"No I won't!" Rose whined loudly, pouting at Amira, who had her arm raised, stretched above her head.

"Yes you will!" She said, raising her heels to be higher when Rose reached for the shiny black rock in her hand.

Amira found this rock when they were strolling by the pond in the park. It was shiny black with gold lines on it. It catched her eye, like a paperweight would, so she decided to pick it up.

Rose asked if she could hold it, but Amira started teasing her, saying she'll 'accidentally' drop it into the pond.

"You are being mean!" Rose whined, lowering her arms. She crossed her arms and looked at her twin with a little scowl on her face.

"Aww. Little Rosie Posie is upset." Amira pouted, lowering her arm too.

Rose huffed and turned away from her. Snickering quietly, Amira moved forward and pushed her hand before Rose, offering the rock.

"Here," she said, softly. She watched with adoration as Rose looked at the rock and frowned in suspicion. She looked at Amira, suspecting she'll pull it away as soon as she reached for it.

When she was met with nothing but a genuine smile, Rose lifted her hand and took the rock from her.

"It's so pretty," she said, softly when her hand wrapped around the cool rock. "Dad would've loved this."

"Yeah," Amira said, softly. Her voice was barely above a whisper but the pain hidden behind that word screamed loud and clear. "And Mom would've been annoyed."

Rose let out a sad chuckle and stared at the rock.

"Will you go sit on that bench for a moment?" Amira said, after a while. "I'm thirsty."

Rose nodded, despite the questions swirling in her mind. She didn't argue and went to sit on the bench they were sitting on, the stone clutched tightly in her hand.

Amira stood at her place, her head turned to the side as she watched Rose get seated. She nodded to herself when Rose settled on the bench.

Turning her head to face forward, she started walking towards the pathway that had trees on both sides as you walked further.

Rose watched Levi walk there, with one hand stuffed in her pocket, the other moving with her steps.

Rose couldn't help but admire her twin yet again.

She carried herself like a queen. Like she was in-charge and her command was everything. That's how powerful her walk looked to Rose.

She watched as far as she could as Levi walked on the pathway, eventually disappearing into the trees that surrounded the further part of it.

She knew Levi was lying. If she was looking for drinking water somewhere, she wouldn't be so focused and precise with her movements. Her unwavering gaze and focus on just one way told her it was something else.

But like always, she pushed the questions and doubts to the back of her mind. Levi knew what she was doing. She was always right.

Amira was precise with every movement as she walked on the stone pavement. Her footsteps weren't loud. She was quiet as her eyes narrowed in focus.

The girl walking about seven steps ahead of her was however very fidgety in her movements. She was fiddling with the bottom of her shirt. Her gaze was flicking every second, as she chewed her bottom lip nervously.

Her heart dropped when she felt a presence close behind her.

Amira slowed down a little. She could just lean forward, extend her arm and tap the girl's shoulder. That's how close she was now.

The other girl turned her head to the side nervously. Her breath hitched when she immediately recognized the various colors of the hair that entered her vision.

She turned around completely, her blue eyes wide with fear. Her mouth opened and closed as she decided whether to apologize or act dumb.

Amira didn't say a word but kept staring at her, a slight smirk visible on her face as she watched her nervousness grow.

"I-I..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say. Holding back a gasp, she took a step back when Amira started approaching slowly.

With each step Amira took, she took two. That didn't help her situation. In the haste, she twisted her ankle when it settled on the edge of the path and fell against the tree behind.

Amira let her smirk widen as she watched the girl look around, leaning against the tree, with the hems of her shirt bunched tightly in her fists.

She clenched her eyes shut and turned her head to the side when Amira was just a step away.

"Are you stalking us now, Jessica?" Amira said, in a low mocking tone. "Are you that obsessed with my brother?"

Jessica opened her eyes slowly and glanced at her, before looking away again.

"No," she stuttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Are you lying?" Amira smirked, taking the step that covered the little distance between them. Jessica shook her head violently.

"I see another lie," Amira mocked again, watching the smaller girl gulp.

"Sorry." Was what Jessica settled with. An apology.

"Hm." Amira hummed, looking down at her. Her hand raised to slam beside the girl's head, on the tree trunk. Jessica jumped and her gaze snapped to meet Amira's.

"Are you that obsessed with Josiah or is it something else?" Amira asked, bending down a little to her level, to intimidate her more.

The lowering of her gaze when she heard Josiah's name, gave Amira the answer.

"I like him." Came out a whisper.

"Then you tell him," Amira stated when the girl went silent after that. "Why are you stalking us?"

As much as she wanted to just scare the girl into not even thinking about Josiah, she couldn't do that. It was his choice to make.

"I'm not his type," Jessica mumbled, blushing red from embarrassment.

"You mean, you're too snobby, popular, self obsessed queen-bee type girl for him to like?" She couldn't help herself. As mean as that sounded, that was true.

Why would a sweet and friendly guy like Josiah fall for a girl who can't treat her fellow students right?

Jayden would've been a better match for her. Snobby, popular, self obsessed jerk.

