Family

After the owner had left, Lukas sighed and rummaged through his luggage. Though the clothes were wet and smelled slightly musty, they were all intact, and with a little washing, they would become wearable again. As he dug around, he found his packet of sweets. He felt relieved. He unwrapped one and rested on the couch, scrutinising his surroundings. Though small, the place had a comfy feeling to it.

"...Hmm?"

He finally remembered something.

How could he forget?

How would Tingting know where he had gone?

"Should I go back?" Even as he asked himself that, he found himself sinking deeper into the couch; he felt really comfortable there. His back ached from sleeping upright on a hard wooden bench and his muscles felt sore from dragging himself from one place to another, lugging his baggage behind him all the way.

"She'll be fine."

Lukas threw this issue to the back of his mind and finally drifted off to sleep.

...

The door to the apartment swung open loudly with a bang. A figure walked into the room and looked around, searching for something. They soon found what they were looking for. They crept towards the couch and stood in front of Lukas.

The girl saw his innocent and happy sleeping face and giggled.

At the sound, Lukas woke up and gave a slight start. A girl dressed in leather bottoms, a leather jacket and a short black crop top stood in front of him. Her hair was bleached blonde and neck short and she wore silver studs in both her ears. A pair of fashionable sunglasses sat upon her head.

'Who the hell are you?'

It was Tingting. Of course it was Tingting… It was just that… Why did she look like this?

Lukas felt like he was going to go crazy. She went off on her own just to change her look? He seriously didn't understand girls, did he?

Tingting spotted the confusion and disapproval in his eyes quickly for she explained her actions right away.

"You know how people always mistake you for a punk, not only this morning but many other times too right?"

'Punk??'

"My mother used to tell me that you were outcast in your family due to your hair colour as well."

'Outcast???'

"Wasn't that hard for you? Now you're not alone, we both look like punks now. Cool right?"

Tingting stared at him imploringly, begging for him to feel grateful towards her considerative actions.

Lukas just looked at her, his face devoid of expression. Though he felt her sincerity, it had to be said that he seriously didn't care about the words of random thugs on the street. In fact, out of everyone he'd encountered, nobody had called him a punk or outcast...

Leaving that aside, there was the matter of how she found him.

"How did you get here?" Lukas stared at her suspiciously. Did she place some sort of tracking device on him?

Tingting simply laughed.

"I just asked around town for a boy with golden hair, piercings and covered in dirt from head to toe. They told me that an old lady dragged you off somewhere on the outskirts of town. You really caused a commotion you know. They told me you were resisting and shouting at her to let her go."

Lukas' face turned dark. "If a random old woman suddenly grabbed your hand with the strength of a thousand bulls, you'd be frightened too. She was crying one minute then dragging me off the next." He felt that his pride was on the line if he didn't explain his excessive reaction. Tingting continued.

"Anyway, I walked to the edge of town and found this apartment. I peeked in through a window and an old lady caught me from behind. I asked her whether she had seen someone like you and she eagerly gave me the directions. That's when I found you sleeping..."

'Cutely'

Lukas nodded thinking that it made sense, unaware that Tingting found his sleeping face 'cute'. Besides the issue of how she found him, there was one more question that he wanted answered.

"Where did you get the money from?"

Tingting eyes widened in shock then she lowered her head sheepishly.

"While you fell asleep yesterday, I was looking through your luggage to find something that I could use as a pillow. Then I saw a big envelope and I couldn't help myself and I..." Tingting didn't continue and instead took Lukas's hands in her own.

"I didn't mean to take it, I just thought that if we got separated it would be good if we both had money to find each other again or something like that... you're not angry right?"

"…"

Lukas remembered the cold look on his father's face as he handed him the money. He also thought back to his words 'I'll treasure it'.

Lukas smirked and stood up. He fished through the candy packet for another one. After popping it into his mouth, he walked back over to Tingting and reached out his hand. Tingting braced herself for whatever he was about to do to her. To her surprise, he gently placed his hand on her head and patted it.

"You can take it all. Whatever you want, I can get it for you. After all..."

He withdrew his hand and leaned on the wall. Placing a hand in his pocket, he raised the edges of his lips and smiled. In his enchantingly low voice Lukas said,

"It's a big brother's duty to look after their little sister, right?"