My Girlfriend's Brother

Chapter 8

Illiyan found himself lying on the small bed in Clark’s bedroom. He was reading one of his comic books with a lollipop in his mouth. His legs resting on the wall, although he may have looked uncomfortable, he was not.

Illiyan sighed, Clark needed to get more books. All he had were the comics which he could fly through because all they had were pictures with little text and he was almost reaching the end of his extensive collection.

He had thrown his phone away in case his family was looking for him, and they tried to locate where he was via phone. He didn’t want Clark to get into any unnecessary trouble.

He groaned in annoyance as he sat up in bed, staring out of the small window. He needed money. The amount he had on him now wasn’t enough. And he wanted to surprise Clark with the limited edition comic he hadn’t stopped talking about.

He also needed to get him a new couch. The one he currently had was killing his back. And if he was going to continue sleeping on the thing, he needed one where it didn’t break his back. The cold air hit his bare skin on the legs, and he scowled.

He grabbed the tank off of the floor, gave it a sniff and decided it was clean enough and slipped it off. He went to the front of the door and slipped into some trainers. He sighed as he went back to the bedroom and grabbed a black hoodie, wrapping it around his waist. He saw one of Clark’s caps and shrugged as he slipped it on, hiding his unnatural hair inside it.

Walking into the kitchen, he grabbed a lollipop from the cupboard and a faint smile on his face. Clark kept a whole bowl full of sweets. Every time the shorter boy went out with his friends, he would come back with a pocket full of lollies. He always said it was no big deal, but Clark didn’t know how much that small gesture warmed his heart.

It was the first time someone had treated Illiyan nicely just because they wanted to. And he didn’t want to let go of the little bit of decency he had received. Most people only ever befriended Illiyan because they wanted to f**k his sister, but he didn’t think Clark wanted to Hell, he didn’t even think they had met.

But he couldn’t believe it. He had befriended people before, who he was sure had no idea who his sister was, but they knew and they would befriend him to get to her. But what else was he supposed to do? He wasn’t going to push away anyone who wanted to be his friend.

He didn’t have a lot of them. At that moment, Clark was his only friend. But, it was fine. He liked being with Clark, day and night.

But sometimes, when Clark was in his bed, Illiyan would be wide awake, staring at the ceiling in the living room, wondering if his family missed him. He knew that probably wasn’t the case, but a man could dream.

See, when he had been born with silver hair, it caused problems with his parents. His father would say his mother had cheated, and she would say she hadn’t.

It had strained their already fragile marriage and as soon as he had become old enough, he became an outlet for his parents' anger. They had another child, his sister, and she had become the golden child. She could do no wrong in their eyes.

And when Illiyan and her fought as siblings did, he had always been the one in the wrong, despite his sister always being the one to start.

So, at the ripe age of twenty-four, he had run away. He picked up his ID, his debit card - the one he’d been secretly saving money on for years, and his passport and he ran.

In hindsight, he should have planned this more carefully, but it had been an in-the-moment kind of thing and, well, there was no going back now.

He had gone to his clearing, needing to calm down, and went for a swim. But the hunger for the best of him and before he could go back to town he ended up passing out in the woods where Clark had found him.

And even if he never knew it, Illiyan would always be grateful to him for picking him up.

Illiyan smiled at the memory of his first time meeting Clark as he slipped out of his apartment kicking the door behind him and he made his way down the stairs and walked over to the bus stop.

He would be going to a town that was a four-hour bus ride away. Just in case they were tracking him, his card would ping there.

After twenty minutes, he was on the bus going on the long drive. He was bored out of his mind with no phone. So he stared out of the window, watching the scenery.

Two hours into the drive, school had finished and high schoolers began piling on.

Illiyan stuck to the back of the bus, keeping his head down as he ignored everyone. He could not be noticed, he just looked like any other adult on the bus, hopefully.

“Illiyan?” he winced at the mention of his name, but didn’t look at the voice he knew he recognised. Respectfully, he wanted her to f**k off.

"Do you know her?"

Illiyan looked to his side to see the man who he had been sitting with from the beginning staring at him, his brown eyes narrowed and his dark hair a mess. He didn’t look like a teenager, he was probably in his mid-twenties.

“Yeah,” he replied, sighing as he turned away, pulling his mask down to take a deep breath and then pulling it back up.

“Iona, he goes he knows you,” the man said. Illiyan scowled as he heard the smugness in his voice. And how did he know her f*****g name?

“Why would you do that?” he snapped, elbowing the man. A muffled grunt was heard, and Illiyan looked at him smugly.

The man smiled as he eyed Illiyan, a smirk on his face. “Because why not?”

The urge to smack the man was strong.

Iona stood up from her seat and walked over. Illiyan tried to slide further down his seat to hide.

