Without blood, there is no sin (Aaya Woords)

[DamiClo]

​

Santiago Romero, with a cup of coffee in one hand a newspaper in the other, took a sip of his steaming hot black beverage while leaning his back against the counter, his eyes skimming the paper behind his glasses.


"Oh, dear, oh, dear. I'm late!" A girl exclaimed as she bursted into the kitchen, clearly worried.


Genevieve Romero, his seventeen year old daughter, was about to be late to school for the zillionth time that year. With her fingers curled around her backpack's strap, the girl used her free hand to pull out her grey thermos bottle from the cabinet. Her hair was a dripping wet halo of jet black hair dangling back and forth as she ran around the kitchen, just like the camera that hung at her neck.


"Good morning, nena" Her father stated calmly. Santiago would sometimes use some words of his native language whenever he spoke to his daughter. Not to mention that his argentinian accent could still be clearly heard when you heard him talk.


"Morning" The black haired girl replied while pouring herself some of the remaining black coffee into her thermos. "I'm late" She repeated.


"I know" He stated, the corners of his mouth raising lightly into an amused smile, his daughter knew he was trying to hide.


Her father, whose curly dark brown hair, unruly as ever, was dripping wet as well, had not once reproached her from arriving late to school. He was tall and relatively slim, his curls normally fell on his eyes - dark blue as hers - and the glasses hung almost at the end of the bridge of his nose. Eve had always regarded him as a quite handsome man, though he was certainly not the hottest. Still, his face was a pretty one to look at, as his features were defined, symmetrical and well-proportioned. If only he cared about his appearance a bit more ... Well at least his fiancée - no, no, she was his wife now - liked him like that. Eve did too, but she was his daughter and that didn't count.


"Yeah, well, it isn't funny, viejo" She complained. The young girl's latin accent wasn't strong as her father's, but it was still noticeable. "Has that guy-I mean, Jackson left already?" She asked, though she knew the answer. Her father simply nodded "Great" She groaned. "I should leave too if I want to make it to first period" Quickly, Eve grabbed her car keys, pressed a kiss to her father's cheek and slipped into her white car. It was a blessing that she didn't have to use the school bus.

 

[Aaya Woods]

Jack was finding he quite liked having a girlfriend.


Driving Leila to school was a bit of a pain, she kept changing the radio station. But otherwise, she was a very good girlfriend. And a great kisser.


And great at other things.


He got out of his car, opening the door for Leila. She smiled and kissed him.


"Bye, Jack," she said. "See you later."


"See you," he said. Leila ran to join her friends and Jack headed into homeroom with Peter. Upon scanning the classroom, he realized that his new stepsister- Eve- wasn't in the room.


"Eve isn't here," Jack said, sliding into a sit. Peter sat next to him.


"So?"


"So, can't she ever be on time or organized? It is so annoying. She makes stuff with her friends sometimes, and the kitchen is always a complete freaking mess afterward," grumbled Jack.


"Jack, seriously. It's not like you have to share a room with her. Quit whining," said Peter, scrolling through his Instagram feed.


"I have to share a house with her. And her dad. I really kind of hate them," said Jack, peering over Peter's shoulder at his phone.


"Extra practice tomorrow to get ready for the game Friday," said Peter, ignoring Jack's ranting.


The late bell rang and two more people ran in, leaving the only available seat next to Jack. The homeroom teacher began taking attendance.

 

[DamiClo]

Eve practically stumbled out of her car when she finally, finally made it to her school. The bell had long rang, and she knew she was more than late. She adjusted the strap of her camera before tossing her backpack over her shoulder and running for it towards the school building. It was always like that, her morning routine. She wished she could be on time every now and then, but the young girl wasn't a morning person, she couldn't help it.


She bumped into a few people on her way to her classroom, a teacher and the janitor, to whom she was quick to apologise while she kept on running, never stopping. When she was almost there, turning on the corner, her body collided against someone else's yet again, but this time she was knocked backwards, and started falling.


"Careful!" The guy grabbed her arms and pulled her back to the front, stabilising her.


"Gosh, thanks" She mumbled, her hand, as always, wrapped around her precious Nikon.


