{ they are back / with Lenore }
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Siblings fight. That’s just how it is.
They bicker, they push, they test each other’s limits… They pretend not to care, roll their eyes, act like the other is just an inconvenient person in their lives. Sometimes that is… But beneath all of it, beneath the teasing, the arguing, the long stretches of silence when words go unsaid there’s something unshakable.
A home that no amount of distance could truly take away.
Hayes had always been a little distant. Even when they were younger, he was the quiet one, the one who thought too much, who spent too much time in his own head. And Lenore, well, she had always been the one to pull him out of it. The one who would throw herself into his space, never letting him sink too far. Never letting him be alone. When he came back to this school at the start of the year, he had avoided her. Avoided everyone, really, but it had stung the most with her. He could tell she noticed. Could tell she knew. Lenore had always been sharp like that, picking up on things most people missed. She didn’t call him out on it, not outright, but he felt it. The way she had stopped seeking him out as much. The way she didn’t push when he clearly didn’t want to be found and maybe that’s what hurt the most. Maybe that’s why, the moment he left Inessa standing in the hallway, his heart was already pounding in his chest. He needed to find his sister next.
He walked fast, but not in a way that seemed frantic, just… focused. The hallways were starting to fill again, students moving like nothing had happened, like this was normal… And maybe, in a way, it was. His watch bounced against his wrist with every step. A stupid thing, really if it weren’t for little charms Lenore had made for him years ago. The charms clinked softly against each other as he moved through the halls, turning corners, eyes flicking through every face he passed. He wasn’t even sure what he was going to say when he found her but he had to. Had to see for himself that she was okay.
And then, finally he spotted her. She was standing just outside one of the classrooms, looking as if she hadn’t just disappeared for an entire day. Like she hadn’t been one of them. The relief was instant, but it didn’t come alone… becaue there was also anger. The kind that wasn’t really anger at all.. more fear.
The first thing out of his mouth when he approached her was, ”You never listen.“ His voice was sharp. Too sharp. But it had been building, sitting in his throat. He didn’t stop walking until he was right in front of her, standing too close, jaw tight. ”I told you not to come here,“ the words left him before he could think better of them, but his face showed no anger, at least he tried not to let it show. That’s just not who Hayes was… He knew it wasn’t fair. She had every right to be here, just as much as anyone else, just as much as he did. But that didn’t stop the words.
”I told you..“ He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. He ran a hand over his face, through his hair, dragging the tension with him. He wasn’t yelling… His voice wasn’t loud, but it was heavy. Like he didn’t even know what to do with all the things he wanted to say but couldn’t. ”You think I do this for fun? You think I just—“ There was a different look on his face now. Desperation? Realization he went to far when nothing was her fault? With that he just stopped, not another word leaving his lips, he was only looking at her as if to say sorry.
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