Filling in the blank space

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Dawson yelped as his mother picked him up and frantically looked around while his face reddened. He dreaded being seen carried around and was thankful that the house and greenery in the yard kept them out of view. For a moment he tried to wiggle out of her hold but by the time they'd arrived at the staircase he calmed and regained his sour expression.

 

Dawson had had enough oddities for one day, from his brother repeatedly bursting into tears to his parents not acting as themselves. He hurried his mother out of the bathroom and turned the key on the door but for a few minutes only sat on the floor by the tub with arms wrapped around his legs, frowning to himself. He didn't even think he was that dirty but agreed to the bath and eventually started to take his wet shoes off and then his clothes.

 

On any other occasion, Dawson would have made a mess of the bathroom and staid in the tub until the water became too cold to bare. However he wasn't in the mood to splash around and only washed the mud away before drying himself off and dressing in fresh clothes. All cleaned up, he returned downstairs and hoped he'd be able to talk his way into eating dinner in his room, though he expected to just be lectured in stead.

[KoBu]

And a lecture he did receive, if you could call it that. More a mild scolding really. Evie warmed his plate up once Dawson made his way downstairs. She and Carl spoke calmly with Dawson and Litid once they sat down at the dinner table. Dawson received a firm 'No, you can't eat in your room. You know better.'

 

"Now ... I know today wasn't very fun for either of you..." Evelyn started " It was a big change for all of us but I sho-- WE... should've been more ...." The woman wrung her hands trying find the right words. Carlton jumped in at this point. "What your mother means is we're sorry that we just threw you two together and hoped it would work."

 

" It's ok..." Came Litid's quiet little voice. His parents looked to him, surprised. The little boy turned to his big brother with that same little smile. " Everything will be alright." And with that the little Albino got up from the table. " I'm still sleepy, so I'm gonna go to bed. Nighty night." And with that Litid headed up to bed.

 

Evelyn wanted to go follow and maybe tuck the boy in but froze when she thought of the day they'd all had.

Carlton, trying to keep things positive, grinned at Dawson " Whelp anyway, things will be better tomorrow, yea? So how about you finish eating and we'll watch some tv before bed. alright?"

 

+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Having been sat down at the kitchen table with both his parents and brother present Dawson slouched in his chair and kept his gaze downcast, only slightly raising his head when someone spoke. Every so often he would also sneak a glance at the boy beside him until, in one instance, his sibling turned to him as well and met his gaze. It made no sense to Dawson that the younger boy had spoken so softly and smiled at him after how the day had played out and unprepared, the only thing he thought to do in return was nod lightly.

 

Dawson gladly placed himself on the couch in front of the TV once he'd finished his food and had a smile on his face for the remainder of the night, thankful that something was still the way it used to be. However even then part of him was unhappy with how everything had turned.

[KoBu]

9 years later

 

Litid gave a stretch and yawn as he headed to his locker from a long day. Taking hold of his jacket and slinging it around his slim shoulders, Litid headed for the door before a loud shout of his name caught his attention. He turned to see Kallina.

 

" Jesus!! Litid I called you and texted you! I said to wait for me after school and we could go shopping!" She pouted unhappily. Litid gave a sheepish grin. "Um... Well you know I don't have my phone in class, Kallina..."

After she and Dawson had that little tizzy at the creek, Kallina started to hang out with and play with Litid. At first she did it to annoy him for being so mean, but as the years went by, she and the albino became very good friends. And he was one of her favorite shopping buddies!

" Anyway, don't you have an exam to study for?" Litid asked. Kallina offered a shrug " We can study together when we sit to take a break at the mall. Now c'mon!"

" Ok ok! lemme just tell my big brother so he can tell mom I'll be home late for dinner..." Litid pleaded as he took out his phone and sent a text to Dawson.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

If Litid had been willing to, he could have easily found his brother to deliver the message in person as Dawson was in a part of the school not far away. Surrounded by a group of class mates but also a few younger teenagers he headed to the gym, one of the boys walking close by him so to keep a conversation going even among all the noise they were making.

 

Growing up Dawson had kept his friends but drifted away from them in favor of the people he met in classes and during training, who shared his interests. For a young age he had started demanding to practice various sports and while nothing held his attention for long he made friends each time. It was not a surprise that once he settled on one thing he became very close with his team.

