I See Diamonds

Chapter One: Lukas

I dig my nails into my pants in a futile attempt to steady my shaking hands. My heart thuds in my chest and my breathing is hard to control. My adoptive mother Judy, who I absolutely refuse to call my mom, takes no notice of my incoming panic attack. Of course. She never does. Neither does my adoptive father, Carlos. Neither of them will ever be real to me.

But one person is. My biological little brother Emil, who has stuck with me my entire life. He can read my emotions like a book, and I can do the same to him. We are one year apart, but we may as well be twins.

He digs into his backpack and hands me a small, squishy, blue ball. "Why do you have a stress toy with you?" I squeak out. I take it in spite of my embarrassment.

"I figured you would have forgotten to bring one," he says and shrugs, "Just watching out for you. Today is going to be a big day for the both of us." I nod and squeeze the ball tightly. The familiar motion is comforting.

"Thanks. It's been so long since we've been in a public school, hasn't it?" I say and almost chuckle at the nostalgia. "Mondo. This is the town where it all began, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I missed it. This is such a pleasant town. I even made some friends. I wonder if they still live here," Emil ponders.

I'm about to reply, but Judy parks the car. She turns around and smiles at us. It is fake. Or maybe it's genuine? I can never tell with her. I do get the feeling that, perhaps, she loves us as if we were her own children. But there's always a crippling doubt in the back of my mind. I'm a naturally paranoid person.

Her green eyes twinkle encouragingly. She doesn't know we can both see their color, or Carlos' brown eyes. "Have fun, loves. You'll do great, I promise." She tries to kiss our foreheads, but we both squirm away.

"We're in high school, Judy..." Emil grumbles. He rubs the spot her lips almost touched.

Judy laughs. "You're too stubborn. You've still got the mentality of children, don't you?" she teases. "It's okay, it's understandable. Hey, Lukas, don't forget your glasses case." She shoves her hand into her much too large purse and fishes out a small black case. I pluck it out of her hands and slide it into a pocket of my backpack. I'll wipe my blue glasses off later.

"Time to head off, c'mon," Emil says hastily and points his head at the car door. His pale blonde hair swishes slightly as he speaks. My brother is beautiful, I'm sure. But I don't think he is one for romance.

Of course, we've never met our soulmates. Perhaps that will all change? They are likely here. That's an incredible thought.

This is our first day back in public school, or in the town Mondo, in years. Ever since our childhood...ever since we were found.

I shudder and enter Mondo High School with fear in my heart.

(Betcha weren't expecting this, were you? If you haven't read my fanfic I See Emeralds yet, PLEASE do that first. This is part of the AU that takes place in. I just love this little AU I've crafted so much, haha. I wanted to make something about the original universe ever since I thought of Lukas and Emil's time traveler origins, but I was only recently struck with specific ideas. There are naturally differences between this universe and the one I See Emeralds takes place in. This is a failed one, and you'll see why eventually. One thing that remains the same is the soulmate eye color thing, and Lukas and Emil both still see all colors. However, you'll notice that their personalities are somewhat different than they are in I See Emeralds. But, again, you'll see why later. Going through so many different, failed universes can really change a person. Sorry for the long author's note, whoops! XP)