'Family my ass,' Damien cursed at the sight before him after opening the door that led into Mrs. Fuggerson's office.
It was small, but big enough to allow the teacher ample space for her staff. A refreshing shade of earthly brown and green colors, with enough light seeping in from the open French doors that faced the grounds, made the office look a bit more homely and nap-worthy than it was supposed to.
But that wasn't the reason why Damien was cursing.
Sitting across from Mrs. Fuggerson on chairs that looked as if they could induce sleep was Ahara. Next to her was her Indian admirer, Kingston Kapoor—a familiar face that Damien didn't like seeing one bit—because he was the only potential threat that stood between him and Ahara's peaceful lives.
Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice him or pay attention to his advances, or else Kingston would have stolen his sister's heart and body away from Damien a long time ago.
"Ah, here comes my lovely son," Kingston's deep voice rumbled in the tiny office as he raised his hand to gesture at Damien, a smirk forming on his lips.
Like Damien, he too had curly black hair, only, his was longer and shinier. The same went to his annoyingly attractive face. Everything about him seemed to challenge Damien, from that ripped body of his with muscle big enough to form curved dents on his shirt, to those ocean-blue eyes and skin a shade darker than Ahara's.
He had an undeniable charm to him that even Damien couldn't deny every time they made eye contact, but that's all it was involuntary approval. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Come sit next to your moth-" Kingston didn't get to finish his sentence before Ahara's elbow dug straight into his belly and made him groan. Knowing how strong his sister's hand was, Damien grimaced, feeling pity for the poor guy.
"Here," Ahara patted the seat next to her gesturing for her brother to sit next to her. He followed suit and in no time, the happy family was all facing Mrs. Fuggerson who had been watching the drama unfold before her eyes silently.
*Ahem*
She cleared her throat, adjusting her glasses so she could peek at Damien from above the rim.
"Damien was it?" She asked, rummaging through the stacks of paper on her table until she picked one with his name written in bold letters, her lips immediately twitching into what looked like a sneer when she read whatever was in those documents.
She finally turned her attention to the family after flipping a few pages, her eyes judgmental. "I can't say I know much about your son Mr and Mrs Amaris, but from my records here, he is very...well, why don't you take a look yourself."
She passed the papers to Ahara, who gasped when she saw Damien's scores. He was barely doing well in his studies. The only subject that he seemed to excel at was Physical Education, but the rest were below par.
"I'd advise signing him up for extra classes," Mrs. Fuggerson added once she felt that Damien's mother had seen it all, the sneer seemingly growing with each passing second. "I know we've barely started classes since the year just began, but if he keeps up like this, his future is doomed before he even goes to..."
SLAM!
Ahara's palm hit the table, shushing the teacher and making Damien flinch. Her eyes were glued on Mrs. Fuggerson whose face was now pale and straight, the sneer now but a memory from seconds ago.
Remembering what Lemony told him the other night, Damien gripped the hem of Ahara's sweater and pulled it, making Ahara shift her attention to him instead, but she immediately turned back to the teacher, now more furious for some reason.
"His future will be bright, and I'll fight anyone who dares to think otherwise even if that person is his tutor," Ahara hissed at the teacher's face, gripping the desk's corner and clenching her teeth.
"Me too," Kingston backed Ahara, his expression serious and just about the same amount of deadly. "The boy's got talent, but it's not academic." He snatched the papers from Ahara and pointed at Damien's hundred percent PE score.
"For a person who calls themself a teacher, you seem to think inside the box when it comes to your students instead of looking at the bigger picture."
Damien's eyes widened a little. He didn't know if Kingston was backing him up so he could score points with Ahara or if he was being decent, but either way, he was grateful to the guy. Not many people like supporting a loser when there's evidence about his losses laid in front of them.
"Come on, Damien. We're leaving," Ahara stood, already clutching her brother's arm, veins protruding on her arms.
