Lucy's p.o.v

I was in Halo's apartment this morning. After her pc glitched once she got scared someone from the competition could try to get her game data as she played and got ready for the competition on her personal pc.

"Why don't you just come and game at Devil's den? We have plenty of computers."

"Thanks, but I'd rather game at home in peace. I just need to make sure no one gets anything from my pc." She said.

I sat down and did my usual thing to protect her data. It didn't surprise me that some might try that. Some hackers did have the nerve to go ahead and hack another gamer if it meant winning the competition.

"You should be fine now." I turned around in the chair. "Protected and safe."

She passed me a can of beer and opened one herself, sitting down on her bed. "I'm way too protective over this, I know. But it's my whole life."

"It's okay. I understand, trust me." I chuckled. "I get like that too."

She smiled. "I'm trying my best not to fuck up again at the competition. I'm going to make sure we win it at all costs. I know I was a bit out of it last time, but I promise it won't happen again."

I smiled. It was always nice to see someone serious about their gaming and willing to improve and be better. "I know you will. Ace and I lean on you. You've become part of the team."

She took a sip of the beer. "You guys have become my team too. Again, I'm not going to slip again. It only happened once and.." She closed her eyes and held the beer can with both hands. "My damn brother just won't give me a break. He keeps getting into trouble and his naive nature it's going to cost us another thing. And I let the last time distract me."

"Why is your brother causing you problems? He seems like a nice guy."

"He is a nice guy. That's the problem. He is too nice. He lives in a bubble that everyone is a good person, that everything can be fixed. His fucking optimism is costing me my sanity. Giving all your money to a fake charity is not helping anyone except the criminal who tricked him."

"Shit. That's..." Ah that must suck.

"All he cares is about his fucking poetry, that is thankfully selling well cause with my high school degree and my zero experience there's no way I can make a living. That's why I need this gaming shit to work."

I nodded. I kind of understood her anger. She had a justified reason to be angry and to strive like crazy to make things work.

"So is everything okay with you? At home?" She asked.

"Yep." I took a sip of my beer. My dad and I barely talked but at least we were on speaking terms now.

"And your dad who kicked you out? He bothers you?" She asked.

I sunk back in the chair. I haven't thought about that in a long time, but lately, that conversation kept popping up. But after talking about it, it started feeling like less of a depressing topic and more of something I just went through. "It's such a long story,  but he and I are on better terms now. I had a little breakthrough on Christmas thanks to Francy and managed to come to certain terms with him."

She took a sip of the beer. "Thanks to Francy, huh?"

I smiled. "Yeah."

"She is here for you then?" Halo asked without looking at me in the eye. I guessed she was embarrassed to have this conversation. She didn't seem like the type to open up and talk about feelings.

"She and her whole family were there for me. It's funny when I think about it now, but things just worked out in that way and I'm really close to all of them."

"What do you like about her?" She asked.

I scratched the back of my head. "Umm." this was embarrassing. "I guess she is really easy to be around. I think because she's raised in a family with strong bonds and she puts family first, she was really comfortable with who she was and it impressed me. She was just comforting and positive and when I met her, I was not in that place at all. She had everything I lacked. But when I was with her, everything just seemed lighter, easier. Being with her was like a breath of relief after a long day, you know. "

Halo looked down at her beer. "Lucky you, I guess."

I smiled. "Don't worry. You'll find someone like that for you. It took me a while to realize that broken people can't heal other broken people. You need love, positivity, and stability to grow too. So try to find someone like that."

She was about to say something when we heard the door beep go off as her brother probably got home.

She got up in a hurry and I followed her to the living room.

"Did you pay the internet bills as I asked you?" She said in a stern tone.

Her brother looked down at the grocery bags. "Oh...I forgot."

"UGH! YOU'RE ALWAYS USELESS." She got out slamming the door behind her.

She came back and pointed her finger at me. "I'll be right back." She went out again and slammed the door. Again.

Lots of anger issues.

I made my way to her brother and helped him get the grocery bags.

After unloading all the bags, he and I sat in the living room and he pulled out a cigarette and his Zippo lighter. He leaned back in his armchair, opposite of me, no annoyance or anger in his eyes from what just happened. He seemed used to her and was unfazed.

Calm as ever, he crossed his legs and then glanced at me. He handed me a cigarette out of the box.

"I don't smoke.."

He kept his extended arm out and looked at it, for me to take it. Just once, his looks said

Ah, I guess I can for old-time sake.

He tossed me the heavy zippo and I lit the cigarette. As the smoke hit my lungs I remembered why I never got hooked on it. The bitter taste in my mouth disgusted me. It was just a nasty habit that I indulged in from time to time with the wrong crowd. I just wanted to wash out my mouth with something.

"Understand Halo, she's just angry at the world." He let out a smoke circle and took another hit.

"She seems like she's angry at you." I said holding the burning cigarette down.

"I am her world. I'm her mother, her father.. Of course, she's going to always be angry at me."

"Seems like a heavy burden," I said taking a hit from the cigarette.

He looked down at his cigarette before speaking. "She can hate me all she wants if she's that tough and can learn how to handle the shit this world throws at her." He seemed to be picking some dirt off under his nail, deep in thought and then looked at me.

"Got any siblings?"

I shook my head.

"Sibling bonds are a fickle thing. You're best friends one day, the next at each other's throats. You learn about a human's most beautiful and ugliest features through your siblings, first."

