REMY'S POV

"Oh my God, what happened to you?"

I've never seen Amine looking so distressed. The guy in front of us obviously has a broken nose and he is a bit too pale. What surprises me the most, though, is his smug expression. I take an instant dislike to him, although I don't really know why. I guess I am being unfair, the poor guy must be in so much pain, a broken nose hurts like crazy.

"I can drive you to the nearest hospital. Come and have a seat. I can - "

"There's no need" the guy interrupts him, looking bored. "It doesn't even hurt that much. I have people at home who will take care of it for me."

"Still" Amine insists, "We can help you. You shouldn't be left on your own. I can drive you home. Where do you live?"

"I told you, I'll be fine. I have just called my private chauffeur, he should be there soon."

Jesus, the guy must be loaded. Maybe it's the reason why he looks so self-satisfied. Amine nods, looking a bit impressed and I just cross my arms, adopting a firm stance before asking:

"Who did that to you?"

"Tall guy, brown hair, tanned skin, pearly white teeth, snarky attitude"

I immediately put a comforting hand on my friend's shoulder, who looks like he is about to throw up. I have told him countless times that his brother wouldn't change but he is a hopeless optimist, who always puts too much faith in others. 

"Tha- that's r-ridiculous" he stutters. Nour would never do such a thing."

"Oh, trust me, he would" the guy snorts, and I have to mentally agree. "For some reason, the bastard tries to look like he is a big shot, when deep down he is just a whiny little bitch. Just because he is tall and bulky doesn't mean he won't take it up the - "

"Hey", Amine interrupts him, clearly pissed now. "That's my brother you're talking about."

"Well, your brother is a douchbag with anger issues. He's clearly fucked up, how can you not see it? " the guys retorts, looking unimpressed. "Anyway, be glad I won't press charges, because I have enough money and influence to bring you all down."

With these kind words, he turns heels and quickly heads for the door. A few seconds later, he is gone. How did his chauffeur manage to get here so quickly? 

"The guy looks like he deserved it. He sounds like an asshole", I say truthfully after a few minutes of silence, more to comfort Amine than to defend his troublesome little brother. 

"Save it, Rémy. I know my brother isn't an angel. He and I have been living under the same roof since he was born, as you already know. I am pretty sure he enjoyed punching the guy. Nour is very good at pissing off people, as you're probably well aware of. The asshole is right: my brother is crazy." he laughs bitterly. "Where is he anyway? He and I need to talk."

Ouch. Nobody wants to cross path with an angry Amine, shifter or not. The fact that he is usually so calm and collected makes him look even scarier when he gets mad. I guess it's a common trait to the quiet ones - hell breaks loose when they lose their cool. I almost pity Nour. Almost. 

Speaking of shifters, I wonder if Amine knows about his brother? I would say yes, given that they have been living in the same house since forever. At the same time, I'm not completely sure, because I'm slowly realising that Nour can be quite secretive. 

"I have no idea where he went. Maybe we can check if he is in his bedroom?" I suggest but Amine shakes his head.

"Nah" he replies. "Let's begin with your bedroom."

"My bedroom? Are you kidding? What would he be doing in MY bedroom?" 

"Dunno, he seems to have taken a liking in this room lately" he replies almost smugly, making me frown. 

"I don't think he would dare - hey! Wait for me!" I yell as he heads toward my bedroom.

Much to my dismay, Amine was right: his little brother is in my bedroom, only this time he isn't on the bed  but he is sitting on the floor, with his eyelids half-closed. 

"What the fuck did you do to him, Nour?" Amine whispers/yells. 

Nour starts giggling, punching in the air at an invisible enemy. "I kicked his ass. Again... and again. T'was fun, I had a good laugh."

"You broke his nose, idiot" Amine sighs, making his brother pouts. 

"Stop being such a party-pooper" he whines, looking at his older brother with a pleading expression. 

"Why did you even break his nose? Who is this guy? I don't even know him. Did you invite him?" Amine asks firmy.

"Because I am no kitty, little kitty. That's why I punch him. Can we have a little kitty, pretty please?"

"God, you're high! What have you ever taken?" Amine growls, looking more and more irritated. 

He grabs his little brother arm and I come forward to help him, decided to help him carrying Nour in his own bed - because there's no fucking way he is going to sleep here. Said little brother turns out to be quite heavy, though, especially when he does nothing to help us carying him on the bed.  I put the cover on him and that's when it hits me. The smell. Nour smells weird. I am pretty sure it's a chemical smell, although I can't pinpoint exactly what it is. I am sure I have smelt it before, though. Shit. What has he taken?

"Actually, he can sleep in my bed. I don't mind." I suddenly declare.

"Really?" Nour replies, looking surprised. "Why would you do that? I know you can't stand him"

"He doesn't look very well, I think it's best if we don't carry him up the stairs."

"Yeah, you're right. God, you're my new hero, Rémy. Thank you for your help. Good night, Nour. I'll kick your ass tomorrow, when you're feeling better". 

