Second stormed in, the entrance of their grand home trembling under his heavy steps. The echo reverberated through the corridors, bouncing off of the semi-black windows. He was fuming at the memory of Victim's provocation, his grip on his backpack tightening to the point of doubt it would remain intact.

Distracted by his fury, eyes practically shooting sparks, he slammed the door open with such force that the once functional, silver colored handle broke off under his grip, leaving him holding the cold, inert piece in his palm and wincing as he knew fully well that he was going to get an earful about it later.

Ignoring the door now left unlocked, he chucked his backpack onto the floor, hard enough to make the picture frames on the wall rattle. He stomped into the kitchen, his hand still clenching the broken door handle and hoping for a glass of something clod to temper his heat.
Unfortunately, his older twin brothers, Dark and Chosen, were already in the kitchen.

Dark, who had been nonchalantly scrolling through his phone at the kitchen table, looked up with a mischievous grin, finally finding something more interesting to do. While Chosen, the more responsible twin, was humming and cooking lunch when he paused, noticing Second's presence.

"Damn it". Second muttered under his breath, his jaw clenched tight. He ran a hand through his hair, attempting to smooth the chaos that mirrored the turmoil in his mind.

He didn't expect them to be here.

He stalked towards the fridge, his anger a simmering volcano threatening to erupt. The fridge door seemed to mock him, its metal surface gleaming with an almost taunting glow. Hesitantly, Second reached out, his touch tentative then pushed the door open, wincing as the hinges creaked, a sound like a groan of protest.

"Oh, look who's finally home. And in a fabulous mood, I might add". Dark noted, his smirk betraying the amusement he found in Second's frustration. Second just ignored him, instead grabbed a juice box, the carton crinkling between his tightened fingers. Chosen, in the midst of cooking, looked back over his shoulders and gave Second a warm smile.

"Hey, bud. you're awfully quiet. Why are you so late? Did something happen?". He asked, his voice warm and concerned.

"I'm fine, Chosen, just took the long way home". However, in Second's head, what he wanted is to scream. Victim, Victim, Victim!! But the thought of his brothers going to beat Victim up, made him shut up. He then chugged the orange juice straight from the container, trying to drown out the memory of Victim's annoying words.

"Easy there, tiger! Didn't know we were serving lunch in the Sahara". Chosen chuckled, turning around from the stove where he was stirring something in a pot. And as if it wasn't enough, Dark decided to join the investigation too.

"Yeah, what's got your feathers ruffled, little brother?". He teased, making it hard for Second to keep a straight face without bursting out in anger. Second slammed the carton back onto the shelf, forcing a smile and mumbling,

"Nothing. Just tired". He lied, trying to play it off as nothing serious. Unfortunately for poor him, it was too obvious to see that he wasn't telling the truth, especially by these two. So, as a last solution, he quickly turned around and tried to walk back to his room, but Chosen, raising an eyebrow, stirred the spoon in his hand poised mid-air. Chosen had seen that look in their brother's eyes before, multiple times actually, and knew it wasn't due to being just tired.

"Hold on there. You think I'm going to fall for that? That's not a tiered scowl you're wearing, it's the 'Victim got under my skin AGAIN' scowl".

"I-It's not like that!". He felt a blush creep up his neck as he insisted, but his voice was a bit too high-pitched to sound convincing.

He knew they were right, but he didn't want to deal with their 'we told you so' lectures, or another lecture about Victim. And, Oh god, Second is NOT in the mood for any of that!! Though, he knew it was useless to deny it, but he still wasn't about to admit it so he just kept his eyes in the floor. But then, Dark noticed the mangled door handle clutched in Second's hand and a slow, wicked smile spread across his face. So, he leaned closer to his younger brother, close enough to whisper,

"Oh, I see. The door handle just magically popped off, huh?". Dark said in his usual teasing manner, but the usual jovial tone was met with Second's worried face as he stuttered,

"I, uh... found it on the floo-". But he was quickly interrupted by Dark placing a finger on his mouth and continue with,

"Sure you did, kiddo. Now, if you don't tell me why you're so cranky, I might just have to tell Chosen that you were playing door repairman again".

"Seriously...?!". Second whisper-shouted, panic rising in his chest. He knew his brother was just messing around, but the thought of Chosen finding out about the broken door handle, and the reason behind his anger, and the fact that he still didn't entirely controlled his powers, filled him with dread. He knew what a lecture about controlling his powers from Chosen entailed: six hours of excruciating training.

"Don't you dare...". Second hissed in a whisper, the desperation clear in his voice. But Dark wasn't going to make it easy for him; he gave Second a 'try me' look before merely walking towards Chosen with that smirk he wore whenever he was up to no good.

"Oh, Chosen, I've got a secret for you!". Dark teased in a sing-song tone, nearly reveling in Second's panic.

"Okay, okay, shut up! I'll tell you everything, just shut up!!". Second begged in a whisper, nearly crying it out loud for Dark to stop in his track, smiling at the satisfying answer. Chosen, eyeing his brother with suspicious about thier little hush-hush talk, turned to face them both.

"You see, now, I feel like you two are keeping something from me. Because if you do, I will personally beat it out of you both. So, out with it!". He said, a dangerous calm settling over his features. Second swallowed nervously, then shot Dark a desperate look, and Dark, in a gesture of shared misery, wrapped his arm around Second's shoulders.

