The Monsters We've Become

by yuumiimuu

IN REVISION PROCESS

1. Chapter 1

Yay, new fanfiction time! Ohhhh yeahhhhhhh!

Well, a few things first:

1) If you've read my other fics and are wondering why I haven't updated those but are posting new ones all of the sudden, it's because I'm hiatus for those, so sorry!

2) This fanfic is about 17 and 18 as humans, as the summary said, and nothing really more. At the end I'll have some canon events but yeah... :/

3) I recently got a new computer and I haven't set up Microsoft Word yet, and my current word processor has no spell check. I've tried to edit it and check it over myself but you know that never gets rid off all spelling errors... Sorry!

So yeah, that's all I really needed to say... Other than that, I hope you enjoy this fanfiction about my favorite people in the world THE TELETUBBIES!

Er, um, sorry... I mean SEVENTEEN AND EIGHTEEN! XD XD XD Oh, and look at that! A quote! Oooh, fancay!

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Nobody affects us as deeply as our brothers and sisters do – not our parents, not our children, not our friends. Siblings are our collaborators and co-conspirators, our role models and cautionary tales. They teach us how to resolve conflicts and how not to, how to conduct friendships and when to walk away. Our siblings are the only people we know who truly qualify as partners for life, and our connections to them last a lifetime. –– The Sibling Effect: What the Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us by Jeffery Kluger.

xxx

Have you ever lost someone you loved dearly? Someone who was always there for you and cared for you?

It hurts, doesn't it?

I remember the day I lost my parents.

It started off like any other normal day. I wake to the feeling of something tickling my nose. Opening my eyes, I could see my twin sister dangling in my face, a huge mischievous grin on her lips.

"Wake up sleepy head!" she giggled, rubbing her nose against mine. "Get up!"

I groaned and rolled over, burying my face into my pillow. "Go away, Avryl," I moaned out, shutting my eyes for more sleep. "I don't want to get up right now."

She paused for a second before flopping down onto my back. "But Aaric! The sun's out! It's time to go play!" She pushed her nose into my hair. "Get up!"

I really didn't want to get up. I stayed up all night playing video games, and getting up that early was something I had never accomplished before on my own. I always want to sleep in at least until mid afternoon... However, Avryl always has other ideas.

"Aaric slept and slept some more, it was very annoying. I got up onto his bed and said, POP GOES THE WEASEL!" she sang loudly, jumping on my body. I grinned into my pillow, trying not to laugh and egg her on. Unfortunately, the more she jumped on me, the more I wanted to pop up and grab her.

"...I stomped and jumped on top of him, but never could I wake him. And that's when I tickled and said..."

"POP GOES THE WEASEL!" I shouted and sprang from the bed. She screamed in surprise as tackled her to the ground. She started giggling furiously, trying to squirm from my fingers assaulting her tummy. I laughed above her and said, "This is for waking me up!"

"A-Aaric!" she laughed, short on breath. "S-stop...!"

"Never!" I commanded and started wrestling with her. She giggled in glee and fought back, tugging on my black hair, trying to kick me off of her. I laughed too and pulled her on top of me before bucking her over my head. She laughed in mirth and jumped up and down.

"Again! Again!" she cheered as I shoved myself into a sitting position. I rubbed my head and felt her arms lock around my neck. Her legs curled around my stomach and she started smacking my shoulder. "Giddy-up pony! H-yah!"

Laughing, I stood up and held onto her feet, galloping out of my room and down the hall making horse noises, much to Avryl's delight. We thundered right past our parents room and then down the stairs, trying to keep our balance and not plummet down to the bottom floor.

Downstairs, we rode around the house as I pretended to be Avryl's horse, carrying her everywhere as she laughed and clutched my neck, nearly choking me. We hardly noticed when our drowsy and incoherent mother wandered downstairs until we were bumping head on with her. Both Avryl and I collapsed in a fit of giggles at her feet.

"What's this...?" I heard my mother say sleepily, rubbing her crystal blue eyes. She broke into a smile and kneeled down next to us. "What are you two doing up so early?"

