O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O AN O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
So…I took an extra month off. But hey, if you were one of my Rebellious Hearts readers I'm sure you're just happy it wasn't six months to a year, am I right? ;) It was my Birthday last month you guys! I'm another year older ;_; It's ok though, getting older makes me wiser and usually gives me more ideas to write ;)
Many thanks to Clamchick (Amarto will be missed but hopefully I'll do them justice next time we see them. Aww you're Haiku was very sweet! Thank you so much! 3), Ava Fay, and Guests and Book Of Lilith for review!
I won't keep you guys waiting. So read and enjoy and I'd love to hear your thoughts! (Ps. I spelled Daze like that on purpose though yes you can also read it like days :P)
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O Chapter 17 O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"This is stupid."
"Anna, stop and don't be rude to her."
"Don't worry, I won't be. I probably won't even say anything at all to be honest."
Raven Darkholme watched her daughter cross her hands in front of her chest in a haughty way before turning to her son. Kurt was of course the lesser handful of the two. He sat nonchalantly with the French book open towards the end looking at it as if it was alien writing. He had no idea what it said but at least he wasn't whining about it.
"Why do we even need to learn French? When are we even going to use it?"
" It's a requirement to have one language elective and you never know. Stop pouting…"
"Too bad it's not Spanish." Raven turned to give her step daughter a look.
"Right? At least that way maybe we could talk shit without being caught," Anna remarked, making Wanda grin and Kurt snicker.
Raven was not amused and it was easy to notice as her eyes narrowed, "Can you stop and you…stop encouraging her," she added looking at Wanda.
"Why didn't you guys go with German instead of French?"
"Kurt already knows German," Anna responded, not bothering to turn to Pietro.
"Even better."
"That would be cheating," Raven responded while going into a cabinet bringing out a few bags of cookies.
"How?"
"Kurt would know everything and let you cheat off him, no, I wanted something that will challenge you both."
"Are we going to France after we learn? Because I've heard they have really good desserts…"
"Of course you'd be fine with this if it involved food," Anna jabbed Kurt in the side.
"Ow stop! Anyway you and Wanda would probably like it, they have old scary buildings there."
"What are you trying to say?" Wanda asked with a raised eyebrow.
"That you'll find creepy things like yourselfs." Both girls turned and glared at the silver haired blue eyed boy who was smiling like he said the most clever thing ever.
"Uughh, we're not getting anywhere here. Wanda Pietro, go upstairs and work on your homework."
"I'm leaving for my guitar lessons soon."
"Work on it until you leave," Raven handed them each a bag of cookies, "You two, let's make our way to the dining room, when Remy gets here just behave and pay attention alright?" Raven childed.
A few seconds later the sound of the door bell echoed in the house and she turned to look at her daughter. "Go get it and for fucks sake be nice."
"Wow, you really want us to behave," Kurt commented on the curse. Raven ignored him and they all sprang into action leaving the kitchen.
"What kind of name is Remy?" Anna mumbled walking side by side with Wanda as they headed in the same direction.
"French?" Wanda guessed.
Pietro was walking behind them, "It sounds really familiar, like I've heard it somewhere before but I don't remember having a girl named Remy in school…"
"Pretty sure mom said they were a senior at our school," Anna answered and they started splitting as the twins went toward the stairs and she went towards the front door.
She gave a somewhat annoyed sigh mentally preparing herself to play nice before opening the door. Once she did though she stood motionless with wide eyes as she stared at a tall six foot something young man. He had auburn hair that went to his chin, a sharp jaw, brown eyes and a soft smile. He looked as if he was straight out of teen Vogue.
"Hi! I'm Remy Lebeau, here to tutor Anna Marie and Kurt." His voice was husky and accented and she found herself without a voice. After a few seconds of silence he looked around, "Am I at the right place?"
"You're in the right place," came the combined voices behind Anna breaking her trance. Wanda and Pietro appeared behind her.
"Come in, Anna will take you to the dining room. That's where they're setting up your study area," Wanda remarked, nudging Anna inconspicuously so she can move.
Anna nodded and started moving, making her way to the designated area. The twins watched her go and didn't speak until they were out of ear shot.
"I knew there wasn't a Remy girl at school, but I have heard of this guy. He's on the football team and pretty popular with the girls. Kind of like me."
Wanda rolled her eyes at the added detail before answering with, "I can see why. Maybe Anna won't mind French after all…"
Pietro smirked, "Come on let's eavesdrop."
"Raven won't be happy if she catches us. Plus don't you have to get ready for your guitar lessons?"
"Oh yeah…"
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Over in the dining room Raven found herself staring up at the young man and couldn't help that the first words she said were "You're not a girl."
"Last time I checked, no I wasn't."
"Sorry, it's just your name…"
"Is neutral, yeah," he answered, still smiling.
"Alright well, you've met Anna and this is Kurt," she put a hand on a boy with dark hair's shoulder. "They're actually starting the French elective next month but I want them to get a head start before classes which is why I require your services. The school let me know they have you on a year-long plan for this."
"Yes, I'll be available until a month before graduation."
"Great, these guys need all the help they can get."
"Pretty sure that just made us sound super dumb?" Kurt mumbled but didn't get an answer as his sister just stared at the older boy.
"I'll do all I can."
Raven nodded, "I'll leave you guys to it. There's snacks and water so help yourself."
Remy nodded and they all watched her leave. Once she was gone the tall boy turned to face them, "D'accord. Let's start with introductions, je m'appelle Remy."
They stared at him blankly, making his smile widened. "Open your books to the index page and let's get started."
