Xander's POV
"Dad called." Xavier announced on the dining. We've been sitting opposite each other for a while now, neither of us saying anything, and suddenly he announces this.
"Did he?" I asked.
"Yes. He said he wanted to check up on us. See how we were faring." He answered.
"What did you tell him?"
"We're fine."
"Okay..." I muttered and continued eating. I have a feeling he's not done yet. " Xander, he's heard. People are telling him." he suddenly said, peering at me. I raised my brows as if I wasn't concerned.
"Heard what?" I asked.
"Your consistent partying. He made a long speech about that affecting his image...."
"It's all about his image, isn't it?" suddenly snapped, cutting him off. " Everything is about his image to the press, isn't it? He doesn't come home, never calls and when he finally does it is to tell us it's affecting his image.... Seriously?"
"It's not about that, Xander. You should seriously watch it. Money doesn't go on trees, you know?" He protested. I laughed, it had no mirth.
"Don't I know that?.... Wait a minute, why are you so bent on getting me angry early in the morning? I thought we talked about this." I asked.
"I'm trying to make you see thing as a brother should....." In a swift move, the plate in front of me was crashing on the floor. I was fuming. Xavier gasped, his eyes widening.
"What brother! Tell me, what brother? You? Maybe not. Let me tell you something, a real brother doesn't betray his own people,, but you did, so you're definitely not my brother." I stated standing up. He stood up as well.
"Now you blame me!? Every time something goes wrong, you blame me! Every time!"
"Because it's your fault, it's your fault were like this. Everything is your goddamm fault!" I said, the tears stinging my eyes. I blinked them back. After all these years, I was still very angry at him. " You betrayed me Xavier, you were my brother, but you treated me like I was an outcast, as if I wasn't important. You betrayed me!"
He closed his eyes, breathing in. Finally he said something
"I didn't, Lucy did. She's the one you should be hating!"
"I don't care. I found out from you. And in the wrong way as well..... By the way, you think I believe you? Hell no. I'm sorry but I just lost my appetite." I said, leaving the dining table.
"Xander, wait...." Xavier called out to me.
"Don't call me!" I said and ran out of the house, to God knows where....
***
Natalie's POV
I eventually went out for my jog after sealing my school deal with my brothers. Feeling slightly exhausted because I jogged a bit longer today, I decided to play by the court. There was a basketball court there, and I wanted to flex a bit of my muscles. Some people would stop a bit, staring before walking away. I guess they don't see much of girls playing basketball around here. Anyway, I waved them off and concentrated on my lone game.
***
Xander's POV
I stopped, catching my breath. Straightening up, I looked behind me. I sure have run far away from home. The only way to go now is forward. Ambling along, I avoided gazes and stares as I made my way to the park, spotted a water fountain in a corner and decided to get some water into my system. I was still at the water fountain when I heard a ball bouncing. I looked up at the direction of the sound, and found a girl at the court, playing alone. From the looks of it, she played like a pro. A few stood by, watching her lone game. I wouldn't deny but I was a bit fascinated as well.
Curious, I decided to get a closer look at her. On a closer look she looked pretty although it was hard to figure her out due to the sports clothes she was wearing. Long hair, and a gorgeous face. Seems nice.
Suddenly she missed, and the ball slipped from her hands, coming in my direction. I picked it up and made it to give it to her. She peered at me but didn't seem too surprised or gob smacked as I would have expected or what girls seemed to normally do when they see me or my brother, like the one who happened to be at the court at that time. I passed it to her. She caught it and nodded her thanks.
"You play like a guy." I commented. She shrugged.
"You look like you've been crying." she said back. Wait.... What!? How did she know?
***
Natalie's POV
Xander Anderson. I knew because a few girls and been screaming the second they set eyes on him. But I pretended to ignore, hoping he'd go away. But it looks like he was headed my direction. Time to see if he's anything like his brother.
"This isn't tears. It's water." He objected.
"Your eyes are red and if that isn't a sign of tears, I don't know what is." I answered, bouncing the ball and shooting it in the loop. He gazed at me for a while before shrugging.
"How did you even know, anyway?" He asked, amusement in his voice.
Don't know, maybe because I see boys cry a lot?? I thought if I should answer the question..... And did not. He saw that I wasn't ready to answer and moved on.
"You seem new around here. Haven't seen you before."
