Snakes and Ladders

Chapter 31: The Art of Breaking in

Nikolai scowled at the two people in front of him, his pink lips upturned slightly in disgruntlement.

"Ugh" Nik noted examining their outfits "What are you wearing?"

The taller one had a black bandana wrapped around the top of his blonde head. Two uneven holes badly cut through the fabric to reveal unique sea green eyes.

The aforementioned scoffed "You said to dress up in all black and look casual" the individual gestured wildly to his monochrome outfit, that mirrored a combination of what you'd see a biker from the 1980's wear and a robber "I followed the criteria Nik"

Nik sneered back "Yeah if you want to look like a stupid ninja" the teen rebuked brusquely.

The golden haired teen grinded his teeth at him, muttering incomprehensible things under his breath.

Nikolai then turned his rage onto his next culprit "And you!" He pointed an accusing finger at the slighter shorter person standing next to green eyes "I expected better from you!"

The second was dressed in a more inconspicuous garb, yet it still didn't even qualify for meeting Nikolai Valentine's expectations.

The shorter teen had a dark mass of hair, with intense cerulean blue eyes that mirrored crystal clear water. He wore designer black ripped jeans and a shirt that said "Fight me if you dare" in bold red letters.

He simply rolled his eyes in annoyance "Oh please. Stop being so fucking dramatic Valentine, plus" he motioned
nonchalantly at himself "this is my definition of casual"

"Your shirt is too flashy"

"Your face is too flashy"

Just as Nikolai was about to snarl a comment back, the boy with green eyes, Antonio Vasiliou intercepted the fight that was sure to break out.

He stepped between the two with his hands held up in a gesture of peace "Alright ladies" both glared at him, Tony promptly ignored them and kept talking "as much as I love seeing you two fight. We have higher priorities right now such as infiltrating Nikki's home and beating the shit out of his motherfucking sadistic shit of a brother" The blonde said all in one breath, his tone casual as if they were discussing the weather or his favorite sweet, cream puffs.

'Nikki' Valentine straightened, sparing a glance at Tatum Beaumont "He's right" Nik then cracked his knuckles "All right let's make my brother black and blue" he smirked, almost eerily similar to his older brother "ya know as a welcoming present" he added as an afterthought

Tony stared at him. It was in these moments in where he wondered how Nik wasn't in jail yet, his excited glee making him perturbed and slightly disgusted at his behavior.

He found himself unconsciously comparing his relationship with Elliott and Warren vs. Nikolai's.

I mean....don't get him wrong. He knew the feeling of wanting to beat up his brothers (Warren in particular) but he never did. Hurting a family physically was foreign to him, and Tony couldn't fathom why someone would want to.

But Tony wasn't one to pry into other people's business and so he forced a grin onto his perfectly symmetrical face "So who's hopping the gate first?"

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Tatum grunted in pain, his hand grasping the black railing in a vice like grip.

"Come on Beaumont!" Nik hollered from the other side of the metal black fence "JUMP!"

Tatum gave him a disgruntled, sour look. "I'm trying" he muttered softly, gulping deeply as he stared at the height between him and the ground.

Nik groaned at his response, while Tony encouraged him from the sidelines. "Come on Tatum you can do it!" Sounding oddly like a cheerleader to him at the moment.

Tatum just gave him a blank stare, though his whole indifferent demeanor was thrown off by his awkward position on the fence.

One leg was dangled over the entrance of the fence whilst the other was hanging loosely on the other end. It almost looked like the boy was attempting the splits if you ignored the occasional uneasy glance he issued at the ground.

His hand kept on clenching and unclenching the iron railing, unwilling to fully let go.

Tatum glanced over to see Nikolai glaring at him harshly, as if willing his eyes to levitate his body to their side. Either that or hoping he'll fall off from the intensity of his glare and land on the ground finally. It was probably both knowing the impulsive Valentine.

Meanwhile Tony was biting his lip, seeming to be in a deep dispute in his mind. After he traveled up to see Tatum's lengthy form perched on the fence, looking in no hurry to get down, he made his resolve.

He called Emilia.

Tony put it on speakerphone, flashing Tatum the name with a goofy grin.

Tatum widened his eyes at the caller ID, speechless for a second, before he crashed back into reality and promptly opened his mouth to protest.

But it was already too late, as a female voice echoed "Hello?" making Tatum feel like he was experiencing heavy heart palpitations in a matter of seconds.

Tony gave a toodooloo wave, Tatum gaping openly at him as he conversed with his (*ahem* not at all crush).

The little asshole kept on sneaking glances at Tatum, just to rile him further, along with catching him off guard, which he certainly delivered if his blushing was anything to go by.

"Yeah so Em could you come over to Nik's house please?" Tony eyed Tatum from his peripheral vision.

His next words almost made Tatum jump down from the fence, just so he could throttle him senseless.

"Why? Oh well, it's simple really. Our dear Tatum needs your help Em" he cheerfully exclaimed before immediately hanging up on her, not waiting for Emilia's response.

Tatum glared daggers at him. His cerulean eyes hardening, glacial coldness surrounding his aura in waves. Tony smartly decided to slightly edge away from him, widening the distance between the two.

He didn't want to die prematurely after all.

Hola muchachos y muchachas!

How y'all been doing?

First of all I have to admit my wrongdoing. I didn't update the story as recently as I said I would. I'm sorry guys truly.

Track practices, meets, and my job is taking so much of my time that I use to have for writing stories.

But for all who have patiently waited and stuck around for this story, a big thank you.

Seriously it means a lot. I never would have imagined this story would get this popular. I mean 5k? Woah I'm flabbergasted honestly.

Anyways I finally finished the draft I've been slowly creating for a week.

I can't make any promises that I'll update soon but I will eventually update it. I just don't know when.

I hope y'all enjoyed the story!

~Jaderunner