(Chapter 2)

AN: Hey guys, happy 4th of July! Hopefully you're all having a great day. I'm writing this around 4:00 in the morning, just because for some strange reason I'm only motivated to write when I'm half asleep or tired out of my mind. I want to thank everyone who favorite/followed my story, you have no idea how much those helped me decide on whether or not to keep writing. Hopefully the fact that you added my story to your favs/follow means that this story isn't too bad. Enjoy!

Ever since Neah had first mentioned this other brother of his, I've spent the longest time trying to figure out what he could look like. Neah had mentioned that he was older than both Mana and him, so I imagined that he would be just as calm and mature as Mana was. Apparently Neah's brother wasn't actually related to him by blood. He was just a man that had taken care of Neah after him and Mana's parents died, and after the whole thing was over he had insisted that Neah call him "Brother" from then on. Along with all of the other small facts Neah had mentioned about his "Brother", he had also said that the man was a bit eccentric.

It's been three weeks since we moved, and we were pretty much all settled in. I still had a ton of boxes to unpack though, seeing as I've spent the last couple of weeks trying to convince Neah that I really didn't need to meet his brother and all of my cousins. Every one of my attempts failed, and here we were, standing in front of Neah's brother's humongous house (Mansion). I was already freaking out about meeting these "Cousins" of mine, especially seeing as most of them were about my age. It was about the fifth time I sighed when Neah finally spoke for the first time since we left the house.

"It's going to be fine Elena. They're a bit… strange and all but I'm more than sure they're all going to absolutely adore you"

I looked over at my uncle, my nerves receded a bit as he flashed me his easy going smile. I knew Neah wouldn't have brought me if he thought that they would reject me due to my arm, but the fear was still there. I learned a long time ago that while adults usually just see my arm and make a few rude and hurtful comments, teenagers and younger people usually react in a more violent way. While I have met a few nice kids my age, the majority of them see me as something that should be wiped away from this earth. I try not to mind them, but after a while it's hard to just let their comments slide without feeling a bit of hurt.

I chewed on my bottom lip as I picked at the bottom of my t-shirt. It was way too hot to wear long sleeves this time of year, and no matter how ashamed I was of my arm, I wasn't going to kill myself by wearing long sleeves on such extreme heat. I felt exposed in the thin t-shirt I wore, the light grey material making the smooth black skin of my arm stand out even more. My heart squeezed in my chest when Neah walked up to the door and rang the bell. I tensed up, eyes glued to the white framed door as I waited for someone to walk out and give me the usual looks of disgust and alarm. I almost stumbled backwards off of the stairs when a large man in a strangely colored suit came bursting out of the doors with a childish shout of joy.

"NEAH!"

I could only watch in astonishment as the large man crushed Neah to his chest and spun him around in a circle before releasing him just as abruptly as he had grabbed him. Neah sucked in a gasp of air as he struggled to regain his bearings, his hand blindly reaching out for the railing as he hunched over to catch his breath.

"A-Adam… holy- I thought I was going to die!"

The large man, Adam, chuckled in delight. I stayed on the opposite end of the front porch, debating whether or not I should just turn and run to the nearest bus stop. Adam was very strange looking, dressed as if he were an Earl back in the 19th century. His top hat added a good foot and a half to his height, the old fashioned hat adorned with a ribbon and some strange looking rubber flower. I backed away a bit as he continued to dote over Neah, and almost jumped out of my skin when he spun around with a flourish to face me.

"Ah! And you must be Elena"

I gave a hesitant nod, eyeing the strange man as he extended his hand for a hand shake. I hesitated, reluctantly giving his large hand a shake before retreating back to my side of the porch. He only laughed, grabbing my left arm without a care and pulling me into a bone crushing hug. I choked out a surprised squeak, my fingers digging into his upper arm as he swung me back and forth.

"You're so cute! It's no wonder Neah and Mana have kept you hidden for such a long time"

He released me with a joyful laugh, and I landed on the ground with a quiet "oomph". I rubbed my back as I stumbled to my feet, hesitantly meeting Adam's eyes as he patiently waited for me pick myself up. The instant I did, he whisked us inside with another slightly creepy laugh.

"Come in, come in! Everyone's waiting inside!"

#(0)#

"Neah and I have a lot of catching up to do my dear, why don't you go out back and meet your cousins? They've been eager to meet you"

I walked past another set of lavishly decorated rooms, internally cursing myself for not remembering Adam's instructions on how to get to the garden out back. The instant we had walked in, he whisked Neah off to some unknown part of the house and sent me to search for the garden on my own. While usually a person would be able to find the back yard without too much trouble, I was completely and utterly lost.

I tried to think of this as being a good thing, considering the fact that this meant I wouldn't have to meet my cousins. Then my thoughts drifted, and I found myself fearing that I may be lost among these enormous halls for the rest of my short life. Surely I'd die of hunger before anything else, this thought causing my stomach to let out a hungry growl. I clutched my stomach, regretting the fact that I hadn't eaten anything that morning. I had lost all hope when I turned another random corner, and looked up to see the sliding glass door that led to the back yard.

Eight people were mulling around outside, three of them were running around the large expanse of grass yelling something at each other. I hesitated to open the door, but when one of them noticed me and pointed me out to the others, I knew I had no choice but to go out there. I took a deep breath, pushing the door open before I could change my mind. I noticed that only three of the people out here looked to be around my age, and I couldn't help but breathe a small sigh of relief.

A tall man approached me, an easy going smile sliding onto his lips as he got close enough. He looked a lot like Neah, the only big difference between the two being the clear features that gave this man a slightly younger look. He was about to say something when a small ball of blues and purples tackled me to the ground.

"Awwww! She's soooo cute!"

I winced as I was pulled into another tight hug, sighing in relief when my attacker loosened their hold. The girl wasn't very tall, looking more like a middle school kid than anything else. Her short blue hair was adorned with a few ribbons, the colors matching her Goth Lolita styled dress. Her amber colored eyes were shining with delight, and I couldn't help the strange feeling of nostalgia that washed over me.

"Hello, I'm Rhode, Rhode Camelot"

Rhode helped me to my feet with a wide smile on her face, the expression reminding me of a young child. I couldn't help but smile back at the girl, barely registering the fact that she was holding my left hand. She dragged me over to the rest of the group, the tall man from before trailing behind. Road pointed to a pair of boys standing off to the side, naming off everyone as she pointed them all out to me"

"Those two are Jasdero and Devitto, the one with the blond hair is Lulubell. The big guy over there is Skinn, that's Sheryl and his wife. And, last but not least, this is Tyki"

They all said their greetings, Skinn offering me a sucker before retreating to his own little corner of the yard. Lulubell simply gave me a once over before getting up and walking back inside without a word. Sheryl was just as exuberant as Road, going on about how I was just "So adorable". The twins messed with me for a while, eventually getting bored and running off to most likely cause some kind of mischief. Tyki and Road stayed out in the garden with me for a while, and I found myself liking the two of them more and more as we chatted. Not a single one of them had mentioned my arm, and for the first time in months I felt myself relaxing around someone other than Mana and Neah. Hopefully this time it lasts.

AN: Sorry this chapter wasn't all that exciting. I just wanted to get this part out of the way before going more into Elena's dreams and all of that. See you soon!

-QuietRose-13.