Sunday

I can be your peace in the loud world. When the other days turn hectic, I can be your Sunday. You can relax and have a little me-time when you are on the Sunday break.

— Mehak Gupta *dances weirdly to Watermelon Sugar*

The Sunday morning sun shined brightly, illuminating the whole room. Scarlet squirmed, yawning lazily as she found herself wrapped in Sofia's limbs. She carefully removed her arms and legs, trying not to wake the girl. Her gaze fell upon Timothy, who was sleeping on the extra mattress they arranged in the room. Walking up to the boy, she sighed as she removed a few strands of brunette hair from his face and covered him properly with the duvet. Pulling her hair into a bun and doing her morning routine, she went to the adjoining room. Opening the door to her brother's room, she frowned, not seeing either Cody or Nathan. 

She walked downstairs to find her and Cody's parents in the living room. It was a normal thing since they all lived in the same house. She walked up to her aunt (Cody's mom) as she asked, "Gomo, did Cody and Nathan Oppa not return last night?"

** Gomo means aunt from father's family. For mother's side, it's Imo **

Her aunt smiled, shaking her head as she answered, "No baby, he isn't back yet. He texted me yesterday that he is in the studio with Nathan. They had some complications dealing with Nate's (Nathan) father, so it was pretty late when they dropped Amie (Mrs. Jones) at home. After that, they both went to Nate's studio. He didn't call you since it was late. You go and give him a call. "

Scarlet nodded, understanding the situation as she thanked the lady. Jiah, Scarlet's mother, spoke with an affectionate tone, "Don't wake Tim yet. It must have been difficult to fall asleep since he was so worried. Sofia's mom called me earlier and asked if you all are going to stay another night."

Scarlet groaned, "Why can't her parents just let her be. Haven't they done enough damage?". Her father, Riley, shook his head while trying to explain, "You know they didn't mean to let it out like that. They are just a little overprotective over their only daughter. I am like that too. The only difference is you are not adopted."

"But they did it anyway. Just because she wants to be herself doesn't mean she's to be labeled as adopted. And you know what happened wasn't even her fault." Scarlet fumed, remembering the incident that happened a year ago. Cody's father tutted as he complained, "I know, right? I guess they don't have anything else to blame but their shallow thought. Though, you guys are doing a great job at keeping her spirits high."

Scarlet smiled before she bowed and left to check up on the two sleeping in the room. Seeing his daughter skip happily towards her friends brought a smile to his face, yet his eyes turned glassy. His black orbs flickered with emotion and a spark of blue passed them before it was gone. 

Entering her room, Scarlet called Cody to confirm if they could visit the older later. Getting a positive reply, she went to pack two pairs of fresh clothing for the two older boys. After that, she went to the kitchen to make brunch for them to take along. That being done, she went back to wake up her friends. Timothy was given a choice out of Cody's wardrobe while Sofia shared with Scarlet. When they were done, the three set off towards their destination with the driver's help.

~~~💜~~~

Vantae slept peacefully on the upper bed of their bunk until Asa came in to wake him up. Apparently, they are supposed to go for what it's called 'Back to school' shopping which seems like a bulshit to Vantae. He offered to stay home since he was hurt the previous day, but his hyung's healing worked a bit too well for his liking. And now here he is, being dragged out of his bed into getting ready to go out. He saw Kyle and Jamie with Jones couple in the living room as he finished his breakfast. Apologizing for the delay, he followed behind Asa towards the main door. Mrs. Jones provided them with the direction to the Stationery store.

Kyle tossed the car keys to the older as he never got a license for himself. After a fifteen or so minute drive, they reached the said store. Vantae felt someone's distinctive presence the moment he stepped into the store. He looked in Kyle's direction as the older handed a shopping basket to Jamie. Kyle was the most sensitive about any weird presence around them. Seeing his hyung's expression is just fine, he shook it off, grabbing a basket for himself. 

Kyle put his hand over the lost boy's shoulder, catching his attention. He tilted his head in a silent question of if everything is okay. Vantae mustered up the best smile with the same feeling, nodding to ease up the crease on older's forehead. What they didn't know was that someone was actually there.

