The Icarus To Your Certainty

chapter two

"You can stop following me now," Elaine said with an irritated sigh. "I know the way to the flat."

She heard Vegas' footsteps until she was beside her again, hands in pockets and her usual messy hair.

"We're going to the same place. You do know I live in the flat you're staying at, right? It's our home," Vega said with a grin and a knowing tone. "Can I tell Aaron you followed him?"

"Oh, you and Aaron can sod off," Elaine growled, hearing Vega chuckle loudly. "And on the way, do tell Aaron that I won't be giving him any money from the inheritance if he plans on wasting it on illegal bets."

"Aaron doesn't bet," Vega said, clicking her tongue.

"I saw him," Elaine said, rolling her eyes. "He was betting on you, of course. Wherever one goes, the other is right behind, isn't that so?" Vega had never seen one without the other since Aaron and Vega met at eleven. It was maddening how Vega had come in and monopolised all her brother's attention. And it was even more maddening when she realised she had a crush on the girl she was supposed to hate.

"Well, anyone would bet on me," Vega shrugged, walking beside her. She had put her shirt back on, still unbuttoned and stained with the blood she had wiped off Elaine. "I always win," she said with a smug smile.

Elaine ignored her. "I hardly believe you and my brother aren't up to some ridiculous nonsense together."

"I didn't say we weren't," Vega replied, raising an eyebrow at Elaine, who stopped walking and crossed her arms, glaring at her.

"No," Elaine said.

Vega smiled. "Yes."

"Aaron is a fighter," Posh, high-class, but also obnoxious and prone to impulsive decisions, it should have been obvious that her older brother would get involved in a fight club without Elaine overseeing him. She still remembered having to snitch on him to their parents when they were children because Aaron was certain he could slide down the bannister at Grimmauld Place without falling four stories and breaking his neck. Elaine wasn't so sure and preferred to see her brother grounded rather than hurt.

"The one and only thunder," Vega joked, putting her hands over her mouth to imitate the noise of a cheering crowd.

The thought of her brother and Vega participating in illegal fights shattered Elaines' plans to get through university without any further problems or tragic events. After the death of her parents and the issues she had with them before the accident, she just wanted peace and quiet. She hoped to build a better relationship with her brother, without the resentment that had marred their younger years, and maybe, just maybe, make some new friends if she felt up to it. She had meticulously planned how her next few years in London would unfold: she would improve her grades, which had plummeted just before her parents' deaths, pass her classes, and graduate. No distractions.

Peace and quiet. That’s all she wanted. But looking at Vegas' mischievous gaze in front of her, she felt that might be the last thing she would ever have.

Elaine scoffed. "I'm possibly endangering myself living with two of the stupidest people in all of London," she said, trying to get past Vega.

The taller one stopped her with a simple hand on her shoulder, causing her to bump into her toned arm. Elaine s' eyes were drawn to the golden chain around Vegas'' neck, a thin pendant of a cross resting on her chest. The bright neon lights from a shop window illuminated the pendant each time they flashed, casting a reflection that made the chain appear even more golden. It stood perfectly with Vegas' and pale skin. Her eyes darted to the way the chain sat across Vegas'' collarbone. Since the last time she had seen her a few years ago, Vega had definitely grown up. She had always been athletic, the captain of the football team at their boarding school, but now Elaine could see how boxing had made her grow even more.