Summary: The Elmore children are supposed to spend New Year's Eve with their grandmother on a ball, something they don't really want. But they end up with a surprise; a pleasant one!
HAPPY LATE NEW YEAR
"Why did you agree to go to that New Year's Ball?" Kyle whined to his grandmother. She was sitting with a man in a suit, probably some sort of businessman, talking about a donation she wanted to make.
"I am sorry Kyle, but I am a little busy right now," The elderly woman said with a sigh. Ever since she had told the children about it, their mood had sifted; and not for the better. Marie, Van and Shao, being themselves, didn't complain. Frederica and Kyle on the other hand hadn't stopped bugging her.
"Don't worry grandmother, I'll get him out of here," Shao entered the room and pulled his 'brother' by the ear "Come on, you'll have plenty of time to complain later," Shao ignored Kyle's protest and continued dragging him out of the office.
"Why did you do that?" Asked the teen in irritation when Shao finally let go of his ear "It's not like you disagree with me!"
"No, I don't," Shao admitted. Kyle let out a triumphant grin and placed his arm around him.
"Then let's go and convince granny to reconsider!" He said and lead him forward. He didn't go far though, since Shao elbowed him. The Brazilian boy fell on his knees, groaning in pain.
"She can't just say 'Hey, I decided I don't really want to come, so bye!' It doesn't work like that," He said and helped Kyle up again "I am going to find Fu to prevent her from following your example. And you are definitely coming with me; there's no way I am leaving you alone!"
"Ok, whatever," Kyle said and the two boys went upstairs in search for their sibling. It didn't take them long to find her though. She was laying on her bed, playing with a petit flame on her palms. Marie was also there, sitting cross-legged next to her.
"Hi," She said smiling. Frederica didn't say anything, neither did she turn to show she acknowledged their presence. Shao raised his eyebrows, clearly not expecting his 'sister' to sit idle and do nothing.
"Hi there Marie, Fu!" Kyle said cheerfully with his hands behind his head, his usual grin in place. A simple smile from Marie always managed to lift his spirits "What are you two up to?" He asked, looking at the pyromaniac blonde.
"I could ask the same thing," She said without even looking at them "Why are you in my room? I don't remember giving you permission," Kyle's grin turned into a frown. The same way Marie cheered him up, Frederica could make him lose his cool.
"Since when do I need permission to come see my sister?" He asked irritated. Frederica looked at him with a bored expression before turned back to her flame "Even if I had asked for your permission, you would have ignored me!" He told her, a bit loudly. Frederica's flame suddenly grew, causing the three occupants of the room to back away.
"Careful with your tone Kyle! I am not in the mood for that right now," She said and Kyle nodded quickly. He wasn't really afraid of her since he knew he could beat her in a battle, but an angered Frederica was bound not to end well.
"Calm down Fu-Chan, you are not the only one who doesn't want to welcome the new year on a ball," Said Marie.
"I know," Frederica said and extinguished the flame "If it was up to me, we would celebrate by having a dinner in the grand hall, with servants all around".
"What? Are you crazy?" Kyle asked in disbelief. Frederica's brow twitched, causing Kyle to fall back from her again "I.. I meant that I wouldn't like that, not that it's not good or anything".
"Then how would you celebrate it?" She asked him while crossing her arms.
"That's easy," Kyle said, his grin returning "I would have gotten everyone to come here and throw a huge party!" Said the Brazilian boy.
"I would have liked just to be together," Marie said slowly and everyone looked at her in surprise, causing her to blush "I mean, I don't really care where we are, as long as we were together".
"That's just like you Marie," Shao said smiling "But weren't you against going to ball? We'll be together there anyway".
"But we'll be sitting away from granny. We'll be with the other kids," The redhead said.
"That's true, but we'd still be..." Shao was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"What is it?" Asked Frederica with a bored tone.
"I am sorry to interrupt miss Frederica, but your grandmother wants you to get ready, you will be leaving in an hour," Came the voice of one of the servants.
"What?!" Kyle half-asked , half-shouted "But it's still six o'clock!"
"Thank you, we'll be down by then," Shao said and the servant's footsteps echoed.
"Are we really going to the ball that soon?" Asked a confused Marie "The trip's around half an hour. We'll be there by 19:30, what are we going to do for four hours?"
"Nothing?" Mock-asked Kyle, with his hands open in front of him in frustration "This New Year's Eve is getting worse by the minute!"
"Whatever," Frederica said and got up "What are you still doing here?" She asked them angrily "I don't have much time to get ready, leave before I force you out".
