JAN
What was i doing right now? i was sitting next to shelly in the biology class, lost in my own world while she scrolled down her instagram feed. we were to do a project, and she was my partner there, the teacher mrs.p, had given us the period free to discuss about it among groups. but shelly being the good student she is wrapped up the discussion efficiently within a minute. so here i was, roaming freely in Rome, in my head. hah! just kidding, i was thinking hard about something that had been bothering me for a while.
kam and sam joined us. or should i say joined SHELLY, because i was your normal everyday plain girl no one spared a second glance at. yeah, so they joined shelly. but the case is that, i have been receiving TOO much attention these days, EVERYONE seems to know me and EVERYONE seems to want to talk to me. i guess you could call this the side effect of socialising with three insanely popular humans.
people tend to think that you are the same as the people you are going around with, "birds of the same feather flock together" and all y'know? what they DON'T get is that it wasn't true for me. i was neither unbelievably good looking as the trio, nor was i remotely close to their talents in the fields they specialise in. yeah, i was a black sheep, and people will realise that sooner or later.
"oh gawd! i am SO damn sleepy!" sam exclaimed when he yawned for like the hundredth time in three minutes. "well! it can't be helped if someone likes to pull consecutive all-nighters!" shelly jibed back. "excuse me?" sam's eyes turned to VERY catlike slits, "whose job was i working my ass off on again?"
"michelle mary lane's!" kam cheered on from the sidelines. he had told me that he loved to watch the bro-sis fight unfold. some best friend and boyfriend huh? "what was the job?" i asked, duly trying to PREVENT the impending argument. i wasn't a big fan of loud voices.
"it was NOTHING jan! i swear! its just that mom wanted me to clear the mess of my album collection by categorising them, and i requested sam to do it since his writing is loads better than mine and he is more of the perfectionist between us! it wasn't a big deal AT ALL!" shelly turned to me.
"yeah right! of course! its NEVER a big deal at all, when you gotta arrange a thousand of albums of thousands of artists! i've told you a BILLION times to do such collections online, but obviously you like to see your brother trudge through a SEA of songs ALONE and HELPLESS better!" he lashed out. "alone and helpless?" shelly scoffed, "don't exaggerate sam! if its ANYTHING related to music you are willing to throw yourself under a train! surely year-coding them isn't THAT hard!"
sam glared at her for half a second more and then leaned back, "ugh! i can't even GET angry! i'm too tired to argue, and you ARE right! i was itching to clean up those jumble of yours myself since AGES! its an embarrassment to music... the way you keep them!" "c'mon sam!" shelly's voice turned to whining, "i paid you back with twenty donuts already!"
"and that's the second and the last reason i'm not really mad at you! i'm just sleepy! that's all!" he replied, leaning back and closing his eyes. "good! atleast he's not angry! its hella scary when he is!" shelly muttered to herself, "what are you thinking about so much jan? is something wrong?" she suddenly rounded on me. i jerked. like kam, who had drifted away to his games, i had only been listening to their conversation halfheartedly, my mind was way back onto my problems.
"huh? its nothing! don't worry about it!" i waved her concerns away. "does it relate to anything about having to cover yourself up SO much? then tell me, i have a REAL solution!" sam smirked. i deadpanned at him," you want me to hit you again?" "nah! i am fine! thanks but no thanks!" he backed off. i grinned mentally, in the last three days i have been here? i slapped him in the first, punched him in the second and kicked him on the third, for the EXACT same reasons as the first day. saving grace was that the next two days i didn't hit him in the canteen.
"you can tell us y'know? we are your friends after all!" kam smiled at me. kam was that kind of hot boy who could make you go 'aww' and make you wanna pinch his cheeks. the way his dimples came out when he smile was way too adorable, and so was his carefree happy-go-lucky attitude. frankly, i couldn't imagine him as the playboy shelly had described him as. i ALSO can't imagine how in the the name of Thor's beard he befriended a pure jerk like sam!
his blue eyes could also bore into you and make you feel sort of squishy inside. this i had noticed the first about him, like sam had unusual observation skills and shelly could usually tell what was going on in your mind (not as in mind reading, she could guess what COULD be going on in your mind through your expressions and she was RARELY wrong!), kam on the other hand could extract information REALLY well. remember that squishy feeling i had been talking about? yeah, so the moment he looks deep into your eyes and you start feeling all mellow, you blurt out what is going on inside your mind.
and that's exactly what happened a moment later as i heard myself voice out my thoughts," its nothing much, its just that i have to go house hunting or else i will be homeless soon!" "house hunting?" shelly repeated thoughtfully, "hey! i know! you can move in with us!" she exclaimed.