“I thought that was you Zio,” Iona said, smiling.

She was ignoring the looks she was getting from all of the horny teenage boys. Yes, she was stunning. With long dark hair, dark skin and those gorgeous blue eyes, she had accentuated with her makeup.

"Your name is Zio?" Illiyan asked, and Zio flicked his forehead in annoyance.

"Shut it, Iliyan," he deadpanned.

"Why the hell are you on a bus here?" she asked, eyes narrowing on Illiyan. He sighed as he pulled his mask down, letting it rest on his chin.

He eyed her. "I could ask you the same thing.”

He should have just waited for Clark.

She scowled when she realised she wouldn’t be able to get anything out of Illiyan, so she turned to glare at Zio. “Zio. Why the hell are you with him?”

"With him?! I don't even know him!" Zio snapped, as he rudely pointed a finger toward Illiyan.

"You were arguing like a married couple five seconds ago,” she said, scowling.

She looked around and her eyes landed on the girl who was sitting next to Zio, with large headphones with cat ears on as she started blankly straight ahead. Iona tapped her on the shoulder, the girl took one of the pieces off and stared up at her.

“Hi, hun. Do you mind if I sit there and you can sit in my place?”

The girl nodded, as she picked up her bag and walked down the aisle, and Iona took her seat as she stared at both boys, with an eyebrow raised.

“Well?” she asked, moving her long hair out of her face.

“We don’t know each other,” Zio snapped.

Iona rolled her eyes as she stared at them. “Funny considering you're both from the same town, on the same bus and sitting next to one another and probably going to the same place. And let’s not forget you two arguing like a married couple five minutes ago.”

“It’s a coincidence,” Illiyan yelled. He hadn’t meant to, but his mind was working in overdrive.

Zio slapped Illiyan’s arm as a few other passengers eyed them. “Stop being so loud,” he grumbled.

"And you're a violent asshole but you don't see me complaining," Illiyan snapped back. Iona scowled as she glared at the two of them.

"Iliyan, you need to go home."

Illiyan tensed, he knew she would bring this up at one point or another, but he didn’t want to go back there. He liked living with Clark, he made him feel as if he was welcome, even if he was just freeloading. He didn’t want to leave the comfort he had just found.

Illiyan sighed. "No, Iona, I don't need to. I'm perfectly fine where I am."

"And where, exactly, are you living?"

"Not saying."

"Zio, say something. Tell him to go home,” Iona whined, as she repeatedly patted Zio’s arm.

"Like what? I have the definition of a broken home, so don't even start with me," he muttered, and that piqued Illiyan’s interest.

"Why's your home broken?"

He shrugged as he stared forward. "My brother did something and it f****d pretty much the whole family thing. My mum is always away and my brother's never home, he's living with my uncles and I live in an old house."

"Why don't you just live with your uncles?"

"Can't stand my younger uncle, he's a freak. And he's younger than me and my nephew is a clingy s**t and my uncles are too mainstream. I like my privacy."

“Wow,” Iona said and Illiyan nodded.

He wasn’t too sure about what he could say. So, he let Iona do the talking. Although, there wasn’t much of that going on. For the next one and a half hours, no one spoke. The three sat in comfortable silence and as Illiyan looked out of the window he couldn’t help but be curious as to what Clark could be doing right now.

When Illiyan recognised his surroundings, he jumped up, pressed the stop button and squeezed past Iona and Zio and waited at the front of the bus. When it stopped, Illiyan thanked the bus driver and stepped off,

The footsteps were still behind him, so he sighed as he turned around to stare at Iona and Zio. They frowned as they looked around.

“What are you two doing?” he groaned out, taking his cap off to run a hand through his unnatural hair.

“I’m going with you,” Iona said matter of factly. “So, after you’re done with whatever you’re doing here, you go home.”

They both stared at Zio, “Oh, well, my reason isn’t as good as hers. I’m bored and you’re weird, but I find you interesting.”

“You do know this is beyond weird, right?” he asked.

Iona shrugged. “Not really.”

“Iona, I have spoken to you like three times in my entire life,” Illiyan groaned. He tended to stay away from his sister’s friends, and Iona was her best friend, so all the more reason to keep his distance.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“So, what?” he asked, staring at them both “You’re just going to follow me around?”

They shrugged. “Pretty much.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s stalking.”

“I don’t care. Plus, you look like you could use some company.”

“If I said I didn’t need it, would you leave me alone?”

“No.”

“But, that’s not a good idea,” he said. It wasn’t. If he ran into any of his father’s goons, things would get very messy and why would some people he hadn’t spoken more than a handful of words to get into trouble with him? It just didn’t make sense.

“I don’t care,” Zio said, shrugging.

Illiyan sighed. He didn’t have time for this, he needed to get money, buy a new phone and sim and then leave. It would be another four-hour drive back and he wanted to see Clark.