"Playing horsey!" Avryl squealed, jumping up and hugging our mother. "Do you want to play too?"

Our mother laughed lightly and pulled Avryl up into her arms. "Maybe later sweeties. Mommy still hasn't had her coffee yet."

"Aw Mom," I said and wrapped my arms around her legs. "Play with us!"

She brushed my hair and set Avryl down, grinning at the two of us with so much warmth, it could melt even the coldest recesses of earth. She put her hands on her hips and flicked dark black hair from her eyes. "...So, what do you want to play then?"

Avryl and I cheered and pulled our mother by the hand around the living room in a game of tag. Her beautiful laugh filled the morning air, followed by the trills of delight from both Avryl and me.

Dad wandered down the stairs a couple minutes later, surprised to see his whole family trouncing around, acting like horses and dancing to music no one else could hear. But all it took was a tug from me and Avryl to get him to do the same.

After awhile, the four of us collapsed in a heap on the floor, laughter still ebbing our voices. I cuddled close to Mom while Dad held Avryl to his chest and cradled her in his arms. Both of us looked over at each other in satisfaction.

"That was fun," Avryl said and grinned. "Can we do it again tomorrow please?"

"Of course we can," Mom said. "We can do this every morning if you want."

"Yes!" I cheered happily. "Every morning we're going to do this, okay?"

"Yes sir!" Dad said and winked over at Mom. "But when you get older... you probably won't be saying the same..."

"Yeah," Mom chimed in. "When you get older, and you're teenagers, you'll want to do with us!"

"You'll become moody, sullen kids who are too busy shopping or driving to have enough time for their parents anymore!" Dad said with a grin.

"No!" both me and Avryl gasped in unison. "Never! We'll never do that!"

"Never never ever!" Avryl confirmed, hugging Dad. "We'll never leave you guys!"

"Yeah," I agreed and hugged Mom. "I'll stay here with you forever."

Mom and Dad laughed and hugged the two of us. "We know, children," Mom soothed. "We know we'll always have the two of you as our little babies."

"Hey, I'm not a baby!" I corrected her. "I'm almost eight!"

Mom laughed and buried her nose in my neck. "You'll always be my little man," she whispered and held me tight. I closed my eyes and hugged her back, breathing in her scent. I was never going to let her go...

"...Who's up for lunch and a movie?!" Dad suddenly called out. Avryl started bouncing.

"Ooh, ooh, me!" she said and used Dad's chest as a spring board, catapulting herself across the living room. "Can we go see the princess movie? Please?!"

Mom and I stood too, my face wrinkled. "Princess movie? Nahhh," I said, crossing my arms. "I wanna see the zombie one!"

"Well, I want to see the princess movie," Avryl said and glared at me. I glared right back and stuck my tongue out at her. She did the same.

"Well, how about we see both?" Dad suggested and bent between the two of us. "Sound good?"

Instantly both me and Avryl forgot about our glaring contest in turn for hugging our father in thanks.

"No problem," he said and gave us a squeeze. "Just run upstairs and get ready to go!"

"Yeah, let's go Avryl!" I said and pulled her arm towards the staircase. "C'mon!"

So the two of us ran upstairs to get ready.

Little did I know, that would be the last time our family would spend a morning as a whole together.

xxx

Coming out of the diner after a huge helping of lunch, Avryl and I retold exactly what we had seen in the theaters in the previous movies.

"Ooh and I just loved the way Najika chose the frog prince instead of that creepy guy!" Avryl sighed, stars in her eyes. "I want a guy just like that when I'm older!"

"I think when all those zombies got thrown into the pool and electrocuted was cooler than that," I said and bumped my shoulder in my sister's. She bumped me back.

"Yeah, well, Najika's still better than those silly zombies. They weren't even scary!" she confessed. I nodded.

"I guess not..." I smiled and turned around to my parents who were walking behind us, hands entwined. "Did you think the zombies were scary?"

"Oh yes," Mom said and leaned against Dad's shoulder. "So scary."

Dad nuzzled Mom's hair and nodded. "I was scared of them too, if I do say so myself."

"Daaad," I said sternly, brows wrinkled. "You were not."

