I saw Steven’s thick lipstick before anything else. “Oh my gosh, how cool!” I squealed. He grinned sheepishly, shrugging slightly. “Okay, let’s go then,” Rin commanded, and we all filed through the door that he held open for us. Outside the building, the silver Aston was waiting, humming slightly in anticipation. Brother clambered in with Rikku, followed by Steven – being very careful not to crease his new suit. I stepped in carefully, trying not to damage the frail dress at all, but I forgot exactly how massive the skirts were. After a great deal of gentle pushing and pulling, coaxing and teasing, I plopped into a seat. Rin got in behind me and the driver closed the door. And then we were off; on the way to our very first meeting as an Al Bhed spy.
Once the car stopped, Rin pushed the door open before the driver could reach it. We all piled out onto the pavement, and the car pulled away. “This way,” Rin muttered, looking around shiftily. Everyone followed him through several twisty streets and finally down an alleyway. He knocked on a small, metal door that creaked open ominously. Through that door was a small hall, with a pair of wooden double doors ahead of us. Brother stepped forward and fiddled with a seemingly complex machina, and eventually the doors swung open easily.
Inside was like a different world. There was a grand hall, its high ceilings seeming to melt into the sky. Hundreds of Al Bhed milled around, all dressed as formally as us. “There is a reason why we must be so secretive when coming here. These are the only times when this many Al Bhed converge since the loss of our Home; if the secret was lost or given away, it could have catastrophic consequences. I believe that the already low morale of our people could not take another blow that large and survive. So, know that you are very trusted, simply from knowing the first of our many secrets. And you should also be warned of what shall befall you should you betray this great trust we have placed in you.” His tone ended slightly harshly, but he smiled. “Now, go mingle! I would only ask that you go and meet others like Rikku, Brother and myself. But I will insist that you do it alone, so that you are not tempted to pay more attention to each others company than that of the others here. There are many very important people here for you to impress.” I nodded and smiled, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the daunting prospect. Nevertheless, I slipped away into the throng of people, searching for someone standing alone for an easy first target. Someone fairly young, preferably…
I groaned reluctantly as Charlotte slipped from my grasp. I wasn’t worried, or concerned, as the crowd was totally acceptable society. I was nervous. Nervous as anything. I felt as though the crowd would swallow me, down into the murky depths of loneliness and despair… And I never quite knew why. This always happened to me… and nothing bad ever happened. It was just a case of relaxing, and looking like I belonged in the crowd. As I studied Drama and Theatre Studies at school, I could pull off almost anything. I walked about the crowd, and found two people my age, obviously brother and sister, and walked forward to greet them. Just as the boy noticed my presence, the girl also looked up in another direction. I smiled warmly, and opened my mouth to speak, but stopped as another voice entered my head. “Hi, I’m Charlotte Jones; it’s nice to meet you!”
I announced myself, but then spotted Steven hovering nearby and laughed nervously. Steven stammered out his own introduction nervously, clearly thrown by my sudden materialisation. “I’m Georgina, and this is my twin brother George,” said the girl, and the boy nodded at the mention of his name. I smiled at each of them in turn, feeling myself tense up. George was talking, but I couldn’t take any of his words in; a cold, cruel anxiety had shivered through me. “…Charlotte?” The mention of my name made my attention snap back to the conversation. “Uh, sorry,” I stuttered, “I…I j-just have to um…go to the b-bathroom.” I glided away quickly, ignoring their protests and confused expressions. Looking around, I spotted a very familiar face and began threading my way through the tangled knot of people towards them.
I shook my head a little. “You’ll have to excuse her. She can be a little odd sometimes, she’s my little sister, but we’re real close. We were told to mingle separately, but I guess we can’t get away from each other.” I laughed, noticing George’s bright blue eyes staring at my lips. “Oh, sorry, you aren’t homophobic or anything, are you? I’ve never worn lipstick before, but I got it as a present recently and had to try it out!” Georgina laughed gently as George blushed, and I became curious. Him blushing meant one of two things: either he was homophobic, or the complete opposite. I was banking on the second. He looked over my shoulder, and his smooth voice shot out, his calm words filling me with concern. “Charlotte said she was going to the bathroom? That’s the wrong way.” I laughed a little, turning around. “I’m sure she just needs to talk to…” I stopped. Stared. Noticing Charlotte’s hastily moving figure, I gazed in her direction, looking past her into the laughing, jolly face of our father.
