'Did you ever think, or even wonder, how such things would affect me?'
Henry finished his shift. It was already quite late as he stepped out of the restaurant he worked at, finishing his shift and cleaning up. It was already past midnight, and he sadly knew that his sister would be awake, waiting for him as usual.
He sighed, before straightening himself up again and put in his earbuds, letting the music drown out his thoughts as he walked through the dark streets – Henry didn't focus on much around him, zeroing in on getting home as soon as he can, ignoring the slight pit of unease that formed in the base of his stomach as he continued walking. Pace brisk, and the cold wind of the evening kept him from overheating which he was grateful for.
He could still feel the griminess from his shift, the greasiness of his skin and the faint stickiness of his sweat, he opted to ignore it – having been a long day, and he distantly felt his stomach rumble.
The streets turned familiar, but the sense of unease grew slightly, Henry's gaze darted around. There was nothing to be seen, and no one else out around this area where he lived. The area in which he and his sister, Olena, lived in was not a bad area – it was mostly filled with elderly people, young families and student housing. Although it was not necessarily known as a rough area, there had been an increased amount of crime in the town as a whole.
Henry reached into his pocket, taking solace in feeling that his keys were in his pocket – he felt the key to his front door, and took out an ear bud; eyes darting around and looking into the darker areas, hidden by shadows and away from the light. Making sure he couldn't see nor sense any unfamiliar or sudden movements.
Henry hated this feeling, even if he was sure nothing was there, nor that anyone was following him, the unease reached a peak as he rushed himself through the door and promptly turned, shutting and locking the door. Pausing for a moment before he checked that he locked the door again.
"You're home. That's good, food's in the microwave," Olena spoke quietly, and Henry could tell that she was tired.
"Thanks, how was work today?"
"It was fine, no complaints. Less annoying than before."
"How come? Is that prick not giving you any trouble anymore?"
Olena glanced over her shoulder at him, "Yes, surprisingly. He even went to class today, and had breakfast with Delano and his brother – I've never seen that man smile more."
Henry looked at her, surprised, "Really? He can't have changed overnight like that?"
Olena nodded, her expression contemplative, "He does seem to have though, I'd even go as far as to say he was awkward around me too – especially after I fixed up his wounds yesterday."
Henry's brows furrowed, "His wounds?"
"Yeah, he had come back the night before with his face all banged up, a bruise and cut on his–"
"I'm sorry, that's him?!"
Olena glanced at him, looking at her brother's surprised expression, "What do you mean?"
Henry started heating up the microwaves, his mind moving quickly, and making links to the man he took the elevator with earlier during the day, "What was he wearing today?"
"Why is that relevant?"
"Humour me."
"He was wearing something relatively simple today, looking clean, a t-shirt, and jeans, with a leather jacket."
Henry's mouth dropped slightly.
The microwave dinged, and Henry gingerly took the food out, mind still moving fast.
Olena noticed this weird reaction and turned around to face Henry, "What's the big deal?"
"I think… I think he's in my class," Henry whispered.
"What?"
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Declan was trying to figure out what happened to change his brother's behaviour, it was a bit unnerving. Noticing this change, and while he and his brother never got along since the death of their mother, he never really thought much about the other apart from the other being a spoilt brat, like he'd assume most younger siblings were.
Breakfast was indeed an awkward affair, but it seemed that Leo was at least happy indulging their father in the light topics of conversation – their father's desperation irked Declan quite a bit. Not to say he didn't understand, and it had been a few long years, with their father waiting for Leo to 'come around' as he would put it.
Declan sighed again, rubbing his temples as he tried to ignore Leo's new change in behaviour, focusing on the documents in front of him. Tired, was his constant state and the migraine he had seemed to be getting more aggressive – the slight pulsing was putting him off. Declan leant back in his chair with a groan, before opting to get up slowly and opening a window in his office, letting the fresh air circulate in his room.
The day continued on in a blur and it was early evening by the time he got home, and as usual he was on time for dinner – but it seemed that the early morning awkwardness was to continue, Leo was there. Sitting with their father, waiting for him.
Declan's eyes darkened slightly, and a slight flash of annoyance flickered in his grey eyes as he set his bag down and let his coat be taken by the maid.
"Leo, father, you're both here."
Leo turned and looked at him, the usual smugness that Declan had grown accustomed to was not there anymore, and even his tone seemed to lack its usual snarkiness and sharpness as he responded, "Yeah. How was work?"
Declan hid his surprise, sitting down before responding, "Work was work, how was class? It's the first one you've properly attended to in a while," Declan noted, tone mildly accusatory.
Leo winced, barely, "Yeah, class was good. Been getting back into things, I figured I've faffed around enough."
Declan smiled mockingly, tone thick with derision, "Oh, really?"
"Boys, settle down," their father spoke, tone slightly admonishing.