Natural Attraction.
Right now, Lemy was in peace with the world; calmed, relaxed and comfortable.
His mind traveled through infinite while his mortal body healed from his constant personal fights. He inhaled Lyra's scent (old books, wood and violets) like it was the oxygen he needed to live. Lemy pulled her close with his arm. In response, she pulled his head to her chest; sinking his face on her soft, tender hills.
Lyra began to caress his long mane, slowly stroking his hair like he was a purring kitty. None of them wanted to open their eyes; there was nothing they enjoyed more than the time they had for themselves before their sisters and aunts started roaming around the house. That was something they shared; those rarely quiet Saturday mornings where they could feel safe and loved without anything to disturb their peace.
Lyra let out a sigh; worry or happiness? Definitely the latter; she was happy because she didn't have to deal with a bunch of brats that could barely catch an order or a bunch of adults that behaved worse than their children.
Lemy sighed too; he was happy he didn't have to deal with the temptation that burned his insides whenever he saw a woman from his family. You know, sometimes it was good not having to deal with the anger of sharing the same space as Lincoln Loud, or being at the receiving end of the hate of his sisters.
Only in the border where the oneiric world and the real world collided, only there he could relax and forget about his horrible reality, and especially from his own horrible nature. He could pretend he didn't have a legacy running through his veins and a destiny on his genes. There, half asleep but still conscious he could feel happy; he could feel safe in the arms of his savior. He really loved Saturday mornings; it was the only time where he could really be in his home.
'Home is where your heart is' He once heard. His home was on Lyra's arms, and his heart was just there.
But like every good thing in his life, it ended fast and abruptly.
One moment he was under the blanket; warm, safe and happy. Suddenly, a cold current of air hit his body and the morning sun burned his eyes even through his eyelids.
"What the hell!?" He buried his face against Lyra's chest.
Lyra moaned in response at the sudden attack to her peace, and more like and instinct than anything else she hugged her brother tighter. At this point Lemy was suffocating; Lyra locked her legs in an effort to protect Lemy from any danger.
"Wake up dork, time to get up! We gotta be ready in thirty minutes if we want to sell today's lot."
Lemy managed to turn his head, escaping from his shelter between Lyra's breasts and looking with his red, sleepy eyes at Leia, who looked like she just got out of the shower, with her Scouts Girls uniform perfectly fixed and her pigtails swinging with the wind. She looked at them, shaking her head with a glance close to disgust.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Lemy asked.
"Language…" Lyra muttered, still holding him and refusing to open her eyes.
Lemy ignored her; he glared at Leia like trying to kill her.
"This week I had to play bodyguard for your little sister Lizy, so…" Leia arched her eyebrow with anger.
"Oh, shit…" Oh, she's right. I sold my soul.
"Language…" Lyra said again. "What is she talking about?"
Lyra finally opened her eyes, and with Lemy still in his arms she glared at Leia.
"This little freak promised to be my slave during all the weekends for a whole year. I'm just claiming what is mine."
Leia smiled viciously as she looked at Lemy with predatory eyes. Those eyes made him feel like a little kindergarten girl in front of a pedophile.
Lyra looked at him with a mix of confusion and anger.
"That wasn't the deal. I promised to help you sell your stupid cookies just for three months. There's no way I'll be your slave for a year."
Leia smiled.
"Whatever, just get up now. You've got five minutes to take a shower; I left your clothes in the bathroom."
Lemy glanced at her with surprise; clothes? Shower?
"Why do I have to shower? And since when you choose my clothes?" Lemy asked.
"Because I won't be walking with a filthy hippie, and your clothes are weird… like you." Leia said as she looked at her silver watch. "Now move. You have to eat your breakfast; I need you full of energy. I don't think you can keep up with me… but don't worry, I'll be gentile."
The little blonde winked at him, Lyra growled.
"If Lemy has to help you with something it'll be faster if I go with you." She said with a cold voice.
"Nope, the deal is just between Lemy and me, and I only want HIM." Leia's voice was colder than his sister's.
Lyra looked angrily at the little blonde, and when she was about to complain, Lemy interrupt her.
"She's right; a deal is a deal. I'll do this alone."
