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Add All These Half Siblings Together and You Get Two (Asher)
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Nov 30, 2016 13:50:56 GMT
Elliot nodded. A promise was something he took very seriously, especially if the other party seemed trustworthy. And while Asher hadn't exactly made the best of first impressions, Elliot was starting to find himself comfortable enough to trust the older teen. "Thank you," he said, taking the piece of paper and turning it over in his hands curiosly. Once making sure no fangirls had suddenly materialized over his shoulder he shrugged and pried the paper ever-so-slightly open. After all, he couldn't help but be curious about what Asher would pick for an e-mail address! Probably something oddly profound or completely inexplicable.
Pickiness? Yeah, Isaac knew a bunch about that one. Having a naive brother meant Isaac had to be the pair's immune system, in a sense, so he was very used to sifting through groups of potential friends to try and see which ones he could deal with or not. Sometimes it was removing toxic influences from their lives, while sometimes it was just making sure Elliot didn't do anything too goofy. Still, it did leave Isaac wondering what the people Asher did spend time with were like. "So, how were the people on set? You said they were almost like family, right?" he asked, a little curious about what happened when the set went down and everyone on the show went to their normal lives.
Not good enough? A bit of worry flickered through Elliot's eyes, as he hoped that someone really smart like this wouldn't end up burning herself out smashing her head against a wall. Nevertheless, before he could say anything about it, he found himself cut off by an offer for study help. Well, that was certainly unexpected! "Wait, really?" he asked, a little shocked by how up front the offer was. "Thanks! That's really nice of you to offer. I'll try to make it there for sure."
And then another vicious elbow to the stomach. Between these two siblings, it seemed that Piper clearly ran the show. Nevertheless, it was very reassuring to Isaac how dedicated Asher seemed to be. Nobody who was this good to their little sibling could be entirely shady, after all. "Jeez, good thing Elliot's always got one arm occupied. Wouldn't want to be living like that," he joked as Asher doubled over. Of course, as if illustrating a point, Elliot promptly gave Isaac a gentle jab with the arm that wasn't currently carrying a walking stick. In response Isaac practically bent in half, finding it almost impossible to keep a straight face. "Not that he could even hurt a fly, of course," he said as he fought the urge to start corpsing.
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Post by Asher on Dec 1, 2016 5:17:12 GMT
Looking at the paper, Elliot might find himself a touch disappointed at the lack of creativity. The paper simply had the boy's first and last name, separated by his middle initial, located at some sort of domain that was clearly a ripoff of a popular search engine. Who would mistake Asher for the type to have a personal and a professional e-mail? He could barely remember to put on socks every day, let alone visit two e-mails!
There was no wasted time when it came to answering the inquiry on his set-family. "They were family. Not almost like." This seemed an important clarification. "Not all family needs to be blood. Sometimes, the best aren't." Now, Asher knew he had to be careful with his words here. While Piper wasn't the sensitive type, he didn't want to strike any nerves about their own relationship. After all, he wouldn't want her to think that he liked his false family more than her! "We even had dinners for holidays together, sometimes." That seemed like a sufficient answer, right?
Piper didn't seem to find the oddity in offering to help the younger kid. After all, it wasn't like it was inconveniencing her any! "If you decide to, you can e-mail Asher for the address, and when I'm most likely to be there for that week." After all, with so many clubs to attend, it wasn't like she was going to be at a cafe every single day! Also, that felt a little excessive!
Of course, with Elliot's jab at his brother, Asher began laughing at the teen. "Careful, one day he might actually catch you off guard." It was unlikely, but it would be hilarious if that were the case. "He looks like he could be a pretty tough kid!" Pssh. Elliot? Hardly!
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Dec 1, 2016 5:31:14 GMT
Awww, it was actually normal? Elliot was heavily expecting something like asher_christ_superstar or toosexyformyshirt or something like that. Still, a contact was a contact, and it sounded like Asher really wanted to help give him a hand. He nodded, tucking the e-mail address into his pocket and trying not to let his surprise show. With that done he let himself start slipping into his daydreams, wondering which stories he'd send off to Asher. It couldn't be the super obvious ones. No, he'd need to start with his best foot forward!
