Awkward Family Dinner (South)

[peanutpie]

Nikko Vea

I don't care if I'm a guilty pleasure for you.

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Dinner with the family had always been something that Nikko had never exactly enjoyed. Sure, he loved his parents and his sister, Dahlia, who obviously was loved much more than him and Mr. Snufflkins. Which is why when Nikko arose for the usual morning routine of combing his curly hair and throwing on a tee shirt after he jumped out of the shower and literally facepalmed infront of the mirror. Of course, he was a bit irritated by the fact that he had forgotten the dinner his father had thrown together two weeks ago. Of course, it would probably require Nikko stabbing vegetables with an actual fork and him not cringing at the taste. Sure, his parents might subsitute some butter inside the recipes to make the vegetables more appealing towards Nikko, but honestly, who would honestly want to go through the effort to make their grown son special vegetables. Where they thinking of using a fork as an airplane so they can force feed him? No, not at all.

Thats when Nikko gingerly stepped out of the bathroom and eased his way into his bedroom, his eyes trying to find the closet that was amongst the magazines, shoes and aplethra's of rabbit food that was scattered around his bedroom. The carpet was covered in dust, making the unattractive blue color look even more lackluster. Nikko carefully navigated his way around the room, making sure not to step on a stray sock or trip over something that some people couldn't identify. Finally, his grasp met the wooden doors handle as he carefully slid it open, sending a few jackets to the ground as he peered inside the closet. Yes, there it was. There, hanging on the wire hangers that he hated so much (why couldn't they be a more fun and sunny material? Like yellow plastic?) There was a black jacket with a pair of black slacks and a black shirt to accompany the other pieces. And on the top shelf, shoved between two blankets was a bright yellow paper crown. The way to spruce up any outfit, for sure.

Honestly, Nikko thought the whole thing was quite brilliant, to bring a bit of intrigue to the otherwise dull outfit. Hell, Dahlia did it, why couldn't he? Of course, Dahlia does it more classily, but who cares? Applauding his accomplishment, he donned the outifit with a new found appreciation and threw the yellow paper crown over his head, covering his eyes ever-so-slightly. It obscured his vision every time he walked a few steps, but he would just be able to reach up and push the crown back onto the top of his head and regain some form of composure. Yes, perfection achived by Nikko, with the crown perched on his head and a confident smile.

Opening the door to the stairs of the house, Nikko's navy blue loafers padded loudly as he paraded down the stairs; turning at the end of them and smiling to his reflection in the window. He looked so happy in the reflection and the crown just made him look even sunnier. Sure, he might of looked a little bit creeperish, or even mildly retarded, but Nikko's reflection in the mirror would also be described as happy. And that he was, as he reached towards the rabbit hutch so he could compulsivley pet the animal he loved so much. Mr. Snufflkins.

Oh, the name Mr. Snufflkins was just one of Nikko's favorite tales to weave, usually something he could illustrate in great detail until someone fell asleep. Then Nikko would prod them obsessivley, childishly, and say something along the lines of "WERE YOU NOT LISTENING?" The story was intresting, but he could cover it in two sentence opposed to an hour of explaining the origin of the name. Really, the story was that his Father had gifted it to him, and at that moment, one of his friends, Leroy, had suggested the name "Snuffles" because Nikko's nose was stuffed up from a cold. He had added the Mister part to the beggining, and suddenly, Mr. Snufflkins had a name worthy of insanity. Of course, Nikko hadn't yet cracked entirely by that point, but he had always been a bit off....

Picking up the rabbit the proper way, Nikko nestled Mr. Snufflkins into the inside of his arms and stroked the soft fur of him before finally delievering him to the hutch. The rabbit circled twice and then settled into it's corner, and Nikko covered the hutch with a lightweight blanket, so he could indeed breathe. This was always a concern with Nikko; the suffocation of his own bunny by a blanket he placed on top of the cage hutch. Usually he picked through blankets for a good ten minutes before finding one worthy; though today he was a bit behind schedule and had thrown the lightest one he could find on top of the cage, blew a kiss to the way of Mr. Snufflkins and swarmed out the door; locking the door and tossing the brass key into his pants pocket.

Nikko's house was on a slightly elevated part of the district, which was on the slight ouskirts. His parents had told him that their house was closer to the center of the district because they had more important affairs than drawing out floor plans for houses. Father was apparently the person that figured out the chemical compound that made the arena snow when there was an artic games. Pretty much a really realistic looking snow that never melted, even under extreme tempetures when the arenas climate control system went haywire. Usually, this didn't happen, but his father had presented it as an option after the fourtieth arena had nearly self-destructed after some district three kid had screwed with the coding on it's snow.... Nikko recalled seeing this happen while his father was on the phone. Two months later and they were in a nicer house, with intresting architecture and hardwood floors.

The exact house that Nikko was in front of, sopping wet. The crowns artificial dye had started to disinigrate, though Nikko wasn't quite sure about that. His Mother came to the door, her dark hair pinned up from her face. She looked like an older version of Dahlia, with her blue eyes styled with dark makeup. She even wore a dark dress with dark netting at the top. Nikko had always been more in-tune with his Mother, but he struggled to grasp the reality that his Mother was standing in the doorway, looking more presentable than Nikko could really know. He had never really remembered his Mother dressing up for any occasion of any kind, expect for when he came over recently. And that was very rarely, usually twice every six months or so.