~~~💜~~~

Timothy knocked on the studio door, bouncing on his toes as he waited for the door to open. Scarlet and Sofia each carried a bag, one with clothes and the other with food. A few minutes later, Nathan opened the door scratching his head sleepily. A warm smile adorned his face as he stepped back to let the three in. It was Riley's (Scar's dad) old apartment, which was rebuilt into Nathan's Dance studio and Cody's Music Studio.

Cody worked as a producer and Music director for an infamous entertainment firm but preferred to keep his identity under wraps. The young man had multiple shelves filled with awards. Nathan decided to be a dancer and was later scouted by the same firm as a choreographer. Not just that, with his parent's support and encouragement, he opened a youtube channel that was booming with followers and comments. Just like the other, he liked to keep himself unknown to most of the world. Whenever he appeared on the channel, he would often wear a mask or cap as a disguise. 

The apartment was designed as an open lobby with a balcony separated by floor-to-ceiling glass sliders. By the sliders were two recliners in case they had to stay overnight. On the opposite wall was the entrance door and by its side were shelves, filled with all their awards and certificates. The other pair of opposite walls had a modular kitchen and two separate doors for their studios. Finally, there was a smart LED screen and sofas in the middle. No one could guess the cozy-looking lobby had two completely different studios on the other side of the wall.

As Sofia marveled over the appearance of the place, Scarlet reheated the food. Timothy helped to arrange the cutlery for everyone. They enjoyed their food, talking about the new school day tomorrow. After eating, the two older ones freshened up. Timothy wanted to talk about the incident that happened the earlier day. But the doe-eyed younger chose to push it away as his hyung laid his head on his lap. Timothy remembered doing the same when he felt tired.

The two girls smiled at the cute scene. Seeing Nathan relax was actually relieving. Sofia went to inform Mrs. Jones, so the mother won't worry. Scarlet sat on the other recliner from Cody's. "He didn't cry yesterday, but I do feel like he needs an outlet. Nate always tries to keep it together for everyone else", Cody said with his eyes closed. Scarlet hummed in response, gazing out of the glass.

She came back to reality as Sofia tapped her shoulders. The three boys were already sleeping when she looked around. The two girls decided to sit on the balcony, so any of their voices won't disturb. 

"So, you got those paints yet?" Sofiia asked expectantly. Scarlet's face twisted in confusion before the realization hit like a train, "What p-... Oh, Shit!! I forgot! Why am I so dumb?!". Sofia cackled, patting her back as she pointed towards the biggest stationery store, literally on the opposite side of the road. They both made eye contact before bursting into laughter at her stupidity.

Scarlet took the small pad of sticky notes, informing the boys that they are going to get some paint. Apparently, this main character of mine is careless enough to forget about the Acrylic paints needed for her painting. The said girl loved painting and had a habit of scribbling all over her notepads. Most of the paintings were of Cody or the people she felt close to or some random scenery that she remembered. Sunrise to sunset, humans to nature, anything her eyes could capture. But, there was still a noticeable percentage of her paintings that had a faceless boy with whitish wings or some places she didn't remember visiting. It did make her want to know where the boy is. The longer she stared at the painting, the more familiarity she felt with the person in them. She did hope to get those answers someday but, some paint could do for the time being. 

The two girls took up a single basket, rushing towards the paint's section. Scarlet got on to her knees, checking the different shades of Turquoise there while Sofia checked Maroons on the upper shelves. As a few minutes passed, the automatic doors opened with a ding, indicating that someone just entered. With the sound of the door closing, an eerie sensation settled in Scarlet's heart. Her first reaction was to look for Sofie, who busily searched for some Washi tapes on the opposite aisle. 

