Spotlights

Mended Relationships

Connor was pacing around his room, repeatedly running his left hand through his hair while Zoe sat on his bed yelling for him to stop. 

"You idiot, I've had to fix it like ten times now!" she complained, rolling her eyes. 

"Sorry." Connor muttered, shoving the hand in his pocket instead. He moved to sit on the bed beside her, and didn't say anything when she stood and began messing with his tangled hair. 

"What if I sent you to prom with space buns?" 

"Don't you dare." Connor growled, a smile twitching on his face. He'd been doing his best to mend his broken relationship with Zoe. Despite years of hatred towards each other, he was still her brother, and he still cared. 

"Fine, I won't. If..." Zoe dragged out, a grin on her face. 

"If what?" 

"If you tell me who your going to prom with!" she said, sitting back on the bed next to him. 

"No- OW!" Connor yelled, pulling away when she sharply tugged a strand of his hair, "What the hell was that for!" 

Zoe simply shrugged, "Because you're being a secretive bastard and it's stupid." 

Connor rolled his eyes as she pulled him back towards her. He didn't know why he was being so stubborn about not telling her, maybe it was just to piss her off. Old habits die hard, after all. 

"Never mind, I'll figure it out soon enough." she grumbled, grabbing something off his desk before returning beside him. Connor felt his hair being gathered together and he panicked thinking Zoe returned to her earlier promise of giving him space buns. While he wasn't completely opposed to the idea, tonight was not the night. 

"Zoe Murphy, I swear to God-" he seethed before she cut him off. 

"Relax, I'm only putting your ugly ass hair into a single bun. Can you just be chill for once?" she said, and Connor ignored the insult to his hair. 

"Whatever." 

It was another five minutes of silence, Zoe working away, before she pulled back and clapped her hands together in accomplishment. 

"Alright! I've managed to make you look a little less like a demon!" she chirped. 

Connor stood off the bed, glancing over to the mirror on the wall. He almost wanted to undo it all because of the soul fact that she was right. He didn't look like himself. Connor had actually made the effort to drag himself out of bed this morning with some form of enthusiasm, hell he'd asked Zoe for help getting ready. And here he was, staring at the results. And if Connor was being honest with himself, he didn't hate it. 

"You ready to go?" he asked Zoe. She'd gotten ready before him, had actually made an effort to go out shopping for dresses with her friends while Connor had simply pulled out whatever looked half decent in his closet. He'd grown to hate formal wear after so many years of being forced into countless suits, jackets, shoes that pinched his feet.  

"You're wearing that?" Zoe asked, crossing her arms. 

"Hell yeah I am." Connor smirked, and his sister returned it. Maybe he wasn't so bad at this whole brother thing. 

"Well then let's go, idiot." she said, brushing past him. 

"Fuck you!" he called down the hall, ignoring his father's distant remark. She flipped him off in response and something in Connor ignited as he realized for the first time in years, he hadn't meant it.