moral of the story | a ninjago highschool fanfiction

[15] Brother from another mother, but like, actually

zane

"Julien?"

The boy - Evan, cowered his head and Zane took a step back. He hadn't meant to be threatening in the least but his emotions were spiralling out of his control.

Zane tried again, his tone softer and gentler. "Is he my brother?" It seemed to be the most logical explanation, the similarities, their pale hair and skin, high cheekbones and ice cold eyes people often mistook as menacing.

"Yes, well, sort of, almost." Zane smiled to himself. At least his father's usual bumbling self was back.

Evan had kept quiet the entire time, a thin grey blanket thrown over his shoulders. Zane's father stood up, adjusting the lapels of his lab coat to open the door. Zane arched a brow expectantly.

"Oh, yes, I forgot—"

Zane couldn't help but feel bad for Evan, seeing as he was used to his father being so scatterbrained, he sent the younger boy a reassuring look. It didn't appear to do much, because Evan kept quiet.

"Evan is your younger brother from a different...mother."

"Ah."

"He was at a boarding school previously — his mother had sent him there, but recently she passed away and the school sent him here."

If Evan was Zane's younger brother, then how come Zane had never seen him before? He left the subject alone, he could sense Evan's mere presence here was a touchy subject.

Dr Julien composed himself, tapping a finger on the leg of his thick rimmed glasses. "Zane, could you please show Evan around the house and then make dinner for us? He can stay in the guest bedroom, though I suppose it's his now isn't it?"

Zane nodded, their father leaving to pour himself into his work yet again. Standing up, he nervously held out a hand for Evan to take. He'd never had a younger sibling before, and he didn't exactly envy Nya and Kai for having a sibling relationship. Evan looked out the outstretched offering like an olive branch, gazing at it thoughtfully and Zane could almost see his crystal eyes softening as he placed a small hand inside Zane's.

Zane started at the front garden, logically that would be the best place to begin, so he guided Evan through the house slowly. His house was two floors, small, but two floors high. Immediately to the left, after the coat hooks was the kitchen, connected to a small dining room they hardly ever used. To the right of the door was a living room holding an old threadbare couch and an ancient TV that hadn't been turned on in years. Off that room, through a connecting door was a small library with floor to wall bookshelves, all stuffed to the point of overflowing with every type of book - hardcover, paperback, and it even boasted a rolling library ladder.

Dr Julien had snagged a random rug from a yard sale which depicted a battle scene he'd never talked about but Zane always thought it looked a bit gloomy, though the scene was faded it was clear it was filled with agony and pain. Most of it was covered up by two large armchairs and a low table anyway, so all he could see were shards of a sword, swirling darkness and a shoulder plate of golden, glowing armour.

"You can come here to read anytime you like. Father and I sometimes have tea in the library before bed, I suppose we could always find another chair for you."

Evan didn't respond, only ran a finger over the leather spines of some of the more expensive and worn volumes.

"Classics," Zane said, feeling the need to explain, "Alice in Wonderland, Oliver Twist, To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice."

His brother nodded, pulling out Oliver Twist from its precarious perch balanced on top of Einstein: A Discovery.

"You can read it." Zane felt weird giving someone who supposedly was his brother permission to use something that really was his as well. "You can read anything in here."