The twin trebles of the Loud-Sharp boys:

It was a crisp early fall's morning on September 16th 2043, which apart from being the third Wednesday of the month, was also the first day of the school year for a vast majority of the younger inhabitants of the town of Royal Woods, Michigan… including the children of Luna and Sam Loud-Sharp:

A tall, muscular teenager, around three months past his 16th birthday — who was by far the best looking of the Loud-Sharp brood, at a towering 6 ft 4 inches; he was extremely handsome, with medium brown hair with blond streaks through it (faded from the previous summer when he turned 15 and decided to have it dyed blond) which hung to just below his shoulders, peach skin, and expressive hazel-green eyes — This was Christopher John, known as Chris to all and sundry. He was currently stood outside the half-bathroom he shared with his twin brother — who was currently in the shower — and was dressed in a dark green tank top and satin boxers.

"Greg! Could you hurry up in there? I'd like some hot water thanks!" He yelled at his twin, thumping impatiently on the door.

The shower abruptly ceased, yet HORNET'S song "exclamations within the darkness" continued to play, the raspy vocals of Chero Outlaw remained clearly audible even over the hum of the electric fan.

"Okay, just let me get dressed bro!" Greg called in reply, from behind the still yet to open door.

Ten minutes later, his brother exited the bathroom — though they were twins they were as dissimilar in looks as they were in temperament… Greg was barely six feet in height, his hair was a darker brown and he had peach skin like Chris, while his eyes were quite a bit narrower and were a russety color — dressed in his trademark outfit which consisted of a black multi-pocketed vest with golden-yellow compliments, with a dark navy blue long sleeve shirt worn beneath, with long pants and athletic shoes which matched the vest.

Chris rolled his eyes and, as he headed for the shower, he snagged his own outfit from the closet, which was very nearly identical to his brother's with the exception of his multi-pocketed vest and long sleeve shirt; which were emerald green (with silver-blue compliments) and forest green respectively.

Around half an hour later, the boys descended the stairs, with their backpacks on their shoulders. Luna greeted her sons with a warm, affectionate smile whilst Sam was busy at the stove, fixing bacon and eggs for the family's breakfast, and Roxy sat on a chair at the dining table, swinging her legs impatiently, as she wasn't very good at waiting for things.

Greg leaned down in order to kiss his mother's cheek "Mornin' Mum, how are ya?"

Luna hugged her oldest son tightly "Just fine hun… though your sister has just begun to pester your Momma and I to purchase makeup for her over the past few weeks."

Chris smirked at the long-suffering glance his mothers exchanged "It's worse at Aunt Lori's place because Juliette has already begun 'experimenting' with her mother's eyeliner and stuff, and she's only 6!"

"But that's a whole different scenario… of course Juliette wants to use it already… Jenna, Joy, and Janelle are all extremely vain and superficial, never leaving the apartment without being fully made up and unbeknownst to them influence the behaviors of their youngest sister negatively." A new voice interjected as Robbin appeared beside their mother, as usual donning his favorite deep blue HORNET: "The Final Order" shirt, dark jeans and Converses, whilst a bluish-gray headband kept errant locks of blondish-brown hair from hanging into his eyes.

Chris smiled at their younger brother, who he'd always been super close with "You keen to be a freshman this year, 'little' bro?" He questioned exchanging a knowing wink with Robbin. Although he was a little over two years younger than the twins, Robbin was even slightly taller than Chris.

The shy fourteen year old nodded, his face a carefully rehearsed emotionless facade, yet his older brother could read the uneasiness from his amber eyes… Robbin may have been good at hiding his anxiety as far as facial expression was concerned but one look in his eyes revealed his true feelings about whatever the situation happened to be.

They all sat at the table and consumed the breakfast which Sam had prepared, as they finished it, a knock sounded on the front door, and Greg went to answer it, Chris following after him, the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

Greg opened the door seconds later, which revealed JJ, the son of Tabby and Justin, who was way more his father's child than his mother's, with his slightly tan skin, sandy brown hair, and light blue-gray eyes - to be stood upon the front porch, smirking slightly. He was by far one of the shortest out of their friend group, but that had never bothered him in the slightest.

"Morning Greg, Chris…" His eyes darted between his friends as he greeted them, JJ was dressed similarly to the other boys excepting that his multi- pocketed vest was imperial purple (with brilliant alizarin compliments) and his long sleeve shirt was indigo "you guys keen to be juniors this year?" He questioned them, and Greg nodded, whilst Chris's shoulders merely rose and fell in a casual shrug.

They followed JJ down the driveway to his Audi A6, and once inside were greeted by another of their friends, and the only child of Mazzy and Sully, who was a couple of centimetres shorter than JJ and had inherited his mother's plum-colored hair, which was styled into a mullet, that hung low on his forehead, slightly obscuring the right one of his blue-tinged, fern green eyes. He was dressed in a Protest: Duskraider t-shirt, jeans and red sneakers.

Chris lowered himself onto the front passenger seat, immediately noticing his friend's younger cousin who so often hung around with them, wasn't present "Hey dude, where the heck is Dan at?" He asked, shooting his friend a wondering look. Dan was the fourth 'musketeer' and was JJ's younger cousin, who was slightly taller than JJ himself, and dressed extremely similar to the three older boys except that he donned a marigold multi-pocketed vest (with lavender compliments) and a long-sleeved shirt which was burnt orange in color.

JJ started his car, placing his shades on, and as he eased it out of the driveway, casually shrugged in response to his friend's question "Oh, my cuz wanted to ride the bus today for some reason - he did tell me the reason he wanted to, yet I've forgotten why by now."