Isaac found himself nodding at Asher's statement, subconsciously shooting a look Elliot's way. It was a subtle twitch of the eye, but perhaps those were the sorts of details that were all the more noticeable for their simplicity. It was the kind of lesson that Isaac had wished a certain man he refused to call father would have learned, instead of taking it out on him. He quickly tried to shake the negative thoughts, but a few little distractions just refused to stop sticking in his craw. He'd just need to keep focusing on the good of that situation, like Elliot, rather than all of the ways his family had troubled him. "That must have been really nice," Isaac said, voice a little bit more wistful than he might have liked. He couldn't find the words for what to say next.
Thankfully, another topic switch from Asher helped salvage the mood. Elliot giggled at Asher's comment about him being tough. "Oh, you'd be surprised. I'm a lot stronger than I look," Elliot said, trying to get the words out between giggles.
"He's right, you know," Isaac added. You should see him when he gets cranky. He gets really terrifying, really fast."
"Like you don't? I swear, you should see what it's like when something bad happens to his girlfriend," Elliot joked. Jeez, how long ago had Isaac promised that at this point?
By this point, he didn't even blush so much as exasperatedly roll his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, like you wouldn't do the same." Elliot was a little hero to the core, after all, and wore his heart on his sleeve. If he ever ended up with a girlfriend, something told Isaac he'd work his butt off to help her.
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Post by Asher on Dec 2, 2016 5:46:42 GMT
Watching Isaac more closely than Elliot during his conversation, he noticed the older brother look to the younger. Interesting. "You two are brothers, though, yeah?" Didn't they say they were earlier? Or, at least alluded to it? Asher couldn't really remember minute to minute, it seemed! "I mean, blood relations are pretty important too, I think. Right, Piper?"
"Mhmmm." Get your face out of your phone, Piper!
A grin spread across the redhead's face as the tone seemed to change. Leaning forward, Asher moved to lightly poke Elliot in the arm. "I certainly wouldn't want to challenge you," he teased. If only the teen knew that he wouldn't stand a chance! Despite the repeated mentions of a girlfriend, it seemed the boy wasn't taking the bait that Elliot had so easily placed out for him.
But, he was curious about one detail. "Bad, huh? Bad grades? Or, are other guys always hanging on her?" Back to the fanclubs, it seemed! Or, maybe Isaac's girlfriend was a drug dealer! Gasp!
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Dec 2, 2016 6:08:52 GMT
"We are," Isaac reaffirmed. Hell, who cared if they weren't fully blood, anyway? They were always there for each other when times were troubling at home. They were always on the same wavelength for in-jokes and teasing. When one of them was ready to jump into hell, the other was always standing right there with the parachute. If that wasn't brothers, what the heck could it be? And yet, he couldn't help but worry about Elliot finding out the truth. He seemed to take blood a lot more seriously, judging by him still worrying about that deadbeat he called a father. He also didn't like being lied to much, as his little freakout when they found out they were living in Japan forever indicated. How would he take the news about Isaac?
No. Isaac just couldn't break his little brother's heart like that.
Elliot shied away from the poke. Okay, so he still had some Asher Boundaries he didn't want crossed. Nevertheless, he still smiled politely at Asher. "Good~," he chirped. " 'Sides, if I got hurt, Isaac'd be real mad. Thanks to him, I managed to get through school completely bully free!" Ah, fond memories. Like the time Isaac got detention for taking Elliot's walking stick back from a bully and giving him a good whack with it. Or the time Isaac got detention for headbutting a guy a good foot taller than him so hard that he doubled over. Or the time Isaac got the crap kicked out of him by delinquents after KOing one of them with skillful application of the Monster Manual.
Wait, that wasn't elementary school. That was half a year ago. Jeez, time really flew, didn't it?
Of course, Asher's next question indicated that Elliot was playing really fast and loose with their cover. And this one was a lot harder to explain away, too. Goddamnit, Elliot. Isaac tried to keep on thinking on his feet, but for once he was stumped. Thankfully, Elliot was on the case with a timely blurt. "Video games, usually. But hey, not my fault they can't beat me!" Isaac didn't even play video games much, but darnit, he'd accept that one for now.
"How about you? Are you seeing someone right now?" Judging by how innocuously Elliot said that conversation topic, it didn't seem like he realized how it could've come out. Especially when Asher's fangirl legion seemed to stalk just a slight bit closer to him, as if prepared for retaliation.
