II

Leilyn honestly didn't imagine that she'll develop a relationship with anyone in town - seeing as the ones she had the displeasure of meeting were uptight, religious assholes with a huge ass poll stuck up their, well, asses -, much less kids. Everyone in the town has practically branded her as a 'witch', all because she's still alive (que an exasperated eye roll here). She, being the paranoid bitch that she is, who distrusts everyone who isn't her mother or brother or clan, also contributed to her reluctance of trying to socialize with anyone.

But here she was, having fun with the three teens who trespassed into her sanctuary.

The next day, after the trespassing fiasco, the boys came back, sheepishly bearing a blueberry pie as a peace offering and they apologized profusely to her. She didn't know which unknown entity whispered to them to get that particular pie -which is one of her favorite deserts by the way- but she sent a silent thank you above.

The trio kept coming back after that. At first, Leilyn was skeptical about their visits, but as weeks went by, she eventually warmed up to them, albeit hesitantly.

Leilyn later found out that the teens name were Zack Smith, Richard Powers and Jason Saturday. They are fun loving psychopaths and total dorks. Leilyn can't help but admit that they, apart from her family and clan, have accomplished the act of making her laugh so joyously.

As time went on, she began to see them as little siblings. Leilyn might not be interested in having one of her own, but she loved kids. Well, she loves them, but when they become crying, wailing, tantrum throwing messes, she prefers to chuck them out of a window in a basketball fashion.

Between the three of them, she feels more protective of Zack. Zack's a pure ray of sunshine. Every time they came running to her house after school or when they skipped classes, Zack was the first person she will see, waving enthusiastically at her, always exuberant. And sometimes, she feels a kinship with him. She just can't put her fingers on it as to why. It wasn't long before she grew overprotective of him and in time, she got overprotective of Rick and Jason. The kids brought out her maternal instincts –which she denies having as always. She gets a little bit disappointed if they don't show up.

It didn't take long for Leilyn to grant them entry into her home.  For the first two months of their friendship, they all lounged on the porch, which was furnished as heck. There was something about them that puts her - who's normally apathetic, cold and suspicious as fuck with strangers that will even make Batman proud - at ease, and eventually making her warm up to them. They have the same energy as her brothers, and she misses that. She misses their loud, brash presences. Thinking about them makes her heart ache and makes her feel very lonely.

The moment the boys stepped into Leilyn's house, they were blown speechless – figuratively, not literally. She's not that coldblooded - at the interior. Her home was so elegant and historical looking that Zack had to walk out and Jason to check his phone to see if they by any chance got teleported to the 18th century. Leilyn almost cracked a rib as she laughed at the reason for their weird reactions. It was the third time that the trio saw her laugh so freely and they had smug grins all day for accomplishing that.

Leilyn immediately took them to the game room and the teens wondered out loud if they had died and gone to heaven. Leilyn still snickers when she remembers their expressions and comments. She taught them how to operate the various games in the room. If she remembers correctly, Jason, the stoic (well, not to her) one of the group, actually got down and hugged one of the games. Heck, the boy shed a few tears of joy. Rick thanked all the deities that existed for blessing them with her arrival while Zack just hugged her tightly. And Leilyn couldn't blame them for their reactions.

As stated before, the town was filled to the brim with religious bigots and extremists. Things like video games and the internet were seen as 'worldly' and are highly avoided, but unfortunately – and honestly fortunate for every kid in the Cosmos be damned town - to no avail. Leilyn honestly felt sorry for the kids in the town, knowing that they were being restricted or under supervision when using them. Honestly. Leilyn didn't know why she was still here. It annoys her to hell. Yes, the widenet may be bad and such, but it really depends on the person using it.

The moment she will never forget was when Richard brought up the conversation of anime. The boys stared at her in awe and wonderment when she began giving them clear details of various anime. They were honestly surprised that an adult of this age was interested in it. What made her broke down in laughter was Jason asking her to marry him.

Her being an anime freak gave them more reasons to like her. What even made their day was when Leilyn gifted them with three brand new, state of the art Normaric Tech. Holo-Watches – manufactured by her mother's company - out of the five that she had stashed in her closet. Having an overprotective mother and brothers that knew how clumsy she when it comes to handling things has its peeks. 

Anyways, it became a routine for the boys to pay Leilyn a visit almost twice or trice in a week. She honestly didn't know how to feel about that at first. In the end, she just shrugged and decided to be indifferent about it.