"move in with you?" "yeah!" she said excitedly, "move in with US!" she pointed at the other two and herself. then it hit me. "move in with HIM? oh hell NO!" i exclaimed. shelly's face fell. i ammended my sentence a bit, "it would have been alright to move in with YOU, even kam would have been great too, but SAM? please, i'd rather die than live with him!"
"hey hey wait! you are worried about sam and the nights right?" shelly was positive again, "don't you be scared about that! he rarely stays home on any DAYS let alone nights, he only comes back when REALLY wants to get some Z's or wants to eat! you won't even catch ONE glimpse of him in two weeks!" "uh ok?" i frowned.
"its true tho!" sam's voice came. i turned to find him leaning into his chair, relaxed, his left forearm covering his eyes as he spoke, "i DO have better work at night than to be in MY bed, when was i last home? a week ago?" i gasped at that. how can someone not be home for a freaking WEEK?
"kidding!" he looked at me, his eyes mischievous, "i was there this morning! and didn't you listen when i said i have been arranging shelly's albums since the last four nights?" he shook his head. i felt dumb. how did i not connect that? ugh!
"whats more? you wouldn't REALLY have to stay with us males!" kam joined. he grabbed a sketch pen and a paper, and drew something.
"so yeah!" he said as he finished his art piece, "this WHOLE thing used to be like a HUGE suite with six rooms, 2 bathrooms, a big kitchen and a LARGE living room. but when we came here, mom didn't want shelly to stay ALONE with two boys, be it her brother or boyfriend, so she modified it and built a wall in the middle of the living room that has a door connecting the two halves as you can see! the shaded part is bigger and that's where both of our bedrooms are along with the kitchen, another bedroom and 75% of the living room, while shelly's side has the rest three bedrooms and the part of living room that was left! so if you come you will be technically staying with shelly and not us!" he finished.
"basically all the work is in the boys' side while you will only chill and sleep in mine! and we have separate bathrooms for the two sides if you are wondering!"shelly added, "so please pleeeeeeaaaaasseeee! jan PLEASE move in with me, i'm SO sick of living in a house filled with testosterone! i need some girl time too!" she pleaded.
"uh... won't your parents mind?" i desperately tried to find a way out. don't misunderstand me, i would LOVE to live with them, but i would be imposing TOO much on them on the other hand. a total stranger coming to live is a whole deal of hassle, and i wasn't willing to make them go through that. "yeah right! parents!" she snorted, "mom would give her life to a girl who is willing to stay with me WITHOUT ending up fucking sam or kam! she would be overjoyed to meet you!"
"what about the bills and all? i would-" i began but was cut off by sam, "don't you even DARE think about that! it has been settled already!" his voice held authority. "oh c'mon! don't y'all realise how much i will be troubling you?" i was exasperated. "its worth it! trust me!"sam's velvet tone messed up my train of thoughts, AGAIN! i looked up to meet cat green eyes bore into me and blood rushed up my cheeks. my mind went into a chaotic mode, and i began to lose the ability to think straight, hell! i couldn't even remember to breathe! what was 2+2 again? 22?
"ok fine!" i mumbled. curse you sam lane to be able to make me do something even i knew was wrong. no, seriously, i realised it on the first day itself, he had an annoying way of hypnotising me and making me forget even my existence with those gorgeous eyes of his. did he have this effect on others? i guess not, no one is as mental as me!
"YIPPEEEEEE!'' shelly cried hugging me hard enough to choke me, earning a glare from the teacher. "i bet you all will kick me out by the end of the week anyway, you all won't be able to stand me! i swear!" i challenged. "bet accepted!" sam smirked relaxing back into his seat again, "oh! btw, to stop YOU from running away yourself, i promise NEVER to cross the line with you , as long as we are in the same house! and i always keep my promises, cuz i never lie!" he winked. ugh! there goes my last hope of moving out in the first chance i got, and therefore saving them from my.... burden.
"but i must repay SOMEHOW! you all are doing me a HUGE favour!but you won't even let me pay MY part of the bill " i grumbled. "1. there IS no your and my part in bills, even WE don't pay it, it had been settled before we moved in, 2. you are doing us a favour by saving us from shelly's constant complains too, believe me, its unbearable, and 3. you can pay us back if you want it THAT much!" kam said. "how?!" i raised an eyebrow, "oh! we'll see to it later!" sam answered lazily.
"when are you moving in?" shelly asked excitedly. "in a month?" i shrugged. "month? MONTH?! you will be moving in THIS weekend!" she declared.
"but-!"
" then its settled! i'll inform mom tonight!" sam smiled angelically as he ended the conversation, making me lose my breath again. he was SO freaking handsome. EXACTLY like a black cat!
