Winter Is Coming(Kailin)

[Deleted]

How long had Zach been crashing at his parent's place? Two....maybe three weeks? Since he ran into Kai at the library and gave him the last piece of his mind. It had to been that, because ever since then, Zach had pretty much been wandering the house like a lobotomized zombie. Or a gloomy specter. Or just...something, whatever, he didn't know. It probably wasn't that hard for his family to figure out something was wrong but he was insistent on denying such a thing to his parents and mostly just kept to himself. As best he could, because really, in a house full of thirteen people it was hard to find any alone time at all. But that at least kept his mind off of that guy. He could gripe and complain about them being too noisy, just like old times, and then just smile and do nothing about it. If he really felt like being alone, Zach would just hop up into the treehouse out back and try and study there, but...being alone was exactly what he was trying to avoid, because it was then that Zach's thoughts started to drift to where he didn't want them to go.

Oh well...he brought it all upon himself, didn't he? He should've just stayed away like everyone told him. Zach knew what he was getting into...why did he think it would turn out differently? Why did....no, he needed to stop thinking about this.

Stop thinking about it and just...concentrate on watching Game of Thrones. Yup, with his sister, Kailin. They had agreed to do this for some time, and now that Zach was staying back home they finally had enough time to run through most of the seasons. And Zach, having never seen it before(he just read the books), was busy being Mr. Critic as they watched, pointing out what was good, what was bad, what he liked. If there was one way to get Zach talking, it was introducing the subject of his favorite novels and fantasy series.

"That's not how they do it in the book," he said for probably the millionth time since they started watching. He couldn't believe how many changes they made and didn't know if he should be upset about it like a lot of the hardcore fans he heard of were.

[Kailin Bishop]

Kailin sat on the couch beside her older brother with her pajamas on, and Anthony's gift on her lap, watching a show that the two had said they were going to watch. Game of Thrones had caught her attention and succeeded in keeping it thus far, which was not something she could say about most television shows, especially those that are an hour a piece. The blonde wasn't too keen on television in general, but this was definitely worth it.

"There are always going to be changes," Kailin said after the millionth time that Zach had pointed some things out. "That's why you have to throw the knowledge that you have from the books and separate yourself from it." Nobody would ever enjoy a book to movie or show adaptation if you couldn't do that.

The hot chocolate they made sat in front of them on the coffee table, so she reached out and grabbed her hot mug, stirring the cinnamon stick around. "But you have to admit, individually this is a great show."

[Deleted]

“I know…” he said, shifting in his seat. “Just…sometimes it bugs me. Like…over half of Desolation of Smaug didn’t even happen. I still don’t know how they thought they could chop The Hobbit into three-three hour long movies. There’s…there’s not enough content!” Yup, Zach had a lot to say about movie adaptations too. Yeah it was cool, but there was a point where his suspension of disbelief just kind of flopped.

Zach let Kailin make the hot chocolate this time. He wasn’t going to risk making another stupid mistake like last time. Zach decided to just stick with what he knew, microwave dinners, ramen, and pizza. At least he was eating better, now that he was home. That made their mom pretty happy.

“Yeah. If you ignore all that…yeah, it’s pretty interesting.” Zach had to admit, he liked it. It just bugged him because he knew what was technically supposed to happen next..and then sometimes it just didn’t happen. Zach idly bit his lip. “So…how’s things with…uh, what’s his name?”

[Kailin Bishop]

"I read the Hobbit in fourth grade, so I can barely even remember what happened." It was true; her fourth grade teacher was probably the reincarnation of Hitler himself, and forced 9 year olds to read The Giver and The Hobbit without any second thoughts. "Sometimes new content is good. It throws you for a spin. I don't know, but remember you're talking to an optimist."

Her eyes were following a singled out marshmellow in her drink when Zach asked about Anthony. Somebody had just been slaughtered and she didn't feel like looking at the screen at that moment. Kales figured he was asking about Anthony because she was asking about 'how things were' and all. "Anthony. Um... I'm sitting on his lap and teasing him a lot, so pretty good, I guess."

Kailin had no clue how bad that sounded, so when she finished speaking, she turned to Zach and tilted her head off to one side. "How about you? Do you have a girlfriend?"

[Deleted]

Zachary chuckled. He’d read The Hobbit several times. If it was a good book, he had a tendency to do that. “New content, maybe. Not when they change the whole basis of the story though.” That was Zach, being a pessimist about the book to movie industry. Take The Giver, for instance. They were coming out with a movie version of that soon too, and he was already disgruntled. The previews did not look promising.

People had said that watching the GoT series with his little sister was going to be awkward, and once he started, he could see their point. But it was a story, not a porno, and if Kailin could see it that way too(not like Kai, who would probably…nevermind), then Zach didn’t see a problem with it. Zach leaned forward to grab his hot chocolate and started to drink just as Kailin answered. And he choked. And coughed. And coughed. Zach cleared his throat. “That was…not an image I needed to see my little sister in,” he mumbled, shaking his head. They hadn’t….yet, right?

