twisted bond

o1 . destin mystique

I guessed it was my fault. I didn't really watch where I was going, and as a result, I got knocked over.

"Ouch… damn."

"Oh… hey I'm sorry. Are you alright…?"

I glanced up to see a hand stretched towards me. I blinked my eyes in confusion and stared.

The boy cleared his throat. "You know, at this point of time, you should grab my hand, pull yourself up, and maybe say thanks?" He grinned in amusement.

"Right." I replied hollowly and proceeded to do as he said.

I guessed I spaced out for a moment there. Oh well.

I began dusting myself off, ignoring the boy who had knocked me down. I don't respond too well to strangers. And it seems like he isn't too keen on talking to me either. He was just standing there staring at me intently… what?

I frowned. That doesn't sound too right.

I looked at him straight in the face. He raised his pierced eyebrow, a small smile slowly taking hold of his lips. I noticed that he's actually quite attractive with a really funky haircut. His raven black hair was short with shattered layers, along with a long full bang that makes him look mysterious.

I admitted that I was drawn to him physically, but frankly speaking, he scared me, and that leaves no room for negotiation. From the beginning till now, all he did was to stare at me in this weird way.

What…? Is there something on my face?

But something told me that wasn't the case. A shiver ran up my spine. There was just something about him that was… off. My intuition has always been quite strong.

"Is there… something wrong?" I forced myself to say.

I shifted uneasily when he remained silent. It was like he didn't hear me at all. By now, my whole body was itching to get away from him.

Man, how did I get myself into these types of situations?

"Bye." I finally blurted out when the thick silence threatened to engulf me. I turned away without a second glance.

I thought I saw a trace of a smirk appearing on his face.

No. Don't think about it.

I bit my lip unconsciously.

"Bye Avarielle." He said, so softly that I almost didn't hear him. But I did, and I halted in my steps.

He… he called me Avarielle. Who the hell is he? How did he knew my middle name?! Almost no one knew of its existence. I whipped around, but he was no longer in sight.

I frowned. That was… fast.

No, it's creepy.

After some hesitation, I decided to shrug off this incident. There's no point mulling about it after all. Hopefully, I don't have to see him again. If I do, I don't know how I will react the next time.

Probably try to stay as far away from him as possible.

I sighed.

Hopefully, never see him again.

•••

Mum burst into my room in a frenzied state, almost scaring the living daylights out of me.

"Mum, please." I stated in an annoyed voice. "Can't you just knock on the door first?"

"Oh, that's not important honey." She waved a hand in the air and jumped onto my bed excitedly. "Guess what?"

"What?" I asked dully.

"Leonard, oh my dear Leonard, he, you won't believe this, but he proposed to me! Me! Your mum! He proposed to dear old me!" Mum's cheeks glowed a rosy red.

"Oh, really? Congrats then, Mum. Now, why would that be so hard to believe? If you're done, then please get out of my room. Oh yeah, remember to close the door."

Mum shot me an irritated look. "Are you really my daughter?"

"No, an alien abducted your real daughter and left me in her place." I retorted lazily.

I simply love riling Mum up, because it's just so fun to see her reaction.

Mum let out an exaggerated sigh. "Right then, alien daughter, I'm so glad you can take my remarriage so easily. Anyway, Leonard and I decided to make it simple. Just a registry and we're done. No need to make a hassle over it. Oh, and they're moving in with us, since our house is bigger."

I paused in the middle of inspecting my hair. "Them. I thought there's only one Leonard."

Mum flushed. "Oh, Leonard has two sons, you see…"

"Well, that's great." I stated simply. I didn't even meet Leonard before, and now Mum's telling me he has two sons?

"Dear, you've been behaving this way ever since your dad died five years ago." Mum's tone turned sad.

"What?" I replied nonchalantly. "I've always been this way."

A wave of nostalgia tugged at me, but I ignored it.

Mum began to sob. "I don't know! You're just like a… a robot! It's like you don't have any huge reactions at all! You don't show any emotions! Marriage and living with three other persons is such a huge thing, but you brush it off as if it's nothing worth thinking about!"

Yuck, split ends. I should really go and trim my hair.

"Shannon!" Mum always call me Shannon when she's peeved.

I sighed. "Mum. Just leave me alone. You're happy and I'm okay with the arrangements, isn't that great?"

