Inspirational quote: Don't be sad, because sad backwards is das and das not good.

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"Kieran! Kieran! Wake up! We're running late. Really late!"

Kieran couldn't sleep.

Yesterday, there was seriously heavy thunder and lightning going on outside, and Kieran was awake for about five hours yesterday because of it, and he only went to bed one hour before he properly had to wake up.

"Kieran! If you heard me, I believe I said, wake up!"

That voice sounded familiar, it was his stepfather's. He had a rather resentful tone in his voice and he sounded as if to tell Kieran that if he didn't get out of bed right now, then he wouldn't have potentially lived to see tomorrow morning.

Kieran hit his pillow against his face, still lying in bed.

His stepfather seemed livid now. But either way, he didn't get up.

On Saturdays, Kieran woke up at seven thirty in the morning. No matter what occasion it was: if he was meant to wake up earlier than that, then he wouldn't.

It was just how he rolled.

Kieran didn't wake up earlier than his alarm either, despite the fact that his stepfather was indignantly calling his name.

Then Kieran checked the time.
His alarm went off instantaneously.
But he didn't bother moving.

Just then, Kieran heard his stepfather's voice once again, telling him to get out of bed.

"Kieran! I swear, we're running late. Don't make me ground you for a week again. Wake up, right now!"

Reluctantly, Kieran got out of bed, putting on his cyan football slippers, and then gracefully heading outside of the room.

If anyone saw him right now, Kieran was a hundred percent certain that he looked like a zombie, or someone who had come from a fashion show gone horribly wrong.

Remembering much later that Kieran forgot to put on his glasses, which wasn't a surprise much on why everything looked so blurry, Kieran went back inside his room again to put them on. He then headed downstairs to find his stepfather once again, stressing out over something that Kieran didn't really care or know about.

"I'm up, Dad," Kieran told him. "Good morning. Although that's pretty ironic right now because there's thunder and lightning going on outside..."

Kieran's stepfather didn't have time for Kieran's ironic statements. Frantically going up and down the house, he saw his step son staring at him, and once he saw that, he threw something at Kieran before sighing in absolute stress again.

"About time, Kieran," he hissed at him. "We haven't got much time left! What took you so long?"

Kieran didn't reply.

In the end he just ended up shrugging his shoulders, before staring down at the clothes that his stepfather, for some reason, malevolently threw at him.

Kieran raised an eyebrow at him.
"And why do I need this?"

Kieran held the clothes his stepfather gave him close to his face, moving his arm up and down to show it.

His stepfather's reaction back to what Kieran said was to be more infuriated than before.

"You've forgotten, haven't you! Of course you have! I seem to be the only person that cares about everything over here!"

Kieran had no idea what he was bleating on about. If he really wanted Kieran to care about what was going on so much, then he could have just asked him.

It wouldn't have hurt to pretend to care about something.

"I'm still confused on what's going on, dad."

His stepfather's response to what Kieran had just said was completely unexpected.
In a bad way, of course.

"My wedding is going on, Kieran!" He hollered at him, coming up to him and then shaking him like Kieran was an addictive rattling toy. "Today's my wedding day, but I've overslept, nothing is in its correct place anymore and everything seems to be falling apart."

Kieran genuinely didn't know which one hurt him more: him completely forgetting about the wedding, or throughout the entire time his stepfather was talking he sounded like he was talking to a downright idiot that was right opposite him.

Kieran remained silent as he intently watched his stepfather hoover everything up and then went over to decorate the wedding cake.

"...and multitasking doesn't seem to help anything. It's just making me more frustrated than before."

Then don't multitask then! Easy solution! Kieran wanted to yell at him. But Kieran knew where yelling got him.

In trouble. Not just any kind of trouble. Serious trouble.

"Why are you just standing there Kieran!" Kieran's stepfather hissed, flashing a dirty look at him. "Go and wake up your siblings! Can you actually do something productive for once Kieran!"

What else was Kieran supposed to do? Stand on one leg? Hop?

He kept thinking of these somewhat unpleasant things to say but couldn't say them.

It was his stepfather they were dealing with here.

Kieran did as he was told almost instantly.

It was amazing to see that a wedding had got his stepfather so worked up. He was walking really sluggishly to annoy him, that was until his stepfather ranted at him, telling him that he should go faster.

Why the wedding had to be today, Kieran didn't know. It really should have been another day, for instance a day where it wasn't raining.

This was his stepfather's first wedding that Kieran had been to, and apparently, he had to be the boy who walked across the aisle, leaving flower petals scattered neatly all across the hallway.

Kieran had no idea who his stepfather was marrying now as he kept it a secret, but apparently the person he was marrying was named Katherine and she was really gorgeous.

That was all Kieran knew about his stepfather's new wife so far.
Nothing else, for now.

Moments later, Kieran found himself heading over to his siblings' room. He only had three of them in total, and they were all triplets.

Kieran had another sister but she died. Someone had bullied her at school, then the bully followed her at home and committed a hate crime on her.

In other words, they killed her.
Kieran hadn't heard from his sister since. He called her a lot of times on her phone, but she didn't pick up.

Her friends tried communicating with her via social media, however she wouldn't respond. The moment they realised that she was no longer alive was when the police called their home to tell them to come to the hospital.

She couldn't breathe, she was practically suffocating, and moments later, Kieran's twin sister was dead.

He tried really hard not to cry as the unspeakable flashback of his sister's death filled his head.

As cautiously as Kieran could, he opened the door, entering his siblings' room.

"Cameron, Jessica, Susannah, if you can hear me, wake up."

But neither of them replied.
Although Kieran knew they were awake... They kept on giggling underneath the duvet covers.

"Guys, I swear, if you don't want dad to be angry with you this morning, then I suggest you guys wake up!"

"Go away, Kieran!" Came a muffled voice back from under the duvet covers. His younger sister, Susannah.

Kieran was internally stressed now. Although at the same time, he was really wondering what they were doing in there.

So as a result of that, Kieran did the next thing he thought would get them out of bed at this particular point in time.

Opposite their bed was an air horn. He didn't understand why though; one day they all went to the funfair, then Cameron won an air horn after earning the highest points in a game.

No one had used it since, albeit now was the time to.

Deliberately, Kieran placed the air horn under the bed and pressed it five times, which was when they all screamed and got out immediately.

"The flip, Kieran, you didn't have to do that!"

He just stood there laughing, as Cameron tried kicking him much to his irritation, but what he didn't know was that he wasn't hurting Kieran.

Fifty minutes later and they were all out of the house, ignoring the fact that it was raining, ignoring the fact that there was thunder and lightning going on outside still.

Lightning never usually happened during the daytime but for some reason it did. Nobody really know why though, but it was the first time they were seeing it.

They were at the chapel where their stepfather was hosting his wedding within a few minutes.

"Kieran... Kieran, please. Don't mess this up! I'm begging you, please don't mess this up."

They were all heading out of the limo as Kieran's stepfather tried fixing his tuxedo via his really small phone mirror.

"Why? What happens if I do?"

Kind of a stupid question really but then again, it was helpful to know.

"If you do mess this up," His stepfather looked at Kieran again, intently this time, not taking his eyes off of his. "Then you'll regret it. Now come on. The wedding is about to start."

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Moral of chapter: Don't mess up weddings. Ever! Especially if your parents or guardian(s) are as strict as Kieran's.