Neal opened the door, and raised an eyebrow at the small group gathered at his door, but before he could ask who they were, one of the figures stepped forward. "Nemo?" She blurted, surprise evident on her face when she pushed back her hood.
"Mari?" Neal asked, incredulous, ignoring the old nickname. A split second later, goofy grin spread across his face as he recognised two more people of the group. "Jenny, May!" His gaze wandered over the remaining three, unsure, the grin wavering sightly, but remaining in place. "And these are?"
"Meet Sierra, Sena and Sally." The tallest, May, his childhood friend, stepped forward, smiling warmly. "Maternal cousins of ours."
Neal nodded in greeting. Stepping aside, he gestured at them to come in, and went back into the warmth of his apartment, humming. A few moments later, he went back to his front door again, his confusion reaching it's peak when he found the girls standing outside solemnly. "Why aren't you coming in? It's freezing outside." He said. May looked away, not meeting his eyes, instead hiding behind the smaller figure holding her hand.
"You didn't invite us in." Marilyn stated matter-of-factly, waving her gloves in the air.
Neal rolled his eyes. "You take the vampire thing too far, Mari." He said, then bowed deeply, surprising them. "My most heartfelt apologies," He raised his head, eyes twinkling merrily. "For not inviting you in. Please, do come in, all of you, and make yourselves comfortable in my small, humble home."
Marilyn strode inside haughtily, earning a loud giggle from Sally, who flounced in after her, seeming energised. June and May helped a shivering Sena inside, followed by Sierra, who held onto May's sleeve, offering a small smile as greeting to Neal as she passed by him. Once everybody was settled down in Neal's living room, each with a bowl of porridge, Neal started his interrogation. "Why are you guys here? Without any type of notice? And with so many people? Why do you guys look different? What's with the suspicious clothes? And-"
"Slow down, and maybe shut up. This is our first meal in days." Marilyn replied, savouring a spoonful of porridge. "But seriously, when did you become such a good cook?"
"They say hunger is the best seasoning."
Neal noted the 'first meal in days' part and May's unusual rudeness and kindly shut up as Marilyn had asked, the gears of his mind working out all the possibilities of what was happening. Marilyn carried on with her meal, chatting animatedly with Jennifer, who also seemed to be ignoring him. When he turned to try get some answers from May, he found her having a hushed conversation with Sierra, who was laughing at what the other girl said. Very soon, Neal and Marilyn were entertaining their audience with a heated arguement on a random topic, having had finished their dinner a long time ago. Laughter filled the room, and, as Marilyn stopped to take a breath, Neal decided to speak up. "I was on the phone when you guys knocked on the door." He noticed how everybody queitened down almost immdiately, tensing. May's hand flew to the necklace around her neck, clutching it tightly out of nervous habit.
"With who?" Marilyn asked after a moment of hesitation. Sierra's grip on May's hand tightened, and she squeezed it back, trying to reassure her elder cousin.
"Mother." Neal answered.
"Oh... What did she say?" Marilyn asked, face devoid of any expression.
"That you guys were murdered."
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A/N: Hello again, to who ever is actually reading this. Sorry for such a short chapter. And the story is probably developing too fast, but I'm not really good with foreplay. I don't really have anything else to say so... Please read and review?
