Within The Bonds

28: Tizan

I look at the empty bowl in front of me in victory. The same bowl which once held my sworn enemy now stands on the counter defeated. Okay, I may be exaggerating a bit. But to me, this is one of my biggest accomplishments of the day.

I finished the bowl of Tizan in record time. To be honest, I gulped down most of it by trying to avoid its taste. Seb and Liam stared at me in astonishment and I returned their stare with a smirk. I then jump down the high bar stool and grab my bag that is lying near its foot.

"So now that I've finished, can I leave?" I ask in a tone sweet enough to cause diabetes.

Seb wordlessly nods in affirmation, while Liam still looks at me in disbelief. 'Why is he so surprised? it's like he knew I wouldn't eat it,' I think in suspiciously.

"There's no way you just finished that! You hate Tizan!" He exclaims pointing an accusing finger at me. I just raise a single brow in question.

"How do you know I hate it?" I ask not even trying to hide my accusatory tone.

"Of course he knows you hate it, especially after that incident," Noah's voice says from behind me, his chuckle echoing through the room.

"Noah! I thought you left for Germany last night?" My brows knit in confusion, but I nonetheless tackle him with a tight hug.

"Wait what incident are you talking about?" I ask before he can reply to my first question.

"No incident and Astoria's right, aren't you supposed to be on your way to Germany with Xavier?" By the fast pace, Liam's talking and judging by the quick, sudden change of subject, I know for a fact that he's hiding something.

Noah just casually chuckles and takes a seat on one of the many stools near the counter. Following him, I too return to my previous position on the bar stool.

"So when you were born, Liam here was five years old..."

"Oh common! Seriously, can we just forget about it already! Let's keep the past in the past shall we!" Liam exclaims throwing his hands up in frustration, cutting Noah off in the process.

"You know what, just for cutting me off, I'm telling her the entire story," Noah replies with a smirk stretched across his face.

The look on Liam's face is priceless! Who knew that my annoying, hard-headed, veggie-loving, always angry looking cold-hearted elder brother could have an embarrassing childhood story that involved me? And more importantly, It may soon manage to grace my ears. Even though all the nerves in my body are provoking me to burst out laughing, I control for the time being.

"So as I was saying, when you were born Liam here was five years old. And in this family, there is a tradition, as soon as a child starts taking in solids, one of their first meals in Tizan." By this time Liam had placed himself on one of the barstools next to me, his face in his hands.

"This is done because of its high nutritional value. So Liam here being the over-enthusiastic five-year-old big brother that he was, one day begged mu...Erica to let him feed you." I don't miss the hesitation in his voice after he almost said mum, but I don't question it and listen keenly to the rest of the story.

"But what he didn't know was the reason why none of the other older siblings wanted to feed you," he lets out a small chuckle, it was like he is reliving the memory. This makes me smile and at the same time, his words make me even more curious to know more.

"We all knew how much you hated Tizan and you didn't hold back when it came to showing your dislike for the dish. But whether you liked it or not, you had to eat it. That was and is the rule when it came to health in this house. So when Liam tried to feed you, with assistance, of course, he had the entire bowl of Tizan dumped on his head and more importantly all over his favorite white Ben Ten shirt. After that day he never came within five meters radius while you were being fed!" I can't help but giggle at Noah's mocking tone at the emphasis on Ben Ten.