Anchor (lxngdon and MaryGoldRound)

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L U C A S​

Lucas smiled at the siblings bickering, very used to it by now. In fact, he enjoyed listening to it. It was comforting in a strange and always welcomed compared to the silent loneliness of his own house.

At the end of the race, he was lucky to find himself in second place. Unlike board and most card games, video games did not always require other people to play. Therefore, he had played plenty and was not in the least an amateur. He quite enjoyed throwing turtle shells at the others more than the computer.

"Not my best, but sure as hell better than others." He grinned and swiped his phone from his phone from his pocket because it was buzzing.

He was truly expecting some sort of text from his mother or even her boyfriend, they were the ones who texted him the most. But he was surprised when it came in from Anders asking if he could come out and 'play'.
 
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Claudia glanced curiously at Lucas when his phone buzzed. She didn't try and read his text because she wasn't a snoop, but she was worried he'd have to go home.

Then, the living room door opened and in walked Charles Lightwood.

Immediately, the three Lightwood kids shifted uncomfortably, as if they thought they'd done something wrong. "Dad!" said Quentin, glancing at Lucas before turning around to look up at his dad. "You're home early."

"How very observant of you, Quentin," said Charles with a heavy sigh, sitting down in an armchair. He took off his shoes and swapped them for slippers. "By the way you three are acting, it would seem you've done something wrong."

Claudia looked at her dad like a deer caught in headlights. Charles had defended Lucas so much over the last few weeks but she didn't know if he was allowed to be at their house.

Charles looked at Lucas with an almost amused expression on his stony face. "How are you, young man? You're not supplying my children with illegal drugs, are you? They're acting like you are."​
 
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Lucas was a little more than late to join the stand at attention act or whatever it was. He had just pressed the send button after writing a reply to Anders when they all jumped up. It frightened him a little at first, fearing what made them jump up.

He stiffened when seeing the Lightwood's father walk in, and even more so when he addressed him.

Lucas blinked a couple of times, unsure if he should be just as lax or not. He was leaning toward not. He rose to his feet, mainly because it felt wrong to sit when they were all standing.

"No, sir." Lucas awkwardly shifted his weight onto one foot. "The only drugs I carry on me is the ones my doctor has prescripted. And my mother would kill me otherwise."
 
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"Good to hear." Charles took off his suit jacket, leaving him in a crisp white shirt and dress pants. He was a very sophisticated man. he had aged well and didn't look over thirty, despite being fifty years of age. He had Quentin and Brogen's smooth brown hair and Tate's brown eyes.

He looked at Lucas with an X-ray like gaze and Claudia tugged at his hand to get him to sit down. "Don't be silly," she whispered.

Silence for a few moments. Then, Charles rolled his eyes.

"For Christ's sake, you three, you're not in trouble," he snapped, reaching into his briefcase and pulling out a box of the fancy chocolates he got at work events. He offered each of his children and Lucas one and sighed heavily. "Claudia, did I not vouch for your boyfriend against my own son?"

"You did," Claudia agreed.

"So, why would I be upset that he's here?"

"You wouldn't."

"Good." Charles glanced at his sons before turning back to Lucas. "I hope no one's been giving you trouble."​
 
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Lucas reseated himself next to his girlfriend after taking a raspberry jelly filled chocolate from the offered box. He felt awkward beyond belief, mainly so because of the other three more than their father. He was so unsure on how to act and feel about the man. But he had defended him during the Tate incident and so Lucas did feel he owed him a lot.

Even if he was intimidating to some degree.

"Not at all. They've been awesome - I mean excellent."

He offered a small smile of assurance. Because, they all had in fact been excellent. And were enjoying their game before he walked in. Which was strange to him because he always jumped up in joy and welcomed his mother home from work.

"Ah, welcome back from your work." He added politely, because it only seemed right.
 
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Charles gave the smallest of smiles. "Thank you, son," he said in a rather stiff voice, having returned to his normal stoic state. He looked at Claudia.

"Your mother is still upset about Tate and she comes home next week, so I'd suggest giving her some time to cool off," he said as he picked up his briefcase. "I won't be here."

"But you just got back," Quentin protested. As scary as he was, they all loved their father.

"I know, and I have a human rights conference in Paris next week so I will be leaving again tomorrow," said Charles casually. He said goodnight and left the room.

Claudia sighed and leaned back in her seat. It was nice to be able to do basically whatever she wanted, but her heart still ached for her parents when they weren't there.​
 
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Lucas watched the head of the Lightwood family walk up the stairs and disappear before eating his chocolate silently.

