Fight for them.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇɴ

Elara's car pulled up to Adria's house, she sighed as she climbed out, already feeling the warmth of a familiar, chaotic evening waiting inside. School had been in session for about a month now, and they'd all started to settle into the routine. Mostly, anyway. Olivia still had her moments where all she wanted were her brothers, but overall, school was going smoothly for now.

As soon as Elara opened the door, she was greeted by Wesley's barking laughter and the tiny, thundering footsteps of Olivia sprinting straight toward her, arms stretched up. Elara chuckled as Olivia tried to coax her into picking her up.

"I'm not gonna pick you up, Livvy—I'm all sweaty." She really didn't want to pick her up right now; she had just gotten off her shift and was indeed sweaty.

"Up!" Olivia demanded, tugging insistently at her pant leg.

Elara laughed and nudged her back gently, sticking her tongue out playfully. "Go tell Adria I'm gonna shower, alright?" She hoped Olivia would actually relay the message, though she knew better than to rely on her for that she could barley talk in the first place.

Eventually, Elara made her way to the kitchen, following the sounds of laughter. All the boys were crowded around the table with a handful of cards each, and Adria was holding Olivia, smiling at the chaos.

"How wa—"

"Go fish!" Wesley interrupted at the top of his lungs, and everyone sighed in unison, rolling their eyes.

"Wesley, we're not playing that for the hundredth time," Hunter said with as much patience as he could muster, though Elara could tell he was already exhausted from correcting Wesley.

Elara laughed, drawing everyone's attention, and Wesley slipped down from his chair to waddle over to her, arms up again. She gave in, scooping him up and carrying him over to the table, eyeing their game. Crazy Eights, she guessed, though she really had no idea.

"How was work?" Adria asked as she eyed her, a little curiosity mixed with sympathy.

"Slow," Elara shrugged, as she glanced over at Olivia, who was glaring at Wesley, probably annoyed that he'd stolen her spot. "Barely got any calls, and for the ones we did get, it was just stupid kids doing dumb things." She smirked as she shot a glance at Faron and Ethan, clearly enjoying the jab. They both rolled their eyes, but grinned anyway.

After a while, Elara decided to let the kids unwind here for a bit longer. She wasn't in the mood to be responsible for them just yet, especially when Adria was more than willing to lend a hand. She plopped down on the couch, finally allowing herself a breather, while Hunter was curled up beside her, face glued to her phone.

"What are you even doing on there?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, half-curious and half-amused.

"Playing your games," Hunter replied, barely looking up, clearly absorbed.

Elara leaned over to sneak a glance at the screen and decided to let him keep going, more than happy for the distraction.

                   ₊˚* ੈ✩‧₊˚* ੈ✩‧₊˚* ੈ✩‧₊˚

By the time school rolled around the next morning, Elara was struggling with Wesley.

"Buddy, you have to go to school." She rubbed the boy's back as he lay face down on the bed. His usual, eager self was nowhere to be seen.

"I don't wanna," Wesley mumbled into the pillow. Elara sighed, lying down beside him to be closer.

"And why's that?" She looked at him, trying to get him to open up, but he stayed buried in the pillow. Resting her hand on his forehead, she realized he felt warmer than usual. "You feeling sick?"