The entire walk through the town and to the bank, they hadn’t stopped questioning him, and he was getting pretty sick of it. He had preferred it when no one spoke. When they arrived at the bright red bank, Illiyan sighed in relief as he walked in through the sliding doors. It wasn’t as busy as he thought it would have been.

He waited to be served and when the lady behind the glass smiled at him, he walked over. He asked for the amount after sliding his card to her. She frowned and said she would have to speak to her manager.

Zio and Iona watched him in curiosity as he was led to the back. He was asked to confirm his identity with two different things, so he handed the two ladies his passport and driving licence. He also smiled, because they kept looking at him like he was dangerous.

Ten minutes later, Illiyan was walking out of the bank with a thick envelope.

Zio and Iona argued in the background as Illiyan walked over to one of the food shops, they decided to stop by Subway. While they were eating, he looked out through the large glass windows and he paled. He regretted getting food, he should have just gotten the phone and gotten back on the bus, but he had been starving.

Ah, s**t. They had gotten here quick. Had they followed him? Panic flooded his throat when he wondered if they knew about Clark. He couldn’t put Clark in danger. That was the last thing he wanted to do.

“Whatever is in your hand, shove it in your mouth,” he hissed as his eyes landed on Zio and Iona. They looked at him in confusion but did as he asked. “Swallow.”

He stood up as Sienna, Mike and Tsukishima walked past. He kept his head down, praying they didn’t see him. “Now, we’re going to casually leave. Follow me, do not look around.”

The three left, and Illiyan walked out, making his way to the phone shop. He couldn’t break off in a run, no matter how much he wanted to. They went inside and Illiyan bought the first phone that caught his eye. He paid in cash. The man eyed the envelope but didn’t say anything.

Illiyan walked to the door and inhaled. “Don’t look around, we’re going to walk back to the bus stop and get on the first bus that comes. Even if it doesn’t take us home.”

When they stepped outside, Mike locked eyes with Illiyan. Dread swallowed Illiyan whole.

“Run!” he screamed as he broke off in a run, looking behind him to see if Zio and Iona were behind him. They were.

“Who the f**k are they?!” Zio screamed as he ran, dodging people.

“I told you coming with me was a bad idea!”

“I thought you were trying to scare us away!” Iona yelled. “Quick! In here.”

They ran into an alley and Illiyan groaned. He hated alleys. Bad s**t always happened in them. He threw Iona the envelope. “Stuff it in your bra!”

“What?!”

“Now!” he yelled, looking around.

Illiyan took his hoodie off and threw it at Iona, who caught it and slipped it on just as Tsukishima caught up with them.

“Illiyan,” he deadpanned, staring at the silver-haired male.

“Hi, Tsu. How’s life going for you?” he asked, with a smile on his face.

“You're making it hell. Let’s just go back,” he said, his facial features softening in sympathy.

Tsukishima ran a hand through his dark hair as his eyes landed on Zio and Iona, who were staring at the man with blank expressions.

“Who are they?”

“No one interesting. They got dragged into this, keep them out of it.” Illiyan had tried so hard to keep Clark away from these lot, but now he had managed to get Zio and Iona involved.

Tsukishima looked behind him and he nodded, before sighing and walking over to Illiyan, who tensed up. “I’m sorry, kid,” he said. Illiyan was going to ask why he was sorry before the older man swung his fist into his stomach.

He groaned in pain as his insides felt like they had been rearranged.

Zio and Iona let out slight noises.

Illiyan whirled around to stare at them. “Do not speak. Hide and do not come out until I say so. No matter what you hear or see. If I go, I will come back. And do not say anything to my sister.”

When neither of them moved, Illiyan scowled. “Now, hide behind the bin!”

The duo looked like they were going to say something but when Illiyan glared at them, they sighed as they hid behind two large bins. He knew Tsu wouldn't tell Sienna and Mike they were there, he liked Illiyan too much to do that. Or maybe he pitied him. Either way, he wouldn’t.

Sienna and Mike both appeared, out of breath and hard glares set on their faces. They were both dressed in black, Sienna was in tight jeans and a lowcut shirt and Mike was in some cargo pants and a tight shirt that did nothing to hide the muscles in his arms. Illiyan groaned, he already knew he was going to be in so much pain.

Sienna stormed over, her heels clicking on the concrete of the dirty alley. She stopped in front of Illiyan before she raised her hand and smacked him, her ring caught his lip and he scowled as he turned to the side to spit the blood that was beginning to pool in his mouth.

“Your father has been worried sick!” she hissed. Illiyan scoffed, no, he didn’t think he was. He was more worried about the fact that Illiyan knew about his mistress and that he’d tell his mother.

