CHAPTER EIGHT: 'Sister Night'

"AND SHE JUST MAKES it on time for sister night." Kara announced like a commenter, as she opened the door for Alex; who held a box of pizza and potstickers in each hand. This time, she's dressed in her pyjama pants and Gryffindor top.

"You know sister nights are on Fridays, right?" Alex said with a smile, as she placed the food on the counter.

"I'm aware." Kara said with her chin held high, "but it's a make up one since you sabotaged it with the Alien Bar."

Alex held her hands up defensively, "Hey, I only wanted to celebrate for you."

"Well, thank you." Kara sighed with a smile, thinking that she was fortunate enough to call Alex her sister. "So, I've picked out What To Expect When You're Expecting or, we can binge watch Brooklyn Nine Nine."

"What do you think I'll say?" Alex asked, as she plated three slices of pizzas on a plate. She left the remaining five for Kara in the box.

"Brooklyn Nine Nine it is." Kara said with a clap, before loading the show onto her television. "Don't forget my—"

"Potstickers. Got it." Alex said with an eye roll, as she brought over the food to Kara who was snuggled under the blankets.

"Scoot." Alex shooed. Kara shuffled over with a pout, knowing that her new spot on the couch was cold. Sisters, she thought.

Six episodes, seven slices of pizza, a dozen potstickers and one ice cream carton later; Kara and Alex began talking about their days, which lead to gossiping, which lead to betting on said gossip, and so on and so forth. It was sister nights that Kara cherished the most, as Alex and The Danvers were now part of her family.

However, their sisterly bond wasn't always this way. When Kara was adopted, Alex' resentment towards the girl only seemed to grow when her parents' attention seemed to focus more on Kara.

It wasn't fair. To feel replaced by some complete outsider. Alex's straight A's and gold medals seemed to mean very little compared to Kara's safety and comfort. It was more irritable knowing that Alex was now responsible for Kara too. Alex never understood why Kara seemed to have more importance than her. Eliza and Jeremiah's own daughter.

During high school, the two rarely spoke to one another. Kara, sensing that her sister didn't want to have her tagging along, opted to sit alone during lunches and participated in academic clubs, rather than athletic. (Alex's specialty.)

It was like this all the time. Alex usually went out with her friends after school, so Kara had their so called, 'shared room' to herself. The only time the two were together in that room was when they were asleep.

Most nights, Kara laid awake in silence, staring at the ceiling above. She questioned whatever god above, on why her parents were taken away from her. Why her parents had to die that one fateful night. Killed, at the hands of some rabid animal, as they say.

Alex never understood this. Kara's loss and loneliness. It wasn't until Alex's outburst at the dinner table that opened a door to understanding Kara better.

"How's the science club going, Kara?" Eliza asked at the dinner table, their family seated together.

"It's going well. We just got a new member. His name's Winn."

"That's good news. The more the merrier." Jeremiah spoke up, glad that Kara was making new friends. He winked at Kara who smiled brightly at her adoptive father.

"Well, I was made captain of the soccer team." Alex said, watching her father interact with Kara.

"That's great, honey." Jeremiah praised Alex. "Why don't you let Kara join the team?"

"What?" Both girls said in unison.

"Yeah. I think that'd be a great idea." Eliza added, cutting into her steak. "You can show her the ropes, Alex."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Of course." She mumbled.

"What was that?" Eliza asked, unable to hear her from across the table.

"Of course!" Alex shouted unexpectedly, her bottled up anger now erupting. "Why don't you steal my soccer team too?" The elder Danvers sister scoffed. "You've already done it with my parents." Alex bit at Kara.

The blonde kept her head down, eyes focused on her half eaten food. "Can I be excused?" She spoke softly to Eliza and Jeremiah who nodded their heads.

"Of course, sweetheart." Jeremiah granted.

Kara got up from the table and walked to their room. She could hear Jeremiah telling Alex to apologise, before the voices were muffled out as she closed the door.

She curled up on her bed and cried. She pulled her knees close to her chin and sobbed, until her eyes were red and her nose was runny. Kara never meant to take the attention away from Alex, she did everything she could to ensure that they stayed separate, just as Alex would have wanted.

It wasn't long after until the door opened slowly, and in entered Alex. She awkwardly stood at the door frame, looking at her adopted sister who stared back at her with cold blue eyes.

