The Life-Changing Call {Xzavier/Everette}

[kat]

She had tried. God knows she'd tried hard to get a hold of Axel. But he hadn't answered, and something had told Lily not to leave a voicemail. She had strange instincts like that, her old instructor had told her those were cop instincts. Good cop instincts. So why were they telling her to stop calling Axel, and call Everette or Xzavier?

This is going to suck... She thought as she paced in her office. She stared at her phone, and hit Everette's number. Again. It was the third time she had tried to call him, but it just dropped her back into voicemail. She cursed under her breath.

She glanced at the doors. She had left them unlocked, but had kept the "Closed" sign up. Not that many people came in this late on a Saturday evening.

Lily closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She knew what she had to do. She looked down at her phone, and scrolled through the names. She hadn't know why she'd kept this number, but she hit it, and let it call Xzavier.

She paced. His phone rang a few times. "Come on... Answer!" She muttered at it.

Then she heard the line click open. She paused, then, before he could say anything, she said, "Xzavier. I need you to come down to my shop. Bring Everette." She hung up before he could respond back. Despite her best intentions, her knees shook and she sat hard on the edge of her desk.

"Why does this always have to be so hard?"

[huntsgirl]

Xzavier had been relaxing at home when his cell phone rang. He groaned. He didn't want to do anything today. He had the day off, Everette was out, and he wanted to make the most of it. The phone continued to ring. With a groan of frustration, he groaned and followed the sound. He then picked up the phone. Lily? he thought in surprised confusion. Though he hadn't called her for a while, he had kept her number just in case she had ever needed his help. And now, it would appear that she needed it.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Xzavier, I need you to come down to my shop. Bring Evertte," she said and then hung up before he could respond. Xzavier's eyes clouded with worry. Lily sounded freaked. And that worried him. He went to his speed dial and pressed the number 1. He waited for a few minutes.
"Everette, meet me at the Los Angeles Shopping Complex---Lily's place of business. Something's up," he stated. Then, he hung up, went out the door where his car was, got into the car, started the engine and drove off. When he finally reached the shopping complex, he parked his car and then walked up to the office. He put his hand on the knob and the door opened easily. He walked in.
"Everette's meeting us here. What's going on, Lily?" he questioned.

[Everette Jason Evans]

What a lecture? A teacher who stood at the front of a packed room, sluttering about the importants of the lacking in emotional connection with writing in the career of jornalism. It was interesting, for the first twenty minutes. But an hour and a half, training straight around the same topic over and over again. It was boring, even for this geek. And walking out of the school, being able to breath in air not filled with boringness. With his bag hanging off of his shoulder, he waved a few people goodbye. He did have to get to Kyra's though. They had a meeting, since he had to bring the news about something very special for the circle. So he moved forwards, getting out his phone to check the time. But he had three missed calls. Checking them, he was puzzeled. It was Lily.

Xzavier's ex - well one of his ex's - was calling him. Ev and Lily were always friends, and even though Xzavier put her name to his list of never ending bad breakups, Ev didn't hate Lily. But it was weird that she was calling him now. He had a text to meet at the shopping centre. A text shot to Kyra and Trinity that he will be an hour late, and boarding into his car he shot forwards out of the school. If Lily was contacting them now, he had a deep feeling that it wasn't because of something good.

Moving into the center, he saw Xzavier and Lily after a while of looking. How awkward this would be? Ev made sure he steered clear out of the drama of Xzavier and Lily's situation, but if she wanted to talk to both of them then he couldn't avoid this. Sighing, he put his hands in his jacket pockets as he moved towards them. As soon as he got there, he put a hand on Xzavier's shoudler so he knew he was there and moved towards Lily. He smiled at her friendly. "Lily! How are you?". He leant forwards to give her a kiss on the cheek. It had been a while, and standing back he made sure he wasn't in between the two ex's. And already, god it was awkward. This having to happen, the possible new evil rising and the fact that the kid they saved; Axel, could be there brother.