Amira narrowed her eyes which caused the glare forming on Jessica's face to vanish. She looked away and kept silent.

"I don't care if you like my brother or not. If I find you following us again, you will regret it," she said, in a dangerously low tone. No mock in it.

Jessica nodded, wanting nothing more than to run away. But she was scared to do that.

Amira stepped back and stood on the stone pavement. She looked at the girl for a moment, watching her relax a bit now that she had her personal space.

Amira turned around and started walking again, when Jessica didn't say anything and just gave a single nod.

Rose watched as Amira appeared again. Damien had called while she was gone. He was waiting in the parking for them.

"Damien is here," she said as Amira picked up her phone from the bench.

"Alright, Rose. Now be a good human and give that stone back." She extended her hand towards her and put it palm up before her.

"Just because I'm a good human," Rose mumbled as she put the stone in her waiting hand.

"Don't worry, Rosie Posie. You will see this buddy around," Amira said, putting her hand on Rose's head and ruffling her hair. "But I don't think your baby hands can handle this precious stone."

Rose let out a little huff.

"I handled it just fine," she said, referring to all the time she had spent, feeling the coolness of the stone in her hand while Amira was gone.

Amira chuckled and swung Rose's bag on her shoulder. She extended her other hand for her to hold, so they could walk back to the parking.

Yet another thing was different. When they were holding hands, Amira swung their hands. It was a small gesture, but it meant everything for Rose.

All expressions dropped from Amira's face when the car came into view. Damien was leaning against the car, his legs crossed at the ankles and his arms crossed as he stared straight ahead.

His black shades and the expressionless look on his face made him more intimidating, as if the tattoos, piercings and his built body wasn't enough.

He looked at Amira to get an idea of what mood she was in. But he failed. He couldn't decipher anything from the zero expressions visible on her face.

"Hey, kids," he said, when the girls reached him. "How was your day?"

"It was good," Rose answered, smiling slightly. She glanced at Amira warily, who just let out a quiet snort and moved forward to open the door for Rose.

After making sure Rose was settled, Amira closed the door. She turned only to find Damien standing beside the passenger door, which he had opened for her.

She climbed in without a word and put her seatbelt on. Amira kept her eyes on Damien as he rounded the car and got in the driver's.

The car ride home was filled with silence. Rose could feel the terror one of them was feeling and the anger one of them was radiating.

"Did you eat something?" Damien asked, awkwardly, glancing at Amira nervously before looking back to the road. He looked into the rearview and made eye contact with the more forgiving less scarier twin.

He took a deep breath and cleared his throat when silence followed.

Rose was waiting for Levi to answer but when she didn't, she looked at Damien and answered instead.

"I did eat some snacks before going to the library. Levi had lunch. We also had snacks at the park."

Damien nodded.

"That's good."

Something clawed inside him. Impatience. The lack of response from the girl beside him was making him fidgety and more annoyed at himself.

Rose kept glancing between the two, wondering if she went against Levi by forgiving them so soon.

"Is Asher home?" Amira cut in the silence after a while.

Damien, who was sitting relaxed in his seat, jerked up and nodded.

"He was home when I came to pick you."

Amira hummed in response, clutching the stone tight in her fist. She just wanted to be around Asher and talk to him about anything.

The garage came into view and all of them relaxed a bit.

The silence was suffocating.

Amira jumped out first. She opened Rose's door before Rose could reach for it. Rose smiled as she got out.

Amira grabbed her hand quickly and started walking into the house.

Damien watched the two girls enter the house and sighed.

He could've handled it way better. Like an adult and an older brother. He could've had the bond Asher and Josiah had with the girls, if it wasn't for his own stupidity.

The girls met Josiah as soon as they entered.

"Hey, babies. How was your day?" He asked, as soon as he saw his sisters walk in.

The smile that appeared on Rose's face tugged at his heart. His heart fluttered when his little sister started bouncing on her toes after hearing that question, excited to tell him every single detail of her day.

"It was good. Where's Asher?" Amira smiled a little as she felt the excitement radiating from beside her and saw pure love on Josiah's face.

"I saw him in the kitchen last time," he answered, admiring the loving smile on Amira's face, which he assumed was for Asher. He was unaware that she was actually loving him tons at that moment, just because he made her twin so happy.

"Okay," she said, releasing her hold on Rose's hand and walking past Josiah towards the kitchen.

Josiah stood there for a moment watching Amira walk away happily.

He turned back towards Rose and smiled.

"So, my thank you hugs?" He asked, immediately regretting it when the little Rose collided with his torso next.

Pushing the kitchen door open, Amira sang.

"Look what I found, Asher. There were like-"

She stopped when she actually looked at who was in the kitchen.

Lucian was sitting on one of the high bar stools around the counter. The cup in his hand stopped inches away from his mouth. His phone in his other hand, the movements of his thumb stopped.

He raised both eyebrows in surprise when he saw a rambling Bunny barge into the kitchen. It was always a surprise to see her like this.

"Hello, Bunny," he said, watching the girl's smile fade and her face turning emotionless.