Kurt and Anna shared a look before doing as they were instructed. When they were on the correct page he started speaking and Anna found herself going from the page to the older student more frequently then she'd like to.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Wanda looked at the time. The French session should have been done so she found herself waiting for Anna to come up to whine to her about it but all was quiet as of yet.
Deciding that she wanted to see what was the hold up she made her way downstairs. She found her step sister along with Kurt walking out the older boy. He turned to them and said, "Read over those papers, practice the enunciation and I'll test you guys on Wednesday."
Kurt nodded, "C'est Chouette, au revoir."
The older boy nodded before turning to Anna who mumbled an, "à bientôt."
Once the door was closed Wanda approached them, "How did it go?"
Kurt shrugged, "It's cool. Différent. J'aime beaucoup la nourriture." The words were slow and he seemed to be pronouncing every syllable.
"What does that mean?"
"I can't remember but it has something to do with food."
"Really?" Wanda asked sarcastically.
"I'm preparing for our trip to France!" He responded before walking away leaving the two girls alone.
"So?" Wanda inquired, making Anna turn to her.
"It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be."
"It definitely didn't look like it," she said in a somewhat teasing voice.
"Shut up."
Wanda laughed, "Come on, I want to show you something."
"What?"
"I got bored without you and was listening to new music and I found this badass band. The singer is a girl and she growls! It sounds so badass…and you need to see her hair," Wanda kept gushing and made her way upstairs with the younger girls following close behind.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"C'est bon mais, you need to make some of these words masculine," Remy remarked, going over Kurts papers. "But it's really good, have you been practicing your pronunciation?"
"Je m'appelle Kurt."
Remy nodded, it wasn't great but it still sounded better than last week when they had started. He turned to his other student, "Anna-Marie?"
"It's just Anna."
His head tilted to the side, "Pourquoi?" He asked. He expected her to give him a puzzled look not understanding him but was pleasantly surprised.
"It's a mouth full. Might as well keep it simple with one name."
He studied her closely, bright green eyes, brown curls that went past her shoulder and lips in a straight line. Though their school was uniform based the way she wore it told him that she was going through the emo phase. Her makeup helped with that as well. Dark eyeshadow and lip gloss put color to her pale skin tone.
"Too bad, it's a nice name. You have a lot of Anna's in the world and a lot of Marie's but not many Anna Marie's."
"Je m'appelle Anna."
He couldn't help but smirk. There was a tone of annoyance making her stand on the subject clear but she had said the words with perfect enunciation that he couldn't help but be impressed. "D'accord Anna, Je m'appelle Remy, ravi de vous rencontrer." (Delighted to meet you.)
"Salut Remy, C'est un plaisir." (It's a pleasure)
"What? What page are we on?" Kurt asked, flipping through the book.
"Kurt, you didn't study the pages I told you too did you garçon. Chapter two, basic pleasantries."
"Oh…" was the low reply as he turned the page to chapter two.
Remy shook his head and then did something that grabbed the attention of both younger teenagers. He pulled out a deck of cards and started shuffling them. He didn't say anything, just kept shuffling them while looking at their work.
"Are we playing a game?" Kurt finally asked in a hopeful tone.
"Hmm…oh non. This is just a habit that I picked up sometime ago. My hands like to stay busy…let's move onto chapter three. Kurt, you're going to have extra homework and review chapter two…"
"Aww man."
Anna didn't comment, her eyes stayed on the cards until he looked at her and then she busied herself turning the page to chapter three.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"Profess Lebeau."
"Don't call me, I'm only...What? Three or four years older than you guys."
"But you're our teacher!" Kurt argued.
"Yeah, but I'm not a thousand years old," he responded with an eyebrow. After a moment though he did get curious and asked, "How old are you guys anyway?"
"Fifteen," was the simultaneous answer.
"Ok. So about two and a half...pretty much three years younger. See not that much older."
"You're still going to be an adult way before us."
"Kurt, you're easily becoming my least favorite pupil," Remy remarked and threw a wink at Anna.
Anna flushed and looked away muttering a small, "Whatever."
"So what's the deal? One of you adopted?"
"What gives it away? The resemblance or the accents?" Anna found herself asking in a snarky tone, that was more of a defense mechanism to the question than wanting to respond to him in that way.
"Ohh feisty. I guess they both gave it away but I was more asking because you're the same age and you definitely don't look like twins like the other two."
"I'm adopted," Anna answered, not looking up from her worksheet.
"Guess that means we have something in common."
Anna's eyes widened a fraction and she looked to glance at him. He was staring back with a small smile.
"So back to what I was trying to ask professor Lebeau." There was a groan from the older student but it was ignored. "What's this?" Kurt asked and pointed at one of his previous worksheets.
"Oh that's just my stamp of approval. You did good in this one…"
"Yeah I figured that but I meant what's the design? We both have different ones"
"Hmm, yours is a clover in a crown," Remy answered and proceeded to take the paper from Kurt. Once he had it in his hands he placed it on the table and traced the design with his finger to show where the clover was. "Anna's is a heart with the crown above it," he grabbed a pen and started drawing the new design beside it.
"Why are they different?"
Remy glanced at Anna not expecting the question from her, "Do either of you know anything about cards?"
Kurt shrugged, "I know how to play speed and I think everyone knows how to play go fish."
Remy chuckled at the answer and shook his head, "I grew up in New Orleans, we're big on…" he paused trying to think of a word, "certain types of attractions there, one of those things being Tarot Cards. My nanny would read them often and taught me that card suits and numbers can have many meanings to them. The Club for example is a sign for energy and impulsivity," he gave Kurt a pointed look making the boy smile and rub the back of his head. "The heart…" he turned to Anna, "is a sign of knowledge." He looked away and returned the paper to Kurt, "Anyway let's get started with the session today. There's a lot to go over and we've killed ten minutes just bullshitting, by the way is your mom home?"