The next question, he should have been expecting, but somehow it still surprised him. What surprised him even more was that he had more of an answer now than he did when Mae asked him several months ago. “Uh…no. I don’t,” he answered cautiously. Zach paused for a moment before speaking again. “Kailin…you know I’m gay, right?” He assumed that Claudia had spilled it out by now.

[Kailin Bishop]

Only when Zach choked on the hot chocolate and said something, did she truly realize how her statement sounded. "Oh god!" Kailin exclaimed, hitting her brother on the arm instinctively. "No, that's not what I meant!" She was still a virgin, and never has she even thought of anything underneath Tony's clothes beside his chest. If she had to admit anything, Kailin did love the way his bare chest looked. Kailin's cheeks reddened from embarrassment.

"No, I meant everything is normal. I tease him like I tease you, Jeez. With words. And I sit on his lap when he is wearing pants..." God, why was she saying this? It was bad enough they were watching nude scenes together. The Blonde didn't mind them, actually, only because she wasn't watching for those specific reasons. Like one of her good friends told her, it was porn with a plot. Kales definitely wasn't going to say that out loud.

His announcement caught her off guard, but not in a negative way. Her best friend Salem was gay, and she had no issues with that. It was just... why didn't she see it sooner. "Oh, okay. My mistake," Kailin gave a nervous laugh then. "I've been pretty oblivious the past few months. So do you have a boyfriend?" She corrected herself, because he didn't exactly reject the idea that he had a relationship.

[Deleted]

Zach cleared his throat again and tried to wash down the choking with more hot chocolate. He swallowed. “I…I hope not,” he said, then stopped. “Uh…not that there’s anything wrong with…I mean, if that’s what you guys are doing, it’s fine, as long as you’re using protection and he’s not forcing you or…” Zach swallowed, thinking that he should probably stop now before he made an even bigger fool of himself. Now things were awkward as the television conveniently switched from a bloody fight scene to some sweet-nothings bedroom scene. Zach averted his eyes, his face also flushed a strawberry red. “Sorry…”

Talking about his own love life didn’t really make the awkward go away but he was pleasantly surprised to hear her overbearing level of non-response to his revelation. “You and me both,” he muttered softly. “I though for a second I was the only one who didn’t know…uhmm…” Instead of dwelling on that, Zach attempted to come up with a no-so-pathetic answer to her question. He hadn’t really talked about it to anyone except Jade and Claudia so he wasn’t exactly sure how to say it.

“Kind of…” he started hesitantly. Zach sighed, dropping his shoulders as he stared into his mug of chocolate. “I don’t know….I think we broke up…” Zach felt his chest tighten as he spoke those words.

[Kailin Bishop]

"Stop. Stop. EW." Kailin promptly put her cup down and covered her ears with her hands. This was not the talk she wanted to have with her brother, or anyone else for that matter. She was just a 17 year old girl wanting to enjoy life. She knew the whole 'always wear a condom' as much as the next teenager. Plus, she'd be forced to go to 'The Talk' with Dr. Neville in July. He really didn't need to say anything. "God, I know you care Zach but please."

The most ironic part? The minute she looked up, it was in the middle of a sex scene.

The change in subject was very much needed. At least the whole attention wasn't on her and Anthony any longer. Did Anthony even want her that way...? No, she didn't want to think about it.

"So you've broken up with who...?" No man other than other than Oliver and... Kailin thought long and hard, and the only other guy she saw was at the Christmas party. The guy who gave them money... Kailin shot up in her seat. "Oh! Was it Asian Santa who came to the Christmas Party?!" She really didn't direct it to Zach, but more as her own self clarification. After the outburst, Kailin found herself slowly sitting down, an embarrassed blush on her face.

"I mean... You don't have to answer, but... was it?"

[Deleted]

Stop, right stop…Zach could do that. He snapped his mouth shut and continued to look at everything except his sister and the television. “Sorry…I’m just trying to…” Just stop, don’t need any further elaboration.

Zach leaned forward again and set his mug on the coffee table. Then he picked up the remote and muted the sound. They didn’t need to hear what was going on and…yeah, the subtitles weren’t helping either.

So clearly his sister was just about as oblivious as Zach was when it came to matters of love and relationships and paying attention. Zach thought he was pretty good at it, but he didn’t even remember who Kailin’s best friend was, or even when they started dating. Was it since Valentine’s Day? Or before then? Either way, Kailin too took a few seconds to realize who it was. Zach’s face instantly turned and he snapped his head at her exclamation. “Wha—Asian Santa? Is that what you guys call him?” He knew it was a bad idea for Kai to bring all those envelopes of money. He couldn’t have just bought them all matching ugly sweaters or something?

Zach shook his head. “…But yeah…that guy.” He sighed, turning his eyes back up to the TV.

