II AFFABLE FREAK II

01 - FIRST STEP

Outside the enormous and ancient gate which was wide open, Ava just stood there taking in the magnificent view of the University campus.

She was already spacing out when Joe put his arm around her shoulders, "Don't tell me you plan to sleep here when there's a dorm waiting for you? I know you're down to earth but c'mmon Ava that's not how it works here." He teased.

You hit his belly with her elbow and went to help Damian, who was moving the luggage.

"Damy are you okay? You look a bit off." Ava asked her big brother, locking their arms. They were roaming the estate walking towards her assigned dorm.

"He's sad because you're leaving us silly." Ethan piped in, wrapping his hands around the two from the back. "What!? I'm not moving overseas y'all. I'm literally an hour away from home." she said, her head resting on Damian's arm.

"But I won't get to see your adorable face that often now." The big guy sulked. "You still have me bro." Ethan said copying Ava's action.

Damian made a face which shrieked 'I'm disgusted'. This made the girl give a hearty laugh.

Their parents were at the office, settling the documents for registration while the boys were dropping off the youngest.

"Umm, Does anybody know why are these students staring at Ava?" Joe asked their group of four in confusion. The others realized they were indeed being watched like caged animals.

"They're not looking at me dumbass. Observe properly, the girls are drooling over you guys" Ava nodded her head towards the twins, " and the boys are probably excited to see an NBA player here." She continued, avoiding the crowd.

The guys cleared their throats uncomfortably and walked behind their sister like little ducklings.

The Sebastian boys were good looking would be an understatement. They were always loved by their peers and admired. On the other hand, their lil' sister didn't like human interaction much keeping her circle smaller than a cherry.

She was picked up by her two best friends in sixth grade and that's how she survived her school life. Donning her round glasses and baggy sweatshirts since childhood, she somehow began to believe that she could never be someone's 'special person'.

The siblings were outside the room number F-24 on the first floor of the dormitory. The hallway was filled up with guardians, some hugging their kids while some moving their belongings and some invading the privacy of already residing students.

"Behave yourselves guys. I'm gonna share the room with two seniors so don't mess it up!" Ava warned her brothers who opened their mouths to object but quickly closed it seeing her death glare.

"Oh you must be the new kid, Ava Sebastian was it?" a girl enquired, her hair tied up in a messy bun. Beads of sweat were visible on her forehead, holding a little piece of cloth in her hand.

"Uh yes. Nice to meet you. I'm her brother Joe Sebastian." The guy pushed Ava aside and introduced himself. The other siblings were shaking their heads at their whipped brother.

"I'm sorry. He's really sick up here." Damian apologized, motioning towards his head at the last part.

"Oh, umm It's okay. I'm Eleanor White, second year. We were just cleaning up the room. Please come in." Eleanor said with a smile.

"And you must be the other senior. We're here to drop our sister." Damian said like an excited mother to the girl who just entered the room with a towel wrapped around her head.

She nodded politely not exactly expecting three guys to be in her room. Eleanor nudged her and then she realized she didn't introduce herself yet.

"Oh I apologize, I'm Scarlett Brown, third year." The girl said, her hand awkwardly reaching up her nape. Ethan noticed the air in the room getting weird.

"I guess it's time. It was a pleasure meeting you ladies." He said walking towards Ava. "I know you'll be busier than ever but don't forget your meals okay?" He said softly, hugging his sister tightly before he went outside.

Damian followed the suit and left after kissing his lil' sister's head.

Joe patted Ava's head lovingly, "When things get harder, don't keep it to yourself you get that? Don't give up when things don't go your way. You're gonna start a new phase of your life so try to accept the new circumstances, open upto the new people. Call me often punk." He said and then left giving his favorite human a warm hug.

"Your brothers are cute." Eleanor remarked after they left. Ava smiled a bit sadly, already missing them.

"But you guys don't look alike much." Scarlett blurted out aloud. Her eyes were about to bulge out when she realized she didn't say that in her head and apologized shortly after.

Eleanor just clasped her mouth with her hand, looking between Ava and Scarlett like they were in between a fierce tennis match.

Ava just chuckled lightly and waved a hand at the senior student, "It's okay but I'm glad you didn't say that in front of 'em. It really pisses them off when someone mentions that."

With that she started unpacking, leaving the two girls thinking how her lovable brothers would look like when annoyed, especially the older one.

The initial step may be the hardest, but the rest of the journey isn't quite easy either. The only way to survive is to hang in there.