Cambridge, even if it's far– no, because it's far. This place is a cancer; I can’t stand it anymore. You’re the only good thing to come out of this nowhere state. Maybe I could hide you in my suitcase!” She giggled, tickling his sides to hear his laughter. It was always something that helped her calm down. When he was super young, he always cried, and even when she was scared of the dark, she’d waddle out of her room and pay his little crib a visit, staying until he’d start laughing instead. 

“I’m thinking of trying to start a modeling or fashion career, if I stay, that is. I hear it makes good money if I can make a breakthrough? So I have a plan for that, too, if you want me to stay.” 

“I-It’s not fair f-for me to choose that…” Evan sighed, “I-I can’t hold you b-back like that.” 

“I really don’t mind, I love being at home with you, it’s always something that brings a real smile to my face. Painting our nails, doing our hair, karaoke, movie night, making dinner together, or even playing those little word games you like. Even doing a crossword puzzle feels better when you’re helping me think. I just don’t want to leave that feeling behind.” 

“W-Will we stay I-In touch…?” Evan asked, bringing a palm to his glossy eyes.  

“Of course we will! All the time! I just…don’t know how.” Elizabeth sighed, bringing her palm to his other eye as his expression became more dejected after the second half. 

“W-What a-are you leaning toward?” Evan muttered, his voice low and unsure, as if he didn’t know if he wanted to ask anything anymore at all.

“At first, I was all for bringing you with me, but it’s not looking good, too many things to be signed and reviewed…so now I’m considering staying a little longer. Get a…job, help you study, research colleges we would want to go to, and with the money I save I’ll keep us both fed (so long as you cook).” 

“….G-Give m-me some time t-to think about it.” Evan mewled, driving his head deeper into the crevice between her shoulder and chin. Clearly close to crying but not wanting to show it. 

“Let’s move on from this conversation. I hate when I make you sad…tell me about this girl you like, is she…good?” 

“Really good! P-Please be nice to her, s-she’s a little bit mean when you first meet her, but it’s not who she really is!” He smiled, “She’s so funny too! A-And being around her makes me feel so l-light…I just d-dont really know if she likes me the s-same way…” 

“I’m sure she does, and if she doesn’t, that's her loss!” Elizabeth smiled, sifting through his curled locks of samely colored ginger hair, “You’re a total catch, she’d have to be CRAZY to not give you a shot! In fact, when we get home, we’ll go over what women like and how to be a proper gentleman, that way it’ll be impossible for you to get rejected!

The smile on his face was priceless. Completely priceless. That’s what she fights for, so that no matter what happens, the people she loves will smile that hard. And the ends will always justify her means for that smile.

…

The ringing of the bell woke the ginger-haired boy from his listless slumber, forcing him to slowly move himself off the shoulder of…not his sister?

“Good morning, cutie~!” The pink-haired teenager smiled, “Elizabeth needed to change from her gym clothes, and asked me to stay here with you.” 

“Oh- o-okay…I should get to class, s-she’s waiting for me.” Evan smiled, looking at Cassidy pretending not to notice him as she kept her back against the wall. 

Does she realize she looks stupid just standing there? The gym was almost completely empty by now. She’s so funny, even by accident sometimes! 

“Bye, Liv,” 

“Hey, just one thing before you go,” The pinkette said, holding his wrist. “You’re a great brother, so keep an eye on your sister. She’ll need it.” She smiled, placing a small peck on his cheek, wiping the lipstick that stuck to his face with her thumb. “Bye-bye!” 

“Hurry up, dude! We have math, and if we’re late, the teacher’s going to bust our balls again!”

______

Being outside was much more preferable to being cramped in those tiny classrooms. The bright sunlight tickled her skin, along with the light chill of the breeze with specks of leftover snow in the grass, it made March a month Elizabeth placed high in her favorites.  

Not only that, but the cheer team would host their sessions again! It was rather fun to watch Lynda be in her element, even if there were girls there who did the whole routine better, not that she would admit that.

She’d sit a decent bit away, arms crossed, close to Liv, who was always a bleacher under, and quietly observe. 

For the longest time, it was a part of school she came to enjoy. The girls and their flowy hair, nice-looking uniforms, cute pom-poms, bright smiles, glistening sweat, short skirts, tight top, bouncing- Anyways, some of them would even blow a kiss to the invisible crowd, usually looking to her as she was one of the few people ever actually there. She’d make sure to smile and wave…all for her reputation, not for any other reason. Although some of them looked the complete other way due to the damn rumors Vanessa spread… utter nonsense. 

Her? A Lesbain? Just because she refused to kiss any of the guys doesn't mean that made her a girl-kisser, what if the boys had germs, or even worse, herpes like Troy does now?

Although he got it from kissing a girl…

Hm…

Regardless, over time, it felt natural to be there. As if attending was a part of her mandatory schedule. 

Maybe she should try out next year? She’s pretty? How physically taxing could it be? Although it does look like it requires some flexibility…

“WOOOOOO! YOU GO GIRL!” Liv roared, cheering Lyn on as a particularly hard looking dance move was done. And— okay she can't do that…she can barely touch her toes without feeling a gnawing ache in the back of her calves…

Although being a cheer member could make for a good addition to a resume…? 

Being surrounded by pretty girls doesn’t sound too bad either.

She’ll ask Liv what her thoughts are later. If she’s interested too, then what's there to lose? 

She looked at her watch, 3:40, ten more minutes before it's time to go. It’s not weird to sit down and enjoy the show for just a little bit longer…right? 

….

“You guys looked nice today, much more coordinated.” Elizabeth curtly complimented, watching intently as her friend changed from her cheer uniform to her yellow turtleneck sweater. “The cheer team captain switch must’ve been beneficial.”   

“Tell me about it. We were even able to attempt holding each other up for once in formation.” Lyn replied, taking a swig from her waterbottle. “Also, you’re staring way too hard; do I have something on my back?”  

“No, you’re fine, just…thinking, don't mind me staring.” 

….

“Ugh, I told him to wait on the steps, now how am I supposed to find him?” Elizabeth grunted, looking around the block to see if a petite boy with curly ginger hair was in the vicinity. “All I ask sometimes is for him to listen!” she grumbled to herself, walking to her car with her friends in tow. 

“Did he walk home with friends, maybe?” Lynda spoke up, beating their other friend to the passenger seat for once. 

“I’d hope not? He’s never walked home before; he’d get lost! He never pays attention to those kinds of things; his little head is always in the clouds.” She huffed, clearly annoyed that she might have a missing brother report on her hands.

“What about your dad’s diner? Kids go there after school all the time. It's his birthday, maybe his friends wanted to spend some time there.” Olivia spoke up from the back, still looking around as far as her eyes could see, empathetic to Elizabeth’s  worry. 

“He wouldn't know how to get there either?” 

“Not if he’s walking with friends, if he were, at least ONE of them would be bound to know where they’re going.” 

“It makes sense,” Olivia admitted, “It's not like he’s not the son of the owner, going there with a group of friends would probably be fun?” 

“I guess…although he hates being there, something about those robots scares him, I think.” Elizabeth agreed, “Alright, let's go there first, maybe if he’s walking there, we’ll see him if he hasn’t made it yet.” 

The girl plunged her key into the ignition, smirking as the car roared alive. She took her shades from her purse and gently put them on, practically a ritual for her. The only time she hadn’t driven with them was her driver's test, to make a good impression.