Shop like a Boss

[DA VINCI~]

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[atrb=background,http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz64/BLoobloo72/XaenMiddle-1.png] "I, um, I don't think that's a good idea..." Xaen frowned. This wasn't like August... At first, she wondered if maybe his sister would tattle tail on them, but decided it was probably just how he said he and his father aren't in a good relationship. But a little lecturing never harmed anyone, right? The indigo-haired girl smiled, looking even more insidious than before. "Oh c'mon, September... you're a big boy,"

[/b] she cooed. After being disappointed with a less than satisfying reaction, Xaen decided to take a different approach. She was bored, and to be honest... judging by August's room- his father's room wouldn't look any different than when she'd leave. Well... not TOO different.

Xaen sighed and got off the bed, shrugging her shoulders and adjusting her hood so that he wouldn't see her simpering. She tried to make it look as if she was leaving when she put a hand in her pocket and used the other one to push open the door of August's room and enter the hallway. "Well, I... suppose I'll be leaving now..." She slowly carried on her words, as if lagging. Taking long, but slow strides, she began to go towards the exit of the house.

Xaen passed by Caedy's room with her second, agonizingly long step, grinning at the fact that she probably looked like a madwoman with a serious case of gravitational issues. As she passed the room, she realized her plan wasn't working too well.

Xaen changed her course and began to fall with a great deal of drama. "Oh gravity! Suddenly... closing in... on my soul...! Infact, I think I might have been hit by lightening! I shall sink into the river of Hell, drown and... be eaten by a shark...!" she exclaimed off the top of her head where references to Godzilla, Lilo & Stitch, maybe even a spew of Shakespeare from English class, resided. She shot a glance to see if August was going to come out of his room. As she saw a flicker of clothing moving and caught on to his eyes peering from behind the half-opened door, she grinned then without missing a beat, got up and dashed into the room which smelled most like an adult. August would simply have to follow her. After all, no one leaves a Vixett alone in a room filled with things begging to be played with.

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[TESLA]

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[atrb=background,http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz64/BLoobloo72/AugustMiddle.png] ”Oh c’mon, September… you’re a big boy,” August fidgeted as Xaen crooned at him. He was dying trying to resist the temptation to just say, “fuck it, let’s do this.” He looked up from stubbing his toe on the ground when Xaen got up and started to leave. ”Well, I… suppose I’ll be leaving… now…” Xaen murmured dramatically as she slinked out of his room and into the hall. He sighed, scratching at the back of his head before lazily walking towards the door. ”Oh, gravity! Suddenly… closing in… on my soul…! In fact, I think I might have been hit by lightening! I shall sink into the river of Hell, drown and… be eaten by a shark…!” August couldn’t help but chuckle as he emerged from the doorway, stuffing his hands in his pockets and leaning his head down a bit, yet looking up at her through his hanging black hair. She then dashed to the end of the hall, bursting into his father’s room. He sighed and walked by Caedy’s room just as she was closing her door, catching a glimpse of her rolling her hazel eyes. He stood in the doorway of his father’s room, face curried in his hands, unintentionally ruffling his ebony hair. He watched Xaen intently, praying to god that when his executioner walked through the front door he was in a merciful mood after Xaen terrorized his domain.

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[DA VINCI~]

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[atrb=background,http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz64/BLoobloo72/XaenMiddle-1.png] Xaen was surprised to find that everything in the room was rather organized. Each and every time seemed to have it's own place- stacked on a desk, in drawers, nothing really seemed out of place or tilted. Xaen grinned, "What a shame..."

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The girl walked over to the dresser and mirror, she picked up a picture frame- it had a photo of who she assumed to be August's father at a zoo beside the monkey cage. She threw it aside and looked at the picture frames hanging from walls. They were ugly paintings in a perfectly horizontal line. Xaen smirked and tilted them each to different angles, one of them upside down.

Opening the door to a closet, the girl retrieved an ugly blue blouse three times her size. She took off her jacket and pulled the shirt over her own Tee. She laughed as it nearly came to her knees and turned to August, jokingly striking a warrior pose before tearing into the closet again.

By the time Xaen walked over to the bedside, more than half the closet was scattered across the room, shirts and ties hanging from dressers and pictures. Any clothes she had spared within the closet has been matched and rearranged to create the most unflattering of sets and suits. She held a tie in her hand, walking over to August and putting it over his head, using it to pull him nonchalantly towards the drawers. "Alright July, you got the drawers, I got the bed."[/b]

Jumping onto the mattress and throwing a pillow at August's back, Xaen grinned and placed the blanket on the lamp near the bedside. The pillows were stacked and served as anchors for she hung unlovely portraits upon, into an awful impression of a totem pole. Rolling off the bed and onto the carpet, Xaen peeked under the bed and was disappointed when all she found was a pair of slippers. Fishing them out, she tapped her chin for a second before resolving to slip them at the bottom of the pole.

