8.74 – Have you ever met my sibling?

Had a little bit of a heart attack trying to post this chapter. There’s this whole new format for posting chapters now on WordPress and I absolutely hate it, because my web browser can’t handle it and it keeps freezing up on me! Luckily I found a work around to getting back the old format. (my chapter posting life would have become hell if I hadn’t found this workaround)

Anyway! Chapter time

I suppose you can consider this an interlude/resume chapter?

 

Nikolas’ POV

Have you ever met my sister?

What am I saying, you probably have. No, you definitely have.

Well…you’ve met one version of her.

You know her as the ultra-social girl who made sure everyone knew her name, just by introducing herself and giving them her best smile.

Most guys know of her because she’s part of the Trio with great legs (some jerk in class 2-B thought up that original title). A title her and her two dancer friends happily wear. A lot of girls jealously know about her through that title too.

Or else you might know her as part of one of the longest and most popular couples in school. Nobody cares if they really love each other or not, they just look great together. The two even have a fanclub on their apparent romance. It would seem the obvious personality clash between the two just makes it all the more famous.

Oh, that and the fact that they’ve done a few shows together at school – him singing, and her dancing. That definitely bumped up their popularity.

But hey! Maybe you don’t care about that.

You’ve still definitely heard of her.

If only because of her bullying. Okay yeah, she’s given me an earful about it, her friends have given me an earful about it, EVERYBODY says it’s false, that it’s not really bullying.

But wait a minute…what’s the definition of bullying?

Use of superior strength or influence to intimidate, typically to force him or her to do what one wants.

My sister doesn’t have the former, but she definitely has the latter and I’d say she uses it pretty badly.

But hey? Who’s going to listen to her know-it-all brother? No one with common sense that’s who.

Here let me give you a typical ‘bullying session’ and you can decide for yourself whether I’m right, or all the other idiots are.

It’s lunch time, or right before school or during a spare, take your pick, and Tyzel Gallivant is outside.

He’s probably on a bench or something of the like, and probably reading some weird book. Sometimes its psychology related, sometimes it’s The wonders of Sudoku. Look, I know, he’s got weird tastes.

He’ll sniffle a bit, adjust his glasses, flip a page, tuck in a strand of hair, and then, just when my sister is walking by, just when she’s in hearing distance, he’ll tsk.

I don’t know if it’s something he does randomly while he reads, but I’ve only ever seen him tsk when she’s close by. Is it an attack? I don’t know, but my sister, her? She takes it as a condescending tsk, as an offensive tsk. So she’ll let out a harmless comment, or a direct criticism at something Tyzel is doing. Maybe it’s the book he’s reading, maybe his glasses are dirty that day, maybe it’s his clothes. Whatever it is, she can’t help herself and she attacks him.

Of course, it doesn’t sound like an attack. Just a carefree comment. And with her luck someone hears it and joins her in it. Usually that ends up being Joel. I don’t think Joel has something against Tyzel…no I think it’s more like he has a thing for my sister. But hey these are just guesses, considering the fact he just adores doing her dirty work.

So, before you know it Tyzel is being poked and prodded at and his book is on the ground, there’s mud on his clothes and his glasses are in a nearby bush.

And my sister? She walks off with her nose proud and high.

I love her, but she really can’t take being rejected – even if it’s just for friendship.

Okay, now that I’ve said all of this you’re thinking my sister is a mean b*tch and a darn right bully. But hey! That’s one version.

She’s a whole different person at home, if only by her appearance! Okay so she wears glasses at home. A few years ago, her eyesight started to get blurry and our dads bought her a pair of glasses. I swear, it was like the end of the world or something. She actually threw a tantrum till they bought her eye contacts as well to wear to school.

She wears glasses at home though. And wears no makeup, and her hair up and she’s in general just a lot more comfortable and herself.

She’s a hoot too, my sister, when she’s not writhing in agony on the couch because it’s that time of the month. She’s always got these weird things to show us. Mostly stuff she found on the internet.

It certainly makes for a variety. I still remember the days she’d only and only talk about herself. There was just no other type of conversation for her.

And well, as she’s said so many times, my sister is first and foremost a dancer. And a good one at that.

She’s still as passionate as ever about it, spending hours and hours on end practicing. To the point where her lessons with her dancing teachers are actually getting shorter because they don’t know what else to teach her.

Over the years she’s developed an affinity for anything graceful. Ballet, waltz, all that jazz.