"Hi Mom." He mumbled between his teeth and nudged his way into his childhood home.

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[Deleted]

Main
"Speech"
Thoughts
"Others' Speech"

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Dahlia stood in front of her mirror, biting her lip as she tried to put the bright pink carnation in her dark, wavy hair at the right angle. She'd always hated family dinners. It wasn't that she hated dressing up, not at all. Dahlia loved dressing in cute, quirky vintage clothes like the pastel pink sundress she was wearing now, thin cotton and ruffles with a mint green sash around the waist. On her feet were a nice pair of wedge sandals, she had on some chunky mint green costume jewelry, and was planning adding the final touch of the flower in her hair if the damn thing just would go where it was supposed to.

Yes, Dahlia Vea loved dressing up, but she hated family dinners. Awkwardness was not something she enjoyed, and all gatherings of the Vea family had been increasingly awkward the older she got. Her gray-blue eyes flicked down to the two bright pink capsules sitting innocently on her dresser. As much as she'd hate to do it, she was going to need a hit to make it through this evening without killing somebody. It wasn't that she didn't love her family, they just didn't... didn't really work anymore. She and Nikko hadn't worked for years, and their parents were just now acknowledging it, trying to force a sibling love-fest to occur even when it was clear that neither of the siblings in question wanted it.

"Oh, Dolly, you and Nikko used to be so close. What happened?"

"You and your brother never talk anymore, Doll. It's odd."

"Don't you remember when you were little and your brother taught you how to throw a fastball?"

Dahlia loved her parents to death, but they were so dense sometimes. Yes, she and Nikko had been close when they were kids. But they weren't kids anymore. They were grown-ups, grown-ups who had definite issues with each other. Dahlia didn't like the fact that Nikko still treated her like a baby and Nikko didn't like the fact that Dahlia was screwing his friends, and that was the main root of the problem. Before he'd moved out, it had started with a few snappy comments that grew to arguments that grew to house-shaking screaming matches that resulted in flying objects and broken vases that had to be explained to Mom and Dad when they got home. It wasn't that Dahlia didn't love her brother, she just... she wished that he would stop treating her like his kid sister, even though that was what she was.

The eighteen-year-old nearly squealed in triumph when the flower slipped into place, attacking her raven locks with hairspray to ensure it would stay that way. A few coats of mascara, some blush, and an application of lipstick later, she was ready to go. Dahlia was just adjusting her necklace when she heard the door bang open downstairs, a mumbled "Hey, Mom." A few seconds later, her mother's voice shouted up the stairs.

"Doll, your brother's here, come down!"

No longer cringing at the pet name like she used to, Dahlia sighed and fluffed her hair a little. "Coming, Ma!"

She reached for the little pink pills, heart thrumming with anticipation. She wasn't sure how bad LSD was for you, but it was sure one hell of a ride, especially the lab-quality stuff that Dad brought home to run experiments on. Cracking open a lukewarm bottle of water, Dahlia knocked back the capsules, sending them spiraling down her throat in a rush of liquid. The world exploded into vivid color, everything so much more intense and beautiful than it was in real life. A small, elated giggle of joy escaped the raven-haired girl's throat, and she felt like she was floating. Nothing like happy pills to get you through dinner. Bouncing dowm the stairs with a grin on her pink-painted lips, Dahlia rushed over to give her brother a hug, something she never would have done sober.

"Nice hat, doofus. How come you're never around anymore, Nikky? We miss you!"

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[peanutpie]

Nikko had always loved the skylights that towered at the top of the house he grew up in. The architecture was something he enjoyed a lot, with the vaulted ceilings and old fashioned spiral staircases. His own home was rather different than the graceful elegance of the house he grew up, so he did appreciate the sturdy doorway and the intriguing carving of the staircases bannister. Smiling heartily, Dahlia came towards him, giving him a hug and proclaiming "Nice hat, doofus. How come you're never around anymore, Nikky? We miss you!" Nikko was rather suprised by his sister's reaction, especially since Nikko had been a bit of a jerk at the last visit here. Of course, it was two day's after Vicky had... er, let him go, and when Father had said something about "So, did you pop the question, yet, Nikko?" He had sort of lost it....

Yeah, it had included throwing the spaghetti they were having clear across the room, plastering itself to the opposite wall as his Mother gaped in astonishment at Nikko's pure devilishness. The paint for that wall had cost more than a seam worker earned in a month, and honestly it was something that had sent the whole family into chaos for a good two hours. It had been an occasion of utter distruction and screaming Mothers. And lots of marinara sauce. Nikko shuddered at the memory and looked at Dahlia. Stepping back slightly, he smiled a Nikko smile and said with true belief in the compliment "Oh, thank's Dahlia! Isn't it just amazing?" He patted the yellow crown that was starting to slide in front of his brown eyes. Bringing it back to the top of his curly hair, he smiled at his parents.

Of course, Father was in his corner, eying Nikko carefully, as if to not send him into a rampage of either swiftly turning happy or sad. Nikko wasn't bipolar, he was more of someone who changed emotions quickly. He went from happy to sad quickly, mostly when Vicky was brought into discussion. Oh, the brown haired beauty who could proably make Nikko be all happy if she just left Caine, came running back to Nikko in a swirl of green meadows and flute music. Nikko wondered if Naz knew how to play the flute, but then he recalled that Naz's skills were pretty much limited to being Naz. Of course, Naz did have skills, buried under that intresting exterior and screaming at Blinkers, apparently the voice in his head or whatever, but Nikko hadn't quite figured them out yet.