 

Hearing his phone sound off just as he reached the changing room Dawson frowned to himself before even looking at the screen. He wondered if it had slipped his brothers mind that he wasn't expected at home until much later that day either and rather than text the younger man back, he called him.

[KoBu]

Just as they made it to the door, Litid heard his phone ring. The albino was surprised to the say the last. Nobody called him. Kallina tended to just barge into the house and then his room, and his older brother was always busy with sports and after school clubs.

It was an even bigger surprise to see Dawson's 'Big Brother' ID name on his phone. Feeling a little smile twitch on his lips, Litid quickly answered, his voice sounding joyfully surprised on the other end, "Hello Dawson, you never call. I thought you'd be to busy."

Litid stood listening with Kallina trying to tug him into the car.

"Oh my god, c'mon Apple! Let's go!"

 

"This will only be a second Kalli!" Litid tried to shush her as he held the mouth piece behind his hand.

"Anyway, I'm sorry was there something you needed?" He turned his attention back to his brother over the phone, grin still sitting on his face.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

-"I am busy." Dawson snapped but paused to breathe a deep sigh, he'd taken note of his brother's happy tone and didn't want to spoil his good mood by being harsh. "I've joined the soccer team, remember? We have practice right after class." He reminded the younger man, expecting him to know his schedule.

 

With only a few minutes to change Dawson couldn't afford to stand in place while he spoke on the phone and in stead sat down to start taking off his shoes. He put both the bags he'd been carrying down beside him, one his own and another belonging to a teammate, Ivan, who he'd made a silly bet with. The blonde teenager had walked close beside him on their way to the gym and was telling him what had happened at a party he'd missed before Dawson had to call his brother. Ivan wasn't very patient though and started to take Dawson's things and pester him after he grew bored of listening in on his conversation.

 

-"I can't tell mom and dad..." Dawson spoke while wrestling the blonde teenager with one free hand, trying to take back the shirt he'd just snatched from him."I won't be home any sooner than you." He continued just as Ivan slipped out of his hold and ran to the other side of the room, stopping only once he was at a safe distance to challenge him with a grin. However Dawson didn't jump to his feet and chase after him as he was expecting but slouched against the wall and focused on the conversation with his brother in stead.

 

-"You know Li, there are a lot of guys your age here. You could join the team and hang out with us in stead of going shopping with girls." Dawson had tried to talk his brother into playing various sports with him before and it had never worked, however he wouldn't lose anything by giving it another try. "It doesn't matter if you're not very good, we're mostly having fun here, you would have time to learn."

[KoBu]

Litid felt his own shoulders sag a little. "Ohm... I'm sorry. " Litid had actually forgotten all about that. He rarely was able to go to the games, only if they happened at night or if it was cloudy outside. And his brother sounded even more annoyed at him. "I forgot....I'm sorry." His voice small over the speaker.

 

Kallina was trying to snatch the phone away by now, hearing the younger boy getting sad. When Litid wouldn't let her, she shouted for Dawson to hear, 'Stop being a dick!'

Litid held a finger up to his pale lips to shush her.

 

When his brother had suggested he join sports again, he gave a regretful sigh. "You know I can't big brother we've talked about this. I can't be out in the sun very long without either getting sick or literally burning to a crisp. And even if I could, I have to carry an umbrella or wear fifty pounds of sunscreen and a head scarf..." Litid reminded. It's not like he didn't want to but his lack of pigment wouldn't allow it him to be out so long. It's why there mother had them outside at dusk or night time most often and why Litid sat away from Windows in school.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Dawson's expression darkened and he leaned his head back until he was looking up at the ceiling. Things seemed to go downhill whenever he spoke to his brother longer than strictly necessary and taking into account how he had to be out of the changing room soon he decided to cut his loses and end the conversation. "I need to go, forget I said anything." He muttered and touched the screen to end the call before lightly tossing the phone into his bag.

 

Ivan read the situation and knew better than to keep toying with Dawson when he looked angry. He smiled softly only to keep the atmosphere in the by then mostly empty room from plummeting and returned the shirt without a struggle. Before the both of them headed out he lightly squeezed Dawson's shoulder as reassurance.

 

-"So... what I'm hearing is, you're jealous of your brother... because he's out with a girl and you're here with the lot of us?" The blonde made light of the situation and earned himself an annoyed grunt. They both had to keep their voices down, knowing the coach would yell if he caught them chatting while they were warming up.

-"He's with Kallina." Dawson didn't think he needed to say anything else to make it clear he wasn't envious of who his sibling was with.