Time passed and soon, it's Easter day. On the third week of April to be precise. The kids managed to escape to Leilyn's, away from the madness of their family on the so called 'holy day'. By the Cosmos, hearing the story of how a fictional character was resurrected after getting his ass killed in the most hilarious way possible, over and over again in a sermon is bound to drive anyone nuts.

They arrived there in the afternoon and literally conquered Leilyn's game room as theirs'. She just snorted in amusement at their behavior before going over to kitchen to prepare snacks for them. She then made a show of beating their asses when they challenged her, a smug smirk on her black colored lips throughout the whole way.

Around three in the afternoon, Zack and his friends decided to take Leilyn out for the rest of the day - to her blatant refusal and disgruntlement. She heaved out a long suffering groan as she was dragged upstairs by Zack, who proceeded in rampaging through her walk in closet for a suitable outfit in the sea of red and black.

"Zack." She calls out in a deadpan voice and the teen replies with a hum. "You do know that no one in town actually trusts my presence right?"

"Then they can choke on my dick."

Leilyn makes a choking noise of surprise immediately those words passes through his lips. She couldn't help but stare incredulously at him in shock, eyes and mouth wide open and a hand on her chest.

Zack's the hoodie wearing cinnamon roll of the group, and for him to cuss so nonchalantly, Leilyn wonders if the world is coming to an end. She peeps through the window in the closet to see if fire and brimstones were raining down on the earth.

"Okay, I think this will do."

Leilyn cocks a perfectly plucked brow, impressed at the outfit he picked for her. Damn, he sure has taste.

"I'll leave you to change and get ready. Don't forget to look extra pretty." He say with a wink, making Leilyn scoff in amusement. She and the boys joke about her disdain for make up, so for Zack to suggest her to apply make-up is amusing.

Leilyn moans in defeated silence as the door closes behind Zack. She undresses, dumps her clothes on the bed before walking into the en-suite bathroom for a quick shower. It takes her twenty minutes to get ready and the boys couldn't be more thankful.

"Wow…" Zack breaths out in awe and Richard and Jason couldn't agree more.

Leilyn is a sight to behold in all her rich caramel glory. Not only is her clothing fitting and fabulous, her make up free face glow with the sun's radiance. The ray of sunlight that managed to come in through the glass windows makes her skin appear smooth and lovely, also making her vivid agate eyes to sparkle. Her dark red copper hair is still in its elegant, French braided form and it's thrown over her shoulder, her usual bands and fringes fanning her face.

"So, how do I look?" Leilyn asks as she gestured herself.

"Beautiful."

"Out worldly."

"Simply fabulous."

"Okay, you three stop. Teasing me is not going to get you more likes from me." Leilyn huffs out with an exasperated eye roll as she sauntered down the stairs.

"It's not teasing if it's the truth." Jason counters with an amused smirk.

"Don't forget that you're beautiful and down to earth. I honestly don't understand why you're still single." Rick adds with a grin.

"Okay, that's quite enough you two. If you keep going, Mrs. Xander's dry look will become even drier - if that's even possible." Zack snorts at the expression on Leilyn's face.

The foursome walk out of the house, Leilyn still begin teased with exaggerated praises. Leilyn activates the lock down procedure on the house -which locks all the doors and windows- before she gets into the hover car. The automatic gates opens up and they drove out, stopping for a few seconds as Leilyn ensures that the gates closes.

It takes twenty minutes to get to the populated part of town, and unless one decides to drive like a psychopath and violate the traffic rules, you can get there in ten.

The windows of the car are down, allowing the cool April air in, and also allowing their voices to be heard. Rick, Jason and Leilyn are singing along to the radio and boy are their voices horrible. Zack has a constipated look on his face as he glares witheringly at them. Leilyn, seeing this, decides to troll him. With a shit eating grin, she increases the volume of her voice and Rick and Jason, not wanting to be outdone by her, follow her lead. If they are to drive pass someone, the person will wonder if they have gone batshit mental.

"Oh my God!"

Zack, wanting to save his sanity and eardrums, hurriedly switches off the radio, blessing the trio with a quelling glare. Said trio just grin cheekily at him, making his glare to increase ten times hotter. If looks could kill, they would have been dead by now.      

"So… what do you guys wanna eat?"

Leilyn suddenly asks, making the trio blink owlishly for a moment before answering with various shouts of "Spicy curry!" "Mac and Cheese!" and "Beef stew!" from each teen. Due to their difference in reply, the boys begin to glare at one another. Leilyn hurriedly intercepts before they could start another bantering fest.

"Why don't I cook all three? If there's any leftovers, I'll just refrigerate it and you guys can dig into it later on."

"Yeah, that's fine."

"That will do."

"Okay."

