Leo shifted back and forth on his feet, staring down at the floor. No more foster homes. That's what he had thought when he had been stuffed in this crummy orphanage. But now he was standing in the parlor while the man in the next room discussed his purchase. The man's daughter was sitting across the room from him. She looked uncomfortable. Her hair was choppy and brown. Her face was heart-shaped. Her skin was dark, and her eyes couldn't be described as one color. They seemed to change in the light. She wore an orange t-shirt and ripped jeans, and she was playing absentmindedly with a loose thread.
She's beautiful. Leo couldn't stop the thought from forcing its way into his brain. It worked its way around, until the words were on the edge of his tongue. He opened his mouth, but she looked over at him, and the look on her face was clear. I'm not beautiful. Say it, and you won't say anything again. She glared at him and dragged her finger across her throat. He pressed his lips tightly together and gulped. She was terrifying. The man walked in, holding papers tightly in his right hand.
"Piper, this is Leo. He's your brother now." the girl, Piper, rolled her eyes and stood up.
"Dad, I don't care."
"Pipes, I know you didn't want this to happen, but we talked about this! We have to make him feel welcome!" the girl blew some hair out of her face and turned away.
"Let's just go home. I want to see Jason." she walked out of the door, followed by Leo and his new father.
"Jason? Does Jason matter more than someone you'll live with?"
"Yes!"
"I totally feel the love." Leo muttered.
"Piper, you're making him feel unwelcome!"
"It might be - I don't know - all of your yelling!"
"Stop!" Leo was surprised at his outburst. Piper and her father were staring at him. He slid silently into the car. Piper got into the front seat, and their father sat in front of the wheel. He turned to look back at Leo.
"Sorry about that Leo. My name's Tristan McLean, and this little ray of sunshine is my daughter Piper."
"THE Tristan McLean?"
"The one and only." he smiled before turning back to the front seat and starting the car. The car ride was silent besides the low rumble of the engine. When the car stopped, Tristan opened the door for him.
"It's still child-locked from when Piper was a baby." Leo nodded and stepped out. "Don't you have any bags?"
"Nothing but myself." Leo resisted the urge to add "But I'm enough."
"Okay." he turned away. "Piper do NOT go into Jason's house you live here!"
"Um." Leo shifted from foot to foot.
"Leo, go ahead and let yourself in. Up the stairs, your room is the second one to the right on the third floor."
"Okay. Thanks." Leo ran into the unlocked house and up two flights of stairs, before flopping down on his new bed. It was across the room from a window. He opened it up and grabbed a notepad from the desk. He drew out a blueprint for a miniature dragon. After ten minutes drawing out the final design, he realized that the scratch of the pencil wasn't the only sound filling the room. He heard a beautiful female voice echoing around the block. She sang of heartache and pain. By the time the song was over, Leo was wiping his eyes. He looked down in time to see a beautiful girl with a long white dress, almond eyes and caramel hair looking up at him as she disappeared into the house next door. A voice yelled from inside.
"Calypso, what did I say about singing? No one wants to hear your voice!" A sickening sound of skin meeting skin filled the air, than soft sobs. The pounding of feet on stairs, then the girl was at the window across from him. He watched as she lay sobbing on her bed (which was right next to her window). When she sat up again, half of her face was bright red, and her eyes were puffed up. Leo watched as she closed the blinds and disappeared. He jumped at Piper's voice at the door.
"You like Calypso?" she didn't seem mad anymore. She sounded like someone who was ready to write for hours on end about different wedding scenes.
"Why do you want to know?" Leo stood of quickly and stuffed his notebook under his pillow. He hadn't even notices, but he had drawn Calypso smiling at him. It was horrible, but it gave him hope that she would smile like that, meant for him.
"You guys would be perfect together!" Piper squealed with excitement. "I have to tell Jason!"
"No!" Leo yelled. "Please don't!"
"You guys can't be together anyway. You're a McLean. Dad hates her dad, John. You might know him from Atlas Inc."
"Her dad is the owner of the biggest company in the world?"
"Yeah, and he hates her. He also hates my dad and his family, so you can't see Calypso."
"Like, date her?"
"No, you literally can't see her. It goes against the whole feud."
"What? But I'm not a McLean! I'm a Valdez!"
"You're still covered. Adoption is included."
"Seriously?"
"There's nothing I can do to change their minds. You can't do anything, either."
"Really? But I really need to see her again!"
"Like I said, there's nothing you can do."
"There's nothing I can't do."
"You're gonna get crushed."
"It's gonna take a lot more than Atlas to keep me from my sunshine."
"So cute! That's it! I'm telling Jason."
"Please don't!"
"Whatever. Anyway, please don't try to get past Atlas. I wouldn't want my brother squashed into a puddle on his first day in the family." and with that, she walked out of the room, leaving Leo alone with his thoughts.