Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
I've been drawing lately and I've been trying to continue the HetaOni FanFic that I left before the midterms began. My 'boss' has been waiting for it for like…2-3 weeks already? OH NO. xD
Chapter 4? Here you go~!
Chapter IV
Time check: 4:33 PM.
Alice and Samantha were praying that they managed to arrive home first. Well, they always do but since three minutes have already passed from their time limit, they had this bad feeling that she managed to arrive home first.
Alice gathered up all the courage inside her and opened the main door.
No one seemed to be home…but they can't be confident—yet. It's just the hallway that's empty (that's what they can see at the moment). Samantha held her sister's hand tightly "Do you think…she's still getting herself drunk?" Samantha asked in a whisper. Alice simply shrugged. 'She's probably in her room, halfway from being sloshed…' Alice thought as they walked as quietly as possible. They walked upstairs as fast and as quiet as possible. When they have reached the second floor, they heard one of the doors open slowly. The first thing that they smelled: liquor.
'Knew it. She went home a little bit earlier than usual…'Alice thought as she faced Sam and told her to go to her own room before she catches the two of them. Samantha no longer asked anything or protested (since they have been doing this for a very long time already). When Alice heard the door of Samantha's room lock, she was already relieved—
"Oh? You're home late, dear."
Alice didn't say a word or two as she met her stepmother's cold gaze. Those dark green eyes always looked at Alice with so much hatred—and disgust. It took the two of them a few minutes of exchanging glares at each other before Cordelia spoke up "So, I think you already know what you are supposed to do today, right?" she managed to ask straightly despite the amount of liquor she has drunk. Alice sensed that her stepmother's in a very good mood. 'I think she got another great deal of money from Dad. Great.' Alice said to herself in a very dull voice. If Cordelia hated her so much because of her own reasons, Alice hated Cordelia (and her children) because of her own reasons as well…and one of those reasons is the (obvious) fact that Cordelia's taking advantage of Alice's father.
"I'm expecting dinner to be prepared by 6 PM. Sharp. Don't you dare disturb me, understand? Now, get lost." Cordelia shooed Alice away and returned to her own room. She even locked it so that she could fully enjoy the privacy. Alice couldn't stop herself from asking (over and over again) why her dad married a slut. Okay, one can say that Cordelia's beautiful—thanks to her wavy mocha brown hair that's always in a high bun, her emerald green eyes, her naturally pink lips and her fair skin—but she's only beautiful outside or physically…
…but when you look at the inside, it totally reeks.
Alice went to her room first to drop off her bag. As she went downstairs, she tried to think of what to cook for dinner. Since Cordelia's only daughter can't even crack an egg open properly and Cordelia herself can't use a kitchen knife without getting herself cut (sometimes, Alice wondered whether she was doing it on purpose or not), she's the one who was tasked to cook. For the first two years of being in the family, Cordelia and her children had to suffer by eating whatever Alice served every day. Alice was just…around eight years old during that time. There were times that she was cooking terribly on purpose, probably to make Cordelia regret assigning her to cook. As the years passed, her cooking skills improved really well. So, whenever she cooks terribly, Cordelia immediately says that she did that on purpose—which is true, of course.
"Is there even something inside this house that can be cooked?" Alice asked as she entered the kitchen and found the cupboards empty. 'Nice. Now, I have to buy ingredients at the nearest grocery store there is. Otherwise, I might end up making Cordelia have a mad drive until 2 in the morning.' Alice cussed internally after telling herself what to do. She checked the time and only managed to cuss—again.
It's already 4:45 PM.
"Ugh! Blast it!" Alice went upstairs as fast as she could to get her purse.
"I'm already starving to death, Maggie." Kumaddie said with a low voice as Meghan and Alfred entered the house. Meghan carried the polar bear and nuzzled its nose "Hi there. I'll get you some food, okay?" Meghan told to the polar bear with a faint smile. The latter simply rolled its eyes and groaned.
"Do we still have some fish in the fridge, Alfred?" it seemed stupid to ask Alfred this certain question (since he doesn't even eat fish) but she did not care anymore. "Your stupid polar bear finished up the last one last night!" Alfred shouted as he went upstairs. Kumamitchie glared at Alfred and murmured something like shut your fat ass, jerk.
"Oh great. Then it means I'll have to buy you some fish, hmm? Are you willing to wait?" Meghan asked. Kuma nodded wearily "Sure, sure. Just make it quick, will you? Go, now!" and with that, Meghan left the house to buy fish for Kumamimi.
Time check: 5:01 PM
'It's really hard to think of something good to cook without spending so much money on the ingredients…'
"With all the money that Cordelia have right now, she could have a feast prepared for tonight…" Alice mumbled as she passed by the 'vegetables' section of the supermarket. She still had no idea on what to cook for tonight.
"She should really learn how to coo—" Alice suddenly bumped someone, cutting her chain of thoughts. When she was about to apologize to the person she bumped, she met the girl's purple eyes and recognized her immediately.
