All night long, while waiting for them to get back, the room was filled with Kiel's giggle and the sound of the song as Clayden and I danced along with the beat. I stopped dancing for a moment to stare at them, smiling at each other. Clayden noticed me staring at them and made him turn around in my direction. Leaning in close forced me to close my eyes. Nothing was happening, so I took a peek at what he was doing and saw him smiling at me.
"There's something on your cheek." He said while he was trying to remove it. I instantly moved back from him and placed my hand in front of my face, covering it as I stood up.
"Mom should be returning with the others anytime now, and I should prepare dinner." I said before striding to the kitchen. 'That was too close! Why did I close my eyes!?' I said through my thoughts as soon as I stood in front of the kitchen table. I slapped both hands on my face and took a deep breath. 'Ouch...' while I was rubbing my cheeks, I received a text. It was from Zenji, saying that he'd be coming over for dinner since Aunt Shelvie invited him.
"Aunt Shelvie must've forced him to come." I sighed while staring at his text when I felt someone's breath blow into my ear, sending shivers down my spine, making me back away, covering my ears with my hand.
"We're back." Royce informed me of their return while he was standing on a stool. He must have placed the stool behind me when I wasn't looking to surprise me. As I was watching him get down on the stool, I was trying to hold back my laughter, since he was having a hard time getting down on the stool. It was quite high, and my little brother was afraid of heights. He isn't a sporty one like the other boys in his grade, and he isn't really tall. Some might even mistake him for a girl. "What are you even spacing out for?" He asked while grunting as I finally decided to help him down.
"Nothing." I immediately answered as I looked away from him.
"Yeah... sure." He said while he tried to get a look at my face, staring at me intensely as I tried to look away every time.
"Oh, and Royce. Zenji said he'll be coming over." I blurted out. That made him stop and drop the plastic bag full of fruits he might've bought for Kiel. I stared at his flustered reaction as he panicked to pick up the fruits on the floor one by one. I then decided to start setting the table and thought. 'That kid...' I groaned while placing the plates on the table.
As soon as I finished setting up the table, Mom went inside with Aunt Shelvie and Uncle Jerome. When we were about to eat, the doorbell rang. I immediately ran to the door and looked through the peephole to see Zenji wearing his glasses with a smile on his face, showing a box of cake from my favorite bakery shop. I opened the door and hugged him.
"You're the best, Zenji!" I giggled.
"I happened to pass by the shop when I was leaving the studio, and I remembered you liking their pastries." He said, placing his other hand on my back as I looked up and smiled.
"You're the best, Zen. Thanks for this." Clayden mimicked what I said and thanked Zenji as he took the box cake from his hand, making me turn around to look at him.
'Seriously, this guy.' I thought as I chuckled softly before removing my hand from Raven's back.Aunt Shelvie peeked at the doorway and saw the three of us standing by the door. "Oh. It's you, Zenji. Come in, come in." She said. Zenji bowed and smiled at Aunt Shelvie.
"Good evening, Auntie." He greeted Aunt Shelvie as he removed his shoes before coming in, while Clayden brought the cake box to the table with me walking behind him. "By the way, Raven..."
I heard Zenji calling for me. I turned back to look at him and answered. "Yeah?" as he looked at me from the front and back to me, it was as if he was scanning me.
"Why are you wearing that?" he asked. I looked at my clothes and realized that Clayden and I still hadn't changed our clothes. Zenji started smirking at me and didn't even wait for me to answer. He just headed inside, leaving me in the doorway.
"Oh, Yes... Zenji, why don't you put on that onesie that's on the couch? I think you'll look cute on it." Aunt Shelvie offered Zenji to wear a onesie. Zenji looked over in Royce's direction and chuckled, seeing how Royce was also wearing the onesie that was pairing the onesie on the couch.
"Is this for Ezekiel's entertainment or yours? Aunt Shelvie?" He asked bluntly with a smirk on his face as Aunt Shelvie let out a loud laugh while Mom was smiling before she sat at the table.
"Maybe, Maybe not. Who knows?" Aunt Shelvie answered as he just shook his head. He then took the onesie on the couch and headed to the bathroom to change clothes. As he got back, he sat beside my mom and Royce while Aunt had a satisfied grin on her face. 'What a devil...'
• • •
Once we were done eating. Mom, Aunt Shelvie, and her husband had already gone to the balcony upstairs, chatting while drinking as Clayden hung out with our little Kiel by the living room—I noticed Royce and Zenji by the terrace, still wearing the onesie that Aunt Shelvie brought.
