mister steal your girl

Dublin hated living alone. He had grown up in a house with 3 siblings only to move into a dorm of 3 more, and now that he was on his own, he wasn't accustomed to the silence. The screaming and fighting over bathrooms in the early mornings was replaced by sleeping until noon. The constantly scolding people for coming into his room was replaced by praying someone would stop by and visit. What's worse, now that he didn't have school, and being a guardian wasn't exactly a taxing job, he really had nothing to do. Plus, he was officially an adult, and Dublin was not ready for that pressure.

He needed a break. And here was his solution. The Beata campus hadn't changed since he left last year, aside from the new faces. And his feet still knew exactly where to go. This place was familiar. This place was comforting. A home away from home. He carried himself to the Autumn dorm and stood outside of the door, hoping this was the right room. Raising his hand, Dublin rapped on the door and waited.

It was the first weekend in a while that he stayed in.

God damned spring allergies had gotten the best of him, and so he was determined to get the best of his momentary sickness, staying in, making some good old soup, and watching cheesy old cartoons to pass the time. It was supposed to be a perfect time, that was, until he heard the door knock.

From his spot on the couch, Preston watched the door for a moment, confused. He had made certain not to invite anyone over, two of his roommates were missing in action, and the only other was passed out in her room for all he knew. Curiously, he tossed his light blanket away and walked up, swinging the door open.

"... Dublin?" He blinked. It'd been a while since he'd even seen his older brother, despite how close they lived, Preston had never found the right mood to visit. A plain look fell upon his face. "What are you doing here?" Ah, shit. Dub was a guardian now, wasn't he? "You here to take me in or something? If this is about the spat in the hallway, I have no idea what that girl's issue was -"

She held up a half-charred steel ball between her fingers, watching her warped reflection shift and shimmer in the metal. Dark bags under her eyes, mussy brown hair, a faded pale scar that stretched from cheek to earlobe. Kayla sucked in her breath and closed her hand around the ball, sparks tracing their way up her wrist. Stupid. How long had she been lying there in the dark? What was she doing? The whole day had slipped by in a muddled haze, alone in her room, listening to the quiet clatter of the kitchen and the muted blare of the television through the door. Pres had stuck around today, for once.

This was pathetic. Kayla sat up, massaging her temples. If she sat around any longer wasting away, she really was going to lose her mind. Some food would make her feel better. At the very least, she had to start moving around. Lying in bed let her thoughts catch up to her. Head swimming, Kayla dragged herself out of bed and stretched, making her way toward the door. She had to squint from the sudden light flooding into her room as she creaked it open.

There was someone there. Kayla froze in the door frame, electricity flickering across her shoulders. Who...? Myles, was her first thought, but she shook the name out of her head. She hadn't caught what he'd said, but he didn't exactly look thrilled to see whoever was on the other side. Her mouth hardened as she stepped out of her room, trying to peer past him to see their mystery guest. Probably not another one of his girlfriends, if she had to guess. Really, if she'd known there were people coming over, she wouldn't have bothered getting out of bed at all...

Dublin grinned when Preston opened the door, happy he didn't have to explain himself to a roommate he didn't know. It would have been fine, Dublin was great with people, but regardless. He was a stranger and obviously not a student. "Hey little bro. I missed you too." He replied dryly as his brother immediately got to business. To say that his plain expression and zero excitement for his visit didn't hurt just a bit would be lying, but he didn't mind too much.

A surprise look crossed Dublin's face, and after a moment, he interrupted Preston's story with a rich laugh. "I don't know about any spat, but you'll have to tell me all about it." He raised his hand in surrender. "I'm honestly just here to catch up with my second favorite brother, not to take anyone away."

It wasn't as if Preston had any idea he was coming. Despite their large family of siblings, ever since they'd come to Beata, he couldn't think of a time they'd all were all together for long. Except for holidays. Most of the time. Oblivious to the Pikachu who'd finally crawled out of her den, he took a step back, chewing at his cheek. Finally, he allowed himself to loosen up some, a crooked grin flashing onto his face. "So long as you're off duty," he laughed under his breath, pulling his older brother in for a quick hug before side-stepping away again. Second favorite. Whatever. "Asshole."

