Falling For Your Antics (Editing)

Chapter 1- Macaroni Pies and Beautiful Eyes?

Let me know your thoughts!

---

"Branwen, wake up!" are the first words I heard at 9 o'clock in the morning, earning a groan from me.

"Branwen, we'll leave without you!" My brother Angus persisted towards me from my bedroom doorway. Meanwhile, I just laid in bed and rolled over towards the wall, so my back was faced towards him.

"Fine by me," I drowsily mumbled.

"Branwen, Mum says that if you don't get up you won't get a macaroni pi-"

"Alright, I'm up! I'm up!" His words caused me to bustle about as I got out of bed, frustrated with his usual daily pursuant to make my mornings hectic. A mantra along the lines of "Sod off you onion bhaji" ran through my head as I rubbed my temples, but I reminded myself he was only five years old and was passing on a message from our Mum. However, Angus could be so drone-like at times, and he might as well have put a fog horn to my ears to wake me up, because that's exactly what he sounded like first thing in the morning.

"Hurry up and get changed then, the cat needs fed and we're leaving in five minutes." He kindly informed me, resulting in yet another groan escaping my lips.

I walked to my bathroom to clean up and then got changed quickly into casuals, having no time to put an outfit together- not that it would have made me look any better anyway in my poor, sleep deprived state.

"Branwen, the cat's hungry!" My mum reminded me from the bottom of the stairs, watching me rush about taming my hair in the upstairs bathroom.

I bit my lip, remembering not to get agitated just because I had been waken up, and took a deep breath. "Why don't you feed her then? I haven't got enough time."

"She's your cat" she simply stated, as if that explained everything.

I hurried downstairs, waiting to be badgered about how we were running late and how it's always me that took the longest to get ready. But I'd say it isn't me that took the longest, but everyone else, considering I literally only just get woken up before I'm dragged out of the house.

"You took your time," Nate, my step dad, commented as I fed my ginger tabby named Roma, turned around, and discarded the empty cat food sachet in the bin.

Rolling my eyes, I walked to the sink and quickly washed my hands, before shaking them dry and trying to mask my irritation. "Well, you obviously didn't time it right then."

My mum just shook her head at me then ushered me out of the back door and into the car, then we left.

---

It was a Saturday morning and my family and I were doing our normal weekly trip to the town centre to, well, satisfy my little brother Angus' toy obsession, and to window shop because we could never afford much. We were currently standing in GAME, me stood looking out the window of the shop whilst my mother, my older sister August, and my brother were engrossed in talking about the new Skylanders Swap-whatever that was on the shelves. Quite frankly, I found this to be as confusing as ever, hence why I was stood aside from them. Suddenly, I heard Angus start to whine.
"-but mum, please! It's raaaare!" Angus practically pleaded to my mum who looked as if she was fed up of his onslaught that basically goes like "if I don't have it, it's rare." I glanced at him and shook my head.

"You say everything's rare." She stated matter of factly, looking around to see if anyone had caught attention of his pre-tantrum. Thank goodness my mum sent Nate away to go and pick up a parcel, otherwise he would have shouted at Angus out of annoyance by now.

"But mum!" Angus began to cry, "It really is! I can't find it anywhere online." He then started to stomp his feet.

People in the shop stopped and stared this time, as if they were shocked by his sudden outburst. I would be, too, but I'm used to his frequent tantrums. Most people just see a brown haired five year old boy causing a ruckus, but if they had more common sense they would realise that he's either just a spoilt brat (he is to me because he's the youngest child), and look away, or realise that he has a disability. I think the phrase there's more than meets the eye suffices this nicely.

Deciding this might be a good time to intervene, I approached my mum and said to her in an effort of help, "you better not give in, he always does this and you never have the money to buy it."

My mum glanced at Angus, who was still having a tantrum, and then back at me. "I'll just buy it to get him to stop, he's giving me a headache," she explained tiredly.

I think she could literally see the frustration in my eyes. My mum always talks about how she's skint and how she can never treat me and August etc. etc., but she practically buys Angus a new toy or two every week just to "stop his tantrums." It drove me crazy! I just couldn't understand her logic, but maybe that was because I had a more black and white view of things than her.

"How is he ever gonna learn that he might not always get his own way?" I hissed at her quietly so the bystanders wouldn't hear, however she just shook her head.

"Branwen, he's autistic for Christ's sake, he might never learn." I bit my lip and looked at my older sister August in thought, who was telling Angus that he can't always get what he wants because it isn't fair on the rest of us.

"Well, how come August understands then?" I asked, this time calm and curious to her reply.

Mum grabbed the toy Angus wanted off the shelve reluctantly. "That's different," she raised her voice at me,"just stop patronising me!" And with that, she grabbed Angus' hand and took him to the till to pay.

Shocked, but also not surprised because it was what usually happened, I turned to August.

"I can't believe this! Does Mum think this will solve the issue in the long run? She's just creating more money issues for herself!" 

August nodded her head in agreement, but said, "there's nothing we can do, mum's too oblivious."

---

After the whole thing in GAME went down, we went to a few more shops, including a jewellers that my mum and I always loved going into. In there, I had been glancing at the reduced items, and a silver promise ring had caught my attention. It was so simple yet so elegant, and the whole idea of a promise made by a lover captivated me. I had never truly been in love myself, but the thought of it had always made me anxious. Suddenly, I felt disheartened, as thinking on the path of love made me think of my mother's secret I had to keep, and of how my family life had more to it than what meets the eye. Yes, I knew that family love was different to romance love, but it was still the same roots, right?

I was staring at the ring, lost in my thoughts, until August called on me from across the shop to say we were going home now. "Alright, I'm coming!" I called back, and hurried up to my mum, Angus and August outside of the shop.

On the walk through the busy centre square of the outdoor shops, I drowned out my family's chatter and was handed my beloved macaroni pie I had been promised the night before. I swear, those things were God sent. Nate had joined us again, and I couldn't even look in the direction of him. There was this aura about him I never liked, and looking at him filled me with disgust.

It was in that moment, of looking in the opposite direction, that across the centre of the square where flower beds lay, my eyes locked with the most gorgeous sea green coloured eyes I had ever seen. I had never seen such a beautiful colour before, and the quick glimpse I caught of the man's face left me shocked at how exquisitely his eye colour contrasted with his tan skin. A feeling I couldn't begin to explain suddenly blossomed inside of me, but I couldn't put my finger on it. But all I knew, in that second long moment, was that the mesmerising eyes excited and intrigued me, and that this feeling was like no other peculiar feeling I had experienced before.