The boys mumble out various replies of agreement and she breathes out a silent sigh of relief.

"And because of that," Leilyn starts, looking at them through the view mirror. "We're going to the mall get some stuffs after you three have finished dragging me throughout the town." She ends with an exasperated sigh. Once again, they reply positively, making her grin happily.

The boys start up a conversation and Leilyn just added inputs here and there. The atmosphere in the car is so lively and bright that any light hating bastard will hiss and cover their eyes in pain. Heck, Leilyn wonders if she would get a cavity at how sweet the boys are being. And knowing how horrible having a dental check is, Leilyn grimaces at that thought.

"Mrs. Xander?"

Zack's voice drags her out from her thoughts and she blinks owlishly for a second before regarding him from corner of her eye, making sure to keep the other on the road.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine hun. Just got lost in my thoughts." She gives him a soft smile. "Is something the matter?"

"Well…" Rick begins, rubbing his neck. "Please don't be offended about what we are about to ask. I know that it's personal, but, ahm… Zack, Jason and I were wondering why you're single."

"You're an awesome woman; a wonderful cook and a whole list of other great things packed together into one." Jason adds.

"So it's just so surprising that no one has claimed you as theirs." Zack ends.

"Okay, first of all, I won't, and will never, be claimed by anyone." Leilyn starts, voice stern and brows furrowed in a scowl. "Secondly, not everyone wants to be in a relationship with a woman of my caliber. Not to brag, but have you seen my achievements? Not many people have accomplished what I have, at a young age to boot. Most people who date accomplished people like me, women especially, become insecure of their own worth, and then, they begin to wonder why someone of such height would stoop so low so as to date them. Insecurity turns into distrust, distrust turns to paranoia, and the next thing you know, they develop Othello syndrome."

"Othello syndrome?"  The teens query together, utterly perplexed.

"Othello syndrome, also known as morbid jealousy, delusional jealousy and pathological jealousy, is a psychological disorder in which a person is preoccupied with the thought of their spouse or sexual partner being unfaithful and makes repeated accusations of their unfaithfulness without any real proof or citing their normal everyday events to back up their claims." Leilyn explains.

"Are there known symptoms of this disorder?" Rick asks. Like Leilyn, he was a science enthusiast and unlike his friends, he was paying keen attention to Leilyn's explanation.

"Yes, they are." Leilyn replies. "Basic symptoms includes accusing the partner of holding an affair when they withdraw or when sexual activity stops; interrogation of phone calls; stalking them on social media or not allowing them to use it; going through their belongings; always asking where they are and who they are with; isolating them from their family and friends; not letting them have personal interests or hobbies outside the house; controlling their social circle; becoming verbal or physically violent towards them , the individual who you consider to be the rival or both; blaming the partner as the reason for their jealous behavior; denying that they have a jealous behavior unless cornered; and last but not the least, threatening to harm themselves or others."

"Wow…" Zack offers weakly.

"Yep." Leilyn pops the 'P' loudly. "People don't know that they have this syndrome and the society kinda sees it as a normal thing. They just say that they are insecure and are afraid to lose their partners."

"Then people must be crazy to see all these symptoms as normal." Jason says with a note of distaste. "Come on! Who isolates their partners or restricts them because of petty jealousy? That's just pathetic." The others nods at his statement.

Leilyn feels a smile tug at her lips and she allows it to spread. These boys… whosoever they will date in the future will be very lucky. She just wish that their innocent and kind heart wouldn't be stomped by assholes. She will utterly destroy those who hurt them, physically or mentally.

"Mrs. Leilyn?" Rick's voice jolts her out of her murderous thoughts and back to the moment.

"Yes Rick?"

"Is there a solution to it? The Othello syndrome that is."

"Well, medication and therapy are the best solutions. As for me, I think their partners leaving and moving far the hell away from them and their madness is the best."

"I second that." Zack agrees. "The lord knows I can't deal with that shit."

"Third."

"Fourth."

Jason and Rick input respectively.

"And what if they decide to make it their mission to stalk you to the ends of the earth?" Leilyn queries, a perfectly plucked eyebrow arched.

"If they wanted to die, they should have said so before we started dating. I would have granted their wish in a heartbeat." Zack answers with a deadpanned expression, voice flat and placid.

Leilyn makes a small, indistinguishable noise in the back of her throat, once again taken by surprise with his reply.

"And being the awesome friends we are, we will help you dispose of the trash."

"Some acids might help in the disposal."

Leilyn's mouth drops wide open a little bit and she glances at the teens behind her through the view mirror in shock.

"Wow… I never knew you kids could be so evil minded."

