Tear the World Apart
"You, my boy, are a total enigma."
The boy in question stands in front of her; attempting a nonchalant stance, but failing horribly as he casts his eyes about for an escape route. He lifts one hand to scratch awkwardly at the back of his neck in a gesture almost as familiar to her as her own reflection.
"Erm…" he says, scrunching his face into what he seems to hope is a neutral expression, "thanks?"
She's caught him up to no good before, of course. A penchant for trouble is hardwired into his very soul, and it's hardly the first time that she's walked in on some half-baked, half-cocked plan cooked up by the two (often all three) of them that's about to go horribly awry. It's the first time she's seen him like this though.
He's been sat in the darkest corner of the library tucked away behind the piano where he spends so much time, and hidden behind a pile of books that remind her more of a fort (built under the hazel tree at the edge of the playing fields in a life a million years from this) than the evidence of careful studying. Anyway, he isn't supposed to be studying trans-dimensional matter today. That's Thursday.
Within the little fort lie scattered pieces of paper that he scuffs behind him with the tip of a trainer as she leans in for a closer look. She catches sight of one; a moment caught in time from their last trip. She's laughing. He's watching. They're in a world of their own.
Relieved that his most recent plot appears to be nothing more dangerous than a photograph album she reaches forward to ruffle his blond hair. She flashes him a grin before wandering off into the depths of their home, calling for his sister, and muttering about tea. He waits till she's out of sight to return to his work; glad not to be found out; guilty for hiding the truth.
He reaches for another book, slips a photograph inside, and reads.
Her face smiles at him from every one of these books. His family's history caught and stilled on these silly human inventions.
The photographs will keep him going, and one day, one far-away day, he knows she will thank him. Convinces himself they all will.
He is more powerful than the inevitable. They'll learn that, and they'll thank him.