Tense Present

Chapter 3

I'm lost.
"Is anyone even in this house?" I say as I continue walking. "WATARU!? MASAOMI!?" I yell, hoping one of them will know where I am and find me. . . . Do they have camera's in this place?
Eh.
"I should have brought Bruce or Cash with me." I say, throwing my hands up in defeat before sitting against the door, banging my head back a couple of times.
"Wh-AGH" I was going to whine about my situation, but I had apparently leaned against a door because it opened and I fell back. This caused me to be lying on the ground, looking straight up at the guy from my school who plays basketball.
"Huh, I forgot you were an Asahina. I'm Willow, your new sister!" I say and quickly jump up. He flushes red and shakes my hand.
"I'm Subaru..... I know who you are, you're the girl that is so ahead in school that the teachers don't even care when you skip classes." He says and I raise an eyebrow while glancing at his sweaty hand that has failed to release mine.
"Yeah, I've got work to do, but I get school done too..... They know my situation. Now, how do I get to the living room?" I ask sweetly
"I- I'll show you." He says and walks out of his room, closing the door behind him. "Thank you! And, what time is it?" I ask "I don't have my phone, did yours die?" He asks. "Hehe, nooooooo, I just may have put it in one of the boxes while I was packing." I say and he nods.
Once we arrive in the living room, I see my four boxes and quickly go to the one full of paint and my phone. I check the time and jump up. "Are you alright?" A blonde man with glasses asks me as about five more people walk into the room with Masaomi and Wataru.
"Yeah, I just didn't realise it had taken so long to repair my bike. I have to go to work, so I'll be back at about 4 in the morning. And Incase you are all asleep, can you please make a sticky note trail to my room?" I say sweetly while pulling my keys from my pocket.
"You have a job?" Masaomi asks.
"Kind of. My dad sends in money for rent, so I moved into a small apartment. My job is watching my friends' daughters. She works nights at a couple of restaurants, so I watch her daughters. Then, during the day, I work at animal shelters and soup kitchens and every once in a while, the animal hospital calls me for help," I say and grab my wallet. "Do you need a ride?" A blonde one asks.
"Nope, got my motorcycle, thanks though. Now, I need names." I say and he smirks.
"I'm Ukyo. That is Kaname, Iori, Louis, and Yusuke." The blonde says, gesturing to the others.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Willow. Is anyone in this house hold allergic to dogs?" I ask, "No, why?" Masaomi says and I smirk.
"Because I have two black labs that are freaking out." I say, looking at the text from Libia.
"How about you bring them here, that way you can meet the rest of us," Ukyo suggests as two others walk in. "Umm, I'm not s-" I start, but get cut off by a text from Libia.

‘Hey, my shift got cancelled, have fun and bond. Try to get to the point where you can tell them. Bye, see you tomorrow.’