Lemy got up from the bed, abandoning the warmness of Lyra's arms.
Now standing, the boy stretches his body and rubs his eyes, then he grabs the blanket from the floor and covers his big sister.
"Please rest; you've had a rough week. I'll see you in the evening, okay?"
Lyra nods, yet she looks kind of annoyed.
"Come on Lem, hurry up before I puke here." Leia says.
"Alright, I'm coming." Lemy said. He leans towards Lyra and plant a kiss on her forehead before leaving the room dragging his feet.
"Take a bath and do it quick." Leia ordered. "But… if you want I can help you…"
Lemy looked at his little sister and gives her a seductive glance; it was his time to fire back.
"And ruin your cute uniform? There's no way I could do that to such a beautiful girl."
Leia's eyes were wide open and her mouth almost touched the floor; the blush on her cheeks told him that not only she wasn't expecting that, she did like it.
Lemy walked away with a confident smile, leaving her behind.
I know man, I know, but when it comes with this girl you have to fight fire with fire; if you stay there and receive all the shit she throws at you she will end up eating you alive.
I've told you this; my sisters and I used to be close, thus I know how to deal with each one. Leia is like a Lioness whom you should never show your weakness to; it would be like showing your neck to a vampire. Believe it or not, the only way to keep up with her is striking back and stronger. Not literally; I would never hurt my sisters. Unlike my dad and my aunts, my sisters have rarely hit me, and from all those times it was Lupa who resorted to violence. Very different from what my mother told me about how she and her siblings settled things; she said it was like a MMA exhibition combined with a Royal Rumble match.
Lemy yawns as he leaned against a tree; his eyes felt heavy, and the bus trip to the nearby city didn't wake him up either. He used a grey formal suit, these were the clothes Leia left in the bathroom for him; it consisted in a pair of grey dressing pants, a white shirt, a goddamn vest, a coat, a tie and shoes. Dude, are we selling cookies or going to work on with Aunt Lori? Man, I swear this feel so uncomfortable; the tie is so tight I can barely breathe and these have to be the most uncomfortable pair of shoes in the whole world. I wanted to use that new bandana I bought since Loan has the other, but she told me if I even think about bringing it with me she'd use it to clean Aunt Lana's boots. I must tie my hair in a Ponytail, as if I didn't look gay enough.
To his left he had one of those stupid red wagons filled to the top with cookies. He took a closer look at the product; these cookies looked like those you could buy at any Wal-Mart for half the price. Apparently, the 'Scout Girls seal of approval' made a difference of four dollars.
Lemy adjusted the suit more than once; it was so uncomfortable he honestly considered strip naked and walk home. Really dude, I'm this close to rip this clothes off and walk home in just my underwear. What do I have to lose, my reputation? Ha. Go back and read from chapter one.
He let out a sigh and tried to focus his attention to anything else, like that branch on the ground, or that dog poop on the grass. None of them worked. In the end, he looked up.
Leia was on top of the tree sitting on a branch; one hand grabbing the trunk and the other holding a pair of big ass binoculars that looked like something you would see in a Mission Impossible movie.
He looked down again. Maybe he could find something interesting in the dog poop...
But he didn't, and looked up again. Leia's beautiful milky white legs showed with all their glory under her grey skirt. People say you learn something new every day; he learned that the thong she used the other day at the line for the bathroom wasn't the only lewd piece of clothing she had. Right now, she used a sexy pair of white panties; the fabric was so thin it almost was transparent.
I wonder how many of them she has.
"Enjoying the view?" Leia said with a smirk, not taking the binoculars off.
Busted.
"You sure are the one enjoying the view. What the hell are you looking at with those things?" He tried to change the topic.
"Know your enemy." She muttered. "And just for you to know, I'm not angry; you can look as much as you want"
She took the binoculars off and winked at him; like opening Heaven's doors, she slowly spread her legs, tempting more his already fragile will.
It took him a lot to not look up again. Luckily, a voice calling from afar saved him like a bell in a boxing match.
"Leia, Leia!"
At the other side of the street two girls wearing the same uniform as Leia waited for the green light: a black girl using big, round glasses that for some reason looked really good on her, they remark that cold, sarcastic expression on her face, which made her look mysterious and interesting.