He pulled the door open, making way for Dublin to freely step inside. "Make yourself at home then, or whatever. There's soup in the kitchen if you're hungry." Thank God he made enough to spare for days. Fuck, should he hurry and hide the beer? The young man stretched his neck out, mentally preparing for what felt like a long evening ahead when he'd finally spotted his roommate standing there. Pres felt himself stiffen up a bit.

A boy. Black hair, light brown eyes, taller than Preston by almost half a head. After watching them hug, it took her a moment to realize she'd been staring. Agh, what the hell was she doing? Kayla shook herself out of her daze and walked forward, almost cautiously, but stopped again when she caught Preston's stiff gaze. Her heart almost jumped. Why did she feel so nervous all of a sudden? She was never this timid. Maybe the last night's nightmare had gotten to her more than she expected. A part of her had been on edge ever since he had gotten back from the infirmary that winter. Kayla peered searchingly past Preston, looking over the stranger again, before letting her gaze flicker back to the floor, and back to Pres again. Sparks leaped from her bangs. She brought a hand up to the back of her neck with a wavering smile. It felt unnatural on her face. "Who's this?" she asked by way of greeting. This was the first time she'd seen Pres friendly with anyone other than a girl.

After he pulled away from the hug, Dublin grinned. "Jerk." It wasn't as harsh of an insult as he could've given, but he hadn't seen his brother in a while and he was feeling a bit generous. Once he was welcomed in, Dublin stepped through the threshold and looked around. Home sweet home. "You know me. The only reason I came here was to steal your soup." And he was planning on getting to that when he realized they weren't alone.

He was immediately thrown off track and made his way to the girl. "I'm the cooler big brother, Dublin. I'm guessing you live here too?" He answered for Preston and flashed her a smile and reached his hand out to shake.

He was almost relieved once Dublin started heading into the kitchen, figuring that Kayla would simply head back into her room and they could have spared the introductions all-together. Sure enough, however, the young woman spoke up. And before Preston had the time to say something, his brother had already threw on that perfect smile, walking over to greet her.

With a twinge of irritation, Preston closed the front door and shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked over behind Dublin casually. "My roommate," He interjected. "She doesn't talk much usually." A total lie, but shit.

Dublin. She had to think back to Halloween, to that night in the bathroom, to the Christmas Eve they spent locked in a freezer. So this was the big brother she'd heard so much about. They'd lived with each other for, what, a little over a year now? This was her first time meeting him. Kayla stared up at him, the words practically going through one ear and out the other, before she gave a small nod, an almost nervous crooked smile on her face. "Uh, yeah, I live here." She stared down at her hand, skittish sparks crackling down her arm. Don't electrocute him. There was a constant electric field around her body, and too much skin-to-skin contact was a quick and easy recipe for an infirmary trip. After a few moments of hesitation, she reached out and clasped his hand in a loose and sloppy grip and pulled away just as quickly, as if the slightest touch was poison. "I'm Kayla."

She stuffed her hand in her pocket and looked away. Idiot... What was she worrying about? Kayla had met Preston's dad, and his youngest sister, and they'd all had the same gift. It'd only make sense if his brother was the same. So what was she worrying about? There was a tinge of red to her cheeks, some rare embarrassment, as she shot a glance toward Pres. Electricity flickered over her head. "Hey, don't make me sound like a recluse."

When Dublin shock the presumed roommate's hand, he felt the hair on his arm stand up and a slight shock run through him, as if he'd rubbed his socks on the carpet and touched someone. Nothing terrible, but he assumed it came from the girl. There was a second of surprise on his face, but he was used to this in his family. It was like growing up in a house where half of the residences had shocking gum on them at all time. "It's a pleasure, Kayla." He said kindly. "I can already tell there's sparks flying between us." To be fair, he knew it was a bad joke, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity.

