Cracks of a Mirror

"It's been a while, brother."

Ethan felt slightly dumbfounded upon standing at the decked out venue. Everything looked so, well, floral, that he wondered if he'd driven four hours to the wrong place. But then came the effortlessly intense laughter, mixed with a husky voice he knew so well it hurt, and he knew he couldn't be. Ethan braced himself as he heard the voice approaching closer and closer, until he could smell the scent of strong cologne - a scent of nostalgia, for Grayson hadn't purchased a new one it seemed. He clenched his fists, cleared his throat, preparing himself for the confrontation he had avoided for seven years.

"Gray -" He began, before the words caught in his throat as his brother's strong body merely collided with him before moving on and speaking to the man behind him. He blinked, heat rushing to his face, then neck, then consuming his ears. Before he could register what had just occurred, a feminine hand was pulling him to the side.

"Ethan you son of a bitch."

Ethan snapped out of it in a heartbeat upon seeing hearing that snarl. Cameron.

"Hello to you too, sis."

Cameron smacked him upside the head. "It's been seven fucking years and that's all you've got to say?" She glanced him up and down, before twirling him around. He slapped her hands away.

"Huh. In seven years I thought you would've became a hermit or a shaman or something but you look virtually the same."

"I've grown two and a half inches -" He began defensively when Cameron interrupted. "- And you've cut your hair and shaved off your prepubescent facial hair(finally). Yes. I notice."

Ethan's features softened. He smiled genuinely, pulling his sister close. "I missed you too."

Cameron didn't stay soft for long. She pushed him off, nodding towards the slightly elevated stage in the middle of the venue. Grayson stood tall and handsome, his muscular arms wrapped around the thin waist of a blonde woman - Eliza Wells.

"They look good together." Ethan commented, his voice strained.

Cameron smiled knowingly. "They do. He looks happy."

"He does."

"Liar."

Ethan frowned, looking away from the stage to look at his sister. She had an omniscient look in her hazel eyes.

"You and I both know Grayson inside out, Ethan -"

"- I haven't seen him in seven years, Cam. I don't know him."

"Put down your mask for a second, Ethan. For a second, just let me see beneath this façade of indifference you've put up. Look, I don't know your reasons or your situation. But you're my little brother, I know you."

Ethan was breathing hard. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying, look at him Ethan. Does he look happy to you?"

Ethan glanced at the tall handsome man on stage, smiling wide-toothed and all. He looked at the boy intently, at the way his eyes drooped despite his smiling cheeks, at the way his hands quivered despite firmly holding his bride.

"No."

Cameron smiled. She removed her hands from her little brother, turning to leave. "I'll be at the candy bar if you need more insight, little bro."

Ethan closed his eyes, feeling too many emotions too fast. He kissed his mom on the cheek, excusing himself from the engagement ceremony. He trudged off the venue, towards the grand cabins in the distance.

He reached Room101 and opened the door. Without a second moment wasted, he fell back onto the bed, burying his face in his hands. He couldn't stop thinking about that look, that look of forced happiness upon his brother's features. He didn't like it. He didn't want Grayson to ever look like that.

In midst of his thoughts, Ethan didn't notice the door to his cabin creak open. Only when it slammed shut, introducing a new individual in his room, did he snap up from his position.

Ethan went pale.

"Gray -" Ethan didn't have a chance to finish before Grayson had circled his wrist in his large hands and pulled him off the bed. He groaned when Grayson slammed him against the cabin door, pinning his wrists above his head.

"It's been a while, brother."