The other was a brown-haired girl which skin seemed to be light-caramel; her chestnut eyes shone in the distance as she waved to Leia to catch her attention.
Lemy knows that girl.
Leia grimaces, and with a sigh she jumps from the branch.
Lemy was focused on those cure girls and barely notice that he had to catch Leia. Luckily a girl her size isn't heavy at all; he grabbed her slim waist just in time and put her on the ground.
She didn't even thank him, all she did was watch her friends cross the street with a annoyed expression.
"Don't say a single word; don't talk to them unless I say you're clear to. Get it?"
He sighed. Two hours, I've been with her for just two hours. You think this is bad? Man, I still got seven more weeks to go.
The girls finally arrived at the shadow under the tree; they pulled their respective wagons filled with boxes of cookies.
"Good morning Leia." The dark skinned girl said with a voice that resembled a lot of Lupa's. Then she takes her cold glance to Lemy; this girl sure knew how to get people nervous, Lemy extended his hand, since Leia didn't allow him to speak.
The girl looked at him for some moments, and without shaking his hand she turns again to Leia.
Seriously dude? Now any nine years old brat thinks she's too much to speak to me? Man, these kids nowadays…
"Good morning Leia… good morning Lemy…" A soft, almost inaudible voice came from the other girl; man, I have to admit she looks cute as she plays with her skirt.
Lemy smiles with surprise; he didn't believe she still remembered his name, or even talked to him, not after what Leia did at the recital years ago…
"Good Morning… Gwen…" He too remembered her name. The brown-haired girl looked up to him; her face adorned with a beautiful smile and her eyes shimmering like the sun. Was the day too hot? He could've sworn she was blushing.
His brief moment of happiness ended up abruptly as an intense sensation of pain crept through his shin.
"What the hell is wrong with you!?" He grabbed his leg while jumping with the other. It was obvious Leia did it.
Leia doesn't even look at him.
"Girls… our mission today is to sell all this cookies; if we keep our streak we'll definitely win the state contest. As you can see I brought… this." She pointed out at Lemy with disgust. "It'll be helpful to have someone to carry the cookies."
The girls pass half their cookies to Lemy's wagon.
Once I helped Aunt Leni to reorganize her room; I had to carry box after box of fabric, thread rolls and mannequins. I remember back then I wished I was doing something else, whatever, hell even helping Aunt Lana with the animals was fun sometimes. Now, seeing I have to carry these ridiculously heavy boxes of cookies with a suit that barely allows me to move under the sun… I wish I was helping Aunt Leni.
Lemy glares at Leia.
This girl is crazy; not only is she treating me like trash, now she's physically abusing me. There ought to be a law against that. I'm into that tho.
Just kidding.
"Marsha and you," She glares at Gwen with disgust; the girl just hides behind Marsha. "You will take care of this street." She points at the street at her right; a beautiful residential area full of houses with white fences and red roof tiles.
Leia takes out a piece of paper from her skirt and hands it to Marsha. "Here's all the info you'll need."
The girl with the glasses grabs it and reads it mindfully, and after finishing she nods.
What is going on here? Are we selling cookies or planning to attack this poor people.
Both girls take their respective wagons and walk away. Gwen turns her head and smiles at Lemy; Leia throws an aggressive growl that scares her.
Lemy looks as the two girls walk away.
"What the hell Leia? Why did you kick me and why were you spying that people before?" He asked. "We're not selling drugs, are we?"
I know what are you thinking; how it is possible to think that Leia is dealing drugs? Well, we are talking about Leia. I've seen her with so much paper you'd think she's really a princess.
But that's obviously nonsense. Can you imagine Leia selling drugs? And man, you haven't heard those stupid rumors people create. One of them says that she gives blowjobs at her lemonade stand… Leia might be many things, but she's not a prostitute.
Believing that shit would be like believing that the sweet, innocent Liby is some kind of super-secret agent, professional fighter and gun expert that spends her time chasing and killing members of Mexican drug cartels in an awesome and incredible way… What kind of idiot would believe that?
Lemy snapped out of his thoughts when Leia whistled at him; she was her owner, and like the dog he was, he walked after her.
