I know that I am not the most consistent of updaters and I am sorry. Life's been busy and when I have been writing it was for two new stories I plan on posting (Muse gets finicky about what story it wants yo write) after I have about fifteen to twenty chapters ready so the updates and the story will be much more consistent. I also have been debating about whether or not to post this chapter because I don't want to do anything that could ruin this story. Please read and review or just critique my story. Thank you for your patience with me. I know I suck at updating.

A Sibling?

"So Lance. Your mother and I have a proposition for you," his father said slowly as he sprinkled pepper on his eggs.

"What?" he asked. It was a lazy Sunday morning and they were having a family breakfast. Mom was making her famous scrambled eggs toast sandwich and Dad had went to the store last night to buy some more orange juice.

"You know how me and your mother are licensed foster parents," Dad said.

"Yeah what does that have to do with anything?" Lance asked, he wasn't understanding.

"We wanted to know if you would be okay with us taking in a foster child," Mom said brightly. Lance felt blindsided. It had just been him and his parents for so long he couldn't remember what it was like to have a foster sibling. He still remembered his foster parents but most of his foster siblings had been older and bossy, pushy, sullen, or just plain rude to him. One foster sister of his had slapped him so hard her handprint took a while to fade away.

"Not older please," he said quickly then he winced. He was old enough to handle himself right? Plus he didn't want to seem controlling or spoiled.

"You want to be the oldest don't you," Dad teased.

"Yeah," he said looking down on his plate. That seemed reasonable to him. He could be a cool older brother and he didn't want a bossy rude sister like Wendell had or a brother who treats you like a little kid like Jared had.

"Sounds fine. You don't care if it's a boy or a girl right?" Mom asked.

"No. I don't care either way works for me," he said. He swallowed the last bite of his egg sandwich and asked, "Can I go out to see my friends?"

"Sure thing sweetheart just wear a jacket," his mother said, cutting his father off. He put his plate in the sink, grabbed his skateboard, and as soon as he was on the other end of the street he bolted. He ended up at the skate park where Daisy, Allie, and Wendell were practicing new tricks. Daisy saw him first and bolted towards him on her board.

"Hey Lance!" she yelled cheerfully.

"Hey Daisy," Lance said. He put his board on the ground and carefully skated towards the others. Daisy was yammering on about church and how her brother Matt sneezed really loudly when people were silently praying and how this one old lady chewed him out after church. She said he was sinful and if he was her son, she'd have switched him. Then Matt told her that she was the reason Atheists existed and when she asked for his name he said his name was Dante Alighieri.

"When did he learn about Dante's Inferno?" asked Lance.

"My mom once told us Dante's Inferno as a bedtime story when we were little," Daisy said.

"Why?" Lance asked.

"Eh Triple Trouble were a colicky bunch. That means they cried a lot," Daisy said with a hint of arrogance in her tone.

"I know what colic is Daisy," he said.

"Whatever. Anyway so she would get really worn out at nights and she grabbed any book she would find and read it to us. This happened until the tin were, I don't know, two and a half, three, because they drained the energy from her. She read Frankenstein to us once. And The Hunchback of Notre Dame," Daisy said, "And lots of Edgar Allen Poe. I can recite House of Usher by heart."

"I don't know if that's something to be proud of," he teased. Daisy gave him a "playful" shove that almost knocked him off his board.

"Sorry Lance I didn't mean to," she said.

"It's fine Dais," he said.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?" asked Allie.

"Nothing," he shrugged.

"Something is. Women can tell and I'm a woman," Allie bragged.

"My parents might be taking in a foster kid sometime soon," he shrugged. He still felt ambivalent about the whole thing.

"That sucks," Allie said, "I'd hate to have a sister or a brother."

"A sibling isn't that bad Allie," Wendell said.

"Yeah. If you're bored, then there's someone around so you can entertain yourself," Daisy added.

"How old is it going to be?" asked Allie.

"I don't know. I doubt they picked a kid yet. We have a guest room so that'll probably be his room," Lance said.

"If you ever need a place to stay. I'm sure I can make some accommodations for you," Allie said in her weird voice. Allie laughed and skated towards a ramp.

"Trust me it's not bad at all," Wendell said.

"Then why do you guys whine about your siblings?" asked Lance.

"It's a sibling right to complain about your other siblings to your friends," Daisy joked, "Besides if you're really worried about having a sibling. Zach comes from a huge family."

"Thanks," he said.

"I'd bet learning some tricks will make you feel better," Wendell said, imitating Daisy's cheer. Daisy took it in stride and laughed it off. Hanging out with friends made him feel a whole lot better.

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One and a half month later (Mid-December)

"Hey Honey! Lance! We're home!" yelled Dad. Lance pushed his homework forward and took a deep breath. He used this technique to calm himself down when he was scared. He did this a lot when he just moved in with the Sweets. He could hear his mother greet his new foster brother. Foster brother. It felt weird to say after all these years. This new boy was twelve. Two years younger than him. He could handle it. He was adaptable and willing to compromise. He wouldn't be one of those kids who teased the foster kids because he was the foster parents' kid. He would be the coolest and help him feel comfortable. He hurried downstairs and his breath got caught in his throat as he saw his foster brother. It had been eight years since he last saw him in dinosaur pajamas. Now he wore all black and had cut his hair so it had be spiky and uneven. He looked like a true punk.

His foster brother, Eric Von Elm.