"Late again, Eve?"


The mention of her name, and that familiar voice caused for the black haired girl to raise her head up immediately "Theo" Her heart skipped a beat, as usual, when her eyes met the sandy haired guy's.


"Hey there" He flashed her his charming lopsided smile.


"H-hey" She stuttered. Oh, no, she didn't want to act like an idiot in front of him first thing in the morning. They had known each other for quite a while for her to continue behaving like such a fool. "Wait a moment, if you're also outside your classroom, you are late too" She accused him.


"Oh no, I was asked to fetch the projector for Mr Harrison. Not late." He laughed.


"Mhm, you are lucky this time. Either way, I really am late, so I've really gotta go"


"Of course" Theo pulled his hands away from her arms, and the girl's heart danced inside her chest upon realising he hadn't let go until that moment. "See ya"


"Right" Eve smiled at him one last time before she carried on with her way, the corners of her mouth raised into an evident smile as she opened her classroom's door.


Her homeroom teacher spoke to her, most likely scolding her, and she knew she said something in return, possibly an apology, to be honest, she wasn't even paying attention, her heart felt so light. Her extremely good mood, though, was shaken when she came to notice that the only available spot was beside Jack, no less. She pulled a face, unable to hide her displeasure. One thing was to be not only under the same roof as him but also on the same class, now she had to seat by the guy. He disliked her and her dad, she knew, and his obnoxious behaviour towards them caused for her to not like him either, not one bit. She had been willing to by civil before him and his mother moved in with her dad and her after the marriage, but his attitude wasn't much help.


"Well? Take a seat Miss Romero" The teacher exclaimed, somewhat impatient.


"Right" She said lowly, and made her way over to the seat before sitting down, albeit reluctantly.

 

[Aaya Woods]

"Great," Jack said, not caring if Eve heard him. "Because she's late, I have to sit next to her."


"Man, shut up," said Peter tiredly. "No one wants to hear you bitch about your stepfamily."


Jack slumped back in his chair, frowning. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eve smile faintly at Peter's words. That put him in an even worse mood.


The bell rang, sending them to first-period bio. Today they were dissecting frogs.


And because the universe hated him, he got paired with Eve.


As soon as they sat down, he said, "Look, I'm not any happier about this than you are, so let's just pretend that it's not each other we're working with and get this assignment done. Okay?"


Without waiting for an answer, Jack turned to the frog. He figured he'd be doing most of the work. He was a straight-A student, on the debate team, and on the lacrosse team. Eve didn't seem to be much of anything besides a photographer.

 

[DamiClo]

"Whatever, pibe" Eve rolled her eyes. There it was again, that obnoxious attitude of his. What was his problem? It wasn't like she had asked for him to become his step-brother either. She didn't even want a brother to begin with. "Just don't try to do everything on your own as you always do, would you?"


They had been forced to work together in the past, a few times, but they sure had. He could be the perfect student, but she was not stupid, and hated it when he seemed to think of her as such.


Working with Jack, as always, was a nightmare. They simply couldn't get along, and it was evident even though they seemed to try to ignore one another. Perhaps, that was the problem, they tried to work on their own even though the entire thing was supposed to be done in pairs.


"Is everything alright here?" Their biology teacher even approached them to ask.


"Perfect" Eve declared, a forced smile drawn on her features. Was it her imagination, or time was passing excruciatingly slow?

 

[Aaya Woods]

Concentrating, Jack drew the scalpel down the frog's belly. He began to follow the directions written on the board, not even breaking focus when he heard the teacher say something to them.


A few minutes into the class, Eve bumped the table. The movement jerked his hand and the scalpel went straight through the frog's liver.


"Hey!" he snapped. "If you're not going to contribute, at least try not to mess things up." He rolled his eyes and tried to salvage the assignment. She seemed to like disorganization and clumsiness. Jack wouldn't have put it past her to have ruined it on purpose.

 

[DamiClo]

"Hey! I didn't do it on purpose" Eve snapped back. "Ugh, that's it! I can't, I just, I can't stand you!" She yelled at him, pushing back the chair accidentally as she got on her feet. Yes, she was clumsy, but she didn't mean to make a mess out of things because of that. He was just judging her, always had and always would.


