[09-26-2020] This chapter has been re-written in third-person perspective. If you encounter a chapter where it's not written in third-person, most likely that story hasn't be re-edited yet.
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GLOSS SCHLUND
"Honey, we really need to live with them." Her mother said as she put her clothes in the luggage. Their things were already in the boxes. They had a total of 15 boxes. "I'm now married. You have a new father. Well, step-father. Anyway, he's very nice, so please, don't be stubborn bran and pack your clothes." She pleaded with her green eyes, and Gloss couldn't say no to that look.
Gloss didn't want to go and leave the town because he didn't want to leave the fame â his popularity. In fact, his popularity could help them. Gloss was offered a scholarship, but he had to stay in the school where he was studying. But they were moving, and the place was too damn far. He didn't want to leave his friends as well â well, his girlfriend. Girlfriends.
At the same time, he didn't want to disappoint his mom.
She had made an offer. Gloss could stay here, keep his things here, but he would only by himself with no backup or monthly saving. Her mom wasn't blackmailing him; she even asked if he wanted to stay at his current home or stay at his friend's house â that is if they were going to let him. But at the same time, he wanted to meet his new father, or step-father. Whatever. He didn't want to judge him. Whether that guy was rich or not, his current status, it didn't matter. Gloss only wanted for that man to treat his mother right. He wanted to know if the guy was a prick, and by accomplishing those, he needed to go with her. Additionally, he wasn't going to live her alone. Gloss loved his mother too much to do that.
"Okay, mom." Gloss said, hugging his mother real tight. "Love you."
"Love you, too, honey." She chortled happily. "Enough of this drama, pack your clothes now. We will be leaving in 3 hours. The trucks will be here in an hour, okay?" Gloss nodded and gave her a smile. A smile that could make her mother laugh. As expected, he got what he intended to receive and his mother rolled her eyes at her son.
Taking a step backwards, Gloss turned around and went straight to his room. His mother was right. They couldn't live just like this. Before, he actually had a dream â he would get a job to support himself and his mother, but that wasn't right. His mother didn't want him to work at an early age. She only wanted him to focus on his studies and have fun, just like what the kids his age usually did. Her mother barely went to her friends to have fun since she had to work to get money for their basic needs â mainly food.
Sighing, Gloss picked up the big luggage that was resting on the corner of his room. His room was full of dust. You could practically see it as it moved through the air, caused by the sun that was passing through the open windows. Going over his closet, he opened it and grabbed his clothes, putting it inside his luggage. While doing it, Gloss thought of the things he's going to miss â his friends, the school, the ladies, soccer. And at the last thought, he already missed soccer.
After packing for 20 minutes, he went to his mother's room and asked her if he could play soccer with his friends for one last time. His mother told him that he could play with them, but he needed to be home within an hour so they could prepare. Gloss agreed and texted his friends immediately: Tony, Rob, Joey, and Homer.
They met up at the school's soccer field. He was surely going to miss this place. Tony was handling the ball, and Gloss told them that he had an hour to play with them. The boys were a bit sad, knowing their friend was going to move away and live in a new house farther from them, but all they could do was nod, and then they played soccer.
The swear was running across Gloss' face, and his tank top was sticking up on his chest. One last shoot, he would win. Gloss kicked the ball really hard, and the ball went spiraling towards Rob, but his friend failed to grab it. Gloss got a score and was declared a winner. He jumped in delight, and did a victory dance which made his friends laugh at him. Homer snicker, and Rob just rolled his eyes playfully.
"You were really good, man." Joey stated as he pat Gloss' back.
"Were?" Gloss clarified, teasing his friends as he pouted.
"Fine, fine, you are," replied Joey as he shook his head to his idiot friend. "I can't believe you're moving. I'll totally miss you, man." He sniffed, pretending that he was going to cry, but Gloss only rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, suck it up." Gloss said, looking at his wrist watch. An hour had already passed by, and Gloss immediately felt sad, knowing that he was going to leave his friend and it was time for them to move. "Bye, guys. I need to get home. The trucks are probably there. See you around? Facebook? All right, guys?"
"Sure, call us, man." Homer shouted as Gloss walked away backwards, nodding his head.
"See you, Lip Gloss!" Tony yelled, laughing.
Lip Gloss was a joke. His friends called him that just to piss him off. Apparently, he had a unique name. What was his mother thinking when he named him? Couldn't she have chosen a better name? Gloss asked his mother about that, but she only replied that it was a character from a book she really liked, and his dad agreed on it. His dad didn't really have a choice.
When he got home, two trucks were already there. The first truck was already loaded with things. In the second track were the things they were going to keep in the storage room. They would keep it because the things in there were too important for them. It was his dad's things. His mom was in the living room, talking to a few guys. She saw his son and motioned for him to go take a shower. Gloss nodded and ran upstairs.
After the shower, he felt new and relaxed, though he was still a bit sad. He went downstairs only to find the house empty. The guys must have put everything in the trucks. He looked at his old home, smiling sadly. He looked back at the time where his mom and dad would dance randomly in the kitchen, or in the living room. Even if the house was empty, Gloss could picture the way things were. There was an ache in his heart as he remembered his dad.
