The next four years of my life are going to be different.

I wish my actions would mimic my confident thoughts. I never had to lock my heart away before...

Anyway, different as in my heart no longer belongs to a person who doesn't even know my name. As sad as that sounded, the truth lies in the fact that my college life will be free from my nervous clammy hands, red ears, tomato face, and hammering heartbeat.

Not to mention, the time I almost wet myself when she who would not be named accidentally walked into me. That was not fun at all...

I could now focus on things that won't send karate blows to my heart every chance it got like drawing, Sci-fi movies, cat videos, making snow globes, and element collecting ( safe ones, of course).

My siblings continue to make fun of my hobbies and constantly ask if I'm adopted, in a way I wonder the same thing. Compared to my sisters, I was the dust under their stars.

They were amazing even though Janine constantly questions her self worth while Bree always complained about how she's more of a squirrel than a 12 year-old-girl.

They might be champions at shrieking at petty things like spiders and finding out that their celeb crushes got married, but I still loved them. Living with my mom and two sisters ranked incomparable to living with my dad.

"Mom!" My voice drawled through the walls of the house, succeeding to catch the attention of my two sisters.

My razor-sharp eyes scanned my bedroom, on a mission to find the one aspect that would determine the rest of my life.

I treated the situation like a video game; I was a young dashing secret agent with an agenda to defuse a bomb, I had limited amount of time as in a matter of seconds, the bomb would go off destroying the entire building.

Me, being the brilliantly skilled agent that I am, knew that searching under the bed would be one hell of a bad choice as a suspected sock monster bread on leftover pizza.

Searching in my wardrobe would be a lost cause because if I were to open it, tumbles of clothing would combust out and drown me.

The clock was ticking and the more I spent evaluating my next steps, the further the bomb would reach its end. I raked my hand through my brown strands, ruffling my messy bed hair, and sighed in defeat.

I jump dived on my bed. "I give up! It's useless! Let the bomb kill me and my worthless skills. I haven't even lost my virginity yet. What a pathetic way to go towards the light!" Sulking, I buried my head in the tangled sheets and blankets, hoping it would swallow me whole.

"Mom! I think Red is high or something! He's acting like a clown who just got fired from the circus." Hearing my youngest sister's voice, I perked my head up slightly and rolled my eyes as she leaned against the bed frame with a conniving smirk across her blotchy face.

Bree's blond hair was tied into a saggy bun while her dungaree was messed up with dirt and paint.

"Bree shut up. If mom hears you mentioning getting high or drugs. I'm the one who's ass is gonna be grounded because I let you watch On My Block!" Janine yelled as she walked down the hall towards my bedroom.

Janine crossed her arms and inspected my room with disgust, resembling Gordan Ramsey. Typical.

"Red, you've been here for three months and the room already resembles a dumping site. I better leave before the mess kills my nostrils."

Janine swiftly turned around.

"Hey, it's not a mess! I just keep everything on display." I whispered the last part softly. I never had many things until now.

Bree chuckled causing me to look up at her with curiosity, "I think I found your bomb!" She pointed to the direction of the window.

With alert, I sprung up from my bed and ran towards the window, peering at the large tree.

"Shoot! Bree, it has to be you. You drove Catalina away!" I narrowed my eyes at my younger sister as she stood beside me, chewing her bubblegum while irritation boiled behind her blue eyes.

"The word is shìt Red. If you going to swear, do it properly. I'm 12 years old and I cussed more than you in your 18-year-old lifetime."

"That's because you, my dear sister are a potty mouth. Now, I need to get Catalina before she falls from the tree and ... I can't even think about it. Could you please go all monkey and climb the tree?" I even resorted to pouting but I knew that nothing would make my sister happier than something our mother didn't allow.

I said a silent sorry to my mom as I looked down at Bree's smirking face
, "Do you want money, password to the R-rated Netflix account, or my secret statch of M&M's?" I gulped, the last option being the hardest to let go of.

I really need to work on my fear of heights then I'll be able to climb that tree without firstly spewing my guts out and losing my candy guilty pleasures.

"How about all three and you add in a good word about my behavior to mom before we ship you off to college?" She finished off by blowing out a bobble and I cringed.

I sharply inhaled and took one more look at my poor Catalina. "Fine Bree but do it now! Catalina has eyes on that yellow bird and no matter how many times I tell her that she cannot fly, she will do anything to get food! She reminds me of you." I grinned down at her as she flipped me the finger.

"Keep that up Red and the next thing we'll know, you'll be throwing a fake funeral in the backyard. I know you don't wanna say bon voyage to Catalina, she's your only love after all."

