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[attr="class","hearmenand2"]Sera's long coffin shaped nails clicked softly as she tapped on the screen of her smartphone. She was busy editing and setting up her next automatic post on her social media. This thing really was helpful and helped her be consistent while having the brainpower to do other things she needed to do during her day to day.

Serena had a lot on her plate from school to influencer work and her rocket life. The young twenty-three year old was currently juggling a lot of things at once and she felt if she didn't take certain steps she was sure to drop the ball somewhere. The issue with being a perfectionist however was that she couldn't afford to drop anything.

"They're starting early." Adrian muttered beside her, causing the blonde to look up from her phone to peer through the cars tinted windows outside. She watched as the fireworks dimly lit up the sky before her and hummed in agreement. She turned her gaze to her brother briefly just in time to catch a slight frown grace his features.

A small smirk playfully pulled at the corners of her lips as she turned her attention back to her phone. 'He was upset he missed the beginning of the show hmm? How very...Adrian,' she thought to herself.

As they quickly pulled into the parking spot, Serena locked her phone and slid it into the back pocket of her leather pants. Cutting the engine, Adrian flicked his cigarette out the window and slid out of the car. Serena followed suit, stretching with a high pitched squeal as she exited the car.

"So, what should we do...?" her brother asked just as Sera finished her stretch. She let the cool breeze caress her face for a moment before she inhaled and flashed a smile at him. "How about we start by getting something to drink! I'm parched. I might die from dehydration at any moment." She joked dramatically and shoved her hand into her pockets.

F*CK A PRINCESS,

i ' m - a - k i n g .

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[attr="class","hearmenand2"]"Yeah, alright," he said with a smile flashed her way. Serena huffed happily before shaking her head at him. "Mom would give you an earful if she saw the pitiful state your fridge was in." Serena teased him softly. The thing was piratically barren by the time of her arrival, which she honestly shouldn't have expected any less. How typical of her brother, probably exercising a pristine diet of takeout foods only. Lucky, or unlucky for him, with her living there she'd be doing the cooking. She had better things than to waste her money on food constantly. Plus her manager would kill her if she found out she ate nothing but delicious takeout.

"I think there's a concession stand up there," he pointed further up to a street illuminated by neon signs and cluttered with pedestrians roaming around. "Then let's go," she said taking off before he did, in the direction he had pointed. Cold weather only accentuated her thirst, which was currently reaching uncomfortable levels. She pulled her vape pen out of her pocket and took a whiff. Would this help her thirst, probably not, but it would certainly take her mind off it.

When the sibling duo reached the snack concession the smell of popcorn hit Serena's nose and practically made her mouth water. Still, she needed to behave. She shouldn't have any popcorn, not to mention the kernels getting stuck in her teeth were the absolute worst. After a few minutes of waiting in line a young woman with her hair tied back in a ponytail attended to them. "I'd like a Coke, and...?" Adrian paused as he turned to look at her inquisitively. "A beer and a bottle of water please, thank you." she said as she took another puff from her vape pen before passing it to her brother.

"So, other than eating healthy," she clearly mocked, "What have you been up to? I may or may not have missed seeing your stupid mug." She smirked as she leaned against the counter. It had been a while since she'd seen him, not to mention a lot of stuff had happened between the both of them. She hated idle chit chat but it was important that she got to know what was up with her brother. Their family had been beyond worried about him concerning the events that happened in Hoenn recently.

F*CK A PRINCESS,

i ' m - a - k i n g .

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[attr="class","hearmenand2"]Adrian just rolled his eyes but never once countered anything she said, so she could tell he was in a good mood at least. That was great for her, it meant she could still him and get away with it. She happily allowed him to pay for the goods regardless of the hassle. She would be happy so long as she got what she wanted, she was spoiled that way. She slipped the water bottle in her cross-body, and sipped on her beer as they walked, taking in all the stalls and attractions the festival had to offer. She also wasn't going to let Adrian off the hook from answering her question either. But she also was in a good mood so she'll give him some time to answer before jumping at him.

