9One hour earlier…
*Me trying to hide behind one of the living-room chairs*
Rowan: "Hey, Fantix, have you seen my glasses?" *Looks at me closer and looks suspiciously at my behavior* "What did you do?
*Me mumbling incoherently, trying to figure a way to avoid the questioning of my brother*
"What was that?"
*Me looking guiltily around the room* "I-I-I accidentally broke your glasses." *Braces for impact*
*Rowan looking at me like I just said that I ate a stinky, month-old argyle sock with extra sweat* "Sorry, I must be hard of hearing, but I think I just heard you say that you broke my glasses."
*Me curling into a defensive ball* "Y-yeah, sorry Rowan, I stepped on them as I went down the stairs. Looks like one of the cats grabbed them, they like knocking them down the stairs."
*Rowan furrows his brow, clearly trying to keep himself from yelling at me. (Rowan and I aren't allowed to raise our voices; our parents hate it when we argue, for we usually get so loud that the cats hide in the game closet until it's over) * "Fantix, I propose that we settle this before it escalates. You know that I'm frustrated."
*Me perking up* "How about a bet? If you win, I have to buy you new glasses. If I win, you have to get me a sandwich of my choice."
*Rowan looking exasperated* "Well, why can't you just buy the glasses instead of making a deal? Fine, but you also have to tell me who you talk to at night; it's so annoying when I am trying to get some sleep and I hear your voice in the next room."
"Deal. How about the bet is on whether someone reviews my story?"
*Rowan smirking* "Yeah, I say that someone will review your story. Wait, what story?"
"I won't tell you until it's finished. Or until I feel like it."
"Well, I won't leave me alone until you tell me."
"Hmm…nope."
-One hour later-
*The two of us are playing Warhammer: Age of Sigmar*
*I move my Witch Elf hoard towards his Hero and take it out* "So, still think that I'm going to tell you about my story?"
*He moves his Plague-Carriers towards my Morathi, not noticing that my hoard is near his Sorcerer* "Yep."
*I take out the piece, crippling his army*
*He raises his hands in defeat* "Well, you win."
*I suddenly snack my iPad and his sorcerer and run off*
"Hey, come back!"
-And then you know the rest-
One day later…
*Me half-heartedly picking at my sandwich while sitting in a diner* -sigh-
*Rowan glares at me* "What"
*Me finally pushing the delicious-looking Ruben sandwich aside* "Oh, nothing. Just thought that I would lose the bet. I was looking forward to that."
*Rowan abruptly lunges forward and pushes the plate back towards me* "Well, I spent a good eight dollars and twenty-seven cents on that sandwich, so you better eat it, or else."
*Me grumping anyway* "Well, depends on what the 'or else' entails. If it involves you writing my story from now on, be my guest."
*Rowan stands up and starts walking* "Nope, no way, because apparently you know me better than I do. And besides, I do NOT need any more stress added to my plate; look at what it's doing to you."
*Me smirking* "And I thought you could do almost everything. Guess the stress is on the 'almost.'"
*Him giving me a blank stare* "Well…what does that mean, Fantix? Am I not up to your expectations, or is it that you don't know how to maintain social homeostasis?"
*I stand up and start walking towards him* "I am just saying that for…reasons that I will not divulge in the interests of my own self-preservation."
*Rowan rolls his eyes, clearly exasperated with my annoying behavior* "Well, I am just going to say that I would really like to read your story. You promised that you would show me, after all, you used my name, and I got you a sandwich." *He immediately opens his eyes wide, clearly hoping that this passes for a puppy dog look*
*It does, but I restrain myself* "Nope, not happening"
*He pulls out his phone*
*I immediately go onto Fan Fiction and block him from reading the story I'm writing* "Well, it's a surprise, I'm not done yet. And besides, you only got me a sandwich because you lost the bet. By the way, that look just makes you look surprised."
*Rowan slumps, looking disappointed* "Well, I hope you aren't going to try to do something crazy with my name like write some crazily spun work of fantasy fiction with a dash of violence and crazy. I do not want it to mar my name."
"You will just have to see" *scribbles in sketch book* "Now begone, you cretin. I have work to do."
*Rowan pays the bill and walks out, leaving me behind*
*I sit back down and look to the side* "Well, it's nice to see you too, Menta. Now, what should we talk about?" *I finish Panic's sketch during Chapter 4.5*
*Phone beeps, and I see that there's a review on the 4th chapter* "Oh, looks like Rowan won the bet after all"
*Leans sideways in a secretive manner* "Let's not tell him just yet."
*Types on phone*
Message:
"Thank you, Cressida123! Yeah, I wasn't very fond of Sophie, but you're right: people can have their own opinions. Also, about the dividers, I just now found out how to use the one-line border thing on the edit document setting; those are way more efficient than what I was trying to use. As for the aspects, some of them are genuine parts of Rowan's personality, and others…well, the story will eventually explain. As for what a Lost is…that is part of Project Flaredon. Fulcrum is someone or something in charge of moving Project Flaredon on schedule. *stupid science pun* As for whether Project Flaredon is related to or was created by the Neverseen…I don't know yet. My contacts have been rather closed-lipped lately. As for who was in Rowan's mind…read Chapter 4.5 (Fifth chapter). Sandor and the others underestimated Rowan's intelligence, which was pretty foolish. I love it when you review, there are so many questions that I could think about as I write, thinking about whether I should answer it this chapter or the next. Thank you, again. :)