The truth was sad.

●●●●●●●

"We just got you back, now my baby is off to college! Life isn't fair." Mom wailed as she wrapped her arms and secured me in a tight grip that began to cut off circulation. I hugged my mom back but could only last a few seconds before patting her back, it was kinda like tapping out in a wrestling match.

Mom only squeezed me tighter.

"Mom, if you want to kill Red. You gotta hold a knife behind his back while hugging! Stab him in the back." Bree laughed as she entered the kitchen.

Mom finally let go of me and as a result, I leaned down trying to catch my breath. "Oh don't be silly Bree! Where do you get all these vulgar thoughts?" Mom seized Bree up with her narrowed eyes.

As I began pouring coco pops in a bowl, a forced cough caused me to look up. It was Bree, as expected who looked at me with daunting eyes.

I inwardly groaned as I remembered our deal, "Mom, it was my fault. I accidentally allowed Bree to watch Star Wars death scenes." I grumbled, ignoring Bree's smile of triumph.

I waited for my lists of punishment but surprisingly, mom shrugged it off.
"It doesn't matter Red, how can I be mad at you when you are about to leave? I'm going to be stuck with all girls again."

At mom's voice, I secretly stuck my tongue out at Bree. In return, she ran her finger across her neck and mouthed, 'Death'.

I continued to ignore Bree's silent death threats and gulped down my coco pops like it was my last meal on Earth. Mom began fetching the 'Red's first day of college' list from the fridge and I knew what that would entail.

"Okay Red, do you have your inhaler?" She asked while grabbing the pencil that was once put through her blonde bun.

I nodded, "Yip and my extra. Also, my extra for my extra. Including my extra for my extra of my other extra." I always managed to lose my inhaler when I was on the verge of an asthma attack.

"Good, what about your undies?" Mom asked after ticking off the first one.

Bree burst out laughing and through a coco pop at my face. Once mom was distracted, I picked up three from my plate and threw it back at her, pretending it was chocolate coated bullets. I forced in a laugh as all landed in her messy hair.

"Red, your undies?"

"Yes, mom. Oh and did you pack in my drawing essentials and my favorite snowglobe? I can't seem to find it."

"Oh kill me now! It's like you looking for a death wish!" Janine sighed in exasperation as she walked in with her blonde hair falling straight across her small frame and an outfit that looked like more of a bikini than anything.

"Mom, Janny is dressing like a hooker again," I said while she glared daggers my way. Mom sent one look at Janine and sighed as she placed the list in front of me.

"Yes I packed it in. Red, honey fill out the list while I find some clothes for Janine that won't cause attention from 50-year-old perverts."

Once mom went upstairs, Janine swore under her breath. "You are aware that now I'm going to look like a nun?!" She shrieked and walked up beside me, grabbing the list from my hands.

"Seriously, are you actually going to take books with you? I mean I would allow girl magazines or 18 rated books but not Star Wars, Harry Potter and ... Oh, my poor sanity. You taking The google story?!"

"I have you know Janine that reading reduces stress by 68% and college is a prime stress enhancer," I stated proudly as I secretly tried hiding the coco pops box so that I could sneak it inside my suitcase, I refused to eat any other type of breakfast at college.

"Don't bore me with your facts Red. Dear brother, you have so much potential. I mean my friends keep on pestering me on how hot you are, I have to keep on threatening to shave their eyebrows if they keep on fantasizing about you. Either way, your actions, and weird personality is a major turn off. You got the looks, the body, which by the way I still don't know hows possible -."

"Janine, we've been over this. I don't want to change in order for girls to like me! I want someone who will accept me as is." I replied softly as I cast my eyes at the ground, my mind swerving to a place I tried locking away. I swore to never again write a letter...

Janine sat down on the seat next to me and tapped her manicured finger on the marble countertop, "Red, in a world like this, being who you really are will get you nowhere. That's just the tough reality. Besides, I doubt any girl would accept you're weird hobbies. Especially element collecting."

I was affected by my sister's words but it didn't matter even though now, I felt the raw need to drown myself in funny memes. I smiled widely even though it didn't reach my eyes, "Speaking of that, I need a sample of atomic number 79 -."

"Huh?" Janine's eyebrows rose in confusion. "Au?" I cleared things up and hoped that she would provide me with it since she had tons of jewelry up in her bedroom.

"Can you please stop the nerd talk and tell me what that is?!"

I was surprised. She was about to go to her senior year in high school and she didn't know Gold's periodic element and I knew she was taking Chemistry... "Janine, it's gold. Do you have any old piece of jewelry?"