"Not right now, she went to take Wanda to her art lesson but she should be back before you leave."
"Ah, daccord. I need to talk to her about a schedule change."
"You won't be coming three times a week anymore?" Anna asked quickly, her tone filled with surprise.
"Non, I'll still come to help you guys three times a week but football season is here so I either need to arrange to come on different days or at a later time."
"You're on the football team?" It was Kurt's turn to be surprised.
"I'm insulted you didn't know."
"We're not really sports people in this house. Pietro's probably the sportiest, he does track. Mom tried forcing the girls into ballet, but it didn't go well for anyone."
"Kurt shut up."
"What? It's not like I'm showing him the pictures I'm just saying…"
"There's pictures?"
"Oui, do you want to see…"
"No! There's no pictures and Kurt shut up before je te botte le cul!" (I Kick your ass)
"What? Wait…repeat it, I'll look it up," Kurt remarked, grabbing his French dictionary.
Both of Remy's eyebrows were up as he turned to look at the teenage girl, "lui botter le cul?" He was impressed.
Anna shrugged, "It's always the insults you learn first."
He laughed, "That it is…"
"Wait what? What did she say? Anna repeat it, I'm going to look it up…"
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"You want me to what?" Wanda stopped drawing on her piece of paper to give her step sister an incredulous stare.
Anna pouted not wanting to repeat it, it was bad enough she was asking once. "Will you go with me to the football game this weekend?"
"One more time just to make sure I heard you correctly."
Anna gave an exasperated groan, she ignored the request and added, "I would go alone but I made the mistake of telling my mom I was planning to go and she said , 'not alone you're not!'."
"Why would you even want to go? We're not exactly filled with school spirit," Wanda stated, looking at herself and then her step sister.
"Can you just go with me? Please…You know I never say please."
"You right you never do, so now you definitely have to tell me what's up?"
"…Remy's on the team and I thought since he's always so nice when he comes over it'd be nice of me to go watch one of his games for, I don't know, tutor support."
"Holy shit, you like him! Sure I knew you probably thought he was cute since you haven't complained about the French tutoring but if you're making the effort to go to an actual game…you actually like him."
"I…shut up! Will you go with me or not?" Anna asked not denying the accusation.
Wanda tilted her head debating. She really didn't want to go, at the same time Anna rarely did say please. It was something they shared in common and probably the only thing that would make her agree. "Alright," she finally answered a minute later and went back to the piece of paper on her desk. Anna took a few steps towards her to watch over her shoulder.
"Damn, that's good…" the southern girl murmured. The painting was of a lake, surrounded by trees. There was nothing overly special but what awed her was the way Wanda had drawn the reflection of the items from the opposing side onto the lake. Wanda had always been the one in their family that had a knack for drawing and it was only getting better with age.
"Thanks…" Wanda answered without looking up at her and they both then remained quiet as she finished.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"Did you have to Invite them?" Anna muttered under her breath as she sat down on the metal bleacher.
"After I told dad we were coming he called Pietro over and told him that he better be coming with us. Pick your poison: they come too or you don't come at all," Wanda answered in a low voice that only her step sister could hear.
Anna sighed, there was no arguing with that.
"Who are we rooting for?" Kurt asked before taking a bite of his hot dog.
"How can you be hungry? We ate dinner before coming over," Wanda remarked, giving him a disgusted look.
"You're rooting for our school Kurt," Anna answered, making it sound like it was the most obvious answer. "They're going against Bayville high."
"The public school across town?" Pietro asked and watched Anna nod in response. After a bit he looked around and then got up from his seat.
"Where are you going?" Wanda asked.
"I'm going to go mingle, look there's some cute girls down there…"
"Dad said…"
"He said I had to come with he didn't say we had to hold hands the whole time we were here. I'll look for you guys when this is over."
The three watched him go before moving their attention back to the field. Anna studied both teams; one was in all red while the other team was in blue and yellow. Her eyes searched through the team in blue and yellow but so many were similar builds she couldn't find who she was looking for. At least not until he was introduced by number when the game started.
Number 13. Her eyes stayed on the number for the entirety of the game. Kurt watched and cheered whenever their team made a touchdown and would continuously announce that number eleven from the opposing team was really giving their team a hard time. He wasn't lying, number 11 on the Bayville high team was big, with wide shoulders and strong arms. His tackles would bring their classmates down and keep them down for a good minute.
"This game is kind of brutal," Wanda commented while staring at the number 11. "I kind of like it…"
When she wasn't watching and commenting on the harsh tackles her attention was on Anna's arm. She had brought a pen and notepad to write on but had soon gotten bored and started drawing on her step sister's pale arm, something that she had been doing since their parents had married.
When the game was finally over Anna found herself with half a sleeve, something she would have to hide from Raven or get her ear talked off by a lecture about ink poisoning. Maybe it would be worth it though, the Institute had won the game and the last goal had been made by number 13.
The three step siblings let most of the crowd get up and leave before following suit. When they reached the bottom rail to head towards the exit, Kurt pushed both girls aside and went to the rail shouting, "Professor Lebeau!"
Anna's eyes widened before going to where Kurt was waving excitedly. Remy Lebeau wasn't wearing his helmet anymore. He had been talking to the number 11 of Bayville high's team, a red orangish haired teen. Both turned at the shout and from where they were standing Anna heard Remy chuckle.
"Great job professor!"
"Merci Kurt and don't call me that!" Remy waved briefly and made eye contact with her before turning back to the orange haired boy.
"Friends of yours?"