"What are you drawing right there, Roy?" Zenji asked me as I looked up to him and turned away to gaze at the sunflower outside that hadn't bloomed in front of the neighbor's house. I then showed him the half-finished sunflower in my sketchbook.
"Just that sunflower across the road..." I muttered, hiding my face behind the sketchbook that I showed him. I then noticed that Zenji started staring at the sunflower across the road as well. That's when I asked... "What's your favorite flower, Big Brother Zenji?"
He looked in my direction and smiled. "I told you, Zenji is fine." He then looked back at the sunflower again, and his gaze softened as he answered. "Sakura." I then remembered his conversation with Big Sis in the kitchen, and somehow. I still haven't found out why he loves those flowers. I know it does bloom whenever it's spring in Japan. I've done my research, but I still don't get why he likes those flowers.. yet 'I also don't wanna ask him.' I thought as I stared at him, closing his eyes as he hummed, singing a melody. It's not a regular song that you'll hear on a CD or on television... It was a song he created.
Clayden had finally got back from upstairs and said. "Kiel is finally asleep." Clayden groaned as he lay down on the couch. I then remembered how I always woke him up every morning to wake him up for school and thought I should tease him.
"That's how I feel whenever I wake you up in the morning, too, Clayden." I told him, narrowing my eyes at him while I sat on the carpet. He just avoided my gaze and looked away. "Can't accept the fact? Clyde?" I added as he sat up and threw me a pillow.
"Stop teasing, Rae." He said as I noticed his cheeks turn red, and I couldn't help but laugh at him. "What's so funny?" He shouted as I ignored him and continued to laugh, almost having a hard time breathing, and I couldn't even try to answer him. he started to growl.
"You can tease me, yet I can't. What's up with that?" I asked, still laughing. He threw me a pillow, and I dodged it. He continued to throw pillows at me, but when one of the pillows hit me in the face, it just made me laugh even more, and I started throwing the pillows back at him.
"Told you that they're having fun without us." I heard Zenji say that to Royce as he ran behind the couch with Royce and jumped on the backrest to stand on the couch. It started a pillow fight. "Why are you even blushing, Clyde?" Zenji teased in a questionable tone. Clayden immediately threw him a pillow, and Zenji only caught it.
"I'm not!" Clayden denied that he was blushing and covered his face with a pillow. I couldn't help but laugh at him.
"He is probably embarrassed about something that Big Sis said." Royce answered, and he was on point. Zenji started to laugh, and Royce joined in, too.
Clayden turned around, glaring at them, and looked at me next. He smiled with an irritated gaze, "You know what? Whatever." and walked away. I messed up, huh? 'Wait... Where is he going!?' I thought as soon as he walked away. I started to think about ways how I should make it up to Clayden since I made him upset. My thoughts were interrupted when Clayden suddenly dropped the board games on the floor, making Roy and Zenji sit down on the floor.
"Instead of you guys messing with me, Play with this instead!"
It was around October. I was only five...
I remember that we had to live with Aunt Shelvie and Uncle Jerome when my father died. Mom admitted to Aunt Shelvie that she couldn't take care of us. That's why my little brother and I had to leave New York and stay in Chicago, which I didn't mind since I wanted to get away from acting, and from agencies that were trying to recruit me after I left the agency where my father used to work. I also met Clayden and Zenji thanks to my father's death, and I don't regret moving to this city at all.
"Why hello there, Shelvie. I see some unfamiliar faces behind you. Who might these two be?" A woman asked. I looked up to see her face, and she was gorgeous. She has long hale-navy hair and bright yellow eyes, and her pale white skin complements all her features.
"These two are my late brother's children. I'll be looking after them starting today." Aunt Shelvie answered the woman and placed her hand on my back when I held onto her shirt. I stared at the woman, and she was smiling at me when a boy around my age started to peek behind her. "Oh, Clyde, you're here. Rae, That's Clayden. Do you wanna play with him?" Aunt Shelvie greeted the boy before talking to me and asked if I wanna play with him. I immediately shook my head and hid behind my aunt.
A little later, I noticed Royce was slightly looking in my direction. I then looked in the same direction as he did and saw the same boy from earlier holding a small flower, handing it to me. I then noticed a plant behind him that had the same flower. "You're really pretty." He said as I started to laugh. He stared at me in awe and smiled.
"Finally... Raven smiled." Aunt Shelvie sighed in relief as I held the small flower that I got from him, smiling while staring at it.
"Can we be friends?" He abruptly asked, making me look into his eyes and hummed in response. He suddenly pulled me towards a playground, making me look back to see Royce following us. At the same time, Aunt Shelvie tried to chase Royce with a worried look on her face.
To Be Continued. . .