"Guys, what's going on here?" The teacher demanded, clearly upset by the black haired girl's heated reaction.


"Please, can I team up with anyone else other than ... him" She said that last word as if she was saying a horrible insult.


"Now, I don't think-"


"Please" She insisted.


" ... Fine, fine. Go team up with Jaimie. Fred, come and seat by Jackson" Mrs Sheppard exclaimed in a sigh.


"Thank you" Eve breathed in, and walked over to the table where Jaimie was after throwing a glare in Jack's direction.


"What's up with you siblings?" The teacher commented.


"He's not my brother" Eve said lowly through gritted teeth.

 

[Aaya Woods]

Jack sighed at Eve's temper tantrum.


"Good riddance," he mumbled. She acted like such a kid all the time. Fred sat down next to Jack.


"What was that all about?" he asked, a bit surprised.


"She kind of ruined the frog," said Jack.


"So she demanded to be moved? No, I meant, why do you hate each other?"


"Have you met her?" Jack asked derisively. "She's incredibly disorganized, clumsy, and she's always late. And she doesn't exactly value her grades above all else."


"She doesn't measure up to Mr. Perfect's standards?" Jack scowled at Fred and went back to the frog.


"She also is very hot."


Jack made a face. "Are you serious? She's my stepsister. Which is unfortunate, but whatever."

 

[DamiClo]

"Still not getting along, huh?" Jaimie asked her as he slid over to her the paper Fred had been working on before while he focused on the frog.


"Not a chance" Eve sighed, grabbing a pen to carry on with the assignment.


"Why do you even hate each other?"


"He's insufferable. Mr. Perfect there doesn't like my father, nor me, and doesn't even bother to hide it. I mean, if he hates us so much, he should as well move out of the house" She frowned.


"He's not actually a bad person, you know?"


"Well he obviously saves his 'kindness' to everyone but us. Which side are you on, Jaimie?"


"Easy" The blonde laughed "You know what? Just don't let him get to you, and cheer up. You'll get premature wrinkles with all that frowning, Eve."


"Easy for you to say" She mumbled, but still smiled at her friend's remark.


Fortunately, things were much easier afterwards. Jaimie and her turned in their assignment on time, and the girl exited the laboratory without even sparing her step-brother a glance. Today was her turn to cook dinner, and perhaps that jerk would be finding a little surprise on his plate. Now, if there was one thing Eve was good at other than photography, it was cooking. Most likely because she had taken care of cooking hers and her father's meals when her mother left. But she could make a 'mistake', it happened to everyone, right?

 

[Aaya Woods]

Jack finished his morning classes in relative Eve-lessness. During lunch, he took Leila to a cafe near the school. She talked a lot, although Jack didn't listen to most of it. Leila was nice enough, but she never seemed to have anything interesting to say.


That afternoon, after debate, he drove home. Jack spent most of the afternoon in his room, finishing his homework. At around six, he opened the door. A delicious smell hit his nose.


"Did you make something?" Jack asked his mother, who was walking into the dining room.


"No, dear. Eve made lasagna," said his mom, smiling. "Doesn't it smell wonderful?"


"Yeah, I guess," Jack said dismissively, sitting down at the table.


Eve came out of the kitchen, holding a large pan of lasagna. There was a faint, proud smile on her face. She set it down and Jack's mother cut it up and served it.


Jack put a bite in his mouth and he immediately spit it out.


"Eeugh!" he exclaimed, taking a gulp of water to wash the taste from his mouth.


"Jack!" his mother said, surprised. "What is it?"


"It's so salty," he said, disgusted.

 

[DamiClo]

"Is it?" Eve asked. She grabbed her fork and raised a bit of her lasagna to her mouth. She chewed and swallowed before speaking "Oh, what an idiot. Whenever I cook I still have my dad's and my tastes in mind, sorry." She declared, feigning innocence.


"Genevieve, it is somewhat salty, even for us" Her father stated, gentle as always, though, not at all accusing.