"You can say that, I tutor some of them in French. But yeah, good game. You made it a close call so thought I'd come by and let you know…"
"Thanks mate, I appreciate that especially coming from you. Everyone knows your name at my school, especially the shelias…"
Anna watched the two players, Remy's attention was on the other boy but number eleven's blue eyes were still on them as he spoke. When she finally looked away, Anna saw Wanda give Kurt a push of encouragement making him continue walking towards the exit but she saw her step sister crane her next to give a last glance over her shoulder at the two football players.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
/Repent, that's what I'm talking about
I shed the skin to feed the fake/
"One of you has really good taste in music," Remy remarked as he started laying down his playing cards to play a game of solitaire while the other two did their worksheet of the day.
/Repent, that's what I'm talking about/
There was a scoff and Remy turned to the person who made the offended sound, "Guess it's safe to say which one of you it is...Kurt homme, should have known you weren't the cool one."
/Whose mistake am I anyway?/
The dark haired boy looked up from his work with an 'O' expression on his face clearly offended, making his tutor smirk. He had to admit he was really liking these tutoring sessions. Both individuals were very different but brought a different atmosphere to their time together. Kurt was fun because like he had predicated when he drew the spade on his first paper he was full of energy. He was definitely the funny one though he wasn't sure if it was intentional half the time and he was definitely the dramatic one as well.
/Cut the head off/
"I'm cool!" Kurt responded and started arguing his case, something Remy ended up fading out as his eyes went to the girl in the group.
Anna was watching Kurt looking unamused. She was definitely the quiet one out of the two. His prediction was spot on for her too, the heart was for knowledge among other things but her brightness and how easily and fluently she was picking the language up made it the obvious choice for her. Plus, she was the girl, girls like hearts didn't they?
Then again Anna didn't seem like most girls and he oddly found himself favoring her out of the two because it seemed that they were the ones with a bit more in common as her music choice at the moment proved.
/Grows back hard/
"Manson your favorite?" he found himself asking.
Her attention turned to him. She studied him before giving a small shrug, "He ties with a few others…"
"Like?"
Another shrug, "Rob Zombie, Cradle of Filth, Children of Bodom, Otep..."
"You like to go heavy." She nodded, "...moi aussi. I mainly started to annoy my family. They're big on catholic traditions, I crank this up at my house and Tante Mattie gets ready to kick me out," he grinned.
/I am the Hydra/
She found herself giving a small smile but before she could say anything Kurt spoke first, "Our mom hates it too, she rants about it but eventually ends it by saying that it's ok because it's a phase and she'll grow out of it…"
Remy gave a small chuckle and moved his attention back to the cards before him, "Je ne sais pas, I thought it would just be a phase too mais...it grows on you and that's not a bad thing."
"I don't think so either…"
"If you guys say so but it just sounds like yelling to me, I will admit...the guitar riffs are pretty great."
"You want to learn?"
This grabbed Kurt's attention, making him look away from his French work again, "You know how to play the guitar too?"
"I have a small attention span so I jump hobbies frequently," Remy answered. "But yeah…I can teach you something easy if you want, we'll call it a reward if you do well on your test."
/Now you'll see your star/
"FUCK YEAH!" Kurt answered and tilted his head down to focus on his worksheet. Remy smirked at the reaction and watched him for a few seconds before getting the feeling that he was being watched himself. Without moving his head his eyes shifted to the side to see that two emerald orbs were in fact on him. Her brows were lifted slightly in a curious manner.
"Dois-je te trouver une récompense?" (Should I find you a reward?) He asked, thinking that that could be what the stare was implying.
/Time has come it is quite clear/
After a few seconds she shook her head and looked away, "I'm good…" she muttered in a low voice that was almost inaudible to him. He watched her for a minute before pulling his gaze away and returning to his card game.
/Our Antichrist is almost here/
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"Are you sure about this? My mom is going to kill us!"
"Better to ask for forgiveness than permission. If we ask, we're going to get a big fat no!" Wanda responded.
"That's true…"
"The question is if you're sure you want to do this because I for sure do…" Wanda grabbed the scissors and opened and closed them rapidly making them snip snap.
Anna paused for a moment before shrugging, "It's only hair right? At least it'll grow back. Sucks for you though because you're going way more daring than me"
"It's just hair," Wanda repeated. "Who goes first?" She asked.
"I'll go," the southern girl volunteered.
Wanda nodded and watched her sit down at the toilet with her back facing her. She grabbed onto the soft brown locks taking a good amount of hair and raising it up. She looked at the counter one last time, taking in the boxes of bleach then without warning she closed the scissors and watched the locks fall to the ground.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Remy walked up towards the Darkholme home texting as he went. The Sadie Hawkins dance was coming up and his messages were filled with requests. He didn't know whether to think it was sad or funny that he didn't know half the numbers that were messaging him but he also wasn't going to complain about all the selfies he was receiving either.
The only bad thing about the multiple girls messaging him was that he didn't actually want to go. Experience had taught him that dances were all fun until the end of the date when someone else decided to throw attention at him which then caused his date to spend the rest of the night in the bathroom. Sometimes it just wasn't worth the trouble.
Unfortunately for him everyone else on the football team was going and had decided to meet up before the event, being the mvp he was expected to make an appearance. He shook his head at the thought before turning the screen off and ringing the doorbell. He waited patiently looking around the garden and when the door finally opened he couldn't help his eyes going wide at what he saw.
"Qu'est-ce que tu as fait…" (What did you do...)
"Don't," she responded and moved aside to let him in, a profound pout on her dark colored lips.
He walked in, his eyes staying on her hair but not mentioning it anymore. He then started making his way to the dining room but her voice stopped him. "We set up in the living room today. Dining room is off limits due to a meeting."
