Unexpected Gifts

The whispers of the books were compelling, his habitual visits causing a stir within the community as the infamous Ares heir stalked the shelves lining the corridors with blistering purpose. His stride was powerful and daunting as he moved with a grace far beyond his years. The swoon of girls staring at him leaving an unpleasant feeling in its wake, but the boy painted with the colors of midnight sky paid them no mind.

His long fingers, skimming past a multitude of covers before landing on an image that caught his sapphire eyes. “This’ll do.”

“Are you sure?” Drew pitched in from beside him, peering past his shoulder.

“I’m positive. This one will definitely make the perfect gift.”

“Okay… I’m just making sure… because I love you man, but this is the fifth time we’ve been to this same bookstore. And every time we end up leaving empty handed.”

“That’s because the other books weren’t worthy of Damon’s attention. Would you want to sit there and read about a sparkling excuse of a woman who slept with half the male cast?” Clay replied easily enough, his body language languid as he pivoted his hip down to rest against the shelf. His gaze preoccupied with skimming his latest possible purchase.

Faintly he heard Drew sigh in exasperation, but he paid him no mind. Too busy making sure the book had as much quality as it perceived to have. Once he was satisfied that the boy, albino and so utterly unique, would take a liking to it, the book was snapping shut with a thud.

“We can go now, I’ve definitely decided on this one.”

Drew was staring at him, face cautious when he fell into stride next to him. “You’re positive this time? You think he’ll like the genre?”

Clay’s feet came to a dead halt.

“Clay?”

Why hadn’t he thought about the genre? Such a simple, overly important, subject—how was he supposed to pick a book without knowing the genre? Black wispy lashes fell down to brush against his cheekbones, and he heard Drew suddenly cuss under his breath.

“You didn’t ask the Chairman what kind of books he reads, did you?”

“No.”

“So… what have you been basing any of these searches on?”

Clay clicked his tongue, sapphire reopening as they peered down at the book he held firmly in his palms. The cover was vibrant and white, a pure echo of the boy’s hair that it was intended for. The words on the pages, lengthy and descriptive but left enough mystery to hook you within its next pages. Without even noticing it, he had been comparing the novels to the boy on the receiving end without realizing.

“I suppose… I went off my own tastes.” He answered vaguely, much to the other teen’s obvious confusion. Drew’s popular face slack with puzzlement that left a few girls that walked by giggling with mirth at his expense.

“Either way though,” Clay continued, still moving forward with a light simper on his face, “this is the one. I’m sure of it.”

Drew’s footfalls started up behind him, and Clay chuckled at his next words while he made his way to counter where a pretty librarian was waiting for them. Blonde curls a ring of gold around her head while her manicured nails plucked the book from him.

“You only read encyclopedias or manuals on chess. How are any of the books you looked at anything like that? They’re fiction?”

Clay just smiled, handing the woman his shiny gold card that signified his membership to the bookshop. “Like I said, it was just based off my tastes.”

With that, the young man gave a brief gesture of thanks to the woman, collecting his bag as he made his way out of the shop. Cobble stones fresh beneath his feet and alive with the scent of autumn when he glanced back at his blonde friend. “Let’s head to the orphanage now, shall we?”

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The sounds of plates were clattering, loud and obnoxious as Damon resisted the urge to cover his weeping ears. Sensitive was the light of his eyes when dilated lilac met the overbearing sunlight pouring in from the constantly swinging door. Children of multiple ages clambering in from the outside as the call for lunch rang throughout the previously barren halls. It’s the screech of an owl, bearing down on his oversensitive skin when he backs away from the overly crowded room. Frustration at his own prickling skin, leading him to turn away from the dining hall when a bubbly duo of seven year olds brush by him in the doorway.

The little girl of the duo stutters out an apology upon seeing him. Her big brown eyes wet with tears as she hides behind the boy her fingers are clasped with. “I’m s-sorry D-damon, I didn’t mean to b-bump you…”

The other boy rushes her along, muttering loud enough for him to hear. “It’s okay Rania, don’t apologize to him. Let’s keep going, okay?”

White brows furrow, and he bites the inside of his cheek. He would get his portion later.

A shoulder brushes past the doorway the rest of the way, and he’s quickly heading towards the main staircase, not looking at any of the kids around him. His weight barely sinking onto the first step as his appetite fades away. 

“Damon!! Hey, where are you going?” God dammit.

With a pale hand gripping the handrail up the gaping spiral staircase, Damon pauses in his advance. Pale fingertips tightening further on the wood as the boy tries to shield his growing annoyance with the girl. Of all people, it would be her--the only one who ever bothered with him here.

Then again, who else would it have been?

“What do you want, Amelia.” Damon replies, curt and tired. He can feel the pull of the bags under his eyes, staining his skin when he looks back at her with heavy white lashes. He knows he looks less than amiable and he’s hoping that just once that she gets the hint.

Just once, the girl with a kindness that lit up the sky would just leave him alone.