Dad only winked at me.

I turned back to Avryl as we stepped off the curb and into the parking lot towards the car. A sudden feeling of dread washed over me. Though the sun was shining, I shivered deeply. Avryl, as if sensing this, turned to me.

"Aaric, are you okay?" she asked, looking at me with her narrow blue eyes. "Is something wrong?"

I stopped walking momentarily to look around. Nothing was really out of the ordinary. People were milling about in the parking lot, cars drove peacefully in the street, birds chirped in the air. Nothing was wrong. But then why did I feel so... worried?

I turned to look at my blond sister. She looked back with a concerned look on her face.

"I'm fine," I told her, even mustering a smile. "Just... I got a bad feeling."

Her mouth turned into a frown and she took my hand. "Well, you're okay, right?"

I pushed my fingers between hers. "I am now," I said and threw my arm over her shoulder, still holding her hand. "Now that I've got my sis here with me."

She relaxed and let herself sink into my clutch. We continued walking across the parking lot, talking about a potential anime marathon when we got home, and got to our car. Mom and Dad loaded us into the back in our training seats (even though I always claim I don't need one) and started up the car, slowly driving out of the parking lot.

Some song came onto the radio then and Avryl and I started singing to it at the top of our lungs, giggling at our parents slight annoyance. And even though the volume was on high, and I was singing loudly, I could still hear the loud screeching that seemed to fill my whole body that haunts me to this day.

Out of nowhere, a black sports car hurtled around the on coming street corner, swerving across the road as if the driver was no longer in control. I remember Avryl and I stopped singing immediately and started screaming as the black car came hurtling right at us. Dad swerved the car in an effort to get out of the other driver's way, and I remember hearing Mom's shrill scream piercing the air.

What happened next is still sort of a blur. No matter how hard I try, I can't picture it clearly in my mind.

But I distinctly remember a loud crash, getting jolted forward in my seat, slammed back because of the seatbelt. I remember the sound of crunching metal. The smell of burning. The feeling of my head bashing into the roof.

And then dizziness. I remember feeling so dizzy, I could probably throw up if I wasn't so disorientated. I blinked back pain and look around, realizing why I felt so discombobulated. Because I was hanging upside down in my seat.

I groaned and looked over at Avryl who also hung upside down, tangling in her seat belt. Her eyes were closed and blood dripped from her lips. A feeling of fear doused me. Was she... dead?

"A-Avryl," I whispered, hardly able to conjure up my own voice. "Avryl...? Can you hear me?"

I waited for a couple seconds while she didn't respond. Tears swelled in my eyes. Avryl can't be dead, I thought to myself. She can't be.

After a couple minutes she stirred slightly and looked at me, one eye bleeding from the rim. I reached a hand out to her and wiped the blood away.

"Are you okay?" I whispered.

"Y...yeah..." she said, looking around in confusion. "Where are we?"

"In the car," I responded. God, how my head hurt. It hurt to even think properly.

"The car...?" Avryl echoed before gasping in recognition. "Mom... Dad!"

I turned to look up at the front of the car only to see crushed metal, as though the car had folded in on itself. I blinked.

"Mommy? Daddy?" I heard Avryl whimper, trying to pull herself from her seatbelt. Somewhere, police sirens went off.

"Aaric, help me," she demanded, fumbling with her lock. I undid mine and fell to the roof with an oof. I crawled forward and helped her out too, letting her fall into my arms. The two of us crawled from the burning wreckage and into the air, stumbling and falling over ourselves. We turned to look back at the car, only to see it didn't even look like a car anymore. Try crumpled piece of burnt paper.

Avryl wandered to the cockpit of the car and peeked inside, mumbling, "Mommy? Daddy?" Over and over. I held back, not wanted to believe what I knew had happened.

"M-Mommy?" Avryl mewled and then screamed. I limped to her side only to have her arms thrown around me and for her to sob against my chest. Confused, I looked to see what made her so upset, wishing I hadn't...

Our mother and father, tossed out of the car like dolls, laying in a mangled heap on the ground.

