Azu Starts Blushing

The door to the house shut with a bang. I gasped and turned around as Darren stood in front with his big arms crossed.

"Darren, you'll wake Mom up..." I tried telling him.

"You could have died, Ashe. Why did you have to go out there anyway? I didn't know you were the type to go out with strange boys in the middle of the night," Darren ranted at me.

I dropped my hand from the glass of water I was filling out. "Is that what you think of me..." I muttered.

That's when Darren realized what he said. "Oh, no..." He stepped closer for a hug, "I'm sorry Azu..."

I shot daggers at him at the name. Azu was the name they had given me because of my babyish love for Azula from that cartoon. Back in middle school, Darren loved calling me using that name in public. So embarrassing.

I slipped out of his stupid hug and walked away, taking the glass of water to my room.

I couldn't make sense of anything. And thinking about everything made my head hurt...so I went to sleep.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, I heard Darren's muffled voices from his room. He was shouting at someone. My brain shut close again and I went back to dream world.

...

Next morning, Mom didn't make us breakfast.

Instead, Darren was at the stoves in Mom's apron, flipping pancakes. I deadpanned at Mom. She smiled, her age old wrinkles bunched up at the corners of her eyes and her rosy morning cheeks made me want to think everything was okay.

Well, it technically was, until I step out of the house. "I didn't know you were the type to hang out with strange boys so late at night...." Hmph. I wanted to slap him on his face.

But he turned to look at me when he noticed my presence. The kitchen smelled so much of delicious maple syrup and pancakes that my tummy growled like a 6-year-old.

"Azu!" he beamed, setting my pancakes in front of me, "Eat! I made breakfast today."

I wanted to retort and refuse (my pride was at stake) but then he glared at me with his eyes as if to say, 'Mom is here. Don't do anything stupid.'

I glanced at Mom who was happily eating the pancake and scrolling through her phone. I cocked my head and gave the most fake smile in the world, "That's a surprise! I'm sure it tastes good!"

Darren smiled despite himself and went to flip more pancakes.

Ten minutes after Mom had left for her daily jogging routine, the doorbell rang.

Darren and I shared a look. Who? Why? What happened? Questions exchanged between us in the fraction of a second.

"I'll get it," I announced and trotted towards the door. Nobody usually visited us after Dad died. He was the one with friends and appointments. Darren took all his appointments in the office so this doorbell was somewhat a first.

I swung the door open and saw...

nobody. All I saw was the dark metal gate and the luscious flowers growing around the house walls. But then I looked down at my feet and found a gift box. It was wrapped in pretty shining paper. And the morning sunlight reflected off it, making it almost look like gold. I picked it up and went back inside the house.

"A delivery?" Darren asked, straightening his tie. He had to be at the office at 9.

I nodded, "But I didn't order anything. Did you?"

"No...nothing I remember," he trailed as I started opening it. "Wait!" he yelled at me, sliding the box away from my hands.

"What?"

"What if it's a bomb? Or something sent by those boys to kill you? And who knows why they want to kill you."

I shot a look at him, remembering the presence of the guards of Systema Games at yesterday's incident. The rush of yesterday hadn't completely left my system and it felt like static electricity galloping on my skin.

"Don't act like you don't know faker. I saw the guards yesterday. They weren't NYPD. They were Systema Games security," I sighed, looking at the box on the table, "I didn't want to pressure you for answers because..business is business...but you don't have to lie."

Darren didn't take his eyes off me and I stared back at him. He sighed regretfully and opened his mouth to speak. My brain fluttered, ready to take in all the information he was about to tell me. This was the moment of truth. I was finally going to find out who Adrien really is and why those other boys wanted to kill me.

"You're right," Darren said, "Business is business, so I can't tell you anymore. Sorry for lying," he deadpanned and grabbed his laptop back and strode out of the house.

Disappointment rushed through me. I hated sitting in the dark like this. It was so frustrating.

Before he closed the door behind him, he called out, "And don't open the box until I come back home. I'll arrange a bomb specialist to open it for us."

And the door shut close, echoing inside the house that was empty except for me.

It might have been the slowly growing rebel in me or it might have been because of how my brain shifted yesterday but right now...I didn't feel like listening to that snob Darren.

My hands caressed the box's surface as I pulled out a chair and sat down, cradling the innocent looking box in my hands.

"It won't hurt. Even if it's a bomb, I can figure out the circuit combination easily enough," I thought out loud to assure myself. I only ever took one class on classical bomb structures, though.

Adrien's face flashed in the back of my mind, sending the humming birds inside my body to a frenzy. I blushed. Ughhh...why am I feeling this way? What is this?

I'll live, I thought...I have to live. Because I needed to find Adrien. If Darren refused to tell me anything...then Adrien would.

I smiled and tore open the gift wrapping, piece by piece.

....

[Location: CEO's office, Systema Games]

[Time: 0930]

Darren looked up as Tasha walked inside his office without knocking. Her curly hair was tied up in a bun neatly today and she should have looked effortlessly pretty, but her face showed otherwise.

"What is it?" Darren asked, clicking his pen close and stacking up the papers he had just finished reading through.

"We have a problem." She turned the phone in her hand so that the screen was right in front of Darren's eyes. He read through the article on the phone, his eyes growing wider each second.

[SYSTEMA GAMES TURN GANGSTERS? INVESTORS START PROTEST

The people of New York approached the government with numerous cases against Systema Games starting from the morning of September 10. The cases were regarding the issue of this world reputed gaming platform holding 6 innocent teenagers hostage for unknown reasons.

"The government has taken the case into consideration and we will start our investigations shortly," James Fawn, Head of NYPD stated in today's....]

"What is the meaning of this? Didn't we pay the witnesses to keep quiet?" Darren hollered, but Tasha stood straight and looked at him right in the eye.

"We need to make a decision, Darren. You know that. And there is only one solution to this. The public will accept no other way. The company's reputation is at stake," Tasha stated, handing the facts on a plate.

He sighed and rubbed his temples. Only 19 and he was already standing in the face of court procedures. "So you're saying there's no other way?"

Tasha was silent as she closed the news article and looked at him sadly.

He dumped his face on the desk. That surprised Tasha a bit. She almost chuckled, seeing him acting so immature, but the situation at hand here stopped her.

He muffled something under his breath.

"What?" Tasha asked in her British accent.

"Let them out," he repeated.

.....

Kai looked up at the sound of metal bars being opened and nudged the rest of them. Seeing the path in front of them finally open, he smirked.