Athena Academy

Erza and Edgar hooted wildly as soon as Chryss touched the mirror,"ATTA GIRL! YOU ROCK CHRYSSALIS!"

Edgar smiled, walking back with a large smile on his face,"You did it! Way to go! That was magnificent."

Erza clapped before watching Naomi head out. She turned to look at Adam's unconcious form and frowned,"What about Adam?"

Edgar came down to her level and gave a grimace,"I guess I could carry him."

Erza twitched her nose and nodded,"Yes, but be gentle. He could be in alot of pain."

Edgar rolled his eyes picking him up and slinging him over his shoulder like a blanket. He then nodded towards Erza,"Are you going to be okay to walk. I can probably manage you to."

Erza's eyes widened at his response before shaking her head,"No..I've been burden enough for the entire team. I can make it back by myself." Plus holding both of us could hurt Adam as well.

They walked out together, Edgar frowning at her comment,"It's fine Erza..You're learning."

She limped forward, leaning against the wall looking exhausted. Dark circles rimmed around the green of her eyes and her skin looked paler then usual. She thought about changing her axes to sunglasses, but the thought of using more magic made her want to throw up. She then groaned, tripping and falling on her face.

Edgar sighed and looked around,"Hey can someone pick up Erza, she's going to do more damage to her ankle if she keeps being stubborn and walking like that."

 

I sigh in relief looking at the mirror in my hands and to the floor below as it appeared. At least I wouldn't have to jump my way back down through to the second floor. I step down from the platforms grabbing cindy's other shoe for her to hand her before I head downstairs myself following the others. I nod my head a bit to Edgar. "Thank you....but everyone was trying to." I say quietly.
I look towards Erza nervously. "I don't think I could lift her but I can help her walk to the vehicle if that will do."

 

I wake up: Urgh, everything hurts. Where am I, and why am I so uncomfortable? I decide to open my eyes: Oh, I'm being carried, yeah that makes sense. Who is carrying me? That guy, he looks familiar, I can't really place him. Oh yeah, he's Edgar, I remember. Now a hard one, who am I again?
I remember going to Mecca for my pilgrimage. No, that was someone else, I'm not muslim, I think.
I remember World War 2, but that can't be right, I'm not that old. Maybe I should ask my carrier who I am.
And slice his throat
No! I'm not him! I was never him! I was the other one, the boy. What was his name again? Adam, yes, good.
And Adam Lobe raised his head to Edgar's ear and whispered: "If you want to drag me away to your place, you should at least take me to dinner first."

 

Edgar let out a laugh then gave a small snort,"Sorry Sweetheart, but after carrying you for a few minutes, I'm pretty sure you don't need anymore food."

Erza shook her head looking at Chryssalis with a small smile,"That would be lovely...I am not overly heavy. I think.."

Edgar winked at her moving towards the truck and Joe to slide Adam into a seat. He buckled him in, trying to refrain from making it to tight before heading back to check out if Cindy and Noroi needed help with anything.

 

I was sitting in the passenger seat, staring outside of the window by the time the others had arrived, I was still annoyed with everyone, especially Cindy. It was clear with the 'I'll rip you to pieces' glare that I gave her when I saw her.

Naomi got into the driver's seat and waited for everyone to get inside, her face carrying only a passive expression.

 

I nod my head. "Alright." I say before bending down to have Erza put he arm around my shoulder and then cautiously help her up. "Let me know if we need to stop. Alright?" I then walk her on over to the van.

 

Erza clutched on to Chrys lightly leaning against her as they walked to the Van,"Okay. Thanks...Stupid hellhounds."

As they approached the van, she stepped up to walk in with her other foot and fell into the middle section seat. She scootched to the other side, as Edgar came up and quite unceremoniously placed Adam beside her,"Now you two try not to hurt yourselves...on the way home."

Erza snarled giving him the finger and a sassy laughing face. He just laughed and climbed in the back, pulling out a book and beginning to read. Erza turned to look out the window, her forehead slumping against the glass as she stared out across the road.

