𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐗

𝟏𝟔 | 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

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    This is uncomfortable...

    Trying not to let the unease and annoyance she was feeling cross her expression due to Mikael constantly glancing at her, (Y/N) stared intensely at the clock within the room of her Language and Culture class, wishing the minute hand to move faster so she could get out of there and go to Art, not wanting to be there for another second.

    The first time she had caught Mikael looking at her, he immediately averted his gaze. Any moment after, however, his eyes sharpened into a glare.

    It was distracting.

    Not to mention awkward.

    But finally, the bell rang and she was able to quickly pack up her bag to limp through the halls and towards the Art room, hoping that that class at least would be less stressful. She could deal with Mikael, yes, but she couldn't just flat out interrupt the teacher's lecture by telling him to stop staring at her, especially when he was all the way on the other side of the classroom.

    She groaned.

    Just the joys of having a new stepbrother.

    Walking into the Art room, the paint splattered tables and multiple easels and hanging works of art a comforting sight to her, she greeted Eun-ji who was finally back from her appointment.

    "So how'd your appointment go?" (Y/N) then asked as she sat down beside the girl.

    "It went good," she shrugged, twisting a strand of her long dark hair as she mulled over what had happened in her head. "Just the usual stuff."

(Y/N) smiled at that before then facing the front upon the teacher walking through the doors. When Eun-ji greeted the teacher in a quite familiar and enthusiastic way, she suddenly realized that because her friend had been at the school for so long, she probably knew more about her new stepbrothers than she would ever hope to know. Cassius' words had been stuck in her mind all day, and now was the chance to ask about what he meant.

"Hey, Eun-ji?"

"Hm?"

"How long have you been here? At this school, I mean?" (Y/N) probed cautiously as she took out a piece of paper and began to sketch out the object in front of her—what the teacher instructed the class to start on.

"Mm... four years. Why?"

"Even though I've been here for a couple weeks, I still don't know my stepbrothers that well, and wanted to know what you know of them," she answered a bit hesitantly, wondering if Eun-ji would think her strange for wanting to learn more about them. "You see, the thing is, I don't get along with all of them, but since my mom is marrying their father, I want to be on good enough terms with them. At least, until I graduate and go to college. Is there any way I can make them... not hate me?"

"Well..." Eun-ji tapped the eraser head of her pencil to her chin in thought. "I know some information... but it's not a lot."

"That's alright," (Y/N) leaned forward with wide eyes. "Just tell me what you know."

"Don't you seem enthusiastic?" Eun-ji smirked as she propped her head up with her hand, brow quirking upward. "You must be quite desperate to get them to like you. I bet you're doing this all for your mom, aren't you? You seem like that kind of person who gives but never asks for anything."

"Well..." she trailed off.

She couldn't admit that she wasn't.

All she had been doing since she arrived was think about Miranda and what she could do to make her mom feel happy.

She sighed.

"Take some time to yourself for a while, okay?" Eun-ji gave her a pointed look before taking a break to glance over her drawing again. "I'm concerned for you as a friend when you have such traits. You deserve to be a little selfish once in a while."

"Thanks," (Y/N) chuckled.

"Yep. Now, if you want some information on your stepbrothers, I'll start with the two oldest that have already graduated," she began with a smirk, her blue eyes shimmering with mischief. "First, there's Ashton. Tall, dark, handsome, and at a young age of twenty-two, he is all set to inherit his father's business. Now, because of that, he did everything he could here to ensure it would come true. He was the honor student who never had a bad mark, always was on time, always had stunning grades, and was never involved in any rumors. But then there was Kai... and he was the exact opposite."

"Huh?" (Y/N) seemed surprised at that.

"He's a year younger than Ashton, and had quite a violent streak," Eun-ji nodded, pursing her lips as she ran over the information in her head. "I've heard from others that he didn't run with the right crowd, always seemed to be skipping classes, and always seemed to be in detention. One day, he even got into a fight with some guys from another school who drew knives and cut up his face."

The other girl's eyes widened.

They cut his face?

Then... the scar along his jaw... that's from that instance!?

Her brows cinched together, drawing her thumb to her lips to anxiously begin chewing on the nail. From all of her interactions with Kai, he had been sweet, affectionate, and gentle if anything. Not once did he act in the ways that Eun-ji was describing, but now, she couldn't help but start to wonder if the Kai she knew now was simply just a mask that he wore.

"And... what happened after that?" She pressed, a bit on edge with so much new information.

"I heard that Kai got so pissed off that he beat the other guys near death," Eun-ji's voice lowered to a whisper as she glanced at the other people around them, no one seeming to take any interest in their conversation as they chatted with their friends. "He landed them in a hospital for two months!"

Chills ran up (Y/n)'s spine.

Two months?

Kai...

Who the hell are you?

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