I apologise in advance if this chapter is boring. It will get better in the ending scene, I just needed to get a few things out of the way so please forgive me :)
!The next time you read this Charlie will no longer be Charlie anymore, he'll be Elliot!
The dining room was in silence, the only sound was the clatter of plates and silverware. On one side of the table sat Yui, Ayato, Laito and Kanato sitting opposite from them was Elliot, Shuu, Subaru and Reiji. Elliot barely touched his food, poked it a few times and took a few bites every now and then, While Yui made no effort to even pick up a fork. 'You haven't very much, Bitch-Chan~' Laito leaned over Yui's shoulder, startling her 'you need to eat properly or you could become anemic, would you like me to feed you?~'. Elliot sighed and moved his focus to his adoptive sister and the vampire breathing against her neck "she can feed herself and skipping a meal never killed anyone', He turned his focus back to the food in front of him, ignoring his surroundings.
Reiji spoke up, saying something about bad manners and telling Laito to return to his seat. Laito looks back to Yui before walking to his seat 'we'll continue this later, Bitch-chan~'. Shuu sighs and stands up as Laito sits, Yui speaks before Shuu is able to say anything 'Shuu?' 'this is a pain' he replied with boredom before walking out of the room. Reiji adjusted his glasses 'that deadbeat, nothing good can come of anyone who grows up spoiled rotten'. A dark chuckle ran through out the room catching Elliot's attention, He looked up and looked up and moved his attention to the purple haired Sakamaki at the opposite end of the table from him. 'Teddy, what would you like to eat next?' Kanato inspected the plates in front of him before picking up a fork 'lets have a banana snow ball'. A cruel smile spread across Kanato's face before he plunged his fork into the plate of sweets in front of him repeatedly as he let a spine chilling laugh right out.
Silence ran throughout the dining hall again when the laughter died down. 'He won't even make an effort to attend our monthly dinner partly', Elliot closed his eyes and sighed as Reiji spoke again, clearly talking about Shuu. Elliot cleared his throat before letting words grace his lips again 'Reiji-san, you are wrong...' Reijji looked at Elliot with surprise and with anger 'he clearly made an effort to attend today, he might have no stayed until the end but he was here, that's better nothing... People have free will, they can choose what they do. Attending your monthly dinner party might be the respectful thing to do but it doesn't mean he has to come, its the same for everyone in every situation. How some one grows up does not define who they are or how they act'. Elliot opened his eyes and looked around the table, Yui stared at Elliot in shock, Reiji just smirked, Ayato looked slightly taken back, Kanato stared curiously and Subaru well... He looked kinda sad.
Elliot stood and walked out of the room, all eyes trailed him as he disappeared from sight. Yui stood up quickly, her chair falling to the ground as she ran after Elliot calling out to him. Reiji adjusted his glasses, clearly irritated 'that will be all for today...', the last of the brothers disappeared and went their separate ways for the night. Elliot walked down the halls of the mansion, his foot steps so soft you'd think he was sneaking around. The ticking of a clock could be heard at the end of one of the many halls grew louder as he walked towards it curiously, the floral design engraved in the clock hands and face was eye catching when you took the time to look at it. He smiled slightly and lifted a hand to touch the beautiful design only to have his hand meet the glass surface that kept his prying hands away from the patterns in front of his eyes. He turned, letting his foot land with a soft thud on the carpeted floors that hid away wooden floor boards, his hand slipped off the glass and he walked away wanting to return to his room before anyone disturbed him.
Yui ran after Elliot, she turned corner after corner in the long halls of the mansion. Each step she took in the direction of her younger brother filled her heart with hope, it was an odd thing to be feeling at that very moment, she knew that but her younger brother had just said something she had wanted to tell him from the moment he entered her life. Perhaps this was the moment where she would be able to close the gap that had grown between them? could she make up for her years of mistakes? She turned one last corner and stopped, admiring a clock with his fascinating eyes at the end of the quiet hall was Elliot. Yui held her breath as she watched him, his face blank but his eyes filled with wonder. He seemed at peace but then again...
Yui never knew what he was feeling or anything about him for that matter...
A wave of dread filled Yui has she watched Elliot start to walk away from the clock, she brought her hands to the cross that sat around her neck. Would she ever be able to fix what she did? she let people hurt him and because of that he's ended up closed off from the world and pushes everyone away but of course, that's not her fault. She isn't the reason those people attacked him, he's being irrational and he shouldn't be pushing her out. Right? Yui darted down the hall and around the corner, She was angry now. What gives him the right to hate her if she hasn't done anything wrong?
