9:23am
Ummmmmmmmmm anal
Trigger warning: abusive parents, indication of past self-harm
Au
—
Chance chewed his bottom lip softly, avoiding staring at the cameras that snapped pictures of them repeatedly, the continuous flashing lights becoming unbearable. He had his small arms curled around his mother's neck, the woman was smiling, gently stroking Chance's waist. Underneath him stood his older siblings - Alice and Blair. They were twins, both thirteen years old while chance was eight. He loved them dearly, and would much rather be in their arms than their mothers, who only holds him when they were in public.
He didn't like the loud voices asking questions to his parents. He wanted to go home.
"Are you sure your children want this much attention?" Someone asked. Chance glanced over at the man who did. A smile resting on his lips when his eyes found him. He looked funny. He was the only one there wearing a tie. Kind of like his dad. That made Chance's smile drop. He suddenly didn't like the man.
"They don't mind, do you, guys?" Their mother responded, smiling at Chance who nodded, remembering what he was told to do before they left the house. Alice and Blair nodded, too, smiling smiles that Chance didn't like. They weren't real. They were all there for awhile longer, listening to their parents answer hurdles of questions that were thrown their way.
"Are you a faithful wife?" Alice whispered to Blair who smirked. "Not at all! This pussy has been home for many, many higher powers" Blair whispered back, the two bursting into giggles. Chance looked down at them, giggling along with their contagious laughter. Alice and Blair smiled at him, Blair, who was closer, curled her arms around Chance's waist and took him away from their mother who gave them all a tight-lipped smile.
"T-thank you" Chance murmured quietly, playing with the strings attached to Blair's hoodie. "No problem, blondie" Blair replied, grinning at him cheekily. Finally, they were done answering questions, and the kids followed their parents off stage and outside the building they were once in. Cameras and voices filled the air around them, Alice and Blair were used to it, but Chance still shuddered and clutched onto his sister.
Once inside the fancy car, the chauffeur pulled onto the street and began driving down the road back to their home. "You guys did well" their mother beamed, Chance smiled a tad, but Alice and Blair both knew once they arrived home it would be a different story completely. Their father, who sat furthest away, stared out the window silently, not saying a word. He hadn't spoken to his children outside the public eye in literal years. The kids were beyond caring at this point. At least, that's what Chance tried to tell himself, wanting to be exactly like his sisters.
The car parked outside their home, and everyone climbed out. "Race you!" Blair yelled, running up the steps and down the path, rounding the fountain that sat squat in the middle of their large front yard. Chance giggled and ran after her, in the end Alice did too, her dress fluttering around her legs in the wind. She and her sister had completely different fashion tastes. While she loved to dress up with colourful dresses, skirts, crop tops, shoulder-less tees, and much more, Blair would rather die before wearing anything other than black jeans, a graphic tee, and a baggie hoodie.
Chance didn't really mind. He just wore whatever his sisters put him in.
"C'mon Chance!" Alice called with a soft smile, watching as Blair pulled back just before the marble stairs leading to their mansion of a home. Chance laughed joyously, over taking his sister to press his hands against the double front doors, jumping up and down happily. "I-I beat y-you!" He exclaimed.
"That you did, Chance, now let's wait for your slowpoke of a sister" Alice rolled her eyes, finally catching up. "You try running in high heels, it's an Olympian sport at this point!" She gestured wildly, pointing to her shoes. Blair rolled her eyes. "Try wearing flat shoes for once"
Alice stared at her like she just committed a crime. "High heels are my babies" she said defensively, "just like your hoodies"
Again, Blair rolled her eyes. Chance laughed, watching the back and forth between the two. When he did laugh, the sisters smiled, Alice kissing his cheek affectionately. Finally, their parents caught up, using the key to unlock the door and step inside. "Inside" she murmured darkly to her kids who fell to silence and walked in. Instantly, their father closed the door and walked away somewhere in the house, presumably to his office to work or drink. Probably both.
"That was terrible! It's as if you don't want me to win!" Their mother exploded, ripping Chance from Blair who glared but bit her tongue, knowing if the two sisters acted out, she'd beat Chance as a punishment. "Of course we want you to win, mother" Alice spoke in a calm voice, she's always been the type of person to try and diminish tension in situations like this.
"Then act like it, and don't take Chance away from me again" the boy whimpered, the grip on his forearm becoming unbearable. He reached out for his sisters who couldn't do anything but watch, for they knew they would make it worse for the boy if they tried to help.
"Shut it, stutter" she hissed, and Chance clamped a hand over his mouth, closing his eyes shut tightly. Blair's hands clenched to fists, eyes ignited with fury, imagining grabbing their mother by her hair, ripping it out clump by clump while screaming at her, daring her to hurt their little brother again.
Finally, their mother had enough. She had work to get on with, and couldn't bare to be in the presence of her kids again. Pulling Chance higher into the air, she threw him across the foyer, his body flying until it whacked against the hard wooden ground, crying out in pain when he did. Alice couldn't help it, she rushed over and kneeled by his side, pulling him into a tight hug as he shook and wept into her shoulder.
