mia (not just in name)

You were not avoiding Sylus. Not at all. You were just busy at work and then busy with meeting and socialising with your other friends when you had the time. You were still responding to his texts just like you would except for the fact that the responses were few and far between.

It still does not mean that you were avoiding him. Were you embarrassed to face him? Probably.

Was it avoiding him if you still made it to the usual movie night on Saturday and you staying over that night because you're either too tired or drunk to drive back home?

So, that was how you found yourself sitting on his couch, leaning on the armrest while facing Sylus, on Sunday explaining this very weird and scary nightmare you had where you were being chased by what could only be categorised as a body horror experiment gone wrong or rather very right.

"It's the feng shui of your apartment." You stated as you were munching on a grape.

"Is that so?" Sylus enquired with a lazy smile on his face.

"Yea. I never have these kinds of dreams when I'm at my apartment." You shrugged popping another grape in your mouth.

"Or maybe you have these dreams because you're weird."

"How dare you?" You exclaimed in mock offence, extending your leg to nudge him slightly. But before your toes could make contact, he caught your leg and placed him on his lap.

Before you could process what happened, Sylus carried on as if nothing had happened and said, "Or maybe it was because of the movie we watched yesterday."

The two of you finally watched the surprise movie from last week which turned out to be the movie 'The Thing'.

"Probably. I don't really do horrors or thrillers." You informed him. "They don't usually give me nightmares but when they do they're horrific. But I also still think its your feng shui."

"Noted for future reference, sweetie." Sylus said, patting your knee. Before you could say anything, his phone rang and he seemed to just say yes and sigh at the end of the call before he hung up.

"Everything okay?" You had never seen him this speechless on a call before and you were worried that maybe something was wrong or urgent.

"Yea, it was just the twins letting me know that they are 5 minutes away and want to go to arcade with me." He said with a smile on his face.

"Oh. I should probably get going then." You said, sitting straighter on the couch but Sylus stopped you with a slight squeeze on your calf.

"Stay." He said with a smile. "They've been asking to meet this friend that I've been hanging out with all this while."

"Are you sure?" You were not sure why you were protesting, if you can even call it that. Like he said, you are just friends and meeting his brothers shouldn't freak you out as much it did. But then again, there's their age.

"Are you really nervous about meeting two teenagers, kitten?" Sylus taunted you with a smirk.

"Have you not met teenagers? They are brutal and ruthless when it comes to expressing their opinion. My nervousness is entirely warranted." You huffed, turning to look at the view outside the floor to ceiling window.

"What kind of teenagers have you met, sweetie?" He looked so amused like it was his weekly entertainment television.

"My nieces and nephew. Some one might say resemble angels but the resemblance stops at their physical appearance."

"I am so intrigued." Sylus stated with the same amusement.

"No." You stated simply. The thought of him meeting your family was scarier than any opposing counsel you've met all your life.

"What?" He asked, as if he could see what was going through your mind.

"Nothing." You cleared your throat just as you heard the door open followed by two very loud boys calling Sylus's name and fast footsteps approaching the living room.

"Oh." They paused looking at the scene in front of them. You and Sylus lounging on the couch looking more intimate than a pair of friends. Before you could shift to pull your leg off his lap, Sylus once again caught you by squeezing your calf.

"Are you the friend he keeps talking about?" One of them asked as he sat on the couch adjacent to the three seater you were occupying.

"I guess? He must have a quite a few friends." You stated.

"No, he doesn't." The other twin stated like it was an obvious fact. "If he did, he wouldn't be hanging out with us as much as he does."

"Luke." Sylus warned the boy with no bite.

"It's true." The other twin - Kieran, you assumed shrugged rummaging through the kitchen cabinet.

"You don't look like you're 40." Luke stated with a straight face and you gave Sylus the 'I told you' look.

"Thanks. It's good to know that the ritual is working." You said with an innocent smile.

"What ritual?" Kieran asked, his hands filled with a lot of snacks.

"Sweetie." Sylus warned you this time with another squeeze to your calf.

"Oh it's just this thing I do - drinking the blood of a teenager every month during full moon." You shrugged like it was the most normal thing ever.