"Hey, it's fine. Nothing for you to worry about, Big Mama! Everything's peachy, right, Second?". Second, feeling trapped, eyes darting back and forth between them, could only nod and give a thumbs-up. Chosen narrowed his eyes, still suspicious, but decided to let it slide for now, not being the kind to press more for answers. He turned back to his cooking, leaving Second and Dark to breathe a sigh of relief.

"I'm gonna kill you". Second seethed, his gaze burning hot holes into Dark. Undeterred, Dark simply hooked his arm around Second's shoulder and gestured towards the stairs.

"You and me, upstairs". Dark said, dragging Second up the stairs to his room, the sound of their hurried footsteps soon fading from earshot. The kitchen returned to a calm silence, the tension of the earlier confrontation evaporating, leaving only the fading hum of the fridge and the crackling of the stove in its wake.

Second sat fuming in his beanbag, emerald eyes practically sparking with annoyance. He squeezed his knees tighter to his chest, his heart mirroring the uncomfortable pressure. Across the room, Dark lay sprawled on Second's bed, hands tucked comfortably behind his head, a knowing smirk plastered on his face.

"Spit it out, Second. I'm waiting!". Dark drawled, his voice laced with amusement. Second bit back a retort. He really didn't want to have this conversation, at least not now.

"It's... nothing, really". He mumbled, squeezing his knees tighter and shifting uncontrollably, hoping Dark would just drop it.

"Oh, I'm sure. You're just sitting here, glowing with happiness and serenity! But you know what! Let me guess this one... Victim, right?".

"If you already know, why bother asking?". Second snapped. He knew it!! He knew what Dark will say after this. And the last thing he needed was another one of his 'I told you so' speeches about Victim being a bad friend.

"Just trying to gauge how many fights you two have had this month!". Dark said jokingly, though he wasn't going to say how he never ever liked Victim, or the fact that he and Chosen wanted to confront this kid themselves and tell him to stay the hell away from their little brother.

"If you don't want to know, then just leave me alone!". Dark sat up, his teasing demeanor fading slightly as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Okay, okay, chill. Geez, I was just messing with you. Seriously though, what happened this time?".

Second knew there was no use in pretending he's fine when he's clearly fooling no one. Heart hammering in his chest, he took a deep breath, gazing down at his knees, knowing he could avoid this discussion no more. Nevertheless, the words required for explaining situations with Victim didn't seem to come as easily as he'd have liked. It felt like his mind had the words but his tongue refused saying it out loud, and all he could say was,

"We... had a fight". He mumbled, his voice tight with frustration as he glanced up at his older brother. Dark, hardly a picture of surprise, rolled his eyes with a mocking chuckle as he mumbled,

"Oh boy, Here we go again". Still giggling at the predictable path that this conversation was taking. Watching the color rise in Second's face, cheeks puffing out in anger, he felt a vague sense of satisfaction.

"Dark!! Do you even want to know, or should I just drop it?". Second barked out, cutting across Dark's amusement, who just chuckled again, holding up his hands in mock surrender, his eyes shining brightly in his eyes. This is so fun!

"Calm down, kiddo. Now tell me about this 'Victim' saga". He said softly, attempting to soothe Second's ruffled feathers. And with a curt nod, he continued, almost whispering,

"Victim and I... we kind of had a tiny fight on the way home. He flipped out because I kept yapping about Red". He pressed on the word 'yapping', using the same word Victim used earlier and groaning. He then paused, the memory of the altercation making his chest ache, blood pressure escalating as he remembered the earlier events, the unwarranted stubbornness and inconsiderate actions of Victim replayed vividly in his memory, his anger fuelled again. He was in his own bubble of thoughts that he didn't notice Dark's confused face or the way he started counting with his fingers before asking,

"Red? Who's Red? I thought Dobby from Harry Potter was your only friend. Never heard of this friend of yours before". Ignoring Dark's sarcasm or the way Dark had just called his friend Victim Dobby, and focusing on the question. Second's anger seemed to dissipate a little, a tiny, soft smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he thought about his new friend.

"He's just... a new kid in school. He's really nice. And funny". He laughed ever so slightly to himself, feeling the tension ease from his shoulders. Red, with his bright smile and easy laughter, had a way of chasing away the storm clouds. Dark watched Second, his expression unreadable. He'd never seen Second so animated, his eyes losing their angry spark and returning to their normal vibrant green. It was fascinating, this instant shift in Second's mood. Usually it takes a lot of ice cream and concentration training to calm him down.

To be honest, Dark though that Second had again made another bad, toxic friend. But seeing how happy and bright Second is, maybe this Red was... good. Deciding to let the whole 'Victim' issue slide for now, Dark leaned back against the wall.

"Go on, tell me more about him. He sounds like fun".

And he wasn't lying, he had a feeling this was going to be interesting. And so, Second, his heart lighter than it had been all afternoon, launched into an enthusiastic account of his day with Red, his voice filled with laughter and genuine excitement. Dark listened, a small smile playing on his lips.

Maybe, just maybe, this Red was exactly what Second needed.

( Woohoo!! Finally did it! And look, it's chapter 10. I'm doing... kinda good so far, and school is coming so that's something else.

Anyways, I have no idea if I'll be able to update next week, and it's literally 3:46 am, everyone is asleep and I feel like a zombie lol. And about school, well change some things here, I won't update every Tuesday but rather every Friday. And I'm soooo sorry because I still didn't finish "Mission To The Unknown".

Still, hope you like this chapter and have a good day!).