He would never understand why their parents were always so stiff whenever they were around. Or why their kids were afraid of them on many occasions. He didn't ask because it seemed rude to do so. But he did feel their pain of wanting their guardians to be around more, for them not to be a total workaholic and only appearing when there was trouble.

Putting his arm around Claudia, he kissed her cheek warmly. "I suppose, we'll have to hang out elsewhere next week then." He mumured softly.

Not that it bothered him too much. He would love nothing more than to stay out of her mother's line of sight for a while.
 
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It was safe to say that Mario Kart was over. Quentin turned off the Wii and rose to his feet, muttering something about homework before going upstairs. Claudia heard his bedroom door close. Brogen said he was tired, even though it was only six o'clock.

Claudia felt suffocated in her own home. "I need to get out of here," she muttered, standing up and pushing a hand through her tousled blonde hair.

"Do you want to go out for dinner?" she asked Lucas. "You can invite your friends. I'll pay."

Claudia only said this because she wanted Lucas to have friends. And, she didn't mind them, as scary as they were.​
 
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"Er. If we're inviting them, we can all pitch in the bill." Responded Lucas, frowning slightly, unhappy to see Claudia upset.

If going out would cheer her up or make her feel better even a little, than he felt obliged to have dinner out with her. Anything that would work for her, would work for him. Even if he rather not have his friends tag along.

"Come on."

He pulled her onto her feet after sending a text to the others. "What are you in the mood for?"
 
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"There's a small diner near the edge of town," said Claudia, once she had shouted up the stairs to let her father know where she was going. She had received a shout of affirmation in return.

Claudia lead Lucas to the black car the Lightwoods drove to school and settled in the driver's seat, before backing out of the garage and speeding off on her way. She had received the address of the twins' house from Lucas and they were waiting for them when they arrived.

"Hey, Claudy," said Eden happily, using the nickname Claudia generally only allowed her brothers to use for her. Eden petted her on the head like a kitten and sat down in the seat behind hers.

"Thanks for inviting us out."

"It's okay," said Claudia, starting the car again and putting on an optimistic facade.​
 
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"So, did something happen?" Jenna asked once seated in the back between Eden and Anders. She made sure to buckle her brother in after herself because there was no way he was going to do it himself. Anything that meant safety, Anders often strayed away from.

"Why would you assume something happened?" Lucas inquired once they were on their way again. He looked through the rearview mirror, getting a perfect look at Jenna's face because of where she sat.

"Because, unlike some motherfuckers I know how to read an atmosphere. And I've been faking it my whole life, so I can tell when someone else is." She sighed and propped up her book of poetry on her knees so she could read comfortably to herself.

"Did Lucas do something?" Anders scooted over swiftly from behind the passenger seat, despite the seatbelts restricting him, just so he could get a better view of the two in the front. In the process of his moving, he roughly pushed his sister over, squishing her and knocking her book out if her hands. Of course, he ignored her whine and the growl that followed after.

"Wait, no. He's too nice for that."
 
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"Of course Lucas didn't do anything," said Claudia firmly, never taking her eyes away from the road. Lucas would never hurt her. He loved her more than anything, and she was smart enough to realise that.

They reached the diner and Claudia lead them to a small booth. She sat against the window with Anderson across from her, and Eden squeezed in beside Lucas. It wasn't surprising that he didn't care about personal space. Claudia took her boyfriend's hand under the table and squeezed it.

When their orders were taken, Claudia ordered sweet potato fries. Eden ordered the biggest hamburger they had to offer, and a milkshake. ​
 
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Lucas had ordered a cheese steak sandwich with a side of fries. Anders picked out a stack of waffles, because who didnt like waffles any time of the day? And Jenna went with her usual cup of water.

Setting their clasped hands ontop of his lap, Lucas used his other to reach for the iced lemonade he ordered as a drink.

"So, kids, how was your day? You know, besides the unfortunate encounter with Ryan and before I left?" Anders asked absently, playing with the salt and pepper shakers. He raised his gaze to meet Lucas for a second and moved it on to Claudia. He smiled out of innocent curiosity. "Anything interesting happened?"


"Depends on your definition of interesting." Lucas murmured, with a slight shrug of his shoulders."Nothing that didn't include you guys. So, no."

"Boo. We'll have to change that soon. In the meantime, I think we should have pie and ice cream for dessert."
 
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"I myself am quite partial to both pie and ice cream," said Eden in his sophisticated, refined English accent. Though, Claudia suspected he was putting it on a bit. Eden stretched his long arm out over the back of the seat and twirled Claudia's hair around his finger.