Thats when Nikko's stomach grumbled, and he looked at it. Hey, it wasn't his fault that his metabolism was faster than everyone elses. His Mother gave him an annoyed wave and nodded towards him and Dahlia. Nikko followed his Mother into the dining room, where food was laid out on the table. Nikko eyed it suspiciously, trying to make sense of the things that were on the table. Blinking, Nikko finally figured out what was on the cherrywood table. There were large bowls of pasta laid out amongst a basket of bread and glasses with water and iced tea. Of course, in three glasses there was some form of alchoholic beverage, Nikko assumed wine. He wasn't sure who the third person who would be allowed to drink it would be, so he leaned carefully against the beige wall until his parents could tell him or his sister claimed one of the seats as her own. Nikko adverted his gaze to his shoes, because honestly, he didn't like alchohol. He secretly wished that his sister selected one of the wine glass seating places as her own. Sure, it might be a little bit odd for someone younger than himself to get the wine glass, but his parents knew that he found alchohol to be a bit repulsive. He wrinkled his nose in it's presence, though they still insisted on having it at the sparse family gatherings that they hosted. Closing his eyes and running his fingers through his hair for a second, he put the crown farther on his head and waited.

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[Deleted]

The normal Dahlia would have quirked a dark eyebrow at her brother's genuine response about the stupid paper contraption on his head, but she only giggled now, the sounds leaving her throat in a swirl of bright, sparkly purple. When she took the little pills, Dahlia saw everything in vivid color. Her laughter was purple, her words were shimmery gold, her whispers a smooth baby pink like her dress. Everything had an aura when Dahlia was high like this, surrounded in a glittering corona of some hue or another. Her father and mother were both outlined in a dull gold-ish brown, while her brother was a vivid, bright red. When she glanced down at her arm, she found it rimmed in a bright, sunny yellow. Why couldn't she see the world like this all the time? Everything was so much more beautiful.

She followed her parents into the kitchen, where the air swam in a swirling haze of burgundy that seemed to match the home-cooked smells pervading it. Dahlia tucked herself into a high-backed chair, neatly spreading the cloth napkin (who knew what color it really was, but now it was a beautiful lime green) across her lap. The raven-haired girl followed her brother's puzzled gaze between her and the full glass of pinot noir in front of her, and found herself laughing again, the purple sparkle blending with the burgundy of the air. "Yeah, Nikky, I'm eighteen now. Did you forget? Don't worry, I know you don't like alcohol, I made sure mom didn't give you any. Go on, pop a squat!"

She patted the seat next to her, sunny yellow leaving a trail behind her arm as it moved. Man, this was a great trip. The pills she got must have been stronger than usual. The colors were more vivid, she felt lighter and more buoyant than she usually did, and she just couldn't stop smiling. Dahlia was surprised that she didn't have the desire to draw yet, the pad of paper and pencil sitting safely in her purse just in case muse struck her. No, she was perfectly content to sit here and eat dinner with her wonderful, dysfunctional, colorful family.

"Doll, have you told your brother about your new boyfriend?"

"Pfft, Ma, Nikko doesn't care about stuff like that," she said airily, flicking a hand through the air, the one with crooked fingers that had been demolished in that red rover accident when she was ten. The reality of the situation was that Nikko would care, he would care very much, considering that her new "boyfriend" who was really more of a plaything than someone she'd want to commit to, was twenty-two and had been friends with Nikko in high school. Dahlia wanted to avoid conflict when she was feeling this good, so the lie left her lips in a little snaking tendril of acid green. "Right, bubby?"

She hadn't called him that in years, not since her jean-overall-and-pigtails days. Something in her chest squeezed a bit painfully. It was true, even though he was a complete pain in the ass, she missed her big brother sometimes. Laughing off the question, Dahlia grabbed her plate and piled it high with garlic bread and fettuccine alfredo, thanking the genetic gods that had given her a high metabolism. When you had an Italian family that loved to cook, being able to burn off all those cheesy, creamy calories without trying was quite a blessing. She fixed large gray-blue eyes on her brother, who didn't seem to be interested in getting food. "Hey, snap out of it, Nikky. This pasta's really good."

She grinned, taking a delicate sip from her wine glass. The sweet liquid warmed her throat with a red-brown aura as it went down, the slight buzz of the alcohol making her already-great high even better. Hell, this dinner might even be enjoyable.

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[peanutpie]

Nikko took his seat as his sister bounced down infront of a glass of wine. Satisfaction filled his relativley pale face, since winter had been going on and now spring was emerging. Oh, how he would enjoy the warmth against his skin and looking into the mirror and not being so sickly pale. Oh, how much he enjoyed sunlight and being tanner than usual. Why? Mostly because when people glanced at a pale face, they would think oddball. Sure, Nikko was one, but he didn't really agree with the label that people slapped onto him. Oddball, crazy, that person. Yet, when his skin was tanner, he believed, that people didn't think of him as crazy as he was. They would view him more of a normal type of person, like Leroy. Of all of his friends, Leroy was probably the most normal, the one who was even slightly sane. He would be viewed like Leroy, just two lanky, tall guys from district six trying to talk to girls without being embarassed. Show offs, even.