"That's because I just moved. Landed here yesterday." I answered.
"Oh....." He trailed off. "by the way, my name is...."
"Xander Anderson. I know that." I cut him off. He seemed surprised, but sobered up pretty quickly and nodded.
"Guess am pretty popular around here...."
"Maybe you are. Name's Natalie, but don't call me that when you see me." I said, criss-crossing the ball in my hands.
"Natalie. Pretty."
"Shouldn't you be with your brother?" I asked, peering at him. They looked pretty close in the media. I watched him frown slightly before answering.
"He had things to do.... So I thought I'd go for a walk.' He answered. I shrugged and continued playing.
"You don't seem to like talking about him. I can relate though." I said, judging by the way I met him yesterday, anyone would be cross to talk about him. He stared at me quizzically.
"What do you mean you can relate?" He asked. I also did not answer that and stared at the road behind him.
"You keep staring at the road. Waiting for someone?" I glanced at him.
"Yeah... Kind of."
"Who's he? Your boyfriend?" He asked, peering at me. I chuckled and shot him the ball, signalling at him to pass it back. He did.
"Does it look like I have one?"
"You're too pretty to not have." he answered, smiling. I stared at him, pressing my lips and continued playing.
"Where do you live? " He asked after a while.
"Not answering that."
"Your name?"
"I already told you. It's Natalie. "
"Didn't get the last name." He answered, raising his brows.
"I'm not telling you that either."
He chuckled. I wonder what he's thinking. I glanced at the road again and saw who I was expecting. My brothers. They were coming in a car. I suddenly stopped and stared, waiting for them to come closer..
***
Xander's POV
I watched as she lost concentration and stared at the car that was already parked at the basketball court. She seemed ready to leave.
"Who is that? Your man?" I asked, staring at her. She gave me a 'that's disgusting' look before answering.
"Which man? Those are my brothers. " she announced. I did a double take. I couldn't help but ask. "Those are your brothers?"
"Yeah. Two of 'em" she answered, making the signal of two with her fingers. Two of them! Woah!
"I have to go." she said, throwing the ball at me and walking towards them. I watched her until she entered the car and drove away. She didn't even enter like a girl. I stared at the ball in my hands, smiling for no reason.
Natalie, I don't know who you are, where you from or how you managed to get here... But I hope I haven't seen the last of you.
(Same day: evening time)Natalie's P. O. VI'm in my room staring at the uniform I got in preparation for my resumption to Ambrose high school tomorrow. The parcel had arrived earlier with a few other things and I was in my room trying to get it to sink in. Putting the clothes on my body and staring at the mirror in front of me, it looked perfect. I sighed. I'll never get used to it.Throwing it carelessly on the bed, I took up my phone and called up Ariana. She picked up at the first ring." Hey, girl." I greeted." Wassup? How's my favorite baby doll doing?" She greeted cheerfully. " First off, I'm not a doll. Second, I'm not so good. Missed you guys like hell," I said into the phone." We missed you too. Everyone has been mopping around since you left."" Aww. Say hi for me."" Will do. Soo... Any gist?"" Not much... Oh, I met the Anderson brothers."" You did!! Ariana shrieked and I frowned as I put the phone away from my
Natalie's P. O. VThe visit to the principal's office earned me an ID card with a small piece of book that contained the school rules, which am positive no one follows around here. Mira had earlier wanted to accompany me to class, but I dismissed her, I can manage on my own. She's been enough help. Walking through the now-empty hall as the bell had rung and there were all in their classes, I looked for my class and finally found it. Taking deep breaths, I relaxed and pulled the door open, entering into my class.First things first, the class was huge. The chairs seemed comfortable and spacy as well, not cramped like my former school. Not that I hated it, I especially liked jutting into people's seats for the fun of it. Sucks I won't be doing it here. The class immediately went quiet the moment they saw me, checking me out. They must have wondered where I come from. I glanced around the class and saw Mira; she was waving and pointing at the empty seat beside her. There were
Natalie's P. O. VI had gotten home before I realized that my ID card was no longer with me. Damn! I must've forgotten it at the basketball court. There's no way I'm going back to look for that one now. I'll just have to get a new one... Hopefully.I had just finished dressing up after my shower and was getting into my bed when someone knocked and without waiting for my reply, butted in. I should have known it was Jace." Hey sis, have you seen me?..."" For the last time, Jace, stop entering my room without a shirt!!! I'm not your girlfriend!" I yelled at him. It was a joke though, he's always going to keep doing that. I threw a pillow at him." Okay, okay... I'm sorry. Have you seen my suspenders?"" No!"" Someone sounds feisty." He noted. I groaned. He's not leaving anytime soon." Whatever. " He jumped on the bed, peering at me. " Soo... How was school today?" He asked. I walked to my wardrobe, giving him one of my many oversized sh