Forty-Five minutes later, Kyle, Shao and Van, who was ready hours ago, were standing outside Frederica and Marie's rooms, waiting for the girls to come out. Van was wearing the exact same outfit he usually did. Kyle was wearing black trousers, with a long sleeved white shirt and a grey leather jacket, which he kept unzipped. Thankfully, he wasn't forced to wear formal shoes, so he kept his boots, underneath the trousers of course, as long as he polished them. Shao wasn't changed much, just swapped the color of his trousers into deep blue and his training shoes with black ones.
"Seriously you two, how much more do you need?" Kyle yelled in frustration, earning him a just as loud yell from Frederica. Kyle sighed and started pacing the room. He never liked standing still, so the mare thought of having to sit on a chair for so long was enough to increase his speed.
"Kyle slow down, you are about to start using Rise," Shao shook his head "I am sure they'll be out any time now," And as if on cue, the door opened and the girls came out.
Marie was holding her white coat in her hands in front of her in embarrassment. She was wearing a red skirt that reached her knees and a light blue sleeveless shirt on top. Her legs up to the knees were covered by a pair of black socks, which went quite nicely with her deep brown boots.
What really surprised the boys though, was Frederica's appearance. She was wearing a black mini skirt which ended in a yellow stripe, along with a long-sleeved red V-neck blouse. She was already wearing her black leather jacket. A pair of black knee-length boots completed her outfit.
"Fu, not that you don't look great," Kyle said, forcing his eyes to stay on her face while trying not to blush "But I don't really want granny to have another heart attack," Apparently, his reaction was funny, because Frederica laughed.
"Relax Kyle, she will be surprised, but she won't say anything. I am 14 now, I am supposed to be a bit rebellious," She said and winked at him. The blush that Kyle was trying to suppress finally appeared on his cheeks.
"Ok, who are you and what have you done to Frederica?" Kyle asked mockingly. Shao and Marie looked from one to the other, before looking at each other and shrugging.
"You can keep chatting if you want, but it's almost Seven, so Marie and I will follow Van's league and head out," Shao said and turned around, walking towards the hall of the mansion. Marie laughed lightly before following him. Frederica and Kyle looked at each other before hurrying after them.
"We're ready!" Kyle yelled as soon as they reached the hall. There was no response and the five Elmore children stood in silence for a moment "Weren't we supposed to be leaving at seven?"
"Don't tell me that idiot of a servant tricked us," Frederica said. Kyle and Marie looked at her and seemed to consider the same thing. They couldn't really remember who that servant was, so he could probably be laughing at them right now. Shao on the other hand moved towards the guest's hall.
"Why don't we just go find grandma?" He suggested and they all made their way to the guest's hall.
"Oh, there they are," Elmore said as soon as they entered the room "I wandering where you were".
"Why aren't you ready granny?" Marie asked when she saw her sitting with her work clothes "We're supposed to be leaving".
"I have quite the time to get ready. I am not leaving till nine or so," She said, causing Frederica and Kyle to tilt their heads.
"That bastard really tricked us then!" Frederica said and her hair started smoking "You're leaving at seven? When I get my hands on him he'll be sorry!"
"He didn't trick you," Elmore said and they looked at her with questioned looks "You are leaving now, I am leaving later".
"What? Why are we going to the ball before you?" Kyle asked, his eyes as wide as tennis ball. Why were they going ahead of her?
"What? Why are you going to a ball in the first place?" A voice said, causing all five to look on the right in surprise "I thought I asked you to let them spend New Year's Eve with me".
"Ageha!" Kyle cheered and hugged his named brother.
"Wow Kyle, I swear next time I see you, you'll be taller than me!" Ageha said, ruffling his hair "Anyway, what's this about going to a ball?" Ageha asked Elmore.
"Beats me. I am going to a ball, but I can't think of a reason they would want to come," She said and all five blinked.
"Wait a minute," Started Frederica "I thought we were all going to the ball together".
"No, I told you there's a New Year's Eve ball. I had actually promised Ageha to take you out today," Said Elmore.
"Really?!" Asked Marie and Kyle at the same time "Let's go everyone," Said Kyle as he charged out of the door "Where are we going?"
"That's a surprise!" Ageha grinned at him.
The amusement park was full of people of all ages. Parents with their kids, teenagers daring each other to try the most extreme games and couples walking hand in hand, most girls with a teddy bear at hand. For a company of five young teenagers though, it was quite the sight. Four out of the five Tenjuin siblings had never before been in an amusement park, so they were running around in excitement and staring everything.