Nikko plucked the server from one of the bowls and threw some pasta onto his plate, making it collapse into a tomato-mess of nothing but pasta, splattering. Putting the silver serving thing back into the ceramic bowl, he readjusted herself and stabbed the fork into the pasta before he finally heard his parents say something about Dahlia having a boyfriend. Nikko, relativley unimpressed with his sisters newly aquired friend (of course, Nikko was quite used to these boyfriends and such) but mostly because he was pretty much the only one in the family without a friend that was more than a friend. He rolled his eyes and stabbed the pasta one last time before forcing it into his mouth and meeting gaze with his father. Oh, father looked nothing like Nikko. Nikko didn't even look like his parents, really. They said he resembled Granndie Fred, a man who shared Nikko's eyes and nose. Nikko's father blinked at him, encouraging him to say something to his sister about her boyfriend. Of course, their parents were quite happy with this, since they expected more professionalism from Dahlia, or more in general. They had given up hope on Nikko at the last family dinner....

He finally muttered something between his pasta-filled teeth, which slurred the effect. He ran his napkin over his mouth and continued on "Mhm, neat. Tell." Usually Nikko's speech seemed a little less mature, but he was eating food and was thus, trying to be more intresting. Or mature about it. He shrugged to himself, attempting to grab a piece of bread from the basket. Of course, the bread basket was placed an inch away from the usual reaching, so he struggled as he made his way across the table. Adverting his eyes, he finally grabbed the edge of the basket before collapsing if slightly onto the table. He looked at the basket in frustration. Finally, he grabbed the edge of the woven thing and let a roll fall onto the table, making it easier for him to grab. He called it an ameteaurs trick, though some people (Seven year olds, perhaps) would of found it amusing to watch. He hastily brooke the roll in two and bit into the smaller half.

He then suddenly realized why his sister didn't want to tell her. It was probably the type of person he thought he would want to be. The type that was athletic for the district, would probably make some form of happiness in talking to girls. Nikko, though, was awkward. He shuddered at the type of person he would assume to be Dahlia's new beau of a kind. He looked cautiously at his sister, who sipped the wine she had in her hand. And she seemed a bit.... more bubbly? Optimistic?

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"Hmm, neat. Tell."

Dahlia rolled her eyes, shooting her mother the closest thing to a glare she could muster in her euphoric state. The last time a conversation about one of Dahlia's boy-toys had come up between Nikko and herself, it had led to a screaming match that shook the rafters. Things were thrown. A vase was broken. Many profanities were uttered.

"I'm seventeen years old, dammit, I do what I want!"

"I'm your big brother and I say otherwise!"

"Nikko, you're a pain in the ass. What the hell is your problem!?"

"My problem is that my kid sister is turning into a sleaze and screwing my friends!"

She had thrown the vase at his head after that, missing him entirely but shattering the priceless artwork all over the living room floor. It had been an... interesting conversation when their parents returned home, and the evening ended with two slammed door for each of the siblings, a load of drama for their father, and a broken heirloom for their mother. This really wasn't worth getting into again, but now her mother had backed her into a corner and Dahlia would have to say something.

"It isn't serious or anything. You went to school with him, I think, Trent Something-Or-Other."

Dahlia tried to look extremely interested in the plate of pasta in front of her, taking a rather large swig of wine to calm her nerves. Jeez, didn't they have anything stronger than this stuff? The high was beginning to wear off a little, the colors not as vibrant, the euphoria not as intense. The raven-haired eighteen year old at least hoped that it would last her through dinner, just until she could go upstairs and crash. If not, she'd have to excuse herself and go pop a few more pills, because this hell of a dinner would just be painful if she were sober.

She couldn't think of anything else to say. The family sat quietly, the click of forks against plates and the dull thud of glasses hitting the table were the only sounds in the air. The awkward silence was downright disturbing, but Dahlia didn't dare to look up from her plate. She's obviously done the wrong thing by mentioning anything about her latest Project Boy (because that's what she called them. They were all just fun little projects, toys), and now there was a confrontation speeding towards her like a locomotive. She could almost feel Nikko's irritation rolling off of him. Her brother, the ticking time bomb.

Five.

Their mother cleared her throat softly, asking for someone to pass the bread, please.

Four.

Their father complied, all the while eying the siblings with confusion written all over his face. Hadn't they just been talking civilly a moment ago?

Three.

Dahlia pursed her pink-painted lips together, bracing herself for the initial explosion. She had a feeling this was going to get ugly.

Two.

The high was waning, faster, faster, its retreat brought on by stress and the food in her stomach that was absorbing the drug and lessening its effect. Now it was really going to get ugly, because being sober freed Dahlia up to go into super-bitch mode, which was the normal attitude she'd had around her brother for years, leading to such things as broken vases and kidnappings/shavings of certain rabbits.

One.

And to think, this had almost been a nice evening.

Zero.

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[peanutpie]

Once upon a time, Nikko might of been pleased by the thought that his sister was dating Trent. Nikko had remembered the kid, with his floppy brown hair and something of a way with words. He liked to twist people around his finger, even as a child. Sure, they had been in the same grade, kindergarden, when the incident happened. Oh, how much Nikko could remember the incident.