I suddenly felt light-headed at seeing them like that, clutching my sister to my chest in sheer horror. I wavered on my feet for a few minutes unable to get the images of my broken and bloody parents out of my head. I knew what had happened... I just didn't want to believe it. M-my parents were... dead.

I fell to the ground and blacked out, the sound of sirens ringing in my ears.

xxx

I woke to a nurse patting my sweaty forehead. My eyes flit open and saw she was looking down at me with a concern.

"Welcome back, sweetie," she says pleasently. "How do you feel?"

I groaned once and tried to push myself into a sitting position but the nurse layed a hand over my shoulder.

"Honey, I don't think that's a good idea right now. You're still very injured," she informed me, gently pushing me back down onto my pillow. I looked up at her, still disorientated.

"W-where am I?" I muttered out.

"The hospital," she quipped and walked over to a nearby window, flicking open the heavy curtains. Light filled the room, making my eyes water and sting. "You've been out of it for two days! For awhile there, we were worried you had critical injuries, like brain damage. Thank heavens that isn't the case."

...Brain damage? Hospital? I... I don't remember...

Then it suddenly came flooding back. Going out for lunch, the car accident, my parents on the ground...

Pain erupted from my forehead and I fell back onto my pillow, wailing in pain over my lost parents. The nurse rushed to my side and started checking my I.V's to see if they had somehow stopped working. But no matter what she did to the machines hooked up to me, the pain wouldn't stop.

Because no machine could take away the pain of my lost parents. They were gone... They weren't coming back. I would never see my mom's warm smile, I would never feel my dad's strong arms around me... They were both gone.

Blinking through the pain, I opened my eyes to see the nurse and another doctor looking at me with fear. I opened my mouth to say something but nothing would come out. Only a thick, dry rasp.

"There, there," said the other doctor, holding something sharp to my arm. I felt something prick me and then relief washed over me. Slowly, I felt myself relax and sink into the bed.

"What was it, Doctor?" I heard the nurse ask in a hazy voice. I could feel myself slipping into unconsciencness.

"The boy lost both his parents, it's nothing physical. He's in shock. But he'll be okay now, for the time being."

My eyelids started to drooped shut as I watched both adults quietly walk to the door and exit the room equally silently just before I blacked out.

xxx

When I woke again, the window revealed it was nighttime. The moon floated gently in the sky in its wreath of stars. I looked around to see if maybe the nurse was there, but the room was otherwise empty.

The monitors next to my bed bleeped in sync, and outside the door I could hear someone walk by. I suddenly thought of Avryl and how she was doing.

I sat up slowly, allowing my head time to adjust. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, only for a splitting pain to erupt in my side. I shouted in surprise and fell against the bed.

With hesitation, I carefully pulled the hospital gown up to reveal a huge gash on my abdomen. It had been patched and sewn shut, but the wound was still red and angry. I winced as I brushed my fingers against it. It must've been glass from the windshield that had gotten lodged in my stomach. And it hurt.

Still, I didn't want to lay in bed wallowing over the loss of my parents, so I bit my tongue, detatched the I.V's entering my skin and I lifted myself to my feet. A hiss escaped my teeth as my feet took on pressure, signaling that the ankles must be sprained or something. What a mess.

Taking small baby stes towards the door at first, I eventually let the pain numb my feet so I could pick up the pace. I layed a hand on the handle, listening for activity on the other side but all I heard was silence.

Carefully, I eased the door open and and stepped out into the darkened hall. I glanced down the corridor and noticed a couple nurses giggling at the end of the hallway, but they weren't looking in my direction.

Now all I had to do was find Avryl's room, which wasn't going to be easy since there were probably over a hundred rooms in that whole hospital. She could be in any one of them, and it could take me all night before I found -

"Aaric?"

I spun around to see a figure at the other end of the hallway, holding one of those portable I.V stands. She walked to me, with an obvious gait, and emerged out of the shadows.

My first thought was who are you? when I realized that the girl standing in front of me was my sister. She looked so different, it was hard to tell. Her whole face was swollen, and both eyes were black and blue, red from the blood vessels that must've popped inside the eye itself. Her lips were puffy, stale blood stained at the corners. Bruises covered her whole body, along with severeal cuts and scraps. Greif spilled through me as I swept her into my arms.