"Pathetic" the Mom whispered, taking her leave. Blair, with the last remaining will power she had, let her go and finally hurried over to her siblings, pulling both of them up from the floor. "Where does it hurt, blondie?" Chance whimpered, big, brown doe eyes glossy with unshed tears. He gestured to his hip that smacked against the floor on impact. Blair nodded and rubbed the area gently, allowing Alice to hold him as they walked up the staircase to the sister's shared room. Chance had a room of his own, but the only time he was in there was when he was being beaten, and he physically couldn't go into the room without falling into a panic attack.
"What are you doing, Blair?" Alice asked her sister who sat down on her desk chair and typed away on her laptop. "How to get away with murder" she read out loud as she typed it into Google. Alice sighed, sitting Chance down on her bed. He sniffled, holding his arms up in the air while Alice pulled off his t-shirt. Underneath, his skin was covered with bruises, new and old. She and her sister used to get the rut of the abuse, but since Chance was born, their mother realised the sisters purposely put themselves to be hurt to save Chance, so she hadn't hurt them since, and instead focused on their younger brother, knowing it will in turn hurt the sisters even more.
"Stay still, Chance" Alice murmured as she rubbed cream onto the bruises, Chance sniffled and whined every so often, laying down on the bed while Alice seed to his injuries. When the cream dried, Chance rolled onto his back and allowed her to do the same again.
"W-why does mom h-hate me.." Chance whimpered. Alice felt her heart shatter. "Oh, no, sweetheart" Alice shook her head and sat on the bed beside him, setting him down on her lap. "She doesn't hate you, she's a very busy woman, it's the stress.." she drifted, knowing it was all a lie. The doctors told her she was having a baby girl, and she couldn't be more thrilled - she hated the twins, but now maybe she could have a child she loved. Then Chance turned out to be a boy. And she became worse. She truly hated boys. And would've aborted him if she knew.
Blair glanced at them over her shoulder. The one thing she didn't like about her sister was her reassuring side. She was good at it, but when she lied to him like this in the long run it would only make things worse. Chance knows she doesn't like him. He just needs the confirmation. But, to follow her sisters wishes, Blair wouldn't say a word. Closing the tabs that didn't really help her, she relaxed back in her seat and sighed.
"Can I-I sit on the w-w-window sill?" Chance said after awhile of sitting in his sisters lap. "Of course" Alice smiled and let him slide off the bed and clamber to get onto the window sill sofa. He stretched his legs out, leaned against the wall, and watched the world outside. This certain window showed off the front of the house, and after ten minutes of staring and daydreaming, something caught Chance's eye. The front of their house, by the gates, stood a man wearing a blue shirt and a cardigan around his shoulders. Chance cocked his head curiously, watching as the man stared the house up and down, tapped on the gate, turned and left.
Chance didn't tell anyone. He didn't see the need to. Probably just someone admiring the house - it happens often.
The next day the kids were left home alone. It was the summer holidays, and they didn't have any school, so Blair busied herself with video games, Alice practiced new makeup looks, and Chance lounged around in the basement living room, playing board games by himself. He had just won another game of chess when a noise disrupted him. Thinking it was one of his sisters, he stood up and skipped across the room, walking through a door to where they kept the boiler.
"Alice? B-Blair? Wanna p-play chess w-with me?" He offered, leaning on the doorway and staring into the dark room.
"I would love to!" A voice Chance has never heard before called back. The boy tensed and slowly backed away, jaw dropping when a stranger wobbled out, waving a hand in front of his face as he coughed. "Someone needs to clean up in there!" He exclaimed, wiping off dust from his white suit covered with gold accents, and his red sash that strung across his chest.
"Y-you're..." he stuttered, backing away until he was running up the stairs, screaming for his sisters who were running to find him a moment later. "Chance!? Chance what happened!?" Alice worried, kneeling beside Blair who skidded onto her knees, checking Chance over who shakily pointed towards the basement door. "Th-there-there's s-someone downstairs" he whispered. Alice tensed and held Chance closer.
Blair went into the cupboard under the stairs and grabbed a bat, telling Alice and Chance to stay where they were. Holding the bat tightly, Blair slowly crept down the staircase. After not seeing anyone in the open, she tip-toed across the floor, pressing up against walls and peering around corners. Twenty minutes later she came back up the stairs, shrugging. "Must've left after hearing your screams" she gestured to Chance who was still pressed up against Alice.
"Come with me, we can stay upstairs, alright?" Chance nodded and held onto Alice's hand tightly as they all stayed in the girl's rooms for the rest of the day.
After they changed into pyjamas and brushed their teeth, Chance stared at the ceiling covered in plastic, glow in the dark stars. They were more for Alice who was severely self conscious over the fact she was scared of the dark. Blair and Chance never bring it up. Not ever.
