ELLERSHOUSE
Chapter Seven:
QUATRE
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Quatre awoke the next morning to the sounds of the alarm clock on his watch beeping steadily in the background. He turned to his bedside alarm to find the clock face flashing 00:00 on and off. He ran a hand across his fatigued face and pressed on his temples. There was a dull ache behind his eyes that would hopefully not turn into a full blown migraine. Staying up so late was a very bad idea but Quatre was fascinated by the differing opinions scientists had about the power outages. Some believe the solar flare theory while others turn to human causes like global warming and terrorism. Whatever it was obviously was not good for any of them.
Launching himself out of bed Quatre bent down and pulled on the first thing he could find while blindly rooting along the floor. It was his old blue sweater he wore almost on a daily basis and the very same one that Helen kept threatening to throw out. He eyed a grey muscle shirt and took off the sweater to don that first. He had put the sweater on backward anyway.
He stood on the cold hardwood floor and tiptoed his way across to the dresser that took up the majority of wall space on that side of the room. Opening the drawers one by one he found many of them empty either from a lack of clean laundry or the fact that he almost never went shopping. It was likely the latter as Helen had simple tasks such as laundry well under control. He finally pulled out a clean pair of blue jeans and pulled them over his frigid legs. Perhaps he should invest in some quality long johns before winter hit.
"Aww shit! For fucks sakes..."
Quatre could hear Duo muttering in the hallway and he cracked the door open a bit. Duo was standing in the doorway to his own room pulling his socks up to his knees trying, and failing miserably, to keep his balance while he dressed himself.
"You going to be okay there, Duo?" Quatre chuckled at the spectacle, sometimes he didn't think Duo knew how comical he could be.
"Yeah I just remembered we're going to have to take the limo because the police made me leave my baby in the parking lot. God knows if it will even be there now! F'ing thieves."
"I am sure it is just fine, Duo. I hope the driver is here though...he probably doesn't expect us to leave the house today."
Duo finished dressing in his utmost fancy clothes reminiscent of a private school uniform. His overcoat was lined and screamed expensive while even his hat bore an AE logo. Duo looked like a Calvin Cline commercial - all he needed was a black and white frame girl in a bikini, with a body so small his hands could fit around her waist.
Duo gave him a sceptical look and said, "Look Quat, I can get us to school regardless if the driver is here or not. Pretty sure I said we had to take the limo, not ask the driver to drive us in the limo."
Oh, so he meant steal the family car for a one mile joy ride. Quatre shrugged. He was in.
"Going to have to sneak outta here though, I think the front door is being watched more closely than the last presidential election."
Quatre smiled at that. "Well, at least Obama won. I would hate for the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy to come back into effect. I mean, could you imagine the devastated soldiers, sailors and airmen that could be out of a job?"
Duo's eyes gleamed as disappeared into his ensuite, reappearing seconds later with a toothbrush hanging out the side of his mouth.
"Hmm Quat, bet you could console some of 'em."
Quatre's cheeks turned pink even as he laughed at the foaming toothpaste that was running down Duo's chin as he talked. Duo sputtered and ran back to the bathroom to spit while Quatre took the chance to finish getting ready himself.
Entering his ensuite Quatre took a moment to really look at himself. He had that Winner look; the blue eyes, the blond hair and very small of frame. Quatre always thought he was missing something, some feature that had not yet appeared but when it did it would finally make him whole.
He shrugged it off. It was no longer time to dwell on the past but to look toward the future instead. Of course, the greatest challenge would be to make it through high school first.
He sighed. First world problems.
Quatre hopped down the stairs and met his brother who was standing by the garage door with a shiny key dangling from one finger, a grin on his cherub face.
Helen came around the corner holding a tray of food and stopped short when she saw that the boys were both awake and ready before school, no prodding necessary for Duo. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted Duo's hand blatantly hiding something behind his back.
"What are you two troublemakers up to this morning?"
"Uh, nothing Mrs. H. Just waiting for our drive to school..."
"Uh-huh. Well no one is going anywhere until after they've eaten a proper breakfast."
Duo hung his head in mock surrender and the two followed Helen into the kitchen like chicks following their mother. Helen placed the food from the tray onto the table itself and watched them both like a hawk as Duo scarfed his down like a dog and Quatre ate as slowly as a bird.
As they continued to eat in silence Quatre remembered something from the day before he had meant to ask Helen.
"Helen, would you mind looking up Oz Security and making an appointment for me? I Googled the company last night and they seem like a reliable source of security. I think today we should be okay with the one police officer but for the long term I would prefer our own."
"Of course dear, but I do wish you would stop being so stubborn and stay home out of that mess."
Duo finished eating, laid his fork down on his plate and said, "I'm never going to get anywhere in life Mrs. H, without soccer. If I don't go I don't play. If I don't play I will lose any chance of being scouted for a university team. Quat' doesn't have to go with me if he really doesn't want to."
Like hell Quatre would let him face the public alone.
"No, I am going with you."
"Good. You see Helen, I made a promise to the coach at the beginning of the season, remember? And I never tell a lie. That's settled then, eh? Lets go pack the car."
Quatre left his plate, assured by Helen twice that she would take care of it, and grabbed his book bag from where it rested in the corner. He followed Duo out the garage door and walked down the side of the sleek limousine to the passenger seat. Duo slid into the drivers seat, jamming the key into the slot and the engine roared to life. His fingers found the small button that opens the garage door and pressed it.
As it opened the crowd outside gathered like a zombie army, all ready to eat someone in order to make a living in this city.
They jogged beside the limo and peered into the windows as Quatre slumped down further into his seat. Behind them he could see the police officer run to his car and promptly turned his car in their direction.
"Guess he's our escort."
"Hmm."
"Duo, do you think we will be okay?"
Duo gave him a sidelong glance.
"I know we will bro. Just you and me, remember? That's how it's always been and how it's gonna stay."
Quatre smiled as they drove along staring at that same line of trees.
"What are those tree's called? D'you know?"
"Uh, nope. Sorry. Where did that question come from?"
Quatre bit his lip and shrugged, "I don't know...I just never asked before."
The trees ended and they began their one mile drive downtown to the school and Quatre looked at the clock, 7:30am. They were going to be really early today - something that rarely ever happened.
"Duo, do you even know how to drive this thing?"
Duo chuckled. "Nope, never driven a limo in my life but I'm sure it's the same principle, just longer with more blind spots."
Quatre sat back as they enjoyed the rest of the ride in silence. Usually Duo would have music blaring so loud it would make his ears hurt, but not today. They passed bikers, pedestrians and other motorists that gave them questionable looks as the black limousine, followed by a lit up police car, passed by. He had heard the hundred year old houses crammed together in the downtown core were full of tunnelling mice and rot, even as the outside looked very pleasing to the eye. Who knew? Quatre had never lived anywhere else but their home since the day he was born.
The Commons came into sight as well as the citadel, it's giant masts like a beacon atop the hill. Maybe the kids at school would leave him alone now- maybe they would think he was grieving and had enough stress that they need not cause more.
He could only hope.
Duo pulled into the school's parking lot and drove so close to the curb he scrapped the paint on the fender.
"Oops."
His parking consisted of taking up eight individual parking spots, parallel to the curb and he was snickering as he got out. Here there were no reporters that Quatre could see- they obviously thought the two would stay home today.
As Duo locked the limo and they walked side to side up the front steps Quatre glanced back at the police car that parked next to it and wondered, was that one parking ticket, or eight?