Hey Sunshine

A Portrait of His Dashing Son

THE VAN ECK MANSION never quite lost its nonexistent charm.

As a wee child, Wylan remembered walking through the endless halls, tripping over his own feet, almost tripping down the banister, smiling at the widely spread portraits of various ancestors and descendants.

The portraits were painted, framed, and hung high. It didn't matter what member of the family you were - the black sheep, like a distant third-uncle of his (now deceased, by mysterious circumstances his distant third-aunt had put down to heart failure), the best and brightest one (his father, obviously), or simply average (his great grandmother, for having the audacity to be a woman, despite her various successes to push the company far further than say, his own father did).

Wylan, mindful of Bajan's presence behind him, stopped suddenly to look at a portrait of himself.

"That wasn't here when I left," Wylan muttered under his breath, staring at his own unfamiliar face. The portrait didn't wear his own face - rather, a stranger with cold blue eyes and perfect ginger curls stared back at him. Bajan sent him a genial smile and Wylan tried to move his lips into a semblance of one.

"Master Van Eck was proud to hang such a portrait of his dashing son," Bajan said with a grin and Wylan sighed, turning his head. Weariness filled his veins and he felt the need to ask his father - why? Why go through the charade he had gone through? What was the point of trashing his apartment, of sending him and Sergie threat letters, of forcing others to house him against their will? What was the endgame?
Wylan suddenly needed to know these answers, and sped up his pace. Hurriedly walking down the halls - down the first row of stairs, passing another hall or two, down the second flight of stairs - he finally reached the bottom floor, where Bajan, hurrying after him, urged him to the first dining hall.

"Thank you," Wylan told him in an obvious dismissal. Bajan stared at him wordlessly for a while before blinking rapidly and hurrying away. Blowing the air out of his cheeks, Wylan quickly went to the door for the first dining hall and stopped a few feet away from the entrance.

"Come in where I can see you," Jan snapped from his position at the table. Wylan took a deep breath before quickly walking in and saw him seated at the table.

"Hello father," Wylan said softly as he sat at the area arranged for him. His father looked him up and down briefly before his lips curled.

"I see you haven't changed yet," he examined coldly and Wylan nodded.

"I haven't," he replied. "I'd like my phone back so I can tell my friends I've arrived back safely, and to tell them I'm with you so they don't worry."

Jan Van Eck sneered at him. "As if they really care. They're just pretending Wylan. Nobody really cares about you - not your friends."

Wylan's face flushed at that, red burning through his cheeks as he ducked his head. "M-my boyfriend," he managed. "I'm dating somebody. Jesper cares about me."

Jan snorted at that, raising an eyebrow critically. "Are you sure he doesn't just want your money?" he asked Wylan. His voice oozed with faux concern and Wylan wasn't sure if he wanted to yell at his father, or curl up in his room and lock himself in there until winter break was over and he needed to attend his college classes again.

"Why don't we talk about the thing we both really want to talk about?" Wylan asked finally, blinking several times to get the words down. "Can we talk about how my apartment got trashed? Or how I got a threat letter? Or how Sergie - a good friend of mine who was doing me a favor - also got a threat letter? Or how you blackmailed Kuweii into doing all of this?"

Jan shot him another look, this one a barely concealed smirk. "Wylan," he asked in fake horror. "Your apartment got trashed? How horrible." He made a face of fake pity. "I can't believe you didn't tell me. I could have helped you."

"My friends helped me," Wylan said, gritting his teeth. "They offered me a place to live. In fact - you know the place - because you forced Kuweii to send me a threat letter."

"Again with your fake accusations," Jan said with fake appalment. "But ignoring your terrible behavior, if your apartment is getting trashed then perhaps you should move back in with me. Permanently."
Wylan physically flinched at that. "No thanks father."

"It's not a suggestion," Jan's voice hardened and he sent his son a glare. "Wylan, you're moving back in. It's simply not safe for you. And now you're getting threat letters?"

Wylan stared at him in horror. "Father you were the one to-!"

"Have a nice night Wylan," Jan said smoothly, spooning the first bit of soup. He made a face of distaste and stood up, beginning to walk away. "And ask the servants to clear the soup away, would you? Tonight's meal is horrific. See to it that they're fired as well."

"Jan..." Wylan whispered as Jan disappeared out the door.

#

Jesper

"He's not here," Jesper stressed to Inej on the phone. "Please do something. Can you ask Kaz to use his creepy gang skills and track Wylan's iPhone?"

"How long has it been?" Inej asked, concern in her voice.

Jesper bit his lip. "Six hours. Inej, I think something happened. He's not responding to texts, he was supposed to be here six hours ago, he told me he loved me..." he trailed off purposely, knowing Inej would catch onto the last one.

"Okay, firstly, I'm so happy for you Jes," Inej said, a spark of amusement in her voice. "But also, that's worrying. Especially with the threat letter and the trashed apartment. Are you sure he didn't just stay at Kuweii's apartment and change his mind?"

"I know for sure," Jesper stressed. Hesitation passed his face before he brushed it off and he added, "Okay so, Wylan told me the entire story, but apparently Kuweii was blackmailed into it by Jan Van Eck, Wylan's emotionally and probably physically abusive father."

There was a long silence on the other side.

"Jes?" Inej finally said. "You think that?"
"Yeah. Yeah I do,"

"I think so as well," Inej finally admitted. "Alright Jesper, I'm going to herd Kaz into a plane - you know his absolute terror of planes - and we're going to be home as soon as possible. Nina and Matthias will arrive as well. And I swear to god Jesper, the five of us are going to find Wylan as soon as possible. He will be brought home soon."

Jesper swallowed hard, wincing as he felt the saliva travel down his throat. What if they found Wylan too late?

*

a/n: one more!