Damien rose with her not about to fight with his angry sister. She never listened to any objections whenever her mood was sour, and if anyone tried to force their objections on her, well, he learned the hard way after she ignored him for an entire week because he'd refused to wear a jersey to school on a rainy day.
Kingston pushed the chairs away so the two of them could pass through freely but before he followed them, he dished out one final blow at the teacher:
"If I ever hear that my son is receiving bad treatment from you because of what happened today, you'll pay a price worse than hell in exchange for his sanity."
Mrs. Fuggerson visibly swallowed and slowly nodded at Kingston who smiled at her in return as if he wasn't threatening the poor teacher a while ago. Even Damien swallowed at the threat. For some reason, Kingston looked like he meant every word he had said to Mrs. Fuggerson.
After the bitter ordeal, the three of them left the office with Ahara in the lead, pulling Damien with her as they headed down the hallway. "Did you bring your bag?"
"No," Damien replied in a low voice, trying to figure out why his sister was mad.
The teacher hadn't lied about his grades, he was the dummy in his entire grade and it wasn't a secret. The entire school probably knew about it since he attracted attention wherever he went thanks to Lucy and her big mouth.
"Go and take it, we'll be waiting for you at the gate," Ahara stopped walking and turned around to face him. The fury she had shown the teacher earlier was now gone, and in its stead was a calming presence that Damien was much more accustomed to.
Clasping his face, she pulled him down to her and made their foreheads touch. "No matter what anyone says about you, just know that I'll always be with you, forever. Your future isn't doomed, not when I'm still alive."
Damien could sense the prying eyes of students and their parents looking at them, but he couldn't care less at the moment. Not when Ahara was paying him attention. Grabbing hold of both her wrists, Damien rubbed them lightly and nodded at his sister's words. "Hmm."
"Me too. As long as your sister is alive, I'll be around to support you," Kingston cut short their sweet moment with his words of support which made Ahara turn her attention to him instead.
"Okay, that's enough sugar for today. Damien, go get your bag, we're leaving."
"But I just said my line. Aren't you guys supposed to give me the puppy eyes?"
"Puppy eyes my ass," Damien hissed at Kingston, returning his smug grin from earlier back at him as he turned to head for his classroom.
For the first time today, he decided to live in the moment and believe in his sister. To believe in her human heart that she wasn't a man-eater—or a murderer.
******
"Where's Ahara?" Damien asked Kingston once he was outside the gate, panting since he had sprinted from his classroom.
Kingston pointed back at the school. "Restrooms."
And that was it. Nothing more to say was left between them, only an awkward silence where each one wondered when Ahara would come back or if she needed any assistance wherever she was.
The one to break the silence was Kingston. "Here she comes," he prophesied. Prophesied because even after Damien peeked through the gate, he couldn't notice his sister anywhere near them.
"What do you mean? I can't see her anywhere," Damien protested but bit his tongue almost instantly. Ahara suddenly appeared from his block, sprinting like he had been a while ago but faster.
"They found it! They located the gem Kingston!" She cried out once she was within earshot.
Kingston on hearing her statement placed a finger over his lips, gesturing for Ahara to shut up, but Damien saw him from the corner of his eyes; something Ahara should have done since she had a much clearer view of him—but she was too excited about the gem to even notice her little brother standing next to Kingston.
"It's in my fucking territory Kingston, can you believe that? The thing I've been looking for an entire week now has presented itself to me on a silver platter. You have to meet up with me tonight and—Damien!" Ahara gasped, finally noticing Kingston's gestures, but she was already late.
Maintaining unwavering eye contact, Damien closed the distance between him and Ahara, tilting his head to one side and raising his brows at the same time.
"What did you locate, where is your territory, and where do you plan to meet up with Kingston?" He insisted all the doubts he had suppressed a few minutes ago clashing in his head like tornadoes on the loose.
"Please answer me, Ahara, or I'm coming with you wherever you're going tonight."