Jason grins inanely at her and she couldn't help but sweat drop at the feral look in his eyes.

"Anyways," Leilyn drawls, breaking the boys from their murderous plots.  "The third and last reason for me being single is, well…" She pauses for a moment before finally heaving a resigned sigh and continuing. "Well, I never really had time for a relationship. I'm not sure that I'll ever have one, even if a gun is pointed at my head."

"What? Why?" Zack inquires with a frown.

"Well…" She trails off, pausing for a second to figure out what to say, eyebrows scrunched together and lips pursed in a thin line. She huffs out a tired sigh.

"I have always been busy, even as a teen. I had my studies, ambitions and missions to focus on; so dating wasn't really on my mind. Well, I did date a girl and a guy on two separate occasion, but, it didn't go so well." She shrugs. "And before I knew it, I've lost all interest in dating and, automatically, everything associated with relationships. Heck, my sexual drive is now zero to none. I don't feel anything; I can no longer experience or feel either romantic or sexual attraction to anyone. I don't know if it's because I haven't met someone who wants to be with me not for my money or achievement, but for who I am or because sex and romance is meaningless in this life." She shrugs.

"Being the heiress of a multi-trillion company, it's honestly hard to find true love. I have given up on that a long time ago. When it comes to humans, love is just a word used in deceiving the foolish and making a complete joke out of them. I've come to the conclusion that romantic love is just a temporary or long term chemical reaction, caused by our hormones in order to give us a reason to do stupid shits, or just to make us completely blind to the truth around us.

"There is no such thing as romantic love; only the desperate urge of equally desperate humans to breed and satisfy the insatiable yarning of the flesh and to sooth the bone crushing weight of depression and loneliness experienced by 75% of the human population; along with the constant changing reality of life."

A heavy silence descends on them. The teens stared at her, stunned by her words. Then came the sadness. What made such a vibrant and caring woman to come to such a conclusion? It was honestly sad.

"Don't worry Mrs. Lyn. Just give me five years and you will have yourself a fine husband."

Jason's cheerful comment has her cackling inwardly.

This boy…

"You're not going to give up are you?" She asks, still snickering inwardly.

"Nope." He grins impishly at her.

"Jay, by then I will be old and way more depressing than usual. I might not be to your taste then."

"Love has no boundaries." He winks saucily at her.

"Dude… the hell?" Rick looks at him with a creeped out.

"You need help bro." Zack adds with a miffed expression, and that opened the flood gates.

Leilyn breaks down laughing so hard to the point that she had to stop the car, in order to catch her breath. It took a minute for her to do so.

"By the Cosmos." She manages to croak out, wiping a lone tear. "You boys are something else." 

They grin wolfishly at her and accepted the compliment with pride.

Leilyn got back on the road and in no time, they reached the populated part of town. She parked her car in mall's parking lot, seeing as they will still be coming back.

The teens officially showed her every inch of the town, leaving no small details behind; even the ones she wished they kept to themselves and not utter a word about it to her. Like seriously, which sensible people would celebrate the people who started WW3 and only won by default? The town had a whole park dedicated to the monster who started it all and Layla vowed not to ever step foot in there again. Heck, she wishes that she could burn in down with the red, hot, burning flames of Hell.

Those poor souls. They might be innocent who were killed just because of a power struggle between incel old men, who should have been 6 feet under a long time ago. And these idiots praise them just because they used religion as a cover up. Honestly, religious fanatics are so unbelievably dumb as fuck. To be frank, they are all brain dead to begin with anyways. WW3 is a perfect example of why the church needs to be separated from politics. People will believe anything from the worst criminal if he only just use the name of an entity and twist it for his own selfish gain.

Honestly, she's beginning to see why her little brother called them the 'Sky Daddy Cult'. The name fits them to a T.

Before Leilyn could make do on her promise and set the park on fire - she already had a lighter out (where in the fuck did she get that?!) and an evil aura was whiffing off of her. She had a demonic look in her eyes as she lit it and was about to throw it on one of the park benches - the boys hurriedly whisked her away, sweat dropping as they did so.

They continued the tour, showing Leilyn almost everywhere. The boys each bought a single rose hair pin for her – which she drops in her pocket - and she thanks them with a peck on the cheek for each.

Jason entered La la land immediately, a hand on his cheek. Richard and Zack just roll their eyes in exasperated fondness at his reaction.

The boy has it HARD for Leilyn. Too bad - for Jason that is - she's not into pedophilia. Leilyn strictly sees them as kids who could be her siblings or children. When asked if she would date someone who's way younger than her, her reply to them was "I'm not into that Alabama shit". She had to then explain what she meant - seeing as it's a 21st century quote. That day, she felt sorry for traumatizing them into a state of shock. She honestly thought that they already knew about it through the help of anime and their holy book.