"I'm sure Preston hasn't made me sound too wonderful either, so I won't hold his word against you." If he had been mentioned at all, which he wasn't sure about either.

Preston could've let out a loud and long groan then and there, chewing incessantly on the inside of his cheek as the two of them had their formal introductions. They hadn't known eachother for five fucking minutes and he was already throwing flirts her way. It was absolutely hypocritical of him, but he felt irationally irritated all the same, shaking his head and turning to walk into the kitchen, ready to distract himself. Clean up, probably. Maybe throw the bowl of soup his way, literally.

That was until he couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut. As if he'd ever talk about Kayla with him... Er, maybe a few things were said before, but that shit was besides the point. Dublin was probably well meaning but this was the very reason why Preston had never gotten around to the pleasure of inviting him over. He swung back over to his brother's side, patting him on the shoulder. "Hey, why don't you sit on the couch and make yourself comfortable? Remotes on the table." He tone suggested so lightly, but his voice was laced with insistance.

She blinked. An involuntary smile cracked across her face, and then a laugh bubbled out, escaping from her lips. Kayla covered her mouth with her hand, looking away. That was beyond stupid. He deserved to get hit for that, but she kept her hands to herself. The sparks around her fluxed down her back in a low, rhythmic hum. It wasn't that bad of a joke. She was still looking away when Pres walked past, pushing his brother off toward the couch. Absentmindedly, she played with a lock of hair. Right, she'd left her hat back in her room... Tangled and knotted, charged with static electricity, with stray hairs sticking up on end in weak salute. Her stomach twisted itself into knots, a latent embarrassment, but there wasn't anything she could do about it now.

Kayla ground her heel into the ground and finally glanced up at Pres. Her face felt like it was burning. "Hey, get me some soup too," she said. "I'm starving."

If Dublin had known Kayla before then, he'd have been surprised with her sudden change in attitude. Instead, he was really quite used to girls acting like this around him. Fueled by her laughter, he opened his mouth to make another shitty joke when Preston stepped in and patted his shoulder. He paused and looked over, all jokes forgotten. "Don't mind if I do." He headed towards the coach and indeed made himself comfortable. Looking up, waved Kayla over. "Care to join me?" He'd let Gordon Ramsey get to it and not bother him too much, too distracted by the girl he hadn't expected to be there.

Preston scoffed, watching his brother fall into their couch, narrowly avoiding looking at his roommate now. That stupid bubbly attitude, he couldn't stand to see any girls like that around Dublin, much less the ragged Pikachu of all people. "I don't remember signing into the butler business," he said with a small laugh, near rolling his eyes and headed off into the kitchen, picking up on the invite for them to sit next to each other.

The smile fell from his face and he grabbed at his hair. Fuck this shit. All he had wanted was a peaceful weekend, none of this same old bullshit he had grown tired of years and years ago. Pres groaned and banged his head lightly against the refrigerator. He was quickly thinking he didn't want to stick around to watch this shit. Maybe he'd text Sophia or Jane or someone for a hook up. Whoops. Forgot to mention he'd already had a date arranged. Dump the soup on their heads on the way out.

Seemed like a fine option for him. Maybe it was pathetic, but like he fucking cared. Anywhere but there.

Really now? "You were always the butler," she said, shooting a glance back at Dublin as he made his way over to the couch. Kayla rubbed the back of her neck and looked down at the ground, a mixed expression on her face. Well, she couldn't exactly slip away now... She sauntered over, self-conscious of every step and movement, of every blemish on her skin and split end and rip and discoloration in her clothes. Kayla sat down a careful distance away, rubbing her hands and rubbing her knees together, staring down at her lap. Small faint scars marked her legs, some older than others, but most the legacy of a roll she took through a field of broken glass. She felt herself hunch over, clasped hands over her thighs, as if to hide them. That tinge of red still hadn't left her face, and she felt a flint of heat in her stomach whenever she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. What's my problem? I'm an idiot...