As they drove toward the school, they could see the lights for the aforementioned bus through the rear view mirror as they reflected off the slightly damp road surface.

Robbin climbed onto the bus as it halted at the stop at the end of his block. He glanced around, immediately noticing Greg and Chris's friend Dan, perched on the back seat, deep in conversation with an unfamiliar girl who appeared to be roughly two years older than him, making her probably the age of his brothers… She was quite beautiful, tall for her age, with a faultless complexion which had the slightest hint of olive to it, shoulder length wavy medium brown hair, and blue-gray eyes which were much more blue than either Dan or JJ's. He was also convinced that she was a metal head just the same as his brothers, their friends and himself as he immediately taken note of the Steel Chapel shirt she was wearing, and she must've known in an instant for she paused, and flashed him a grin in partnership with the head banger gesture, which Robbin eagerly returned.

After scanning the aisles a few minutes, his walk appearing slightly unsteady due to the bus pulling into traffic, his amber eyes lit on a vacant spot next to an unfamiliar boy, who he immediately realized bore a resemblance to the girl, only he was quite a bit shorter than Robbin himself, had creamy skin, deep brown eyes and short, lightly curled caramel brown hair - who was dressed in a dark green open blouse, over a moss green t-shirt, dark green cargo pants and dark gray athletic shoes.

Robbin addressed the boy nervously, straightening his backpack which had slid partially off his right shoulder "Hey dude — Do you mind if I sit with you?"

The boy looked at him, momentarily startled but smiled with a welcoming shyness at Robbin, as he realized they had similar personalities, at least. "Yeah, I guess you can…" He answered, and only when Robbin was comfortable did he offer him his hand "I'm Karl Khrister Lannerbäck by the way, but people usually call me either Karl or KK, my familj and I moved here over summer, since My Far, who owns one of the most profitable guitar manufacturers in the country in partnership with his brother - and has stores throughout the east coast and a few outlets on the west coast… finally decided to open a store in Michigan, how he came to the decision to open it in a medium sized town in the suburbs over the nearest major city is beyond me."

Robbin grinned, shaking hands with the boy "Is that your sister?" He said, slipping the girl a momentary glance before looking back at KK "I think my brothers would like her."

KK too looked at the girl, exchanging a smile with her before replying to the other boy's question with a nod of affirmation "Ja, that's my older syster Marléna, she has our Mom's coloring, but our Far-Far's face shape, and is closer in personality to our Far. We've also four younger siblings: first there's Astrid, who's starting 7th grade tomorrow, she is very mature for her age, and is already a concert level pianist. Then is our bror Antonio - who is Tony and is our Mor-Far's obvious favorite grandchild - though she's never actually admitted to it - since he's just like our Far was as a boy his age…" He trailed off, noticing the curious glance the slightly older boy who sat alongside him was giving.

"Why is it you call your dad 'Far'?" Robbin asked, raising his eyebrow.

KK chuckled, amused by the obvious curiosity of his new-found acquaintance "Well, the whole paternal side of my familj hails from Sweden originally, and when my parents fell in love in the Summer of 2024, they were soon engaged and decided along with my grandparents to join my Onkel Joey and his fiancée, who is my Aunty Crista, in South Florida, as for why we refer to them by the Swedish terms is that was decided that if they had children, that said children should refer to them by their Swedish names as a way of keeping the culture of their homeland alive." He patiently explained "then is our youngest bror Gus - little prank-master that he is, Mom and Far both find it a near impossibility to properly discipline him… so our big syster usually has to step in but sometimes she is even incapable of doing so…" KK trailed off, his tone turning mirthful by the pause.

The humour evident in KK's tone was contagious and Robbin could feel his lips forming a smirk and one of his brows quirking slightly "And why can neither your parents or older sister discipline your youngest brother?"

KK's form shook with silent laughter "Once Gus flashes his dimples, along with his trademark cheeky grin, they so easily forget what it was they were punishing him for. Lastly is our baby sister Katie, who acts like an entitled brat always, none of us can fathom why she acts so, since neither of our parents have ever gone out of their way to spoil any of us." He finished, slipping a curious look to the older boy who sat quietly beside him

"What about you mate?, you must have siblings since you previously mentioned having brothers…"

Robbin was taken aback by the question, yet still answered it "Given my shy, unobtrusive manner I'm not given to talking about myself — that's always been the part of my brother Greg, he and Chris are twins, and I've always been closest with Chris, he's a lot more harsh and serious than Greg, and girls generally avoid him since though they might have been interested, they haven't the slightest clue how to approach him. Lastly is our baby sister Roxy, who acts just like our Momma and we are really protective of her."

KK grinned "I have 11 cousins also, there are the kids of Mom's older brother, but you're already familiar with them, and you'll eventually meet my Farbror's children: Linnéa is the oldest, she's a few months younger than Dan, and is very similar to my older syster in appearance and temperament both. Then is Andy, our cunning and sly cousin, he's a half year younger than me, next are the twins; there's Stellan - who's as similar to Gus as Linnéa and Marléna are to each other - and Inga, who falls a little out of the norm at least in terms of hair color — we're all either blond or brown with Astrid as the bridger — since her hair is a deep shade of red… and lastly is the youngest of our family Gunnar, he's a quiet little guy who thinks the sun rises and sets upon his brother and I." He paused, and only when his companion nodded, did he ask "And what about you mate, have you got any cousins?"