"Please don't," she murmured, frowning and batting his hand away.

"Sorry." Eden dropped his hand, but about twenty seconds later he started to play with her blonde locks again. Claudia rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.

She guessed it was a part of Eden's ... condition. But she wouldn't say that, she didn't want to be rude.​
 
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"Eden, do you need to sit over here? I think you're making Claudia uncomfortable." Anders said blantantly with a slight shake of his head. He stretched his long legs out underneath the table and kicked Eden's. "And if not her, I'm sure Lucas is." He looked to the dark haired blonde.

Lucas raised his eyes to meet Anders. He knew Eden, so he didn't mind until she minded. "Anders has perfectly suitable hair." He pursed his lips, brushing his thumb against the back of her hand softly.

"Don't even." He narrowed his eyes at Lucas, but smiled afterwards to show he was joking. "I need my personal space."

Jenna snorted, laughing softly at Anders statement as she took a sip from her water. Her twin brother glared at her and Lucas quietly took a gulp from his own drink.
 
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Eden dropped his hand and moved it to the salt shaker, which he picked up and then began to shake all of the contents of onto a napkin. Claudia thought it was a bit weird but she didn't say anything. Anything to literally keep him out of her hair.

Soon their food arrived and Claudia dipped her sweet potato fries into the aioli and sighed in content at the heavenly taste. She was reminded of when Tate used to make these at home, and surprisingly, she wasn't upset.

She still got to talk to Tate over the phone. She missed her brother like crazy, but Claudia had accepted that he was gone.

"What do you guys like to do?" Claudia asked Anderson and Jenna in an attempt to make some conversation with Lucas's friends. "I mean, Eden likes ballet."

"Shh, it's a secret," joked Eden.

"Do you two have hobbies?"​
 
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Lucas watched as Anders swallowed his mouthful of his deliciously, fluffy and hot syruped drizzled waffle, to answer her question.

"I paint and Anders plays piano." Jenna answered for them both. She pushed her half empty cup away to the side as she watched their plates of food for a short minute.

Anders jumped in once he had the ability to speak again. "And I don't mean to brag, but we're practically professionals. Won a few prizes for our work."

Lucas smiled, if only a little, at that. It had been a while since he had been able to witness any one of their talents. But he knew they were all extraordinary, and the twins had never gotten the chance to receive much deserved praise until they were adopted. "That's cool. How many contest have you won?"

"Why don't you guys come over sometime and find out?"
 
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"Ooh, cool," Claudia said to Anderson, leaning forward slightly and smiling at him, genuinely interested now. "I play piano, too."

And she was very good at it.

"I just mastered the Swan Lake Suite from Tchaikovsky," she said proudly, happy to annpunce that she had perfected the difficult piece.

"Get a room, you two," said Eden with a roll of his eyes. Claudia scowled at him. She was very obviously with Lucas.​
 
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"Right, because I, Lucas Remington-Brooks, her boyfriend, am not sitting here." Lucas rolled his eyes as well, but at Eden. He leaned over and kissed Claudia's cheek to make his point more evident.

"You're so into one another, we get it." Anders smirked, but just barely. He pushed himself away from the table and sat leisurely back in his seat. "Seriously, you guys should come over,maybe on the weekends and then, you Claudia can play your newly learned piece for me. Oh, I mean us."

The tall brunette shrugged, not bothering to cover his Freudian slip neatly.

"Maybe..." Lucas pinched his lips. He wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea. Yet alone fond of it. And most the reason being was contributed to Anders.

Before he could he go on, Jenna slammed her hands onto the table and stood abruptly, taking him and Anders both by surprise, frightening them.

"Excuse me." Was all she said before hurriedly, and somewhat confusingly, making her way outside.

Lucas's eyes followed out the door and he found himself worried. It was obviously an episode. And their illnesses were almost the same, so he related with her too much. "I'll be back." He promised Claudia and squeezed passed Eden.
 
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Claudia jumped when Jenna hit the table and she watched the other girl go in surprise. She watched Lucas follow her out and looked between the two boys left at the table.

"What just happened?"

"Jenna had an ... episode," said Eden quietly. He took a bite out of his burger to avoid saying anything else.

Claudia glanced at the door the two teenagers had left through. So ... she was like Lucas, in a way. She had a similar illness to Lucas. It made Claudia wonder how many people had this illness.

"Is she going to be okay?" Claudia asked Anders.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Eden announced loudly, standing up and leaving Anders and Claudia alone.​
 
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