Ensuring that the girl is okay, she went back to finding her own things. The feeling in her heart didn't subdue, so she decided to take a look at whoever entered. As she put down the bottle of red, about to bend sideways to peek, her phone went off with a text message. She sighed, taking her phone to see Cody's text which looked like:

(=🝦 ༝ 🝦=) :

~ Bring back some tangerines from the adjoining supermarket. And don't you dare drool over guys because I'm not there. (￣へ￣)

~ On the contrary, if some guy looks at you, do break his neck or just call me. ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ

Scarlet almost laughed until she read the first text again. She pouted, even though he couldn't see. She replied with the same face.

~ FYI, I am not a hoe. I don't drool over boys. (￣ε(#￣)

With that, she shoved the phone in her pocket, standing to move to other aisles. Not looking ahead, she bumped into someone. Thankfully, the bottles didn't fall. Scarlet looked up to apologize but rather froze when her gaze fell upon the handsome face. "Are you okay? Sorry, I am always a little clumsy. I hope you didn't get hurt", Kyle sheepishly smiled.

Scarlet shook her head furiously, "No. No, it was my fault. I didn't see where I was going". Kyle smiled warmly at the girl as he felt a familiar aura around her. He looked around but couldn't find the other three, so he turned back to the girl to ask, "Can you tell me where's the backpack section?"

Scarlet nodded, directing the older in the direction. Kyle thanked her before walking off. Scarlet went off towards the spirals and notepads to get a few of those too. A little cough caught her attention as she turned around to see another boy. This one was shorter (and cute too) and looked kind of nervous, his hand grasping the handle of the basket tightly. He asked, "Have you seen a really tall guy with dragon eyes?"

Scarlet nodded, pointing in the direction where the older walked off to. "He went to the backpack section. Three aisles down, to the left", she guided him with a friendly smile. The boy relaxed visibly as he said, "Sorry for disturbing you. We are new around here, so it's a little confusing."

The girl chuckled as she joked, "I can guess that. Haven't seen such attractive people in a long time". Jamie's eyes widened with a light blush as he looked down at his feet before walking in his hyung's direction. Sofia approached her with a few sets of her own supplies, chuckling at the scene she just witnessed. "Darn!! That was some cute reaction", she giggled. "Yah! Concentrate on Tim. You are not allowed to look at any other guy", Scarlet quipped before agreeing, "Indeed. He looked like a Mochi".

With that, they carried the basket to the billing counter, talking some more about the boy. Scarlet still couldn't shake off the weird feeling when their items were being scanned. It was something she has experienced before, but she couldn't pin the exact moment at the time. Grabbing the bags, they left the store to buy Tangerines.

On the other hand, Vantae felt the awareness increase with each passing second. As he rounded the shelves towards the front, his eyes caught a slight glimpse of the two girls walking out of the store. His steps subconsciously turned towards them. Just as he was about to follow, Asa pulled him back by his ear. The older didn't want him to slip off and get lost in the unknown place. Vantae quickly turned his head towards the exit, but the girls were gone.

