The Dark of the Core

Enchanted

The halls of St Andrew’s Cathedral School were bustling on Friday morning as two model-like guys exited from the head office. Both seemed oblivious to the stares and muttering around them. 

“Do you think it wise for you to be here as well, Vince?” The one with dark brown hair and very pale skin asked his brother who was happily whistling next to him. 

Vince merely shrugged. “Don’t be a spoilsport, Devin! Are you trying to say that I’m too old for school?” He asked while throwing his arm casually around Devin’s shoulders almost causing the glasses to fall off Devin’s face. 

Devin snickered slightly and pushed Vince’s arm away while adjusting his glasses. “You are too old for school, literally. You can’t even pass as a grandpa.” He replied with a smirk causing Vince to fake a hurt expression.

However, before Vince could speak, Devin quickly pushed him into a nearby classroom. “Shut up and go to class.” 

“Love you, Devinkins!” Vince called out attracting the attention of students around. Devin cringed and turned around, glaring at his brother who merely gave him a sweet wave and disappeared into the classroom. Cursing his brother under his breath, Devin kept his head down and made his way to his classroom a few doors down.

Suddenly he felt an impact against his chest and looked up just in time as a girl with glasses and dirty blonde hair exited the classroom the same time he entered. Instinctively, his hands went around her tiny waist and held her. Her body immediately tensed under his touch and he could see the veins moving in the part of her neck which was exposed, however the monster inside him did not jump out like it usually did which puzzled Devin. The collision caused the girl’s glasses to fall onto the ground and she rubbed her head absently before looking up into his eyes. Devin was surprised to see crimson coloured eyes and he noticed how her right eye seemed to have a lot of makeup causing the skin around it to look paler. It was then that he felt a soothing sensation rising up in him. The longer he stared at the girl, the more he felt drawn to her. The girl seemed to grow uneasy under his gaze because she quickly pushed him away. She then knelt on the ground and fumbled for her glasses. The feeling had dissipated as soon as he lost contact with her and it made him feel empty which unnerved him.

“Here, let me help you.” Devin offered as he bent down next to the girl while pushing his glasses further up his nose. 

As he started to move, the pendant around the girl’s neck touched his arm lightly and immediately he stiffened. Memories after memories invaded his mind without consent. The girl was in each one and almost the same faces kept appearing especially two.  There were two guys, one he was familiar with and the other had blonde hair. The memories faded as soon as the girl scrambled out of his touch and down the hall. Devin felt sick to the stomach after what he had just seen. He stood frozen to the spot until the teacher called his name. He entered the classroom and made his way to an empty seat at the back of the room. He barely registered when the teacher introduced him to the whole class. Who is that girl...? Devin couldn’t stop wondering about the blonde-haired girl.

Halfway during the class, the girl entered the classroom. The teacher and the students in the class did not pay her any mind as she sat down in her seat. A girl with short chestnut hair next to her whispered something to which the girl merely nodded her head. The chestnut-haired girl gave a sigh and shook her head before turning away. The girl with glasses then turned around slightly and met Devin’s eyes. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise and she immediately looked away causing Devin to frown. The sick feeling was still within him. How can a girl like that be able to endure so much pain...? In that one second when he witnessed her memories, he could feel the pain she felt even if it was only for a second. Devin knew that the pendant wasn’t just any pendant. An ordinary pendant would not be able to absorb pain and sadness. That was only possible for a crystal which had been enchanted.

When the bell rang to signify the end of class, the girl and her friend immediately disappeared before Devin could have a chance to catch them. He was just standing up when Vince appeared at the door of the room. His eyes skimmed the room before landing on Devin with a big smile. Immediately he walked up to Devin while waving at a few girls passing by who giggled. Devin couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his older brother’s antics. Sometimes I wonder why he is the older one....

“How was class, Devinkins? Did you make any friends?” Vince asked as they made their way down the hall to the cafeteria. 

Devin heaved a sigh of frustration and adjusted his side bag strap. “Let me guess, you already know everyone in your class.” He said as more of a statement than a question as Vince took it. 

“Of course! I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t know everyone in my class on my first day.” Vince said, puffing his chest out slightly causing Devin to groan. 

“Of course...” He replied sarcastically but then stopped in his tracks. Just ahead of him, he saw the girl from before talking to a familiar guy with brown hair.

“Hey, isn’t that Alex?” Vince asked while pointing to the guy Devin was looking at. It was then that Devin recognized the guy not only from the girl’s memories but from his own. Alex was a good friend of both Vince and Devin until they moved to America. It had been two years since the last time they had seen each other. However, Devin could not find the happiness within himself, instead he felt fury and anger to what Alex had done to the girl in front of him. The facts were still uncertain to Devin but after seeing the proof from the girl’s memories, he found it hard to be civil unlike his brother. 

“Alex!” Vince called out surprising the brown-haired guy and the girl with glasses.

Once Alex’s eyes landed on both Devin and Vince, his face broke out in a huge smile and he waved them over. He then turned back around to the girl and said something to her to which she nodded curtly before walking away in the opposite direction to where her friend was waiting. Devin felt his anger increase again but quickly hid it with a forced smile as Alex hugged him. 

“I can’t believe you two are here! When I got your text, I was so excited! How come you didn’t tell me that you were attending this school?” Alex asked excitedly while the three entered the noisy cafeteria for lunch. Devin merely shrugged and left Vince to answer who laughed. 

“I totally forgot about mentioning it but isn’t this a bigger surprise?” He asked to which Alex smiled. “By the way, Alex who was that girl with you just now? Your girlfriend?” Vince asked teasingly as he nudged Alex in the side playfully.

Devin perked up slightly and watched Alex’s smile fade slightly but he shrugged to cover it up. 

