They should open a 'Humour Fiction' maybe.
Well, once they openly admit their feelings to whoever,
Then I'll kickstart the romance. My apologies people
Melody-Nathan-Melody POV.
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“Yes, again.” Nathan glanced towards Nathaniel, who was grinning sheepishly at us. “Our very own serial arsonist began his string of crimes when he was only seven.”
“It was an accident!” Nathaniel protested, pouting adorably like a little child.
“They were all accidents, brother.” Nathan sighed, rubbing his forehead. “But they are accidents we could do without.”
“So we’re taking preventive measures by keeping him away from any combustible materials…” I added uncertainly, “… right?”
“Exactly,” Nathan laughed, flashing me another one of his charming smiles and causing my heart to do back flips like a champion gymnast. “You read my mind.”
“So what happened when he was seven?”
“Don’t ask, Melody.” Nathaniel groaned, sinking to the floor. “Please Nathan, mention anything but that!”
I pleaded, burning with curiosity, unleashing the full force of my best puppy dog eyes on him. “Please, Nathaniel?”
Astonishingly, he gave in almost immediately upon looking at me. I must have really been a pitiful sight.
“I’ll make this as painless for you as possible.” Nathan smiled sweetly at his brother, whose head was buried in his arms.
Nathaniel groaned, “Yeah right, and I’m the Queen of England.”
“How nice.” Nathan grinned cheekily. “How come I don’t see you prancing around in a dress then?”
“Fine, so I don’t live in Buckingham Palace alright? Just get it over with already.” Nathaniel mumbled miserably.
I felt a pang of guilt, seeing him in such a miserable state. “That’s okay,” I quickly cut in. “I don’t have to know if you really don’t want me to.”
I bent down to look at Nathaniel, whose head was still shielded by his arms. Slowly, his head lifted to reveal a green eye looking back at me.
The next thing I knew, I had been tackled into a hug, the force of it toppled me over and I lay flat against the marble floor with Nathaniel’s arms around me while I squealed like a piglet.
Awkward.
“Thank youuuuu!” Nathaniel chirped, squishing me against him.
“Nathaniel, do refrain from assaulting our guests.” Nathan said in a clipped tone. He sounded jealous.
I squirmed and wriggled, “You’re welcome, Nathaniel. But do you mind letting go of me?”
It was hard to believe that Nathaniel Peyton would be fifteen this year. Crouching next to me with an exuberant expression, he reminded me of a puppy; Young, mischievous, energetic and ever happy.
“Are you guys done yet?!” In came Helen, with a grumpy expression on her face and hands planted firmly on her hips. She tapped her foot with impatience.
“I should think so,” I answered apologetically as Nathaniel helped me up on my feet. “Sorry if we kept you waiting.”
Helen growled, her face like a thunderstorm. “Well be quick. We’ve been waiting for fifteen minutes already!” And with that, she stomped out of the room.
“Don’t worry about Helen, she should be better after lunch. Her first day is always chaos for everyone and those pink pants aren’t doing any wonders for her either.”
Again, hearing everyone, especially the immature Nathaniel, speak so freely about Helen’s monthlies, never ceased to amaze me.
“Yup, but we still love her anyways.” Nathan grinned, glancing fondly in the direction of where Helen went.
“Are you guys coming?!” Helen yelled.
“Yes!” Nathan called out, then turned to us. “We’d better get going before she attacks us with a shovel.”
“Why a shovel?” I asked, perplexed.
“Because she did that once.” Nathaniel laughed.
***
“So it’s agreed. We’ll start on our Biology project after lunch.” I clapped my hands together, eager to get started on it.
“Mom says lunch won’t be ready for another hour. So we’ve got some free time to chillax.” Nathaniel yawned, flopping onto one of the unoccupied, expensive-looking red leather sofas. Spacious would have been an understatement in reference to our living room. The television was enormous, almost half the size of a cinema screen. Our father, Wes, was an avid collector of fine art and there were numerous costly pieces of furniture all around the room, including a fireplace. All for the sake of entertaining our relatives, who always insist on visiting us every so often.
“Let’s play some video games,” Helen suggested, or rather demanded, judging from the tone of her voice.
“Everyone cool with that?” Nathaniel asked, staring at everyone in the room. His eyes fell on Melody, waiting for a confirmation.
“Yeah.” She nodded, “But I’ll just watch. I’m not good at video games.”
His friendly gaze then landed on Ashleigh, who looked startled. “Uhh, yeah. I’m fine with anything.” She mumbled softly. It seemed that Nathaniel and Melody were the only ones willing to be at the very least, cordial with her. I didn’t have much of an opinion of her, and kept myself strictly in neutral territory, but for Nate and Helen, they were bordering hostile.
“I nominate Halo!” Again, Helen’s tone did not leave any room for objection. My brothers and I were used to it anyway, letting her have her way.
Helen, Nate and on Nathaniel’s urging, Ashleigh, set up the Xbox console and played their silly Halo game while my youngest brother and I sat on either side of Melody, spectating the game. My arm itched to drape itself around Melody’s dainty shoulder.
It’s thoughts like these that will send you to hell, Nathan.
For a self-professed Shelby minion, Ashleigh was quite a skilled player. It was as if she had been playing video games for years, though she profusely denied it.
“Lunch is served, children!” A sudden burst of fragrance wafted throughout the living room. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.
“Whooooo!” My brother pumped his fist in the air. “Mom’s made lasagna!”
I shook my head. Nathaniel absolutely loved lasagna. Even I, who didn’t fancy lasagna much, found our mother’s lasagna to be simply delectable.
“Lasagna is one of my favourite dishes,” Beside me, Melody beamed at Nathaniel. I felt the sting of jealousy pierce me again. It bothered me, how cosy Melody and my brother were at times. It was only seeing them bicker, would I feel relieved. I could only hope that their relationship would remain strictly platonic.
