Nicholas sighed as he finished the bowel of sliced fruits, the lingering flavours on his tongue dissatisfying. He got up and went to the kitchen sink, cleaning the bowel and wiping it dry, before putting it away.
Afterwards, he went to the bathroom and brushed his mouth, to get rid of the fruity taste. It wasn't that he disliked fruits, but that he didn't like having an after taste of food in his mouth.
Any type of food.
"Mon chérie, where are you?" A sweet female voice sounded from the living room.
"Coming Aunt Mariah." Nicholas replied as he rinsed his mouth, and went to her.
"Checking in again," Mariah said with a smile, she wore a black and white tunic, with tight fitting black pants and rosy pumps. Vivian had asked her to check up on Nicholas every hour, just to make sure he was fine.
"Hello, Nicky" A black haired boy spoke from behind Mariah, Ariel De Winter waved his hand,"How are you?"
"Why is he here?" Nicholas looked at Mariah, Ariel might as well have been air.
"Well, I have to go take Lucious to the dentist for a few minutes but I was hoping...you might spend time with Ariel, since Michael is coming too."
"Why can't Ariel go too?" Nicholas asked.
"I hurt my foot." Ariel raised his foot, showing a stubbed toe that was bandaged up.
"Hmmm...fine." Nicholas nodded his head and Ariel smiled at him, but Nicholas did not return it.
"I'll be back in a while, take care of each other."Mariah waved at the door,"Ariel keep your tootsies up."
"Yes, Mama." Ariel replied and then Mariah was gone.
"Sit on the sofa, now." Nicholas spoke coldly and Ariel nodded his head, tightly biting his lip.
Ariel was a seven years old, and a lanky blue eyed boy, who occasionally got into trouble with his brothers. Being the second born, of triplets, he was the middle child, the one often ignored. Not that Mariah was a bad mother, she was a very caring mother, and it was one reason why Vivian and her got along so well.
"I was watching something before you arrived, and I do not intend to change the channel." Nicholas said simply.
"But...I'm hurt." Ariel said quietly and Nicholas gave him a cool look. "Okay. I'll be quiet."
"I am glad we understand each other." Nicholas sat on the sofa and went back to watching television, seemingly ignoring Ariel.
Ariel sighed softly and got onto the sofa too, but Nicholas grabbed the remote and paused the program .
"What are you doing?" Nicholas asked him with a raised brow.
"Uh...I'm watching TV?" Ariel answered uncertainly.
"I see that, but why are you on the sofa? The floor is clean, and soft enough." Nicholas replied shocking Ariel.
"You want me...to sit on the floor?" Ariel asked and Nicholas gave him a deadpan face," But, I was told to keep my foot up."
"Here's a couch pillow. Put it under your foot." Nicholas handed him a cushion," And injuries like the one you have aren't life threatening unless you're infected. Don't act innocent or coy with me. Just do as I say, or I'll lock you in the bathroom for my peace to not be disturbed."
The seven year old felt scared and wanted to get away from Nicholas but from the look in his eyes, he'd get thrown into the bathroom for something like that. So, it was with frustration and resentment that Ariel sat on the floor, with a sofa pillow under his injured foot.
After a few minutes of silence, Ariel couldn't take it and spoke up," Why are you so mean?"
"Define mean."
"What?" Ariel looked at Nicholas, who was still looking at the TV, but still replied to him.
"You are accusing me of being mean, so I said define mean." Nicholas answered," Do you know what mean is?"
"Uh...yes, when people do not do nice things to you. Like making me sit on the floor." Ariel pouted and Nicholas gave him a small glance.
"Firstly, well done, that is mean simplified. But, I am not mean, I am just indifferent to you, there is a difference."
"What is indifferent?" Ariel asked him.
"It means I am not interested or that empathetic towards you, or everyone else. It makes me less nice but not mean," Nicholas gave a small smile," Nikolai is mean, in comparison i am nice."
"Nikolai is scary" Ariel stated.
"You're scared of my brother?" Nicholas asked him.
"I...he hit one of the big boys at school with a rock." Ariel said softly," Then he hit him again with a stick and drew all over his face. It was so scary."
"Hmmm. That's interesting." Nicholas paused the program again and looked at Ariel," I have not heard of this, and I make a habit of knowing what my siblings do. When did this happen?"
"Two days ago, behind the gym" Ariel replied and Nicholas gave him a large smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Please...tell me how it all happened."
A chill went down Ariel's spine, and he felt squamish under Nicholas's gaze. That didn't stop him from telling Nicholas everything he knew. When he was done, Nicholas was no longer smiling and his eyes were closed, as if he was thinking really hard.
"Come and sit on the sofa."
"Huh?" Ariel thought he heard wrong," I can sit? On the sofa?"
"Yes, before I change my mind " Nicholas opened his eyes and they were back to their aloofness.
"Thank you." Ariel sat back on the sofa with a grateful smile,"Are you.. going to shout at him?"
"I never shout. It's a waste of my voice." Nicholas turned the program back on," I'll deal with his stupidity in my own way. Let's focus back on the program, this is one of my favourite shows."
"What's it called?"
"The Mouse"
"The mouse? That is a very weird name. What is it about?" Ariel asked him.
"The mouse is a crime thriller, based in Southern Korea, following the crimes of a genius serial killer and a tenacious detective." Nicholas saw the confused look on Ariel's face and sighed," The detective never gives up and the Villian is a bad person who kills people."
"That's sounds scary and cool. Does Auntie Vivian let you watch this?" Ariel asked as he saw a dead body in a morgue on the screen.
"I record it, and watch it when I can, but generally she would not approve." Nicholas smiled as the body was surgically cut open and Ariel cringed.
"This is scary" Ariel pulled a pillow to cover his eyes and Nicholas glanced at him. With a sigh, the boy looked back at the screen, curious about the technique the doctor used to cut the cadaver open.
Fifteen minutes later, Ariel was still covering his eyes and Nicholas sighed with satisfaction when the show was over. He didn't bother with Ariel and went to the kitchen to get some water, but after two steps he felt a little light headed and fell back onto the sofa.
"Is it over?" Ariel asked when he felt Nicholas get up,"Are you okay?"
"No, I feel nauseous and a bit dizzy." Nicholas sighed and shut his eyes, laying his head back.
"Did you want to get something? I can do it." Ariel offered and Nicholas gave him a side glance.
"What would you want in return?" Nicholas asked and Ariel gave a small smile.
"Umm..well, we could watch a movie, nothing scary though." Ariel asked," Maybe Jack and the Beanstalk."
"How about Peter Pan instead?" Nicholas asked calmly," I detest Jack and the Beanstalk, a boy with no common sense."
"Convi- nevermind. Okay. Let's watch Peter Pan after I get you what you want." Ariel smiled happily but Nicholas did not return it.
"I want a cup of cool water, in a glass cup, 300ml cup, not the 150ml ones. And grab the packet of churros in the second draw on the left." Nicholas told him," Understand?"
"Yeah, I got it." Ariel got up and started to the kitchen, taking out a glass cup from the cupboard.
"Wrong one, I don't like those ones. The design makes it hard to balance a good grip." Nicholas said and Ariel nodded his head and tried again,"Yes, that's the one."
"You're very picky." Ariel said two minutes later, but Nicholas didn't bother to answer. He didn't see a reason to, so they sat and watched TV.