"i'll be a nuisance! you'll wish i never came!" i promised.
"we'll see!" the cat grinned back triumphantly.
...
JAN
"Yeah mom! I am moving in with them tomorrow!" I smiled at her image. Dad laughed beside her, yes you guessed right, I was video calling them. Mom had insisted on seeing my face along with hearing my voice. I guess they love me? Like duh! Obviously they do!
"Oh honey! I wish we could be there to help you out too!" she exclaimed sadly. "Don't worry we will visit you soon enough! I have been scheduling a meeting there with the representatives of our company in D.C. we will be meeting you soon enough!" dad assured.
"if only you hadn't insisted on transferring and settling in alone, these wouldn't have happened!" mom brought the topic for the billionth time. She had really detested my decision of coming here ALONE, finding a hotel ALONE and settling down ALONE. Well, on my part I no longer wanted to be mummy and daddy's precious baby girl, I wanted to see if I could do It myself, and I am satisfied that I could.
"You know mom? I am surprised you didn't freak out when I said that I would be living with two boys!" I mused. "hey! You said there was a girl too! You said there was! Didn't you?!" her voice rose with her panic. "Chill momma, there IS! She is his sister!" I replied in a calm voice. "Their names were... um... Samuel, Kameron and Michelle right?" dad asked. "Please tell me that you haven't done a background check on them already?" I face palmed.
"I didn't!" he denied. "Don't lie!" I deadpanned, he grinned nervously under my gaze, "how did you know?" "You scratch your cheek when you lie!" I sighed. "Always the observant one!" he smiled. "So? What did you get?" I enquired. I hadn't told them that their last names ...yet! I didn't want them to think that I only made friends who had money.
"About that... Jan darling, I trust you, I know that you will befriend good persons, but what confidential information can some 17 year old kids have? When I tried to hack into their details it always showed errors, I could get EVERYONE'S information, except Sam, Kam, Shelly and... You!" he sounded dubious. "Ah! I get it!" I smirked, "for one thing, dad that's freaking ILLEGAL! And for two, I know who did it!"
"If there's any person who can stop your dad's hacking then I will definitely award him or her!" mom jibed at dad, who grunted unhappily. "Who was it Jan?" "Who else than the black cat himself?" I grinned. "Black cat who? How did he know? And why did he include you?" dad fired. I rolled my eyes, "it's none other than Sam dad! And how did he know? Well..." he does the same thing himself, so of course he would give some extra protection against outer harms. As to why he included me too? I had no idea to that.
"...well, he has an IQ of 150 you know? I wouldn't be surprised if he did that! And the last question? I don't know myself!" I shrugged. "Whoa! He even bet you 148 IQ level? That's buttery crazy!" mom exclaimed. Trust my mother to say weird things. "And Kam has already been chosen for the nationals twice and Shelly has won in international arts competitions, so... don't worry I am in safe company!" "So it seems! Anyway! We will be meeting you soon, and I am also curious about these extremely talented friends of yours!" mom smiled. "If she got no problems, so don't I! I trust you Janessa, and I know they will turn out to be great friends of yours!" Dad sided me too.
"Yeah! They are great human beings y'know?!" I grinned. At least Shelly and kam are, I am not sure about Sam though! He seems to have a heart of gold at one moment and the next second it will go all twisted. Oh well, as long as he doesn't mind getting hit every two minutes, I can keep up with him!
"goodnight mommy, daddy! I gotta get up early tomorrow!" I waved. "yes, it's a big day for my you! Oh my baby girl has grown so much!" mom sniffed. "bye darling, take care, and call us whenever you need! We will be meeting you soon enough! And don't worry, I won't go snooping around anymore! If you believe in them, so do i!" dad smiled. "thanks dad! Bye!" I laughed as I disconnected the call.
...........
"you don't have a car do you?" shelly frowned. "sure I do! It will be arriving here in a month, I didn't want to transfer it from L.A. before I got a permanent place." I explained. "seems from your tone that you like your car?" kam raised an eyebrows. "LIKE it? Its mah baby!! And I LOVE it!" I declared. The both of them laughed as they entered my room to help me with my luggage.
"the heck!" Shelly deadpanned at the amount of baggage.
"I told you that you didn't have to come. I could have done it myself! See?" I shrugged. "I thought people transferring to a WHOLE new region would have a bit more things!" Shelly deadpanned. "ONE bag? Seriously?" kam scoffed. "hey! There are ONE suitcase and TWO handbags! That's HUGE when it comes to me!" I argued. It was true! The wheeled suitcase contained all my clothing and toiletries, while the handbags had my new books and some new things which I had brought when I was here.