Robbin laughed, "Yep, an absolute army load of them… you see, my Mum's third oldest out of eleven siblings, so you can wager that I've quite a few more cousins than you. First are the ten children of Aunt Lori and Uncle Bobby: Jenna, Jonathan (who lives here in Royal Woods with our mutual Aunt and Uncle), Jason, Joy, Janelle, Jimmy, Jasmine, Jacob, Juliette, and baby Jackson. Next is cousin Luella, the only daughter of Aunty Leni and Uncle Scot, then are the kids of Aunty Luan and Uncle Benny, Benjamin and Laurel, then would be Aunt Lynn and Uncle Francisco who are separated due to the antagonistic relationship present between their sons, my cousins Frank-Lynn and Lindsey, then are Uncle Lincoln and Aunty Ronnie-Anne with Greg's favorite cousin Linka, and her twin Drew… then is our Aunt Lucy, who's been married twice…" Here Robbin's tone turned scornful "first to our once uncle Rocky…"

KK interrupted seconds later, his brows knitted together in confusion "Once?" He repeated thoughtfully.

Robbin growled under his breath — though he'd been only about 6 or 7 when it happened, he could still remember the rift in his family which happened as a direct result of Rocky's unfaithfulness, the cousins all shunned and detested their shy, easily startled son as a result… "That bastard cheated on my aunt while they were still married… I don't give a damn that I don't get to see my cousin Vlad too much, since he lives mostly with his dad, step-Ma and half-siblings 2 hours away… Anyhow Aunt Lucy wasn't single for long after - soon reconnecting with her childhood friend Silas, who soon became our uncle; he's the father of our cousins Kuro - who's a mini-metal head since I babysit him a heap - and Lacy. Then are the triplets of Aunt Lana and uncle Skippy, who are affectionately referred to as 'The three little grease monkeys' in the family who's who. Then is still bitchy Aunty Lola with the resident family brat, our cousin Annabelle, penultimately there is our Aunt Lisa and uncle Hugh with our academically brilliant and socially awkward cousin Neill. Lastly is our unborn cousin, the expected offspring of mine and my siblings Aunty Lily and Uncle Carlitos."

KK then furrowed his brow, performing a brief mental calculation "so that makes approximately 25 cousins… how do you keep track of them, dude?"

Robbin chuckled, shaking his head "I don't usually… Our Grandparents always used to mix-up my brothers and it used to drive Chris insane, since they never did that with Jonathan and Jason."

As the bus halted at the main entrance of Royal Woods High and she and Dan walked to the front of the bus, Marléna grinned at the two boys "Ah…" she began, glancing at Robbin in a manner he perceived as vaguely teasing "You must be my cousin's guitar tutor, Robbin's your name, right?" She asked him, "It's nice to find my shy bror here has so quickly become acquainted with one around his age."

Robbin smirked, nodding his head "Yep, that'd be me…." and after a brief silence, in which he got a better look at her shirt, he added "nice shirt you got there, by the way."

Marléna smirked, once more displaying the head banger gesture as she saw the shirt worn by her younger brother's friend "Could say the same of yours, dude."

Once off the bus, the quartet were intercepted by Chris, Greg, JJ, and Starkey, Chris gazed momentarily at the newcomers before turning to address his friend "Dan, who are those two?" He asked, gesturing at the pair.

Dan raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise "Them? They're my cousins who are from South Florida originally and moved here right around my birthday. I didn't hang out very much with you guys over summer break since I was busy playing tour guide for 'em."

Greg's eyes widened in disbelief as they focused for a second or two on Marléna's svelte form, He then looked back at his twin and their friends and said with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows "Aw man, she's like a ten outta ten, I should like to get to know her."

Dan jabbed the older boy in the rib cage with his right elbow "Yuck man, that's my cousin - I won't hang with you, Chris or my other cousin anymore if you dare make an advance on her without her consent." He warned, his gaze turning momentarily hostile as his eyes met Greg's for a moment.

Greg blinked hard a few times, not used to this kind of reaction from his friend "Okay man, I'll make sure to ask her then…" he muttered.

Chris meanwhile, found himself unsatisfied with his friend's prior introduction, and turned to instead address his other brother, who was still chatting animatedly with a slightly younger boy "Hey there 'little' bro, who's that kid you're talking with?"

Robbin paused mid-sentence, smiling at his favorite brother "This is Dan's cuz KK, his sis is pretty cool, you're gonna like her a ton since she's a metal head, much like you, me, Greg, JJ, Dan and Starkey." He patiently explained.

Chris finally let his gaze settle momentarily upon the statuesque example of feminine beauty who was currently being accosted by Chelsea Harcourt-Smyth, co-captain of the school's cheer squad "She looks cool, man." He admitted - a gentle, genuine smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Much like earlier with Robbin, Marléna had noticed him observing her, and grinned widely enough so her singular dimple was clearly visible, once more displaying the head banger gesture, which Chris just as eagerly returned.

Chelsea eyed the unfamiliar girl with an intense curiosity "So do you wanna try out for the cheer squad or any other sports our school has to offer?" She asked, her seafoam green eyes sparkling.

The other girl responded with a shake of her head and a casual shrug of the shoulders. "No thanks, though I've a natural aptitude for sports in general, I have never been passionate about them."

Chelsea's face momentarily fell but then she was curious again "If not in sports, where does your passion lie?"

Here Marléna's eyes suddenly blazed like the hottest of flames "My passion is for music as my Far is the owner of a guitar company with outlets nationwide in partnership with his bror, my Onkel. Being the eldest of the current generation means I'm basically an heiress, though I've never acted in any way entitled - that's more the part of my baby syster, which is surprising since neither of our parents have ever gone out of their way to spoil my siblings and I."

Chelsea blinked rapidly "Wait?! Are you perhaps the child of Eddie Lannerbäck?"

Marléna smirked, one eyebrow slightly raised "Ja. I'm his firstborn, why?"