"Oh, alright," he answered and waited for her to guide him. When they arrived he found Kurt in front of a small coffee table, his French books open in front of him but his attention on the big screen tv in front of him. "Robin Hood?" he asked before adding, "If you're going to watch movies during the tutoring session I would have expected you to at least watch it in French."
"Anna had it on before I got here, it's her favorite." Kurt answered absentmindedly not looking away from the tv. After a few seconds he added, "What do you think of her hair?" In an amused tone.
"I've been asked not to have an opinion on it."
Kurt gave a small laugh, "Mom caught them. Wanda got a chance to dye hers but Anna's stuck looking like a skunk. She confiscated all the dye."
Remy nodded, understating the course of events that had happened. He didn't comment on it though and his next instructions were to go to the chapter they were currently on. The tutor session went on as their previous ones, with very minimal distraction from the tv, which Remy did in fact change to French.
When it was time to call it a night Wanda came to announce that she needed help with dinner. Remy noticed the dark red in her hair but didn't get a chance to comment as Kurt said goodbye to him and left following her towards what he assumed was the path to the kitchen.
"I'll show you out."
"D'accord, though by now I think I can show myself out."
Anna shrugged, "Mama always says the polite thing to do as hosts is let the guest out."
He sniggered, "You don't seem the type to listen to your mom."
Anna stopped at the door, opening it and giving him space to pass by, "I'm usually not but with being caught today it's safer to do as I'm told…for now anyway," she finished the sentence with a smirk and he couldn't help but mimic.
Before passing through the door to leave he took a last look at her hair. The long brown curls he has gotten accustomed to on the younger girl were now up to her chin. The hair at the front and center had been cut a bit shorter and we're now a blonde color.
"Ce n'est pas important mais je pense que ça a l'air cool. Bonne nuit." (Not that it matters but I think it looks cool. Good night.)
Anna's eyes widened a fraction and she watched him leave, not getting a chance to mumble her farewell.
After dinner the issue with her hair would be brought up again as Wanda explained her master plan to her. After school the next day they would lie and say they have to stay later for some after school activity but in reality they would go to the dye shop and get some new dye to fix her bangs.
Her only response after she went through everything step by step was, "You know what, let's leave it as is…I think I'm starting to like it."
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Wanda looked down at the track field before looking back to her paper and scrubbing in the details of what she saw. She was in the middle of her art period. The assignment for the day had been to find a spot on campus and draw what you see.
She was so immersed in adding the small details that she didn't notice someone was behind her until they spoke.
"Criminy, that's a beaut."
Wanda looked over her shoulder, her sapphire eyes narrowing to discover who had invaded her personal bubble. When she saw who it was, her glare softened more in surprise than anything else.
"It's really good…" his blue eyes went from the field to the paper. "You're drawing everyone as demons. It's neat but I gotta ask why?"
"It's what they are. This guys hairy as fuck, perfect candidate to be a werewolf. That guy has the biggest canines I ever seen, that guy has no brain, and that girls a total bitc…"
The blue eyed boy laughed, cutting her off, "Alright I get it." He stared at her curiously, "Hey, you seem familiar, do I know you? Maybe I've seen you around town or something…"
"At the football games. My sister forces me to go with her…"
At the words his eyes squinted, almost as if his brain was trying to place in her, "You're always with that guy and girl who greet Remy Lebeau."
"That sounds like me."
"I'm…"
"Number eleven on the Bayville High team."
"…that's me, Well that's my number anyway, I'm St. John (Sinjin)."
"What are Bayville High members doing here? It's not a game day right? Anna would have told me if it was…" the last part was muttered more to herself than him.
He laughed either way, "We're doing a co-op fundraiser thing and got asked to come today, sorry if I bothered you."
She shrugged dismissing the apology and went back to her drawing adding horns to an individual. This made the orange haired boy whistle over her shoulder.
"The devil? What did this bloke do to you?"
"He was born…he's my brother," she answered, adding the tail.
Again he laughed, and Wanda couldn't help but notice what a crazed laughter it was. When he calmed he asked, "Do you do many sketches like this? Monsters and such? Or is this just for class?"
She made a raspberry type noise, "I'm pretty sure my art teacher won't be impressed, but I enjoy making art like this."
"That's cool, do you take on commissions? I'm working on a short story and would love some art to go with it."
"Oh...I've never thought about doing anything like that."
He nodded and his lips parted but before any words could come out there was a loud yell that made them both turn away from each other towards the same direction. "ALLERDYCE! GET OVER HERE!"
"Oh oh got to go. Maybe think about it and let me know next time you're at a game. Sorry again for interrupting you…uh…"
"...Wanda."
He smiled, "Wanda. See you around."
Wanda watched him until he rejoined a group of males. After a few seconds of being with them he turned in her direction and at being caught staring she hastily looked away and avoided looking in that direction for the remainder of her class period.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"Again?" Remy asked as he stepped into the living room to see Robin Hood on the screen, this time though the words were in fact in French.
"At least it's in French," Anna answered and briefly watched the roster sing the theme song.
Remy sat down and looked around, "Kurt grabbing a snack?"
"No, he has a dentist appointment. C'est moi et toi pour aujourd'hui." (Its me and you for today)
"Ah, daccord. Guess we can slack off today, you actually don't need a lot of help," he remarked and pulled out his trusty card deck.
"I don't know what I should think about that," she replied, making him laugh.
"Do you want to go hard? I have some AP stuff if you're really interested but for the lesson we were going to go over today I know you were already ahead of it."