[kat]

Lily was pacing when the bells over her door chimed. She turned, getting ready to tell whoever it was to go away, until she saw Xzavier. She paused in her pacing, seeing the worry he couldn't mask from her observant eyes. "Not yet," She told him when he asked what was up. "We need to wait for Ev-" She paused when she saw something outside her store. "Everette," She greeted, much more warmly than she had Xzavier. She let him take her hands, and kiss her cheek as he often did, and she kissed his cheek back absently before he drew away from her, and moved from between her and Xzavier again.

"I've been better, Ev," She said with a shake of her head. She moved to stand behind her desk. She put her hands on it, letting her long hair fall in front of her face. "I had a..." She paused. What was Axel? A kid? "A college student come in here last week, looking for his parents." She glanced up at them. "Now that I've found out who his parents are, I can't get a hold of him. It seems as if he's gone missing."

She stood straight again, and looked at the two of them, and saw the similarities between the two brothers in front of her, and the ones in Axel she had seen when he had come into her shop the week before. "He told me his mothers name was Pandora, and her maiden name was Richards." She took a deep breath and shook her head, as if to clear it.

Lily looked at the two brothers in front of her again, gauging their expressions. "You have a third brother."

[huntsgirl]

Xzavier shifted on his feet as Everett ased Lily how she was and she stated that she had been better. Could we just get on it with it? he wondered. The more time they spent with Lily, the greater chance she had of being placed in danger. And that was something he could never let happen.
"Lily, no offense, but cut to the chase, why did you call us here?" he asked.
"I had a...." She paused. "A college student come in here last week, looking for his parents." Xzavier waited a bit impatiently. Obviously, there was something more than a new case. But what? "Now that I've found out who his parents are, I can't get a hold of him. It seems as if he's gone missing."
""I admit it's a bit odd, but maybe he changed his mind about knowing who his parents are," Xzavier suggested, but that sounded stupid even to his own ears. If he had gone to Lily looking for information on his parents, why would he suddenly just disappear?
"He told me his mother's name was Pandora, and his maiden name was Richards." Xzavier frowned. It didn't ring any bells for him.
"You have a third brother." Xzavier froze. It felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Who would tell Lily something like that? It wasn't true. Their parents had told them that Axel had died when he was a baby.
"What?" he asked. Then, "I don't know what kind of sick joke someone's pulling on you, but you know our little brother died when he was baby"! he shouted.

[Everette Jason Evans]

A smile was on his face as he stood by Xzavier. He was really curious about what she needed. Something fun and supernatural to contend with. Because with finding a powerful witch that is to join the circle and saving Axel, things couldn't be further from normal. Especially since Axel was - his brother. He knew and Axel knew, but Xzavier didn't. That fact killed him, but he had to get in contact with Axel before Xzavier could find out anything. It wouldn't be right otherwise.

But the news from Lily made his heart stop. She was telling them what Ev already knew. Talk about dramatic irony. When she said it, Ev looked directly at Xzavier. He wasn't taking it well at all. He was angered, and Ev didn't want to tell him like this, but he didn't have a choice. He just didn't want to break the relationship the two had. It was inevitable though.

''I know''. He looked down at the floor. He couldn't look into Xzavier's eyes but after silent seconds from Ev, he looked up and faced the music. ''Axel is our brother, that crazy chick told me. And I could sense the familiarity in his energy. It was - a lot like dad's actually''. Lily might be confused, but if this witch could tell something then he was probably right. Xzavier should know that by now. ''Xzav, I'm sorry. I just - I couldn't find the right time to tell you''. But there wasn't a right time to tell your older brother that there baby brother was still alive. It was weird for Ev still. It was unimaginable to think about starting a new brothership with someone. A stranger. Looking to Lily, his eyes shot straight back to Xzavier. He would be lying if he said he wasn't worrying.