"M-Meghan? I-I'm sorry!" Alice stammered but Meghan clasped her hand on the latter's shoulder "Alice, right?" her soft voice was still audible for Alice to hear despite the noise in the grocery store due to people doing a quick shopping spree for their dinner. Alice noticed that Meghan's basket was full of…fish, fish and fish. Meghan glanced at her basket and laughed nervously "O-Oh? These? It's for my pet, you see…" Meghan defended. Alice nodded slowly, half-convinced with Meghan's explanation. Meghan slowly tilted her head and blinked as she looked at Alice's empty basket.
"Having trouble, I suppose?" Meghan asked. Alice slightly blushed in embarrassment. Meghan simply smiled and asked "Why don't you just buy something…that can be prepared in a short amount of time?" Alice sighed wearily "My…'mother' would not be pleased with…that." Alice quoted the word mother with a hint of sarcasm.
"So…how much time do you have left to make the type of dinner that would satisfy your…um…'mother'?" she quoted the word mother with slight awkwardness. Just when Alice was about to glance at her watch, she realized that she was not wearing one.
"5:11 PM. He's probably on the phone right now, ordering pizza…" Alice guessed that Meghan was talking about Alfred. Then, Alice facepalmed as she felt more pressured with what to cook. "Uh…if your…'mother' wants to eat something…hmm…something above average," Meghan paused for a while as if trying to search for the right words to say "just make something simple but looks fancy and appetizing."
'Of course! Since Cordelia's sloshed right now, she might not be able to leave her sanctuary—which means that she might end up missing dinner (for good)!' Alice thought and shook Meghan's smooth white hands "Thank you! Thank you very much, Meghan!" Meghan nodded slowly "D-Did I…really help you that much, Alice?" Meghan asked hesitantly. Alice let go of Meghan's hands and nodded "Yes, you did."
Time check: 5:33 PM
"Alice…are we going to eat already?" Samantha asked as she entered the kitchen. She could smell the food being cooked, making her hungrier. Alice glanced at her little sister and a small smile slowly curved her lips "Almost done. Hey," Alice stopped chopping the lettuce and met her sister's gaze "help me with this—"
"Sure! I'd love to!" Samantha jumped with excitement as she went closer to her sister. "Am I going to ch—"Alice placed the kitchen knife beside the chopping board and faced her little sister "No. You can't chop yet." Samantha looked down, making Alice a little guilty. "I don't think they would love to see chopped fingers in their food later, right?" Alice asked, trying to sound normal instead of being sarcastic.
"So, what am I supposed to do, then?" Samantha asked without looking at her sister. "You'll get the best part of the task…" Alice gently lifted up her sister's chin "you'll be the one to make tonight's food look really great."
"Really? I'll be the one to…like…design the food or something like that?" Samantha sounded happy again, making the guilt leave Alice. "Exactly. Now," Alice placed small bowls of chopped vegetables on the table. Samantha helped her prepare the plates and all the other eating utensils. Next, Alice turned off the stove and—
"Don't tell me that it's—"
"Nothing's wrong with this, right? Besides, I think they should learn to eat something else…" Alice protested as she placed the finished dish on the table so that Sam could start adding the vegetables for design.
"Shrimp omelet…?" Samantha slowly tilted her head as she looked at the dish. She has to decorate four shrimp omelets. "Well, what else can I buy? Our father has not been giving me money to buy ingredients for this house so I used my savings—"
"You did no use all of it—"
"This was an emergency, okay? Besides, would you want Cordelia to have another mad drive?" Alice snapped.
"Oh—that one hell of a mad drive that lasted for like…eight hours? Of course not!" Samantha shook her head as she remembered how their stepmother kept on sobbing and shouting hilarious and disturbing things. Plus, she kept on barking orders.
"Now that you understand the situation, can you start decorating now?" Alice asked as she placed the bowl of chopped lettuce on the table. Samantha nodded and began decorating.
Time check: 6:01 PM
"We've reached our deadline. Well, we actually finished two minutes ago but let's take this opportunity to rest…" Samantha wiped her forehead with the back of her right hand. She was proud of her decorating skills, alright. Now, the four shrimp omelets look like big green flowers.
"So, let us pray for all the shrimps that had to die to be their food for tonight…" Alice said sarcastically as she looked at the dinner table. Shrimp omelet plus shrimp fried rice? Oh well…how many shrimps had to die for them?
"Do you think they'll eat seafood?" Samantha asked.
"It's either they eat or they starve themselves to death." Alice said, her arms crossed over her chest. Finally, they heard the doors from upstairs open. Alice closed the kitchen doors. Samantha stood up from her seat and hid behind Alice.
"The food's already prepared, hmm?" Alice tried not to frown as she heard Cordelia's voice from the living room. The Kirkland sisters were able to exchange glances before their stepmother entered the dining room. The two were hoping that Cordelia won't bother entering the kitchen. After a few seconds, they heard their other non-biological siblings enter the dining room as well.
"I think we can eat our dinner in peace now, Sam…" Alice patted her sister's head as she glanced at the two omelets left on the small wooden table near the stove. The two stoves weren't decorated since they were the only ones who'll eat it in the first place. Sam took her plate of omelet first.
"Gee, I can get used to this…" Sam muttered with sarcasm.