He went outside where a black limousine was parked in front of their house. Gloss whistled at the sight. It wasn't every day that he got to see a limousine. The vehicle was too beautiful, almost shining. His mother's new husband must be really, really rich. His mother heard his whistle and grinned at him, motioning for him. She locked the doors of the house, then looked at their house one last time before climbing into the limousine. The trucks already left.
Gloss inspected the limousine, and the interior was fucking good it almost took his breath away. It was customized, and now he was thinking if he was living the dream. The limousine began to move, and it left Gloss in awe as his eyes roamed around the interior of the limousine.
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8 hours of driving and they finally reached their destination. Gloss and his mother climbed out of the limousine without waiting for the driver to open the door for them. Once again, Gloss was in total shock as he saw the mansion in front of him. They walked through the long path way that led to the front door of the house. The path way was lined with trimmed bushes and trees. A man walked beside him â a guard, and rang the doorbell for them. On either side of the door were too pillows that were big; they were majestic, and something that Gloss only had seen in the movies. The color of the mansion was painted white, and when the grand front door opened, he was in awe again after finding himself like a prince once he entered.
The house was too goddamn big.
A man in his late 30s approached them with a smile, and the man grabbed his mother's waist.
"Oh Cecille. I missed you so much." From his accent â it was quite thick, he could tell that the guy was a Parisian. Gloss had a friend back home who was a Parisian, too. Her name was Lola, short for Dolores. His mother blushed and laughed. The guy looked at him and smiled. "Ah, you must be his son, Gloss, right?" Gloss nodded in response. "Well, I'm Richard, so can I call you... son?" Richard was hesitant, and there was a hopeful look on his face as he looked at Gloss.
He seemed like a good guy, so Gloss nodded.
Richard grinned widely and it was starting to scare Gloss off. Richard hard dark hair with blue eyes, and he was quite tall. His physique and face couldn't be categorized as old. He wasn't part of that club. He was a bit bulky and Gloss could tell the guy was working out. He was wearing a formal attire, so Gloss guessed that Richard just got home from his work. Of course, he was a business man.
"Let's go the dining area so we can eat and have a chat." Richard said as he led Cecille and Gloss to the dining area.
Again, it almost took Gloss' breath away as he looked around. The dining area was freaking big, with long mahogany table that could accommodate almost 12 people. Seriously, how many sons or daughters Richard had? Gloss asked himself. But what intrigued Gloss was, the dining area and the kitchen were separated. On his left, there was a passage to the kitchen where the maids were working. On the ceiling was a grand, big chandelier swinging beautifully.
The windows were unbelievable; they were from ceiling to the ground, with thick cream-colored curtains. His mouth almost watered at the sight of the food. There was chicken curry, spaghetti, Cordon Bleu, au gratin, and his favorite â mashed potato with lots of gravy. Gloss could hear Richard chuckling, but Gloss didn't care. He only gave the guy a grin. His mother laughed at him, and they all dug in.
"What do you do most of the time, Gloss?" Richard asked him as he stabbed a chicken with his fork, looking at Gloss like he was really his child. It almost made Gloss happy. He knew his father could never be replaced, and he was going to be his only dad and no one else, but it was nice to see the same look his father used to give him when he was still alive.
"I play soccer." Gloss replied nonchalantly, getting a spoonful of mashed potato with gravy and shoved it into his mouth. He nearly moaned, but fought against it.
"Not just that, he was the captain!" His mother stated proudly. She looked at Gloss with pure happiness etched across her beautiful face, and Gloss gave her a thankful smile. He really loved his mother.
"Oh," Richard chirped happily. "How does soccer work?" He then frowned. Cecille and Glossed looked at him and Richard just pouted like a kid. But Gloss already liked the guy. "What? Sorry, I'm not a big soccer fun, but hey, you could teach me." He said and Gloss only nodded.
"Where's Noah?" His mother asked Richard, putting a hand on top of Richard's. Gloss could tell how in love his mother was with Richard, and Richard seemed to be reciprocating those feelings back.
"Outside," Richard said; there was a sad tone in his voice.
"Who is Noah?" Gloss asked awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck as he looked at Richard.
"Noah is my son," he said smugly, as if he was too proud to show off his son. "I think that you guys could hang out together."
"You have a new brother!" His mother squealed and he frowned at her.
"When can I meet him?" asked Gloss curiously.
They heard the front door slam, and Richard just sighed. " I guess right now."
A guy at the same age walked past them. He was frowning. Noah looked at his dad, to Cecille, then to Gloss, and his frown deepened. Noah had dark hair, and blue eyes, and not to mention, he was quite tall as well. Gloss asked why they were so tall as he felt like a midget. Noah was probably around 6'2", and Gloss was only 5'8".
"Noah, have a dinner with us and meet your new brother." Richard said.
"I don't want to. He seems like a trouble to me. I don't want him here." He said, turning around. Gloss was quite offended to hear that, and Gloss had an impression that he wasn't going to like this kid.
"Noah, get your ass back here and apologize!" Richard shouted as he stood up, ready to run after Noah. Cecille just put her palm on Richard's arm and shook her head. "I'm sorry you had to see that." Gloss just shrugged.
Noah was an asshole.
And Noah was his new brother. His new step-brother.