"Well, my older cousin is still employed at the flagship store in Palisade Sands, which is currently managed by your uncle."

Marléna smiled, shaking her head in disbelief "Ja, I remember Wolfe used to tell Far he had a cousin about my age, I just never thought I would actually meet her."

Chelsea suddenly divulged in her newest friend a not so closely guarded secret of hers "I've had a massive crush on Greg Loud-Sharp since we started 9th grade, and the fact he seems not to have noticed the way I look at him is a little disheartening, yet I'll keep going 'til he realizes and voices some interest in me."

The other girl's eyes suddenly sparked in curiosity "And what about his twin brother?" She questioned, gesturing in Chris's direction.

"A few of the girls here have expressed interest in him from afar, yet have no clue how to approach him to be honest."

Marléna let her gaze drift to the tall, handsome youth in question, an enchanting smile gracing her lips "That's due to his being a good deal more sly, harsh and serious than Greg, isn't it? I should be easily able to break him from his shell, since he's way too similar to my younger cousin in temperament." She declared, brimming with a certain air of confidence.

Again, Chris became aware that her eyes were on him, and grinned widely back at her, before turning to his brother and their friends "I think she might have already set her sights on me…" he whispered conspiratorially, nudging his twin with an elbow.

Greg looked at his slightly younger brother, his brows knit together in confoundedness "What makes you say that bro?" He hissed vehemently.

Chris's eyes suddenly softened, and began to gleam with an unfamiliar emotion - need - a need to secure this newcomer's affections "Well she's looked at me on two occasions this morning, with what I sense to be a hint of interest in the depths of those gorgeous eyes of hers." He explained, his voice sounding distant and a little bit dreamy by the end of the sentence.

Greg's face screwed up in mock disgust and his already narrow reddish brown eyes narrowed further. "You okay there Chris?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at his twin "You're sounding a little like our cousin Luella there."

Chris glowered back "I don't sound a thing like our airheaded bimbo of a cousin!" He spat, but he let his gaze momentarily settle on the beautiful newcomer and sighed "It's just - I'm experiencing this feeling I've never done before… and I'll have to talk to either one of our mothers to know for sure, but I guess it's similar to love…"

Greg smirked, "Well you're gonna have me, your twin brother, as a competitor in the race to secure her affections…"

Chris narrowed his eyes, "Seriously Greg, what the fuck is wrong with you?!" he asked in annoyance "How have you not noticed the way Chelsea looks at you! She's quite pretty and you're a dense piece of shit if you haven't realized that she's been crazy about you since we were freshmen!" He yelled at his twin, infuriated.

Greg was incensed "JJ's sister and our cousin Joy have crushes on you, and you barely notice either of 'em!!!"

JJ interjected then, in defence of Chris. "I don't like the way my sister is with Chris… she never leaves him alone, and annoys him constantly."

"Thanks, man." Chris said, smiling at their friend, then turned back to his brother, glaring at him again "As for Joy, I only see her as a cousin, and that'll never change."

They all entered the main hallway of the school, just as the bell for first period sounded, as if by sheer coincidence it seemed, Marléna had been assigned to the same homeroom class as Greg, Chris and their friends and as the students took their seats, idle chatter was exchanged between the various small groups.

The sound of a throat being officiously cleared at the front of the room made 27 pairs of eyes of varying shades focus themselves first upon the teacher Mr. Crawford, then upon the young lady standing calmly alongside his desk.

"Girls and boys, it's my absolute honor to introduce to you the firstborn of one of the most popular guitar manufacturers in the country - Marléna Lannerbäck."

From his seat in the centre of the second row, Bjørn Jansen — the grade's resident creep who actually viewed himself as quite the ladies man — looked Marléna up and down, his tangled, greasy pale blond hair flopping over his forehead a little, but not enough to disguise the lewd expression within his fishy glacial green eyes as they focused on her ample chest area "Oh she's so perfect… I will make her my own!" He declared, death-staring Chris as he said the last part, whose sole response was a roll of the eyes, as he was clearly unfazed by the other boy's declaration.

Marléna silenced the kid with an icy glare, though beneath their surfactant ferocity, some of the other students, in particular her cousin and surprisingly enough Chris, could sense the fear which lurked within their depths. "No, you won't be so stupid as to do a thing like that — you're sounding a ton like the kid who assaulted me when I was barely thirteen and at my old school."

Jansen's face fell momentarily, but then he directed a baleful glare at the much taller, better-looking youth sat a couple of rows behind him, before he once more ogled her svelte form "But you'd never wanna take a chance on someone like that." He snidely commented.

Marléna's eyes suddenly had in them a roguish twinkle as they again met those of Chris for a brief moment "That's where you're oh-so confidently incorrect…" She paused, letting her eyes glide over his muscular physique, before she averted her gaze and added, so low she believed no one else present in the room was capable of hearing it "I've already chosen him - though given his similarities to my younger cousin in temperament I suspect he hasn't noticed it yet…"

But, unbeknownst to her, Chris did manage to hear it, and his eyes shone green with conviction as he threw his twin brother a triumphant smile, which caused Greg to raise an eyebrow.

After the second period - which was math - ended, the bell rang for morning break, and Greg approached his twin, who was stuffing things into his locker. "Hey bro, what the hell was that earlier look you gave me for?"

Chris looked at his brother with a smirk "Well our friend's cuz pretty much admitted she wants something with me."

"Still that doesn't mean I'll stop trying to get her attention." Greg hotly refuted

Chris's eyes drifted to the other side of the hallway, where the eternally creepy Jansen had cornered the beauteous newcomer, and made a grab for her hand with one of his dirty paws, which led her to cringe into the cool metal of her locker's door. Chris suddenly felt the urge to defend Marléna, yet stayed put at his own locker, as he thought interfering would ruin his chances with her.