Watching my father laugh so carelessly made a hot rage sear through me. Didn’t he care that Steven and I hadn’t been home in days? Did he even know? I couldn’t stop myself as I strode over to him quickly, grabbing his shoulder tightly. “What the hell are you doing here? You have no right to be amongst the Al Bhed when it’s your fault that their Home was destroyed! And how can you be so happy when your two children are missing? Oh wait, it’s because you aren’t really our father, isn’t it?” I bellowed. He looked down at me with mingled emotions – pity, fear, sadness – and I shoved him away angrily. Steven was by my side, whispering soothing words in that calm voice of his. “Shut up,” I snapped, unreasonably angry, “You can’t make this better with your empty words. Try showing some emotion for once.” I pushed his hand off my shoulder and walked away, leaving him standing alone. Glancing back, just once, I saw my father muttering to himself and George rushing over to Steven.
George placed a hand lightly on my shoulder, looking at me in concern “Are… are you okay?” I shook my head. “Please… go back to your sister; I don’t want you to see this. And get Charlotte to watch. Please?” He frowned slightly and nodded, flashing me one last caring look before walking away. I turned slightly, noticing Georgina calming Charlotte down, and flicked my gaze back to my father, who was already smiling again. After a few seconds, I walked over and punched my father hard in the stomach, winding him, and began shouting as he looked up.
“How dare you! How dare you do this to us! You sneaking, pathetic excuse for a dad! All these years Charlotte and I have put up with your damned disapproval, accepting the fact that you were never there, and then what, we find that you’re not our father at all! You’re a lying, thieving freak who’s done nothing but rip this family to shreds, and all you can do is laugh it off, coming to parties and meetings with people you’ve betrayed all along!” Dad did nothing but stand there, looking at the ground, and my cheeks burned with anger, finally letting out the emotions I’d worked so hard to bottle up.
“You’re sick! You know how many times Charlotte’s tried to commit suicide because of you? You know how many times I’ve had to bring her back from the edge, just because you look at her oddly? You know how many times she’s saved me from the same fate? All because of you! I can’t believe you even have the nerve to show your face, because Rin and Rikku and Brother know what you’ve been up to, know everything, and yet you’re still here sipping from a God damned champagne glass!” The guests around me had backed away, and Rin had stepped forwards. He looked at me in a mix of pity and disapproval, and this just fuelled my anger.
“Why can’t you just leave us alone, huh? Why can’t you just crawl into a pit and die like the worm you are, Dad?” I slammed my foot down hard on his, relishing the groans of pain as Charlotte grabbed my shoulders, pulling me back “Steve, that’s enough!” I struggled to get free, but Charlotte always was stronger than me. “Damn it Charlotte, let me go! You said you wanted me to show some damned emotion and here it is!” Charlotte shook her head vigorously and held me firm, a few members of the crowd walking forwards to see if Dad was okay. I positively screamed, throwing curses and insults at him, but this only agitated the crowd further. Charlotte pulled me away from the crowd, back to where George and his sister were stood, and let me go.
Georgina lay a hand comfortingly on my shoulder, squeezing it gently and smiling at me. “Charlotte tells me you’re quite emotionless. I can’t see where she gets it myself, but…” She laughed gently, and I hung my head. Four years of not showing my anger had just gone down the drain, and felt a smooth hand gently lifting my chin. Before my eyes could register anything, I felt two soft lips pressing against my cheek, noticed a flash of red appear on someone’s face, and saw the dark hair flick to the side as the face drew back. I looked back at George, who was blushing enough to stop traffic as he turned to his sister, biting his lip. Georgina smiled, and mouthed “Well done.” I blushed slightly myself, turning to Charlotte, who almost glared at me. I could tell what she was thinking. “Stop leading him on. You have a boyfriend already.”