 

Cindy grinned as she got in the car, flipping Joe a backwards "v" symbol, both slippers now on her feet.
"That was great, Chryss!" she said, giving her friend a hug. Tam grinned at Chryss as well.
"Great thinking," he said as he got in the car, followed by Noroi, who was looking dour.
"Ignore him," the half fairy continued. "He's just upset he didn't get the mirror. Thiefs honor and such."

 

As soon as everyone was inside, Naomi began to drive back to the academy in silence, not wanting to deal with those that were angry about not getting the mirror themselves or those that were injured and were likely moody.

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Naomi stopped outside of the school at 9:25, which, unfortunately meant that everyone was locked outside of the school, they had made sure to drill that into the students. Even if it were a second past nine o'clock, they wouldn't permit students to come in. "Looks like you'll all have to make some other arrangements... hopefully you have friends or family in the city that can take you in for the night, I can't do anything for you and the school is unfortunately very rigid about curfews." She said.

I got out of the car quietly and walked to the back, I opened it up and took the trunk out and stepped back onto the sidewalk and watched everyone exit the van. I turned and began walking away. "...If you all want, I have room at my house." I said, not looking back, a large part of me hoping that they didn't hear me.

 

I step out of the car nervously looking to the gates. "....I guess those are the rules after all." I look over towards Joe at his offer. "That's very nice of you. Are you sure it would be alright? I wouldn't want it to be a bother for you."

 

"...Whatever." I said, for them, that hopefully meant 'yeah sure'. I didn't seem to be in a very good mood, it might not be best to question me and just take me up on my offer. Free lodging near the school vs. lodging to a hotel that could be close by or half way across town.

 

"Awh, you adorable little grumpycat" and Adam rushed to his feet and hugged Joe from behind. "I knew your asocial behaviour was just an act, you DO care, I'm touched," he said while ruffling Joe's hair affectionally. "I knew nobody could be actually that childish and idiotic as you appear. This is the pivotal moment where you start crawling outside of your shell and start acting your age, I'm so proud. It almost makes me sad about what I'm going do to you tomorrow."

Adam spin around and gave Joe a large grin, "But that is not important right now, I would be delighted to stay at your place for the night. Slumber party! Because we are so secure in our masculinity that we can."

 

"...First off, don't ever touch me, second off, I have my own reasons for inviting you, third off, I don't like people and that isn't something that's going to change, fourth off, do anything to me and I'll beat you to such a content that you won't be able to recognize yourself, finally, I'm gay you bumbling idiot, even if I weren't, this isn't a slumber party, you bastards are just using me for a roof over your heads." I said.

 

"First off, I am afraid that in order to properly convey my feelings I will have to touch you a lot. Second, I don't see how ones sexual orientation affect masculinity, assuming they exlude one another is incredibly offensive. Third, Beat me? I like to see you try, but not today because I'm your guest now and I believe in the sanctity of hospitality i.e. don't harm your guest/host. Fourth, such anger, who hurt you in the past? I want to know so badly. But finding out would be rude. And lastly, you offered us a place to stay, we are merely accepting your generous offer. We are not using you, you are using us in order to stroke your own ego.

So, where is your house, buddy? I am curious were the grumpy detective hangs on his trenchcoat."

 

I glared at him. "Everyone uses someone for something, and I am using you, but not to stroke my own ego, such a thing is worthless to me, I don't need to feel good about myself, nor do I wish to look good in the eyes of a group that I don't give a damn about, I'd leave you all out starving and cold unless I had a use for you, and you have other choices, but to save on money, you're using my offer to ensure you don't have to sleep out in the cold or have to pay for a hotel, funds which you may not have." I said coldly before walking forward quickly to stretch the distance between him and myself. I was regretting this decision already.

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The group eventually reached a nice neighborhood, a gated community, the houses within were all beautifully built Victorian houses, at least 2-3 stories high with large front yards with beautiful gardens and wrought iron fences. We eventually ended up in front of a 2 story Victorian house, it was dark blue, with gray window panes, and a black roof with a flourishing garden out in the front filled with all sorts of multicolored flowers, decorated tastefully and distributed out in such a way that the colors wouldn't clash, I opened up the wrought iron gates and walked up the cobblestone path up to the white door and opened it, walking inside and not even bothering to see if anyone was following.