"No Red! You need to change. Don't you want your college life to be different? You act like getting ridiculed and bullied at high school was fun! If you, I don't know dressed like you haven't stepped out of a nerd convention -" Due to her harsh words I looked down at my cat shirt. "- and acted like you haven't been living in a video game, maybe you would get laid and actually have a life." She breathed out a huge breath and looked at me with pointed eyes.

I shrugged, "I'm living perfectly as I am now." I then picked up Catalina, my robust Russian blue kitten.

Her grey fur was flawless as it contrasted wonderfully with her forest-green eyes. Once she was in my arms, she immensely tried to escape as she began biting and scratching my hands. If she wasn't a kitten, her teeth would have been extremely sharp and I would be full of scars.

'Give me food and I may let you live!' I imagined her saying before she bit me again.

"No Catalina. You almost died in that tree. You need to stop with your bird fetishes. It's not good because one, killing a being would haunt your kitty soul for life and talk about a bad diet." I hissed at the shuffling kitten.

"Red, stop trying to be Sven and Kristoff in Frozen. Instead of it looking cute, you rather compelling me to phone some hospital." Bree announced from the other side of the table. I mimicked an evil laugh.

"Red." Janine dropped her hands on my shoulders causing me to look up at her, she had this intense look in her blue eyes, "You are my brother okay? Even though we haven't been living together properly since you were like 6 years old, I still love you. Which is why...I trashed all your ugly clothes and bought you new ones. I put it in your suitcase already and you can't kill me because I'm your sister who will haunt you to the end of time."

She rushed out before I could even comprehend what she said. My jaw dropped and the moment I opened my mouth, she ran up the stairs.

"Janine, please tell me joking! You didn't throw away my limited edition tape recorders, right?!" I yelled and the crack at the end of my voice represented the poor worry I was experiencing right now. I needed confirmation before I had to reach for my inhaler.

"Hey doofus, I kept your dumb expensive old crap before she could throw it out. This is why you should appreciate me more, older brother." At Bree's words, I snapped my head towards her while a wide smile caressed my face.

I ran over to her and gave her a big bear hug. "Get off of me Red! Before I take a knife and stab you in the back." She said, squirming. "Love you lil' sis." I grinned as I ruffled her hair.

Her face morphed into disgust as she scrunched her nose, giving me an expression of repulsion, "You say that mushy words way too much. The only time I said that to Janine was when she threatened to tell mom that I had a total of five boyfriends in the past. Mom still doesn't know, so you better shut your big ass mouth."

My eyes widened as I examined the blush that sprouted across her nose, "What? I didn't even know. You had boyfriends and you are 12! I can't imagine you holding their hands and kissing cheeks. You probably treated them as slaves, didn't you?"

Bree directed a toothy grin my way, "You could say that they were kind enough to get me chocolates."

"Kind enough?" I laughed and shook my head, "Oh and besides, I say I love you all the time because I've never got to say those words a lot to you or Janine and mom before I started living here."

●●●●●●●

Janine and Bree laughed at me as I teared up watching the house past by in the car. I have lived here permanently for three months and it's been the best days of my life.

Leaving a place that brought light into my mind which once resembled only a prison of bad memories was difficult.

I felt shuffling at my feet and discreetly looked down, hoping that Catalina would stay quiet. If they thought I wasn't going to college without her, they were insane.

"Mom, can we tell Red we know about him sneaking Catalina in? He thinks he's cool because he got her into the car." Bree asked from beside me. In an alert, my eyes widened as guilt consumed my features.

"Idiot, what's the point of asking if you going to say it anyway?" Janine rolled her eyes from the front seat. "Red, we allowing you to take her with you but it's going to be your responsibility even though you breaking the rules."

I was about to answer before the glorious tune of the star wars theme song traveled through the small confinements of the car.

I glanced at the caller ID and it was Daniel, my college roommate, and internet gaming buddy.

"Dude! There was this mental chick telling me to get out of our room! She basically made me pack up all my stuff or else apparently, I would have been on the other end of her fist. The chick is full-on mad. If insanity was a person, it would definitely be her. Here I thought, college girls, were cool!"

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Heyy ❤

Well here you have it, my first attempt at writing a Male's POV and lemme tell you, it was hard!!
It's even more difficult trying to achieve Red's personality. His sisters were fun and cool to write though. All I know is that Red's POV would be rare.

What did you guys think of this chapter?

Also, I changed Red's character! Check out the Welcome+Aesthetics again

Vote and comment please!!♡
The next chapter will be as soon as possible!

Next chapter soon

Until then
Charnay Marie