[huntsgirl]

"I know." Xzavier turned to Everette in surprise. He knew? What was he talking about?
"What do you mean you know?" he demanded. What's he been hiding from me? he wondered.
"Axel is our brother, that crazy chick told me. And I could sense the familiarity in his energy. It was---a lot like Dad's actually." Xzavier fell silent at the mention of their father and his eyes clouded. He missed his parents a lot. What would they do in this situation? How would they handle it?
"Xzav, I'm sorry.I just---I couldn't find the right time to tell you." Xzavier let out a deep sigh. Yeah, he was mad as heck, but he was trying not to show it. He supposed his younger brother had a point. What was he supposed to do, just walk up and say 'Hey Axel. I'm having a great day today. By the way, our youngest brother's still alive, wanna get lunch'?
"Okay, Ev. I get it. But we will be discussing this later," he told his brother. Then, he turned back to Lily. "What was his last known address?"

[kat]

Lily had ignored Xzavier while she was talking, a couple of times talking right over the top of him. She didn't have the time to deal with him. She didn't know what his reaction would be when she said they had a third brother, but she wasn't surprised when he exploded at her.

She turned sorrowful eyes on him, but didn't say anything, just let Everette speak. When he, too, knew of their youngest brother being alive, her eyes flicked to him, hints of shock dancing in their dark depths. "How did you know, Ev?" What crazy chick was he talking about?

"Xzavier..." She said, her eyes flicking back to him. She knew him well enough to know that it would hurt him to know a brother he had thought dead for so long was truly alive, yet still out of reach. She sighed at his demand to know where he lived.

"Do you think I'd not have staked his place out?" She asked. "I already went by there. I was there for hours, and well past midnight last night. He's not there." She shook her head. She rattled off his address anyway. "I couldn't get inside, I don't have a legal right, so I couldn't find out why he's gone missing. I might have attempted it, but there were too many University kids running around even that late." She sighed a little. "Guys... I think something is seriously wrong..."

[Everette Jason Evans]

Xzavier didn't want to start anything in a public place, which was classic Xzav. The dude of repression and had been that way for years. Ev thought it was everyday since there dad died that he started hiding his feelings for many people, but showed him emotional side to Ev which was really intimidating in a way and makes Ev think that he would rather deal with a vampire any day then face the wrath of cranky older brother. But this was no laughing matter. It wasn't just that Xzavier didn't know this, but Axel was missing. Ev hadn't seen the kid since they had saved him, but that's all. Unless he ran away, it is possible he is just trying to get away from all the drama. Unfortunately for Ev, he didn't have that luxery. Too many responsibilities.

Xzavier and Lily went back and forth, trying to get to the bottom of this but with the resedue of Thea's effigy floating around in his soul, it would be easy to find Axel. Just, maybe he shouldn't cast the spell here because of fun strange flashy lights that would come from his body. But he had a plan now. ''Listen guys, I'll talk to youse later. I have to go to group, but Xzav we will talk about this at home. Okay? It was good to see you Lily''. He gave her a smile and leant in to give her a hug. ''I know how to find Axel, don't worry. I'll handle it''. He whispered into Lily's ear on the sly and withdrew from the hug, looking to Xzavier with a strong guilty conscience. He gave his brother a small wave as he began to exit. He knew Axel was alright. Somehow, he felt like he would be able to feel if he wasn't or not. Like some kind of brotherly link. But he had an optimistic feeling that everything was just going to be fine. For now at least.

[huntsgirl]

"Listen guys, I'll talk to youse later. I have to go to group, but Xzav, we will talk about this at home. Okay?" Everette commented.
"Oh, yeah, you can count on it," Xzavier confirmed. "But go. We'll deal with this at home," he continued.
"It was good to see you Lily," Everette stated, giving the girl a hug. Xzavier frowned when he saw his younger brother whisper something to Lily. Then, he headed for the door. Xzavier turned to Lily.
"So, when did you first meet the kid?" Xzavier wondered, trying and failing to keep the interest out of his voice. He could hardly believe it. Axel was really alive? Suddenly, he wanted to know everything he could about the boy.