Soon enough, Xaen stood up and walked over to the doorway, hands on her hips, admiring the handiwork they've done - she didn't even notice August's lack of enthusiasm, or the fact that most of the mess belonged to her guilty hands. She crossed her arms over her waist and pulled off the extra blouse, tossed it to a bedside table and walked over to the bed to retrieve her black & blue jacket. As she pulled it on, she punched August's shoulder lightly. "I feel like an interior decorator."

She opened the door and began walking through the small hallway towards the front entry. "Thanks for having me," Xaen said jeeringly. "Lemme' know what he thinks of our design, at school." She smirked and roughly pulled August's shoulder forwards into hers in a sloppy hug.

True to Xaen fashion, she pulled her hood up over her head and walked out in the summer rain with a grin on her face.

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[TESLA]

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[atrb=background,http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz64/BLoobloo72/AugustMiddle.png] …I learn a lesson in father-son relationships. A sighed rolled out of August’s split lips as he traced the tender black skin around his left eye in the mirror. He learned the hard way that allowing Xaen to manipulate him into sabotaging his father’s room was a very, very bad idea. August convinced himself over the hours of the night that it was his fault, not Xaen’s, and even found himself blaming himself over his father. His dad had lied about staying late because of work. Caedy had confessed to August that she over-heard their father’s conversation with someone on a phone that he had gone to the bar again, after grieving about his wife all day. Obviously coming home to see his cleanly room trashed and his dead wife’s blouse lying crumpled on the floor would send a drunken man into a rage. So August had become used to being the punching bag. And so, as a result, he had a split lip (which, thankfully, was no longer a fat lip as well) and a black eye. Not to mention a pounding headache from falling back and hitting his head on a wall and an extremely queasy feeling in his stomach that was most likely related to guilt. He grumbled and shuffled out of the bathroom, grudgingly hobbling into the kitchen, where the girls were. He had done his best to comb his ebony bangs in such a way as to cover the black eye, but it was inevitably visible. And thus, he kept his back turned as he lazily pulled ingredients from the fridge. ”Whatcha makin’?” came the innocent, cheery voice of August’s youngest sibling. Though she was adopted, Rosalinda looked strikingly like the rest of the Anjelos, with dark hair and near-black eyes. August sighed and, without turning, muttered a reply. ”Omelet. Want something?” He couldn’t manage hiding the gruffness of his voice, but was relieved to hear the little girl giggle in delight and request French toast. ”Anyone else?” August requested, gesturing to his two other sisters. Caedy chuckled and mumbled something about some tradition her friends had made about not eating breakfast on Tuesdays and then something else about making a protein shake. Tessa ordered a simple egg and toast. His work cut out for him, August prepared to play chef for a while. After all, there was no way in hell he was going to school.

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[DA VINCI~]

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[atrb=background,http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz64/BLoobloo72/XaenMiddle-1.png] Xaen swung her backpack over her shoulder, shutting her locker and making her way through the crowds of fleeting teens. The slam of her locker was lost in the all the hallway noise. As she kicked open the front doors and began to make her way down the street, Xaen's cussing finally made its way passed her lips. School was absolutely horrible. After the incident with Ms. Macentire before the weekend, she was immediately convicted of the vandalism; To make matters worse August wasn't there to back her up. Despite the fact that August was constantly back-talking and landing in detentions, they didn't seem to suspect him of much, and didn't have the leverage to punish him with. Being Xaen, she didn't rat him out; besides, what did she have to lose? And because of such an attitude, Xaen kicked up her feet and took the whole bucket. What she didn't know, however, was that such vandalism would be able to give the Office the full power to remove her from all her sports activities for the rest of her time at the high school. And judging by her grades, would be a very long, tedious amount of time. Spewing the many Spanish cusses her father had once encouraged, she angrily made her way down the familiar street, Xaen used her sensitive nose to track down August's scent, and soon arrived at the door of his house. She took a breath, and raised a hand to knock, as well as the other to punch. August's familiar shadow made it's way behind the door and she heard the sound of footsteps. Xaen didn't detect any sort of disease or sickness on his smokey-pine scent. There was also the strong scent of food and the clean smells of his sisters and an older male scent that she assumed belonged to August's father. Xaen doubted a sick person would cook food, and he probably did for the family. The conclusion made her question his absence at school, and further fuel her anger that hunted for release. As soon as August opened the door, Xaen felt her fist fall as if it turned to gold, and her eyes turn to slits as she instantly locked them on his bruised eye. "When the fuck did that happen, Coño?!" she said loudly, and in her anger, slipped the foreign insult.

