"That's it!" Lysandra spat. "That was the last straw. Get out, Laurent."
"But," Jade intruded but then pursed her lips close and left the room thinking it would be best to let them deal with the issue among themselves.
"Laurent, I give you five seconds to leave before I pummel you to the ground."
"Woah. Cool down, Red," he said, laughing as if she did not just threaten him.
"That was very cunning of you, asking me in front of my mother," she sneered with raised eyebrows. "Your silly strategy is far from impressive or persuasive. The answer is no, Cirillo."
"Let's play fair, shall we? Win against me in a spar and I will leave you alone. But, if I manage to put you down, you will need to be my date for one night."
"Not a chance!"
"Already afraid that you'll lose?"
"No," Lysandra admitted pondering over something. She then shot up from the chair, pacing around the room and turned back to Laurent, having found no other plausible options. Fighting was fair offer but a little bit of a hassle and that did not bother her as she always was the one who was up for challenges. "Fine. I'll play your little game."
"That's the spirit!" he leered.
She shot him a dirty look and walked him to the door after he decided that the details of their match would be decided the next day at school.
His hands smoothed down his wild raven curls as he walked down the driveway, near to his car parked outside the house.
"Oh, Theon said he'd like to meet you tomorrow, new girl. At the school campus."
Lysandra said nothing but rolled her eyes, waving him away as he winked before getting into the car.
"Who was he?" questioned Adrianna once Lysandra shut the door and leaned back on it.
"None of your damn business," she remarked. "When did you get home?"
"When you were oh-so-rudely ordering Mr. Handsome to leave."
"He deserved it. Now, move out of my way."
Lysandra rushed up to her room, closing the door with a bang and falling down on the mattress. After cocooning herself in the warmth of the sheets, she bent towards her left to grab her sketch book lying in the bottom most drawer of the nightstand.
She flitted her fingers through different pages before landing on a self-portrait that she had made the previous summer. The smile gracing her face was a stranger to her — her lips rarely bloomed into a full fledged grin and her painted eyes were shining with joy, unlike the bland ones that conveyed nothing but the empty depths that she bore. Her hair was a mess and the only feature that matched her current appearance.
Sighing, she dropped the book into her bag and opened the window beside her bed, peeking out to see the a young man and an older woman chatting in the lawn of the neighbouring house. Before she could move back in, a faintly familiar voice called out for her and she hit her head to the top of the window panel, letting out a grunt. Clutching her skull through her fiery hair, she faced the sky once again and then down towards the greenery to see Theon waving his hands animatedly, trying to catch her attention.
Lysandra groaned, forcing her lips into a smile and waved back at him. He beckoned for her to come over and she nodded while pointing her fingers at him, telling him that she'd be there in five minutes.
She pulled her hair into a top knot, her hands going through the undercut that she had given herself before moving there. She was a quite proud of the result and Jade could not stop gushing about how badass it made her look.
She ran downstairs to inform Jade of the neighbour who was so eager to meet her but, overheard a conversation instead.
"You always ask me to control myself, mom! Isn't she the outsider? Why do you always favour her more?"
"You know it's not like that, Adrianna," Jade reassured. "I love you all equally, you know that. She's just been through something difficult and it has clearly taken a huge toll on her. Have you ever seen her even interact with others apart from the four of us?"
"That doesn't excuse her behaviour, does it?" Adrianna exploded, "She cannot sit on a high horse and expect people to understand her when all she does is give stink eyes to everyone who talks to her."
"I will speak to her, okay? Give her some time, love. Try indulging her in small talks — "
Lysandra could take no more. She was sick of them treating her like a porcelain doll. Agreed that she was nothing but a pain in the ass for the whole family but, she was not fragile, atleast not according her knowledge. She couldn't bring herself to leave them either. Her whole life, all that Lysandra wanted was affection. She needed someone to take care of everything and make her forget all of her troubles which had made her head a comfortable little abode. She needed a shred of normalcy in her life and the past two years have been giving her exactly that — a sense of belongingness and a family to partially adore.
Her heart was still scared to make amends and bring a bunch of outsiders into her tumultuous life but, that didn't mean that she didn't crave for friendship. She gulped her salty tears down her throat whenever she saw people laughing together in the school's hallway or in restaurants. She pushed everything away chanting to herself that the storm of her emotions would drown everyone if she let it slip through the gaps in between her fingers. Her hands were always fisted, a result of constant fear — which she didn't risk recognising as an important emotion — was always coursing through her veins.
Lysandra put a brake to her wavering thoughts and pulled her poker face on, announcing herself in the dining room where Jade and Adrianna's heated discussion was taking place.
"I am going out for a couple of minutes, Jay."
"Where to?" Jade asked, wiggling her eyebrows, "If that Laurent boy is waiting outside for you again, I suggest you say yes."