Rolling onto his side, Chance pressed his back up against Alice's back, staring at the darkness surrounding them. Tugging the blanket closer, his hand brushed against something that wasn't there before. Curious, he reached forward again, hand clasping around a teddy bear. Holding it closer, he felt something attached to it, a piece of paper. Grabbing Alice's phone from the bedside table, he flashed on the light, directing it to the paper.
For you
- V
He didn't know who 'V' was, but smiled away, put the phone back and held the bear close as he fell asleep.
The next morning chance woke up alone. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, blearily searching for his siblings. When he couldn't see them, he slipped out from bed and padded out the room, teddy bear clutched in his hands. Drifting down the staircase, he spotted Alice cleaning the floor with a brush on her hands and knees, head ducked submissively as their mother ordered her to clean faster. Chance, unable to do anything, rushed past and entered the kitchen, finding Blair cleaning the counters with an actual toothbrush.
Chance rubbed his eyes again, this time to wipe away the tears, not the sleep. "It's alright, blondie" Blair smiled, reaching down to ruffle his long, blond hair that flopped around on his head.
"There you are" Chance tensed, turning around to see his mother in the doorway. She saw the teddy and glared, marching forward and snatching it from his grasp.
"N-no!" He yelled, but slapped a hand over his mouth straight after. "No?" Their mother repeated, yanking him out the room as he began to cry.
"A-A-Alice!" He wailed, reaching out to the girl who couldn't do anything. This made him sob further.
"Awh, Kiddo! Why're you crying?" An upbeat voice called from behind Alice. Everyone turned in that direction to see a man with a blue shirt and cardigan skip through the archway leading to the dining room. The same man Chance saw from the window sill sofa. Instantly, the mother loosened her grip and picked Chance up from the ground.
"Because he broke a rule. He doesn't like discipline. Why are you here?" Their mother lied then demanded sharply. "Oh!" The man chirped, "I'm Patton!" He introduced, holding out his hand. "The house keeper! Your husband let me in before he left! Might I say, your house is beautiful!" Patton giddily gestured across the foyer, sending Chance a small wave. The boy's hot tears had stopped, but his eyes were still coated over with glossy water. The mother was tense, eyes alight with anger.
But, Patton was still smiling, so she took it as a sign he didn't hear the way she treated her kids. "Here, let me take this" Patton grabbed the teddy, "I think you should go to your room, mr" Patton smiled, gently scooping Chance away from the mother and hurrying up the staircase. "Don't worry, Mrs. Cherry!" Patton called, "I'll take good care of him!"
Once they disappeared, Chance shook his head hurriedly, whimpering as they neared his room, but Patton just shushed him softly, walking straight by and into his sisters room. Placing him gently on Alice's bed, Patton brushed his hair from his eyes, smiling warmly. "Oh, Kiddo, is your arm okay?" The boy sniffled and held it close to his chest.
"Here, can I see?" Chance hesitated, but slowly reached his arm towards the man who rolled up his sleeve and wrapped his hands around the bruise. "Do you like your teddy?" Patton started up conversation. Chance sniffled, nodding. "My friend gave it to you, and was rather upset to see your mother take it from you" Patton explained, still holding his arm in a gentle grip. "I hope she allows you to keep it, you're not doing any harm" with that, Patton let go, and Chance gasped, noticing his arm was free of bruises.
"Here, lets get you changed" Patton walked towards Blair's closet, opening up the doors and searching through the side filled with Chance's clothes. The girls had moved them into their room after they stopped letting Chance into his own room. Alice's was too full, while Blair had more than enough space. Patton pulled out a pair of washed-out blue shorts, and a white, long sleeved top with a picture of a dog across the torso. Grabbing socks and pants, he walked over to Chance and helped him change.
"Jump" Patton giggled, and Chance did so, allowing Patton to tug up his shorts. "There you go" Patton held his hands on his waist for a moment, leaning forward to boop their noses together. Chance giggled lightly, "t-thank you" he murmured, cuddling into Patton when the man pulled him into a hug off of the floor.
"No problem, Kiddo!"
When they heard a car start, Patton walked over to the window with Chance in his arms, spotting the mother driving away. "Good! She's gone!" Patton chirped, "wanna meet my friends?" If they were anything like Patton, Chance would love to meet them all. He nodded excitedly, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth as they traveled down the staircase. Alice was still cleaning by the time they reached the ground floor.
"You don't have to do that, Kiddo, I'll clean up later" Alice looked up at him, noticing Chance had changed into day clothes. "Are you sure?" She questioned, standing up and straightening out her dress. "Of course! Come with me!" Patton encouraged, taking the two into the kitchen where Blair was still cleaning.
"Hey, Blair"
The girl looked up, cocking an eyebrow. "Who let you in?"
"Our dad" Alice replied for him, "Yep!" Patton agreed, "and I let in my friends!" He waved towards the door where a man waltzed in. Chance gasped. "Y-you were i-in the basement y-y-yesterday" he accused, Alice and Blair glanced at each other, silently agreeing these men might mean trouble. "Yes, and I truly am sorry for scaring you in such a way!" The man exclaimed, waving his arms around dramatically, "it was not very princey of me at all! Allow me to introduce myself" he bowed down a little in front of Patton and Chance, smirking playfully.