Leia stood in front of the fifth house in the street; she read the notes she wrote when spied people at the top of the tree, and after a moment she ordered Lemy to hide in a bush near the door. He did as she said; after all, thanks to her they managed to make people buy not less than three boxes of cookies on the houses they previously visited.
But unlike the innocent girl she played for the last three housewives and an old man, right now she lifted her skirt, revealing her beautiful and too-sexy-for-a-nine-years-old tights. She undid the first two buttons of her blouse, exposing the white fabric of her bra.
Man, she's nine years old; she can't have breasts yet, can she? But as you might already figure out, my little sister has the most beautiful legs in the Loud house. Her legs are soft, her tights are big and toned, and her hips are too wide no nine years old girl should be allowed to have them.
The fuck...? Man, put some effort in your work. You can't let me ramble that way, especially when I'm thinking in…
Nevermind. What matters now is, why is Leia showing too much skin? Oh man, now she's using that strawberry lipsticks; I'm like three meters away from her and I can smell it… does it taste like strawberry too?
Lemy slaps himself to wake up from his trance. Leia winks an eye at him in a provocative way.
He wanted to scold her for her... inappropriate look, but she rang the bell before he could do anything. Her seductive gaze changed to a mean glare that sent shivers on him.
The door opened, revealing a mid-aged man with a Ned Flanders look that came out to say hello…
But the words died on his mouth when he saw in front of him a little angel… or demon.
Leia leaned her head to the right and with eyes proper of those stupid Japanese cartoons Loan watches; she looked at the man and smiled.
"Good Morning sir, would you like to buy some cookies and help recover the forests of Michigan? That would make me so happy!"
She starts to play with her pigtails.
The guy took some time to snap out of his trance, enough time for Lemy to come out from his hideout, take the shit out of him and close his fucking mouth before he starts to drool.
But then Leia glares at him with rage in her eyes and killed his intentions.
"Right, right… of course I'll buy a box."
He took his wallet out of his pants with shaking hands while looking for some cash. He didn't take his sight out of Leia; from her milky tights to her childish chest she showed with pride.
"Just one?" She looked sown, just as if she was told Christmas was cancelled. "But… that's not enough… If I don't sell aaaall the boxes my troop will be mad at me… besides, we won't save the forests… and I… I…"
Leia starts crying in a soft, but convincing way.
The man looked at her with his eyes wide open and his face red; he tried to put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
Lemy gives a step forward willing to rip his whole arm out of his fucking body.
She anticipated what he had in mind; she glared at him from the corner of her eye.
"Alright, I'll buy more but don't cry sweetie."
Leia looked up and stopped crying, yet she didn't smile.
"But that's not enough… I haven't sold anything at the other houses… I think I'm not good at this… maybe I'm not beautiful…"
The man gulped so hard Lemy could hear him from the bush. Then the man licks his lips.
"Don't say that… you're beautiful…"
Leia turns her face towards Lemy to hide her 'sorrow'. She smiles in a way that could only be described as an evil grin. At the same time her eyes shone with malice like a panther stalking a little fawn.
But suddenly her face turns again to a sad expression; her eyes still wet and her mouth in a lovely childish pout.
Her facade is so good even Lemy was buying her act. Moments ago Leia sworn to the last woman they visited the money they get from the cookies would go to missionaries in Africa. She came with a different and very convincing excuse in each house.
"Do you really think I'm beautiful?" She asked, rubbing the tears away with her palms.
"Of course… you're beautiful… I'll buy four boxes but please don't cry…"
The man took the bite. Leia smiled.
"And… what part of me you like more?" Leia makes that provocative pose she used with Lemy days ago; showing her femininity, those curves she shouldn't have yet but however she possesses.
The man scratched the back of his neck with nervousness, a smile formed on his lips.
"Well… your whole body is beautiful… your eyes…"
Leia blinks in a flirting way.
"Your hair…" She shakes her golden pigtails, making them shine in the sunlight.
The man was about to say something else, but he stays silent.
"What about my legs?" She lifted her skirt, showing those perfect tights inherited by her mother.
The man laughed nervously, and then nodded.