"Come on baby…" Jansen started, his foul breath washing over her face "let's talk music — I happen to play lead trumpet in the school band…" His obvious lie was soon drowned out by the interjection of an outside voice which was ripe with natural musicality.

"We both know that isn't the case Jansen, and that Jace Westbrook is the principal trumpet player." It said

Bjørn was only five feet seven inches and felt like a literal ant as the shadow of the school band's drummer Thor Valderson loomed overhead. Thor's looks earned him the attention of nearly every girl in the school… He was practically Chris's height, with dark olive skin, smooth blondish-brown locks (which reached the middle of his neck), a softly cleft chin and deep, bright, dark blue eyes.

"Aw come on Valderson, why is it you who always spoils my fun?" He refuted hotly.

The blue eyes he looked into were hard as stone. "YOU don't seem to realize that your outwardly creepy behaviour doesn't endear you to any girl here." Thor quipped, watching as the creepy kid skulked off.

Marléna straightened to her full height and flashed a thankful smile up at the slightly older boy "Thanks again for saving me from that weirdo… is he like that with every girl who attends school here?"

Thor nodded reluctantly "Unfortunately yes, Jansen acts that way with every female student then has the audacity to blame them for his romantic failings."

Marléna cast a glance to where Chris and his friends stood, "Do you ever hang out with my cousin and his circle of friends?" She asked curiously.

Thor's shoulders rose and fell in a casual shrug "Sometimes, the Loud-Sharp twins are pretty cool, as are their cousin, Starkey Pearce, your cousin and Jeremy De Martini."

Marléna smirked "I should like to talk to the taller of the Loud-Sharps" then she paused, sighing heavily "Although, I don't think he'd be the slightest bit interested in me - since he's so like my younger cousin Andy in temperament, that I feel he's likely to reject me in an instant if I dare approach him."

Thor patted her shoulder sympathetically, before he changed the subject. "My younger cousin is starting here in a fortnight, and I know I can trust you to show her around."

Marléna nodded "Ja, I should be familiar enough with the layout of the school by then."


Around a month later, and with her sixteenth birthday not far behind her, Marléna finally decided it was time to approach the handsome youth she'd become instantly infatuated with:

With a sudden air of confidence she deftly approached the bench at which he was sat with his twin, Starkey, her cousin, Jeremy and another unfamiliar boy, though she wished to converse only with Chris, he appeared to be chatting animatedly with Jeremy, and she thought he'd instantly reject her if she interrupted them.

After putting her lunch tray down on a nearby table, she felt a lump of uncertainty form in her throat as she reached a tentative hand out and laid it on his shoulder.

Chris straightened as he felt a gentle hand being placed on his shoulder, and turned his head, a slow smile spreading on his face as he found himself gazing into a pair of dark blue (light gray flecked) eyes, completely captivated.

She removed her hand from his shoulder, now nervously wringing it with her other one. "Christopher, is it alright if I… sit with you?" She asked.

Chris's jaw dropped and he stared at her in shock — Had she just asked if she could sit with him? —

Marléna sighed heavily, almost dejectedly, and turned and walked away, feeling as if he had little if any interest in her after all.

She was barely over five feet away when she heard a somewhat distant voice call after her "Wait!" and she spun on her heel, only to find Chris to be standing a couple of feet away, and he tentatively reached for her hand… and to his surprise, she gladly took it, and as they looked into each other's eyes, sparks pulsated in the small space between them.

Marléna smiled boldly at him, and Chris spoke up "You can sit with me, if you still want to… but why is it you have picked me instead of my twin?" He questioned, completely mystified.

Marléna giggled, the lightest of flushes suffusing her cheeks "Well, I decided I wanted a bit of a challenge when it came to romance and since your outward manner is very like my younger cousin's, I knew you were the one." She explained.

Chris let go of her hand, and moved a tentative one to gently cup her cheek "You're amazingly beautiful and I feel I'm not worthy of your interest… I'm far too plain in comparison to you." He admitted, dropping his eyes and looking away.

To his surprise, he felt her leaning her cheek into his broad palm, and batting her lashes at him "Why? You've got brains, brawn and height to go along with your good looks, and according to Chelsea, some girls have expressed interest in you from afar but avoid you since they don't have a clue how to approach you because of your seriousness." She murmured, before straightening to smile boldly at him once more. "I know this is our first conversation… but, I really like you and I just wanted you to know it."

Chris straightened, reaching for her, and as he pulled her into the circle of his hold, he bent forward and huskily whispered in her ear "Well, ever since the first moment I saw you there's been a certain feeling fast growing within me, as if nothing else would matter if I didn't have you beside me." Marléna sniffed "W-what, are you saying that the interest is mutual, or was this just me foolishly hoping?" She asked, averting her gaze and staring down at the tiled floor of the cafeteria.

Chris felt something tug at his heart, and with a tenderness he'd never thought of himself as possibly being the possessor of… reached for her chin, tilted it upward and looked deeply into her eyes with his heart skipping a beat or two, he whispered "No, I've been watching you since you came here, and I have always wished you to be interested in me this way… because as you know I've always found you appealing. In fact…" he bent his head forward so their lips were mere inches apart, "I know I'm probably rushing things a little but… may I please kiss you? All my dreams over these past weeks have been of doing it and now with you here in my arms I feel as though it will finally happen."