"My god, Avryl, you... you..." I stuttered to find the right words.

"Look horrible?" she suggested into my shoulder. I looked down at her.

"No," I said. "You look far from horrible. I just can't believe this happened to you." I touched one of her cheeks. "...You know... about Mom and Dad, right?"

She closed her eyes, breathing deeply. "I don't want them to be gone, Aaric. Make them come back."

I sighed and hugged her again. "I'm sorry Avryl. I want them back too." I squeezed her tight, trying to reassure her.

She looked up at me with watery blue eyes that resembled our mothers. "What's going to happen to us now?" she whispered. I sighed and shook my head.

What was going to happen to us? Besides Mom and Dad, we had no other family left. No uncles, no aunts. Not even grandparents or family friends. As far as I knew, we were totally alone.

"Don't worry," I told my sister. "I'm sure we'll be fine. We're going to find a home. I promise."

"Are you sure?" she asked quietly. I smiled down at her.

"Of course," I lied. "I know for a fact we'll be okay. Don't worry, at least we'll have each other."

Avryl smiled at that and hugged me tight. "I love you, Aaric," I heard her say and I burried my face in her blond hair.

"I love you too Avryl..."

We stayed like that the rest of the night, huddled together on the hallway ground hugging each other, until we eventually drifted off to sleep.

xxx

We stayed in that hospital for another week or so, until we were given the clear that we could leave. Except that in itself was troubling, seeing as that though we couldn't exactly leave to anywhere.

The hospital staff checked into our files and were saddened to see we had no family custody rights, and that we would have to be given to child protective services.

Not that I really knew what that meant.

On our last day of being at the hospital, I was given a change of clothes. Thank god; I hated those stupid blue gowns I had been forced to wear the whole time I was at the hospital. I changed into the jeans and tee-shirt with sheer happiness.

I heard a knock at my room and turned to shout that they could come in. Avryl entered [tentively], making sure I wasn't in the midst of chaning. I saw she had gotten out of her gown too.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked her, sitting down on my bed. She sat next to me. I could see her face had healed remarkably, to where she only had a couple bruises and bumps left. I knew my face was getting better too.

"Aaric, there are people out in the waiting room," she told me, sounding like she was on the verge of crying. I wrinkled my eyebrows.

"So? Of course there are people out there. It's the hospital after all," I said, trying to smile. She continued to frown.

"No... That's not what I mean. There are people here. For us," she said meeting my eyes. "They're going to take us away."

"What?!" I almost shouted. "How do you know? Where are they taking us to?"

"I don't know," Avryl said, crossing her arms. "I just heard them talking about two kids who's parents had died and have no one else to live with. Then this man and woman stood there, smiling, saying they were looking forward to having the new additions to their family."

"No," I said. "No, no, no..."

A man and woman? Who were they? Did we have some distant cousins we didn't know about?

I got off the bed and rushed to the door, Avryl trailing after me. I was lost in thought, wondering who these people were, that I hardly knew where I was going. With Avryl's help, we found the hospital lobby and slammed open the door, tumbling into the office.

Heads turned to stare as we stood panting and over-worked because our injuries weren't healed yet. At the reception desk, just as Avryl had said, stood a man in a crisp black suit and a woman wearing a long parka and a fox scarf around her neck. I gaped.

The woman at the reception desk, who I had gotten to know over the course of the week, stood up and smiled at the two of us.

"Aaric-chan, Avryl-chan! We were just talking about you. What a coincidence!" She beamed at us and waved her arms in a showcase manner toward the man and woman. "Meet Mr. and Mrs. Ino. As of today, they're your new par -" she stopped suddenly and cleared her throat bashfully. "Er, guardians."

"Oh, you poor babies!" the woman suddenly belted out in a dramatic voice. She rushed to our side as Avryl and I just stood there awkwardly. Mrs. Ino swooped us into her long bony arms and held us to her chest. She stunk like strong, rank perfume

"What a horrible tragedy you two have gone through," she practically sung out, sniffling. "And at such a young age! Oh, the horrible things you must have had to endure!"