Inside was a spacious front hall, a closet on the right just as we entered, well polished wooden floors and white walls which were adorned with family pictures and fine art, the stairs leading up to the second floor, the right side off to a spacious living room, inside were black leather couches, a hand carved oak table in the center, a brand new 75 inch flat screen 4000K UHD TV on a large wooden entertainment center, in the corner was an unlit marble fireplace, on top of it was an old family portrait, what stuck out were the two identical looking boys standing next to each other in front of their parents.

The other end merely led off to a hallway with a two doors on each end, the kitchen on the first right, dining room just across from that, bathroom on the far right, and laundry room across from the bathroom, which led off to the garage, which was completely empty, it was only for storing cars.

I went upstairs, not bothering to take off my shoes, to a long, yet spacious corridor that branched off at the end, there were three doors on each side, a bathroom in the middle of each one, an office on the right at the end, a master bedroom on the far left, the one on the left led to a linen closet and the right a guest bedroom. I hung a right to a simple hallway, there was one door on the left, my room, and two on the right, two more guest bedrooms, the left hallway had three doors as well, though the one on the right was a master bedroom, and the two on the left were guest bedrooms.

I walked into my room... which... compared to the rest of the house was rather bare, but just like the rest of the house it was spacious, but had gray carpet. It had a walk in closet on the right when you just walked in, it was filled with very few outfits, but it had a bunch of gaming systems new and old, and a couple of TVs, still of rather large sizes, but of different models, it went from standard, to flat, to HD, and finally UHD, they were all still in their boxes and covered in dust, on top of it were designer labels, the tags still intact and they were of varying sizes, and a few movies and videogames for the forgotten consoles hidden within the clothes. In the left corner of the room was a single bed with plain black sheets with a tabby cat curled up in a ball asleep on top of it, next to it was a simple bedside table with a lamp and a picture of two young identical looking boys, on the wall in front of the bed was a simple desk with a chair in front of it, some stationary and writing utensils sitting on top of it, finally there was a bookcase right next to the desk filled to the brim with mystery novels and books on infamous unsolved cases.

I turned around to those that had followed me after sliding the trunk under my bed. "Make yourself at home, take whatever you want, I don't really care, and I doubt anyone would miss it, I'm going to go make dinner." I said, with that, I exited the room and left the others to their own devices.

 

Adam whistled: "Damn, this kids parents are loaded, this considerably narrow's down the number of possible backstories." He walked around the room, spotted something, and smiled evily. "Take whatever you want, eh? Nobody will miss it, eh? Let's test that statement." And he snatched the photograph of the two boys from the table and hid it in the bookshelf. There was no way he was actually going to take it, but he wondered what would happen if Joe thought he had.

 

I follow Joe as he leads us to an extremely extravagant house. It seemed a bit too good to be true as we went inside and look around. I glanced at the pictures curiously. I was wondering why Joe's twin wasn't attending the school as well but with it being a personal matter more than likely I decide to hold my tongue and just follow him up to his room. I sigh heavily looking towards Adam. "That's not polite...."

 

Edgar helped Erza out of the car, then they both followed everyone in remaining silent. Erza looked exhausted, and Edgar just looked amused at Adam and Joe's shannanigans. Edgar fell back onto the couch looking at Adam,"I'd have to agree with the dame. Messing with a twin..causes problems."

Erza smiled, sneaking away to the kitchen and letting a soft knock on the door,"Ummm...do you want help with dinner? I cook all the time with my mom, so it's no trouble if you want me to cut something up. Rule is though..Have to avoid calling me a slut, bimbo or whore."

"I can cook on my own." I said not turning toward her. There was sauce boiling on the oven, I was chopping up onions, green onions, bell peppers, garlic, and frying a bit of meat.

She walked over slowly moving to stand by the counter and smelling the sauce,"It smells good. Did your mom teach you how to make this?"

"That frigid bitch burns water." I said, I dumped the diced veggies into the sauce and mixed them in and then pulled out a long loaf of bread, some butter, and some more garlic, garlic salt, paprika, black pepper, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese, I put the butter into a small container, and then began mincing the garlic, I then checked the meat, saw that it was done enough and dumped it into the sauce. Then I went back to the garlic butter, I just measured out enough of each ingredient and mixed it around in the container with the now softened butter, sliced open the loaf of bread, and spread it on, I preheated the oven and turned around. "Is there something you want or are you just here to bug me?" I asked.