"Sam, just eat." Alice said wearily as she took her own plate. The two sat on the floor in chorus and began eating.
"So you knew that father won't go home again?" Samantha asked after chewing her first bite of shrimp omelet. "He'll just be home late…and he always eats outside. It's really rare to see him home early nowadays…" Samantha added. Alice remained silent. "The 'sibling rationing' in this house is so unfair. It's 2:3…Plus, two of them are guys…" Samantha didn't seem to make any sense, changing the topic easily. Alice looked at her sister "Well, what can we do? He has not been home for…ten years, I guess…" Alice placed her plate beside her and embraced her knees. "Maybe if he was here, he wouldn't let this happen to us…" Samantha whispered. Alice closed her eyes for a few seconds "Either that or he'll simply let them be arseholes." She slowly opened her eyes as she reflected on what her sister said. Would he even care if he saw what their current state is? Knowing him, he'll just let his overflowing sarcasm and natural criticism to do the job.
"How old was I when he…disappeared?" Samantha asked.
"I think you were only two years old." Alice said as she picked up her plate and continued eating. She really didn't feel comfortable whenever he's the one being talked about. The pain was still there, of course. Plus, the fact that their father seemed to have moved on already only made it worse.
"Do you think that he's already dead—"
"No. My twin can't die that easily. He can't be dead." Alice said icily, trying to deny that even she's thinking about her brother's current state. She couldn't help but ask herself whether he's still alive or otherwise.
"He promised…"
"Any news from him, Lukas?"
As orange met dull blue, silence decided to pass by for a few seconds.
"No. He has been silent for the past five years."
The troll beside the man named Lukas yawned at the corner of the room. Again, silence decided to pass by.
"But, he's still…there, right?"
"The fairies said that he was still there. Nothing unusual yet, I suppose."
"T-That's enough for me."
"Can you still keep it up—"
"Of course, I can!" she said but Lukas wasn't convinced—at all.
"You're really serious about this, huh." the man said in an almost inaudible voice.
"A promise is a promise. An oath, to be exact."
Time check: 9:46 PM
"Alice, dear…come here." Cordelia shouted from her room. Alice left her current chore and went upstairs. Alice knocked on the door first. "Go in," Cordelia said. Alice entered the room and closed the door behind her. The smell of rum filled the air inside Cordelia's room. "Do you need anything?" Alice asked stoically. Cordelia placed the glass or rum on the round table in front of her. Alice had a feeling that Cordelia will have a mad drive anytime soon—since 'Late Night Madness' has started 46 minutes ago.
"Alice, can't you just vanish like how your brother did?" Cordelia finally spoke.
"Excuse me." Alice almost asked in monotone. Here comes the mad drive…she thought to herself internally.
"Just get out of our life already. You and your little sister."
"Sorry but we can't do that." Alice said. With that, she met the cold gaze of her stepmother. "And may I ask why you can't do that?" she asked. "It's simply because Samantha and I are the legal ones inside this house. You and your children were the ones who inserted your arses here." Alice answered tauntingly.
A few heartbeats of silence.
"Since when did you learn to answer back like that, you little bitch?" Cordelia stood up from her bed and faced Alice. "Since when did you even care, mother?" Alice emphasized the word mother. The two exchanged death glares, making the whole atmosphere change.
Before Cordelia was able to throw the glass of rum to Alice, someone knocked on the door. Alice immediately moved aside after opening the door for the person who knocked.
"Oh dear. You're home early, Henry." Cordelia greeted the tall blonde man with the same (fake) smile she always wears whenever her husband's around. Alice remained stoic; hoping that her father did not hear whatever she said…or better, he did not hear anything.
"I did not have that much work today." the man answered wearily. He glanced at Alice then nodded slowly "I was just checking on you two. Having a short bonding, I suppose?" he asks with a weary smile.
"Yes, dear. Your daughter," Cordelia wrinkled her nose "seems to be bashful. Too bashful." Alice no longer said anything in order to prevent screwing things up for tonight. Let the arseholes be arseholes.
"You can't expect my daughter to drink rum with you—yet." Henry emphasized the word yet with a grin. Cordelia chuckled as she sat on her bed, nodding "You're right, dear. Now, why don't you just rest?" Cordelia picked up her glass of rum and drank. Henry nodded as he bade farewell and closed the door. After the thud, Cordelia smirked.
"You seem to be lucky, little bitch. Get the fuck out of my room now before I end up throwing knives at you." Cordelia said with a taunting smile. Alice rolled her eyes and muttered "Coward…" as she left the room and closed the door behind her.
A list of…character identities (?) :
Lukas= Norway
Cordelia and Henry= OCs… (Cordelia's such a…grr…)
Sorry for the late update. I had to be out the whole day because we did a project…somewhere over the rainbow. Got home really, really late. 11 PM, to be exact.
*****Please pray for my Aneue…she's being killed by her parents (in social aspects)…and I—we—feel guilty about it. We're hoping that she's just okay…the same goes for my two other friends…||fingers crossed||*****
#OnceARetardAlwaysARetard
Please leave a review if you can…I really appreciate it—no matter if it's already…nasty, I guess? Well, a review is a review, right?