It had been a cold day, with nothing but the biting off the bitter freezing tips of noses. Of course, little Nikko Vea had been skipping down the path to the school. The sidewalk had been a bit slippery, and his big, green, rubber boots hit the ground as he went along. He sort-of-hobbled because of the broken foot he had aquired a few days ago. Of course, his Mother, a medic at that time, had patched it up and sent Nikko on his way, patting his head and handing him a paper lunch bag with a picture of a dinosaur scrawled on the front. He had been quite happy with that, explaining the skipping and the desperate need to be happy. His blue hat was pulled around his head, and the cold was not bothering the small child, due to a jacket that he had quite appreciated. It was blue, Nikko's current favorite color. The boot grasped the ice and Nikko nearly slipped. Catching himself, he had smiled at his reflection in the icy ice.

And with that, he stomped into the school, happiness diminishing as he saw the chaos before him. Sure, everyone was friendly enough to Nikko, but honestly. These kids were utter chaos, and the teacher, a woman with a raspy voice, demanded order in the room, only to get a toy airplane thrown at her head and a few kids in the corner eating paste. Oh, how Nikko found kindergarden to be a pointless waste of time. He shook out his hat, which was engulfed with ice crystals and as he stood at the doorway of the room, he smiled at everyone. A few kids giggled when the snow hit their hands, and Nikko shrugged even more then they insisted that he was a little odd. He smiled and strode to the table he shared with five other kids, who were squirming in their chairs.

Nikko set down his dinosaur paper bag, and instantly, the floppy haired, brown haired boy that sat next to him. Nikko smiled a big, hearty smile, just like Nikko usually did. The person next to him, Trent Matthews, a boy who was usually known for kissing girls by the swingset and throwing worms into the teachers hair, was one of the most popular boys in kindergarden. A sad realization that levels of popularity were established in the younger grades. Nikko shook his head and looked at Trent, who just gave Nikko's dinosaur bag a look of discust, he wrapped his hands around the themos he had and gave a look of disgust to Nikko. Later that day, during lunch, Nikko was sitting down with an enthusiastic smile on his face as he opened the package of crackers in his paper bag. Leroy, who sat next to him, was quite happy with sharing the duck crackers Nikko had. As they munched on them quietly, Trent came up and looked at Nikko.

"Dork. You actually like dinosaurs?" Trent chuckled and Nikko gave him an angry glare. Well, angsty little child, wasn't he? And with that, Nikko finally accepted his hate towards Trent.

Nikko immediatley paled, looking at the plate of pasta. Oh, god no, not Trent. The kid had inflicted enough pain on Nikko when they were both five, and how much Nikko had enjoyed that marker drawing on that bag, how dare Trent be all mocking about it. Nikko silently fumed to himself, poking his fork inside the pasta, finally having enough of it. Bringing his fork up to his mouth, he finally dropped it onto the plate full of sauce. It splattered onto the tablecloth and sent the spicy sauces onto the white and pristine table cloth. The fork echoed on top of the tabletop, and as he scooted his chair back, he shot a look at Dahlia. "Dahlia, may I talk to you outside?" He stormed out of the room for a second before opening the cherrywood doors and entering the sunroom. Oh, the sunroom.

Nikko's shoes tapped on the blue and white tile, the patterns quite dizzying. He looked out the huge windows and looked at the door, as if to wonder if she was coming or not. Oh, how much shit she would have loaded onto her when she told her about the lunchbag incident.

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Biting back a frustrated scream, Dahlia testily backed her chair out from the table and got to her feet. The high was completely gone now, leaving her infamous Italian female temper totally untamed. Fine. Fine. Nikko wanted a confrontation? He could have one. She forced herself to smile pleasantly at her still-confused parents, brushing the situation off breezily. "Oh, you know how he is. Always the overprotective big brother."

The raven-haired girl walked across the kitchen floor, edging around the large wooden double doors. She then snapped the door to the sunroom shut irritably, rounding on her brother with a predatory ferocity. She didn't feel the least bit bad about bitching him out now. After all, he'd asked for it. "All right, what the hell is your deal!?"

Dahlia advanced towards him, grey-blue eyes narrowed with spite. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a legal adult now. That means I can do anything I damn well want to, and you don't have a single shred of input in those decisions, got it?

"We're not even really dating, you moron!" Dahlia cried out, hands balled into tight fists. She didn't even care that her tirade was raising in volume. "We're friends. Friends with benefits. I don't have boyfriends, you should know that by now. I get bored too easily."

Ugh, she was crashing. Badly. The absence of the little pink pills' magic in her system was giving her a pounding headache, which didn't help her irritation at all. Dahlia couldn't even look at him, with his stupid yellow paper hat and dopey expression, without getting absolutely furious. Why couldn't she have a normal brother, who was protective of her until she got to the age where she could make her own choices, and then left her the hell alone? "Why can't you just stay out of my romantic life!? You have enough to worry about with your own, or lack thereof!"

It was a low blow, but Dahlia couldn't even bring herself to give a rat's ass about it. She was too angry right now, at Nikko for being a complete ass, at her parents for their stupidity in insisting on these stupid dinners, at Trent for being amazingly hot but having less intellectual prowess than a typical slug, and at herself for neglecting to bring a supply of pills with her when she'd descended into this hellhole of a family gathering. Growling ferally, she stomped a single sandal-clad foot on the tile, inadvertently making herself look like the child she was trying so hard to claim she wasn't. "I am so damn tired of you being in my business all the time! If you wanted to be a part of my life so badly, you shouldn't have ignored me for half of my childhood!"