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
He shrugged, "Je ne sais pas Anna Marie, what would you like to do? We can watch the Robin Hood movie, technically c'est en français. I can show you how to play Piquet or I could give you that AP worksheet and you can see how you do?"
Her eyes narrowed at her name but she didn't bother correcting him. He liked to throw it in there ever so often and would just laugh when she told him something. After a moment's consideration she shrugged, "Let's play."
"Chouette." He started going over the rules and score system. When he was done she was looking at the cards with interest. "Ready?" he asked and she nodded, "Before we start...want to make things more interesting?" He perked a brow.
"Interesting how?"
"Whoever wins a game gets to ask the other a question."
She thought about it for a moment but eventually nodded. When they began playing he won the first game
"Why did you pick French?"
"Not my choice. Mom chose the subject, but the reason she wanted us to get a tutor all together was because she and Eric are big on keeping us busy after school. They think it'll keep us out of trouble.."
"It's surprising that you didn't want to do it considering that you're picking it up well."
"Hmm…" she answered and shrugged.
They played again and he won, "What's so great about Robin Hood?"
"It's a fun movie. The songs are catchy, and I enjoy antihero movies."
"Antihero?"
"The law sees him as a villain, he's a thief but he steals from the rich to give to the poor. I'd consider him an antihero. The love story isn't horrible either…" At the words Anna looked towards the tv which just happened to be at the part with Prince John had captured Robin and was confessing his love to Maid Marian, " I mean...at least it was a bit developed. They had met before separating and found themselves again...beats being kissed in your sleep anyway," she finished and looked away and nodded towards him to shuffle again.
They played a third time. He smirked and said, "I might have forgotten to mention that I'm really good at this game."
Her lips pouted downwards, "or you're a cheater."
He feigned offense, "Does this look like a cheater's face?" he pointed at himself.
Her eyes went to his face and roamed the sharp chin. She could feel her face get warm when her eyes met his and she quickly looked away. "Yes, it does."
He chucked at the answer and continued to ask his questions. "Why did you dye your hair?"
She shrugged, "I wanted something different and unique, the color was originally supposed to be green."
He eyed the blond bang, "It looks cool like that actually, probably would look better if you went a shade lighter. Make it stand out more."
She didn't respond to his suggestion and they played again. She smiled brightly when she won but after a few seconds realized she had no idea what to ask.
"Uh...so why did you choose to be a French tutor,"
"Easy credits. I'm fluent thanks to my upbringing in New Orleans. Let's go again," he reached for the cards to reshuffle.
She won again, "What's with the cards?"
"Great to have in a jam when you're bored, easy way to keep my hands busy, and my Tante was really into tarot cards so they were just always around when I was growing up . Again?"
She nodded but before he started a new shuffle they both heard the sound of a vehicle outside.
Anna looked at the clock on the wall, "Shit it's my mom…look busy!"
Remy watched her open her book and notebook and turn off the tv. He smirked but gathered the cards on the coffee table either way and tucked them into pocket rearranging himself in a way where he was somewhat hovering over the younger girl looking into her book.
The front door opened seconds later and soon both heard footsteps walking towards them.
"Leur plat le plus populaire est Soupe à l'oignon." (Their most popular dish is Onion Soup.)
There was a gasp making both look up to the newcomers. "Today's lesson was about food! I knew going to the dentist was a bad idea!"
"It was your idea," Raven remarked, nodding her head at the other two teens in greeting. She then eyed the clock behind them. "You're going over time today?"
"Desolé, time just passed by as we spoke of the delicacies the French culture has given us. We were wrapping things up though." At the words Anna closed her notebook.
"I'll walk you out. You two can start getting ready for dinner," Raven remarked.
Anna nodded while Kurt pouted. We'll at least it seemed like he was pouting but it could have easily been that his numbness was deforming his mouth.
Remy gathered his things and before moving away mumbled, "Au fait... je te laisse gagner." (by the way...I let you win). He shared a glance with the green-eyed freshman and smiled.
Anna's jaw dropped into a small 'o' before her lips curled into a small smile and she shook her head.
"What?" Kurt asked not having had caught the exchange.
"Nothing, let's get dinner started," she responded and left towards the kitchen leaving Kurt looking confused.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Anna watched Wanda poke herself with a safety pin multiple times. "What's the point of that again?"
Wanda shrugged "Right now at this moment? Boredness." Her eyes momentarily went to the field to see that the intermission was still going on. Anna watched as she took out a red pen and started filling in the scab.
"That's gotta be so bad for you."
Wanda ignored her twin before asking, "You want to go next?"
"I don't want lead poisoning, thanks. Plus what's the point of tattoos anyway?"
"Expression, art…Guess it depends on the person," Wanda answered, still focusing on filling in her self made ankh symbol.
"Whatever," Pietro answered and got distracted as his phone vibrated.
"Cool, Lance is here."
"Who's Lance?"
"Guy I met during my guitar lessons. We've been thinking about starting a garage band."
"Dad would love that," Wanda muttered under her breath, imagining all the noise at home.
"I've been getting pretty good on the guitar, anyway I'll see you guys after the game."
Neither girl bothered saying bye and soon he was gone. After a bit Wanda asked, "Where did Kurt go? I thought he was just getting nachos."
"He got distracted," Anna replied, making Wanda look up from her work of art to see her step sister pointing to the opposite side of where they were. Kurt was chit chatting with a brown haired girl who was also accompanied by a red headed girl and a brown haired boy with ruby glasses
"Hmm, to each their own I suppose."
Before Anna could reply she was interrupted by an unfamiliar yet friendly voice.
"Hi there! Wanda right?"
Anna watched her step sister stop painting on her arm to look up, eyes widening a fraction in surprise, "Number eleven."