"I'm Roman! And you must be Chance" Chance smiled a little at the man, hiding some of his face against Patton's shoulder.
"There's a chance that it isn't" Patton grinned, "eh, eh, eh" he encouraged on his joke, nudging his elbow at Roman who's expression fell into a deadpan. Meanwhile, Alice threw her head back and laughed heartily, completely forgetting about the caution she held towards the two. Fuck it - can't be as bad as their parents, right? Especially someone who makes dad jokes.
Blair rolled her eyes and tutted, throwing the toothbrush into the bin before wiping down the counter, smiling in satisfactory when she stared at the reflection of her face.
"Virgil, Logan!" Roman finally got over the dad joke, cupping his hands around his mouth as he called in the direction of the doorway. As he did, two more men appeared, all of them the same height and seemingly around the same age. They all looked quite similar, too.
"Ah, my apologies, I did not realise we were introducing ourselves early" the tie-man said in an accusatory voice, directing it at Patton who sighed, hugging Chance tighter. "She would've hurted him"
"Patton, 'hurted' is not a word, but I suppose you are right" tie-man adjusted his glasses and stepped further into the room. "I am Logan, and this is Virgil" he gestured behind him at the last male who wore dark clothes and seemed quite closed off. Blair loved him already.
"Sup" Virgil greeted slightly awkwardly.
"Mine" Blair whispered at Alice while she passed by the girl to get closer to Virgil. Alice rolled her eyes fondly. "Fine" Alice scanned over the last remaining men, then pointed at Roman, 'he's mine' she mouthed at Blair who laughed. The men glanced at each other, out of the loop, Chance didn't understand, either, but laughed anyway, legs curled around Patton's waist.
"Nice hair" Virgil murmured to Blair. It was shaved on one side, the rest flopping down halfway across her eye, tips dyed blonde. She smirked, flipping it to the side. "Same to you" She echoed, Virgil's hair fallen into bangs across both of his eyes, dyed, too, but a dark purple colour. "Kinda like...the Crayola crayon Halloween packs"
Virgil's dark brown eyes widened. He turned to face his friends. "Can we keep her"
"Now, now, Virgil, we can't keep the kids!" Patton giggled, "can't have a repeat of the Great Children Threat of 1706" he added as a murmur, quickly about to go onto another conversation before he realised Chance was staring at Logan weirdly.
"What's up, Chance?"
He hid away from Logan's gaze. "He-he-he looks like m-my dad..." Chance whispered. Alice and Blair heard. They both scanned Logan up and down, gaze landing on the tie at the same time. In an instant, they both worked to untie it while Logan stuttered and froze. "What-I-my tie-"
"You're making blondie uncomfortable, dude" Blair shrugged, throwing the tie somewhere behind her. "Tie has to go" She added on, frowning in the 'I don't really care' kind of way. "Sorry, Logan, it's a nice tie, maybe you could wear a bowtie instead?" Logan didn't hear what Alice said. All he could do was stare straight forward, somehow unable to process the fact someone took off his tie and threw it anyway.
What snapped him out of it was Roman's heavy slap to his back, "Oh, don't look so glum, tie-twat!" Roman exclaimed, shaking him a little. "Bowties are cool"
Logan's lips turned downwards in thought as he contemplated Roman's words and reference. Rubbing his hand across his neck, a bowtie revealed itself when he removed his hands. Chance gasped slightly, staring at it with a slacked jaw. "I suppose this will have to do" Logan sighed, grabbing both ends of the bowtie to straighten it out when Patton called for his attention.
"Logan, Logan look!" He pointed to his own bowtie giddily, "matching bowtie buddies"
Logan tensed. "It happened again"
"It's alright, buddy" Virgil sighed, rubbing his shoulder friendly. "He-he did it again" Logan whispered, leaning on the counter beside Virgil.
Blair and Alice glanced at each other. "I think we broke your friend" Blair commented, staring at Logan, the man looked like he was about to shut down. Blair half expected to hear a whirring noise before the man collapsed to the ground. "Don't worry about him!" Roman glided across the floor, awkwardly patting Logan's head.
"He'll be fine...right?" He looked between Patton and Virgil who shrugged. "He'll be fine" Roman repeated, guiding Logan out the room. "Right!" He clapped his hands together, grinning. "What do we do for fun around here!?"
"I thought you were here to work" Blair commented, grabbing an apple and taking a large chunk out of it. "Eat an apple, look more of an-"
"Asshole" Virgil and Blair spoke at the same time. They smirked at each other afterwards.
"Well, not exactly" Roman drawled, "who wants to work!" He threw his arms up into the air, "we have the house to ourselves! Alice!" He pointed to the girl who straightened up and pushed her hair behind her ear gingerly. "What do you do for fun?" He asked hurriedly, grinning with twinkling eyes.
"Ooo!" She gushed, Blair groaned. "Makeup!"