I caught Avryl's eye over the lady's shoulder and knew she was having the same problem as me: Should I be laughing my head off, or running to the nearest police station? We decided on guffawing.

"Oh, and now look," Mrs. Ino said, pulling away from us. "The tragedy has gotten to their heads - Laughing in the face of waste. You poor darlings!"

That only made us laugh harder. It was hard to tell if this lady was all-out serious, or seriously all-out.

She stood up next to her husband and gripped his arm. "But you have nothing to fear, children. For my husband and I have bravely accepted the challange of raising two lost souls like yourselves. I hope your bags are packed, because we're going home now."

That shut up both Avryl and I.

"W-what?" I squeaked. "'Home'?"

The reception lady stepped in. "Erm, Avryl, Aaric..." She clasped her hands together. "You see, since you had no other family members, the authority thought it best to put you into the foster program. And Mr. and Mrs. Ino here were looking into children recently and saw your files... They've agreed to adopt you two."

I couldn't help it. After hearing that, I just stood there, staring at the Inos and the reception lady. Adopted? By these... people?!

I numbly felt Avryl's tiny hand grip my arm. "Aaric, what does she mean? What's adoption?"

Avryl and I were the same age, only minutes apart - and she was the older one - but I had always ben the more preceptive one. I listened in on Mom and Dad's conversations and picked up words that other seven-year-olds could only dream of. Of course Avryl couldn't understand what 'adoption' meant. But I did. And I did not want to explain it to Avryl.

Despite the burning frustration and rage I felt building inside me, making me want to run through the whole hospital screaming at the top of my lungs, I gulped and took a breath.

"They want us to go live with Mr. and Mrs. Ino for awhile," I told her, figuring that was the best way to break it to her.

Avryl may have been the one with lesser previous knowledge, but betwen the two of us, she was the brightest and the one who caught on quickest. It didn't take her long to understand what I meant by that.

"No," she whispered. "No... I'm not going with them. I'm not going!" She held my arm and hid behind me, face pressed into my shoulder blade. "Tell them I'm not going."

I grinned up at the couple who stared back with puzzelment. "Well, you heard the girl," I said. "She doesn't want to go and I can't just leave her here... So thanks for your offer, but we cannot accept."

"Why, you have to," Mr. Ino spoke up. "We signed a contract."

"So? Did we sign a contract?" I demanded, feeling Avryl grip my arm tighter.

"Aaric," she whispered.

"Here now children, you can't disobey the law," Mr. Ino said, stepping closer to us. "You're coming with us no matter how you like it."

"Oh yeah?" I challanged. I glared up at the two of them. "Watch me."

Mr. Ino gripped his hand in anger his face was trying hard not to show. Mrs. Ino only looked at me with mild surprise, mouth hanging open.

I'm not sure why I acted so stubborn like that. It wasn't usually like me. Usually, I was a good little boy who obeyed whatever he was told. But the fact that only a week after our parents died and we were getting new ones shoved into our lives made me angrier than I'd felt in a long time.

Mr. Ino frowned deeply and crossed his arms behind his back. "Accepting new parents can be hard, but it's something you're going to have to deal with." He cleared his throat and turned to the reception lady who gazed upon me and Avryl sadly. "I have already filled out paperwork with child protective services. I assume it's okay to take them now?"

"Yes, Ino-san," the woman nodded. "They have no possessions here except their old clothes, which I have with me..." She trailed off and rumaged through some boxes behind her desk. Then she handed me and Avryl bags that held our old clothes, shoes and the like, washed and almost new looking.

"If that's all, we shall be on our way!" Mrs. Ino said, throwing her scarf back over her neck. "Come along now children!"

Avryl and I stayed rooted to our spot. What could we do? We had no say in getting adopted, we couldn't stay at the hospital, we could do virtually nothing. That is, except follow Mr. and Mrs. Ino as they walked from the front lobby.

"I'm not going," I said stubbornly crossing my arms, glaring at the Ino's backs. "No way, it's not fair."

