Title: The Problem with Prophecies

Prompt 21: If she were told she was destined to fulfill a prophecy, how would she react?

Word Count: 638

Notes: Prequel: Oliver and Eugene are around thirteen.

Oliver found his brother in the library. It was their adopted father's favorite room, and it showed. Built-in bookshelves of dark stained wood lined the walls except for the large bay windows on the west wall, which created a view to the estate's rolling fields. There was a set of oversized plush chairs, with an end table between them. The table had a lamp with an intricate stained glass shade.

There was a deep set window seat, which Eugene currently occupied, wrapped in a quilt of many different colored patches.

Oliver crossed the room quickly – if that was one thing his father complained about, it was the small size of the library - and sat on the opposite corner of the seat.

"You would be warmer away from the window," Oliver said.

Ignoring his brother's words, Eugene said, "Isn't the snow pretty, Noll?"

"Yes, it's nice," Oliver agreed, noting Eugene's drawn face and subdued air. "Did something happen?"

Eugene shook his head.

They sat silently and watched the snow fall in big, wet flakes.

Oliver would wait as long as his brother needed. He had known something was wrong when he could not sense Eugene's presence in the house, though he knew his brother had come home from an exorcism. His brother had closed his mind to him, and he wanted to know why.

"The spirit was strong," Eugene said suddenly. "I should have let one of the older mediums take it on, but I wanted to handle it."

"You have always let your pride control you," Oliver said.

Eugene grimaced. "The spirit gave me a prophecy," he said. "Actually, a couple."

Oliver watched him. Eugene knew he did not believe in prophecies, especially from ghosts. A prophecy expected you to not change in any way from now to then.

And ghosts did not know anything about the future.

"She – the spirit – said I would fall for a girl I can't have," Eugene said.

"Hmm."

"See, that's why I didn't want to tell you. I knew you would not believe it."

"Neither should you."

"She also had a prophecy for my brother."

"She probably picked my name right out of your thoughts." Oliver leaned forward as he rolled his eyes. "Go on; get it off of your chest."

"Never mind." Eugene turned back to the window.

"That's not funny."

"So you do want to know?"

"I didn't say that."

Eugene smiled slightly, which was an improvement. "She said you will have a girl who is your complete opposite fall head over heels for you, but you will reject her when she confesses."

"And that is the problem with prophecies," Oliver said, standing up. "I will now know to be wary of a girl who is my complete opposite. I can't reject someone who I don't lead on."

"I think your theory is flawed, Noll."

"I'll have to tell every girl to be careful. It's been foretold I'm destined to break her heart."

"The girl would probably laugh at you if you told her that," Eugene said.

"Which would mean she does not believe in prophecies, proving she would not be my complete opposite, correct?"

"Oh, now my head hurts," Eugene said, dropping his head in his hands. "You did that on purpose."

Oliver raised his eyebrows. "So, what did the ghost do for a living?"

"I think she wrote the horoscopes for newspapers."

"Of course. I thought I had read that dramatic flair somewhere." Oliver paused in the doorway. "Don't waste the day away sitting there, all right?"

Eugene did not acknowledge him, looking back out to the snow. He heard his brother's footsteps receding down the hall.

He wondered why he had withheld from Oliver that both predictions were about the same girl.

Oh, it did not matter, he decided. Oliver would not have believed it anyway.