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Post by Asher on Dec 2, 2016 7:39:30 GMT
"Bully-free? Who would pick on you?" Initially, this sounded almost like Asher was willing to defend the kid. But, then eyes returned to Isaac, "either you're terrifying, or you rolled a 20 on Charisma, huh?" This sounded a bit skeptical, and it wasn't even certain on if Isaac would understand the reference. If not, oh well! Asher wasn't a huge fan of elaboration. It cut into his nap time!
Hearing the cover, it didn't seem like an abnormal answer. Okay, maybe nobody was a drug dealer. Whatever. No crazy gossip here, it seemed. "I want to know if you can beat me in a game, though!" Truth be told, Asher wasn't too great at most games! Maybe he'd get lucky, though!
Somewhere, Maia was sneezing at her mention, and feeling a touch more irritated than usual. Hm. Why could that be?
But, with the question about seeing someone, Asher had an opportunity he couldn't resist. There was no way the grin was leaving his face any time soon! Using a sultry tone, the actor inquired, "why~? Are you interested?" This elicited an irritated groan from his sister, while he forced his lips to close into a smirk. "Actual answer? Been too busy sleeping." Shoot! Was he seriously using that as a reason not to have a girlfriend? Yellow eyes shifted, obviously, toward a few of the girls in the hall, before looking back to Elliot. "It's best that way, right? I bet you're a lady's man, too!" Or a... whatever-kids-were-interested-in-these-days Man. Child? Whatever. This thought process is done. Getting too deep for Asher to care!
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Dec 2, 2016 8:03:32 GMT
Its true. It took a special kind of black-hearted person to pick on soft little Elliot. Especially when considering this was elementary school Elliot, who would be even smaller and even less threatening! Those were the kinds of bullies Isaac had no qualms in standing up to, even if they often responded by breaking his face. Of course, Asher's comment got a quirk of the eyebrow from Isaac. "Heh. What can I say? I gotta look out for my little bro," he said. He decided to politely take the complement and not mention that the max you could roll starting out was an 18, barring racial bonuses.
Isaac may have spent an inordinate amount of time reading up on a game he'd never played.
At Asher's question, Elliot found himself grinning cockily. "I could take you on any day," he said, clearly amped up for a challenge. "Any game, any time. I mean, I have been playing 'em for years, after all." Most days, Mario was practically Elliot's babysitter, Pikachu was his pet, and Crash Bandicoot was the weird and semi-uncomfortable live in uncle. He raided Illidan Stormrage, for crying out loud! Okay, he sat on his dad's lap while watching Illidan get beat up because he was way too tiny to properly comprehend WoW, but still. Video games were practically in his blood, his very genes, and he knew Asher had no idea what he was getting himself into.
Elliot may have spent an inordinate amount of time being a huge nerd with few redeeming qualities.
Of course, his bravado practically did a 180 and sped out of the room as soon as Asher started turning up the charm. "W-what," he stuttered, turning almost as red as the teen's hair as he tried to comprehend what was going on. "No, I, I just-" he stammered, before letting out a frustrated noise and hiding as closely behind Isaac as possible. Why did some uncomfortable yet strangely hot guy have to do that to him?
Speaking of uncomfortable, Isaac was very. He glared stonily at Asher, insisting "Hey! He's way too young for you!" Even joking about that kind of thing was something Isaac was completely not okay with. He continued standing like a sentry between the two, Elliot muttering something completely indecipherable in response to the lady's man comment.
Of course, both brothers were too flustered to notice that Elliot's wallet had fallen to the ground in his scramble to hide behind Isaac. It'd sure be a shame if Asher noticed pictures of a certain Halloween costume wedged in there.
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Post by Asher on Dec 2, 2016 8:28:12 GMT
Watching Elliot, the teen resisted doubling over laughing. "Oh man, I'm sorry! But, that's just too cute." It seemed that Isaac trying to keep the redhead in line just wouldn't work when it came to this. But, at least he said sorry? "He left me an opening! I had to take it! That could have been quickly altered into an innuendo, if Asher had even cared enough to take the opportunity. But, no, that was the line between joking and just being a creep on a kid way too young for him!
Not that he really wanted to hit on a, what, eleven? Thirteen? Year old kid in seriousness, anyway.
In the meantime, Piper made a motion to the floor, still not looking away from her phone. "You dropped something."
Already halfway to the ground anyway, Asher was quick to reach out to pick it up. "I'll get it for y--" Something felt loose inside the wallet. Without even thinking, he shifted it open to catch a glimpse of a picture within.. "What's this?" Yellow eyes fluttered between the picture, and the boy hiding behind his brother. Was-- Was that a picture of Elliot in there?