Fate laughed at him, “I wanted to sit with you today, but Damon… are you alright? You look so sleepy, why don’t we get you something to eat!” She smiles her 100 watt smile, and the light feels like it’s burning him alive. Envy, twisting his insides into something ugly when he finds himself wishing he could smile like that. But he can’t.

Damon turns his back to her, taking a step up the stairs when he replies, tongue laced with a bitterness that spoils the air. “I’m going to eat later, so just leave me alone.”

It’s silent, and Damon is about to resume his trek up the stairs when a hand clasps onto his wrist. He bristles at the feeling, anger invading his eyes when Amelia’s bold voice is slicing through his anger.

“I don’t want to leave you alone, Damon. I want you to eat and be happy… I promise I’ll go away after, just please come eat with me.”

Damon wants to slap her hand away, like he’s done to everyone else. But when he looks back at her, he finds himself under the same spell every adult and child alike fell under. And for a split second, he hates her for it. He hates the sparkle in her gaze and how she looked as if saints were modeled entirely after her. 

He wanted to hate her. 

But he never really could. 

Lilac narrows’ so pointedly that he physically can see when she shrinks back, the grip on his wrist loosening from its previous confidence.

Because he loves her too.

“Fine… but after I’m taking a damn nap…”

Love was a very strong word, and he knew it. But when she chides him, reprimanding him on how kids their age shouldn’t cuss, he knows that he does. Damon’s hand being pulled around by hers when they make their way back into the room he had just fled from. The airy steps she takes off setting his heavy ones in perfect tandem.

She was the little sister he never had.

And Damon just wanted her to be happy.

But it was too bad, that Damon didn’t notice Aiden’s eyes, full of potent, seething, jealousy following their every move.

“What does she see in him…?” He whispered to himself, crumpling the flower that had been in his hand. Mike looked away, his brow creasing in concern.

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“Here you go, Damon!” The tray clattered gently in front of him and Amelia smiled as she sat down across from him, her bright yellow sundress accenting her red hair as she happily scooped up a helping of bright red soup. The tomato liquid bubbling as it cradled itself securely in her spoon. Damon hated to admit it, but it made his stomach growl to life.

“I brought your favorite, tomato soup and grilled cheese. I even got the chef to give you some mozzarella on the side… but she made us promise not to tell anyone!” Grinning, she gestured at the extra helping on his tray with glee.

Nodding his head in thanks, his lips quirking into a slight smile that made Amelia light up like a Christmas tree. Fingers instantly going for the pile of extra cheese as he plucked the helping securely into his mouth and away from prying eyes. His mouth shifting with his subtle chews at the same time Amelia began to relish in her soup.

“It’s sooo yummy.” She sighed out in content, and Damon had to agree. When Jasmine was the one in the kitchen, the food was always significantly better than when Sara was on duty. The melody of subtle spices in the soup making his tongue dance with happiness. It was a nice break from the bland monstrosity that sometimes gloomed on his plate in an ugly disarray of misused ingredients.

The metal spoon touched his lips, soup sloshing over his tongue, when Amelia’s spoon suddenly hit the table with a loud clang. Swallowing, Damon looked up from his meal, feeling his face twist in his curiosity. “Amelia… earth to the space cadet, what’s wrong?”

Her face was bathed in hues of pink, an off shade to her hair, and she was staring past him. Her wide gaze peering over his head in a way that left his mouth frowning.

Quickly she shook her head, seeming to ignore him.

The hell?

“You’re back! It’s nice to see you again, Clay—oh and you too, Drew.”

And then, it was his turn for his spoon to cling against the wood of the table. Lilac fluttering in surprise as a face instantly appeared in his mind with the name. He hadn’t expected to see that person again, definitely not so soon. The ghost of his fingers running bandages along his calves making his stomach twist with a feeling he couldn’t tell was good or bad.

Damon just knew it made him uncomfortable.

Slowly, the argent haired boy twisted in his seat, pale chin tipping up in order to look up at the two teens standing in the middle of the dining room. Whispers flowing throughout the tables as they weren’t the only ones to notice the appearance of two strange boys, one blonde and practically glowing—the other dripping with a regal appeal that didn’t fit his young stature.

They practically drew in attention just from being born.

Damon hated them already.

Clay’s deep blue eyes clashed with his instantly. Damon frowned at that, distinctly recalling them being a red hue last time, before the tall boy’s full lips drew into an almost arrogant smirk.

The small, creeping feeling, like a butterfly fluttering in his stomach, most definitely was hate.

“Hello again, Damon.” Clay greeted directly at him, before also giving Amelia a small wave of his hand. “And you too, Amelia.”

But then his eyes were back on his, and Damon didn’t know what to say or why he was there.

Despite his better judgment, he found himself speaking. “Did you need something? The Chairman should be in his office right now, he doesn’t eat with us.”

Clay’s irises, so full and deep like an ocean, grew impossibly brighter. Damon was surprised to find it didn’t bother him like Amelia’s did. Maybe it was because those eyes, for as pretty as they were, were far from innocent.

“I’m well aware, I’m actually here to see you. James already gave his permission.”

Damon blinked, and he swore he saw Amelia do so too.

“Huh?”