"Of course, they're beautiful…"
"Just beautiful?"
"Well, they're sexy… real sexy, I would like to…"
Leia shows again that evil smile.
The man extended his arm trying to put his hand on Leia; his eyes burned with desire and hunger, but…
"You would like to buy ten boxes?"
The man stopped abruptly and shook his head.
"Ten boxes!? You're out of your mind if you think I'm gonna buy that!"
Leia snapped her fingers, and Lemy jumped out of the bush like a spring doll from a surprise box, making the guy flinch.
Leia hugs Lemy, using her 'scared girl' act again.
"Big brother… this man scares me… He said a lot of weird and gross things about me…"
She hides her face on his shoulder, but not because she's scared; Lemy could feel how she was grinning on his shirt.
"I didn't say… I mean she was the one who…" The man stuttered; he couldn't even split an understandable sentence.
Lemy glared at the guy with anger and disgust. And unlike Leia, he wasn't acting.
"What the hell did you say, old man?"
The man started to tremble.
"He said I was hot and sexy…" Leia mutters as she hugs Lemy from his waist; she put her face on his chest like a cat on its owner.
And if Lemy's not wrong, she's breathing heavily as if she were trying to memorize his scent… but this is not time for that, it's time for some boxing training.
"I didn't… She…" The man was now pale; he cursed his big mouth… and his lust.
"Or… maybe he said he would like to buy fifteen boxes?" She came out of her brother and returned to her normal face. "Which one was? I can't remember."
And this tigress strikes her poor pray; with an evil grin and eyes that could scare medusa itself, she looks at the poor fly that fell on her trap.
The man looked at them with surprise; a shadow of fury blurs his face, realizing he just fell in the trap of a little girl. He threw himself against the little cheater.
Lemy stopped him, taking his wrist and gripping it whit all his strength.
"Don't even think about it. Now, what did you say? If you talked about the cookies we can solve it here right now, but if I find out that an old man like you was molesting a little nine years old girl… well, I think the police would be interested."
If there was a moment the man regretted more, was when he opened the door. Lemy releases his hand, leaving his fingers printed on his skin.
"I… I said I would like to buy fifteen boxes…"
"You mean twenty" Leia happily swings back and forth with the most innocent of the smiles.
"Twenty boxes." The man sighs with defeat.
Leia walks while fixing her uniform, looking again like a normal nine years old girl willing to help an old lady to cross the street.
Lemy glances at her while pulling the wagon; it was pretty much lighter than before.
You know, fear is a self-preservation mechanism we, as specie, have develop to survive. As we grow, we learn, either from our parents or from experience, to fear things that can endanger our lives and prevent us from passing our genes to the next generation: predators, falls, even plants, things that might hurt us… sound pretty normal, right?
Then tell me, how can someone justify fearing a cute, little nine years old girl?
You just saw what she's capable of. One thing is fooling a religious woman telling her the cookies would be to help Christian missionaries in Africa. But another very, very different thing is using… her body, her natural beauty to fool possible child molesters.
How the fucking hell she thought it was a good idea? Not gonna lie, at one point it was funny and exciting, but… that was dangerous, you know?
He stopped her, grabbing her shoulder.
Lemy looked at her; for one moment he felt her smile was genuine. It wasn't evil or fake. It was the smile of a little girl walking with her big brother on a Saturday morning.
And he realized why that man fell in her trap; seeing Leia happy is like finding an oasis in the middle of the desert, like a light in the darkest forest, a place that would give you advantage in the battlefield, and you would do everything to protect it… everything.
"Leia… you do this often?"
Her smile faded and turned into a glare.
"Maybe… that's none of your business."
"It is! You're my sister and I care because it's dangerous… What if I wasn't there and that man had actually hurt you or something worse… what if he forced you to get into his house? Do you realize how much you're exposing yourself? That you could end up hurt? If you do this you could…"
Lemy breathes deeply; his voice got angrier and louder as he speaks. He was still holding his little sister whom looked at him with surprise.
And even when he knows it might be dangerous to tempt his luck, he pulls Leia towards him and gives her a hug so tight it might break her.
