After the Drift

Chapter Four: Am I being Punk'd?

2023

Welp, my fun times were over.

My sister stood by the doorframe, looking demurely through her lashes at Chuck. He placed his arm back around my shoulders.

"Uhh Lacey Blackwell, I presume?"

The wrong name made my sister flinch and cheeks redden.

"It's Lucie, actually. We've met a few times before...", she looked at him expectantly. When recognition didn't run across his features, she continued. "I actually had texted you a few days ago... I got your number from Carlo."

I sighed, trying to get out from under the big oaf's arm.

Poor Carlo, I thought.

He was a J-tech maverick close to my age. He was insanely smart, cute in a boyish way and completely immature in every other way.

He befriended me first in the academy but really clung on once he met Lucie. He had the hots for my sister. Bad. She basically used him as the middle man and he just took it. Saying, "One day, Rube. She's going to fall madly in love with me and it'll all be worth it."

Most times I'd say a silent prayer that that would never happen. Lucie was a man eater.

Now I may seem harsh towards my sister, she's young and beautiful and can do whatever she wants. I just got stuck picking up the mess she left behind.

I've had to answer the drunken ex suitors at our suite door. I've fielded the phone calls, texts, heart-o-grams... you name it. I was done being the dutiful sister. I had big dreams and I was going to achieve them.

"Oh... I thought some stalker fan got my number...hence the ignore." He chuckled, looking towards me.

The wind picked up a bit causing an eerie howl to echo through the Jaegers and workers alike. I shivered slightly and felt his arm tighten around me.

I waited for my sister to inevitably say something that made him drool and go off for a romp together. And so the story goes...

I felt the hand on my shoulder start to rub small circles as my sister began speaking, "Well no, it was me. I even said so. I was hoping you and I could maybe catch a bite to eat in the caf together. Get to know each other...better." There was the twinkle laugh.

I looked at the hand currently undoing my walls easier than I would have liked. It was warm and large. Some weird inner me felt protected... man, I needed a reality check.

"I was actually just going to ask your sis here to come with me to the caf. To get to know her better."

I looked up at him, shocked would be putting it lightly. In my 18 years, I had never once been picked over my sister. My heart clenched at the feeling.

I peeked at my sister's face, she looked stricken. "You... uh, were? ...Well good. We can all go."

She easily slid back into her comfort zone. This was the ultimate challenge for her.

She reached out her hand to grab Chuck's free hand and pulled him back through the door. He kept his arm around my neck and I inadvertently got pulled through the door as well, albeit not so gracefully.

That's how we all walked down the hall way. Like some real weird family. Him with his arm around me, being pulled down the hall swiftly by my sister. She wouldn't let his hand go even if a Kaiju toppled on top of us.

Finally at the cafeteria, I was thankfully let go out of the semi-chokehold I had been put in. Chuck pushed me I front of him in line and handed me a tray. My sister looked put out behind him, but took a tray herself.