"Well, I've managed to get at least one of the badges while I've been here..." Adrian admitted sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. While she was sipping her beer, Serena cut a watchful gaze at her brother. She wasn't in any sort of place to judge him but just one? He'd been gone from home for a while, rarely checked in, or visited, she and the rest of her family was sure he'd be further along with his plans at this point. And since it wasn't it begged the question, what had he been up to all this time?

"What about you, though? I haven't heard of much from back home, if anything," Not the smoothest change of topic she'd ever seen but she understood. She wasn't about to press him, not right now anyway. Besides, whether he believed it or not, she was his little sister, so she could tell when something was up regardless of him saying so or not. He was right though, just like he didn't really reach out they didn't either. Serena always tried her best, but she was sure she could've still done more. A text and occasional call every month or two wasn't enough, clearly.

Still things were complicated, and she'd be lying to herself if she said there wasn't an ulterior motive to her questions. Of course, she wanted to know how he was holding up for her own sake, don't misunderstand. But their mother also was concerned and not only tasked her with taking care of Adrian but reporting to her how he was, since he wouldn't do so himself. Now, Serena was no snitch by all means but she also couldn't just ignore their mother, or father.

Serena sighed before bringing the vape pen to her mouth once more. She took a long drag and then released the smoke in a big huff. "Well, let's see. Where to begin?" she mused before taking another puff, "You'll be happy to know that Jake and I are no longer together. Haven't been for a while." Jake was her good-for-nothing-ex-boyfriend. Her family never liked him but she'd been determined to all hell to stay with him. 'But I love him!' she could remember exclaiming to her family exasperated since they were constantly telling her to end it, and that he'd ruin her one day. If only she'd heeded those words before it was too late.

Instead she followed him anywhere, including moving out of her family home and to Kanto with Jake where he got her involved with team rocket, back when they were literally the worst, before ditching her and leaving her high and dry with no warning. She was forced to stay in Kanto, doing things she never wanted to do and paying for all of Jake's mistakes, until the leader of rocket died and she was finally free. That's when she moved back home with nothing but an apology on her lips and her head hanging low.

Of course, her parents were upset but they were even more furious at Jake. She told them about the abuse but she never told them about rocket, that would've ruined everything. She was convinced she couldn't tell Adrian either. Especially with her joining rocket once more. But despite her parents being frustrated with her they forgave her and she's been on their good side ever sense. Then again, she was the baby of the family, she never believed she was ever truly on their bad side.

"My stream's taking off pretty well. I got a couple of brand deals from a few companies. My team thinks I can make it big. Guess I have you to thank as my inspiration in that regard." she was referring to his singing career. This time there was no hint of teasing or sarcasm in her tone, she meant everything she said. Adrian truly had been her inspiration for a while before branching out and trying her own thing. Slowly but steadily she was seeing results which lead her to believe she really could make it.

"But as you know, they believe it would be better for me to live here, closer to base and such. Something about boosting my ratings and getting me better deals. You know, biz stuff." She said with a shrug, "So here I am to bless your life once more. Don't worry, you don't have to say it. I've missed me too." she said as she chuckled to herself taking another sip of her drink.

F*CK A PRINCESS,

i ' m - a - k i n g .

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[attr="class","hearmenand2"]"As long as I don't have to say it." Adrian replied with a sly grin. Serena rolled her eyes before a wicked grin caught on her lips as well. She watched him as he turned his attention back to the sky set ablaze by a myriad of colors as the fireworks continued to pop off beautifully. "I know there's still a lot of gaps to fill, but let's just try to enjoy the holiday..." he said, this time seeming almost as if he was in a distant place.

His voice was soft and Sera felt her smirk slip from her face slowly. His face began to twist in pain and horror the longer he stared up at the fireworks. Serena caught herself glancing up, checking that something strange wasn't happening above her before turning her concerned gaze back on her older brother. "A-Adi?" she called out hesitantly. For a moment she felt like there was a weight on her body and a coolness in the pit of her stomach.

Her brother was suffering so why couldn't she move? Perhaps it was too much to ask him to go out this evening. She figured it would be a good chance to enjoy some quality time with Adrian but maybe it was just reopening old wounds. She reached out to take hold of his shoulder before he seemed to snap himself out of his trance on his own. Serena gulped, a heavy guilt washing over her. She couldn't do anything for him...again. She mentally cursed at herself as she dropped her arm to her side, her hand slowly closing into a fist.