She's so tiny, man, so fragile, and I'm sure you protect all your fragile stuff, right? Well, that's how I want to protect her. I want to put her in a showcase so nothing bad could happen to her. I know it sounds crazy but that way she would be safe; safe from pedophiles like the guy from earlier… from dad… from me. Damn dude! I would give everything to keep her safe.
"You're so cute, so beautiful, and so important to me Leia. You shouldn't tempt your luck that way… If something happens to you I… I…"
Lemy hugs his sister tighter.
At first Leia was surprised, but as Lemy spoke she relaxed and hugged him back. And she would never admit it, but tears of joy ran through her cheeks.
"I'll be okay… I promise."
Lemy doesn't believe in her words.
"But if you want to keep me safe, all you have to do is come with me; with you by my side nothing bad can happen."
Lemy was about to bite his tongue; he wanted to say yes, that he would be with her forever and would follow her wherever she went.
He didn't. But what he could do was give her a kiss on the forehead, hoping to pass all those thoughts to her, even knowing that he would sell cookies for the rest of his life.
Damn, I'll be carrying cookies until the day this little brat finally graduates from the Scout Girls. I know it is a bad idea and I'll be complaining but… I can't leave her alone, I just can't.
And then Lemy looks at Leia; both still on each other arms.
Did she always have those blue eyes? It's like looking at the bottom of the sea; dark, deep and dangerous. But at the same time so beautiful and fascinating…
The little blonde seems to be lost in the bright, green forest on Lemy's eyes; lost like Little Red Riding Hood, but instead of running from the big bad wolf, Leia wants him to catch her.
Lemy managed to get out of those blue pools and focus on other thing… in her pink, soft lips that claim for his attention.
Wild, sweet strawberries; that's how they smell, and he's really hungry. Maybe a little bite… it wouldn't hurt…
They got close.
Leia is standing on her toes like a ballerina, trying to shorten the distance between him and her. Lemy on the other hand is lowering his face, and he didn't notice but his hands are caressing her cheeks, getting her close, lining his lips with hers…
Lemy's breathing is irregular; he's too close to her that he can feel the beating of her fragile heart, or maybe it was his since his heart was racing too.
Leia narrows those beautiful blue eyes of hers, and so does Lemy; both of them are watching the other like two soul mates finally finding each other.
And when Lemy can feel her breath over his, when the distance between their lips was almost gone…
"Leia! Leia!" Gwen's voice take them out of their dreams just like Leia did with Lemy this morning.
I wasn't doing anything!
Lemy breaks the hug so suddenly that Leia trembles and almost falls on her bottom.
Lemy looks his hands with horror and disgust, his heart still fiercely pumping as his whole body starts to tremble. He closes his eyes and covers his face.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, damn, shit!
What the hell is wrong with me? I swore that I would never do this to any of them!
Leia glances at his brother with confusion; after seeing his negative reaction, anger built in her as an expression of disgust set on her beautiful face.
"Leia, we ran out of coconut cookies, we need more…" She finally arrives with the two siblings; as she takes some air she notices Lemy is still cursing.
Leia is still looking at her brother with disappointment; her face red in anger for that failed attempt of a kiss.
"Leia? I need more…"
"YOU CAN TAKE ALL THE FUCKING COOKIES AND STICK THEM UP YOUR-" That last word was covered by the sound of the red wagon being kicked; after exploding, she walked away still cursing.
Lemy leaned against a mailbox; as he breathes to calm a little, he lifts his head to face the blue sky.
Gwen doesn't even say a word, all she could do now was lift the cookies she needed and the ones Leia kicked.
Man, right now I would give everything for a joint, but since this week has been so stressing I smoked them all. Guess that means another trip to the mall.
And please don't say a word… I know what you think: just do it.
Sorry man, but I won't.
I don't have a lot of virtues, but I promised I wouldn't touch my sister that way…not again, and that's something I'm willing to keep.
But sometimes it is just too hard, especially with Leia. I've always liked her. It's like… honey to flies: golden, sweet but so sticky once you taste it you are trapped until you die. In some measure I can understand that old man we just visited; it is normal for a man to like Leia… she attracts you just by seeing her eyes; it's like a… natural attraction.
Natural attraction.
Sneakers.