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Her hands attacked his face, and she pulled the skin above and below the bruised skin to inspect his eye, checking for any pupil damage. She was used to fights and the injuries that followed, knowing that a punch, if with a ring or a enough force, could cause temporary or permanent damage. Xaen's left hand fell down to her side as she promptly stepped into the house and used her right hand to grope his collar and shove him into the wall. "When the fuck did this happen, August?" She repeated, this time in English.

Xaen felt angry, her mind quickly jumping to the probable thought that her wreckage yesterday brought on such a punishment for August; what made her more mad, though, was the feeling in her stomach that threatened to boil through her cold skin, and cook into guilt.

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[TESLA]

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[atrb=background,http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz64/BLoobloo72/AugustMiddle.png] ...I put a foot down. Socked feet crossed and toes wiggling atop the coffee table, August contentedly but aggressively streaked a piece of charcoal across the page, the sketchy swirls, lines and curves coming together to form a vague figure. Suddenly, there was a firm knock on the door. August sighed, tossed the sketchbook aside and wearily got up, shuffling to the door. He expected to see his dad’s aged face, but instead stared slightly down at a very much feminine, pale face. His eyes hardly had a chance to widen before Xaen blurted out some angry and even foreign language. ”When the fuck did that happen, Coño?!” She then proceeded to pounce on him, slamming him against his own wall and peeling open his eye, prying back the skin surrounding the black tissue and examining him. ”When the fuck did this happen, August?” Xaen demanded, her hand gripping his collar. August’s dark eyes darted to a flicker of movement at the end of the hallway. From around the corner, the very worried face of an innocent young girl peered back at him, but her eyes were set on the blue-haired girl assaulting her brother. Compassion, empathy and guilt pooled into his eyes. He recognized Caedy’s hands, gently removing Rosie from the situation. A flicker of anger flashed in August’s eyes, and he at first gently but assertively pushed Xaen away, but when she didn’t immediately give, he practically shoved her off. His head tilted down, broad shoulders quivering some from his desperate attempts to control ragged breathing. His eyes glued to the floor, he wearily lifted one arm and pointed to the door, his bangs dangling off his face. ”…Get out.” The bluntness in those two words made him feel sick to his stomach, unable to lift his eyes to see Xaen’s expression. He didn’t expect her to look hurt, but he also knew how secretive her outer appearance was. The idea of hurting her in any way killed him but… He couldn’t have there here. Not now.

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[DA VINCI~]

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[atrb=background,http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz64/BLoobloo72/XaenMiddle-1.png] Xaen heard the shuffling of small footsteps. August tuned his attention towards it's way and Xaen's eyes scanned his face, curious at the unfamiliar emotions that dug into it. Slowly, she followed his eyes, lingering a bit before finally settling on the face of a small girl. She looked so frightened, knees shaking, eyes wide and lip quivering. Her grip on August's collar loosened slightly with the distraction and possibly something more. Xaen then recognized Caedy's figure darting in and prying the child away from the end of the hallway. Her ears caught on to the near-silent sound of August's intake of breath. She turned to him and he put a hand on her shoulder, trying her pry her off. Xaen felt her grip instinctively tighten and quickly loosened it again when August shoved her off. She stepped back to gain balance. Her mouth just didn't seem to want to close, whether it was in shock, or in anger, she couldn't decide, but her soft, incredulous breaths mixed with the ragged huffs of August. He seemed to keep his eyes glued to the floor. A mirthless exhale of a laugh made it's way passed her cold lips as an equally emotionless smile extended its shape. She was slightly nodding her head without agreeing to anything, a snarl building up in her throat and her mouth baring teeth. "... Get out." Her ears winced. And like that, her fist contracted hard at her side, ready to strike. She stopped herself before raising it. August seemed cold, manual, a robot. He wasn't himself. And Xaen wasn't going to lower herself as to put on a show for his sisters. She literally growled and settled for wringing the skin of her palm with the nails of her other hand, then yanked her sleeves down and hood up. "Fine." Came her voice. It was a voice she was very familiar with. A voice she used before meeting August. A voice she used in her times as a foster child or out on a raid with the Saltren. The voice she used when pulling triggers. Xaen's hands quickly snagged onto the sling of her backpack that had fallen on the ground in her startled rush. It was clear that August didn't want her there. And what's even more clear by the bruise on August's eye, was that his family didn't want her there. Throwing the backpack forcefully over her shoulder and easily ignoring the hard rush of pain that followed as it collided like rock against her back, Xaen nearly punched the door open and walked out. "I hurt him," her thoughts chanted. "Fuck it."