Natalie's P. O. VAs expected, Xander looked down. Using that quick distraction, I snatched the ball from him and made my way to the other side of the court, where I shot and it scored. I had won. I turned to him; he looked completely shocked. That brought laughter to my face." Hey! That's not fair! " He said, astonished. I bounced the ball back to him." Life's not fair," I answered." You cheated!"" It's only cheating when other people see it. " Looking around, I said, " They didn't, so I won."Xander couldn't say anything. He just stared at me, his mouth open." I didn't expect you to fall for that anyway, but you did, so..." I trailed off, smirking. " Remember, you owe me a bottle of soda," I said before walking out of the basketball court. I met Mira at the entrance, her eyes wide with shock." Did you beat Xander, like beat him??" she asked." It was just a friendly match... Nothing serious." I said nonchalantly." No w
" What did you do back there!?" I asked Xavier the second we arrived home. He had been ignoring me after he agreed on that bet and even when Natalie left for home and I couldn't even talk to him after the party ended." It's what you wanted, right? To fight me. Prove you are better... Or better still, pay me back for what I did years ago." He answered, still backing." Even I still hate you for what you did... There are better ways to solve that problem!"" I think this is perfect," He turned finally looking at me. It sent shivers down my spine. " Besides, it's just Natalie. How hard can it be? If you win, you'll finally have your sweet revenge. But if I win... There are a lot of things I plan to do as well. Have a good night." He said and walked inside the room, slamming the door behind him.I ran my hand through my hair in frustration and groaned. This should be easy, right? I mean, it's just a girl, right... How hard can it be?It's not just a girl, my su
Xavier's P. O. VI didn't go to school today due to some personal issues I had to solve, so I didn't know what occurred between Xander and Natalie. Either way, I dreaded going home, because it meant I had to go see Xander. I stayed in the car for a few more moments, taking in deep breaths while closing my eyes. When I was sure I was ready, I got out of the car and walked in.It looked like a storm had hit the living room. Everything was scattered around and it was completely messy. I swallowed. It could only mean one thing. Xander was here, and he was in a bad mood... No, not bad... Terrible. I managed to make my way out of the mess and started to look for Xander." Xander! I called, but no reply. Gosh! Where is he?? I can't go look for him in every nook and cranny of this house. I eventually found him, and he sat amid empty liquor bottles. He had been drinking with his head bent as if he was crying, although I wouldn't be sure. I heard no sobs." Xander?" I call
Xavier's P. O. V I had been watching Natalie ever since the school closed, and she waited alongside Mira for their driver. I had wanted to talk to her but with Xander hot on my trail, it was almost impossible to do it school... I had waited until he got tired and went to a club with the rest of the boys. Even when Mira got into her car and drove off, I had wanted to go to her and give her a lift, but as usual, I waved it off and eventually waited till her driver came to pick her up. Guess I was scared of being rejected. Since we would be taking the same route out of school, I followed her discreetly making sure she wouldn't notice someone was trailing her. That stopped when a car drove into hers and took her away. Since the street was quite silent, no one saw it except I. Without giving it a second thought, I had followed the car that kidnapped Natalie. They drove to a much-deserted part of town and had dragged Natalie
Natalie's P. O. V With the help of makeup, I successfully hid the bruises and managed to get past my brother's prying eyes. Maggie was still worried but I assured her. I rushed through breakfast and hurried into the car where my driver was already waiting for me; we drove off to school. I was especially furious this morning and as if my driver knew my mood, drove really fast. Soon we were at school and I didn't waste any time getting down from the car and storming into school. The stares followed as usual. I walked up to Mira, who was busy at her locker. " Good morning Natty." She greeted. " Hi. Have you seen the trio?" I hurriedly asked. " No, but they're in school. Why are you suddenly asking about them?" She asked, worry evident in her voice. I scanned around the hallway. No sign of the trio here. " I have to go. I'll see you later" " Natty?