[Kailin Bishop]

"We call him other things, but Asian Santa is agreed on with all of us." Kailin said matter-of-factly. She could see her eldest brother visibly cringe at the idea that Kales knew who he was speaking of, and part of her felt bad. Why? Because she probably wouldn't want to speak of anything that had to do with a break-up with Anthony, even though they haven't been dating long; they had three years of history, and she didn't want to mess that up. Hell, she thought she had after that whole month of not speaking to him.

It was clear that Zach was done with that conversation, and so she decided to let things go. Her curiosity may have been piqued, but if he didn't want to speak of it, then she wouldn't press. It was better not to, anyway. Zach had yelled at her a scarce few times over the years, and each time she left crying. The girl didn't want to push it.

"You know," Kailin said suddenly, hoping to change the subjects. "I've never been so ashamed of my hair color in my life. Every single blonde on this show I hate except for Daenerys. Is it always going to be like that?"

[Deleted]

“Other….like what?” He was just a little bit interested in knowing what his siblings thought of his….friend. Did none of them realize who he was to Zach? Oliver and Jade said it had been more obvious than a red-neon sign glowing in the dark. Or maybe it was just because they were paying attention. Oliver was his best friend and Jade was a snoop. Oh well, it probably didn’t matter, it wasn’t like they were involved anymore….or something. They weren’t…going to see each other…anymore…

Zach was busy dwelling on this with a scowl on his face as he turned back to the television. Just bringing up the topic so briefly had made him lose all interest in the show. He just felt so…apathetic about everything now, didn’t even have the strength to turn the sound back on. His head was instead racing with over-circulating thoughts of “what ifs” and “what nows” and “Kai’s a jerk…”.

Damn…he needed to get that guy out of his head already.

Zach barely registered that Kailin was trying to continue the conversation from before, turing it back to the show on the TV. All he heard was the tail end of her question. Zach blinked turning to her and giving a quick, “Uh…yeah,” and nothing more.

[Kailin Bishop]

"Well, I call him Chinese Jesus, too. But that's just me. If you want all the nicknames, ask JJ. They know." But she truly didn't want to speak of it any longer if Zach was going to go all sour puss on her, but it seemed like the interest on the show was lost. He barely even responded to her comment on the blondes of the show!

Narrowing her eyes, they flashed and she projected her image into his head. Now, she could see the image in the back of her mind, he could see three of her. The real Kailin, one in front of him, and one on the other side of the couch.

"Stop being a sour puss" Kailin number 2 said softly. "This was supposed to be a good night, Zach. Don't let the nub get to you." Kailin number 3 crossed her arms.

"They're right," The original Kailin spoke, frowning. "They know what they're talking about, you know."

[Deleted]

Chinese Jesus? Was Kai even Chinese? Zach would have to ask him next time he…

No! What was he thinking, there wasn’t going to be a next time! So what did it matter how many names JJ had for him….

HuH?? Whaa—? Three Kailins??

Zach’s eyes went wide as he was suddenly being yelled at from three sides by three very angry copies of his little sister. “Uh…” he uttered, seeming to shrink under her scoldings. “Sorry…”

He looked to who he assumed was the real Kailin and sighed, running his hands through his dark hair. “Yeah…you’re right…sorry.” He fell back against the couch, sliding his hands over his face in an attempt to wipe those distracting thought from his mind. “I just got a lot on my mind. Uh…do you want anything from the kitchen? I need a soda or something.” Maybe getting up and walking around would help. Maybe the caffeine would help. Something ought to. He started to stand.

[Kailin Bishop]

Her gaze lost it's strength, and was replaced by pity watching her brother getting upset over a single person. Was this how she looked that one month without Anthony? She had to wonder.

The Blonde paused the television, deciding that there was no reason to let it continue. They'd just miss more of the episode. As it was, they probably would have to restart the episode, anyway.

"Yeah, that'd be fine. Can you get me a cherry pepsi?" One of her favorite drinks. They always had that stocked in the fridge. Always.

[Deleted]

Really, Zach just needed to get it together, otherwise he was just going to worry everyone needlessly. He was fine. No, he wasn’t, but he would be fine eventually, right?

Zach nodded down to his sister then stepped to the kitchen and to the fridge. Of course, the Bishop family had a variety of sodas to offer. Nobody could agree on just one brand or just one flavor so…what else could they do? Zach grabbed a cherry pepsi and a mountain dew, then headed back out to the TV room, handing Kailin her drink as he crossed in front of her and settled back on the couch.

He popped the can open and took a generous, refreshing sip. They should probably start the episode again, but Zach just stared at the still screen, pondering. “Kailin,” he started, already feeling like he was about to make a mistake. “…how…would you feel if…what’s his name, Andy?” It wasn’t Andy. “If he told you…that he thought you…were just going out with him…casually? Like, a fling…or something…?” Zach mumbled those last few words, already regreting having said any of them.