Thicker Than Water

.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

.

.

.

Chapter I

A twenty-year-old stood at the kitchen island, putting the last sandwich in one of the brown bags that was on the island. Her extremely wavy, black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was wearing a pair of tight fitting yoga pants and a tank top. From a distance, Talia O'Malley could pass for her mother's doppelganger. Though when someone looked closely, she didn't quite look identical. She had her father's round eyes that were dark brown. She was slender, with a small frame and was a little over two inches taller than her mother's five foot six.

"Talia!" a voice called from the top of the basement steps. Spinning around, Talia saw it was her fifteen year old brother, Joshua. His black hair brushed against the tops of his ears and was parted on the left, though it was under the beret. His white dress shirt was buttoned except for the top button, and she could see his football jersey peaking out from underneath the shirt, and a pocket square was in the outside pocket of his blazer. His red tie was slightly off kilter. "Luke is not wearing the school uniform.

"Thank you, Josh." She knew her ten year old brother would rather wear anything else than the school uniform that was strictly enforced. There were times that even her sisters grumbled a little, especially thirteen-year-old Miriam. The budding fashion designer in the family, she couldn't stand wearing something that made her blend into the crowd instead of the clothes that she made herself from fabric bought at the nearby thrift store. She even made most of her siblings clothing that wasn't school uniforms

As she headed towards the basement steps, she thought about the clothes that Miriam had made for her. Since the teenager knew that Talia loved clothing that wouldn't look out of place in the fantasy novels Talia read, she made Talia corset tops with short sleeves made from lace that lace completely up the chest and bohemian style skirts that, like the tops, were in earth tones. She even was currently working on making her older sister a couple of fancy cloaks to wear and had plans on making her a winter one as it got towards winter.

"I am not wearing that stupid uniform!" She knew that her curly haired brother hated the uniform that he and his siblings had to wear to the private school they attended on scholarship and would rather wear a pair of jeans and the t-shirt Miriam had made him. Talia also knew that the school was extremely strict about the uniforms and if he failed to arrive in the uniform, he would be sent home.P

"You know the rules, buddy," Talia said as she walked down the stairs, passing Miriam on the way. "Miriam, don't forget to put your hair in a neat bun."

"Yeah, I know." Miriam hated the uniform just as much as Luke did, but always seemed to try getting away with her black hair loose instead of the neat bun that was required if hair was longer than the shoulders. "And shouldn't we be leaving soon? I do have to give my choice for topics for history class, and I'm still stuck on what to do my project on."

"Mom would have wanted you to pick something from the Persian or Israeli side of the family," Talia said, knowing that Miriam had write a diary from the perspective of someone whom lived through an event in the culture of one of their ancestors came from. "But I think that project would probably work better if you did it on the Great Famine. It's up to you though, Mira. Now can you go help Tessa get Arielle ready?"

"Thanks, Ali."

Talia turned to her Luke, whom was standing by the bookshelf in the family room, pouting. "Go change, Luke. And make certain that you wear the tie."

Luke glared at her but turned to head back to his room as she remembered Luke's twin sister, Ruth had an audition that afternoon for a community theatre production of Ruth's favorite musical. The ten year old redhead was really looking forward to the audition, and was even hoping that she would be cast in the production.

She remembered that her thirteen-year-old sister, Esther had been too quiet at breakfast that day, but she knew she wouldn't be able to talk to her in the chaos of getting everyone ready for the day. Though Tessa hadn't said what was going through her mind, Talia had a hunch about why she would barely talk to any of her siblings at breakfast. There was a science and math magnet high school opening up the next school year and Tessa probably just too nervous to tell her siblings that she really wanted to apply to attend school there. When the kids got home from school, she knew that she was going to have talk with Esther, if only to give her the confidence to talk to their grandmother about it.

"Hey, Ali," Josh said, as they began to make their way back up to the main floor, "Is Ethan coming over tonight?"

Talia closed her eyes. She wanted Ethan Saunders to come over when he was done with his shift at the coffee shop that he worked at since it was his birthday and she wanted him to spend the evening with her, but she knew that if he did come over, he would be helping Talia check over her siblings' math homework until it was time to send the younger of her siblings to bed. He didn't mind spending time with Talia's siblings, but she knew that he wanted time with her as well. "Yeah, he's going to be coming over as well. If you do well on that trig test you took on Friday, I'll have Ethan make up a batch of those pancakes you like so much."

"You want me to keep an eye on the others tonight?" Josh asked, a worried expression on his face, "So you can talk to Ethan? I heard it in your voice at breakfast, Ali. And I don't think it's just about Mom and Dad."

"Yes," she managed to squeak. Sometimes she hated that Josh was more perceptive that she gave him credit for, and this was one of those times. Yes, it still seemed as her parents had just been killed in a car accident sometimes, especially when it was a time when she felt like she needed to go to her mother for some advice. Especially when it came to her relationship with Ethan, she didn't always feel comfortable talking to her grandmother. And she certainly didn't feel right talking to her brother.

After taking a deep breath, she turned towards the bedrooms. "Luke, we're leaving in ten minutes. Be sure you're in the kitchen."

Fifteen minutes later, Talia and her siblings were heading down the street that led towards the academy. Six-year-old Micah and seven-year-old Hannah were running ahead of Talia, jumping through the puddles left over by the rainstorm the night before, while the Miriam, Esther and eleven-year-old Naomi were chatting about classes. Josh was trying keep Luke from annoying Micah by enlisting him to help Ruth run lines for the audition.

Suddenly, she slowed down to let Josh catch up to her. Talia didn't know why, but she just had a weird feeling. Perhaps it was the magic that was running through her veins, or maybe it it was that she was picking up on something that she wasn't realizing that she was picking up on. She couldn't explain it, but she also had the crazy feeling that it had to do with her parents' deaths.

Author's Note: I am only accepting four characters for the main team. The form is on my profile. Absolutely no submissions via review will be accepted.