The Unexpected Guest

"Busted!" Elli yelled at her twin brother and laughed manically. Aeron scowled at her and puts down his controller.

"You cheated," Aeron sulked and turned to me. "Want to avenge your bestfriend, Tolkien?"

They were playing Call of Duty while I was trying to write a song, which was a hobby of mine.

I just went out to buy some supplies and I told them to arrange the basement for us to practice some songs because we were planning to form a band, but instead of arranging the equipment, I found them playing the damn game.

"Nah," I declined as I continued strumming my guitar. "You know I suck at any games. And we both know you don't really stand a chance at that game with her. Or any game at all."

Aeron threw a pillow at me but I dodged it. Elli was doing her silly victory dance. I snickered at my annoyed bestfriend.

I met the twins when they moved here ten years ago. Nobody wanted to be friends with them because they were "different", according to other kids.

Their father was Korean and their mom was American, but they looked more like their dad. So to make the long story short, I was the only one who approached them at the park when I saw them came with their mom. They spoke English just fine but with a slight accent, but as long as I could understand them, their English was passable.

Since that day, we were inseparable and I found a brother and sister in them.

Though their bickering could be annoying sometimes, I still tolerated them. I mastered how to tune them out whenever they started their banters. I'm not that sentimental and I wouldn't admit that I love them on their faces, even if I actually do.

"So, Tolky," Elli plopped down on the couch beside me as I scowled at her nickname for me. "How was your date with the dumbshell?"

I sighed and put down my guitar. Sometimes, I hate her for being good at assessing people. She knew if my date was a "total bitch from hell", "a slut queen", or, just as she said; a "dumbshell." And she was mostly right. Okay, she was always right. If truth be told, I never had any serious relationship in the past two years because the girls I've met were just too superficial.

"Fine. You're right. She's not the brightest bulb in the tree." I grimaced when I remembered how she tried to get into my pants while we were in the car. I almost ran over a lamp post.

"I wouldn't say "I told you so" because you never listen." She was smug about it, I could tell.

"Stop rubbing it onto his face, E," Aeron said. He was playing again.

"I did that to you always so why the hell I couldn't do that to him too?" Elli poked her brother on the back by her foot.

"Stop it!" he hissed. "You're distracting me."

I glanced at my wristwatch and surprised to see that it was already 11PM. I didn't notice it was that late.

Mr. and Mrs. Wong were on a trip, leaving the twins with yours truly because according to their own parents I was the sensible and the most matured amongst the three of us.

"It's late kids," I said as I clapped my hands and stood up while gathering my notebook and pen. "Time to go to bed."

"But dad," Elli whined with exaggeration. "Can we play for another thirty minutes? Pretty please?" She even gave me her puppy-eyed look that always worked with Mr. Wong. Fortunately I was immune to that look.

"You had already played and beaten your brother enough. Give the guy a break and his dignity back."

Aeron chucked another pillow at me that managed to bounced off my head. Elli guffawed on the floor, clutching her stomach, upon seeing the spectacle.

I couldn't help but laugh too. "Man, I suddenly felt old."

"That was hilarious!" Elli was still on the floor trying to contain her laughter.

"Come on—" I was cut off by the sound of the door bell. We all stopped and looked at each other.

Elli got up from the floor. "Mom and dad were not supposed to be home that fast, right?"

Aeron rolled his eyes and stood up. "They still have a week on their trip."

"Then who would visit us at this hour?" Elli was not worried at all. She even looked excited. "Maybe it was a serial killer. Let me beat his nuts first, okay?"

"Do they even teach that in Karate?" I asked curiously while the bell rang continuously.

Elli signed up for a Karate class this summer since she watched a not so old Asian action movie, So Close.

"No," Elli answered and looked at me as if I asked a stupid question.

We piled out of the basement and silently went to the front door.

"Do we have to open the door?" I whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" Elli whispered back as she looked around for a weapon, I assumed.

"What if it was a bad guy?"

Before Elli could answer, Aeron suddenly opened the door and swore. Elli and I spun around, startled.

"What the hell, Ae!" Elli snapped. "Why did you open the fucking—"

"What are you doing here this late?" Aeron's voice was delighted and he hugged the stranger by the door. He looked over at Elli, his eyes shining with excitement. "Oh my God, Elli you wouldn't believe who's here!"

Elli furrowed her brows and stepped outside. Moments later, I heard her squeal. They were loud when they came in and Aeron was holding a black backpack while Elli was pulling the stranger with her.

"Hey Tolky, we want you to meet someone," Elli gushed and stopped in front of me with the stranger behind her. "She's our cousin from Japan and we just met her through Facebook last year. Her name's Yuki—"

"Connors," the stranger said, cutting off Elli, which happens to be a girl. A short girl, actually. Her head barely reached my chest. "Jace Connors. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand at me.

I looked at the trio suspiciously. I clearly heard Elli mentioned a different name while introducing her cousin.

Looking at the sudden guest, I couldn't see her face properly because of the black baseball cap she was wearing. And that was when I noticed she was clad in all black.

Hmm. Something's fishy.

"Tolkien," I introduced myself as I shook her hand. I noticed my hand easily covered her small hand. "I didn't know the twins has a relative from Japan." I added, letting go of her hand.

"We didn't know either until she messaged us," Aeron explained. "Hey Yu—Jace, do you want to eat something?"

Jace took off her cap and my mouth fell open in surprise. Despite the bags under her eyes, she looked absolutely beautiful. Her brown hair was a bob cut with side swept bangs that accentuated well her small face. Her eyes were the lightest brown I've ever seen in my life.

"Dude, you look like a creep." Elli pushed up my chin to close my mouth. She was grinning at me too.

That was when I noticed Jace was already gone. I didn't even notice her walking away. I was too mesmerized by her looks—What the hell is wrong with me?

"She's at the kitchen with Aeron." Elli was looking at me with amusement in her eyes. She clapped me on the back as if she knew something. "You'll probably see her a lot. She's here to stay until she went off to college."

"Why did she suddenly turned up at this hour?" I asked instead, dodging the girl's obvious teasing of my reaction to her cousin.

Elli rolled her eyes. "Surprise?" she said in a 'duh' tone. "Come on, I don't want Aeron hogging all the info about her "surprise visit," she added as she used her fingers for quotation marks and walked off towards the kitchen.

I sighed and braced myself before I followed Elli. I didn't want to look stupid again in front of Jace when we just met. She seemed pretty fine to me.

Well, I hoped so.