67: brother chat

JOSH

I awoke to a slight shake.

"Josh." I groaned, holding on tighter to George, who in his sleep wanted to get away pushing me slightly. "Joshua, wake up." I groaned again, realising it wasn't a dream and that I was awake. I rolled onto my back, freeing George from my tight hold. I squinted at the figure in the room. The night light that we turn on every night for George. Since being stuck in the basement, he hates the dare and is so scared of it. Will and I have become accustomed to sleeping with light on. "Will come on." It was Victor. I groaned, rubbing my eyes and going to roll over to stand up. I had no room and ended up on the floor.

"What do you want?" I asked, getting up and stretching my arms.

"I need to talk to you. Can you get dressed and come out." During the night, I had ripped off my shirt and pants, leaving me in a pair of boxers as it was too hot. Victor left the room, and I got changed. Geirge had woken up.

"Where going?" He asked, sitting up rubbing his eyes.

"I have to talk to my brother. Go back to sleep, baby. I'll be right outside and back in a jiffy." Geirge whined but complied and snuggled more into Will's embrace, who had also woken up during our talk but ignored it. I followed my brother out the door. My brother was slightly taller than me with similar features, tan skin, chestnut hair, and so on. (I don't actually remember Josh description lol soz if I said Smith else, lol) he was even more built than I was as he worked out every day, not really having anything else to do.

I closed the door behind me as we stepped out. I leaned against the door, still groggy from waking up. We stood in silence for a little as Victor was thinking of the words to say.

"So... I don't know why I'm coming to you for this but there really is no one else I can really go to. Dad wouldn't get it, and I'm sure he just doesn't care..." Vic tended to ramble when he was opening up to someone. He didn't do it often. I would never push him to get to the point. He'll get there when he gets the right words. "And I don't even think you could help, but I really need to talk to someone about it." He continued. I stayed quiet. "How did you know you liked those two? What was it that made you pick them? Woll was on an opposing team he wanted to rip your head off when you both met, and you kinda kidnapped his boyfriend. Then the boyfriend in question wouldn't stop screaming for months and hated you so much for the shitty act you did to him. So how on earth did you all get together? How did you just click?" He questioned. I knew his issue was him having feelings for Ezra. He never acted on his feelings, but by my assumption, he wanted to this time.

"It's different for everyone. There was a subconscious pull for me." I begin. "I wanted to be around him more as he never really treated me like royalty and wasn't scared of me in that kind of sense. He didn't care. Yet I still felt special. He didn't want anyone else in the pack during those months. Through every scream, through every tantrum, through literally everything that boy went through, he chose me. I dknt know exactly when I started to really like him but I did. However, I would have never acted on it as he was someone else's... a vampire none the less. I never expected to see him after he went back to Will. I spent nights yerning for the guy, I was sleepless. When I got a letter to come over, I was needless to say shocked. Invited by Will. I honestly thought the guy would kill me. I didn't sleep for nights, thinking he was going to just show up." I chuckle, reminiscing the lead up to my very happy relationship.

"So how did you first know that you liked Will?" He asked, leaning against the adjacent wall look of interest evident on his face.

"Well, at first, I just thought he was attractive. I'm not going to lie, but then I stayed there, and I saw how sensitive and loving he was. He tried to keep me away from big groups of vampires, knowing I was uncomfortable around them. He somehow just knew what was wrong with me. He showed me how things really worked in his covan to get rid of any misconceptions. He was just the sweetest, most loving man I had ever met, and I couldn't stop my heart from falling for him. I just felt different when I was around both of them." Victor looked at me with disgust.

"That was the cringest, loving thing I think you've ever said in your entire life." He grimmest. I laughed at his reaction and stopped talking.

"So is this about Ezra?" I asked, relaxing into the wall and waiting for an explanation to a question that was so important to ask at 3 in the morning  he was quiet for a bit thinking of the words he was going to say. It's probably the only time he has ever done that in his life.

"Yeah." He sheepishly said, looking away. "I don't know, man. I think I like the guy, but I feel like he's still into you he knows me. More than you know me, way more than dad knows me. He's been there, bro. And I actually don't know what to do." This is the first time Victor has come to be about anything.

"You want my thoughts, or do you want to just talk about it?" I ask. Sometimes, people want to talk, and I get that.

"Thoughts?"