She took a step back frowning, her accent becoming more apparent as she spoke,"No...I like being in the kitchen, because it reminds me of my family. I miss them." She looked around the house,"Where is your family anyway?"

"Who knows, could actually be working or they could be out screwing whatever assistant, secretary, nurse, or housekeeper they have." I said crossing my arms. "They're usually home around 10 or 11 PM, but count yourself fortunate if you never meet them." I said.

Erza rested her chin on her palm and raised her eyebrow,"Wow, sounds lonely. How about your brother? I saw a picture in the living room. Handsome lad, regardless of looking to much like his brother." She replied cheekily, smirking at him with a teasing manner.

I glared at her for a few seconds and then looked away, letting out a soft sigh. "He's none of your business." I said finally, I had such a tight grip on the knife in my hand that my knuckles were white.

Erza softened immediately, remaining quiet for a few minutes before speaking again in a kinder tone,"I apologize if bringing him up, upset you. I have five brothers. Mom really wanted a girl. Guess you can understand the necessity for feeding the lot of them. There probably eating mom's fresh trifle right now. Ya know even if they are a couple of scoundrels, you never know how much you miss them, until they aren't there..." She sighed, standing up straight,"Anywho..if you do need help. I will be with the other group of bastards in your living room." She laughed, limping towards the door.

She turned trying to limp out of the kitchen.

I watched her leave quietly and then brought out a few more ingredients...

 

Once she made it to the living room, she pulled off her boots, and walked slowly to a stereo turning it on, and putting up the volume. She pulled the pony out of her hair and moved to sit on a lazyboy her legs hooking over the edge,"Ya know what it's a bit chilly in here."

She gave a cheeky smile over at Edgar then winked at Chryssalis,"Ya know Adam, since you seem to have overcome your hardships. I would like that sweater of yours...and....your pants please. Bets a bet sparky. Time to pay up."

 

"You are a cruel woman, Red. Using the bet to rob me of my modesty. What woman will want me now after being defiled for your amusement?" Adam wailed some more, but he stripped down to his underwear nonetheless.

He had a lot of scars, they seemed like knife-wounds. None of them were deep enough to impair him, but the sheer number of them meant someone had done his best to make it hurt.

As he threw his clothes in Erza's direction he added: "My eyes are up here, Red. I'm not some sex object for you to goggle over, I have feelings, and they are hurting."

 

Erza snatched his clothes and moved her eyes back to his face, a blush forming on her cheeks,"I might have to disagree laddy...you definitely are something to goggle over. Of course I wouldn't want to impose my entertainment on your feelings. I'm sure you are a highly intelligent being, with a very kind soul."

She stood up and put on his sweater then slumped back down placing her head on her knuckles,"If you are uncomfortable, you can ask Joe if any of his mother's clothes are available. Just out of kindness of my wee heart. I wouldn't want ya to freeze ta death."

She let out a hearty chuckle, whilst she enjoyed teasing him.

 

Tam glanced through the pictures, seeing Joe in various states of growing. Oddly, there wasn't one where there were two boys Joe's age. In fact...
"Curious," Tam said. "Hey, guys, how many photos feature twins, besides the one we saw?"
Noroi, fiddling with his cell phone, glanced at Tam.
"Why?"
Tam was silent, one hand on his face, thinking deeply.

 

"There was one, I hid it"

 

There were only a few photos, it looked like they were around 5-10 years old, and then it suddenly stopped, afterwards I stopped smiling in pictures altogether, always frowning or giving a cold glare to the camera, my clothing always looked half-assed, the clothing disheveled and always missing a button or, my hair was always a mess, but usually I seemed like I could dress myself competently and do my hair. I was likely intentionally doing these things to get back at my parents. Strangely though, there was only one photo without my twin where I was smiling, it looked like I was still rather young, probably around the same age as the picture that Adam had hidden.

 

Should I hide this one too? One one hand, he did say I could and I want to make him eat his words. On the other, there are lines to messing around.