After successfully breaking Jason from his love trance, the foursome continued their tour.

"I hate to admit it, but this town is nice." Leilyn says, the boys and her on their way to the mall. They are finally done with the tour and Leilyn, to her surprise, actually like the town. Well, the beauty of it in terms of nature. She would NEVER like the assholes in it… okay, she like her boys. Only them.

"Told you so." Zack gives her a sassy smirk.

Leilyn just tosses him an amused look before ruffing his hair. Her action makes him squawk in indignation, once again telling her that he's not a child for her to be doing that. She just smirks at him, making him pout a little.

It was getting crowded as they got close to the mall. Due to her choice of clothing, Leilyn had a lot of people staring at her in disbelief, incredulity and disgust.

She wore a beautiful and elegant navy blue sports bra top, which exposes her entire back and then ends under her breasts, exposing the scars on her body and also the artistic tattoo which almost covers the right side of her back and arm; black, thigh length low rise shorts with two designer buckles on both sides of her laps, which enhances her curvy figure; and to top it all off, she wore black, heeled boots. Her lips were painted crimson and when she smirked, it was sinful. When she walks, her bountiful bust jiggle in their tight cage and her hips sway without any needed effort. All in all, Leilyn was blessed from head to toe, and her scars did nothing but amplify her looks.

Zack throws a worried glance at her, wondering if he made a wrong choice in picking her outfit for her. He honestly thought it would look cool on her - and it did! -, but she was getting a lot of negative attention. His ears caught some of the whispers floating around, and boy was he mad.

Jason and Richard reactions were worse than Zack's. Jason was out right glaring daggers at everyone while Richard was staring coldly. Due to the three murderous expressions, people quickly shut up and gave way like the red sea.

Leilyn was becoming perplexed by the behavior of the people around them and she looked around to investigate why. She sighed exasperatedly when she discovered the reason.

"You boys do know that you look like you are on your way to brutally dismember some unlucky bastard, right?"

"And that's exactly what we'll do." Jason responds with a dark scowl on his face, glaring with narrowed eyes at anyone who dared gaze at Leilyn with an unwelcomed look.

"I honestly shouldn't have chosen this outfit." Zack mutters darkly, staring distastefully at what Leilyn currently had on.

Leilyn lets out an amused scoff whist giving each of them an exasperated look.

"You three shouldn't worry your pretty heads. This is nothing. I'm used to it." She said with a bemused smile.

"What?" Zack hisses out, suddenly stepping in front of Leilyn, making her stop in her tracks. Jason and Richard followed suit, looking at her in disbelief.

Leilyn gives them a sad smile. "This…" she gestures at the people who were staring at them. "…this is nothing new. I've been receiving stares that vary in degree all my life, most of them being that I unashamedly display my scars. My scars which clearly states that I'm a survivor. Most people find it intimidating of people who don't hide that they are survivors, knowing that they will strengthen others who they are oppressing. Why do you think most abuse victims are trampled upon, even after their ordeal? They lived and they told their stories."

"But Mrs. Xander…"

Leilyn gently flicks Zack's nose, a soft smile on her lips, but her eyes… they were dead.

"Don't stress yourself over nothing. I can handle myself. This here is nothing. Like I said, I'm used to it." And you'll think people will get used to strange things in this century. But as expected, humans are difficult to accept change.

And with that said, she walks away, a tight smile on her lips, not giving a damn about the looks she's getting. The boys stared worriedly at each other, before jogging to meet up with her.

The foursome walked into the mall, and all, except for Leilyn, are unaware that they were being watched. Leilyn throws a side eye glance at the woman who was whispering strongly into her phone.

'Hmm… I wonder if she's a spy for them.' Leilyn ponders with an amused tilt on her lips.

She pauses in her steps, making the boys to halt too. She reaches into her pocked and brought out her card before turning back and grinning happily the three teens,

"Okay boys, we have arrived. You three can get whatever you like. Today, I'm gonna be your sugar mommy."

Someone in the background did a spit take, another spluttered while another chocks on thin air. The rest people who heard her were giving her and the boys strange looks.

The three teens each raised an amused eyebrow at her, making her mischievous grin widen the more. The four of them walked away chuckling or snickering at the facial expression of the people who heard Leilyn.

Honestly, the woman simply loves to fuck with the minds of people. She simply just don't give a damn. And that is another reason why she was special in the boys' books.