"PERFECT!" Roman yelled, not a moment too soon everyone was rushing up the staircase, following Roman who was now shouting incoherently about how 'fabulous' he was going to look. Chance buried himself into Patton, enjoying being held by someone who wasn't his sisters. He loved them, don't get him wrong, but the feeling of knowing someone else cared made him want to cry out of joy and never let them go.
"I have every palette you could ever ask for!" Alice brought out makeup palette after makeup palette, placing them in the middle of the room. Blair reluctantly flopped down to the ground, only because she realised Virgil was actually excited about the prospect of makeup. Roman sat opposite Virgil, gaping and awing at everything he could play with. Patton sat between the two, Chance sitting comfortably in his lap.
Blair shuffled closer, betwixt Virgil and Patton, while Alice was opposite, in the middle of Roman and Virgil. "Where's Logan?" Alice asked while laying out the makeup brushed, foundation, concealer, and other makeup shit I don't know about because after they add foundation and concealer I click off the video, bored. Just as she asked this, said man walked into the room, much more composed, and still wearing the bowtie, like Patton.
"Salutations. I am sorry for my...break down earlier. I am alright, now" he explained, taking a seat between Patton and Roman.
"Who even knows how to do makeup here?" Blair asked, leaning back against the ground. "I do!" Alice chirped. "Meeeeee!" Roman went next, throwing his hands up to frame his face. "I guess.." Virgil shrugged, pulling his long sleeves over his hands.
"Me, blondie, Pat and Lo can't. So how is this fun for everyone?" Blair questioned, unamused. "Well, we can do each other's makeup, Kiddo! Doesn't that sound exciting?"
Blair cocked her head to the side, then grinned mischievously. "Actually, it does" she grabbed a random shade of foundation. "Nerd, gimme your face" she demanded, Logan leaned back in fright, glancing at Alice for some help. The girl giggled and shook her head. "Blair, promise to actually try?"
"Yeah, yeah" Blair waved her hand dismissively, crawling around the edge of the circle to be closer to Logan who tensed, staring at her apprehensively. "At least start with the right shade" Alice smiled, squatting beside Logan and holding the different shades to his skin. "Here" she finally concluded, swapping it for the one Blair grabbed. "And use this to get an even coverage*" Alice handed her a beauty blender before turning to Roman.
*yeah fuck you I know makeup terms Sister Charles and Sister Star have taught me WELL
"I think this will work..." she murmured, giving the foundation to Roman who grinned happily. "Virgil, why don't you give Chance a makeover? I'll do Patton, then afterwards, we can see who's left?" Everyone agreed then got to work. Roman watched over happily, patiently waiting his turn, which was a surprise for him. Virgil was first to finish, he leaned back and stared at Chance with a satisfied smirk.
He didn't give the boy too much makeup, just asked for his favourite colour - which was orange - and based the eye makeup around that, creating a sunset affect. He didn't need to contour, really, but he brightened up some parts with concealer, and didn't bother with foundation. His eyebrows were perfect on their own, too. For something so simple, Virgil was actually pretty proud.
"Here" Virgil produced a mirror from behind his back, holding it up anxiously before Chance. The boy gasped, then smiled, gently poking his face. "T-thank you, V-Virgil" he whispered, meeting Virgil's gaze. "No problem, kid" he shrugged, placing the mirror on the floor. Chance, unable to sit on Patton's lap, sat on Virgil's. He tensed, glancing around for help, but everyone was preoccupied, so he sighed, leaned against the end of Blair's bed, and loosely rested his arms around Chance's waist.
Next to finish was Alice. She looked at Patton's finished face with a smile. His eyes were covered with blue that faded from dark to light towards the inner corner that was brightened by white highlight. His face was contoured, and sparkled under the light. Alice laughed happily. "You look beautiful" Alice commented, holding the mirror before his face. Patton gasped, turning his head side to side so he could see all of it. "Alice..." he whispered, throwing his arms around her in a hug. "It's amazing!" He gushed, holding up the mirror himself. Alice tensed in the hug, but the smile never left her face.
Alice looked up at her sister to see she was struggling. Scooting across the floor, she took the makeup brush, gently placed her hands on Logan's jaw, and blended the colours on his eyes together. Blair huffed but didn't mind, she wasn't doing too bad (from the many times Alice forced her to practice, she knew the basics) but still, nowhere near as good as Alice who perfected the imperfections Blair had created. Logan sat, relaxed, eyes closed, breathing steady. He enjoyed the feeling of the brush softly dragging against his skin.
Alice filled in his eyebrows a little, dusted some contour onto his nose and cheeks, added some blush to brighten up his face, and leaned back, smiling. His eyes had a green design across them, dark circling the bright. "You all look so good!" Alice referred to Chance, Logan and Patton who sat off to the side now they were done, Chance returned to Patton's lap.
Afterwards, Roman ended up doing Virgil's makeup, Alice did Blair's, then Alice did Roman's, and Virgil did hers. Once everyone was finished, they all sat back in the circle, either admiring themselves or someone else. "We look absolutely spectacular!" Roman exclaimed, holding the mirror up to his face.