The smoke left his mouth and nostrils leaving a small grey cloud of smoke around him.

He chuckled. "Is this boring you?"

"No." I took another hit of the cigarettes and then lit out the rest of it in the ashtray. It was too disgusting. "I find it fascinating."

"You're an interesting fella." He smiled and leaned back in his chair. "You've seen some dark shit."

"I might have." I leaned back on the sofa and relaxed.

"Halo thinks she knows the world because her life wasn't fair, to begin with, but she's too hurt to see that. She's not getting herself into something she's not supposed to be in, is she?"

I smiled. Guess protective older brothers never went out of style. "She's taking on as much as she can handle. Oddly enough she's not fucked up."

He laughed and tossed the burned-out cigarette in the ashtray. "I like you. You seem way too mature for 18."

I shrugged. Well, he wasn't wrong there.

"Are you dating anyone?" He asked, amused.

"I am."

He smirked. "Older?"

"Younger."

He stared at me for a second. "She's got, siblings?"

"Three."

"Ah, good." He smiled. "You read her poetry?"

I chuckled. "No."

"Ah, but when it comes to pleasing a woman, there's no such thing as embarrassing things."

He got up and reached for a book. He came back down, crossing his legs again and opened the book.

"It's a poetry collection. Some have sparks of romanticism, others have dark notes."

He listed through the pages until he found the one he likes.

"This one is written by W.H. Auden. I'll let his work speak of his greatness."

"When reading poetry you have let the words slip out of your mouth exactly as the poet wanted them to sound. If reading poetry to an audience, you want to thrill them with your voice. But if you're reading poetry to a woman, you have to keep her interest with your eyes. Catch her look when delivering a line."

He glided a finger over the page. "It will move something inside her, her eyes will glint with desire, her hands will instinctively reach for you. She'd give herself to you in a way you've never experienced, just so she can reach the place from which you read poetry."

He cleared his throat and started reading in a tact, almost as if he was singing in a calm deep voice.

At last the secret is out

At last the secret is out,

as it always must come in the end,

the delicious story is ripe to tell

to tell to the intimate friend;

over the tea-cups and into the square

the tongues has its desire;

still waters run deep, my dear,

there's never smoke without fire.

Behind the corpse in the reservoir,

behind the ghost on the links,

behind the lady who dances

and the man who madly drinks,

under the look of fatigue

the attack of migraine and the sigh

there is always another story,

there is more than meets the eye.

For the clear voice suddenly singing,

high up in the convent wall,

the scent of the elder bushes,

the sporting prints in the hall,

the croquet matches in summer,

the handshake, the cough, the kiss,

there is always a wicked secret,

a private reason for this.

He closed the book and handed it to me. It was worn out from the countless times it must have been read.

"Read some to her and watch the magic unfold."

The door slammed open again and Halo walked back in still filled with anger. I took the book and hid it under my shirt.

"Umm.." I rose up. "I have to go. If you need anything come over later at the devil's den."

She seemed disappointed and then looked at her brother. "He didn't bore you to death did he?"

I glanced at her brother. His features softened, his mouth curved in a soft embarrassed smile. He seemed like a sheep around her.

I see now.

"Absolutely not. We just talked..." I gave him a respectful nod and he responded with a nod as well.

"See ya." I smiled at her and left as fast as I could.

I got in my car and tossed the poetry book on the other seat.

Poetry my ass. As if I was going to do that.

My phone rang and for a second I considered letting it ring, but eventually, I took the phone out.

Oh, it was Francy.

"Hey," I answered and started the car.

"Can you talk?" She asked

"Yeah, give me a sec." I put the seatbelt on. "Go on."

"Come over."

"Huh?" I smiled. What does she mean by that?

"I mean like come over asap. Tomorrow if you can. Take Kai an Ace as well. We will go to the beach and have a little summer fun."

Shit. That sounded awesome.

"I don't know. I have to talk to Ace. He's probably still sleeping."

"You guys both need a bit of fun. Please come over. Please." She begged.

I laughed. "Okay. Okay. I'll tell him. If not tomorrow then the next day."

"Perfect. Call me as soon as you find out. Remi and I have some shopping to do in town so I'll have cell service for the next few hours."

"Okay.I'll call you soon. Love you." I looked at the book. "Francy, you read a lot right?"

"Yes." She answered.

"Does the name W.H.Auden sound familiar to you?" I asked.

"Hmmm, it's familiar, but I don't know an author by that name." She answered calmly.

Of course, she didn't. Even she didn't read poetry.

"Oh wait.." She suddenly said. "Isn't that the one who was mentioned in Before Sunrise? In our movie."

I laughed. "What?" Before sunrise was truly like our movie ever since we met. I must have rewatched it with her a few times now. But obviously not enough times since I didn't remember that part."

"Yeah yeah.. " Francy went. "In the end, when Celine lays in Jessi's arms he goes something like "O let not Time deceive you, You cannot conquer Time.""She used a British accent and started laughing. "Oh god, I love that movie."

I smiled and picked up the book. Maybe I should read this after all.

"Why did you ask?"

"Oh it was just stuck in my head."

"I have to run now, but call me later so we can set a date."

Hearing how she insisted we made a plan warmed my heart. She really did miss me as much as I missed her.

"Deal."

She sent a kiss over the phone and hung up. My stomach turned upside down with excitement. Francy in a bathing suit.

I was in and set for that.