"Wait? Teenager? Not girls?" Luke asked looking part intrigued and part scared.

"Gender doesn't really matter as long as they are healthy and young. You guys look like you'd be good candidates." You clarified, trying your best to not laugh.

"Gege?" Kieran looked really terrified when he was looking at Sylus.

"She's not serious." Sylus informed them, letting out an exasperated sigh. "This is why you should not be rude when you're meeting someone for the first time."

"So, no blood drinking?" Kieran asked you as if wanting to hear from the source.

"Yea, no blood drinking. No teenagers or full moon. Sorry." You apologised after letting out a chuckle. "But it is nice to meet you guys."

"We like her." Luke announced to the entire room and his acceptance did loosen something in you.

"I am glad to hear that." You told him with a smile.

"Why don't you come with us to the arcade?" Kieran offered, looking shier than his twin.

"I don't want to intrude on your brothers time. But thanks for the offer, though." You were not sure if the others would appreciate your presence - especially Sylus.

"Noo. You should comee. He never lets us win. We need someone to beat him!" Luke exclaimed pulling out his very effective puppy eyes. You turn and look at Sylus who was looking at the whole scene with something that resembled a content smile.

"Come with us, sweetie. Maybe then they will taste victory." Sylus encouraged you and you were only a weak woman at the sight of three boys wanting you to join them. So, you agreed.

The trip to the arcade was just as lively as you expected it to be. Luke and Kieran were telling you all the stories of their previous visits to the arcade and how they suspect Sylus was cheating to win. Based on how they narrated it, you were inclined to believe the twins.

As soon as the four of you entered the arcade, Luke immediately announced that he wanted to team up with you and thus began the competition between the two teams.

Even though you hadn't been to the arcade in a really long time, you were a quick study. It also helped that you were a competitive person that was fuelled by Luke's persistent encouragement. You guys played through several rounds of racing games, shooting games and even pinball. Soon, the wins between your team and his was very close to one another, with your team at the lead.

You were all finally at the air hockey table with high tensions. You and Kieran were facing each other and you hit the puck with as much force as you could muster. In a surprising twist of events, the puck flew off the table and hit the Sylus who was just standing at the side as a spectator. On his crotch.

"Oh my god! Sylus, I am so sorry!" You started apologising profusely as the man made a sound mixed with both surprise and pain. It did not help that both Luke and Kieran were laughing their ass off behind the two of you.

"I'm fine, sweetie." Sylus tried reassuring you as you were hovering over him, unsure of what to do.

"I really am sorry. Is there anything I can do to make the pain go away?" You had no idea what you were saying. You had not caused bodily injury to anyone in years despite wishing you could.

"You could kiss it better." Luke mumbled before the twins started giggling among themselves.

"Luke." Sylus scolded them but that did nothing to stop them from laughing.

"Why don't I go get some ice from the food court?" You offered with a strong urge to flee the scene.

You were embarrassed at the whole situation and you just wanted the earth to swallow you whole. There was no recovering from this.

But you did return to the boys with an ice pack wrapped with some tissues and you found the boys sitting on the bench towards the side, seeming to be in a serious discussion that ended when they spotted you.

"I feel so bad. I'm sorry, Sylus." You apologised once again as you occupied the only available seat beside Kieran.

"I'm really fine, sweetie. There is no need to apologise. I've faced worse when playing with these two gremlins." Sylus reassured you as the twins let out a 'hey!' in protest.

"We should probably call it a day." You suggested with a smile.

"Sure, I don't mind. I won today!" Luke exclaimed with a triumphant smile.

"Next time you should be on my team." Kieran declared looking at you.

"Not happening! I picked her first" Luke refused to give up on you as a teammate.

"Why don't you guys let her pick who she wants on her team? Maybe she would want to be on my team the next time." Sylus added to fuel the fight even further because now , there was a full blown verbal argument between the twins on why you should be on their team.

"What makes you think I want to be on your team?" You joked, looking at Sylus but the twins were no longer paying attention to the two of you.

"You wound me, sweetie." Sylus feigned being hurt by your words. "First physically and now emotionally."

