The Villainous Children Retire

Chapter 21

Wanting to protect Calix, who was now Liam, was a fine goal for the twins to have. The only problem was that they had no idea how to protect the boy.

After separating from Bryce and Cheryl, the twins often snuck around and watched from behind bushes as he either played or walked to and from school or wherever else he would head.

After observing him from a bush for the longest time, Esther finally sighed and said, "Okay, this isn't working."

"What else should we do?" asked Eli in a hushed yet aggressive voice.

"I don't know," sighed Esther again. "I wish school taught lessons about things like this instead!"

Esther bent down lower in the bush while Eli stood up to stretch his legs.

"Fighting demons was easier than this!" complained Esther. "Who was it again that told us we were like guardian angels?"

"And heroes," added Eli. "Don't forget about that one."

"We're far from either."

While Eli slowly began to stretch his arms out, Esther peered through the bush and said, "I wish this was a demon we were battling. We only know how to destroy, not protect."

She suddenly thought about something she shouldn't have and said something she hadn't meant to. "I wish demons were still around."

Eli's arms dropped and tensed up as he loudly shouted, "Are you crazy?!"

Liam, who wasn't far from them, turned, startled by the commotion Eli made.

"Hey!" whispered Esther as she grabbed her brother's shirt and yanked him down to the ground hard. 'Aren't you the one who's crazy?' she argued telepathically. 'Why would you be so loud when you know we need to be quiet?'

'How is it my fault when you had to say something so shocking?' Eli glared at his sister with serious eyes. 'Why in a million years would you say such a thing? You don't mean that.' He eyed her furiously. 'Tell me you didn't mean that.'

Esther returned his harsh gaze until she finally gave in.

'Fine, I don't mean it.'

'Good.'

'But that doesn't mean it wouldn't be easier.'

'You just had to add something like that in, huh?'

Eli stood up on his knees so he could get a better view of the boy, who was looking around quickly. He seemed determined to find the source of the noise.

'Don't tell me you don't agree.'

Eli's brow twitched; his sister was determined to win their little squabble.

'Okay,' he said tirelessly giving in. 'I agree that fighting demons would be easier in this situation.'

The shock of having her brother agree made her shoot up to reach his height level. She accidentally let out a loud, triumphant laugh. 'So, you do agree? I knew it!'

Esther didn't realize just how long she had been squatting down behind the bush until she had shot up too quickly for her body to process, and she fell back onto the bush very loudly.

'Hey!' Eli scolded, 'be quiet! He'll hear us at this rate!'

Esther looked at Eli stupidly before saying, 'Huh? Calix won't hear us. He's never been the brightest person in the world.'

As if she had cursed their fate by saying such things, Liam, who had found them and quite easily at that, leaned down and looked at the twins very confusedly and concerned.

"What are you guys doing?" he asked in his usual bashful voice.

'See?' remarked Eli. 'He caught us. We can't keep comparing Calix and Liam.'

'I get it,' Esther replied in an angered tone. 'Calix isn't the same as before.'

The twin's silence prompted the boy to ask again. "What are you guys doing?"

But they couldn't answer; they didn't know how. How could anything they say justify why they appeared to be watching him from behind a bush?

For a brief moment, they thought about confessing to their stalking but decided that wasn't the smartest thing to do.

Before they could come up with any plausible explanation, Cheryl and Bryce appeared behind them, unbeknownst to them, and Cheryl asked loudly, "Are you wanting to be friends with the new kid?"

"What?" gasped Liam. He looked at Cheryl shocked, before the shock turned into embarrassment. "Is someone really wanting to be my friend?"

As if he had never spoken a word, Cheryl carried on. "If you want to become friends with Liam, you can't hide from him. You have to talk to him!" She put her hands on her hips and declared triumphantly, "I will be your leader in friendship!"