Since The Clock's First Tick.

[adalyn warner]

Adalyn's eyes closed for a brief moment, as Evan thought of his chilhood moments with their older brother. A soft smile graced her face as she watched the events fold out in her head. She didn't know it while she was younger, but Evan really did look up to Emmett. Regardless of not being born with powers, he still protected both of them, no matter what. It was his job; Emmett the protective older brother. She looked up to him, and it made her all the more protective of Evan as well.

Reaching up, she brushed, the hair out of his eyes, a motherly gesture she knew he sometimes disliked, but other times made him feel better. She listed to him speak, random thoughts of his running through her head. She could tell, even without the mind reading, that this subject wasn't one of his favorites. Hell, it wasn't one of hers either, but it needed to be dealt with sooner or later.

"You're wrong," she said softly, after a moment of silence. "Ev, I highly doubt our lives are going to be this fucked up forever. One of these days, you and I will march right into the house and settle all this nonsense." Sure, it was a big hope, something that had a fifty-fifty shot at actually happening. It needed to happen, however. She couldn't stand seeing her little brother this sad and torn-up about their family, how broken it was. Sighing, she rested her head back down against his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his back. Yes, he sometimes hated being comforted, but she guessed he needed it about as much as her.

[Evan Warner]

He sighed as she brushed the hair from his eyes. He sometimes hated it but other times he was more than thankful for the small gesture. Ever since their family fell apart, they were all they had. Evan only had Adalyn and she only had him. They had to look out for one another, no matter what. And they both appreciated it greatly.

But Evan wanted it all to go away. If he could, he would make everything better. He would make his family whole, even if it were just for a few moments. It would mean the world to him. Adalyn’s words struck his heart and he smiled. They would one day go back home and fix it all. One day. But sometimes, Evan felt that those actions were easier said than done.

He sighed again. “I know we can’t be this messed up forever,” he said. “But I want to know how long it will be until we’re not.” He blinked his eyes rapidly, holding back the dreadful tears that he feared may fall. As much as he hated it, no matter how badly this torn him up inside, he would never cry about it. Not with his sister around. Sure, when he’s alone and he thought about it, it was okay. But not now. He had to be strong. If he could even muster that. He felt her arm around his back and instinctively, he put his around her shoulder. “How long, Ada?”

[adalyn warner]

Adalyn saw his worried expression, the sadness in his eyes, and it only made her more determined to make things right. Confrontation was right up her ally, and the mind reading made it easier to do so. It would only be too easy to march right in the front door, call a family meeting, and discuss what was happening to the family.

She could hear his thoughts, telling himself not to cry. She wanted to say it was okay, just to let it out, but that wasn't her brother. He wasn't the type to openly express his emotions, and sometimes that scared her. Feeling an arm around her shoulder, she smiled softly. Tears of her own prickled her eyes, hoping for one wrong move so they could start falling.

"I don't know," she told him softly, hearing her voice crack. Ada shook her head. "I just don't know, and that scares the crap out of me." Great, now she was falling apart. Staying strong for her brothers sake was only making her breakdown more eminent. She sniffled, hoping that kept some tears at bay for the moment.

[Evan Warner]

Evan heard her voice crack and her sniffles, obviously trying not to cry. Comfortingly, he rubbed circles into her shoulder. He let out a sigh, staring out in front of him. He didn’t want to wait until he was out of school to go back home. No, he wouldn’t be able to wait that long. He couldn’t. Evan needed to settle this as soon as possible. If he didn’t, who knew what would happen? No one would be able to tell.

After a few moments of silence, he finally decided he couldn’t take the sadness. After all, he wasn’t normally a sad person. He liked to have fun and smile, unlike now. He looked down at his hand lying on his knee. He fixed his eyes on his fingers as they twitched lightly. He closed his eyes for a second and closed his hand.

Evan looked over at his sister, smiling. He lifted his hand and put it in front of her, unfolding his fingers. In the palm of his hand sat a small, brown and white spotted puppy. Sure, it was tiny – about goldfish small – but it was cute. “Enough sadness,” he said, making the puppy jump off his palm and onto Adalyn’s lap. It was times like these that he was glad he could produce at least the tiniest illusion.

[adalyn warner]

The arm around her brother wound tighter when he began rubbing circles into her shoulder. It was her quick version of a thank you, something she wasn't sure she could voice in her current condition. It seemed like a ridiculous reason to cry, just because of her broken family. Adalyn sucked in a breath, trying to keep even a shred of dignity.

Her tears dulled in pace after a while, around the same time Evan made up his mind that the sadness needed to end. Curious, she lifted her head off his shoulder, looking up at his concentrated face. She blocked his thoughts out, wanting to make him happy with a surprise for once. That had been a downside to reading minds; there was never a surprise. Sure, she could act surprise, it was pretty much an art by now, but it took out the fun of planning them.

Lost in her thoughts, she jumped slightly when the small puppy landed in her lap. "Aww!" she cried, lifting it up into her hand, watching it wag its tail and run in circles. She looked at her brother, and a wave of appreciation and love hit her. Smiling, all the while protecting the illusioned puppy, she tackled him, causing herself to be on top of him. She clutched him like her life depended on it, a few more tears cascading down her face. "I love you, Ev," she told him. "No matter what happens, remember that, okay?"

[Evan Warner]

Without even meaning to, Evan let out a sort of ‘eep!’ing noise as his sister tackled him back onto the rooftop. He smiled widely, allowing himself to be clung to like a life raft. He laughed as he made the illusion puppy disappear so Ada didn’t have to protect it any longer. “Awwww,” he cooed, hugging his sister tightly. “Don’t get too sentimental,” he teased, slowly peeling his sister off of him and sitting up. He gently wiped the tears rolling down her cheek with his thumb, giving her a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry, Ada,” he said with a smile, giving her another tight hug, “I know. And I love you, too. You know that, right, Ada?” He softly nuzzled his nose into the top of her head in a caring way. “We’ve been through a lot of shit,” he mumbled, laying his cheek on his sister’s head, “And we’ll keep going through it. But we have each other and that’s all that matters.” He nodded his head as if making it known. Making his word law.

As an afterthought, he brought back the same puppy he had before only with a few playmates. Jumping around on his lap were three other puppies, all different colors and patterns. Since it was his illusion, he even made one have a zebra pattern. Just for fun. That’s all he was about, anyways.

“So, sis,” he said, leaning back on his hands, “How’s the Academy been treating you?” He cast a sideways glance at her before smirking. “Find anymore guys to sleep with?” He snickered and instinctively flinching away. He always liked to tease her because she was just generally flirty.

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[adalyn warner]

She hadn't even meant to start crying again, but soon realized she was when he wiped away more tears on her cheek with his thumb. She smiled softly, wondering how her brother came so caring. Wrapping her arms around his torso when he hugged her, she nuzzled under his neck, resting her cheek on his chest, listening to his heart beat. For some reason, that sound alone seemed to calm her more than anything, and she smiled.

Adalyn nodded into his chest, not trusting her voice when he posed his question. She nodded again, agreeing wholeheartedly with what he was saying. Squeezing him one last time, she pulled away, running a hand through his hair, smiling. His puppies made her giggle once more, as the brown and white one jumped on her. Picking it up, she stroked it with her pinkie, laughing when it licked her. "You're making me want a dog now," she told her brother, smiling over at him.

As she petted her new illusioned friend, she couldn't help but be a little hurt by her brothers statement. Glaring at him, she decided to answer, only to leave him hanging. "As a matter of fact, I have," she stated simply, looking away dejectedly.