Temptations of a Lesser Angel
By C-R Webbe
Chapter 1- Gemini
Let fancy still my sense in Lethe steep;
If it be thus to dream, still let me sleep.
This was a big step for the whole Thatcher family and she would never have believed her father to be the type of person to take such risks, but he had and she hoped to God that everything would be alright. The house was nice but it wasn't home, the weather was perfect but now she longed for the English summer rain. She thought it impossible that she'd ever find a reason to stay, but Summer Bay wasn't a bad place.
Taking hold of her suitcase she began the arduous climb of the stairs to the bedroom that she had already claimed as her own. The boxes of her belongings had arrived some weeks before the Thatcher family had descended on Australia and they crowded the room, awaiting her, but she wasn't ready to unload her life on this house.
"Hey Liv." A body had arrived at her doorway, "I'm gonna go take a look around, you wanna come?" Her brother, Lysander, had been looking forward to the move from the beginning; he said that it would be good for the twins to get out of England and into the sun. But she knew that wherever there was sun there were bikini clad girls and wherever there were bikini clad girls there would be her brother.
"I dunno Xander, I don't think I'm ready to have any big adventures just yet." She smiled and turned away, it wasn't that her brother got on her nerves, he never had, but his positive outlook on life was not something that she wanted to get into when she was trying to hate her parents for forcing her away from her friends.
"Hey don't take out that frustration on me." A hand placed itself on her shoulder and patted it reassuringly. "C'mon, we've got all day to unpack!" His tousled brown hair and tipped blonde highlights brushed her cheeks as he turned to leave the room, a mischievous chuckle escaped his lips and she jumped to her feet and followed him out of the door. He had always been so persuasive.
Brushing a stray strand of auburn hair behind a milky white ear she skipped down the small flight of stairs and into the open plan first floor of the building. Her mother and father were busy sorting out boxes that had been scattered across the floor. They chatted away together with the enthusiasm of two people who had only just met, it was plain to see that they were a couple truly in love.
James Thatcher was a tall man, clad in a white shirt and blue jeans, at forty three he looked younger than most men of his age; he had always been proud of his looks and was half of the reason why Lysander and Olivia never had to worry about being ugly. He had worked as an executive for a big law firm in London for some years before giving up everything for Australia.
Anna Thatcher was slim and sexy, and at thirty-six had given birth to the twins at the young age of nineteen years, after marrying her husband three years previously. Her blonde hair had not been passed on to either of her children and had refrained from turning grey despite the stress that she had been put through in the past. She was the reason for Liv's lack of height, her father; the attribute to her brother's long legs and towering figure.
"Mum, Dad, we're going out." Xander's tone made a statement it didn't ask questions, he had never asked for anything in his life, only politely demanded them. He left little time for any form of answer negative or no, before escaping through the front door, his sister in close pursuit.
Brushing out the creases in her knee length, A-line, denim skirt Olivia jogged a few steps to catch up with her brother's hasty pace. He had headed off in a positive direction, as though he knew what he was looking for and where to find it. Lysander had always been quite certain of where he was headed and it was that air of confidence that separated him from his sister; she had never been quite so forward as he was.
She looked up at her brother's determined expression and smiled. She could tell simply by the glint in his eye, that he had already left the house to explore earlier that morning, he had spotted something and was on the lookout for it again. She could only imagine what it might be despite the fact that she had some pretty good ideas; if it had two legs, breasts and a pulse then he'd be able to hunt it out in seconds.
"Xander, where are we going?" She enquired, hoping to be answered by some sort of declaration about lust and the constant need for it in every day society- it was her brother's standard answer to any question when he was on the prowl. Instead she got nothing, except a grunt of acknowledgement, sighing she continued on after her brother.
It was not long before they reached a place, the Beachside Diner, and Lysander's pace began to slow. It was then that Olivia's memory was jogged- it must have been that morning when he was sent out to buy drinks for the family, that he had spotted whatever it was that he was after. He stopped for a moment to straighten out his shirt, his sister giggled and was met with an embarrassed glare.
Olivia made sure that her own pale yellow, fitted t-shirt did not look a mess, pulled her hair from behind her ears and brushed her fingers through her short fringe before following her brother into the building, after all she didn't know what she was walking into.