 As Amine leaves the bedroom, after checking on his brother one last time, I linger near the bed, still wondering about the weird smell but not wanting to alarm Amine. I put my hand on his forehead, feeling slightly relieved: at least, he isn't feverish. 

Suddenly, Nour grabs my wrist and I instinctively take a step back but he tightens his grip and whines "Not go."

"Not go not go not alone not alone not go" he starts chanting, making me sigh heavily.

"Who are you and what have you done to Nour?", I mumble, astonished by his sudden childish and needy behaviour. I don't know what he took, but it has to be something strong. He doesn't look too unwell but I'm going to stay awake to keep an eye on him. If he gets a fever or starts hallucinating, I'm calling a doctor, shifter or not. 

As I lay next to Nour, my phone starts vibrating and I quickly grab it, instantly smiling when I recoginsed the name on the screen: Renan. My sassy, gorgeous, wonderful Renan just sent me a picture of his new painting. It's me, naked, sitting on the brink of a large pool. You can only see my back, though, so it's impossible for people to recognise me. 

As I start replying, Nour suddenly turns over and throws  his arm around my midsection, hiding his face against my chest. I try to push him off me but then I see his relaxed expression and the sight makes my heart melt a little. Too bad he only looks cute when he is high! Guess I will have to reply to Renan tomorrow morning I think guiltily before dozing off. 

NOUR'S POV

I wake up from a very pleasant dream and something tightens in my chest when I realised it wasn't real, as I am waking up alone, in an empty bed. I dreamt that I was sleeping in someone else's arms, I dreamt of hands caressing my hair, I dreamt of something I will never have: intimacy. 

I just realise I have been sleeping in Rémy's bed - again! - when suddenly someone comes in, not even bothering to knock. 

"Amine? What am I doing here?" I mumble, still half asleep.

He lets out an incredule laugh, before replying "No. Don't play innocent with me, Nour, not this time. It's too late for that. I'm tired of you and your little games."

"What are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about? I'm talking about the fact that you brought some weirdo yesterday night, only to break his fucking nose. I'm talking about the fact that you don't care about anyone or anything. I suppose you won't tell me who is this guy and why you punched him?"

"No, I won't."

He nods and starts breathing heavily, his cheeks getting redder and redder. I'm suddenly scared, because Amine isn't someone who gets angry easily. He is this gentle big brother who beared with me for so many years and always tried to help me, even when I was being obnoxious. 

"Nour" he says more calmly. "I think you should leave. Dad has another flat, nobody is renting it at the moment. I can give you the keys."

Matthias and Rémy suddenly appear behind him and their grave expressions would have make me laugh in other circumstances. 

"It's not working" Matthias adds shyly. "You obviously don't like being with us, so what's the point? I think you need to move out and not being around us for a while. Give your brother a break."

I can't help but look at Rémy, who hasn't spoken yet. Somehow, he has always been the top dog here and I have the feeling that whatever he is going to say, the other will agree to it. He stays silent for a moment, before saying with a firm voice:

"I agree with what has been said. You would do everyone a favor by living on your own for a while. Of course, you can always come back from time to time. It's not such a big deal, after all: you can always find new housemates. You should start asking your friends, someone might me interested."

Why do I feel so disappointed? Of course Rémy wasn't going to defend me. He HATES me. The only reason why he didn't kick me out earlier was because of my brother. 

"Okay" I eventually reply, keeping my tone light on purpose. "Since you all want me gone, I am leaving right now. Hope you won't miss my greatness too much."

I don't really remember what has been said after that. I spent the next two days packing my stuff and organising my departure. I believe Amine offered to walk with me to the flat, since I have never been there but I refused. He looked slightly guilty, my brother, but deep down I wasn't mad at him. It's only fair. 

Now, I am sitting in an empty flat and I have been looking for hours at my luggages. I need to start unpacking, but I don't really  want to. I can't believe I am going to live here. I don't feel really well, and it scares me: what if I get really sick? I don't have any friends who could come over.  I want to be back with the others, but I'm not going to call them. My brother has done enough for me already. I need to leave him alone. 

You know what? It's fine. I'll be okay. There is a huge TV in the living room, the flat is nice and comfy and I have my laptop. Maybe I will buy  a cat. The other good news is that the lion doesn't know where I live now, and I doubt my brother would tell him, since he called him "a weirdo". He and his perverted brother - I think he mentionned his name but I've already forgotten. Was it Evan? Ethan? I don't want to know anything about him! - have probably already forgotten about me. If I died, I wonder how long it would take until someone find my corpse.

A/N:

Okay, I managed to update before my departure: hurray to me ^^ I really hope you enjoy where it's heading. If you have any ideas/suggestions, it would make me really happy to hear them! I already have some ideas  of course, but you never have too many brains! 

Thank you for being there and I hope you had a nice Christmas, for those who celebrate it. 

Stay safe,

xoxoxo

#hasnoshame