"Good evening, Lucian." Came the reply.

Ignoring the formal reply to his informal greeting, he turned a little in his seat to face her better.

"How was your day?" He asked, setting the cup down.

"Good," Amira replied, looking around for Asher. She peeked over her shoulder a lot of time in hopes Asher was around.

A dagger dug into his chest at the short reply. She came in rambling about stuff and now is just standing there, like a soldier. Straightened up and focussed on him.

"Asher got an urgent call. He's in his office," he told her, noticing the small pout that almost showed itself. "Why don't you come sit here?"

He pointing towards the seat on the shorter side of the counter. Amira nodded and walked over to the counter slowly.

She climbed on the seat and looked at Lucian questioningly.

"So what did you do today?" He asked, trying to start a conversation. Even a small one would suffice.

"Just a stroll and lengthy conversations," she replied, smiling when the memories from the day swirled in her mind.

"That's good. Sounds like you enjoyed a lot," Lucian said, making her look at him again. A nod was all the response he got.

Lucian sighed quietly. He still had a long way to go and a lot to change.

After the tongue-lashing he got from Asher, Lucian concluded two things.

One, Asher had a scary side and Two, he wasn't being a good guardian to these girls.

It was different with the boys. They were comfortable with Asher from the beginning. Although Lucian never spent much time with them, the boys were comfortable enough when Lucian was around.

Asher started including Lucian more when their Father turned his back to them completely. He started forcing Lucian to join the conversations and talk to the boys about their day.

It was different with these two. They were practically strangers. They had to build a bond that was never there, unlike the boys, where they just had to make the already existing bond stronger.

The starting of that bond was the most difficult step. He didn't know how to approach them properly to have a loving talk. He's never had a loving talk!

"There's my pretty sunshine back with so much brightness!"

Lucian blinked and turned his head to look at Asher, who had just entered the kitchen.

Amira turned sharply, before quickly jumping down and rushing into his inviting embrace.

"How was your day?" Asher asked, bending down to kiss her forehead.

"It was so good. I found this rock which was shining black with golden lines on it. It's so pretty. Wait let me show you." She stopped to step back and shuffle through her pockets.

"See?" She said, pulling the rock out and raising her hand to show it to him. "Just like a paperweight. So shiny!"

Asher chuckled and touched it with the tip of his pointer finger lightly.

"It is pretty," he agreed.

"Yes it is and there was this small bird we saw. I don't know its name. Rose does. I forgot." She stopped to take a breath looking at Asher excitedly.

Asher was lost. He was in his own thoughts, but his face showed the adoration on his face. A smile rested on his face, his eyebrows were lifted in surprise. Something was echoing in his mind loudly.

'Keep the atmosphere happy, love her so much that she starts telling you everything she did during the day. That will be the real opening up.'

Had they achieved that point?

His heart picked up the pace as he looked down at his little sister, who was now looking down at the stone in her hand, rubbing her thumb over it.

Warmth spread through his chest and the tight painful knot tied after getting to know about all the information about his sister's mental health, untied slowly, spreading relief through his whole being.

His eyes gathered a little moisture. This was the feeling of success he had felt the strongest. This feeling made him want to curl up and cry and hug the life out of his sister at the same time.

He went with the second choice. Moving forward, he scooped her up into his arms and hugged her tight to his chest.

That took Amira by surprise as she squeaked a little and instinctively clutched his shirt tightly in her fists. A hand on her head, pushed her face onto his shoulder.

"You were silent for so long. I thought I said something wrong." A mumble was heard. Asher chuckled quietly and tightened his hold.

"You couldn't have done something more right," he said, placing a kiss on her temple. "Your heart and my heart just became best friends."

"They did?" She asked, quietly, turning her head, so her face was buried into his neck.

"Yes. My heart just told me that." He chuckled again, feeling the pounding in his chest increase.

"That's nice," Amira mumbled, smiling. She felt accomplished. She did one thing that made Asher so happy and she loved herself for that. She was proud of herself.

"I hope they have tea parties now," she joked, stifling a laugh when she heard another chuckle.

Meanwhile, there was someone who was feeling extremely jealous yet extremely happy. The two were not aware that someone was clicking their pictures while they were busy showering love on each other.

Lucian put his phone down quickly when they pulled away slowly, murmuring among themselves.

He leaned back and straightened up again. He had leaned a little to his side to catch what they were saying. But he wasn't successful in making out the mumbles.

He sighed which sounded much like how Amira huffed but quieter. It went unnoticed as Asher and Amira made their way to the counter.

Amira looked at Lucian and stopped abruptly when it hit her that he was there the entire time. Color coated her whole face.

The Lucian Mazzanti, who was perfect in all ways, so precise in everything he does, noticing the smallest of flaws had just witnessed such an embarrassing scene.

That's how Amira put it, at least. But the old her inside her was dancing around, both middle fingers pulled out to say that she didn't care what someone thought. Even if that someone was her eldest brother. She could repeat this moment as many times as possible.

As for her and Lucian, they had a long way to go and now she was more than ready for all the challenges.

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