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TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE

CHARLOTTE WOKE TO THE SOUND OF YELLING COMING FROM DOWNSTAIRS.

Her eyes opened, blearily looking around the room to see the sunlight streaming in through her curtains. She hadn't heard her alarm go off yet, and judging by the tiny clock on the bedside table, it was seven in the morning.

Charlotte had half a mind to be pissed for being woken up so early on a Saturday, but the voices only seemed to be getting louder and louder behind her door that led to the hallway.

She tossed her blanket off of her body before climbing out of the bed, shuffling toward the door. Opening it, the voices were crisper, and what followed was the sound of another door nearby opening.

Her head jerked toward the sound, spotting Joshua's head peaking out from his own doorway. His hair was disheveled, like he had been woken up by the noise as well. Both siblings stepped out of their rooms, meeting just at the top of the staircase. "You look like shit," Joshua mumbled, a his lips pulled in a half-grimace as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Charlotte only levelled a glare his way, because he was no doubt talking about the sheer exhaustion on her face. She ended up falling asleep just four hours ago, when all the research was said and done, leaving her to overthink her entire existence.

"You're such a dick," she snapped in response, a subtle agitation seeping into her tired bones.

Joshua went to retaliate, only to be interrupted by a male's voice that they heard oh so clearly. His eyes widened comically. "Is that—"

They both knew that voice, and it was one that sent Charlotte rushing down the staircase with her brother just a step behind her. The closer they got to the kitchen, the louder, the more pronounced the voices became.

Once the pair rounded the corner, footsteps halting in the archway, the dispute between the two individuals stood near the back door ceased. Both of them turned to the teens— both of them being their mother clad in business casual attire, and a young man who they both hadn't seen since Christmas.

"Nate?" she breathed out, confusion written across her face.

Nathaniel Henry looked the same as he did the last time he came to visit, the winter break providing him with just enough time to spend two weeks with the family before he was needed back. He seemed busier than normal ever since, his phone calls home dwindling until they were about as nonexistent as can be.

But there he was, standing there with a sleek suitcase at his side and a pair of sunglasses perched on his head. All traces of rigidness she'd caught before their shouting came to an abrupt stop vanished, instead a calm grin took over his features.

"Charlie," he greeted, grin widening as the girl approached him. She threw her arms around her brother, practically squeezing the life out of him despite the fact that she had no idea what he was doing here. Once they parted, Nathaniel looked to the youngest Henry. "How are you, kid?"

Joshua lingered for a beat, always just a step behind Charlotte, before he found himself being pulled into a hug by their older brother. Charlotte noticed the way he seemed hesitant to hug Nathaniel back, but eventually did so. "I'm good."

That was surely something she would remember for later.

"What are you doing here?" she asked instead once the boys parted, seeing her mother's arms cross over her chest in her peripheral.

Nathaniel went to speak, just for their mother to chime in. "Your brother's gonna spend some time at home for a bit," Samantha answered on his behalf, and in an instant, the man mentioned tensed.

"Why?" Joshua questioned, almost hovering beside Charlotte as his eyes moved from their brother to their mother. 

"My semester finished early," Nathaniel responded, evidently trying to beat their mother to the punch. "Figured I'd work from home, help out since Dad's going to be gone until the end of summer."

Charlotte's eyes bugged out of her head. "The end of summer?" she parroted back, utterly bewildered. Their father never spent that much time away from home, no matter how frequently he was gone. "Wh—"

"Enough with the questions, Charlotte," Samantha sighed, proceeding to reach for her purse that was laying atop the granite island. "I'm off to run some errands. You both can help your brother settle in."

"I can settle in just fine," came their brother's response, his tone just riding the line between snippy and dismissive.

Samantha Henry merely glanced back at her eldest child and sighed, before the sound of her footsteps began retreating.

It was quiet for a beat, the three waiting until they could hear the agitated slam of the front door. Charlotte offered her brother a tense smile, unsure what had gotten into their mother.

"...welcome home?"

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"Was that awkward, or was that fucking awkward?"

"Fucking awkward, a hundred percent."

Immediately after ushering Nathaniel to his room, the same room that had been turned into a guest room ever since he first left for graduate school a few years ago, the youngest Henry siblings holed themselves up in Joshua's room.

Charlotte's brain felt like it was on overdrive as of late, what with the revelation of the supernatural, with Klaus Mikaelson and his fascination of Lottie, and now with their brother's random homecoming. Though, for the two of them, the Nathaniel thing really took precedence as of that moment, considering Joshua's lack of knowledge about the other issues. 

"From what I remember, I'm pretty sure he still has another month left before his final exams," Joshua added from his spot in his large beanbag chair. "There's no way his semester ended early."

"Unless he's skipping his exams?" Charlotte offered, tossing a small baseball in the air as she laid on the boy's bed.

"No chance," Joshua denied with a huff. "He's there for business, is he not? No chance they'd let him flake on exams."

Joshua had a point; there was no feasible way he could be able to come home now, not unless he took a leave of absence. Surely they would've known if he took a leave, wouldn't they?

"Can we talk about Mom? Or the fact that Dad won't be home until the end of summer?" she asked with a shake of her head.

"The whole thing is bizarre," Joshua said. "Maybe it's the full moon. Y'know how people act all looney when the full moon's out?"

The baseball hit Charlotte square in the head when her movements faltered at his words. "That's just a saying," she dismissed. "Plus, I've never acted looney."

Joshua stifled a laugh. "That's some bullshit, with a capital B," he responded almost immediately. "You get so... crabby."

She sat up, the baseball in her head launching toward the boy who descended into a fit of chuckles ."I do not get crabby," she barked out.

"You do," he scoffed in retort. "Reminds me of Tyler. Maybe you spend too much time with him."

At the mention of the Lockwood boy, she frowned. Tyler did get affected by the full moon, but she sure as shit didn't; so why was her brother saying they acted just alike under those circumstances?

Charlotte flopped her head back onto the mattress, wanting nothing more than to get answers to the multitude of problems at hand. "They'd tell us if anything was up," she assured him, though she had taken a breath before the words left her mouth.

There was a heavy beat of silence before she heard her brother's response.

"Would they really?"

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[ wyn's note ]

things are gonna get crazy from here on out .... warning alert is now LOL

all this is happening while Caroline n Tyler were kidnapped LOL ignorance is bliss truly