Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise. There are numerous pop-culture references throughout this fic that I also make no claim on. Everything belongs to its respective owners, and this writing is not for profit. (In fact, considering the toll it takes on the time I should be spending looking for a job, it's probably costing me money).

— prologue —

After the door swung open, there was a tense moment of silence, during which the young blonde stared at her brother. His back was tense—the way that it used to coil when he was about to throw one of his tantrums—but his fists were clenched at his side—the way that they used to clench when someone would bully her and he would come to her rescue. She knew him well enough to know that the combination was dangerous, and he was nearing a point that shouldn't be taken lightly.

She closed the door softly behind her. "Nik?" she called quietly to him, hoping that she wouldn't startle him. "Are you alright?"

She didn't take him by surprise, but she watched his shoulder's tense at her voice. He had heard her enter when the door had creaked open, but he'd been happy to stay inside his head for the few extra minutes. But she was his sister and she would understand. In fact, she was probably the only other woman he could talk to about this.

"I'm done." His hoarse voice cut through the silence. "With him—with this company—with everything. I'm not going to take this anymore."

Rebekah nodded her head, moving around the room so that she could see his face. The tux he wore was barely even wrinkled, the wrong attire for a man who was so angry with the world. Well, no. Not with the world.

With his family.

"Nick, maybe you should think about this... sit down?"

He shrugged off her words like she'd touched him and took a solid step back. "No." He said, so suddenly she jumped a little. She wasn't scared of him. She'd never been scared of him. But she knew what he was capable of, and she didn't want him to break anything or shout too loudly. Nothing that would embarrass their parents in front of their guests.

"Not this time, Bekah. He's fucked with me my entire life—and I could deal with it when it was just Tatia. I could even deal with him setting back the Hybrid Project."

He lifted his gaze to meet his sister's, and she was surprised to see the amount of pure fury within his heavy stare. "But this is Caroline, Bekah. And if he even thinks about going near her, I'll kill him."

.

update (25 March 2013): admittedly, not much changed narration-wise in this chapter. BUT JUST YOU WAIT TIL YOU SEE THE CHANGES IN THE NEXT ONE. I will not let you down, young padawans. Review and let me know what you think? (I know I don't deserve it but come oooon, loveee meee)

[For updates on this story I'll be tagging all news about it on tumblr under: everylittlething,and if you just want to get to know me better, follow me on tumblr! It's afinalconcertinmunich and despite the pretty prevalent Jesse Eisenberg theme, it's a multi-fandom blog without much (read: any) structure at all.]