Re-Arranged

Chapter Twenty Three

Frank knocked first.

That was all it took to move the mountains. He waited till a begrudging "Come in" was said. When he strode in, he wore a big smile and had an easy way about him. He was not guarded or wary around the young kid. He did not flinch under the glares of said kid.

Frank did not speak in curt tones either and quite like his name, he was straightforward. He said he wanted to say a proper hello. He said he and his wife, the kid's Aunt Katherine, were entrusted with the responsibility of the kid. He said that when he had been born, they both had been here and even chose the name for him.

For all that he said, all he got in return were sneers and disbelieving tsks. Had the elders not always lied in order to douse his well-placed anger? They only sweet-talked to him when they needed him to behave, when they needed him to not pick on the other kids in school, when they needed him to not make the nannies quit, when they needed him to get along with siblings who did nothing other than give him cold shoulders.

He might have had three blood-related brother and sisters on paper, but that was only where they existed. They stopped talking when he was near, they steered the youngest sister away when they saw him coming, they whispered a lot when they could not get rid of him – his big brother especially shot down all his approaches with one throwaway glance of narrowed eyes.

And on top of that, there were these cousins of his – the disgusting, annoying Sloane sisters. They acted like the whole world revolved around them! Like the world they lived in was nothing but fluffy orange clouds and cotton candies. He took a dislike to them from an arm's length and he could not shake it off, even in the years to follow.

Right then though, as Frank went on and on about things Sawyer cared not to pay attention to, the six year old boy could only frown and wonder when this new charade would end. He remained unmoved by the gesture on the first day.

Next day came with another knocking and it was the same person doing it.

Frank returned every day to knock and talk. By the fourth day, even the six year old was engrossed in the tales. When Frank recounted how he and Katherine had been chased through the college campus by an irate professor because they had knocked over paint cans in the classroom while arguing with each other, Sawyer could not stop the sounds that erupted from his throat. That might have been the first time he laughed, as far as he remembered.

Just like that, it became the easiest thing to get along with Frank. What escaped his notice then was the lingering figure of his aunt in the distance. Unlike her husband, Katherine could not take the step to get closer.

~

Sawyer broke out of the reverie and was about to head upstairs when his eyes landed on another pair of eyes attached to the face of the kid he had labelled as the Obnoxious One. That the twelve year old was judging him and his actions right now was blatantly plastered all over his face.

Behind the kid, the room to the left had its door slightly ajar. When he caught the kid's mother staring at him through the gap, she turned away quickly.

"If you're gonna hide," the kid began in a low tone, effectively bringing Sawyer's attention back to him, "it isn't that hard to stick along the walls and hurry upstairs. This divider is such a brilliant blind spot." He shook his head, chuckling.

Sawyer cocked his head to one side and raised an eyebrow. "Not what I expected to hear from you, kid."

Ben shrugged. "That's because we've never talked. I only seem obnoxious when you see me as a third person. Once you get to know me," – he took a deep breath and rolled his eyes – "you'd know you were right all along. I don't have layers."

"How did you –?"

"What? You thought you were the only one assuming what's going through everybody's head? Please, I get bored easily. Like right now," he added as he flattened himself against the wall and nodded for Sawyer to do the same.

As they slunk along the walls and the doors, Sawyer glanced down at the creased brows of the kid and wondered why he looked familiar. "So, what's with the helping?"

Ben's shoulder heaved up and down as he let out an exaggerated sigh and turned his back to Sawyer just as they reached the stairs. "I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't help a fellow spy."

Sawyer felt a chuckle bubbling at the back of his throat and he swallowed it before it could surface. They took measured steps to climb the stairs as quietly as possible.

"Though, I do not appreciate how you asked the wedding gift I got Uncle Darian and Kelly to be stored away. That comment pretty much made me not want to get to know you."

"Really? And not the fact that I rudely brushed off everyone in the house?"

"Heh. You don't know who you're talking to."

"Are you really a kid?"

Ben stopped at the landing and grinned at what he considered his masterpiece. "By all laws," he replied eventually.

Sawyer stood beside him and looked at the cartoonish rendition of his cousin and cousin-in-law's picture. It was not that bad, now that he took the time to see it at leisure. "I do like the beards. Usually people stop at moustaches. Beards was a good touch."

"Of course. You're talking to a genius, you know."

~

"Let me guess. You did not get your glass of milk, did you?"

Evelyn's pronouncement was met with an elaborate and dismissive roll of the eyes before Ben answered it in proper words. "I drank it, washed the glass, put it back on its rack, so you won't find a dirty one in the kitchen sink if you go to check right now."

"No, the thing I'll check is whether the amount of milk has reduced."

Ben stared at his mother for a long while before scowling and muttering, "Drat it. Such an airtight plan blew up in my face."

"That's because you missed the obvious thing."

"Yeah, it didn't occur to me that you would check the volume of the milk."

"No," Evelyn corrected him while shifting her weight and stretching out her legs under the low table. Maisley and Paige did not seem bothered by what was going on around them as they hunched over the same table, colouring apples silver and yellow respectively. "What didn't occur to you is that I wouldn't know the difference in the amount of milk anyway."

While his mother stood up to check on baby Rhys and tickled his chin as he gurgled in his sleep, Ben stared at her with his lower jaw lower than it was supposed to be physiognomy-wise. He got out-smarted by his mother! How could that happen? What kind of a bewitched change in fate was this?!

*

A/N: Made it! I guess I can reveal the reason for being so last minute these days - I'm planning to take part in the Open Novella Contest this year so I'm planning out a story for that and the last date for it is so, so, so close! It's also why I haven't had time to check on my notifications either! I can only hope and pray you guys are liking this story too!

Anyway, much like today, I'll be sure to post another chapter, come Friday! Until then, have a great weak, awesomers! <3 <3