"...Aaric, what else can we do?" Avryl asked. She looked me in the eyes. "We can't run away."

"I know," I sighed, feeling like I could just scream in anger. Anger at myself, anger at the Inos, anger at the hospital people, anger at the whole universe. It wasn't fair.

"Let's just go with them," Avryl said finally. I turned to her in surprise.

"What?" I gasped. Her face hardened.

"What else can we do? Nothing - we have to listen to them. And, at least we'll have each other. Aaric, I don't want this to be more hard than it has to be." Her shoulders shook briefly then, like she was fighting the urge to cry. I placed my hands on her shoulders.

"Hey, don't cry," I said, trying to muster some sort of optimism in my voice. "You're right. At least we'll have each other." I took her hand then and smiled. "...So let's just go."

She smiled at me, her blue eyes blinking back tears. I wasn't going to do anything that would make my sister cry - so I took her hand and led her out the front door of the hospital, catching up with the Inos.

Mrs. Ino turned to me as we fell in step with her. Her thin mouth turned into a frown. "Aaric, what's with this hair of yours?" I felt bony fingers brush through my hair, but not in the gentle way Mom used to do. I found myself shrinking away from Mrs. Ino.

"Tsk, tsk," she muttered, tugging at the black strands that hung to beneath my eyes. "This is too long - I'll have to cut it for you."

I yanked away from her grip. "No," I said, glaring at her. "You're not cutting my hair."

She shook her head at me. "I must, and I will. It's unhygenic for boys to have long hair."

Talk about control-freak.

"Oh, and you young dearey, April," Mrs. Ino sighed dramatically, stepping between me and my sister. I resisted the urge to slap Mrs. Ino.

"Um, my name is Avryl," Avryl said, but Mrs. Ino totally cut through her words.

"What is this you're wearing? Jeans? Nonsense, young girls always wear dresses! I promise I will help both of you be the sophisticated and classy children I know you can be!" She broke into a rediculous laugh then, making me cringe.

I caught Avryl's eye and knew she was having just a hard a time as me accepting this woman as our new "mother." Not that she would ever be that to us - not even a trusted female adult. No, Mrs. Ino was always just going to be that; some woman whose first name I didn't even know, nor did I care to know.

Mr. Ino led the three of us to his sparkling black Lamborghini, looking like he just drove it off the lot. In that instant, I knew exactly what type of people Mr. and Mrs. Ino were: arrogant, vain, and overly-rich people who don't serve a purpose except to sit there and look pretty.

I instantly hated them.

Avryl and I silently buckeled ourselves in the back of the car and I knew it was on both of our minds: the last time we did this, we lost our parents.

"Oh, you children will just love the estate!" Mrs. Ino called back to us from way up in the front of the car. "Wait until you see it!"

I numbly wondered if we were going to our old hosue to pick up our belongings. Probably not.

"Aaric," Avryl whispered, laying a hand over my own. I was startled to realize my own hand had curled into a tight fist, white with pressure. I uncurled it slowly. I was never a violent person, and I possesed no violent thoughts, but it was hard to keep from making fists, and even harder to resist using them aroun the Inos. And I had only known then for twen minutes, tops.

"Sorry," I whispered back, twisting my fingers with hers. "I'm just... nervous," I lied through my teeth. Avryl gave me a look but decided to drop it with a sigh.

"...I guess I'm nervous too then," she said, brushing her blond hair from her eyes. "Things are going to be different now, aren't they Aaric?"

I glanced my sister over. Within the span of a week, it seemed she had aged and matured significally. Maybe that's just what losing both your parents does to you.

"Yeah," I said, facing forward in my seat. "Things are going to be very different."

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And there's chapter one! I hope you guys read it all and liked it, even if you were just mildly interested. Sorry if you didn't like my choice in names for 17 and 18... I thought long and hard about names for them, and maybe it would be better if I had chosen Japanese-like names, but it is what it is. I wanted them with the same letter, and I just liked these names, and the way they were spelled... so hope you don't mind!

If you liked, then come for chapter two, which will hopefully be up soon! Thanks :3