Marléna grinned widely enough so her singular dimple was visible, "Of course, I've wished for you to be the one to hold me in this manner since my cousin first mentioned your name." She whispered and the handsome older boy gently kissed her sensuous lips, his tongue exploring the uncharted territory of the inside of her mouth — and when they finally broke apart, they looked into each other's eyes for a long moment. Caught in one another's spell, they were blissfully unaware of the small crowd…. mostly consistent of girls wearing clearly envious expressions - which had gathered around them.

Lilith Marsh, a stereotypical 'valley girl' who was extremely plain of face threw a condescending look at Marléna before whining to the boy who still had an arm loosely around her waist. "Chris, how could you pick someone as ugly as this virginal newcomer over someone like me who's pretty and has a lot of experience?"

Chris felt as though he should defend the sweet, innocent beauty at his side, and exploded in the other girl's face, "Quiet, you wench! You've been sleeping with boys since 7th grade, which you had to repeat, and I'm surprised you haven't had at least one kid yet! I never even found you attractive and not many boys do once you take off that make up! This newcomer is sweet and beautiful, so much so that there's a possibility I could be on my way to loving her already…" He trailed off as Marléna suddenly whimpered softly and thought to herself 'What? He may already be feeling that deeply for me — No way this kind of thing isn't supposed to happen in real life.' and Lida stomped off, nose held high in righteous indignation.

Marléna then stepped back, and looked at him "has my cousin hinted at what happened to me back in my hometown?" She questioned, and Chris nodded, tightly embracing her "Yeah, he did. And you know what? It just made me want to protect you from danger even more, if you'd give me the chance to." He whispered, as Marléna laid her arms on his shoulders.

A new voice tore them from their reverie as Charity Lawrence, another friend of Chelsea's who was an All-American girl — academically gifted, yet sporty also, sweet and always kind, polite and helpful — who was much the beauteous one herself, with long blackish brown waves, olive skin and emerald green eyes spoke "I'm enthralled at how quickly you've managed to attain Chris Loud-Sharp's attention — so many of us have fancied him from afar but haven't had the courage to approach him — since we all thought he would reject us instantly, given his serious nature."

Marléna laughed "Well I was the one who was finally bold enough to approach him, and mistook his mesmerized reaction for unwillingness to take me for his own, about which I was completely incorrect, turns out I never really took notice of the looks he's been flashing me since the date of my arrival." She looked up into the now bright green eyes of the object of her affections.

Chris smiled down at her, and let his thumb stroke her cheekbone softly "That's because I thought you'd prefer my twin or perhaps even JJ and viewed myself as a fool who was only capable of admiring you from a distance."

Marléna squeezed his shoulders gently "Your twin brother is perfectly fine, yet I won't pursue him because I value Chelsea as a friend and am aware of her ongoing interest in him, it's a shame he still fails to notice it." She paused, and smiled up at him "As for Jeremy, he's my aunt Maxine's older brother's son, making him technically my cousin, so I'll only ever view him as such — or more accurately only as a friend…." She took a handful of paces back and smirked at Chris, "and then, there was you… the one who has always, even before I met them, had a firm hold on my heart."

Chris grinned and pulled her back into his arms "You couldn't have been more wrong… you're going to soon be the one thing I can't live without."

That afternoon, Chris decided to take the bus, and Marléna was pleased, as she already was so fond of his company.

"So Marléna, when can I come over to your place and meet your parents and siblings properly?" Chris asked casually, as Dan took up a spot on her left.

"I suppose you'll be tasked with picking your 'little' brother up later this evening, Karl told me they've been paired up in just about every subject, and both are really pleased with the situation." Marléna answered.

Dan spoke now "Their place is huge… they have two swimming pools and a huge tree filled backyard… My parents, siblings and I were all suitably impressed with the grandeur of the house — Dad even let out a low whistle and was like 'So this is what real money can get you.'"

Marléna frowned "Uncle Tom said that as if Far had been born into the money… though Far has had to work extremely hard, Mom was visibly pregnant with me when they came back to the States and soon after I was born he set up the flagship store in Palisade Sands… our old hometown had a couple of beaches, and we used to loathe all the tourists that would come every summer, well we kids did… it was a boom period of business for Far — the summer after I turned 9, a famous guitarist visited the store and befriended Far and also had twin sons a few months younger than me who I quickly grew to like a lot — their wife and mom was a sweet woman, but was already tired of the locals and fellow tourists alike constantly flirting with her…" Marléna paused, "two years later, I was at a gig at the local theater for the band he was in, every other member was pretty nice, but the vocalist was pretty egotistical."

"What band was that?" Chris asked, enthralled

"I'll reveal that in due time, as I feel you may be a fan of the band, just like me." She teased, smirking.

Chris chuckled, placing a hand atop Marléna's which lay on the seat between them "God, why does it feel like I've known you for years and not just weeks?"

Marléna looked at him, as the bus halted at the end of his block "I guess you were just lucky —- I'll see you tomorrow, Chris." she murmured, hugging him as he stood to exit the bus, "this is your stop and…" She trailed off, as a middle-aged woman with dark pixie-cut hair dressed in a fuchsia mid-riff skull top with a similarly colored knee-length skirt and boots came out to meet Chris "Your mother is Luna Loud of the eclipse band?! My best cousin-friend and I have all their albums."

Chris chuckled, stepping away reluctantly, as he really didn't want to break the embrace "Yeah, and my other mother is another member, Sam Sharp…"

Marléna's eyebrows went up "Really?! She's my mom's cousin — Your Grandmomma and my Gran are sisters…"

Chris settled his backpack over his shoulders "See ya tomorrow, babe." He told Marléna, winking at her as he stepped off the bus.

"Who was that hun?" Luna asked her son, hugging him tightly.

"She's the sister of Robbin's best bud Karl, as well as the paternal cousin of Dan and his siblings." Her son explained, and his mother saw the look that flashed through his eyes.

