Walk Home

"You should eat more." Azeria said whilst walking. The five were walking home, rejecting their fathers' offers to have their cars fetch them after school. They were always the only kids who walked their way in and out of school, wanting to experience what normal kids did. "I have a photo shoot, I need to be thin." Leroy answered, making the girl scowl at him and the three other males laugh. "You sound like a thirteen year old girl. It's disgusting. And you can't stay anymore after training, I can't have you breaking anything more." She said, cringing at him. The three laughed more as they heard the comment. "It's not like I like it." Leroy said, brushing his hand through his dark chocolate curls whilst looking at the pebble he was kicking around as they walked. "So, why do it?" She looked at him, curiosity seeping through her eyes as she watched him.

The four paused their steps for a moment, something about her question bothered them. "That's like asking why we go to school." Aki said with a slight chuckle, continuing to walk. The three did the same, but their face still faced the ground while contemplating on the question. "No. You go to school because you need to, not because you wanna appease people. You do that while attending school, but it's not the reason you do." She said, still having her eyes on the four troubled males. "I think it's because we're people pleasers." Primo said, wearing his signature lopsided smile. "We were raised that way." Eos said with a feign chuckle. The girl's brows furrowed while her lips formed a small pout. "Why do we let that hold us back?" She asked. The four remained unfazed, it was a question they encountered everyday as they ate breakfast, went to school and laid on their beds before sleeping. "What? Did Japan make you some therapist?" Aki tried to light up the tension. The others snickered as their heads raised gradually and their shoulders began to feel lighter than earlier.

"She'll get fired at the first day, she'll tell her patient to just give up on everything." Primo said, his smile becoming slightly wider. "I give best advice, shut up." She kicked the twin behind his knees, making him wince and almost fall flat on his face. "The last time I had a girlfriend, I asked you if I should comfort her since she was jealous or something. You said I should ignore her since she was whiny and insecure." Leroy reminded her with a slight glare. The three other males snickered at what he said. "She wasn't wrong though." Aki laughed along with the two. The vice captain just pouted, giving up on finding words of defense. "You can't just pout when they're dissing a girl!" Eos said irritated as he bonked Leroy, a little more aggressive than expected, on the head. "You didn't do anything either!" Leroy whined at him while rubbing on the spot he hit. "I reprimanded you, that's more than enough." Eos said, his chin rising rather proudly. The semi-injured male just huffed while the three others snickered at the sight.

"You think they'll get together?" Azeria whispered to the twins while keeping her eyes on the two bickering males. It was funny to her how the siblings almost have nothing in common except their features and their blood, but they still got along so well. While the captain and vice-captain of the team had everything in common, but could still argue of the most simplest things. "Them? No." Aki answered, also looking at the pair with amusement. "If they can get over themselves, maybe." Primo said with a slight shrug, not taking his eyes off the girl. "You think they can?" She asked. Her face cringed slightly, not trusting the two to discover their own affection for each other. "Nah." The twins answered at the same time, shaking their heads while turning their eyes away from the scene. "Maybe they just need a little push!" The girl argued, making the two look at her with confusion and fascination. "Since when were you a hopeless romantic?" Aki asked, letting out a breathy laugh. The other twin's eyebrow was raised, his curiosity overflowing. "What? Haven't you seen how they look at each other since we were kids?" She defended. "Since when were you that empathetic?" Primo asked with an amused chuckle.

"I realized it when we were in grade school, actually." The two's emotions shut off and looked at her with an unimpressed face. "What?" She asked, confused at the twins' reactions. Primo was about to answer but Eos' voice beat him to it. "What?" The boy asked, looking oddly at the three. "We were talking about the contest coming up." Azeria answered. The two weren't surprised at how fast she found a scapegoat, knowing she was the best at bringing up topics and changing them. "Please, don't tell me you're joining." Leroy pleaded, joining in on the conversation. "I wasn't planning to anyway." She replied, making the three widen their eyes in shock. Aki even let out a gasp at hearing what she said. Primo kept his calm composure, not surprised at all by the words. "You weren't even planning to join?" Leroy asked her, completely rattled. They got even more surprised as the girl let out a laugh. "I wasn't planning on telling you." She answered. Primo's laugh blended with hers while the three were dumbfounded. "Why're you laughing??" His twin asked. "I can't believe you even thought she'd let something like that slip up." He said, making her laugh harder.

"You'll lose." Eos said out of nowhere. The laughs they let out faded as the two realized what he just said. "No, I won't." She answered with confidence, yet curious of her friend's prediction. "Caila, she's joining. She transferred after you left." He said, avoiding her prying eyes. "Hey!" Leroy nudged him, but his body kept walking like it was numb from whatever was inflicted to it. "You can't keep it from her forever, you know. She'll need to know what she's getting into, and at least prepare." He said, keeping his eyes in front, but instantly looking at Azeria as he heard her scoff. "Did you just tell me to prepare?" She asked through laughs. "She won every award and contest while you were gone. She was basically your replacement, but with more whining and pink." Leroy said. She laughed more at this. "Well, she's a substitute. Not a replacement." Her laughs died down. "And substitutes scurry when the original comes back."