Locket Of Serendipity | The Music Freaks

Prologue

Contains spoilers of episode 6 ahead!

"Gah! I know it's in here somewhere!" A mauve-haired teenager grunted, letting out a huff of frustration as he moved a stack of several large boxes out of the way, continuing his search.

"Sweetie, are you sure it's up here?" Luke asked, turning towards his boyfriend, beginning to open up a large indigo bin.

"Yes!" Zander exclaimed, "My mother must've put it in one of these boxes..." He muttered, clear annoyance brimming his tone.

"Why don't we just wait for her to come home then?" Hailey spat, the most irritated of the small group, "My knees are starting to hurt from the crouching, it's dusty up here, and I'm getting a bit claustrophobic..." She mumbled, glancing around the attic, overcrowded with random objects and labeled boxes.

"Yeah, well my keyboard is broken. We all have our problems," The violet-eyed boy said, his voice so angered it could be mistaken for a yell, "I don't like this either! But the sooner we find it, the sooner we get out of this disgusting, spider-infested attic, so just deal with it!"

"Remind me why I'm helping you..." The aqua-haired teenager muttered, not intending for anyone to hear, however immediately realized she failed when Zander whipped his head around to glare at her.

"Look! I found a teddy!" Bethany exclaimed, pulling a light brown bear out of a large box, temporarily breaking the tension between her two half-siblings. She pulled it to her chest, hugging it.

"Oh, I think that's Zander's old teddy bear!" Luke exclaimed, crawling closer to the young girl, "He used to bring it everywhere! I used to be jealous of it..." He let out a soft chuckle, settling down next to the lilac-haired girl.

Zander gazed at the pair for a moment, before looking back at Hailey, the same scowl finding its way back onto his face, "You're the one who let Bethany play with my keyboard! The least you could do is help me find my old one until I take it to the shop!" He paused for a moment, his expression transitioned from angry to confused, "Why are you in such a bad mood recent?"

Hailey was ready to object. She was about to deny being in a bad mood, however, just sighed instead. There was a brief silence, as her ebony eyes landed on her younger sister, who was happily playing with Zander's old bear. "I don't wanna say while she's here..." Hailey explained, referencing the young child.

Luke, who had been listening to their conversation, quickly took action, turning towards Bethany, "Hey, Beth," He began, gaining her attention away from the stuffed bear, "How about we go downstairs? Your siblings need to find Zander's keyboard... I can let you play on my baby!" He bribed. After a quick moment, he corrected himself, "My drums. I can let you play on my drums."

The young girl's eyes lit up, glistening with euphoria, "Yeah!" She beamed, immediately jumping up. She was short enough the low roof wouldn't hit her head.

"Okay! Let's go!" The auburn-haired boy grinned, attempting to match her enthusiasm. He smiled at the pair of step-siblings, before helping Bethany down the steep attic stairs, then following her down.

Luke closed the door behind them, causing most of the light in the room to vanish. The only source of dim lighting came from the two small windows at the side, mostly blocked by large boxes.

Zander managed to find the light switch in the little lighting, pulling on the white string, causing the faint lightbulb in the center of the room to light up. It gave a warm orange glow. Though dim, it was enough for them to continue their search for the keyboard.

After a little while, Zander spoke up, "So, are you going to answer my question?"

Hailey took a deep breath before speaking up, "Well, recently, I doubt you've realized, but... Drew and his friends are being really hard on me. They somehow found out about my birth mother, and they're..." She took another shaky breath, blinking back tears, "They're using that against me..."