"What's her name, son? She's really quite beautiful…"

Her son smiled in a way Luna had never seen him do before, in much the same manner she reserved mainly for Sam "Her name is Marléna…" Chris answered, her face flashing through his mind. "And yep, she's gorgeous. Mum, she's the daughter of Mr. Ferrier's younger sister, and I'm not sure if what I feel for her is true affection — so I thought I'd best talk it over with you or Momma."

Luna smiled at her son "Tell me then hun."

Chris suddenly froze "W-ell, the first day she arrived at school, we both looked at each other once or twice and something stirred deep within me and I knew I must get her attention by any means necessary — Greg likes her too, but I'm almost certain she doesn't like him that way — after all, she's best friends with Chelsea and we all know how deeply Chelsea feels for Greg, though he ignores her with a fondness.

She even allowed me to kiss her today, and I feel as though I've finally found a girl I can open my heart to…"

Luna squeezed her son's hand "But Tabby and I always were fixing to have you and Tessa marry…"

Chris jerked his hand away, suddenly shooting his Mum a hostile glance "Tessa constantly annoys the hell outta me, I only barely tolerate her since she's JJ's little sister!" he yelled, his anger seeping through.

"So you feel like you've already found your soulmate in Marléna, don't you?" Luna asked her son, and he inclined his head in what she perceived as a nod.

"Yes, but I'm not sure that she feels the same way… I just have to wait for her to, you know, make the next move."

They soon entered the house, and Chris went up to put his stuff away in his room.

-Meanwhile, the bus halted outside the Lannerbäck house, and Robbin's jaw dropped "You guys live here?" He asked, and the other two kids merely smirked in response.

As they made their way onto the porch, the front door opened, and a woman — who appeared to be in her early forties — stood on the threshold.

"Afternoon Mom." Marléna and KK greeted in unison, and the woman smiled lovingly upon her two oldest children,

"Your father won't be home until around seven… so we won't have dinner til then."

"Alright I'm gonna walk to the store and help Far out for an hour or two, see you guys later" Marléna said, turning to walk into town.

Grace watched her daughter disappear into the distance, and smiled at her son and his friend "Come inside then you two, which subject is this assignment for?"

"History." KK and Robbin answered in unison, and exchanged a smile with one another

"This was a family tree project, do you have any contact with your biological parents?" KK suddenly asked his friend.

Robbin shrugged "Yeah, I've seen them a few times, first on my fifth birthday, then on my eighth birthday and lastly on my twelfth birthday. They explained the second time that they'd given me up for adoption since they were both very young [I think my biological mom was a high school senior and my dad was a freshman in college) by the time I was eight I found they'd given me a little sister, Raine and on my twelfth birthday they turned up with my baby brother Ricky. By birth my Christian name is Robbinson Rhett McAlpine, turns out my middle name was Rhett after my biological father, and Rhoda is the name of my mother."

At roughly 6:45 pm two cars pulled up in the driveway, and Chris got out of his Chevy impala, letting out a low whistle as he saw the grand looking residence which greeted him.

"Fancy seeing you here…" A voice teased, and turning about, he noticed Marléna standing a few feet away, A tall middle aged gentleman with torso length rich brown hair and identically colored eyes stood slightly to her right, an arm slung protectively about her shoulders.

"Dear daughter, who's this young man?" He asked, in a voice with a moderate accent of someone who wasn't born in America, but Chris couldn't pick where he came from.

"Far, that's my boyfriend…" She began, but trailed off as she saw her father's expression change, and felt his arm tighten around her shoulders.

"Relax Far, he's Luna and Sam of the eclipse band's son… he's actually really nice to me, he's friends with Dan, and…" She explained, and her father released her shoulders, and with a slight grin on his countenance, he took a couple of steps towards the youth.

"Ah, so you're that friend of my nephew's whose brother is teaching him how to slay the old ax — My daughter here is actually pretty great at both guitar and piano but her real talent is singing." The man offered his hand to Chris, and the boy stared back in wide-eyed, obvious shock.

"You're the legendary guitar manufacturer Eddie Lannerbäck aren't you?" He asked, blinking rapidly, and then firmly shook the hand of his girlfriend's father.

The man and Marléna didn't make a conscious effort to hide their obvious amusement at the reaction of the youth, though Eddie momentarily recovered and smirked "Well, last time I checked I was — Anyway a few years back your mother Luna stopped in to my original store in South Florida and purchased a Flayrstryke 05 in luminal violet." He shook his head "and to think the male outside our family my daughter would feel finally able to trust would be their son." he mused to himself.

A boy who looked like a miniature version of Eddie, stood on the porch and scrutinized the interaction rather seriously.

Marléna was first to notice the preteen and grinned "Good evening Champ, how was fifth grade?"

The boy smirked at his sister "Just fine, I'm already crushing hard on a girl in the grade above but she's with some ass-hole jock, I think I'll wait for the right moment to voice my affection for her — though I don't think she'll ever like me back."

Marléna and their Far exchanged mystified glances with one another that silently said "Tony's only 10, he shouldn't be interested in girls that way yet."

A smaller boy, with tan skin, blue eyes and blond hair suddenly appeared and threw a bucket of ice cold water at his unsuspecting brother, drenching his outfit.

Tony's expression shifted to one that was a mixture of distress, shock, and kindling anger as he spun around, charging after his younger brother, whose laughter echoed from the inside of the house.

"Who was that Marléna?" Chris asked, throwing his girlfriend a confused look.