'Elliot!' Yui yelled out as she slowly caught up to him despite the fact she was running. Elliot had heard her for sure, there was no doubt about it, anyone in the mansion would have heard her yet Elliot continued to walk away as if nothing happened. Within a second however his speed picked up. One would think he was running away from Yui, expect he was running away from Yui; he didn't want to talk her, not now. Elliot had turned the last corner and opened the door closest to him rather hastily. As if Yui had gained super speed, she stuck her foot in between the door and door frame just as it was about to close. 'Elliot... please just let me talk to you' Yui moved her face to the gap her foot had created, her eyes landed on a blank faced Elliot.
'I don't want to talk to you right now...' Elliot trailed off and avoided looking at Yui directly, his eyes eventually landed on the pair of white converse that hid away his feet. Yui was taken back, her sudden burst of confidence and hope had shattered with those few words. She moved her foot from the door and it closed with a soft thud, it almost felt like yet another obstacle was added to the long path of trying to get close to her younger brother. Yui gave up easy, not because she believes she cant do it but she doesn't know how. That simple fact hurt her more than the words Elliot had spoken, she was used to not talking to him but the one time she wants to do something she doesn't know what to do. The soft click of a lock rang out from Elliot's door and a defeated sigh passed her lips as she walked away from the door that had closed in her face.
Elliot closed the door, leaving a defeated looking Yui in the hall. He turned, looking over his room. The walls were a soft white however if you looked a second time you'd notice they were actually a charming pastel purple; the walls had black wooden panelling, they weren't dark enough to make the room feel small and gloomy though. On the Western wall was the entry door; In the Southern-West corner sat a modern fireplace made of grey stones; a small coffee table with a lounge and a few chairs lived in front of the fireplace; In the Northern-West corner were a few bookshelves, another coffee table and lounge were there; along the Northern wall a couples of guitars were placed in stands and some random posters of movies, bands, games or TV shows littered the wall but it didn't look like mess; a bed with white sheets splattered with different shades of purple and a black frame was pushed in the Northern-East corner, the head of the bed on the Eastern wall, an end table that matched the bed frame sat next to it.
Further along the Eastern wall were a past of glass doors that opened up onto a balcony, they were hidden away with light grey curtains; after the doors a simple black desk with metal legs and a white desk chair was pushed against the wall, immediately after, almost in the Southern-East corner, there's desk a matching dresser with a mirror on top. The mirror was questionable however; someone had previously thrown water on it and stuck newspaper to it, you could tell it was water by the way the newspaper had dried and the lack of evidence that any glue had been used. Finally in-between the dresser and fireplace a rather boring door stood there matching the room's panelling.
Elliot's eyes lingered over the soft and welcoming bed shoved in the corner before walking across the dark grey carpeted floor towards to bland bathroom door. It opened with a soft creek, the bathroom colour scheme was similar to the bedroom's however it was brighter and well, shinier you could say. The bathroom far more larger than necessary, that was one thing Elliot was sure about the first day he walked in. With marble floors; unnecessarily large baths on small platforms; grey walls with chestnut wooden planks on one; a single toilet hidden away behind a large pot plant and a shoji divider; a counter top with a single sink and another mirror just like the one in the bedroom; and finally another window facing East, Elliot finally felt like he could relax and have a break from the madness that had started the moment he set foot behind that eerie gate out front.
Elliot dragged his feet across the floor and up the steps that lead to the bath, a loud rubbery whining squeak ringing through the room every now and then as he shoes rubbed against the marble. He reached the bath, plugging the drain and turning the hot water on. He held his pale hand under the water, watching how the water seemed to just bounce off and into the tub. He moved away from the tub, wiping his wet hand on his jeans to dry it as he made his way to the counter. He looked at the hidden mirror mindlessly has he tied his hair back and took out many but not all of the piercings that made it look like he walked into a pole and took some of it with him.
Elliot unlaced and slipped his converse off and placed them next to the counter, he slowly started undressing himself as the room filled with steam from the bath. He was in a pair of boxers with little cartoon cactus' all of them and about to take off his unbuttoned white dress shirt when a loud splash came from the tub behind, it definitely wasn't the tap doing something weird. Elliot turned towards the bath looking for the cause of the splash, from the edge of the bath a mess of blonde hair peeked over. Elliot raised an eyebrow before walking over to the bath again, this time turning the tap off rather than on. He moved his attention to the male that had appeared. Shuu lay there, fully clothed and listening to music through a pair of earphones. His eyes were closed, you'd assume he was dead at first if you didn't know he was already.
Elliot put his hands on his jutted hips and looked down at Shuu with a displeased look. 'Shuu' the tone in Elliot's voice displayed he was clearly annoyed at the intrusion. 'Keep it down..' Shuu trailed off before speaking again '..not so loud'. Elliot bit his cheek in annoyance, this is meant to be his time alone but he guessed he would try and make this interesting.