Nate was also another cause for worry. It was evident in his late behaviour, that there was something about Melody he found likeable. He had declared to Nathaniel and I many times, how he loathed girls, with the exception of Helen. All of a sudden, he meets Melody and we see alterations in him. On his own accord, he speaks to her, breaking his habitual silence towards girls. He smiled at her, in the way he used to smile at Michelle, compared to his usual lifeless expressions.
Just what was going on with my brothers?
More importantly, was I starting to see my brothers as rivals?
***
“To whom, do I owe the honour of thanking for this heavenly ambrosia?”
“That would be my beautiful wife, Natalie.” Wes laughed, dabbing at the corner of his mouth with a napkin.
“I beseech you to give me the recipe, Natalie. I shall have to pester my wife to live up to your standards.”
“Don’t let Irene hear you say that, Jared.” Natalie laughed, standing up to clear the plates. “Her Chicken Cordon Bleu was simply divine.”
“But enough about us, J.” Wes chuckled, taking a sip of his red wine. “We shouldn’t ignore the kiddos.”
Natalie came bustling into the room with dishes of mango pudding. “You should have heard the time Nathaniel came home for dinner without his shirt on!”
“Yes, it gave me such a shock,” Wes laughed lightly. “And he hasn’t even told us what happened yet.”
“Goodness!” Jared gasped, “What were you thinking, boy?”
All heads turned to Nathaniel and we waited for him to speak. I had a sinking feeling that I was somehow involved in his tale, recalling the night he had tried to kidnap me to dinner. My face burned brightly with mortification.
“Melody needed to rush home for something and she accidentally toppled over a glass of ice water on me.” Nathaniel threw me a dopey grin. “So I took off my shirt because no way was I walking home in a wet, cold shirt.”
“You couldn’t at least cover up with something?” Jared asked dubiously.
“You must’ve attracted a lot of attention on the streets.” Wes commented, scooping up a spoonful of pudding.
“Mostly girls, for some reason.” Nathaniel shrugged, shoving his spoon into his mouth. “Go figure.”
“Come now, Nathaniel.” Natalie looked at her son in surprise. “Surely, you can’t be so ignorant over something so obvious?”
“Shameless exhibitionist.” Nate muttered.
“He wasn’t like that once,” Helen smirked at Nathaniel, whose face took on a wary look. “One time, he didn’t go to school for a week because he was scared of people laughing at his appearance.”
“Yeah. Mom was teaching us to cook spaghetti and we had to boil some water for the pasta first. He accidentally came into contact with the flames on the stove. It singed off half his left eyebrow so we had to shave off the other side to make it even.” Nathan grinned at Nathaniel.
“You promised you wouldn’t tell!” Nathaniel yelled, blushing.
“I didn’t promise. It was Melody who said I didn’t need to tell her.”
Nate grimaced, putting down his spoon. “That wasn’t very nice, Nathan. Are you mad at Nathaniel or something?”
“You know perfectly well that Helen would’ve said it anyway.” Nathan answered, his face devoid of emotion. “Sorry Nathaniel.”
Though my face remained blank and I stayed mute, I was slightly annoyed with Nathan. Nathaniel looked so miserable.
“Life with our sons never gets boring,” Wes chuckled.
“I second that,” Natalie giggled, finishing the rest of her mango pudding, which was delicious. “And they even found a partner in crime. Helen is like a daughter to Wes and I.”
“It’s a good thing that they keep their antics confined within their home. Their form teacher Mr Reynolds seems satisfied with their conduct. Nathan is dedicated and studious. Nate, though quiet, is one of his best English and Literature students. Nathaniel is a happy-go-lucky fella whose results exceed expectations. That’s quite an accomplished set of triplets you’ve got there, Wes.” Jared praised, beaming at Wes and Natalie.
“What about me?”
“You, Helen, are interesting.” Jared laughed lightly. “Or as Mr Reynolds puts it, peculiar. Half the time, you do not seem to pay attention in class, but you are one of his best students, like Nate.”
“That’s cause I’m a natural,” Helen declared proudly.
“No, its because you go home and freak out for not having listened to Mr Reynolds.” Nate grinned, the smile reaching his eyes in one of those rare occasions. “Then you call me and beg me to help you out.”
“I didn’t beg!” Helen protested indignantly.
“Oh… you’re right.” Nate paused, contemplating. “You grovelled.”
The adults, Nathaniel and Nathan filed out of the dining room, leaving Helen to bicker with Nate. Ashleigh and I looked at each other questioningly. As if reaching a silent agreement, the both of us followed after the adults, walking side by side contentedly.
“That’s a cool outfit you have there,” I made a tentative attempt to strike up a friendly conversation. “And you were really awesome at Halo just now.”
She regarded me cautiously for a moment, then broke into a lovely and genuine smile. “Thanks, Melody. I think you look great too. Don’t listen to what Ashley said the other day. She’s just jealous.”
I instantly recalled what Ashley had said to me earlier in the week. I had bumped into the ‘Ashley trio’ in the ladies after lunch. She walked up to me and snidely commented how I was a ‘hideous-looking loner trying to use my non-existent looks to suck up to the Peyton triplets’. I knew I wasn’t as attractive as Ashley, so it didn’t really matter when she called me hideous. It was her comment about me being a loner that bothered me. It reminded me of just how insecure I was, and how easily Nathaniel and the others could turn their backs on me.
Despite Nate and Helen’s cold indifference towards her, and Nathan’s neutrality, I realised that having Ashleigh as a friend, would have been really nice.
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*sighs*
I know, yet another romance-less and not very well-written chapter. Sorry...