"That one really got me, ha..." a timid smile plastered on his features. At this point there was no point in hiding her concern for her sibling. She just looked at him silently for a moment before turning and closing the distance between the two. She quickly wrapped her arms around him and pulled her brother into a protective hug. Serena didn't say anything for a long moment. She just held him tightly to her, not caring about anything else.

While she might have joked that she was here for just work that wasn't the case. She needed to be here, needed to check on Adrian and see him with her own eyes. What she just saw just confirmed her suspicious and her horrors. He wasn't okay, no matter how much he tried to pass it off as such. "I'm sorry." she said finally after a bit of silence. "I'm sorry you had to go through everything alone." She whispered to him softly as she squeezed him tighter. "But you don't have to worry, I got you. You don't have to go through everything alone anymore."

Serena meant it. Hell, even she had struggled when she dealt with the rocky situation she had alone. But she never experienced anything like Adrian must have. She could only imagine how hard it had been for him. She didn't want to pity him but it was hard not to. But above all else she wanted to protect her brother, just like he used to do for her when they were younger.

After one more squeeze she pulled away from him and lightly flicked his head. "So, what next?" she asked as she looked around, "Should we try our hands at a few games?" She asked as she scanned around the stalls close to them. Maybe she could even win a cute prize to take home.

F*CK A PRINCESS,

i ' m - a - k i n g .

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[attr="class","hearmenand2"]The siblings were more alike than they would often like to admit, let alone say out loud. It wasn't rocket science for Serena to understand how Adrian was feeling. She just had to put herself in his shoes. They operated pretty much the same, it's always why she laid off his case after making her point clear. One of these days he'll feel comfortable to talk to her again, today just wasn't that day.

"Ha, if you can win one. I'm keeping what I get!" he exclaimed which only provoked a quizzical glance from his little sister. 'He must've forgot,' she thought to herself. She was the one that played games for a living, if she had to compare the two she also believed she had the better luck. But she'd let her brother believe he could best her, for now.

....

The dreaded claw machine was the first of the Malcolm siblings prey. Granted, Adrian wasn't exactly doing the best at this performance. It took everything in her not to chuckle at his attempts. Not only because she didn't want to jinx her own attempts but because she didn't want to see his pouting face. "Damn, these get more rigged every time I play one..." Adrian cursed at the machine.

Serena shrugged, the claw machine was always a hoax, at least that's what she believed. People rarely walked away with the things they wanted. It truly was just a money trap but she really couldn't walk away from a challenge. "How about you take a swing?" Adrian asked gesturing she take a crack at the beast. Serena chuckled as she walked forward cracking her neck and rolling her shoulders. "Calling it quits already?" her voice was a silky tease as she stepped up to the machine.

"All good with me, just promise you won't get jealous," She said with a smirk as she slid her coin into the slot. The first attempt was a massive fail. It was almost as if the machine was taunting her with her prize. Annoyed she quickly slid another coin into the slot, and then another and another. Fourth time was the charm apparently. With the precision of an experienced surgeon Serena managed to secure the golden magikarp plushie that her brother had been trying to grab.

She held her breath as the crane continued to pull up the plush, praying it didn't slip through once more. Once it was finally over the safety line she released the breath she'd been holding and with a triumphant huff she turned and beamed at her brother. "Aye, nothing to it." She said as she plucked her prize from the machine. Tossing it in her hands a couple of times she tossed it to him. "Not my style, so you can have it." She shrugged as she brushed past him.

"No, I want something big," she muttered as she pointed a manicured nail towards their next destination. A giant Pancham plush was on display and Serena's eyes practically sparkled when she saw it. That would be a great addition to her room and she wanted it. Besides, having a cuddle buddy could never be a bad thing. It was shooting game, but she wasn't worried. Those happened to be her favorites. "So whaddya say?" she asked as she spun around on her heels.

F*CK A PRINCESS,

i ' m - a - k i n g .