It was the first time Dahlia had actually said it out loud, the reason she felt such animosity towards her brother. "Maybe I wouldn't be the attention-hungry little whore you always accuse me of being if you'd paid a little more attention to me and been my big brother when you were supposed to, instead of dropping me and following Vicky around like some pathetic lost puppy!"

Dahlia knew she had done it now, saying the V-word, but she couldn't stop herself. "Who's still here, Nikko?! She's not. I am. That should be enough to show you that you made a really stupid choice when you abandoned your little sister for some piece of trash that was cheating on you the whole time." She was more saddened than angered by this point, all those years of frustration pouring out of her in an unquenchable flow. She was still pissed, oh yes, completely livid, but now the hurt had made its way into the rant. "At least I don't try to fool people about what I am, I don't to what she did to you. People know I'm a manipulative, spotlight-grabbing little bitch. But I wasn't always. Maybe it's time you asked yourself who made me that way."

"Until you figure it out, stay the hell out of my business," she snarled, snatching the stupid paper thing off his head and throwing it over her shoulder into the depths of the sunroom. "And unless you want me to shave your stupid rabbit again, you'd better keep your mouth shut about my 'boyfriend' to Mom and Dad. Have I made myself clear?"

ooc: Ugh, failpost! Sorry. :/

[peanutpie]

Thats when Nikko heard the harsh words, the slightly violent tone of this. Nikko, usually uncomfortable in yelling/screaming/whatever situations, had usually hidden in his drawings of houses as a child. If his parents were using an angry tone of voice with him, Nikko Vea would usually hightail it up the carpeted stairs, his plaid shirt flying behind him. He would close his bedroom door, welcome the scent of cotton socks and the air freshener his Mother used. He would sit himself down at his desk, opening up the drawer and using a pencil to sketch out a house. When his father had been particularly angry one day, he had stormed into the room and ripped the piece of paper from Nikkos hand, looking at it and the next day, signing him up for an architect's class at the learning center in the district. Just to learn a trade farther.

And this was how Nikko had gotten the way of living he had, being unable to handle when people emotionally and verbally expressed hatred or dissapointment in a tone that implied anger. Anger had been an emotion that Nikko rarely expressed, he perferred sadness or even nutreality. It was just the way he was, not aggressive to the slightest extent. He perferred to calmy talk something out, amongst tears and slight sarcasm. The whole thing was quite complicated, if you really wanted to think about it that way. Nikko liked sarcasm, in slight doses, but outside of that it seemed to be soomething that was painful to the ear. In all honesty, the words that his sister did make some sense, but they were spoken in a harsh tone. The words seemed to echo against the walls of the room, bouncing off the blue tiles.

Thats when Nikko started crying. He couldn't escape, because his father would tell him to man up, and the only exit was through a window (if you dared to kick it out) or if you were to walk through the one door. Nikko just blinked at his sister, who was clearly in rage. Even though five years seperated them, Nikko could remember being the two kids who always went out with the other district children and played baseball and such from dawn to dusk, then they would eat dinner and play card games inside and drink water from expensive glasses just for the fun of it. Nikko mentally smiled, trying to find some form of happiness in this. Sure, for the last few years, they had grown apart, but back then, everyone would ride their bicycles around and do nothing in the summer air but have fun.

Thats when his sister stopped and Nikko then looked at Dahlia. She was clearly angry, or ticked, or whatever she was. Thinking for a moment, he finally looked at her, tears running down his face. "But... THIS ISN'T WHAT I WAS GOING TO TELL YOU ABOUT!" Nikko whined, clearly confused by the loud talking that he was doing. The words echoed for a second, bouncing off the walls and finally settling into the crevices of the room, working their way into the ears of himself. He threw his head back and wondered for a second if this was going to be yet another family dinner tragedy. Didn't she get what he was going to say.

"Dahlia! It's not about you or your new boyfriend. It's about the fact that he made fun of my dinosaur paper bag lunch box thing when we were in kindergarden. It's not fair! NOT FAIR, DAHLIA. NOT FAIR." And with that, Nikko sobbed.

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(((Fail post. I hate Nikko with Godspeed. XD)))

[Deleted]

"Nikko… you’re an idiot."

Dahlia was so irritated with her brother that it was a damn miracle she hadn’t punched him. However, her crash had siphoned much of her anger away, sending it in lingering swirls of black rage into the fading yellow air of the sunroom, leaving the raven-haired girl achy and tired more than infuriated. Pressing an olive-skinned hand against her forehead, Dahlia allowed herself to slump against the wall, the whitewashed wood cool against her shoulders. "I pour my heart out, and you want top talk about some stupid shit that went down between you and Trent in kindergarten?"

Her voice no longer held the acerbic bite it had possessed a few minutes ago, only mildly frustrated exhaustion. Dahlia’s headache had compounded to a horrific pulse that thrummed agony with every beat of her heart, the throbbing pain making her vision go a bit funny. Groaning feebly, she allowed herself to slide down to the floor, the skirt of her sundress pooling out around her in a cotton-candy puddle of gauzy cotton.