Elliot took a deep breath before saying anything again 'how can I help you Shuu? why are you here?', 'I'm having a bath' Shuu's answer was short but not what Elliot was looking for. Elliot sat down on the edge of the bath, close to Shuu but still far enough he could look at him face on 'you're still dressed'. 'Yes and you're only half way there' Shuu slightly smirked with his reply and opened an eye slightly hoping for a reaction from the half-blood.
Elliot tilted his head slightly with an amused look before replying playfully 'why do you say that? did you come in here hoping to me naked, Shuu?'. Shuu looked at the other male confused, both eyes open now 'I thought you came here to see me naked' the older male finally looked around before realising this wasn't his bathtub or his bathroom for that matter 'oh I see now..' Shuu trailed off again as his faced dropped back to a bored one. His eyes drooped and he looked up at the ceiling 'why don't you join me then?'.
'Wh-' Elliot was cut off before he could answer, Shuu had grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the water rather suddenly. A loud splash echoes through the bathroom before being followed by a loud inhale as Elliot pulled his head out from below the water. After a few splutters Elliot glared at Shuu softly 'you didn't have to pull me under the water!'. 'Of course I did or your shirt wouldn't be see through' Shuu smirked slightly and Elliot looked down. The shirt he was wearing did go see through with water, not that the shirt was covering much in the first place, but Shuu's comment made him slightly embarrassed and his cheeks warmed because of it.
'You're blushing you know' Shuu's full attention was on Elliot now. Well maybe not all of it, he still had his earphones in. Elliot rolled his eyes 'You're all brothers, you're all very different I wouldn't have guessed you were related if it wasn't for the constant smirking'. Shuu chuckled softly but halfheartedly at Elliot's comment 'we're from three different woman' he trailed off as he looked at Elliot's face, he had a blank expression but his eyes seemed to encourage Shuu to keep talking.
'Reiji and I are share a mother, her name is Beatrix. Ayato, Kanato and Laito are triplets, their mother's name is Cordelia, and Subaru's mother is Christa. Please don't bring them up in conversation' Shuu sighed and sunk into the warm water a little. 'I won't ask then. I never knew my mother or my father for that matter' Shuu looked at Elliot, a look of slight confusion on his face, He expected a reply from him but not any information. 'I figured since you shared I might as well share too' Elliot smiled softly causing Shuu's look of slight confusion change to slight shock.
'I can't tell if that was an actual smile or if you're putting an act up again' Shuu was unsure of what to do, was it a real smile? or was Elliot playing games and putting up an act like he said he would. 'Does it matter if it was real or not?' Elliot tilted his head slightly as he questioned Shuu, who gave a shrug as an answer as the half dressed male shuffled closer to Shuu. Previously when Shuu had pulled him into the bath he pulled him in between his legs, it was like Shuu was man-spreading and Elliot decided to use the extra space between Shuu's legs to sit down his butt, expect Elliot didn't get to decide to do that.
Shuu and Elliot stared at each other for some time, the mix of purple and blue of Elliot's eyes meeting the gaze of the blonde's crystal blue. Elliot sighed as he got lost in the sea of blue in front of him, he found Shuu's eyes beautiful and fascinating. 'Your eyes are gorgeous...' Elliot's eyes widened as he heard the echo of his voice bounce around the room 'I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to say that out loud'. He started to panic, he really didn't mean to say that out loud. Shuu chuckled softly again and with a small smile he said 'Don't worry. I'll pretend I didn't hear it'.
Elliot sighed in relief and sunk into the tub more, embarrassed yet again 'I don't understand why I'm acting like this around you'. Shuu shrugged his shoulders 'I was going to ask if I could drink your blood but I guess seeing you like this is better'. Elliot looked up at Shuu in surprise 'oh, you can if you want to..' this time Elliot trailed off, he pulled his left sleeve and held his wrist out to Shuu '.. here'. Shuu looked down at Elliot's pale wrist unsure if he should, did this boy really have blood in him? you can smell him or feel body heat from him yet his body still acted as if he was a healthy human filled with perfectly healthy blood.
'I promise i'm not poisonous, Shuu' Elliot let a friendly smile take over his face as he stared at the older male. Shuu brought his lips to Elliot's wrist and whispered what he hoped wasn't his last words 'if you're lying I will make sure you regret it until the day I die'. Shuu bit down, the sweet taste of Elliot's blood filled his mouth, and the warm feeling of blood dripping down Shuu's chin and Elliot's hand went unnoticed as it slowly turned the water surrounding them a soft pink with every drop.
yeet. Have a chapter :) Also am I the only one who either thinks of a beat (like the beat of a rap/song) or a beetroot when I read the name Beatrix?
Also i'm thinking of changing the name of the book, any suggestions?