[/color] She responded.

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[TESLA]

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[atrb=background,http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz64/BLoobloo72/AugustMiddle.png] ...I break my own heart. August was an inch away from collapsing, his knees begging to be released of their burden. ”Fine,” Came a cold, unfamiliar voice. As soon as she came, Xaen was gone. As soon as he heard her footsteps fade from earshot he buckled to the ground, knees on the floor. His elbows propped on his knees, he buried his forehead in his quivering hands. He clenched his teeth together, eyes squeezed together. He inhaled sharply and released his head from the vice grips that were his own palms, let his arms dangle, knuckles brushing on the ground. He exchanged his lower teeth with his lip, biting into it until if bled. After what seemed like forever, August rose, pulling the door shut and retreating to his room. He curled up in a ball on his bed and just lay there, staring at the vibrant blobs floating within his lava lamps. ~*~ The day after the next, August, head down, trekked through the front doors of Cysrin High. As soon as he left the house that morning, he already knew he wasn’t ready; nothing could prepare him for what he was going to do that day. Throughout the entirety of the day, August silently slipped in and out of classrooms, weaving and maneuvering his way through crowds as to not be noticed. A few people noticed the ghastly bruise on his eye, wincing sympathetically. He was just grateful that the school nurse didn’t notice again. After last time, he’d be interrogated more severely than the last, and it was the last thing he wanted. At the ring of the bell, August pushed his way through the crowd, for once participating in the sea of teens desperate to escape the building. He locked eyes – or more, an eye – with Xaen, but she just scowled and looked away. The inner turmoil beneath his skin was slowly eating away at his sanity. Part of him wanted to be mad at Xaen, push her away out of anger. The other just wanted to be left alone, also pushing her – and everyone else- away. Yet another part wanted more than anything to express himself to Xaen, to make everything better and finally smile again. Slithering through the front door and into his room without acknowledging his family, August sighed and walked up to his bed post. He hung the single strap of his knew messenger bag over a black hoodie. Just as he was turning away, a lump of bright yellow fell from underneath the hoodie. August looked back and picked up the lump of soft but wrinkles clothing. His heart wrenched, hands balling into fists with self-hate and sorrow. He chucked the boxers across the room, SpongeBob’s face distorted by wrinkles. August, without bothering to even pull off his shoes, crawling onto his bed and allowing himself to become lost in the scattered blankets and comforters. Only today they weren’t so comforting.

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[DA VINCI~]

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[atrb=background,http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz64/BLoobloo72/XaenMiddle-1.png] Xaen was snarling angrily at every uncooperative object; her locker which refused to open and bothered her so much that she slipped up and cuffed it right off, her shitty MP3 player - stolen, of course - that refused to catch any stations, the zipper of her favorite jacket which faltered and caught on the skin of her fingers a time too many - just enough to make her give up and go to school without it for once. She hated the way her dark shirt hung limply on her thin, bony shoulders and made no effort to even acknowledge her small breasts or general shape. She endured the day's classes and was especially indifferent to the world until she was called down to the Office at the end of the day. She had just donned her backpack and plugged in her headphones, all ready to ignore him and leave when her last-period teacher - a particular moralist - groped her arm and dragged her to her summons. When she entered the room, nearly completely devoid of tolerance, Xaen defiantly refused his insistent demands that she take a seat on account of such an act implying that she would stay for long. The Principal sighed and spoke. "Miss Vixett, as your principal I've gotten to know you rather well. Your standards are low, you are messy, rude, unsocialable and generally an unpleasant student. Although I should have expected it, I have never witnessed such a deliberate attempt at public humiliation of a staff member, and it disgusts me - Not to mention you vandalized school property!"

[/i] From there, the principal had condemned her to a month of detentions and revoked the one thing she looked forward to in a school day besides August, her sports privileges. Xaen nearly snapped the principal's neck, but instead shot him a glare that promised revenge, and settled with biting her tongue until the coppery taste of relief came. With a wave of the principal's dark hand, she was dismissed.

As she walked home, the sound of leaves crunching under her feet calmed her a little. Xaen found herself going down the familiar path she always did, with a rugged life-deprived pathway littered with cans and trash alike.

Upon reaching her home, Xaen suddenly thought of August. A small pin-like poke prodded at her stomach. She labeled it as guilt for causing August to get a black eye. But as quickly as the guilt came, it was washed over with anger. What was his punishment in all this?! He was probably too scared to even come to school, that's why he wasn't in any of their classes. Xaen snorted. Coward.

... Coward.

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