You winced at his words but before you could apologise again, he just shook his head and gave you a smile.

"Hey, how about we decide that the next time we are back at the arcade." You interjected the twins before the situation escalated. "How about we go grab something to eat from the food court?"

Hearing the word definitely seems to make them pause the fight and follow you and Sylus. You made Sylus and Luke take a seat while you and Kieran ordered the food. Before you left, Sylus tried to give you his card but you shot him down without even a second glance.

As you were waiting for the food, you noticed that Kieran was the shy one among the twins and seemingly following Luke's lead. He was not quick to start a conversation, now that it was just the two of you alone. You understood him - one fellow introvert to another.

"Did you have a fun today?" You tried initiating a conversation.

"I did. It's always fun here at the arcade with Luke and Sylus. And now with you too." He admitted with a shy smile.

"I'm glad to hear that. Do you guys come here often?" You asked wanting to know more about not just Sylus but also the twins.

"Sylus always takes us to the arcade after every exam, no matter how small. He says its a good way to unwind from all the stress."

"I have to agree with him. I had a bit of a stressful week at work and having fun with you guys really helped me unwind." You told him, thinking back at the nightmare of a week you had.

"He is right most of the time." Kieran admitted.

"Is he now? What else is he right about?" You were curious at the statement and at the blind trust they had in him.

"He was right when he said that I am good at math and that I should join the math club and participate in the Olympiad. That I would enjoy it and like the people there." Kieran said with a soft smile.

"Wow, that's amazing. Can I tell you a secret?" You asked, your voice turning into a whisper. Kieran looked curious and gave you a cute nod. "I suck at math. Can't solve a polynomial equation to save my life, forget trigonometry or calculus problems."

"Wait, seriously?" Kieran looked genuinely shocked at your admission. "But polynomials are so easy."

"Maybe for you, Mr. Math prodigy. I chose law and humanities for a reason." You chuckled at his reaction.

Before he could say anything more, the food was ready and you guys went back to your table to find Sylus and Luke bickering about some video game.

"What are you guys arguing about?" You asked as you sat beside Sylus because Kieran had already claimed the seat beside Luke.

"Sylus thinks Skirk is no longer meta." Luke looked offended and ready to defend her honour.

"Wait, what? Why would you think that?" You asked looking at Sylus because for once, you knew what they were talking about even though you hadn't played the game in ages.

"Because, look at all the characters that have been released since. They have the region specific fighting mechanism and that is what is required for the imaginarium theatre and the stygian onslaught." Sylus reasoned with a shrug. "She might be important lore wise but that is also debatable."

"That might be true but at the same time, she can be paired with a lot of regional characters to create the elemental reaction that can boost the damage, because of that unique abyssal cryo thing she has going." You would defend Skirk to the ends of earth because of just how much you loved her.

"Yea but why would I want to do that when I can have other cryo characters or other elemental reactions from the regional characters?" Sylus responded with a look that clearly told you that he was challenging you.

"If that is the basis of your argument, then there is a multiple combinations of team you can have that makes even Alice or Nicole not be meta." You shrugged, taking a bite of your fries.

"You guys seem more into this than we are." Kieran noticed.

"I just can't stand Skirk slander. My girl has already been through enough." You said, feeling a little embarrassed talking about video games with people significantly younger than you.

"Thank you! I like you even more right now." Luke gave you a stronger seal of approval that just made you chuckle.

"Why aren't you eating?" You asked Sylus because he had just taken a bite of his wings and not touched them since.

"I think it tastes a bit weird." Sylus said, with a frown.

"Oh. Do you want me to get you something else? Or replace it?" But before you were done, Luke and Kieran descended like wolves on the wings and disagreed with his assessment.

Taking their word of approval, Sylus decided to continue with his food and the four of you were talking about the different video games you all play and convincing each other to try the games that you play.

The sun was already setting by the time you guys made it out of the arcade and Sylus decided to drop you off at your apartment, promising that he would make sure your car was delivered to your apartment before you had to leave for work.

With that you bid them farewell and one part of you hoped that you would get to have another fun day with all three of them some time soon.