Luminous (I)

Chapter I ***

"Fatty," James whispered under his breath.

I hissed and whirled around, grabbing the spatula from the overhead cabinet. "Now, brother dearest, would you like to repeat that?"

He bit the inside of the lip. "Not particularly."

After taking a generous bite of the Twinkie I launched myself at him, brandishing the spatula as if it was a weapon of mass destruction. My attempt at intimidation was wasted on my older brother, who simply stepped aside and watched with faint amusement as I nose-dived. I landed on the tiled floor with a thud, groaning miserably.

"That would've been so awesome." I whispered.

"But it wasn't." he smiled apologetically and waltzed into the living room, refusing to spare a glance in my direction. I righted myself and grumbled something incoherent.

Brothers.

"Is Chrissy coming over?" James asked as I walked into the living room, still cradling my twinkie.

Chrissy was my best friend. We too had been connected since early childhood. Our parents knew each other well; so well, in fact, that Christina's mother was present at my birth. It was only natural that we'd grown close. She wasn't just my best friend--she was my confidante, my comrade; my fellow fatty.

"Yeah." I replied, swatting his arm. For my sake—and dignity—he feigned a wince. "No flirting, James! She friend-zoned you, like, ten years ago."

He shrugged. "I aim to change that."

Talk about timing. As if attuned to the mention of her name, Chrissy flounced into the house, her ears and nose slightly pink with the bite of the morning air. She exhaled, ungloving her hands, and offered me a wide, beaming smile. Quiet envy, although not malicious, made my heart slam sickeningly against my ribcage. She was the epitome of beauty with long, raven black hair that spilled past her shoulders and dark green eyes. Whilst appearing conventionally docile and pretty, there was a sharpness to her gaze and her features, which were as smooth as water yet as clean-cut and unrelenting as steel. Cross her, and you'd regret it.

"Hello, bitches." she greeted, leaving her coat sprawled in the foyer. "Where's my hug?"

James, all but choking on his popcorn, eagerly rushed forwards but I was faster, folding her in as tight a hug as I could manage. "Hey, Chrissy."

She pulled away a moment later, grinning at my brother. "Nice try, bro. It's nice to know how much you value our friendship."

James flashed her a fake, tired grin and slumped in his seat, ego sufficiently deflated. If not for my amusement, I probably would've felt bad. However, with his chestnut brown hair, smiling blue eyes and handsome features, he'd have no problem winning the heart of the other girls.

"Well, T and I are going out. Laters, James." Chrissy said, tugging at my arm.

My eyes widened. I never agreed to going out. The outside world was a big fat no for several reasons—one, I didn't like the cold; two, I was broke; and three, I ran the risk of having to mingle with strangers, which was never one of my strongest suits.

However, judging by the look Chrissy shot me, it wouldn't be wise to object. I allowed myself to be dragged, albeit somewhat reluctantly, towards the foyer, where I grabbed my winter boots and yanked them on, staring beneath lowered brows at my best friend.

"This counts as abuse, y'know." I grumbled, pulling the door open with more force than was necessary. "I'm like an awkward potato waddling in the company of actual humans!"

Chrissy skipped outside, grinning. "You're too tall to be a potato."

I was slightly offended that the only argument she could give was my height; however, knowing she wasn't exactly misguided, I fell into step behind her, silent. The world was hushed, hanging beneath the blanket of white, heavy clouds.