I. Just Another Day
Quick note: This chapter's non-erotic. I'll have this note on all chapters like this, as this was originally a novel I was writing for the NaNoWriMo and therefore not centered around sex every chapter.
Ai sat in the computer lab, a series of images flickering in bright reflections across her face.
Next to her sat a man with features strikingly similar to her own.
Looking at the two together, though, there were enough differences in their features that one wouldn't suspect them to be so closely related as half-siblings.
Where his skin was the almost brownish quality of those in Southeast Asia, hers could almost be said to be Caucasian if not for the slight copper present.
Slightly slanted, amber-colored eyes stared out from her face, while his eyes were a bright shade of green bordering on cyan.
Her muscles were finely sculpted from her weekly cheerleading, while he was lanky and built not unlike a scarecrow, standing at a full six inches taller than her.
How they carried themselves, even sitting, was what made them appear vastly different to the casual observer, however.
Ai, even sitting relaxed before the computer, appeared reminiscent of a coiled predator.
It was clear to any who cared enough to look that her mind never relaxed, something constantly occupying her brain.
Her half-brother Alex, though, sat back in his chair with an easy smile, watching her work.
A camera sat on the desk between them, with a long black cable running into the back of the monitor.
She smiled softly at her project, thoroughly piquing Alex's curiosity.
"So," he started conversationally, "working on anything good?"
"You could say that," she responded distractedly.
Grinning, he leaned forward in his chair, getting a better view of the video editor in front of her.
The new view didn't help him understand it any better, though it
did
let him know the subject of the videos.
Grinning even wider, he sat back once again and gave a low whistle.
The sound didn't break Ai from her apparent trance, though by the slight blush that formed he knew she'd heard him.
"You seem to be in a good mood... Wouldn't have anything to do with things on that camera, would it? Maybe a bit more
risqué
?" he inquired.
"Yeah, no. You think I'd edit something like what you're thinking on campus?" she retorted with a narrowing of her eyes.
He smirked at her brightening blush.
"Are you going to make me guess at what's made today such a good day for you?"
"Better than good, actually," she retorts.
"Hmm... What could it be? What could it be? Oh, right, I meant to ask before, but then you got absorbed into your own world. How's the whole Rachel thing going? Are things working out well for you?"
The blush grew brighter, and he fought hard to not laugh.
"It's... um... going a lot better than I hoped it would," she muttered.
He smiled at her tone, bringing back memories of his own.
"Getting serious?"
Ai absentmindedly scratched at her scalp, her blush growing brighter by the second.
"Who knows?"
"Who knew girls were so complex, right?" Alex asked with a snort.
"Smartass," she muttered under her breath.
"It's one of my finer-tuned skills!" he responded.
His grin faded some, and his expression became considerably softer.
"Seriously, though, things're going well?"
"I think so... I mean, Rache's birthday's coming up in a few weeks and we're planning on hanging out for it."
"Not necessarily couple-y," he pointed out.
"At any rate," she continued with a cough, "I kind of, uh, wanted to give her something unique. Not just for the birthday or the fun, but for the whole
saving my ass from homelessness
thing, too. So I figured, I might as well put my expensive education to good use," she said with an ever-brighter blush.
"What
does
one make for that kind of gift? I imagine eviction-evasion isn't the biggest seller in Hallmark," he laughed.
Grinning, Ai nodded at her screen.
"Hence the unique gift!"
Alex laughed at the sight of her large grin, the sound finally bringing her eyes away from the screen.
"What?" she demanded with an embarrassed huff.
"It's a good thing, I think. Seriously," he mused.
Misinterpreting his grin, Ai almost glowed neon as her eyes narrowed.
"Hey, Laura's more than enough for your brain. Leave my housemate-"
"I meant seeing you smiling like that," he laughed. "Mind out of the gutter."
"My mind
lives
in the gutter," she pointed out.
"Oh, I know. You definitely got that from dad," he laughed.
She snorted at that, shaking her head in an attempt to will her skin less red.
That she made no comment on his statement wasn't missed by Alex, who merely continued smiling.
"And how's
Laura
doing, hmm?" she evaded, smirking as his own face took on a slightly flushed tone...
Rachel sat in the back of her classroom, studiously keeping her eyes glued on the monitor before her.
She sat alone against the wall, her hand steadily working on her current project.
Five other students occupied the room as well, all of them sitting in the rows as far separated from her as possible.
It wasn't exactly a wonder that they avoided her.
While not going out of her way to draw attention to herself, she also made the barest of efforts to conceal her interests.
Among them was her fascination with the Gothic culture.
It hadn't taken long after her move near the campus for people to notice that she wore black and silver, exclusively with a very rare exception or two.
While she hadn't put much thought into finally being free to dress how she wanted, it was an unfortunate choice to wear her club gear to orientation.