Curiosity gaining, Piper leaned over her brother's arm, looking at whatever it was that he had. Almost instantly, the girl began snickering, and shoved her face back into her cell phone, trying to refrain from making any comment on it.
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Dec 2, 2016 8:38:50 GMT
Isaac did not seem nearly as amused as Asher was. "Well, that's the last opening you're taking. Okay?" he insisted. Although at least Asher had the decency to not twist this into a disturbing nest of innuendos, like he could have done oh so easily. It seemed the only things lost here were Isaac's patience and Elliot's dignity. Oh, and Elliot's wallet, which Piper had helpfully pointed out without even looking up from her phone. Seriously, how did she even do that?
Elliot stammered out a response as he leaned forward to try and pick up his wallet. "N-no, its okay, I can-" he started, but unfortunately he was too late. Asher had already picked it up, was already rooting through his photos, and was now giggling about one with Piper. It seemed the only reason why Elliot's blush didn't deepen further was because it was already at the reddest it could possibly get. As Isaac had to practically restrain himself from giving Asher the death glare of the century, Elliot leaned forward and snatched his wallet right back.
Promptly, something else clattered to the floor; the already somewhat loose Digivice. Elliot stooped down, scooped it back into his pocket before anyone could see it, and then promptly started speeding off. "Gottagotoclassnowbye!" he shouted as he hobbled away at frankly impressive speeds.
Isaac sighed as he watched his brother vanish into the horizon. He tried to find the words, but there were none coming to him that weren't likely to start a fight right in the middle of the hallway. After a few second's pause to think, he spoke in the voice of a boy who was completely done with everything.
"Gee, thanks."
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Post by Asher on Dec 2, 2016 9:20:49 GMT
"Awwww." "Aw."
It seemed that both siblings were disappointed with the image snatched out of sight. Sure, Piper didn't even seem to be looking at it anymore, but it was just that much harder to envision now! Darn. It was definitely interesting!
Asher was about to say something about it, until Elliot dropped something else. While the boy had thought he had moved fast enough, it seemed that the older teen had caught a glimpse of it. Yet again, before words could come out, Elliot was running off now. "Don't forget to e-mail me!" Asher was determined to read those stories, darn it!
But, now that he had an opportunity, the redhead pointed at the ground where the digivice had fallen. "Did you see that thing?"
"No. What thing?"
"Y'know," the boy made rough motions to try to describe the shape of the item. "I think we have one of those in the house somewhere. Don't we?"
"I still have no idea what you're talking about."
The teen let out a groan, looking to Isaac. "Do you know what I'm talking about? That toy-thing? I swear I saw one on the coffee table. It was there for like... a week. How did you not see it, Piper?"
Now, there was a pause from whatever she was doing on her phone. "Wait, what are we talking about?" Ugh. Had she even been paying attention? Maybe this is how the girl actually coped with her brother. "That, uh-- Oh." It seemed realization was dawning on the girl. "Yeah, I don't know where that went. Uh, it wasn't yours?" This received a rapid head-shake from the boy. He called it a toy! Of course it couldn't be his! He didn't even know what it did! Was it a cellphone? Transformer? Total mystery to him! Looking back to her phone, she shrugged, "guess it wasn't important, then."
"Do you think the cat brought it in?"
With a grumble, the girl finally shoved her phone away, clearly not being able to use it any more this lunchtime. "I think you're obsessing. Why are we even discussing this?" If Piper sounded defensive, she had every right to! Who wanted to discuss the unknown clutter in their house in front of some stranger?! "I doubt it's anything you can actually use anyway." Asher went to argue this, but was cut off with, "class is starting again soon. You should go. I don't want to be late again because of you."
With a pouting face, the boy huffed, "fine!" Beginning to walk away, the redhead paused, looking to Isaac, "it was nice to meet you!" Surely, this wasn't a mutual thought.
Either way, it gave Piper some freedom to talk. "I swear, he doesn't act like this at home. Don't take him seriously."
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Dec 2, 2016 16:29:06 GMT
Isaac would have grumbled about the two just being disappointed instead of apologizing for rooting through Elliot's stuff, but to be fair there currently was no Elliot to apologize too. Nevertheless, he was quite clearly disgruntled as the two started talking among themselves, discussing something rather toylike and ovular. Something toylike and ovular that a strangely violence happy cat had apparently dragged in. A cat with enough presence of mind to frustratedly make its gender identity clear.
