Kingston Academy

EIGHTY-FOUR

This was the first time in a while his brothers and him were in a strange atmosphere.

Not too long ago, Niven decided to come back to his brothers' dorm without letting either of them know. Levi was a little startled and didn't really know if he should send Niven back since he was in a bad mood.

Though Niven simply walked right in without letting Levi say anything. Once he entered their living room, he found Simeon sprayed all over the sofa, messing around a bouquet of flowers.

When Simeon noticed him, he instantly sat straight up and was about to stand when Niven gestured a hand for him to stay. Levi walked over and sat down right next to his twin, placing a leg over the other and patiently waited for Niven to speak.

"I just came to talk, Brother."

Simeon slowly sat back down, highly curious. "What for?"

"I came by earlier as well to apologize for avoiding you two lately, but Levi was preoccupied with Noah's company so I didn't want to bother."

Levi's blank expression shifted immediately. He suddenly felt sick with apprehension, already wanting to stop the conversation.

Simeon looked at his twin. "You had Noah over?"

"Briefly," Levi replied stiffly. "We didn't talk much."

"I should beg to differ." Niven's smile dropped a little. "I actually wanted to talk to you about your conversation with Noah."

"What did you two discuss?" Simeon asked Levi.

He didn't get a response. Instead, Levi had an odd look in his violet eyes. For a second, Simeon thought he looked incredibly fearful, but when he checked again that look wasn't there. He thought he'd seen wrong.

"Simeon?"

The male turned his attention back to Niven. The boy sitting across from them looked unsure about something. Niven was hesitating to continue, but then he gave a small sigh.

"How much do you and Levi love me?"

Simeon was bewildered by that question. He gave Niven a look and responded, "Don't you know already? We've told you before. We'd do anything for you."

From that, Niven grew even more tired than he originally had been for the past two weeks. He couldn't keep his smile up any longer and only stared at his stepbrothers with a look they've never received before.

"How much do you love me?" Niven suddenly repeated. This time, he looked directly at his eldest brother.

"I... don't think we understand. I love you just as much as Simeon-"

"So you'd also change his future just for your own benefit?"

In a second, the twins' faces grew increasingly pale and their hearts almost stopped beating. Simeon felt his blood run cold at Niven's distant voice, finding it hard to allow himself to breathe.

Niven didn't spare them a moment and muttered out, "You love me just as much as Simeon then why don't you also go ahead and try to monopolize him like you two have tried doing with me? Honestly... you two are insane."

Levi was instantly crushed and found himself completely at a loss for words. He began to stutter out any excuse he could think of, yet his voice trailed off due to his mind being occupied with extreme paranoia.

Seeing his brother grow crestfallen and silent, Simeon took it upon himself to fix the situation.

"Niven, you don't know what you're talking about." Simeon forced a smile, but it was strained. "Why would we do something like that? I know we seem overprotective, but we wouldn't do anything to tie you up to ourselves."