"Duh, Alice did yours, of course it's gonna look good" Blair commented, laying on her side, propped up by her elbow. Alice flushed lightly, chuckling sheepishly as she put away her makeup. "Only because I practice all the time" she waved off, closing the draws.
The makeup took longer than anyone expected, and before they knew it downstairs front door was opening and slamming shut. Curiously, Blair and Alice left the room to see if the parents were arguing, which made everyone follow, Patton holding Chance in his arms.
They hid behind the banister, looking at the adults on the ground floor through the gaps. "You let a stranger into my home without telling me!" Their mother exploded at the husband who seemed dead, honestly. Broken apart from the world. "He said he was the house keeper" the husband shrugged in response, voice low, tired, and robotic. Chance leaned against Patton further, hiding his face.
"You didn't even hire him!? You let someone in my home, without knowing if he was actually the house keeper!? What if he's here to sabotage my work!? Huh?!"
"I don't know, ma'am" he sighed, rubbing his face. Their mother leaned back slightly, hands clenched by her side. "You can't even bring yourself to say my name"
Their husband paused, and slowly, ever so slowly lifted his eyes to meet hers. "I couldn't bring myself to say your name since you hurt your child"
"They're yours, too!"
"I didn't want them. You had sperm donated to you. They're not mine, they never will be" their father stared at his wife for a moment longer before he brushed by and down the hallway to his office. Their mother screamed into her hands, dragging them shakily through her hair afterwards. "Chance! Alice! Blair! Get down here now!" She screamed.
They went to go, but Roman and Virgil held them back. "Wait here, Kiddos" Patton murmured and stood up, walking down the stairs with Logan on his tail. The mother turned towards the staircase, tensing when she saw the 'house keeper' and another stranger instead of her kids. "Get out of my house" she hissed darkly as they neared. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Cherry" Patton frowned, "your kids have gone to the park. Do you want me to call them straight home?"
Mrs. Cherry looked about ready to explode. She was red with rage, veins popping up through her skin. "No.." she eventually growled, "just leave it" she added, turned on her heel, and marched out of the foyer, down a hallway she disappeared into. Patton smiled now they weren't there and hurried back up the staircase with Logan. "C'mon, Kiddos!" Patton chirped, holding Chance's hand as they walked back down the hallway.
"We'll be back tomorrow, okay?" Patton told them once the bedroom door was closed. "With more fun activities to accomplish!" Roman declared, throwing his arms up in the air. "Hm, with possibly less dramatics" Logan hummed, adjusting his glasses. "Yeah, that's a stretch" Virgil commented from beside Logan. The nerd sighed, but agreed.
"Oh, look at the time!" Patton threw his arm up towards the clock behind the kids. All of the turned to see. "It's only six-"
Blair began, turning back to see they were all gone. "Shit" Blair muttered, astonished. Alice dropped her head to the side, wondering how on earth those four men just did that, but for some odd reason, none of the children were...surprised. It was like they didn't care they just saw something quite unnatural and honestly impossible.
"Let's wash off this makeup, shall we?" Alice smiled at Chance, holding out a hand to him. He frowned, wanting Patton back, but didn't complain, instead he held Alice's hand and sat on the bathroom counter as she gently scrubbed away the makeup with wipes. She then added a little moisturiser, rubbed it into his skin and smiled. "All done" she concluded, tapping his nose and side stepping around him to clean the counter.
"Will t-they take us a-away?" Chance murmured. Alice tensed, glancing over her shoulder. "Would you want that?" She questioned softly, bending down to be his height. Chance nervously fidgeted on the ground, ducking his head. "Y-yeah.." he whispered. Alice smiled sadly and hugged him softly. "One day we can all leave. How does that sound?" Chance managed a minuscule smile.
"Good...it-it sounds good"
Alice cooked her siblings dinner and they all sat on the couch, watching movies to pass the time. Chance placed his empty dish on the coffee table - besides Alice's and Blair's - before sitting between the two, curled up against Alice who happily wrapped an arm around his shoulders to keep him close and secure.
The next day, as the morning went by, each of the children wondered if they'd actually see the men again - or if it really was a one time thing. They concluded their mother didn't let them back inside.
"Let's play outside" Alice suggested after finishing her makeup. Blair stopped randomly pushing her character across the screen to tilt her head back and stare at her sister with a blank expression.
"Outside? Whats that?" She joked monotonously. Chance - from Alice's bed - giggled softly, stroking the fur attached to his teddy. "Come on!" Alice urged, pressing out the wrinkles in her dress. "It'll do us good" so, after more complaints from Blair, they all left the house to their garden. It didn't have anything that would give away the fact three children lived there.
Their mother, low and behold, never gifted them with toys like swings or bikes, so they had to make do. "Tag!" Blair smacked Alice's arm before sprinting off down the garden. It was a really big scape of land, with hedges surrounding pathways, a few fountains dotted around, a pond, many benches, tall trees, and beautiful flowers. Alice loved spending time outside, sometimes she would even practice drawing, but she doesn't do it as often now, because she always worries about Chance, and wants to be near him as much as she can.