He smiled and gave a loud laugh, making people around them turn to them with curious expressions. Anna would think that it was the crazy laugh that made people look but after a few seconds realized that it could potentially also be because a player from the opposing team was on their territory.
"St. John," he corrected. "He turned his attention to Anna and nodded, "How are you ladies enjoying the game."
"You guys are losing so good I suppose."
"Ouch," he answered but kept smiling . "Did you happen to think over the proposition I made you a few weeks ago?"
"Oh, no I forgot about that."
"No worries, if you decide that you can, you can find me on social media. My handle is ."
She perked a brow but before she could comment a new voice joined them.
"Why are you harassing girls from my school?"
Anna's eyes widened at the familiar accent and looked behind the orange haired boy to see her tutor approaching them.
John turned around and in a show of respect fist bumped the other player. "Harassing isn't the corrected word. Chatting up is more like it."
"Leave the plays for the field," Remy joked before adding, "Actually why haven't you been playing today?"
"They're leaving me as the secret weapon against you."
"Is that right?"
"I'm sorry, can you have your 'who has a bigger dick' contest somewhere else?" Wanda asked and suddenly busied herself trying to ignore both males by grabbing Anna's arm and starting to draw on it.
John laughed, while Remy's eyebrows went up and turned to the younger girl who was smirking and slightly shrugged her shoulders.
He smiled at her and turned his attention to the field where he could see both teams starting to huddle up separately. "Lucky for you it looks like we'll finish the contest on the field. Intermission is over," he didn't bother saying bye and started walking away.
John threw them a small wave and muttered a farewell before following and eventually moving away from the Cajun as they both went to their own sides of the field.
"You're so mean," Anna commented, making Wanda scoff.
"You would have said the same damn thing if you weren't into him."
Anna debated the sentence before turning to grin at her stepsister, "Probably, yeah…"
Wanda didn't reply to that anymore and stayed busy by continuing to draw on her forearm while Anna watched number 13 on the field.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Wanda eyed the large box that had been delivered to the house. She looked at the label and noticed that it had Raven's name on it with an attention to Anna comment besides the address.
Since it has her step mom's name on it she left it alone and went up to her room. Finals were getting closer and though she hated the idea of studying she knew she needed it for her math course. The last thing she wanted to do was take that class again.
She settled down and within minutes had her book opened and looked at the mathematical equations with distaste so she wasn't terribly upset when her phone vibrated letting her know that she had received a message on one of her many apps. She took a quick look to see if it was anything interesting and she felt her lips curl upwards at a message from .
St. John had gone off for a few sentences praising her in regards to the last sketch she had sent him. Ultimately after bumping into him a few more times she had decided to go ahead and try out taking on one of his commissions.
She quickly messaged back a thank you and after a few messages back and forth he suddenly stopped and she guessed he had gone back from his football break. She then frowned as she realized that she knew that he was at football practice and that felt like an unnecessary detail to know.
The odd feeling she was feeling at the realization disappeared though as she reread the first message he had sent. She was so excited about his enthusiasm in her work that she decided she wanted to go share the sketch with Anna now that it had gotten approval. In her excitement she pretty much barged into the green eyed girls room winning her a startled yell.
At first Wanda had thought that she had walked into her changing but after noticing that Anna was fully clothed in an oversized shirt she took a glance around the room. The box with Raven's name was opened and on her bed, odd items sprawled on it. "What are you doing?"
"CLOSE THE DOOR!"
Wanda did just that before walking towards the younger girl. When she neared she saw Anna with a weird shaped pen in her hand. There was a silver tip at the end with black coloring. "What the hell are you doing?" She asked again, eyes going wide.
"Nothing."
"It doesn't look like nothing," she answered and squatted to take a look at Anna's foot. On the side of her foot where the heel and ankle was, there was a light outline of a heart, a crown haloing above it. She recognized it as the symbol on multiple papers from her French studies. Wanda eyed the design carefully before moving her gaze back to the pen in Anna's hand and then back to the ink design.
"It's not what it looks like…"
"Really cause from here it looks like you're thinking about tattooing your fucken self," she answered and got up to look at the packaging that was laying on the bed.
"So what? You do crazy shit all the time! Hell, you do this with a fucken safety pin and pen ink."
"Yeah and that shit usually fades, this is a lot more permanent than that." Wanda answered and looked at the copy of the sketch design that was sent with the kit. "Why this?" She turned to her stepsister to see that she was avoiding eye contact by keeping her eye on the sketch on the inside of her ankle. "Anna, this isn't smart. You know you aren't going to see him after this year right? He's a senior he's going to go off who the hell knows where, not just that but I've heard he has like five different girlfriends…"
"It's not like that. I just like the design, it just so happens that he created it," Anna answered in a low voice not fooling either of them.
The room stayed silent for what seemed like an eternity. Wanda eventually asked, "Are you sure about this?" Anna gave a slow nod prompting the older girl to sigh. "Then don't be stupid. You're angled all weird, the lines aren't going to be straight. If you're really planning to do this then at least let the artist in the family do it for you."
Anna's eyes went wide and she turned to her, "You're going to do it?"
Wanda looked at her and was silent for a moment before finally saying, "Yeah...I am." It was a stupid idea but Anna was right. She did her share of stupid things and Anna never stopped her. If anything she was supportive and even joined her on most things, so how could she tell her no when she was making a stupid choice of her own.
She brushed the thought off and sat down near her and then motioned for her to give her her foot. Anna reluctantly did so, "How long ago did you put the topical?" She asked while grabbing the instructions from the bed.
"Before you came in."
Wanda tapped on the area around the sketch. "Do you feel that?" she asked while poking the skin with her nail.
