Tainted Innocence

Chapter III

I hope you still enjoy reading this little fanfic of mine.

Have fun with chapter number three.

Chapter III

The next time she saw him his face was still pale, but he had gained a bit of weight so that it didn't appear as gaunt as it had before. No doubt the result of the Wilde's cook, Misses Peters. Xander pushed his glasses up his nose as he made his way down the stairs to greet Lynn and her parents.

"I hope you had a pleasant journey.", he said, looking at her expectantly.

Lynn pulled a face.

"Not very much. It was downright boring. I forgot my book at home and staring out of a car window while it's raining and the sky's grey isn't really interesting.", she answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Then I'll be happy to relieve your boredom. I got something that I need to show you. I would like to hear your opinion.", Xander said, the barely suppressed anticipation causing his voice to become slightly higher than it normally was.

"After lunch, that is.", he added as he caught the stern glance of his adoptive mother who'd just come to welcome her guests.

Anne led them into the dining room and just like a month before they sat down to eat.

"Where's Henry?", Lynn asked curiously since Anne's husband hadn't been there to greet them.

"He's at work. That darn project of his is causing trouble again and now he's forced to work extra hours. He won't come home for the weekend.", Anne answered her, sounding irritated. Lynn was quite sure that they'd yet again had an argument about his working hours prior to their arrival. Henry was an architect and quite known for his buildings. If Lynn remembered correctly his newest project was all about building a huge, modern mall in Manhattan. However, his love for his work had resulted in dedicating much of his time to it, which consequently irked his wife.

"Father's project is in fact quite interesting. I would be working extra hours too to finally see it progress towards its completion.", Xander chipped in, obviously oblivious to his foster mother's mindset about the matter.

"Judging from your enthusiasm, you want to follow in your father's footsteps?", Lynn's father asked the boy interestedly.

"I wouldn't exclude the possibility, Sir, but I've recently found myself drawn to the field of electrical engineering.", he responded quietly. "As it is we are waisting too much of our resources to produce energy. There have to be other ways to generate..."

Lynn stifled a yawn and stopped listening to Xander's ramblings. Once again she was alienated by the way he spoke and the topics he deemed interesting. The boys in her class talked about the latest baseball matches, video games and famous bands which was kind of boring too, but not as disconcerting as Xander's hobbies.

Lynn bit her lower lip. Whenever he spoke, he made her feel dull and that was something she just didn't want to be.

*

After lunch she disgruntedly followed him up the stairs to his room. The first time she'd stepped inside his bedroom she hadn't paid much attention to it and since they hadn't spent the Christmas holidays here, it was only now that Lynn could let her eyes roam over his place. It was almost like a mirror of his character traits. His bed was neatly made, the floor was clean of any worn clothes. There were no toy cars, no stuffed animals, hell, he didn't even own a games console.

In one of the corners, however, stood a massive book shelf, packed to the top with hard and soft covers. Most of the books non-fictional. Next to the book shelf she spotted a hi-fi system on a dresser and a few CDs, sorted into a CD rack. Maybe they could at least listen to some music.