I look down at my black thigh-high boots, red short shorts, and white, skin tight jacket. Well, I'm not physically comfortable, but I'm mentally safe. "Nevermind, her shift got cancel-oh. Hello?" I say as a silver head hugs me. "Knock it off, Subaki. Hi, you must be Willow. I'm Azusa and this is Subaki." A boy with dark blue hair says.
"Hi," I say with a small wave. "Well, you've now met everyone except, Hikaru, Natsume, and the the popstar of the family, Fuuto." Masaomi says. "Fuuto?" I question with a slight tone of anger in my voice. "Sounds like you know him," Kaname chuckles.
"I'm one year younger than him and while we were in class together, all he ever did was harass me about my eyes." I growl, pushing my hair away from my face to reveal my pink eye that clashes with the other that was orange.
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO PUNCHED HIM IN THE FACE!!" Azusa and Subaki yell in fits of laughter."Yes, I do believe that was the first time I ever saw a boy cry," I say, tapping my chin, earning chuckles."I remember that call, very nice." Masaomi smirks.
"Alright, it is 4:30 and I have a room to paint," I say and grab my box of paints when something lands on my shoulder. "There is a bird on your shoulder." Louis says.
"Oh, and here I thought it was a snake," I say sarcastically before looking at my shoulder to see Namjoon, my parrot. And yes, she is named after a member of my favourite band, BTS. Kim Namjoon can only blame himself for that dance move in BaepSae.
"So, they let you out of the vet?" I ask."No." Namjoon replies and my brothers all gasp.
"She's a parrot. She can answer yes or no questions." I say and look back at my annoying bird.
"So, your wings aren't clipped?" I ask. "No," she replies and I nod. "Figured. These are most of my brothers, by the way," I say nodding to all of the males. "Older brothers and younger brother, this is Namjoon and she doesn't like males." I say
"Animals usually like me~" Louis says, walking over to me. Once he is within three feet, Namjoon ruffles her feathers and starts screeching at him."She might like you if you aren't around me. Namjoon is my momma bear." I say earning nods.
"Okay, soooooo, I'm going to get my stuff up to my room, then we can talk." I say and set my paint box on a tote of my clothes before grabbing the tote and carrying both towards the stairs.
"I'll help." Subaru says as the tote and box are removed from my hands.
"We'll be right back!" Subaki says as he, Azusa, and Kaname take up my last couple of boxes. "This is going to take a lot of getting used to," I sigh. "What is?" Louis asks as I plop on the couch.
"Down time. I'm too used to being the one who does everything around the house, but now I have family to help. Maybe I'll finally learn how to make a cake." I say and a chorus of chuckles erupt from the boys.
"How often does your dad come to see you?" Masaomi asks and I grimace, “Um, he doesn’t?” I mumble and everyone nods, deciding not to delve any deeper. "Alright.... Um, how are you doing with your school work?" Masaomi asks awkwardly. "She's a freaking legend!" Yusuke exclaims, running down the stairs with his brothers on his trail.
"What does that mean?" Ukyo asks. "She shows up for about an hour a day to complete her work, then she leaves. Yet, she has the highest grades in the school, not to mention that she is in all advanced classes." Subaru says before blushing at his fangirl moment.
"So I am possibly a genius, that's not important. That was just a quick way to avoid school. College is there if I feel like applying, but as of now, I don't plan on going to any college." I say and their eyes widen.
"Are you sure you aren't a princess?" Wataru asks. "Maybe of clumsiness, depression, and medical problems." I mumble and he tilts his head in confusion, so I quickly smile and jump up while swinging him in my arms.
"Well, I guess since my brother is a prince, that makes me a princess!" I say happily and tickle him. "S-s-st-stop! I'M G-Go-nnA PeE!" He yells and I chuckle before tossing him on to the couch.
Once he calms down, I look at him and wiggle my fingers, resulting in a scream as he jumps up and runs away.
"Well, you're great with kids, that's for sure," Kaname says and winks at me. "Ever planned on having any?" Subaki questions, slinging his arm over my shoulder."Meh, I'm like another mom to Libias daughters, so I have no choice but to be good with kids. And I have thought about it, but with my medical problems, there would be a lot of complications." I say and he looks a little shocked that I answered.
"What kind of medical problems?" Masaomi asks. "A lot. I would show you my records, but they're in America… With my doctor that I haven't seen in about 8 years. Those aren't even updated." I say and lay on the ground.
"You're from America? Does that mean you speak English?" Subaru asks and Yusuke suddenly bursts into laughter. "You were in that class, weren't you?" I say and he nods before looking to our brothers. "We were in English class on the first day, and Caroline walks in and asks for her work in Japanese. The teacher looked at her and said 'no Japanese', so she busted out in full on Korean. And when the teachers jaw dropped, she switched to French!" Yusuke exclaims and I just lay my face on the floor.
"You seem to be a sweet girl, but I feel there is another side to you." Masaomi says.
"That day, Libia went into labour and I'm her midwife. So I was kind of in a rush since she wouldn't let me into the room if I hadn't done my work." I say and their eyes-once again- widen.
"How old is Libia?" Ukyo asks. "20." I say and get up, walking to the kitchen.
Once they recover from their shock, they follow me and stand outside the doorway.
"How old are her daughters?" Kaname asks.
"Samantha, is almost 2 months while Taylor, is five years old," I say and pull hamburger meat from the fridge with cheese. "Have you guys ever had tacos before?" I ask, eyeing them. "Noooo, why?" Ukyo says. "Because you have the stuff for it, I'll just have to make the seasoning." I say and grab a large pan from under the oven.
"You don't have to cook, that's my job." Ukyo starts, but I silence him by putting my hand up. "No, your job is being a lawyer. You were one of my friends lawyers during a case that ended in a mis-trial." I say with a grin.
"Oh, wow, you know a lot more than I gave you credit for." He says and backs away. "Meh, it happens. I know a lot about everyone in this family that has a job. Masaomi= pediatrician. Azusa and Subaki= voice actors. Natsume= game creator for Libias favourite company. Ukyo=lawyer. Louis=hair stylist. And then there is Hikaru. The drag queen." I say and everyone bursts into fits of laughter.
"I don't know why you are laughing. The moment I meet him, I'm asking for a make-up tutorial,"