I took the one less travelled by...

I’ve been trying to write for some time (See also: Since part 1 of Blackout was released and took away all my happiness into a dark pit of doom), but I finally managed to get over (if not slightly?) the funk I fell in and… well… here it is :D

*crawls into pillow fort because oh gosh what was I thinking?*

***

It was one of those days where the heat would make one forget of the existence of seasons other than summer. Days when the heat would rise from the asphalt in waves and loses shape to air, only to come crashing back down in a sweep of a curtain; creasing the fabric as it would. Days when the sweat pouring down your face isn’t as misplaced as you would imagine yourself soaking in a pool, drinking in the sight of scantily cloth bodies slicked with tanning oil moving around you, flirtatious intent in the curve of their figures and feather light toss of their hai-

“Bear… you love Ju and Yoyo, don’t you?”

Derek started violently, whipping around on his heels in the direction of the familiar voice. He came face to face with his little sister, standing in the middle of the open doorway in her flimsy summer attire, a teddy bear clutched protectively in the circle of her arms and a look of intent curiosity on her face.

The older Seigerson responded with a casual nod, “Sure, I do.” As far as assholes go, they’re my friends, and they do a pretty good job at it. 

The transition on Amanda’s features couldn’t have been more abrupt; it positively lighted in glee, a toothy grin blooming on her face from ear to ear. She pranced into the room and it was only routine for Derek to lean down and swoop her into his arms when she leap for him. He hoisted her up and balanced her against his chest, her teddy bear squashed between them, “It’s in the way you say their names, isn’t it?”

Derek made no effort to disguise his confusion as he replied to her question with one of his own, “What do you mean, Panda?”

Amanda continued to grin, entirely trusting Derek to hold her up as she gestured with her hands, “I realized it when I was playing with Berry Bear,”—that was her teddy bear—“that I say his name differently than everyone else. It reminded me of you.”

Derek hummed, struggling to avoid getting his nose buried in the teddy bear while maintaining his gaze level with Amanda simultaneously, “Nickname aside, I don’t really understand, Panda.”

The younger Seigerson giggled, “I say his name the way you say mine. And the way you say Ju and Yoyo’s name.”

Fully aware of the fact that his vocabulary had been reduced to nothing but simple, open ended questions, Derek asked again, “How exactly do I say your names?”

She pointed to her teddy bear, “Say Berry Bear.”

Derek repeated the word, watching as Amanda’s grin broadened—if that was possible. “See,” she said triumphantly, “You don’t say it the same way I do.” She pointed a thumb to herself, “Say Amanda.”

“Amanda.”

“Say Ju and Yoyo.”

“Julian and Logan.”

“Say Captain Wrackspurt.”

“Captain Wrackspurt.”

The younger Seigerson let out a pleased noise, tittering between a giggle and a squeal, “You say our names differently. It’s like,” her eyebrows furrowed slightly in thought, arms coming to lock loosely around her brother’s neck, “It’s like you’re balancing our names on clouds. Or wrapped in quilts.”

Derek considered this for a brief moment, a million and one memories flashing ahead of the other like lightning, like a faulty record player that only showed glimpses of each flash before it was gone. He heard sniped nicknames and harsh growls, catty remarks and sarcastic taunts above a cacophony of broken glass and shattered ornaments, splintered wood and cracked CD cases and a muffled curse and cry-

“Bear?” Amanda prodded once again, putting a definite halt in the stream of Derek’s memories as the teen shook his head to clear the images. His smile was strained, if barely existent, “Sorry Panda. I… zoned out a little.”

The little girl continued, obviously unnerved, “Ju and Yoyo love each other too, right Bear?”

Derek stilled. The smile stretched across his face belied the twitch of muscle beneath his jaw, the nervous tick by his eye, “What makes you say that Panda?”

Amanda’s tone was bright and genuine, “Ju doesn’t eat nuts around Yoyo, and if we go out he makes sure that Yoyo’s food doesn’t have nuts because he said that Yoyo could hurt himself if he eats nuts. Yoyo always turns off the TV if Ju gets hurt on screen. He always looks scared when it happens, I do too, but Yoyo doesn’t say anything about it.”

The innocence and pure joy surrounding the statement was like a beacon, so dazzling that Derek found himself staring at the mere simplicity of his little sister’s words. Amanda kept talking, absentmindedly tugging on a fistful of the teddy bear’s pelt, “That’s what you do when you love someone, right? You don’t want them to get hurt because you want them around for a long, long, long time until you get old but you’ll never get tired of seeing their face because you love each other and you want them to stay with you forever.”