Oh and more specifically, couple dances. Which isn’t very practical since only papa can dance. Dad can too, but it’s the type of dance my sister finds vulgar. And well, let’s just say when my sister daydreams she doesn’t imagine herself dancing with papa. Pretty sure she’s going to have to wait a long time for her dancing prince charming.

Another reason why I don’t think her and Devon are going to last a long time.

Oh my, did I just presume the oh so famous couple is doomed? Yes, yes I did. And once again everybody is much too concerned with the appearance of it all.

Sure opposites attract, but these two are worse than that. And I’ve also got my suspicions that Devon is actually gay. Which is really amusing.

Call it a gay parents’ child’s intuition (It’s cause he’s not big on kissing mostly…).

The two look great together, but outside of school they rarely see each other or talk. And my sister doesn’t act like someone with a boyfriend. If you’re a guy you know what I’m talking about. If you are and you don’t know then….boy you’re dense.

My dear sister is a flirt. And a big one at that. And what was I saying ‘if you’re a guy…’, she flirts with everyone! Doesn’t matter who they are – okay, yes it does. She’s not going to flirt with Tyzel, that’s like her only exception. Unless bullying him is some form of flirting. (Which I really doubt)

Maybe it’s just encoded in her DNA. It’s like she can’t help herself. She’ll start laughing, complimenting, and touching anyone remotely attractive. Even age seems to be tangible with her. She’s flirted with a couple of guys I hang out with sometimes and they wouldn’t let me hear the end of it about how cute and hot and adorable and funny and sexy my sister was. I think I actually punched one of them because I was done with hearing stuff like that.

But then again, I’ve punched a lot of people lately.

It’s actually because of this flirtatious nature of hers, that her and Ingrid aren’t really friends anymore.

One of her often flirt victims was Ingrid’s cousin. Ingrid and her cousin are close enough to be siblings though, a bit like me and Lucas.

Ingrid knows as much as I do, that it’s all just supposed to be harmless flirting. My sister wouldn’t go out or kiss ¾ of those people and that included Ingrid’s cousin. But you see, the cousin didn’t know this, and he fell for her, and he fell hard. And the whole time Ingrid asked my sister to stop teasing him, because it would only lead to heartbreak for him, but my sister was having too much fun to stop and consider his feelings.

I’m sure you can guess what happened next. The poor guy finally worked up the courage to confess his feelings to my sister, even though he knew she was still with Devon.

And my sister? She shot him down, and harshly. It wasn’t nice to see, and it was clear that she didn’t realize how awful it had been.

Unsurprisingly, Ingrid got beyond pissed at my sister. The fact that she didn’t care/understand what she’d done wrong, only helped to worsen the situation.

So, Ingrid basically started to snub her. And well, since my sister seemed like such an innocent flower, already with a boyfriend, and since she’s prettier than Ingrid…well Ingrid fell into the ‘rejected’ category. Which at the very least isn’t something my sister helped make into a reality…though she didn’t argue against it.

That was a harsh couple of days for her. Her and Ingrid were long time friends, and she hadn’t meant to lose her. And like I said before, she didn’t do anything to stop other people from picking on Ingrid now, but it still pained her to see her old friend be treated that way.

My sister does have a heart you know. It just not very easy for her to see past her own little bubble.

I said it only took her a few days to get over that loss right?

Well that’s cause she ended up getting closer to the friends she already had. One in particular – Carrie.

My sister and Carrie have always been a little at odds, a little in competition, but that’s only because they resemble each other so much.

My sister’s need for close companionship brought the two closer together to the point where they easily called each best friends, and Carrie kept coming over.

More than Devon and my sister have ever done….just saying.

No, but really, when I say they got closer together, I mean it figuratively and literally and in every possible sense of the word.

Theodora (that’s the other dancer chick) pretty much got left out. Pretty sure Devon did too. Those two are practically inseparable!

They’re close to the point where I’m wondering where my sister’s boyfriend is in all of this.

And they all don’t believe me when I say they won’t last.

Like seriously guys.

…

So yeah, you’ve probably met my sister Nikita.

***

Nikita’s POV

Have you ever met my brother?

Probably not. Or as well as you would any normal kid in your class. Ah but I guess you might know him if he’s punched you. Hell if you’re a girl in his class you definitely know him.

Ack, okay let me restart.

The more suited term I can think of for my brother is bad boy. He’s got the attitude, the smirk, and the looks to fit the profile.

Though really he’d probably prefer the term cool.

My brother doesn’t really have friends per se, but you’ll often see him hanging out with Lucas (he’s our not-blood-related-kinda-cousin, like Joel and Veronica). They hang out together and do stupid things when they’ve got nothing better to do.