"Really, tag?" Alice laughed, watching Chance spring up and run away, too. Sighing, Alice left her high heels underneath a stone bench and ran across the smooth pathway barefoot, following the sound of laughter from both siblings. She found Blair pretty quickly, and caught up with her when she wasn't looking.
"Tag!" Alice yelled while smacking her back and dodging past her.
"Get back here!" Blair yelled happily, and that's what the three did for a few hours, rushing around the garden playing tag. Alice pushed her way through a gap in the hedge, nearing the side of the garden when she let out a cry of pain and slammed onto the grass.
"Alice!?" Blair called after hearing the scream. Grabbing Chance's hand, Blair rushed across the garden, shoving away the shrubbery to find Alice sitting on the ground, tears pooling in her eyes. That was when Blair noticed the blood pouring out the bottom of her foot, where she ripped out a piece of glass she stood on. Someone must've thrown it over the tall hedge.
Cursing under her breath, Blair fell to the ground and tried to see how deep and long the cut was, but the blood stopped her.
"Pulling out the glass only made it worse" a robotic tone commented from behind them. Everyone looked up to see Logan and his friends again.
"Oh, Kiddo, what happened?" Patton worried, sitting beside Alice to hold her had and stroke her arm as Logan examined the wound. "I-I stepped on glass" Alice voice shook, but she stayed strong. "I'll be okay" she smiled, a watery, pain-filled smile. "I'll get the bandages!" Roman declared,
spinning around. When he turned them all again, he had a first aid kit in his hands.
Virgil sat beside Logan and held the foot up as he cleaned away the blood. Patton reached up and wrapped his arm around Alice's ankle, and the girl suddenly didn't feel any pain, even when Logan stitched it together. She didn't question it. Finally, Roman wrapped the bandage around it and smiled. "Done!" He cheered, throwing the med kit in the air. It didn't hit the ground. Just vanished.
"You should not walk on it for a few days" Logan explained while Roman scooped Alice up from the ground. Alice grinned and leaned against him, glancing at her sister and poking out her tongue. Blair rolled her eyed and shuffled closer to Virgil who was none the wiser.
"P-Patton" Chance whispered. Patton turned to the boy who held up his arms, hands clenching and unclenching repeatedly. Patton cooed and picked him up, kissing his forehead as Chance buried himself against the man. "T-thank you" he whispered.
"No problem, Kiddo" Patton murmured in response, poking out his tongue and pulling a funny face. Chance giggled, biting his lip in amusement. "Fucking litterers" Virgil muttered as he scooped up the glass. "Don't worry, Virgil" Alice smiled gently. "My fault, I'll be more careful next time"
"Oh, Al! It wasn't-" Blair hit Patton's arm gently as a silent signal for him to stop. He closed his mouth, eyed Blair curiously, but she just shook her head and didn't say a word. Logan took some of the glass from Virgil and they all traveled back inside. "Can I quickly grab my shoes-!" Alice held her hands out towards them as they walked by. "Here" Blair handed them to her and she smiled gratefully.
"Well, Alice is bed bound, so this is the perfect time for board games!" Roman exploded after laying Alice down on her bed carefully. "Like c-chess?" Chance suggested with a growing smile. "Yes! Like chess!" Roman walked out the room only to come back a few seconds later with three chess board games.
He handed one to Virgil and Blair to play, one to Alice - who he would play with - and one to Chance, Logan and Patton. Chance didn't mind, and he comfortably sat on Patton's lap as Logan set out the game, allowing Chance and Patton to be white while he was black. "C'mon, Chance, you've got this!" Patton encouraged as he moved one of his pieces. Chance grinned brightly, and who was Logan to not allow him to win?
He was Logan. Someone who didn't allow people to win if he could. So, with determined eyes, he played to the best of his abilities - which were quite good, but Logan was shocked and honestly proud to see how good Chance actually was. Even he struggled a little. Against a child. His jaw was slacked when Chance won, not looking away from the board as he tried to understand what just happened. Meanwhile, Chance and Patton were cheering his win.
On Alice's bed, she and Roman stopped playing as soon as they both realised neither knew how to play, and instead giggled with each other as they gave each piece voices and interacted them together. Opposite, on Blair's bed, she and Virgil hadn't even opened the box, and opted for laying against the headboard, every so often showing the other their screen when they find a particularly funny meme.
Course, their happiness couldn't last. So occupied with what they were doing, no one noticed their mother had returned until she was marching down the hallway. The men snapped to action, Roman and Virgil rolling off the beds and hiding underneath them while Logan and Patton left Chance with Blair and hid in Alice's closet.
The bedroom door whipped open and slammed shut. The children tensed, staring at their mother who looked about ready to murder someone. "People are getting suspicious, they're asking questions about you lot" she growled out. Chance shuffled further against Blair who forced the urge to wrap an arm around him.
"What have you done? What have you said?" She demanded icily, staring at the kids with eyes of fury. "We haven't done anything, mother. Why would we say anything bad to the press?" Alice questioned gently, hiding her foot under her leg, remembering the last time she had a bandage on and their mother saw.
