Alice was the usual silent type younger sister who hid under the shadows of his sister.
She never bothered it. This was what she was though she did wish to be friends with someone like Ace, the school clown who was also her crush but she knew that was impossible.
Even if the guy was the nicest out of everyone else, it didn't mean he'd like someone like her to be his friend.
She was plain and not pretty. She was an average ten-year-old girl with silence like no other.
Though, she could have never guessed something like this was going to happen.
Where was the previous button when you needed it the most?
"I-I'm r-r-really s-s-sorry, A-ace!" Alice bowed continuously, her apologies going into a stuttering mess.
It had been a normal day for her until she bumped into her little crush due to her running frantically. She was glad though the other's fans were not here to see that or she might have been bullied or insulted for doing such acts.
She wondered why the other was silent and looked up nervously and almost regretted it immediately.
Gone was the usual friendly smile and scary glare was sent to her by her crush.
She flinched visibly and looked down. She had never seen the boy get anger at anything.
"I'm sorry." Alice whimpered with a tone of fear and failure.
The first time she got to speak with her crush and said crush was anger at her. Great, just great.
"Sorry isn't enough." Ace said coldly, his hand holding Alice's wrist in a strong grip, causing her to cry silently in pain.
He had a bad day already with all the goody-toe-shoes act and this girl just made it worse with her bumping. He was just glad no one was here or he might get in trouble with how he's acting.
Alice gulped at the tone and tried to pry her wrist from the other's hold but it was too strong. She was sure it was going to bruise.
"Does it hurt?" the boy asked jokingly with a sadistic smirk and tightened his hold.
"P-please l-let g-go." the girl pleaded with tears already.
Ace hummed in thought and stared with amusement at her.
"How about no?" he asked in dangerous humor and pulled the girl to an embrace much to her surprise and said girl couldn't stop the shriek from escaping her mouth.
He leaned closer –too close for Alice's comfort and she closed her eyes.
"Heh." Ace stopped right there and widened his smirk at the confused look of the girl who opened her eyes when nothing happened. "Don't get cocky. I wouldn't kiss you if my life depended on it, brat."
Alice turned red –if from embarrassment or anger, the boy didn't know or care. She pushed him hard and left with a goodbye sent to him in the last second.
Ace let out a bark of amused laughs and grabbed his hair.
"That was interesting. That's the first time I ever showed my real attitude." he grinned cheerfully, his bad thoughts escaping for now. "Alice, huh?"
"Wonder if she'll tell anyone."
Alice slammed her door closed with a bang, causing her parents and siblings to worry about her.
"Stupid! Stupid! What was that about?!" she shouted to herself, smacking her head lightly to not remember her previous encounter.
"That was really Ace?" she asked herself, feeling heartbroken that his crush was actually cruel.
"Should I tell anyone?"
She briefly imagined what it would be like but she found herself not wanting to tell anyone.
She remembered the goofy smile, cheeky jokes and friendly atmosphere around Ace that made her like him and it made her stopped any thoughts about telling anyone.
"Well, this is just dandy." Alice sighed in sarcasm. "Life is out to get me and I'm just ten!"
"Alice, are you okay? You're not going crazy, are you now?" Boris, her adopted brother, asked mockingly on the other side of the door of her room but Alice could hear some hinted worry in his voice. "You're talking to yourself."
"I'm not going crazy! Just shut up!" the girl shouted back with a bright blush.
Her brother just loved to tease her.
'Anyway, I guess I won't tell anyone about what happen.' Alice nodded to herself and got down to dinner, trying to ignore her brother's teasing but failing miserably.
"Shut it, Boris!"
"Aw but shouldn't I make sure you're okay physically and mentally as an older brother?"
"You're just a month older than me!"
"Tsk, tsk. Older is still older."
"Now, now, don't fight in the dinner."
Good thing Lorina, her older blood-related sister, always stopped their fights before it turned physical –not that it would since even though they fought always, they really did care for each other but it was to be sure.
Alice laughed freely, completely forgetting her previous dilemma.
…For now.
If Ace was surprised that no one was acting weird around him and didn't seem like they knew his real attitude, he didn't show it but the slight smirk in his face did not escaped his best friend's eyes.
"Did something happen?" Julius asked coolly, knowing full well of his real attitude since they were after all best friends.