Stupid things involve pranking the bathrooms, skipping class, and running around in the cemetery like it’s an obstacle course.

It’s that general carefree attitude of his that has the girls in his class fanning over him like they would your typical bad boy. He hates it when I call him that though, saying he’s absolutely nothing like that. After all he’s not a jerk.

A lot, and I mean a lot of the guys at school wouldn’t hesitate at all to give him the title of jerk, or dumbass or…well you get the gist of it.

Because you see, my brother has got himself a fist that likes to go around and hit people.

Wow that was phrased badly! My brother does not have anger management issues nor is he a bully! Though I have heard a lot of people say that about him. He never picks on people, but…he’s just got this tendency to use his fists instead of his words. Not for lack of trying! Thing is my brother is in general exasperated with the ‘ignorance’ of everyone else. He loves getting into discussions, but getting out of them when it becomes a one sided argument tends to drive his hands into fists.

Still you’d think he’d find a way to phrase it so the ‘ignorant’ understand with the atrocious amount of words that come out of his mouth. He’s such a smart ass nerd. He’s always got a bunch of boring facts to share (like the fact that a mid-life crisis can happen at any time during your life, not just when your 40. I mean when is that ever going to be useful?). He’s also smart to a point where he’ll take great pleasure in finding an error in whatever you just did and blatantly point it out.

You know, I told a few of his fangirls that he was an absolute nerd on the inside. Apparently that just made them like him more.

I keep spouting out that my brother has a group of fangirls, but you’re probably wondering: Does he have a girlfriend in all of this?

The answer to that is no. And not because of a lack of option obviously. It’s simply because he doesn’t want one (an argument he uses a lot to prove he’s not a bad boy because apparently all bad boys are womanizers). And though I have been pushing him to get himself one since he keeps analyzing my own relationship, he still refuses to indulge in that kind of thing.

So I came up with a plan.

It was a difficult plan to come up with, considering it involved finding the perfect girlfriend for my odd ball brother who thought wearing a head band was cool.

But after some thinking, there was only one in the school I thought would fit the bill.

Salandra Grace.

The little eccentric weirdo who turned scene at some point. I’d tried to set her and my brother up as friends at least when we were younger, but my brother took it the wrong way because I got involved. Geez, she wouldn’t have gone to apologize if I hadn’t butted in!

My brother is still super stubborn in that area, so if I want to help out, I have to make sure he doesn’t find out. Which makes things a lot harder I tell you!

Salandra is a pretty girl too. She can have a mean glare sometimes, but she’s got a cute laugh and she’s incredibly gullible. And on top of that she’s been crushing on my brother since she went to apologize to him.

So that side is easy to take care of, there’s just my brother now with his whole ‘no girlfriends’ on the account that it seemed lame to have to take care of a girl and that anyway all the girls his age were dumb.

So obviously I’m doing my best to make Salandra appear smarter…

That’s probably the hardest part. Because…well she really isn’t and she’s got no improvisation skills, so she always looks like an airhead with outdated arguments on boring topics. Evidently not attractive for my brother.

But they’re at the point where Salandra’ll sometimes eat lunch with him. I tried to get her to do her homework with him, but he kept finishing too quickly and found it too exhausting to help her out with hers.

Okay so they barely have anything in common which makes their conversations pretty boring and awkward, but my little brother’s a teenager with raging hormones! And I’m betting those hormones are going to help these two get together. I’m not asking him to get married, just a girlfriend geez.

And I did promise Salandra I’d get her and my brother together.

What kind of little brother would he be if he made me break my promise?

So there you have it. If you hadn’t realized it before, you’ve probably already met my brother. If only because he’s my brother.

He’s a little hot headed, a little rude, and a big smart ass, but he’s also a softie at heart with an uncanny love and talent for the violin.

Yup, my little brother Nikolas.

 

 

In the middle of the chapter Xavier and Edmund grew up into Adults.

 

Do you guys realize what I’m going through right now? I haven’t seen a heir age since Sariel (gen.5). Zyla is a vampire and James is a vampire. They’re both still YA! (though Zyla is close to A) Edmund and Xavier could actually die before all of this is over! ;-;

(Xavier actually grew up badly in my opinion XP, which is why I’m reticent to show his face…)

(Edmund on the other hand I can barely see the difference <3)

 

Two chapters left, Niki’s part and Niko’s part, and then the heir vote rolls around. Get ready guys, because so far their parts are turning out to be pretty big…