"Is Laurent that hot-shot who was here earlier?" Adrianna looked towards Jade who nodded with a sly smile gracing her rosy lips. "Aw, did ickle Lyssie just get asked out on a date?"
"Firstly, do not call me Lyssie. To clarify your doubt, it is not a date and my answer is no to anything that involves that wanker," Lysandra declared and turned on her heels, walking to the door. "I'll be back soon!"
She walked towards Theon who stood near his gate, gracing her with a grin. His dark eyes were sparkling under the evening sun and the women standing behind him shot her a friendly smile before going inside the house leaving the both of us out to talk. She cocked her head to a side and stared at her, not having experienced such accepting encounters before. People always labelled her a weirdo, either sparing her mocking glances or cowering away in fear. It was never an amiable welcome for Lysandra.
"Didn't know you were my neighbour, Verlice."
"As if," Lysandra scoffed. "You were the one who gave my address to your asshole of a friend, right?"
"Sharp. I'll give you that. But, it isn't too hard considering that I know your name and your mother didn't make any effort to not gush about her three children while chatting up with my mum. Word travels fast, girl."
"Right. Tell me, why did I need to abandon the blissful time of solitude in my room and come to you?"
"That offer was just a formality. Not my fault that you willingly signed up for my company, lucky lady."
"Are everyone in the town this annoying?" Lysandra quipped, her foxy eyes fixed on Theon.
"Depends on who you're talking to," he shrugged.
"Well, you and your friend definitely top the list, Theon."
"Mean," he remarked with narrowed eyes, his mouth lifted up on one side. "When are you not anyway!"
Lysandra huffed while setting her mouth in a hard line to prevent the string of curses that threatened to escape out of her mouth.
"Vexatious idiot. When are you not anyway!" she jibed as his mouth snapped shut.
Just as she deemed that talking to Theon would ultimately yield nothing and stiffly bid her goodbye, he reciprocated dazedly and then immediately caught her attention by grabbing her shoulder.
"Tonight, the fighting arena is closed. Apparently, the Police are patrolling there. Just wanted to let you know."
"What makes you think I would go tonight?"
"Well, you definitely look like you need to blow off some steam," he jested as she smiled, sarcasm oozing out of her aloof features. "Plus, there are no other arenas in this town."
"Huh," she wondered, "There are atleast a few street fighting grounds in every city."
"Seems like Mantisdor isn't like any other city."
"Perhaps," Lysandra nodded saluting and walked backwards for a few steps before she headed towards her house, with a light jog.
Jade observed her through the bay window, smiling at the progress Lysandra had made. Not even a few months ago, she was a mean redhead who resembled Jade of her younger self unlike her two children who had inherited their father's facade. She was unbiased, frank and seemed fearless but, as a matter of fact, she was terrified of something that nobody could fathom. Crude, she always was but, this town seemed to do something to send people willing to be her acquaintances her way. Jade, whose motherly instincts drove her to care of the girl, couldn't be happier.
The graphite screeched on the empty sheet of canvas, morphing into the cityscape almost as if sorcery was involved, dripping through the hands of Lysandra Verlice who sat by her bike, on the cliff not too far from home the next evening. The whole day was uneventful for her, apart from a few unwanted appearances of Laurent and Theon throughout her school hours.
Since fighting was not an option to lose herself in that day, she had aimlessly driven around the city before settling down at the place on a higher altitude from where she could see almost the whole city. She was always used to being by herself and quite honestly, she did not mind it one bit. That was the only time she felt free without the shackles of emotional confinement holding her down.
Music blasted through her headphones silencing the chaotic world for her alone. She bobbed her head to the beat and captured the view of the sunset with her eyes, transferring it onto the paper blending in the hues with her fingers. She scoffed looking at her abrasive knuckles, not able to fathom how she never once took the violence out of the fights and into her life. She herself was amazed at her history of not getting into brambles outside of the arena no matter how many times she was tempted to knock people out for commenting on her. Perhaps, letting everything out at night was the reason for her resilience but, she was borderline proud that she did not cause any serious trouble to her family with her self-destructive tendencies.
Her phone chimed, pulling her out of the piling thoughts and she paused the song, opening the messages on the device.
Unknown : Tomorrow night. 8 o' clock sharp.
Lysandra made her bets on who the message was from. Smirking to herself, she typed in a response and tapped on the send button with a slight laugh.
Lysandra : Do stock your refrigerator with sweet treats for when you cry after going home tomorrow.
Saving his number into her contacts, she turned the phone off and the bright screen dimmed just like the sun that waded down leaving the obsidian skies and the twinkling stars in its wake.
Laurent Cirillo is one stubborn asś, don't you think? as i always say, do drop down some comments and follow me if you think i'm good enough of a writer.
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