“She is no one. Just asking for directions.” He answered and took out his phone when he felt a vibration. Devin saw Alex’s eyes light up as he turned back to them. “Hey guys, I’m really sorry but a friend of mine is calling for me. Are you two free after school? We can meet at the nearby restaurant for dinner.” He suggested to which Vince nodded while Devin merely shrugged. 

“Okay, see you later.” Alex said excitedly and quickly disappeared around the corner. Vince raised his eyebrow slightly and turned to Devin.

 “What do you think that was about?” He asked while drinking some water from a bottle in front of him. Devin shook his head but he couldn’t keep his eyes from glancing towards where Alex had just disappeared. Could it have been that girl...?

By the end of the day, Devin realized he had three classes out of five with the mysterious girl, while his brother was in two of those three classes with him. During one of the classes, Devin had tried talking to the girl but she always disappeared before he could get to her. It was pretty frustrating especially with his brother laughing at every attempt thinking Devin had a crush on the girl. Finally, Devin dared his brother to talk to the girl and see if she will respond. 

Vince merely laughed. “Watch and learn from the expert, Devinkins.” He had said before walking to the girl’s desk. Devin rolled his eyes but watched interestedly anyway.

“Hey, my name’s Vince. Care to get acquainted?” Vince asked while holding out his hand with a huge smile and flicked his light brown shoulder-length hair to the side. Apparently, girls found it dazzling so this girl should be no problem. The girl did not look up at him as she gathered her books and stood from her seat. Her chestnut-haired friend stared at Vince for a few moments but soon joined her and shoved Vince aside. 

“Seriously, get a life.” The friend had said before following the girl out of the room leaving a speechless Vince behind. Devin laughed and walked up to his brother while giving him a thump on the back. 

“Better luck next time, Vince.” 

So now Devin sat in the front seat of his brother’s car, listening to him complaining about how the girl didn’t know what she was missing out on. Devin rolled his eyes and turned his eyes out the window. They were following behind Alex who was leading them to the club. 

“I regret not bringing my bike.” Devin said out loud cutting Vince’s sentence in half. 

“Well, you were the one who said you didn’t want to attract attention on the first day of school.” 

“Yeah, and now I have to put up with your talking.” Devin said earning a hard punch on the arm from Vince. 

“How could you be so mean to your only brother, Devinkins?” Vince said feigning a hurt expression. “You should learn to respect your elders more.”

Devin smirked knowingly as he tapped his fingers against the exterior roof of the car. “So, you finally admit you are an elder?” He asked trying not to laugh at the speechless expression on Vince’s face. 

Vince opened and closed his mouth several times before finally closing it with a deep frown. “Bite me, Devin.” Vince finally said with a glare at Devin. 

Devin shook his head with a teasing smile. “Nah, I’ll be fine. Your blood has no taste anyway.” 

The rest of the car trip was silent as Vince was fuming. When they finally arrived, Devin exited the car and stretched his arms. 

“I had almost forgotten how nice silence can be.” He said loudly so that Vince could hear him from the other side of the car. Alex walked over from where he parked his car. He laughed as he saw the red face of Vince. 

“That you do not get with Vince around, aye?” Alex put in jokingly as he nudged Devin who snickered and nodded his head in agreement. Vince glared at the two of them before storming past them into the restaurant. 

“Come on man, we’re only joking.” Alex quickly said as he caught up with Vince. Vince shrugged Alex’s arm off and sat down in the booth that the waitress had led them to. Before she left, she gave Devin a wink. Vince saw this and immediately devised a revenge plan.

“So where did you go so hurriedly at lunch?” Vince asked Alex as he leaned back into the booth. His plan will have to wait for a little while. Alex’s cheeks coloured slightly before he gave a laugh. 

“Nowhere, just to see a friend like I told you.” He said to which Devin and Vince both snickered knowingly. 

“I doubt a friend could have made you so excited.” Vince replied to which Alex started to nervously play with his hair. “Your girlfriend, perhaps?” Vince continued asking while eyeing the female waitress who was making her way towards their table. 

Alex quickly shook his head. “No way, I’m still a hot single man.” He said just as the waitress stopped at the table with her small notepad out. Devin saw Alex breathe a sigh of relief. He denied it pretty quickly...

Vince found it hard to keep the smirk off his face as he put his plan in action. After Alex told the waitress his desired meal, she turned to Vince as expected. He took up the menu and pretended to read it. After a while, he threw it onto the table and grabbed Devin’s arm affectionately. 

“Devinkins, I don’t want to eat here! You said you had something planned for us at home!” Vince said in a nagging voice as he shook Devin’s arm. The waitress’s reaction was priceless. Devin quickly tried to free his arm from Vince’s grasp but Vince held on tight. “Don’t you want to go home and be with me...alone?” Vince asked, whispering the last word a little loudly so the waitress could hear the extra meaning. Alex was trying to contain his laughter on the other side of the table. 

Devin glared at Vince and pushed him away roughly. “What the hell, Vince?” He hissed then turned to the waitress and told her to bring two more of the dish that Alex had picked. 

She stared shell shocked at him for a moment before turning away giggling. Once she was gone, Vince pulled back and drank from his cup casually. 

“What the hell was that, Vince?” Devin asked, trying to keep his voice steady from all the anger inside of him. 

Vince merely shrugged. “I just felt like doing it.” He replied to which Alex finally burst out laughing while Devin clenched his fists under the table tightly. Leaning towards Devin, Vince placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “You should know better than to mess with me, Devin. I am after all...older than you.” Vince whispered before patting Devin on the shoulder a few times and leaned away to engage Alex in conversation. To an outsider, they might have thought Vince was referring to his age but Devin caught the double meaning. He is after all more powerful than me...