“Oh, and your mother hasn’t left her room since you disappeared!” Mike added, with a scowl on his face. He too stormed over before throwing Illiyan’s cap off. That was Clarks. He leaned down to pick it up and Mike grabbed a handful of his hair before dragging him up.

Illiyan couldn’t help but keep the hat cradled to his chest. He locked eyes with Tsukishima, who gave a tight-lipped smile before he looked away.

“And your poor sister? She’s been so worried she’s barely eaten."

Illiyan let out a noise of disagreement. Why did they not see it? His family wasn’t missing him because he meant something to them, he had just been unfortunate enough to learn their secrets and now they were scared he would tell them. See. his sister was worried Illiyan would tell their parents she was f*****g a girl, she was high on cocaine and it had been a threesome with Mike.

Sienna scowled, as she ordered Mike and Tsukishima to beat Illiyan up. He prepared himself mentally for the beatdown that would be occurring and sighed.

Illiyan gave a small smile to Tsukishima, who looked away as he walked over. At least Tsu didn’t enjoy watching him squirm in pain. Mike, on the other hand, did not care. He kept throwing punches and kicks as if his life depended on it. Even though Tsu pretended to be in the way and took some of the hits, Illiyan thanked him immensely.

“Let him go,” Sienna scowled.

Illiyan’s entire body was screaming in pain, and how on earth would he explain all of this to Clark?

Despite his body screaming in protest, Illiyan stretched hoping Tsu had gotten the hint.

Tsu walked over to Sienna and mumbled something quietly to him. She frowned and called Mike over. Illiyan gave them ten seconds and when he noticed they were all distracted, he broke off in a run and out of the alley. Oh, he was in so much pain he had to blink back tears. On the bright side, people seemed to be moving out of his way as he continued running.

Illiyan risked looking back and the others were a way away. He took four right turns and wound up back in the alley. He hid behind the bins with the other two as they stared at him wide-eyed. He motioned for them to stay quiet as he heard the other three run past.

He dropped down, relaxing as a little groan escaped his mouth, he blinked repeatedly to keep back the tears. He wanted to go back home, he wanted to see Clark.

“Illiyan, what the hell!” Iona hissed and he scowled at her.

“Neither of you mentions this to anyone, I have it under control. Now, we stay here for ten minutes and then we go back. I want to go home.”

“They beat the s**t out of you and you let them!” Zio snapped.

“Does your dad know?” Iona asked as she scanned his face.

“What time is it?” Illiyan rasped.

Zio said the time and Illiyan nodded as he slowly stood up, ignoring the pain, he walked to the bus stop, ignoring what the other two were saying. Luckily, the bus was already there when they got there and the three quietly sat at the back.

Iliiyan ignored them as he looked out of the window at the darkening sky. He wanted to go home to Clark. He wanted Clark to tell him it would be fine. He wanted to go to sleep knowing for once he was safe.

“If you’re sleepy, get some sleep,” Zio whispered.

“No. I’m fine.”

They didn’t speak for the remaining time. His hands were shaking as he tried to set up his new phone and Zio, noticing, sighed as he snatched the new phone from his hands and set it up for him. He got it back ten minutes later. He looked down, they had half an hour left and it was really late.

He hoped Clark was still awake. He wanted to talk to him. But he knew Clark would probably be fast asleep, he had to wake up early because of community service and he sighed as a small smile appeared.

Clark was always getting into trouble with the sheriff. Illiyan had known him for six months and he still hadn’t finished his community service. He always said it was Reece getting into trouble and he was just getting dragged along, but Clark enjoyed the rush.

Zio was the one to pull Illiyan from his thoughts. He pulled him up and the three left the bus. They were home. There was less than an hour and Illiyan would be home with Clark soon.

Zio and Illiyan walked Iona home first. They didn’t want to leave her in the dark alone. After they watched her go inside, Illiyan said he would walk Zio home. He scowled but let it happen.

Illiyan didn't know what he had been expecting, but it was a small house on an average-looking street. Zio walked in after waving goodbye to Illiyan.

He was excited, he could see Clark very soon. He would have to apologise for being MIA all day but he couldn’t wait to see the man and have a soft conversation with him.

Illiyan walked through the dark streets, his only source of light being the streetlamps. He took a long way home just to be sure no one had followed him. And when Clark’s apartment complex came into view, a broad grin appeared on his face as he picked up the pace until he was running, ignoring the pain crushing his body.

Illiyan let himself in, surprised to see the lights off.

“Clark?” he asked

When he got no reply, his shoulders sank. He wasn’t even home. Oh. He hadn’t realised Illiyan had been gone all day. A frown appeared, but what had he been expecting? For Clark to be at home, worried sick. Please, Clark had his own life and Illiyan couldn’t, wouldn’t expect him to put his life on hold for him.

~TBC~