It was late afternoon and it appeared as though school had just finished; a sea of Summer Bay High uniforms sat at the many tables laid out for their potential customers but Lysander paid little attention to the pretty girls that gathered in this room and headed straight for the counter. Perhaps he was just after a cool glass of orange juice.
"Hello again…Xander, wasn't it?" It appeared that the man behind the counter and Lysander had already met, Olivia looked up at her brother. "Now, who is this fine young lady?" The man smiled at Olivia and she smiled back, her brother quickly introduced her in hushed tones, something she had never heard him use before. But he was quick to change the subject.
"Mr Stewart, do you know where Kirsty Sutherland might be?"
Olivia wanted to laugh; she had known all along that Xander must have been after a bit of skirt but never before had he made any effort to remember a name, she must have been beautiful. The man behind the counter, Mr Stewart, let Lysander know that he hadn't seen Kirsty since that morning before school, but that he might find her out on the beach. With that his speed accelerated to a run and he dashed out of the building yelling to his sister as he left.
"You stay there Liv, I wont be long, I promise."
She knew from experience that it was wise to simply sit these things out, after all, if her brother was successful at charming this girl, Kirsty, into at least letting him buy her a drink, then he'd want someone to tell later on in the day. Smiling at Mr Stewart, she turned away from the counter to look for somewhere to sit, but all of the tables were full. She frowned and waited for a moment. One was bound to clear eventually.
And it was not long before one did, Olivia hung back for a moment to make sure that the couple, a blonde girl of about the same height as her and a dark haired lad, were actually leaving. She smiled as she caught the girl's eye and was surprised to see that they came heading straight for her. Clasping her hands nervously she smiled again as they came closer.
"Hi, I'm Jade, Jade Sutherland," The girl spoke in a soft Australian accent, "And this is Seb Miller." She pointed to the lad standing next to her. "We noticed you standing there looking a little lost and wondered if you wanted to join us?" The girl seemed friendly enough and she was a Sutherland, Kirsty's sister, perhaps. The lad, Seb, was quiet, he only smiled at her as they sat down around a table.
There was an awkward silence for a moment before Olivia spoke, "Sorry, my name's Liv Thatcher and the guy I was with earlier; he's Xander." She twiddled her thumbs and grinned at Jade from across the table, she wondered if Kirsty was as pretty as her sister. She seemed nice too, and it would probably do Xander some good if he chased after girls who seemed as grounded as Jade, she'd had enough of watching her brother romp with rebels; it only got him into trouble.
"So he's your brother?" Liv nodded, "You guys are twins aren't you? Only Miss Fletcher said that you two would be starting school on Monday, starting our year." Jade spoke quickly and it took a moment for Olivia to take in what she was saying to her, it was going to take a while for her to get used to the accent.
"Yeah, we're twins, though you wouldn't think so half of the time. He can be such a child!" She laughed and turned to look at Seb, who had not said a word since they had met. "Aren't you the quiet one." She looked him straight in the eye and he smiled at her.
"Sorry, I've just had a pretty heavy day that's all." He had a silky voice, it was unlike the rough tones that she had heard in the people at the airport when her family had arrived, it was nice to listen to, easier to understand. She clapped her hands once in agreement and lent back on her seat.
"Tell me about it, I'm shattered!" This statement was followed by silence, perhaps she'd got too friendly too soon.
"So you're Kirsty Sutherland's sister?" Olivia wondered whether it was safe asking this question, it might turn out to be a rather embarrassing situation if the two had never heard of each other before, after all what if she had heard her brother wrong? Nevertheless she asked it anyway, a little embarrassment could break the ice.
"Yeah, how do you know her?" Jade looked confused and Liv grinned cheekily, Seb appeared not to be listening, and she wondered if that was purposeful or not. It was time to explain to Kirsty's sister just how she knew her, perhaps she could explain her brother's behaviour just for future reference whilst she was at it, she had learnt that warning new friends about him paid off, he could do some rather thoughtless things when he wanted something badly enough.
Disclaimer; I do not own any of these characters except for Olivia and Lysander, James and Anna Thatcher and their dog Nanook, despite that, this story is copyrighted to me.
Footnote: This story has some elements of the Home and Away plot, but not really, and all the stuff mentioned is old stuff too.