The weird presence he felt earlier dissipated, but something about them settled in. He couldn't point out what it exactly was, if he had felt it before or if he hasn't. He followed his hyung back into the store, trying not to think about anything else.

~~~💜~~~

Scarlet and Sofia carried the bags into the apartment, laughing over an old memory. Nathan stirred at the sound, stretching like a Cheshire cat as he proceeded to sit up. Timothy yawned, resting his head on the back of the sofa to look at the stuff they got. By this time, it was almost 4 pm, and they just had brunch. Knowing Scarlet, Timothy was sure that the little monster must have brought something to eat. The two of them had a big appetite as compared to others. 60% of the time spent together was all about food.

Putting away the bag with stationery, Scarlet took out the boxes of strawberries and the pack of Tangerines, placing them in the refrigerator. Cody came out of the washroom and settled on one of the chairs at the kitchen counter. Before he could ask, Sofia said, "Your Tangerines are in the refrigerator" her gaze turned to Nathan, "We got some strawberries for you. They didn't have melon or else, she was ready to buy those too". 

Nathan laughed a little, walking to the counter with a slight bounce in his step. He was grateful to have all of the caring people in his life, so he expressed, "Really?! You two are the best! Thank you". Scarlet giggled, pointing toward Timothy.

The youngest sat crossed leg on the sofa, sulking with a cute pout. The four of them burst into UwU, cooing over his cuteness. Scarlet cleared her throat as she spoke, "Tim, are you coming or not?". The said boy flared his nostrils, turning in the opposite direction. "No! I will not. You only care for the hyungs, didn't even get me anything!" he said in a sulky manner.

**UwU is an emoticon that represents cuteness. 'U' is used as the eyes and 'w' as the mouth.**

Cody's lips turned into his signature gummy smile. Sofia spoke while trying to put off her smile, "How can you say that?! We did get you Banana milk!". Timothy secretly smiled, turning to them with big doe eyes. "Realy?!" he asked innocently even though he already knew the answer.

"Well, duh! Do you think we can leave our baby bunny without his favorites?!" Scarlet imitated in a baby voice while walking towards him. She pinched his cheeks, receiving a swat to the same. She pushed him towards the counter like that to a stubborn child. Timothy laughed as he complained, "You are just half a year older than me. I'm not a baby anymore".

Nathan patted Timothy's head as he spoke in a serious tone, "You are still a baby. A big ass baby". There were a few seconds of silence before the lobby was filled with laughter. They had Japchae and their own drinks along with a small conversation. It was more like teasing Timothy for putting up the small act. The fruits were saved for later. Around 7 in the evening, all of them returned to Minter's home. They even collected Sofia's uniform and school bag on their way back.

**Japchae is sweet and spicy stir fry noodles.**

Mr. Jones had already dropped Timothy's stuff since he also had some catching up to do with Riley. Both the families were pretty close as their kids were practically joined at the hips. The Reeve couple (Sofia's parents) never joined their family gatherings but, neither did they stop little Sofia. That was the case when they were still kids. Sofia's parents were a little too protective and won't let her go out much when they were going out on their own (during teenage of course). Not that the other two would go without her, so they often sneaked her out.

This continued till the last year. After the incident that happened at school, Sofia was much more firm with her decisions since then. Her parents became less controlling and more understanding, trying to cover up for their mistakes. As she slept peacefully beside Scarlet, Timothy smiled at them. His gaze roamed across Cody's room, falling upon the older and Nathan sleeping too. He stood near the window, feeling the cold wind brushing his shoulders as he looked up at the moon, wishing he could find the people missing from his life soon.

~~~💜~~~

While all that happened in Minter's house, the four supernaturals still had to figure out about their freshly started life. The four boys were sitting in a cozy-looking coffee shop as they ordered some coffee and croissants for lunch. Vantae had some chocolate milk since he wasn't that fond of coffee. As they listened to Asa ramble about the supplies they bought, Jamie brought up the girl he came across in the store. Also, only Kyle was listening to Asa's ramble.

Jamie sighed dramatically as he started, "I would have lost you if she hadn't helped me". Kyle turned to the boy, asking, "The one with a big bun and paints in her basket?". Jamie nodded his head vigorously, asking back, "You saw her too? She was so nice and polite. Her friend was there too".

Vantae held up his hand, "Hold up! Where did you find them?". The shorter boy wiggled his eyebrows as he teased, "Why? You interested or something?". Vantae deadpanned, but his insides were bursting into nervousness. Asa laughed at the two as they bickered back and forth. Kyle smiled adoringly at the three loud idiots. The oldest did suggest being in the same school, but the thought drowned in their laughter. Vantae even took Jamie to the park where he first met his friend, Tim. By evening they went home. Mr. Jones provided them with ID cards for school tomorrow. The day finally ended with dinner and casual talk.

As Vantae laid in the upper bed of their bunk, he looked at the stars twinkling. He wished to find his answers soon along with Tim.

~~~ End ~~~