[kat]

Lily hugged Everette back when he leaned in after saying he was leaving. She managed not to stiffen at his words, even as worry pulsed through her. She said nothing, just met his eyes when she pulled away, telling him silently to be careful. She cared for Everette, he had always treated her kindly. She didn't want him to get hurt. Or Xzavier or Axel to get hurt, for that matter...

She bit her lip as Everette left, and looked back at Xzavier, now alone with him in her office. The office suddenly didn't seem big enough, but she tried to ignore that fact.

Lily couldn't help but smile a little. She knew him too well, she thought. He was trying to be nonchalant, but it wasn't working. Maybe it would have with someone who didn't know Xzavier so well, but not her.

"It was last week," She said. "He gave me your mothers first name and her maiden name. I didn't know who it was at the time but..." She shrugged. "He looked so familiar, like I'd seen him before. I realized today why he looked familiar. He looks a lot like you and Everette. The small things I hadn't remembered or really paid attention until Axel walked in here looking for help."

[huntsgirl]

"It was last week," she said said. "He gave me your mother's first name and her maiden name. I didn't know who it was at the time but..." he watched as she shrugged. "He looked so familiar, like I'd seen him before. I realized today why he looked familiar. He looks a lot like you and Everette. The small things I hadn't remembered or really paid attention until Axel walked in here looking for help." Xzavier's eyes clouded when she said that the boy looked like them. That was kinda cool, to think that their younges brother looked like them.
"Wow. I can't believe---" Xzavier's voice trailed off. Then, he caught himself. He didn't need Lily seein' him all vulnerable. Besides, he didn't want her to get killed. He'd never forgive himself if anything happened to her. Then, "Thanks for information. We'll take care of this," he gruffly told her, and then headed for the exit.

[kat]

Lily watched Xzavier's eyes cloud, and she felt a jab of pain to her heart. She started to walk around the desk, when he said, "Thanks for information. We'll take care of this," and turned away towards the door. She bit her lip, but stepped after him.

"Xzavier, wait..." She said softly. She couldn't let him leave. For once, she couldn't read Xzavier. Usually, she could tell what he felt by the look in his eyes, but right then, they were completely blank to her. She moved to him, reaching out to set her hand on his arm. "Don't leave yet..." She didn't like to be like this, feeling awkward and uncomfortable. But she didn't know what else to do, and she didn't want him to just leave the way he was about to.

"I..." She sighed and stepped away. "Just... Make sure Axel is safe, okay?" She muttered and turned away. There was an ache in her chest, and she didn't want Xzavier to see it in her eyes. But at the same time, part of her wanted nothing more than for him to just hold her, just for a moment.

((Sorry it took me so long Ghost D: I forgot this was here since the other topic covered it up.))

[huntsgirl]

Xzavier had just reached the exit when Lily spoke again.
"Xzavier, wait..." The boy turned around. "Don't leave yet..."
"What?" he asked, trying to mask his concern. Why does she want me to hang around, I gotta find this kid, he thought to himself.
"I..." He watched as she seemed to struggle to figure out what to say. "Just...Make sure Axel is safe, okay?" she muttered and then turned around. Xzavier inhaled sharply at the pain he had seen in her eyes. The urge to wrap her in a hug came over him and he clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms to quell the feeling. He couldn't afford to drop his guard around her. It'd be dangerous for her. He couldn't risk it. Come on Xzav, get it together[/], he coached himself.
"Don't worry. I'll do everything I can to protect the kid," he gruffly assured and then quickly walked out of the building before he had a chance to change his mind and sweep her into his arms.

(Hey, no worries on how long it took you to respond. I think this might wrap the thread up)