Mum looked away, torn. "Fine then, Leonard and his sons are coming over to dinner tonight. Just to inform you." She said, sniffling quietly.

"Sure. Now, can I have some time alone?"

Again, one of those devastated looks. I don't get it. I really don't. I think I'm fine just the way I am. Why is Mum so worried anyway?

Mum didn't say anything. She turned and left my room.

Finally. Some peace and quiet.

•••

"Leonard!" Mum squealed happily. Then silence. Ha, I bet they're smooching right now. I stifled a yawn. Mum and Leonard should be somewhere near the front door, and I'm presuming Leonard's two sons are with them too.

I'm currently lazing around on the couch, and I'm way too comfortable to get up and greet those three guests, so if they want, they can come and greet me instead. I don't care.

"Shannon!"

But of course, Mum just had to ruin everything.

I got up and deliberately took my own sweet time in getting to the front door. Once I was within their talking range, Mum grabbed me and smiled forcibly.

"This is my daughter, Shannon Avarielle Lin."

I should have known. She just had to tell them my full name.

"This is Leonard-"

I looked up and offered a polite smile while Leonard started off with the usual "nice to meet you" pleasantries.

"-and this is Xavier and Xylon, his two sons."

I switched my attention to them, and my heart literally skipped a beat.

It was him.

"Hey." His brother mumbled in greeting, while he kept silent, a small smile playing along his lips.

"Guess what, Shelly? Xavier is a senior just like you, while Xylon is a junior. They'll be transferring to your school, so please try to get along." Mum said cheerfully.

"… why?"

A pause.

"Why what?" Mum asked in confusion.

"They're doing well in their own school, aren't they?"

"Shelly, their school is too far away from our house."

"Oh."

"…"

"May I ask…?"

"Yes?" Leonard replied, trying his best to sound fatherly.

I almost rolled my eyes.

"Which is Xavier, and which is Xylon…?"

"Shannon!"

I guessed I made Mum angry again.

The brother cleared his throat. "I'm Xavier." I could hear a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Oh… so that creepy-but-hot-and-turned-out-to-be-younger-than-me guy is Xylon. Now I get it.

Before anyone of us could get another word out, Mum whisked us off for dinner. Meanwhile, I took the time to observe Xylon and Xavier.

Unlike Xylon, Xavier's hair was long and cut in layers. I can guarantee that at least two third of the female population in my school would want to run their hands over his black hair. Even I wanted to do so. Xavier shared the same eye color with Xylon; a beautiful turquoise, although Xavier's eyes might not be so noticeable because he wore glasses. That doesn't mean that he's dorky though. Xavier's good looks are undeniable, and the glasses only added a touch of sophistication to his overall look.

If possible, Xylon looked even better than the last time I saw him. Although his fringe covered half of his eyes, I could still feel the intensity radiating from him as he stared at me. It made dinner quite uncomfortable for me.

I don't know if I was just plain unlucky or what, but I was assigned to wash the dishes, and Xylon was ordered by Leonard to help me with it, despite Mum's weak protests.

I didn't bother making small talk, and I thought Xylon doesn't plan to do so too, until he opened his mouth.

"I bet you're wondering how come I knew your name the first time we met."

I paused. "I thought maybe you might be a stalker."

Xylon laughed; a rich melodic laugh.

"No. My dad had a picture of your mum, and you were in it too. It was my dad who told me your name."

"That woman… she showed my picture to Leonard… and told him my name…" I unconsciously clenched my fist.

Xylon cocked his head aside. "You don't like it?"

"No." I answered shortly.

"I thought you were pretty when my dad showed me the picture, but when I met you, you were gorgeous."

Normally, a girl might blush when she hears this, but not me. Blushing just doesn't come to me easily.

"You crept me out before, and you still creep me out now." I said honestly.

Xylon might have explained everything, but there's something about him that I can't place my finger on. It's better not to get too close to him.

"Aw. You just hurt me."

I tossed a careless look at him. "You don't look hurt at all. Excuse me, I still have things to do."

I brushed by him, and he didn't stop me.

I was contented, although a bit worried. How was I going to avoid him if he was going to be my stepbrother in the not-too-long future?

•••

A/N: I couldn't resist it, really. Anyway, this is just a test chapter. A cliché, you might say, but it's different in a way. In regards to updates, it will probably be either slower or faster than Foxified. It depends. Oh, and please review, my lovelies :)