"I think you should go for it." I state. He looked at me as if he didn't expect that answer, so I continued. "He likes you, man. I know he does bc he looks at you like he looked at me back in school. He only wants you when he's little. He really likes you. I've heard his conversations with George during their playdates. He only ever talks about you. You should at least go on a date you as much as anyone else deserves to be with someone. And I think that someone is Ezra. Maybe you can convince him not to dye his hair a vibrant orange next time." I joke, causing Vic to let out an airy chuckle.

"That's a style choice he's going to stick with. We've talked about it." He chuckled. This was a nice moment.

"So are you gonna try and talk to him?" I asked. His face told me nothing.

"I don't know, maybe. As of right now, I'm a bit busy with the war that's going on. I don't know if you remember or not. Just because it's slowing down doesn't mean they can't attack at any moment. I just got off of my watch." I roll my eyes at his comment. He thinks I've been distracted with Will and George. And I mean, he's not wrong, but damn it's not like I forgot it's just that they're my no. 1 priority and anything they need comes first.

"I know. I just think you should think about at least going on a date and seeing how you go with that. It doesn't have to be now. It can be after the war. There's no rush. I just think you should go for it. You're in your mid thirties, and you've never really dated someone. I think it's finally time." He rolled his eyes at me, reminding him his age.

"Shut up and focus on your own relationship." He stood up straight and went to walk away before he stopped. "Doesn't it worry you?" I look at him questioningly.

"What would worry me?" I asked, standing up straight too, senses on high alert.

"It's been awfully quiet with ghe rouges as of recent. And why are they fighting us anyway?" He asked. We never really think about these wars. They happen, and then they stop, and we move on, but there is usually a motive no matter how small.

"It is questionable. Maybe something happened? Do you think we killed their leader or something?" I asked. It's not like we'd know. Rouges are unpredictable. They have no pattern of attack and just act on impulse. Maybe they stopped for a second and started thinking of having a coordinated attack.

"Make sure everyone is on high alert." I ordered him and entered my room. It's been at LEAST 5 days since their last attack, and it was more of a surprise than we thought. Who knows when the next attack is. I need to send them home and get the littles to an even safer area. The rouges know where everything is. It's almost like there is a mole upon us.

"Will, George, wake up. We need to go. You both need to go back to the covan with the littles of the pack, I have a bad feeling you need to go now." I wake them up. Will sprung into action, grabbing his to go bag. A bag we created if anything bad were to happen.

"But what about you?" George asked, also grabbing his bag.

"I'll join you in a moment. I just need to grab the littles, but we head to the covan tonight." The only thing we disclosed as a small group together was a backup area. A place where the non fighters who were still around, such as the littles and elders. I rush down hearing my brother run around, telling everyone to keep their guards up. I ran to the little area and got all the caregivers up, telling them to evacuate l as quietly as possible. Everything was bustling in such a quiet way. No one was screaming. We've had drills over this before without anyone knowing, betting on the chance of a mole. I didn't know who it could be or if they even existed in the first place, but I had no trust in anyone who wasn't my family. Will and George are my family.

I made sure everyone was gone. We had to make sure it wasn't all going out in a large group. Having a large group would pick up attention. It was frustrating having to wait, but everyone left as fast as they could different groups in different directions. A small portion of Wills army, people he knew wouldn't be a mole, people like Charlie were with our evacuating groups. Why can't I have a nice moment that doesn't end up in a rushed exit. I just wanted to be there for my brother tonight, but now I'm rushing out civilians to keep them safe from an unplaned coordinated attack that we don't even know will happen.

"Have you seen Ezra?" I ask quietly, sneaking up to Victor. He looked at me with a pang of worry.

"No, I put him to bed before my shift at the lookout started." Everyone was finally gone except Ezra. He wasn't in his bed, I was thinking he was in the bathroom or that Victor got to him before I did.

"Where could he be? He does sometimes has a hard time sleeping and goes somewhere. Do you know where?" I asked, hoping that he would have an idea as to where the orange haired boy was.

"How in the fuck am I ment to know I didn't know he goes for fucking walk-" He cut himself off. "The fucking tree. His parents fucking tree. The one that I was athe would be there. If not there, I don't know where he would be." The tree that's right on the border lines. The tree Victor was at for some reason. The fucking tree that was so dangerous to go to and I had a gut feeling he was really there.

"Fuck."

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Hope you like itttttt idk why I can't keep it sentimental had to make it go somewhere. Lmao.

WHAT HAPPENS TO EZRAAAAAAA. Lmao, school starts soon, but I'm dropping our lol just a week or two of it before I can keep up the capitalistic lifestyle I have now chosen... hating life lmao