"Then why are they asking questions?!" she exploded, Blair bit her tongue from remarking something rude. "I'm going to suspect one of you have done something. Alice and Blair, you're too smart to do anything, so why don't I blame Chance?"
The boy tensed, already starting to cry. "I guess I need to punish you, then"
"No!" Chance screamed, grabbing onto Blair as their mother grabbed him. "P-p-p-please n-no!" He managed, begging Blair to help, but she gently pushed him off, unable to watch as their mother gripped him painfully hard, yanking his head back by his hair. "The more you cry, the more painful it will be"
"P-Patton!" His scream of terror shattered the sister's hearts. They couldn't do anything. She'd hurt him more.
Alice felt something nudge her hip. Looking down, there was a note placed beside her. Quickly, she picked it up and read it out loud. "There's news reporters outside"
Their mother froze. "What?" She hissed, hurrying over and peering through the window. She growled when she saw them all at her gate. Dropping Chance to the ground, Roman slid across the floor on his stomach and caught him, but their mother was too caught up with the reporters she didn't notice, and left the room with a slam of the door.
"P-Patton!" Chance wailed, and the man fell out from the closet, rushing over and holding him close, whispering something in his ear that calmed him down. Blair, furious, jumped up from bed, ready to punch the wall when she was held back by Virgil. "Stop, stop" he murmured as she wriggled. Huffing out, she relaxed, sending Virgil an appreciative glance.
"I could kill her" Blair said as she paced by the door. "I might kill her" she said afterward. "I'm going to kill her"
"No, you are not" Logan denied. "It will only make it worse if you hurt her in retaliation" he added on as justification. "Then what do we do, Logan?!" Blair yelled, then caught sight of her sister. She was covering her face with her hands, blood trickling down her bare arms. Blair tensed. "Alice.." she whispered and darted over, grabbing a tissue and quickly cleaning the skin. "I-I'm sorry, I just scratched the skin and I couldn't stop and-"
"Breathe, in and out, deep breaths" Blair cut her off, breathing heavily to show her. Alice stopped talking to copy. Roman slowly moved across the room and perched onto the bed, taking both of Alice's arms and dragging bandages around both of them. He gave Alice a small smile. "A-A-Alice.." Chance whined and Patton carried him over, the boy crawling across the bed to hug his sister tightly. "D-don't do that" he gestured to her arms. She shook a little, hugging her younger brother tightly. "I won't, I promise"
"It's okay, blondie" Blair smiled, ruffling his hair. "It'll be okay"
With their mother being so busy, over the course of the next four days, the three didn't see her, and instead spent all their time with the four men who turned their lives from misery to more than they could ever ask for. They made them smile, they made them laugh, and most importantly, made them all want to carry on living to the next day without worrying about what their mother might do.
"You're gonna lose it!" Roman cried to Virgil who was trying to grip the kite's string, but the wind was so strong, and the rope was so thin, he could barely do it. "No! Not the kite!" Patton worried, chasing after it as it finally slipped from Virgil's grasp. "Pat-wait!" Virgil called, and ran after him. "Wait for me!" Roman yelled, following the pursuit. "Oh my fractions" Logan whispered disapprovingly, falling into a sprint behind them.
"Patton!" Chance frowned and ran after them, too. "Chance, wait!" Both sisters yelled, and rushing down the street was a line of four men, one boy, and two girls, all chasing after the one in front. "Watch the road!" Blair and Alice yelled to Chance who was more focused on reaching Patton than the oncoming car that would hit him if he kept up the run. Blair and Alice thought this was it, and they were about to become the worst sisters in existence, but a miracle made them both want to cry in relief.
A hand shot out from around the corner and grabbed Chance before he would run onto the road. The car zoomed past, horn blaring and all. "Chance! Never do that again!" Alice scolded, taking him from the man and cradling him close. "Jesus, Blondie, fuck..don't do that!" Blair cried angrily, out of breath.
"Are you two okay?" The man who saved Chance spoke up. "Yeah, fine" Blair waved off, turning to face them, finding out there were actually two people. A man and a woman, the man with short, black hair, and the woman with the same dark hair, but in a bob cut.
"Why on earth were you running?" The woman questioned, crossing her arms. "Chasing after some guys.." Blair responded, they all looked down the street, but no one was there. They were gone.
"Wait, aren't you the children of that politician?" The man questioned, the three nodded. "It fucking sucks, let me tell you" Blair sighed, brushing her hair to the side. "Mind your language, young girl" the woman scolded lightly. Blair sighed again, murmuring an apology. "We'll take you home, come on" the woman motioned, but Chance hurriedly shook his head. "N-no, please, don't t-take us home..."
The twins shared a glance, then turned to the adults.
"Please don't take us home" they agreed.
It took awhile, and after many court cases, signed papers, news reports, the three children lived with the man that saved Chance - turns out, he and the woman were siblings. Both names beginning with the letter 'm'.
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