The Perfect Harmony

♡ Chapter 7 ♡

♡ CHAPTER SEVEN ♡

"Bryce, not now!" Brandon hissed. The boy standing in front of them looked like he was about twelve years old. He had chocolate-colored curly hair that was starting to grow a bit long. He wore a gray v-neck shirt with some ironman pajamas. He had the same skin tone as Brandon but he had brown eyes.

"Why not? Were you two busy?" Bryce smirked. He had the same mischievous/knowing smirk as Brandon.

"No, we weren't." Ariana interjected. Brandon narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips.

"Who are you and why are you in my brothers room?" Bryce asked. Ariana stepped forward slightly.

"I'm Ariana. I'm a friend of your brothers." She smiled. Bryce scanned her face, then squinted his eyes at her. And then, he beamed.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Bryce Davis," He bowed just like his older brother. "At your service." When he stood up again, he told Brandon "behave yourself," and then skipped back to his room. Ariana closed the door.

"I'm sorry, he's--"

"You're so much like your brother!" Ariana exclaimed. Brandon's expression turned into a scowl.

"No, I'm not like my brother. And he isn't like me." He said. He sat himself down on his bed after grabbing Percy.

Ariana felt nervous, since Brandon seemed to be in a bad mood suddenly. But when he looked back up, he had a gigantic smile on his face.

"I'll wash the sticks," he stated as he left the room. Ariana looked at Percy who was fast asleep. And then her eyes drifted to the picture on Brandon's bedside table.

It was a picture of Brandon's family. His mom looked younger, and had a bright smile on her face as she had her arms over the shoulders of two young boys.

The one on the left of his mother had curly hair and looked around six years old. He had childish features and two missing front teeth.

The one on the right side of his mother had dark hair that was cut short. He had bright eyes and looked like he was ten years old. Ariana recognized which one was Bryce and which one was Brandon.

The bedroom door swung open but Ariana didn't turn around. She continued to stare at the simple picture in front of her.

She heard Brandon's light footsteps as he set down the Popsicle sticks on his table. Suddenly, she heard a long sigh coming from right behind her.

"That picture was taken six years ago," Brandon said quietly. Ariana simply nodded slightly as she turned to come face-to-face with Brandon.

Ariana was taken aback as she saw how close they now were. Their noses were only centimeters apart. Neither of them said anything, until Ariana stepped aside and walked to his study table.

"Come on, lets get to work." And so they did. They glued the seashells at the top of each Popsicle stick and let them dry. By the time they were done, Percy had woken up and nudged Ariana's leg.

"Oh, hey boy!" She lifted Percy up in her arms. To her surprise, Percy squirmed away and went under Brandon's bed. Ariana frowned.

"He hates me," she whispered dramatically. Brandon laughed.

"Seashell, he doesn't hate you. You're overreacting." He chuckled. Ariana heard weird sounds under Brandon's bed, like wood was being dropped on the floor or something.

Brandon stood up to check what Percy was doing. He bent down as Ariana peered over to see what was going on. When Brandon stood up again, he had a guitar in one hand, Percy in the other, and the biggest smile on his face.