"Oh… Oh, my head…" she whimpered, cradling what felt like a flaming sphere sitting on top of her neck in her hands. The pain only grew worse, and Dahlia distantly wondered whether the rumors about LSD eating holes in your brain were actually true. It certainly felt like something inside her head was burning, this crash far worse than any other she’d ever had. She needed another hit as soon as possible, but she wasn’t all that sure she could muster up the physical strength to drag herself upstairs to where the bottle of pink capsules sat unassumingly on her dresser. There was only one option, and Nikko was so clueless that she wasn’t really in any danger. "Nikko, I’ve got some high-grade ibuprofen sitting on my dresser. I’ve got a horrible migraine; I don’t think I can go get it myself. It’s an orange plastic bottle full of pink pills."

She glanced up at him with tears of pain stinging her eyes, the agony in her head only getting worse. Dahlia usually didn’t cry, a trait she had picked up from spending her whole childhood playing with the boys, but oh, it hurt. "Please?"

She was able to drag herself over to one of the wicker sofas that sat in a shady area of the sunroom, curling up on the cushions that smelled like summer and laundry detergent. Dahlia clenched her eyes shut and tried to will the pain away as best she could, and the horrid ache lessened somewhat, enough that she could think. Her thoughts were simple, easy little things that she could string together without much effort, silly little musings that helped her keep her mind off the pulsing fire berating the inside of her skull.

This sucks. I hate family dinners. Why didn’t I bring more pills…

Why did I start taking the damn things? I didn’t know they’d give me headaches like this…

I really hope Nikko doesn’t notice that bottle doesn’t have a label on it. He’s a fucking moron, so I don’t think I have anything to worry about…

What happened to us?

But that thought went too deep, dredged up too many memories of baseball games and mud pies and bike riding that only gave Dahlia a pain in her heart as well as her head, so she pushed the question far from her mind.

[peanutpie]

Nikko wondered about his sisters need for asprin, but he blinked and with a grin, looked at Dahlia and nodded. "Sure sister!" The permenant smile on his face had returned as he turned on his heels out of the blue-tiled room, the soles of the blue leather shoes scraping the bright and shiny flooring, the patterns swirling under his toes. The shoestrings became untied as he meandered through the entryway, smiling at himself in the reflection of the mirror. His parents shot him an odd look as he walked through the dining room, not stopping to tell them what he was doing or where he was going. He trudged through the glass-welded hallways, trying to find some form of intrigue in the house that had worn steps on the stairs and other things.

Nikko's feet hit the top step as he finally stood at the top of the stairs. His sister's room was on the left, and his old one to the right. His parents were at the end and the guest rooms (there were two) were around a slight corner, along with a bathroom. Sure, Nikko had to walk to get to the bathroom as a child, but he didn't mind it. Living in a house like this, where he didn't have to share with anyone, had always been something he enjoyed. Trying to gain some form of sentiment, he snuck into his room first, flipping the light switch under his palms. The light flickered on, finally settling into a haze over the oddly-placed items in it. A black-framed bed had a haphazard jean quilt, placed around a few blankets and a dirty pillow. A fine layer of dust sat over a black desk. He ran his finger over the dust and looked at the paperback book flipped onto the bedside, upside down with the pages spraying out of it.

He blinked, recalling the book for a second. It was one that he had enjoyed much as a child, but he wouldn't have time to look at soon enough. He stuffed the book into his hands, trying to jam it's crevices into his palm without misplacing it. Finally, he took one last look at the room and walked across the hall, opening the door to Dahlia's room. But Dahlia's room was much more kept than Nikko's abandoned one, painted a bright daisy pink with white trim. Nikko shuffled through the room, which smelled faintly of vanilla and was decidebly clean. The desk was clear of everything but a few bottles of perfume and a spare hairbrush, and the bed was neatly made with millions of frothy pillows, covered in lace and such. The closet door was slightly open, revealing assortments of different colored pastels.

But, Nikko couldn't pay attention to the little details. Smiling at the desk, he rolled open the desk and was suddenly struck with a form of dust particles. Delayed reaction. Sneezing furiously, he grabbed the package of aprin, or whatever it was and popped open the top. Perhaps Dahlia wouldn't exactly mind if he borrowed some. Throwing a pink capsule into his mouth, he bit down on it and a liquid came out. He shuddered a bit, but then grabbed the box and hopped down the stairs with it in tow.

"Here, Dahlia. I had one, though, and it's giving me a little bit of a headache. They might be bad."

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[Deleted]

"You what?!" Dahlia screeched, sitting bolt upright on the couch even though the action sent stabs of agony roaring through her head. Eyes widened in panic, the dark-haired girl launched herself across the room and snatched the bottle from her brother's hands. "You idiot! Why would you do that?!"

The miserable pain sloshing around the inside of Dahlia's head was making her vision go funny again, prompting her stomach to feel queasy and restless. She pried off the top of the plastic container with shaking fingers, emptying a single pink capsule into her outstretched palm and popping it into her mouth. The small dosage against her built-up tolerance wasn't enough to make her high and blissful again, but it took enough of the edge off of her headache to allow her to continue berating Nikko for his stupidity. "Are you really that dumb? You're not supposed to take someone else's medicine!"

Pink-nailed hands wound their way frustratedly into raven locks as she paced back and forth, mumbling incoherently in a low growl that belied her irritation. This is bad. This is really bad. He knows. He knows and he's going to say something stupid and rat me out to Mom and Dad. Damn it. Damn it all!

