Chapter 10: Big Brother and Bigger Problems
955 Words
“Elyse!”
The sharp, familiar voice stopped me cold outside the dorm gates.
I turned just in time to see a tall figure marching toward me, dressed in black slacks and a collared shirt with sleeves rolled to the elbow. His expression was part protective, part annoyed older sibling about to lecture you.
“Zane?” I blinked. “What are you doing here?”
My older brother, Zane Nakamura—age 22, elite martial artist, ridiculously overprotective—folded his arms across his chest and frowned. “I come back from a three-month training trip in Kyoto and what do I hear? That my little sister has half the male population of campus wrapped around her finger.”
I groaned. “Not this…”
He ignored me. “Daniel, Adrian, David, Cyrus, Lance—you’re building a reverse harem.”
“I didn’t plan any of this!”
Zane narrowed his eyes. “You punched a guy in high school for flirting with you, and now suddenly you’ve got a fan club of emotionally constipated princes.”
“That is not fair!”
He sighed and ruffled my hair, softening. “I just worry, you know?”
I swatted his hand. “I’m not a kid anymore.”
“You’ll always be a kid to me.”
Before I could protest, a voice called out behind me.
“Zane Nakamura?”
We both turned to see Adrian approaching, guitar case in hand, eyes narrowing slightly when he recognized my brother.
Zane stiffened. “You.”
“Me.” Adrian stopped a few feet away, his usual calm replaced with careful tension.
“You were the one who used to follow Elyse around with a sketchpad in fifth grade.”
“And you were the one who used to threaten to ‘accidentally’ break my fingers if I got too close,” Adrian replied, completely unfazed.
Zane raised a brow. “You still drawing?”
Adrian smiled faintly. “You still threatening people?”
“Only when necessary.”
I groaned. “Please don’t fight. I just survived five confessions.”
Zane blinked. “They confessed? All of them?”
I slumped. “Yes. And I don’t know what to do.”
For once, my brother looked genuinely taken aback. “Wow. I didn’t actually expect them to say it.”
“They didn’t exactly give me a choice.”
Adrian, still watching Zane warily, spoke up. “We’ve loved her for a long time. None of us plan to push her into anything. She needs space.”
“And what makes you think I trust any of you with her heart?”
Adrian smiled gently. “Because we all know she’s stronger than any of us. You taught her well.”
Zane paused.
Then—shockingly—he laughed. “Okay. That was a good answer.”
I blinked. “Wait. Did Zane Nakamura approve of someone?”
“Don’t get excited,” he warned, poking my forehead. “I’m still watching all of them.”
“Of course,” Adrian said dryly. “We wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Zane turned to me again, expression gentler now. “I heard you’re the main vocalist of the band now. That you’re… amazing.”
I blushed. “I wouldn’t say amazing…”
“I would,” Adrian added with a grin.
I elbowed him, and he chuckled.
Zane exhaled, and I saw it—behind the grumpy big-brother mask was genuine pride.
“You’ve grown up so much,” he said. “But even if you wear oversized hoodies and pretend not to notice five love-struck idiots chasing you… I see you.”
“Zane…”
“You don’t have to pick right now. But you do have to be honest—with them, and yourself.”
“I’m trying,” I whispered.
“Try harder,” he said, offering a rare smile. “Or I’m staging a one-on-one martial arts tournament and settling it the traditional way.”
Adrian choked. “Please don’t.”
“No promises,” Zane said with a wink.
Suddenly, Hanna appeared out of nowhere, camera slung over her shoulder and notebook in hand.
“Oooh,” she sang, “Big Brother Zane is hotter than I expected. Elyse, why didn’t you tell me he looked like a manga protagonist?”
Zane blinked. “You must be Hanna.”
“And you must be the source of Elyse’s trauma and discipline,” she grinned. “We should totally do a brother-sister sparring shoot. For the aesthetic.”
“Do you… always talk this fast?” Zane asked, bemused.
“Only when I’m emotionally invested in other people’s romantic dilemmas.”
I groaned. “She’s your problem now.”
Hanna looped her arm through mine. “Correction: you’re my problem, and I love fixing you.”
Zane rubbed his temples. “You’ve been hanging out with a chaos demon.”
“And loving every second of it,” I replied.
He smiled, proud and just a little pained. “Just don’t get hurt, Elyse. That’s all I care about.”
“I won’t,” I said softly. “Because I have people who care. And a brother who still scares everyone.”
“As I should,” he muttered.
Adrian gave me a soft look. “I’ll let you two catch up. See you at practice?”
“Yeah,” I smiled. “See you then.”
As Adrian left and Hanna rambled to Zane about photo angles and romantic tropes, I stood there in the middle of the dorm garden, feeling… stable.
Not because I had all the answers.
But because I wasn’t alone.
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End of Chapter 10
- Writer