"Nothing." Ace glanced to Alice who was staring at him with caution and smirked when the girl averted her eyes. "Just found something interesting to do."
Julius followed his eyes and sighed when he saw the shy dirty brunette. He could just know this would not turn good for Alice.
And said girl felt like something was cursing her life and making it so miserable.
"Why me?" Alice asked herself dejectedly, not noticing the worried glances of Boris who sat beside her.
"You okay?" Boris asked without the mockery since this was a fist time he saw her like this.
"Yeah." she answered with a long sigh, not really making an effort to assure the other.
Boris glared at that but just left her alone for now though he did pat her head.
"Just don't carry the problem yourself." he said and Alice could just roll her eyes.
"Says the idiot who always makes troubles and doesn't say them." she remarked, making him laugh.
Though, it did made the girl happy and almost made her forget about her problems.
"Thanks." Alice smiled in gratitude to Boris, making him scratch his head and blush slightly –though, maybe it was because of the sun?
On another row, that scene did not escaped Ace and he felt a frown slightly replaced his smirk.
That girl was amusing to watch be jumpy and thinking about her encounter to the real him but if the girl was not going to be caution of her or not going to think about the encounter, it would be boring.
And Ace did not want boring.
He smirked again –this time, Alice shivered and turned towards him as if she had sense something very wrong.
"Why don't I show it to her again so she won't forget?" he asked himself, looking away from the girl as the teacher entered the room.
Alice couldn't help but feel the temperature just decreased to 0 degree.
"I hope I survive this year." she mumbled lowly. She was just glad her adopted brother didn't hear her.
Tick. Tock. Tick.
"Hurry up." Alice mumbled on edge, her eyes glued to the clock above the blackboard. "1…"
She could feel someone nearing her chair and she turned to see the horror of her life.
"2…"
Ace moved from his sit and walked towards Alice's chair and leaned closed to her –though not too close to add suspicion in his part.
Alice trembled in fright.
"3!" she shouted as soon as the bell rang and quickly got her things, skilfully ignoring to talk to the boy close to her. She was about to get a move on and go home when the teacher spoke.
"Ah. I almost forgot." Gray, the Math Teacher and also the Class Adviser, started with a glance that told Alice to stay put for a minute. "Alice and Ace will be the cleaners for today. That is all. Class dismiss."
Alice could just drop her jaws.
She heard laughter from Ace and would have glared if there was no one watching. Instead she just ducked her head in silent agreement.
And so the other students left the two alone.
Boris gave her a teasing kiss on the cheek before going.
Alice just knew someone in heaven's out to get her. And hell was there an uncomfortable silence and a big blush in her face.
"So…" she started as there was an uncomfortable silence that she wanted to break as soon as possible. "I'll be erasing the blackboard and you'll be arranging the chairs, okay?"
No answer. Not that she expected it.
Alice sighed and just went to her work. The sooner she did this, the faster she would go.
Ace almost glared at the girl. It was annoying how she was ignoring him and not being scared of this situation.
It was no fun at all.
'And what's with that kiss?' he thought darkly. 'They're siblings and they do something illegal like that?'
Ace seemed to have forgotten Alice and Boris was, in fact, not related by blood so technically they're not real siblings.
But the main point was why did he care?
Ace glanced at Alice again.
'She's my toy now so it's fun to be possessive, right?' he nodded to himself and lazily did his work since he was definitely getting sick with his thoughts.
Boris sighed as he went to his room silently.
This was getting weirder and weirder.
He was feeling something for her little sister and he was doing things that were not something a brother should do to his sister.
And it was not funny.
'Doesn't matter if we're not related by blood.' Boris thought to himself firmly and determinedly.
"I'm her big brother and that's that!"
In the future, Alice would wonder how she was still being bullied by the real Ace, why no one was able to know about his real attitude and why Boris would act weird and she would have a hard time trying to stop herself from falling from her old-crush-slash-new-bully again –if said bully was always with her.
In the future, Boris would somehow feel different and deny the growing feelings he knew he had for Alice and would wonder why he seemed to hate the boy named Ace –though it was obvious he's jealous of the guy.
In the future, Ace would keep an invisible chain on Alice that the girl wouldn't even know existed and would always try to think this was merely for fun and that he was not weird to be possessive over the girl to everyone –even if it's the girl's brother.
The End! …For now?