"I swear, Nikko, if you tell Mom and Dad I will kill you with my bare hands," Dahlia snarled, rounding on her brother with a ferocious expression twisting her usually angelic features. However, her scowl softened when she noticed the pained look on Nikko's face, that same queasy-shaky-disoriented feeling that she'd gotten the first few time's she'd delved into the little pills. Sighing heavily and placing an olive-skinned hand on his upper arm, the younger Vea sibling led her brother to the couch where she'd recently been laying. "Here, sit. It'll be better in a second, once you get used to it."

Slumping down onto the comfortable cushioned surface next to Nikko, Dahlia chanced a sidelong glance in her brother's direction, accompanied by well cared-for white teeth gnawing nervously on her lower lip as fingers tangled themselves into a convoluted nest of flesh and bone in her lap. "So, I guess the cat's out of the bag. I'm... I take LSD. Regularly. And other stuff."

Dahlia fixed wide blue-grey eyes on the floor, unable to bear the shock and disappointment that Nikko was inevitably exuding at the moment, plucking absently at the thin cotton of her dress. "You don't have to worry or anything. I'm not off running around dark alleys trading under-table favors for drugs. I just take the stuff that Dad brings home from work, sneak it off a little bit at a time."

The statement wasn't truthful, but the words flowed over her lips with an ease that spoke only of easing Nikko's mind. There were times when her father went weeks without bringing any experiments home, and the withdrawal was so miserable that Dahlia was sometimes driven over to the wrong side of the tracks, skulking around shadowy places in the underbelly of the District looking for her fix. It was in one of these shadowed corners that she'd met Trent, whose brain was completely fried from years of chemical abuse but nevertheless was hot and more than willing to hook her up with some lab-grade stuff in exchange for a few hours of fun. Dahlia would have done anything at that moment to rid herself of the headaches and body tremors and cold sweats (she'd tried a low dosage of heroin a few days before and the longing was killing her), so she'd taken him up on his offer with no questions asked, and somewhere along the line the two of them had ended up a regular thing.

"I just... It makes things easier, you know?" she said softly, tanned hands smoothing wrinkles out of the candy-pink cotton that flowed over her lap. "I need something to help me live with myself. It's like I hate who I am without something to alter my reality."

And there were the tears again, stubbornly fogging her vision with hot, stinging sensations that felt like weakness. Clenching her fists and blinking fiercely, Dahlia attempted to swallow the lump in her throat as she looked up at her brother. "Nikko... I don't ask you for much. But please don't tell Mom and Dad. They wouldn't understand. I don't want them to worry, and I can take care of myself. So just please keep this quiet. Can you do that for me?"

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[peanutpie]

/\/ikko /-\lexander \/ea

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Don't blame the world, it's the DJ's fault, I save your soul, get on the floor. Thats how it goes, so stop looking for answers, because you don't know anything now...[/size][/color]

If Nikko had learned one thing from school, or anything, outside of the profession he made, it'd probably be to be a sensible person when it came to personal issues of people. Ignore them. Ignore the way people acted, because, honestly, their district was one that really didn't need to have a quick advancement of anger. Because, just like gasoline, the whole district might flame into something that could spike a rebellion against the leaders of the district.... And, with the mental state of the district, the whole district, nobody could afford to do anything with this fragile system. The crazies must remain in their place.

Of course, Nikko was only vaguely aware of how odd his motions and such were, only aware that Vicky had broken up with him for being different than everyone else. But, honestly, when he heard something about respecting other people, his mind was immediatley flustered by the first words that leaked from his sisters tounge. I guess it included something about the 'asprin' being really, LSD, some drug that caused happiness, apparently. According to his sister, who he couldn't really believe a majority of the time. Even as kids, Dahlia had been known for blotting the truth, though Nikko couldn't put his eyes on that at that moment. At that moment, me had about four things running through his head.

The first one would be considered his own self screwed. He was probably going to die from the so called aspirin. Sure, it wasn't exactly going to kill him, but still. It could possibly attack his nervous system, and then where would be be? Screwed, most likely. But, in his opinion, it couldn't exactly make you die.... Well, unless he poured something into the combonation. And sure as hell he wasn't planning on pouring some wine in his mouth any time soon. But as he blinked, he looked at Dahlia with a wondering expression, before mumbling something between his teeth. "Dahlliaaa. Am I going to die?" He said, his eyes filled with concern. Some people would be a little pitiful of the person, but others.... others might just go batshit on him and smack the guy straight in the cheek.

As Nikko fidgeted with the paper crowd on my head. As he looked at its paperyness, he wanted it to do something for him. And with that, he finally admitted to Dahlia, with a sigh, "What about this, Dahlia? If it doesn't kill me..." He twitched his hand nervously against his leg, his fingers moving in frustration around the fabric, twisting his fingers in it and then back out. He felt... dry. Like someone had wrung him out and left him out to draw. His eyes moving to the left, he tried to find some form of composure to keep himself from toppling over in the sofa. You know, an armrest or something? Because he was about ready to just go run into the dining room and start screaming to mother and father about "DAHLIA'S DRUGS. SHE HAS DRUGS!" But, instead of this, he swallowed and looked at Dahlia again.

"As long as it doesn't kill me, I won't tell, OK? But if I do.... die, I guess, then you have to promise to tell them, Dahlia. PROMISE."

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