"You don't know me, Alex." Kara spoke up first, her voice quivering, but it held its ground.

"Of course, I don't. We're not related." Alex said, her intentions of apologising, now thrown out of the window due to her stubbornness.

"You don't know what I've been through." Kara spat out, and it was the first time Alex was taken aback by the way the blonde stood up to herself. It was the most she's heard her speak. "You think I want to be an orphan? That my mission is to be adopted and 'steal' everything from you?" Kara asked, using Alex's own words against her to see how childish she was being.

When Alex didn't respond, the blue eyed girl continued. "I didn't ask for my parents to be killed on my thirteenth birthday. The day to celebrate my birth, ended up being the day of my parents' deaths. The day I lost everything. That's all I'll ever think about on my birthday now."

Kara spoke sternly, her face stone cold. "But you didn't know that, did you? Didn't bother to ask?" The rhetorical questions hit Alex harder than she thought, as she was flooded with guilt.

Kara made sure that she didn't cry in front of Alex. She didn't want to look pathetic. "I'm sorry, for taking everything away from you. But you should know that Eliza— your mum and dad love you so much." Kara's tone softened, "I can never replace you, like they can never replace my parents."

Kara sighed with her eyes closed, "but I'm fortunate enough to have gained a sister, biological or not. And I hope you see me as yours one day."

It was that night, when both girls decided to made amends. They started anew and developed their newfound relationship.

It was that night, that Alex finally saw Kara as her new sister.

"Earth to Kara?" Alex sing-songed, as she waved her hand in front of her little sister's face.

Kara shook her head a little as if to tuck the memory away, and smiled at her sister who gave her a questioning look. "Sorry, Alex."

"What are you thinking about?" Alex asked, her face softening.

Kara chuckled lightly, "do you remember when we were kids?"

Alex started groaning into the couch pillow, not wanting to relive her youth as the 'stuck up bitch,' she referred her younger self to. "Why are you thinking about our childhood?" Alex mumbled into the pillow.

Kara simply shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, to be honest." The girl stated, as she started playing with Alex's hair while her face was buried in the pillow. "I'm just thinking about how lucky I am." And at that, Alex lifted her head.

"You're not thinking about your parents, are you?" Alex asked softly, concern filling her mocha coloured eyes. It was often that when Kara thought of her parents, she'd go to the extent of pushing everyone away and being depressed. 'Delayed Stress Syndrome,' her counsellor acutely called it.

Kara's birthdays were the worst and she devoted the day to visit her parents' graves. It was a day where Kara simply did not celebrate.

No presents, no cakes, no party. Hell, the last time someone had sung the song 'Happy Birthday' to her, was ten years ago.

The blonde fidgeted with her glasses, as she reflected briefly. "I always think about them." She said, looking up at the ceiling, knowing that her parents were looking down on her. "I just, I don't know. It's stupid." The girl mumbled, her gaze now focused on the floor.

"Hey, Kara look at me." Alex demanded, "nothing you say is stupid." She said, when Kara looked up at her. "Unless if you agree with Maggie's vegan ice cream." The redhead joked, making her little sister laugh.

"You're right, vegan ice cream is terrible." Kara chuckled a bit harder than she should as she tried to change the subject.

"What's on your mind?" Alex asked.

"Nothing."

Alex narrowed her eyes. "Don't lie to me."

"How do you—"

"Crinkle." Alex said, as she poked Kara's crinkle. A noticeable crease in between her brows that revealed itself when something was bothering Kara.

"Damn, crinkle." Kara cursed under her breath. She huffed out a short breath before she admitted, "I just, I don't think they died that way." She rushed out.

Alex furrowed her brows and she could hear the gears churning in her brain. "What makes you say that?"

Kara sighed, as she grabbed the television remote and started to play with the buttons. It was a habit she grew into. Whenever she was trying to say how she felt, she'd grab the nearest object and fiddle with it. "I don't know. It seems too…" Unconvincing? Unlikely? Kara searched for the right word, "implausible."

Alex shifted her position from facing the television to facing her sister. Her forearm leaned onto the couch and her head rested in her hand, giving her sister her full attention.

"It's not like them, you know? They're stronger than that. Than a stupid mountain lion." Click. Kara pried the batteries of the remote to pop out. "I may sound crazy Alex, but, I think something else did it." Click. The batteries popped back into place. "And I'm going to find out."