"let's go! Sam must have fallen asleep by now!" shelly tried to pull up my suitcase. I sighed and helped her, moving it easily as kam grabbed the handbags. "why? Did he stay up again last night?" I asked. "sure did!" kam answered. "what is he? Mr. owl?" I made a face. "dunno about owls but he IS a cat right?" shelly shrugged.
We got into the car, me in the back seat, kam driving and shelly in the passenger's one. "so, what is this black cat business? Everyone keeps calling him that!" I asked. The pair in front of me laughed. "well it was in our first year here, in the annual day, he wore an all black ensemble! Totally pitch black! He assumed that people would call him a goth and stay away from him, he used to detest attention SO much back then though he was already popular between our peers. But to his utter dismay, people started calling him the black cat. It was the first time his methods went wrong, but then he really used to underestimate his looks back then" kam shrugged.
"you can't blame the others either, he really DOES look like a black cat! You shoulda seen his eyes glow in the darkness under that mask he wore cuz it had been a masquerade party, TOTALLY a cat. He used to be very annoyed by this at the beginning, but as days passed and he... changed he began to acknowledge the fact that he DID have felinity in his character, that too since a child. You must have noticed it too, eh jan?" shelly twisted around in her seat to look at me.
"yeah! His eyes, his smile, the way he can move SO quietly at times, his way of observation, dark hair... totally a black cat!" I agreed. "that nickname stuck to him and everyone eventually realised that it was justified. so yeah, there you go, the story behind the black cat!" kam said as he drived.
"you know? I always thought that he had something to do with OUR nicknames too!" shelly mused. "in that case I wouldn't blame him! We DID annoy the hell outta him in the beginning!" kam shook his head. "yeah your nicknames are pretty famous too, but I will agree, you ARE a sly fox shells and kam IS your over possessive wolf mate! I couldn't have thought better myself!" I laughed as she pouted. "I like my name though!" kam smirked.
Sam's eyes ranged over us trio before he dismissed shelly and kam, he didn't seem surprised like the other two at my lack of baggage, instead he picked up my suitcase and motioned me to follow him. He seemed... grumpy? No, tired? Sleep deprived! Yes! That's the one.
"don't mind me! I was just finishing a Paulo Coelho last night!" he broke the silence as he saw right through me. "you SHOULD get your beauty sleep though! No one might fuck you, thinking you were a zombie!" I jeered. He gave me an eye roll, " as if I care!" "you DO care!" I argued. "not enough to leave 'Veronica decides to die' midway!" he returned.
"I really thought that she would die though!" I said thoughtfully. He threw a glance at me, " I won't be asking that stupid question of 'you like Paulo Coelho?" I take it that if you have read anything else than 'the alchemist' you like him!" "thank you! I hate stupid questions!" I really did! Anyone who asked them needed a punch in their gut. Sam grinned at me, "sure you do kitten!"
We took the elevator to the seventh floor. As we got out, I realised that each floor had I apartment each. I reached a conclusion, the apartments must be HUGE! No shit Sherlock! A part of my mind said snarkily, we are talking of six freaking rooms and you realise NOW that it must be big!
Before we entered sam pulled me back by my hand, "what?" I asked. He sighed, "I dunno how to put it but, I am glad you accepted our request to come and live with us!" "huh? Why? I'll just be a HUGE pain in the ass! That's all!" I frowned. "as you probably know by now, I am not the ideal brother and I rarely stay at home, you can almost categorize me as a guest, kam on the other has his baseball practice a whole deal of time, so shelly really gets lonely on most of the days. She is a bright girl so she doesn't say a word about this but really its hard on her too, mostly because even though she has loads of friends and all but she only likes to be with us, and both of us can't always be home! Kam lesser, me more! Thanks for coming kitten, you don't know how much it means to her and to us!" he glanced at me seriously.
"that you are thinking about her, makes you a good bro!" I tried to cheer him. He cared about her a LOT, and I could see how guilty it made him to watch her be lonely. "well! I DO wish I could be better, she REALLY is selfless when it comes to us! She can shout and be mad at you but in the end of the day, she will never betray you. In a sense, she is really pure and innocent you know? You can't help but treasure her!" he said fondly .
"I know that feeling!" I assured, "she has that charm, you will get attracted to her instinctively and will NEVER wanna leave her!"
He looked at me and smiled. I felt my heart stutter. That wasn't the sultry smirk or that cocky catlike grin that will make you want to swoon and drool a Mississippi, it was that heartfelt genuine smile that could make you melt into a puddle with the softness it contained.
"you know what else I am glad about? I am glad that it's YOU who came!"
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