Ebony Sky

Chapter Eight

EBONY'S POINT OF VIEW:

"I'm not even hungry." I whined to Dmitri as we walked to the diner. It was a lie and he knew it. I hadn't had anything it eat and was starving, but I also had no inclination to be in a public setting with my brothers today. It sounded harsh, but I had a bad feeling that people were going to spot them, and our day would be ruined. Given the last few days you couldn't judge me for thinking this way.

"Plus, it's getting colder and I'm pretty sure it's supposed to rain, and I really would like to get a bit more sleep and --" I rambled. 

"I get it Ebony but we are going!" Dmitri said, exasperated. "We won't be there too long, and you need to get some food in you. We'll be back before you know it. Now drop it." 

I sighed but didn't argue anymore. In another minute or two we reached the small mom and pop diner. It looked to me empty except for the five idiots in the back corner. They obviously hadn't waited long for us, as they were all getting their orders taken by a teenage girl. Dmitri and I slid into the booth, and the already starstruck girl looked absolutely smitten at the sight of my oldest brother. 

"I'll have a BLT with water, please." Dmitri said, hardly looking at the menu. She nodded so vigorously that I was half afraid she'd get whiplash. She started to turn to put the orders in, when Ivan called her back. 

"What do you want EJ?" He asked, directing her attention to me. I wanted to roll my eyes but knew I would get in much worse trouble if I did. 

"I'll have a double cheese burger with a coke zero." I said, smiling as I handed her my menu. She smiled, but in my brother's direction. With that, she left and we were alone again. 

"So," Nikolai started. "What are we doing on our day off?" The boys threw out a few ideas, such as going swimming or watching a movie. I suggested sleep, but no one gave it a second thought. 

"How about we jam?" Dominik said. The rest of the boys liked the idea, and I relented on the promise of an Ice cream cone before hand. We joked around for a little while, and eventually I forgot to be in a bad mood. 

The boys were having a stupid joke contest when they finally brought out the food. This time, the teenager was accompanied by two more girl, both not wearing the diner's uniform. After handing out the food and drinks, they all stood around, quietly giggling behind their hands. We wait an entire awkward two minutes, not eating or talking, until Andrew finally clears his throat and shares a hesitant smile. 

"Is there anything we can help you with?" He asks. The girls giggle more. 

"Well," one starts. She's dressed in a crop top and shorts, and looks very regular. Their was an air around her, however, that made me think that she was the leader of the little group. I figured that the waitress probably scurried into the back room earlier and called up her little friends, who seemed like the typical popular girls. 

"My friends and I, well, we just noticed that you all have a striking similarities to the Volkov brothers, and well, we were just, um. We just wanted to know if you are, you know, them."

My brothers all looked at each other, seemingly agreeing that they couldn't lie through this one. Dmitri answered that they were, and the girls nearly exploded from happiness. 

"Do mind if we take some pictures? Maybe get an autograph." They said, grabbing chairs from nearby and sitting at the table. I shifted uneasily, but nobody seemed to be watching me anyway. 

"I'm sure we could maybe do a few." Ivan said unsurely. The boys all stood up and proceeded to take photos with the girls. I was perfectly content with the idea of eating my burger while they did this, but suddenly little miss popular notice me. 

"Uh, do you think that you could take a group photo of us?" She asked as I went to take my first bite. I paused, mouth open and literally seconds away from pure heaven. I looked over to Alexander, who stuck his tongue out at me, as if to say 'ha ha now your stuck as well.' 

I sighed, but heaved myself up and took all their cell phones, taking multiple photo of the large group. After a few minutes of this, Dmitri spoke up. 

"This has been fun and all, but we'd really like to eat now." He said. The girls' smiles dimmed, but they left us alone,  moving to sit at a table a few feet away. We tried to ignore them and the cell phones in their hands, but halfway through the meal we saw the first black SUV arrive. It ways already getting windier and darker outside, so Dmitri asked for boxes and we packed up our food. Just as we were leaving, we were ambushed once more. 

"Um, Dmitri?" Crop top said as we went to push through the door. "I was actually wondering if we could ask you some questions? We're kind of well known on twitter because we're part of the official Volkov fan club and we were wondering if we could ask a few questions--"

"I'm sorry, but we have to go." Dmitri cut her off. We went to leave, but suddenly a group of grown men with cameras surrounded us, their flashes blinding us. Questions began to flood in from all around us, and I instantly became disoriented. 

"Alex, what do you say to the rumors that--"

"Ivan is it true about you and actress--"

"--rumors, Nikolai?"

"wave for the camera, Dmitri!" 

"Over here, Andrew!"

"Give us a smile, Ebony!"

"Come on, Ebony--"

"--for us, Ebony."

"--Ebony, how's it like--"

They went on and on, and I covered my eyes to stop the blinding lights. I tried to move forward, but I bumped into someone or something and fell. I had disposed in my crutches a few days ago, luckily, and kept to wearing my brace instead. While it kept my ankle from hurting, it also made it harder to stand up and keep my balance. An arm reached for me, and I almost pushed it away until I heard Andrew whisper in my ear. 

"It's just me, it's fine. It's just me Eb. Let's go, come on."

He got me to my feet and instructed me to keep my eyes down, and together my brothers pushed through the crowd of paps. They followed us still, and I could hear Dmitri and Dominik at the behind us, trying to made them go away. 

"Come on," Dominik said. "She's just a kid, guys. Can't you just leave her alone?" 

"We're just doing our jobs, Bud." One said. 

"And we're just protecting our sister." 

Dmitri, deciding that they wen't going to listen, brought in the big guns. 

"It's against the law to take photos of a celebrities family member when they're a minor." He said. "Either clear out or I call the cops." 

There was a lot of grumbling, but soon enough it was just us. It took us four minutes to walk back to the motel, and soon after the paps left, it had started raining. By the time we made it back to the motel, we were soaking wet and already sniffling. 

"No jam session tonight." Dmitri said, using his 'I'm-your-guardian-so-don't-even-try-me' voice. "Showers and then straight to bed."

"Come on--" I whined, but he was already speaking over me. 

"Now, Ebony Jade." Dominik and Nikolai chuckled, but stopped when Dmitri shot them the same look. "You too Nikolai Jericho. You've got one more year until your eighteen. And Dominik, just because you're an adult doesn't mean I won't ground you as well." 

A/N:

SO I don't know if there is an actual law like Dmitri said there was, but I sure hope there is. 

My school has had Five days of snow days and two late starts the last two weeks, and we're going to have another one tomorrow and I feel like I'm slowly going insane. The only thing I've done is read @SaraCreasy 's Wynter Wild book series. You should go read it, it's completely addictive. 

XOXO, 

abikat00