Requiem

59

Gretchen was halfway through trying to make something for dinner; it wasn't that she didn't trust Liesel to cook, far from it when she did cook, she was a pretty good one. But what she found annoying, was when Liesel cleaned up after herself and put things away in the wrong places. Such a moment was happening, Gretchen peeked out of a cupboard at the sounds of frantic knocking on the front door. This in itself was irregular. Liesel had friends, friends who were hidden, Gretchen had work friends who never came around. It was a weird thing, but she honestly didn't like people coming around her house. She didn't like people in her house, despite them being people she'd worked with for years. She supposed it was an anxiety thing. What if they'd judge her simple home? What if they did something to something else, and so on.

So, with a knife in hand, after she'd found it in a cupboard! Why would Liesel put it there for, she didn't know; but she walked along the corridor, knife in one hand, something to sharpen it on in the other, and flung the door open. Her grey blue eyes blinked as she looked at the group of males. They in return looked at her with worried glances, "Good afternoon," she smiled and kept the knife up so they could see it. If they were going to break in and steal things, she was going to fight them every step of the way. Not that she was much of a fighter, but she could try. Where was Liesel when she needed her? She would've been useful around about now.

"Gretchen?" Her eyes snapped to look at the shorter male at the front. She narrowed her eyes and looked him up and down. Brown wavy hair, blue eyes, a small, trimmed beard across his jaw. No, she didn't rightly recognise him. "Gretchen, it's me, Charles." He said, English accent almost sounding pleading as he put a hand to his chest and looked at her with wide imploring eyes, he was seemingly begging with her to recognise him, to remember him.

"Eh?!" She basically yelled and shuffled backwards in the small corridor and beckoned them all into the home, with the knife. Hesitantly they did so, making sure to keep away from her. She slammed the door and managed to edge around them and moved into the living room. She nodded and then looked about when they were still looking at her oddly. Looking to the knife, she laughed. "Dinner!" She explained with a grin. "I was...what are you doing here?" Gretchen darted off to the kitchen, despite being called at not to run with the knife, and returned. She sat down in a seat near the small fireplace and looked to the men, who only just managed to find places to sit. "We have not heard from you in...years," Gretchen said while narrowing her eyes in thought, which was true. She was really, very confused. She gave up explaining the fact she was in the middle of making dinner, and focused on the man who had bought her sister back to her. Only, what she said was true, neither had heard from him for so long. It had disheartened Liesel, even if she tried to put on a façade of nonchalance, losing the Englishman as a friend hurt her.

"Yes, I know. I am sorry." Charles said while hesitantly moving to the edge of the seat on the sofa. He sounded rushed, rushed but also honest. So much had happened that really, he didn't mean to lose contact with the twins, it was just one of those things that happened.

Gretchen looked him up and down, he looked exhausted. Truly and utterly exhausted. "So-"

"Plagiarism!" Came a shouted voice from the corridor, Gretchen's eyes widened and she stood up suddenly. Although she wanted her sister home, perhaps now wasn't the right timing? Even more so considering she sounded livid. Fidgeting from foot to foot, Gretchen looked towards the door. She could hear Liesel shuffling about out there, Gretchen wasn't sure what she was doing, but the fact that her appearing was being dragged out made her feel more nervous. Liesel did have a way of sometimes reacting badly. "Me? Me?! Plagiarise someone else? What the actual heck? I mean me...do I honestly look like a copycat? Oh, yes, I like what you're doing there, please excuse me as I jump on your bandwagon and totally rip you off!" The voice got louder before the owner swung around into the room, and then that was precisely when the owner turned and walked back out of the room. She caught sight of the gathered males, her sister standing awkwardly, and just turned and disappeared again.