Weak Threads

Prologue: Five Years Ago

Sylvia Van Dorschner squinted her eyes and extended her right arm. She tried to reach the diamond earring that her older sister dropped. The earring glistened under the bed, waiting for her.

Her fingers touched the earring and caused it to move further away from her reach. She bit her lip and stood up from her bent position.

She glanced at Felicity and mouthed, I can't do it, but Felicity's attention was interrupted by their father's sudden appearance behind the slightly opened door. The door opened wider and their father told Felicity to come out and play piano for the guests.

Their father walked in and stared at Felicity. Felicity nodded and placed her comb on the dresser. She immediately went out of the room in silence. David Van Dorschner always had an aura that made you do what he wants you to do.

David looked at his other daughter and pressed his lips together.

"Since you haven't mastered a single song with the piano yet, accompany me with the visitors," he instructed, his finger pointing at Sylvia.

Sylvia nodded with downcasted eyes. Felicity loves the piano but I don't, she thought miserably. She brushed off some dust from her green dress and walked out of the room. She straightened her posture and went to the stairs down to the foyer. She made sure she looked perfect and appealing. Her father followed behind her, his strong tobacco scent assured her his presence.

She stared at the visitors who entered from the main doors. The first thing they did was admire the entrance hall. Their gazes were fixed around large paintings that hanged on the walls. Sylvia preferred to stay in her room instead of being with them but despite of this desire, her foot stood still.

She recognized the Thomas family with their pale complexion and dark hair. Her father approached them and greeted them with a warm welcome. Mr. Thomas had a bushy moustache and a wide smile. Mrs. Thomas had a clean bun and a fixed expression. However, the boy behind the Thomas pair stared at her, caught her full attention. His face was one of those things that her friends would giggle about. She wasn't sure if he was worthy of giggles.

Mrs. Thomas pulled the boy infront of her and introduced him as Ezekiel Thomas, their only son. Sylvia was immediately introduced by his father to the pair. They talked about wines and different kinds of liquor. Mr. Van Dorschner lead the Thomas pair towards the cellar. They left the boy and Sylvia together. The parents told them to talk before walking away.

Sylvia looked at him from his leather shoes to his messy hair. Ezekiel did the same from her white doll shoes to her curly brown messy hair updo that Ezekiel didn't understand but nevertheless he thought that the weird white headband with bows and flowers made it look tolerable. They had the same height and same fixed expression.

Sylvia sat on the first step of the grand stairs and tapped the space beside her, signaling him to sit beside her. He nodded and sat beside her with no reaction. He could smell a Jasmine scent from her. Unlike the perfume used by the other visitors, it did not make his nose hurt, instead it calmed his senses.

"I'm the youngest daughter of David and Cherie Van Dorschner. My name's Sylvia and I'm eleven years old," she introduced and offered a handshake.

"We have the same age."

He shook her hand and noticed the glow of her brown eyes.

"What are you good at?" She asked, her eyes focused to his face.

He flashed a grin and chuckled. "I'm great with a lot of things," he said proudly. I hope you are too, he thought.

There was a long pause and awkward silence. They spent it by staring at the empty space infront of them.

Think of something, Sylvia!

"Well then, we can be friends. I'm tired of pretending to care about the dumb things that my friends always talk about. It's as if I'm the only smart one," she broke off the silence.

Her forehead formed a crease while she talked. She recalled moments when all of her friends would only talk about dolls and tea parties. They chose not to listen to her when she started a conversation about History and Geography.

"It's a big benefit to be smarter than everyone else," he replied with a smirk.

"Why do you think so?" She asked. Her right eyebrow raised and her lips pressed together. Her expression made him chuckle again.

"It means that you can stomp them with your wit."

Sylvia nodded in agreement and flashed a smile. Short stories especially fables amused her and were her favorite bedtime stories. The smart one would usually win in the end.

"We should be schoolmates in high school!" She exclaimed. She grinned as her palms touched together.

"Absolutely, I bet we'll be good friends soon enough," he added. Her smell clinged to his nose.

Before Sylvia could reply, their parents appeared infront of them and decided to separate ways. David lead Sylvia to another family and Ezekiel followed his parents towards the other halls.

After the Van Dorschner Soirée took place, Sylvia played chess with Chesney Curtis, her boy best friend. She told him about Ezekiel Thomas and Kelsi Cruz.

The knowledge of different liquors retained in Ezekiel's mind. It was the only thing that his father talked about the whole evening. Before leaving the Van Dorschner house, he glanced at the crowd once more and searched for the Van Dorschner girl.
He shook his head and decided to follow his parents towards their car.

-

Hello! I'm aware that there are still a couple of mistakes :s but anyway I hope you enjoyed this one. I'm really glad that the readers are hyped up with the plot. Credits to @ethereal29 for the exquisite blend!
Someone asked me about my inspiration of this story and this might come off unexpected or weird but dynamic duos who share abusive mutualisms inspired me, for example; Harley and Joker in the comics.