Isaac sighed as everything clicked. Oh, god damnit.
Nevertheless, if his theory was wrong, he would have blown his cover in front of one of the worst people to spill secrets in front of imaginable. And frankly, Isaac was not feeling up to giving Asher a one on one tour of the Digital World. Especially not after this incredibly awkward series of first impressions. "Oh, that? Its just a-" Pop quiz! What usually looks inert, makes beeping noises when on the run, and could be easily explained as being in someone's pocket? "Pedometer. Must be a weird bootleg brand, because its so clunky and we have no clue what language its in. But my bro doesn't want the whole leg thing to get him down, you know? He's still trying his best to keep in shape despite it." Nailed it! It was either that or a broken Tamagotchi, and if Asher recognized that type od Digivice he probably wasn't partnered up like Maia was.
But then there was the cat. Did Asher seriously get both? Isaac was so ready to call bullshit.
Of course, if Isaac planned on asking any further questions, he wouldn't have the chance. Asher had promptly sped away to find his favorite window seat for napping, or whatever he did instead of actual studying. At least Piper lingered behind to account for Asher's ridiculousness. "Figured as much," Isaac said, leaving it unstated that he was unsure whether he guessed Asher was more or less strange at home. "Still, mind sending him one last elbow for me? 'Cause I'm pretty sure my bro's gonna want a big apology for all that," he asked. It was rare for Elliot to get completely off guard by verbal teasing, but not even his thick skull could ignore everything Asher was doing. And it was just when Elliot was starting to feel comfortable opening up to the guy, too.
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Post by Asher on Dec 2, 2016 19:34:37 GMT
Asher walked away too quickly to continue participating in the conversation, while Piper initially ignored the cover-up for what the digivice was. Eyes shifted to the boy her own age, as she shrugged. "Doesn't sound like a pedometer." There was a shrug, as she pulled out her phone one last time to get a look at what was on the screen. "But, what do I know? I didn't see it." Valid point. "The one at the house is probably mine, anyway. Weird things turn up when you move. And Asher has a bad tendency of trying to 'help' me go through my stuff." How it got on the table was beyond her, though. Someone probably found it on the ground after the boy had made a huge mess and didn't want it stepped on.
Turning on her heel, the teen prepared to head to her other class. "I can elbow him, but it's not going to do you any good. He's too dense to know that he's said anything wrong." There was a small click from the girl's tongue, mumbling disapprovingly under her breath, "he was not raised right." Who the heck taught their kid to act like him, rather than being a proper member of society?
Oh, yeah. Never mind.
Lifting a hand up to signal her goodbye, Piper began walking. "See you in class, tomorrow?" Did they have any other classes together today? Probably not. She didn't think, at least. Ah well. If it were the case, it would be a surprise! Or, something.
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Dec 2, 2016 23:25:28 GMT
Sure, Piper didn't seem fully convinced, but she didn't seem to give enough craps to really push the issue. That was really all Isaac needed for his worries of the situation to ease. Although Isaac was starting to wonder just how unflappable Piper was. If on a whim he decided to explain the entirety of the Digital World to her, she'd probably look up from her phone, shrug, and grumble out a quick "Mhm." Although it was interesting that apparently Asher went through her things. Must've been that earlier paranoia at work. Or just his usual over-eagerness. "Let me guess, just ends up leaving more of a mess by the time he's done?" Isaac joked. "Dang, and I thought I was bad."
And then he caught wind of what Piper was muttering as she left. Wait, weren't they siblings? Although they were siblings where one practically lived at school and the other was a Hollywood star. It was only natural they'd have huge differences in upbringing. And hell, compared to the fates of most child stars Asher was almost delightful. It gave Isaac something to make a mental note of, though. If he managed to make the big time, he couldn't let the pressures or temptations of that life get his better. Maybe it was something worth asking about, but he had the feeling Piper wouldn't be up for talking about it. It was way too personal to just blab about in the hall. "Yeah. My bro can be a lot like that too. Except he gets way more worried when he finds out he messed up," Isaac admitted. He loved Elliot, but he could be really dense sometimes.
And with Piper heading to class now, Isaac should probably have started doing the same. He smiled and turned away, responding "Sure thing. Seeya then!" as he left.
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