"A little…"
"Let's add more…" she remarked and motioned for her to give her the topical spray beside her.
The next hour went by in silence as Anna tried to stay perfectly still and Wanda focused on drawing the lines of her sister's heart.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"And that's it…that's all you need to know to get through your final in a few weeks."
"Wow, I can't believe this is it," Kurt remarked out loud.
Remy shrugged, "School year goes by quickly, especially when you're having fun supposedly."
"Did you get answers from any of the colleges you applied to?"
"Oui, a few."
"Have you picked one yet?"
The question came from the female teen making the older boy turn to her, "Oui. I'll be heading to the Big Easy after the summer."
"New Orleans?" Kurt asked, making the older boy nod.
"Makes sense, sometimes you need to go back home," Remy remarked while getting his things together.
Kurt looked at him skeptically, "You just want beads during Mardi Gras."
Remy laughed, "I have a lot of family there!" He defended himself. After a few seconds he got up, "But that's it for me. You guys have really come a long way from day one…you think you'll be continuing with it?"
"If mom makes us," Kurt replied, making the Cajun smirk.
"Well hopefully your next tutor will be as cool as me, non?"
"We won't need one, you've taught us all we need to know!"
"Il y a toujours quelque chose de nouveau à apprendre." (There is always something new to learn)
"Wait wait, go slower. What?"
"…Kurt mon ami, you need the tutor."
"So this goodbye?"
Remy turned to Anna at the words, voiced in a low tone. "Non, I'll see you both in school for the next few weeks. Il y a toujours à plus tard…" (There's always see you later)
"Wait wait wait, say it slower."
"A bientôt."
"A bientôt."
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Wanda sighed as she waited impatiently. Anna was supposed to be meeting her but was taking forever making her keep looking at the time on her phone.
"Are you ever in class?"
An eyebrow rose in question upon hearing the familiar Australian accent, "An assembly hardly counts as a class, anyway I could ask if you're ever at your actual school in return." The manic laughter made her lips twitch upwards. After the last few months she couldn't help but think the odd laugh was somewhat contagious.
"I already told you our schools are trying to play nice, since they're giving out sports awards we got invited. I guess we're getting one for being the best competition. What's your excuse?"
"End of the year assembly sounds so fun and entertaining that we're ditching."
"We?"
"I'm waiting for Anna."
"Ah," there was a nod of acknowledgment.
When he didn't say anything else, Wanda asked, "Did you get my last email?"
"Oh yeah, didn't I respond?" She shook her head prompting him to get his phone out and open his email. "Oh shit," he responded. "I started it but probably got distracted cause it's in my drafts, but yeah I loved the sketch. You really bring out the gruesomeness of the situation."
She shrugged, "It's what I saw when I read it."
"Well I love your vision. Are you enjoying the story?"
"I'm obviously drawing for it aren't I?"
He smirked at her feistiness, "true but I'm also paying you," he remarked cheekily, "but if you're enjoying it I'll send you the next chapter in a few days." She nodded in agreement. "I better go, unlike you I can't get away with ditching, special guest and all," he remarked and winked. She gave a slight smile and shook her head. He then took a few steps away from her before stopping and turning back to her, "Hey…"
"Yeah?" She asked but looked away to look at the time on her phone. Anna was pushing it now.
"Would it be ok to take you out sometime during the summer?"
The question made her look away from her phone and turn to him with eyes open wide, "What?"
"Out, dinner or a movie, you know, a date?" She blinked as if he had suddenly grown another head. The silence made him teeter-totter his weight from leg to leg. After some silence he added, "No, then?"
"No! I mean…yeah that would be alright…I guess…whatever."
His smile widened, "I'll message you soon then, or whatever," he mimicked her words before throwing her a small wave and turning back around heading for the gym.
When Anna finally showed up she found her stepsister looking stupidly into the distance. "What's so interesting?" She asked, breaking her out of the trance.
Wanda turned to her and mumbled a 'nothing' before standing, "What took you?"
"Nothing," Anna copied the answer, making her give a thoughtful gaze that landed on her combat boot.
"You went to get a last look didn't you?"
Anna rolled her eyes, "It doesn't matter, let's go," and with that started walking away from her.
Wanda took a last look around, her eyes going to the spot where John had pretty much asked her out. This had been an interesting way to end the school year…
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O TBC O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Aww they're cute little teenagers! It was fun to imagine them at that age building their connections. Pietro met Lance, Kurt was hanging with X-men, John and Remy were connecting as well…there was a lot of building to what they will all eventually do in this one. I enjoyed adding the tidbits about Wanda and her interest that would eventually lead her to being a tattooist. That and her and Anna's interactions were a lot of fun to write! Wanda is a really good sister! Taking her to games, tattooing her...yeah I had a lot of fun with this chapter ;)
Jubilay- MIA
Amarto- MIA
Romy- Aww teenage romy! So at this point I wanted to establish the ship as more of a one sided thing. I think it's safe to say at the sweet age of fifteen when you like a boy, you really like a boy. Emotions are so heightened at that age that Anna's small crush can seem like the whole world to her. I definitely wanted to make a connection between them but on Remy's side it's not really romantic. She's a cute kid, who's smart and he finds intriguing.
Xietro- MIA
Jonda- I really enjoyed writing the development of Jonda's backstory. The idea that they connected over the others hobbies I think is really sweet and a nice way to begin their interactions. Him asking her out was kind of adorable :)
The next chapter is still in flashback territory tho we are skipping a few years ;) The song used in the chapter was Marilyn Manson's "Antichrist Superstar". And I think that's all! Let me know what you all thought and I'll see you guys take care!
-UHW