"Guess it was a good call to bring you guys here," Ageha said smiling. It was weird to see Van, who was still silent most of the time, even though he had opened up a bit and was talking to those close to him, run around happily.
"You're awesome Ageha!" Kyle said and hugged him one more time "I've never imagined amusement parks were like that! I knew they were big, but this is huge!"
"And to think you haven't tried anything yet," Said Ageha and walked towards a rollercoaster "Hey guys, what do you say about this?"
"I am in!" Shouted Kyle and went in line. Shao thought about it for a while before following him.
"Hey you jerks, wait for me!" Frederica yelled and joined the other two. Ageha couldn't help laughing.
"They sure are lively today," Ageha said and looked at Van and Marie, who stood next to him "What's up you too?" He asked them.
"I don't want to be left back, but that seems dangerous," She said and Ageha grinned.
"Then how about we go try some less dangerous game?" He asked and she smiled "What about you Van?"
"Yeah..." Said the boy and the three headed towards a game where Ageha was sure they would not scream for more than half the ride.
"That was simply awesome!" Kyle said as the six of them were eating hot dogs at the shop outside the amusement park.
"It was good," Frederica said. Ageha almost laughed at her attempt to sound passive. She was the one screaming in delight at most games. He wasn't going to tease her though; he could imagine the scene it would cause '14 years old girl is set on fire by unknown cause, almost burning a shop down'
"Thank you Ageha-San," Marie said and Ageha smiled, patting her lightly on the head.
"Thank you Marie, and you guys," He said, looking at the four Tenjuin siblings "I hadn't had that much fun in quite a while".
"Why did you do it anyway?" Asked Frederica slowly, head down, looking at her feet "I mean, you could spend today with Amamiya or your sister, yet here you are with us".
"Amamiya went with her parents to Europe. She asked me to go with her, but I needed some time with my family, so I stayed back," He said.
"Are your father and sister well?" Asked Shao, realizing none of them asked.
"They are fine, went to see an uncle of mine. I wasn't really in favor of going so I stayed back".
"Ironic ha?" Asked Frederica. At Ageha's confused glance, she explained "You stayed behind to spend time with them and they left you".
"What are you talking about?" He asked, even more confused "I never said I needed time with my father and sister. I haven't spent time with you five since last month," His answer caused Frederica to blink, Kyle to grin, Shao to smile and Marie to blush.
"You are an idiot," Frederica said after a moment of silence. Ageha grinned and ruffled her hair, much to her dismay. Inside though she was happy. It took her a while, but she found she liked Ageha. Without her realizing, he had penetrated her defenses and found a place among her family.
"I love you guys," He suddenly said "One day, I'll tell you the whole truth about Psyren. I won't leave anything out".
"We're here early," Said Marie as soon as the six entered the mansion "It seems most of the servants have left to home for the change of the year".
"Let's wait for the new year next to the fireplace," Ageha suggested and they sat on the couch opposite of the empty fireplace "Would you do the honors Frederica?" Ageha asked and she rolled her eyes before creating a flame and lighting the fireplace.
"Half an hour till 12 o'clock," Shao said, looking at the watch on the wall. Ageha stretched and slid down the couch lazily. Kyle grinned and sat next to him, passing his arm around Ageha's shoulder. Marie blushed lightly before coming closer to Ageha's other side.
"Hey, what the...AAAA?!" Frederica asked in surprise as Kyle caught her wrist the moment she passed by him and pulled her down on his lap, hugging her with his other arm.
"Come on Fu, group hug!" Kyle cheered and Frederica sighed. Van sat in front of Ageha, laying on the couch and Shao sat next to Marie. That precise moment, Ageha smiled mischievously and extended his arm, pulling Shao closer to Marie, to the surprise of both.
"I wonder how we managed to fit six people on a two-sit couch," Ageha said and closed his eyes "In fifteen minutes we'll start the countdown, someone wake me up".
"Me too," Said Marie, letting her head rest on Shao's shoulder, causing the boy to blush.
The countdown started fifteen minutes later. The clock on wall showed 12 o'clock and it passed, but no one in the room said anything. All six occupants fell asleep before the countdown even started and they missed the coming of the new year. In fact, the missed the celebrations and the whole New Year's Eve. Elmore entered the mansion around 1:30 and was surprised at the sight.
"Happy New Year children," She said with a smile and left to sleep.
THE END
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
I hope you understand why I gave the story this title ;)