Marléna sighed, knowing she'd most likely be in charge of punishment for the younger one… "That's my littlest bror Gus, he's forever pranking the majority of us… when he and our cousin Stellan — who's roughly three months older than him — get together there's a crap ton of mischief and pranks, much to our parents' chagrin and not only when they do it in public, does it embarrass Far and Mom, but also Onkel Joey and Aunty Crista."

Chris groaned "They sound so like my cousins Benjamin and Laurel, My Aunty Luan's kids."

Her father continued into the house, leaving the young couple alone, and Marléna stepped toward her boyfriend, smiling "Maybe tomorrow I will tell you my unfortunate tale…" Her face darkened, and Chris pulled her against him in a comforting embrace "And I'll listen attentively, and reaffirm my promise never to disrespect you in any manner." He whispered, and then Robbin and KK both appeared on the porch, smirking at their elder siblings.

"Oi, would you love birds stop being cute for one second?" KK asked his sister teasingly, strolling down the driveway to stand a few feet away from their siblings.

"Oh, and what are these rumors flying about that you like Juan Reyes's daughter?" She returned, and laughed as her brother's face suddenly flushed crimson in embarrassment "Oh? Was that some kind of secret?" She nudged him with her elbow, and he nodded sheepishly "Uhh… I guess it was. Anyhow, did you see Gus's latest prank?"

His sister groaned "Unfortunately yes, Tony was the target and he's pretty annoyed — but then he should expect it, since we've all grown up with our little brother causing mischief from an early age."

The sound of a throat being cleared drew Chris's attention to the place where he'd parked his auto, and he noticed his brother stood by, waiting patiently.

Chris chuckled "Guess I'd better be going… can I have your cell phone number please babe?" He asked his girlfriend hopefully.

"Of course," Marléna paused, and tore a corner from one of her journal pages and quickly scrawled her number on it, then handed it to her boyfriend "there you go…"

Chris grinned as though he'd received a treasure map of some kind… "Thanks, I'll text you soon."

Marléna kissed his cheek, "I don't know if I want to risk certain people at our school possibly overhearing my story…."

Chris nodded, knowing she meant Lida, who would probably spread some vicious rumor in hopes of breaking them up, but of course Dan would be setting everyone straight since Marléna was his close cousin — as good as an older sister.

Marléna winked knowingly at him "We'll talk more about music though you already know that I'm multi-talented with regard to it."

"According to your Dad, you're a natural at guitar and piano, you're beautiful, talented and intelligent, and I still don't know what it is you see in me."

She smiled again, her blue eyes twinkling mischievously, "I'll reveal the reason for that if you want to meet me at a local restaurant tomorrow, we only have a half day…."

Chris was a little shocked "As in a date?" He asked, uncertainty gripping him for a moment or two as he swept some hair over his shoulder.

Marlèna suddenly wound her arms tightly around his waist and gave him the gentlest of squeezes, and he heard her laughter, though it was muffled due to her face being hidden in the material of his tee, Chris; since arriving at his house, had long since changed from his usual outfit to a tight fitting turquoise mid sleeve shirt (with ultramarine accents), with dark green shorts and grayish black sneakers.

"I guess you could see it as our first…" Marléna teased, her eyes maintaining their mischievous twinkle as she straightened to look up at him through her long eyelashes.

Chris chuckled, and reluctantly released his girlfriend "Well I'll see you tomorrow babe — I look forward to more alone time with you…" He told her, winking.

She nodded, turning to walk into her family's home, and headed into the dining area and took a seat at the table alongside Tony, who had changed into a pine green Steel Chapel: Steel Chapel shirt and parakeet green shorts.

"Did you catch our little bror Champ?" She questioned, smirking.

Tony nodded, smiling happily "Ja, and Far has barred Gus from having any of his friends over for a couple of weeks, and also confiscated his toy dart gun which he's annoyed about." from the other end of the table, a small blond figure scowled darkly at his older siblings.

"Mommy… Agate has like every Raylee doll in existence — when are you gonna buy me more dolls?" a high-pitched voice whined, and an almost 7-year-old girl with whitish blonde hair, in a bun secured with a pale pink scrunchie, came stomping out of the kitchen, a pout firmly on her face.

Her siblings exchanged a glance, as their parents were hard-working and never went out of their way to spoil any of their children, Katie thought their family was rich, and could buy her anything she desired.

"No Katja, Mom and Far are saving for us to go to Sweden next July… I haven't been since just before Tony was born… Mikko can run the shop here while we're gone — he's Far's assistant from Ráköm in Finland originally." Marléna explained to her youngest sibling.

The little girl suddenly hopped excitedly from foot to foot. "Will Genette be coming?!"

Their father answered this time "Wrong side of the family bubs, you'll be bunking with Inga."

"Eww, she's boring and plain… she's not even half as fun as Genette."

"That's because she's a lot smarter than you, and doesn't treat her elders like slaves" Tony groaned, and their mother shot him a thankful glance.

KK smirked "And that means Gunnar will be begging to room with me and Andy, he can't stand you and Stellan — sorry Gus."

"That's because he's a little goody two-shoes stick-in-the-mud." Gus grumbled.

"That's because he won't let himself be negatively influenced by either of you." Tony added, with a pointed look at the eight year old that sat close by their mom at the opposite end of the table.

Later that night as she was getting out of the shower, Marléna heard her phone vibrate. Smiling, she quickly picked it up and saw her boyfriend had messaged her;

Chris - Hey babe, where did you wanna meet tomorrow?

Marlèna replied - The cafe where Thor's Mor works, it isn't too far from Far's shop and I have already agreed to help far later tomorrow:)

Chris -- Cool. I think I might be looking for a new guitar does your dad have any new model?

Marléna -- Yeah, see you tomorrow Chris.

Chris -- Catch ya then babe.