-"An older woman then." Ivan persisted and Dawson only shook his head. The silly conversation was helping him to stop thinking about the real issue though and he allowed himself a grin. He couldn't imagine his little brother with any girl and felt a bit guilty for it, like he'd just had a mean thought.

[KoBu]

Litid felt his once happy mood dampen and wilt with upset his older brother sounded. He frowned once he heard the click on the other end signalling the end of the call. Kallina called again once the younger boy took the phone from his ear.

"Finally!! I thought you two were writing a novel over the phone." She whined. But then she noticed Litid's somber expression. And frowned herself. "... what's the matter snowball?"

Litid looked up quickly replacing his frown with a smile. " Nothing, I just made my big brother mad again.... " he trailed off. Kallina scowled. "Yea.... well fuck him and his man period! We're going shopping!! And IMMA buy you a new top to go with those boots you got for Valentine's day from my cousin." She explained with a wink. Litid turned bright red. That's another thing. With any skin color, his blushes turned even brighter then normal, hence kalli' s nickname of Apple.

"Shhh!!! Don't say that out loud!!" Litid said in a cluster. Kallina snickered. If there was one thing Litid didn't want was his big brother finding out about Kallina's cousin sending him gifts. Dawson might get mad or worse disown him! His mom and dad didn't even know about the boots at the bottom of his closet.

 

Kallina rolled her eyes and ushered Litid into the care, fully determined to make the little albino forget all about his older brother. At one point she even stole Litid's phone and snapped a picture of Litid trying on a pair of jeans, staring at his butt with a little pout.

hey it's kalli shopping with me ain't so bad, he forgot how sad you made him earlier > was the text petty? You bet your sweet ass it is, but Kallina wasn't gonna let nobody give the Snowball no shit for nothing, big brother or not.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Dawson hated having to change back into casual clothes knowing that in only an hour he would be back in the same loose shirt and shorts. The soccer practice was for fun, the school needed a team for an upcoming competition and anyone who had any idea how to play had been welcome to join. What Dawson was really passionate about were martial arts, despite how hard his parents had tried to steer him to other things, and he practiced a few. Most days of the week, he had little to no free time and often even shrugged off school assignment and homework.

 

Dawson received the text message from his brother, or rather Kallina who'd stolen Litid's phone, while he and Ivan were by the vending machine, spending their short break lazily seated on a small bench, going through a couple of snacks. He made a grimace at the short line of text and slipped the phone right back into his pocket, letting the provocation pass unanswered. However this didn't mean he wasn't angry at the girl.

 

-"Let's go... we can sit in the car." Dawson was up and on his way out before Ivan could protest having to walk to the parking spot down the street from the school. The old vehicle belonged to the blond and had fallen into his possession after his two brothers bought something better. However Ivan didn't mind Dawson driving in stead of him, especially when he was in the mood to fumble with his phone in stead of navigating through traffic.

 

Dawson settled into the drivers seat but left the door wide open and after a minute of digging through his bag fished out a pack of cigarettes. The teenager beside him made a small, angry sound but knew there was no point in reminding his friend how unhealthy his habit was. Dawson had started to smoke to get along with a group of boys they used to hang out with but now just couldn't kick the habit. It wasn't a secret among his friends but he was careful not to let his parents or teachers know.

[KoBu]

"Not a very becoming habit to have, Dawson...." Terrance had suddenly appeared at the side of the car. " Didn't you try to quit a few months ago?"

The dark skinned boy leaned away so as not get a face full of smoke. Being a dancer, cardio was an important part of his work out, along with strength training and yoga, all of which could be hindered by smoking. He constantly pestered Dawson about the nasty habit, even offered alternatives. But all seemed in vain now.

 

Meanwhile at the mall, Litid and Kallina had walked the entire stretch of stores, the girl jabbering about how often she could find sales here, both arms laddened with bags. Litid carrying only two of his own, nodding along with Kalli when he deemed it right. His mind kept wandering back to his older brother. Dawson was upset with him again... but what else was new? Growing up Litid felt he was just getting in the older boy's way of he tried to play or converse with him. And when they did, Litid was happy for the company but the albino would always wonder if Dawson just did it out of obligation.

 

After another hour, Litid suggested they go home. He still had homework to do and he knew Kallina had an exam she should be studying for. With a groan and long whine, Kallina eventually gave in and took them both home.