hearts of metal

iv. i'm too young to die

A few days passed, and Aelin fell into a routine. She woke up and made breakfast most mornings, much to the delight of the twins and her cousin. Rhoe usually avoided breakfast, hiding away in his office on the second floor.

Fenrys had quickly become her friend. He was easy going and cheerful, and she felt most at ease with him. She and him would tease each other over breakfast, and Aelin could feel herself relaxing as they did. It was comfortable and familiar, a reminder of how she used to be before Sam died.

Aedion had been amused by their banter until it had slipped into a kind of semi-flirting, upon which he'd started grumbling and flashing glares.

Connal was quiet, but had started to talk more around her. He seemed to be quite observant, watching her with careful eyes that made her a bit wary of her secrets.

The others hadn't been around. Apparently, they'd been banished to their own homes to give her some space.

After breakfast, she would read till lunch, normally made by Connal. Her father would join them as they ate, and everyone would disperse after. Her father, Aedion, and sometimes one or more of the twins would head up to Rhoe's office for "business stuff." They were incredibly vague about it, which only mounted Aelin's suspicions.

She found various ways to entertain herself the rest of the day, often hanging out with the twins once dinner drew around.

At night, she would check her room once for any signs of people breaking in and going through her stuff. More of a habit than anything, since no one in the house seemed inclined to spy on her. She would double check that all her weapons were still hidden in place, and finally drift off into a haunted sleep.

On the fourth day, her routine was interrupted by Vaughan marching through the door after breakfast, finding her and the twins on the couch.

"Sup, bitches," he yelled. "We're going shopping."

Fenrys and Connal exchanged a glance over Aelin's head. Fenrys in amusement, while Connal in alarm.

"Shopping?" Aelin asked hesitantly.

Vaughan nodded. "Aedion told me you had one duffel bag of clothes? Absolutely unacceptable. Get your butt off that couch," he said sternly, but with a smile on his face.

Aelin stood up, as the twins followed suit. Vaughan wrangled all of them into the car, despite Connal's protests.

The drive there was...frightening. Vaughan wouldn't stop talking as he drove and kept getting distracted. He made quite a few sharp, last minute turns, which caused Con to close his eyes tightly and mutter, "I'm too young to die," repeatedly.

"You're also too pretty to die," said Vaughan once, with a wink at Connal in the passenger seat. Con blushed slightly.

That was before Aelin saw the light ahead turn red, and she yelled to warn Vaughan. He slammed the brakes and they slid to a halt right before the intersection.

"You're a shit driver, you know that?" said Fenrys, but he didn't seem as worried as his twin. Instead, he was laughing at Connal's reactions.

Vaughan grinned at Fenrys. "I'm a fun driver, actually."

"What's fun about nearly dying?" Con asked.

"The rush," Vaughan answered.

And although Aelin agreed, dying in the car was not the way she wanted to go. They did make it to the mall alive, somehow.

"Oh, thank god," Con muttered, climbing out of the car.

"Why do you even let him drive?" Aelin asked him.