March prompt #4-Outsider(Part 1,post 3/3)
Once they got to her room, Alex sighed. He felt guilty for making Kalika feel even more depressed, confused and conflicted than she was, but he severely disliked that everyone was lying to her when her life was in so much danger. As soon as she closed the door, she went over to her bed cautiously and poked Viral. “WHO’S THERE?! I DON’T HAVE ANY MONEY, MAN!” Viral exclaimed, jumping up and looking around, a wild-eyed expression on his face. Kalika was trying to keep a straight face, but she died laughing. “Wow…I’m not allowed to be anywhere by myself, but you really are from the city, aren’t you?” she said, giggling. “Oh ha-ha-ha…stupid vampires, trying to tell me I owe them money,” Viral grumbled. It was weird, having an old nightmare, but it also felt good and familiar. “Ewww…so that’s why the docks in Cape Elizabeth smell funny,” Kalika said, making a face. “Um, duh? Everyone knows that dude Jackson works for uses vampire labor. He kept talking about adopting Jackson…I wonder if he ever did,” Viral mentioned, a thoughtful look on his face. “Ugh…if you’re talking about that awful man whose wife runs a sleazy place where whores go, then he probably did. Last time I went there, I saw Tristan arguing with some stupid boy until Uncle and I got there,” Kalika said, shuddering.
“Oh come on…it’s just a speakeasy and you’ve never even been there. Just because grownups tell us things doesn’t always mean it’s true. That’s like saying Santa Claus is real,” Viral said, waving a hand dismissively. “He’s not?” Kalika said, a traumatized look on her face. Viral gaped at her and then laughed so hard, he fell off the bed. “You still think Santa Claus is real? Seriously? You’re only a year older!” he said, snickering. “But…mommy said he’s real and that he’s perfect the way our family is perfect. If my family is perfect and that was real, why wouldn’t Santa Claus have been real?” Kalika said, looking down. She felt stupid now and she was an idiot for thinking anything was real; mommies and daddies never loved each other other; grandmas and grandpas weren’t good people and didn’t tell the truth; everyone lied all the time and the world was an awful place where her daddy made people die and nothing was real. The only thing that had ever been real was Trevor and now he was gone. Even if the man who gave her candy said no one would hurt him and he’d see his mommy, he was at war and he might not write back.
“Annabeth probably misses him, too…” Viral finally said. He didn’t care about the stupid news unless it affected his neighborhood or a nearby neighborhood area, but he felt bad now and it was mean to make an eighth grader go off to war. “Why...why did they want to kill his mommy? I don’t want cousin Cara to die; she’ll make mommy cry,” Kalika said, tears streaming down her cheeks. “We’ll go say hi, tomorrow, okay? My brother, he’s friends with her and he’s not going to like this. All of us, we went to the same feeder school and Trevor’s only a year older,” Viral said, hugging her. He couldn’t believe someone tried to kill Annabeth’s mother; she was probably a mess. Kalika nodded, trying to stop crying. “You’re lucky…if your brother was home, they would have taken him, too…” Kalika said tonelessly. “I don’t know…Annabeth lived outside the city in the middle of Cape Elizabeth and the Lost City. Perry never lived with me and mom, but you…you don’t think his neighborhood was close enough…do you?” Viral asked, biting his lip. “It’s not a draft, it’s a raid,” Kalika said bitterly. “Bako won’t need you, though…you’re too little and he swept the place already,” she added, shrugging.
“HEY! I’m only a year younger, damnit. I’m just skinny and kind of short,” Viral mumbled. He wanted to be tall and intimidating like his brother; everyone always assumed Perry was scary, dark and weird. Even Rosie giggled when he gave her the flower because she thought he was a random “bad boy”. “Oh…I thought you were Luke’s age,” Kalika said apologetically. “Let’s go to bed…I promise I’ll tell my parents what’s going on,” Alex said with a sigh. He wasn’t sure about leaving Viral behind, but it was obvious he had friends and family here he was worried about, even if Kalika clearly liked another boy. “Okay,” Kalika said, pulling out extra sleeping bags for when she had for when she had slumber parties. “Um, sleeping bags? Really?” This was a castle and Viral seriously didn’t think they’d be so ghetto.
“What? The cots would make noise and so would mattresses. Plus, we like to sleep outside sometimes, so what else would we use?” Kalika said, looking at him funny. Viral sighed; she had him on that one, even if a cushy bed would have been nice. He liked sleeping on a rich people bed with silk, down and a fancy, fluffy mattress and felt like it was made out of marshmallows. It was a little girly, but he was in a girl’s bed, so Viral sucked it up. Alex was about to make his bed and go to sleep when Kalika took his hand. “What’s wrong?” he asked, frowning. “Can…can I ask you something?” she said, biting her lip. She felt weird, but she and Tristan were getting older, he spent more time with Priyanka and Kalika needed something familiar to hang onto, even if it was stupid, silly, childish and immature. “Sure,” he said, wondering why it was such a big deal and why her brother couldn’t just do it if it meant that much.
“Can…you stay with me until I fall asleep? Tristan always does and I can’t sleep unless I know he is, but we had a fight and then after what happened….” Kalika started, shifting uncomfortably. It probably sounded stupid, strange and creepy, but she missed her brother and he didn’t understand how much it bothered her that Tristan cared more that Priyanka was asleep before he could be asleep or that she had basically taken Kalika’s place in his life. She was just a stupid 3rd wheel, they argued over her behavior and Kalika just wanted things to be perfect again. “Yeah, sure…of course I will,” Alex said, smiling at her. He felt sorry for her; it wasn’t strange or creepy. If Grace, one of his cousins or someone else he cared about asked him the same thing, he would have understood. She was a twin and clearly felt strange without her other half.
“Thank you…” Kalika said, taking his hand and leaning on him as she closed her eyes. Tomorrow was a new day and she knew day, but it hurt. If Trevor were here, it wouldn’t hurt as much, but he was older and even if he’d miss her and she’d wait for him, she’d still have to watch Priyanka take her brother away while Kalika worried, wondering whether or not she’d be a war bride. Shhh…go to sleep. He’ll come back because I’m telling my parents and I’m not letting either of you die. You’ll be fine and so will Viral; no one’s coming after your friends anymore. I really doubt your brother doesn’t love you; he hates me because you’re your sister and I’m not allowed to be part of this family. Alex was amused at the irony; for someone so possessive; Tristan ignored his sister to the point where he was breaking her heart and making her feel like his girlfriend, his status and their father came first. Alex hadn’t gotten to meet his human, but he didn’t want to; he knew enough and wanted to vomit. The man obviously deserved to die and even if his wife wasn’t a bad woman, she couldn’t have gotten her magic from a natural source and neither could her family. The entire night was strange and disturbing, but it had been a fun adventure and truth be told, it was actually kind of nice, having someone call him brother and need him to make it better.
Muse: Alex De Lyncree
Fandom: Children of the Stars/Tales of the Lost City(Original Crossover)
Words: 1,369