"I guess you're right, viejo, my bad. I'm really sorry, Jada" And her apology to her father's wife, was genuine. "Sorry, Jack" She couldn't stop one of the corners of her mouth to raise into a smile. Served him right.

 

[Aaya Woods]

Jack glared. He would've bet every one of his lacrosse trophies that she had done it on purpose. He could practically see the evilness bubbling in her mind.


She was going to pay for that.


Jack went to his room after dinner, which ended up being pizza. He tapped the glass tank his lizard lived in. The reptile raised its head, looked around, and lay back down, unimpressed.


He smiled and took the box of crickets, its food. After making sure Eve was in the bathroom, he crept into her room and shook the crickets into her sheets.


On his way back to his room, he bumped into his mom.


"Oh, Jack, I wanted to talk to you about something," she said.


"Yeah?"


"I want you to try to get along with Eve, okay? I love her father very much, and Eve's a very sweet girl."


Jack was silent for a moment. Then he said, "They can both go to hell."

 

[DamiClo]

Eve stepped into her room with a yawn. Perhaps, if she didn't go to bed late that night she could wake up in time the next day. She stroked her chin lightly before nodding, she would try, she wanted to prove she could be responsible if she wanted to. To whom? A name came to mind but she shook her head, no, to prove herself she could.


The black haired girl went over to her desk and turned off her computer, closing it when the screen turned black. Then, she picked up her camera carefully and leaned back against the chair, going over the photos she had took that afternoon. She deleted the ones she didn't particularly like and left the others to edit them the next day, before leaving her Nikon on her nightstand.


Her room walls were full with photos from photographers she really admired and looked up to. Kalle Gustafsson, Florian Ritter, Pierre Choinière, and her absolute favourite Francois-Xavier Marciat. And, among all of those, though somewhat smaller, her own photos in a greyscale. Someday, she'd succeed like all of them.


With a smile drawn on her face, Eve pulled on her sheets to slip into her bed, only to jump back in surprise when a small green blur hopped off her bed and into the floor, followed by some others.


"What the-?" She began, before she warily got down on her knees to examine the small jumpy things.


Crickets.


Lots of them on her sheets, hopping this way or the other.


"You've got to be kidding me. Insects? Really? Mucho imbecil" She growled under her breath.


Determined, and not scared at all by a handful of harmless little green insects, Eve got back on her feet and quickly picked up the sheets, folding them so as to trap the remaining crickets on an improvised cage. With a frown, she opened her door and headed over to her step-brother's room. She flung his door open.


"Crickets? Are you an idiot?" She exclaimed, before she dropped her sheets into his room, the insects released and jumping in all directions, scattering all around Jack's room "Seriously, what are you, Jack? Five?"

 

[Aaya Woods]

Jack was lounging on his bed, texting with Leila. For October, it was abnormally warm, so he was shirtless.


Then Eve stormed into his room, shouting and throwing crickets all over the place. Knowing it would irritate her, Jack smiled the most charming, white-toothed grin he could muster.


"I''m so sorry, Eve! I accidentally dropped the canister of crickets, and they must have gotten out! Thanks so much for bringing them back," he said, standing up. He bent and gathered up her sheets, shaking out any extra crickets. "Here you go," he said.

 

[DamiClo]

He was so blatantly lying to her, in her own face. Well, she had done the same, but still, his lie was even less credible than hers. She just wanted for her dad to be happy, but why, why did she had to put up with Jack for the sake of it. They had been living under the same roof for a month and she was afraid that one day she couldn't just stand him anymore.


However, never mind her frustration, Eve didn't snap. It was too late, and her stupid step-brother would love to see her affected. She waved her hand dismissively, not taking the sheets.


The black haired girl sighed, before pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and middle finger. He was a five year old, mentally, to say the least "Brat" She finally stated, disdainfully.

 

[Aaya Woods]

Jack almost burst into laughter at the sight of her struggling to contain her anger.


"Eve," he said, faking hurt feelings. "I'm really sorry about everything I've done, and I do want to try to be friends with you. Why would you say that to me?"


Shaking his head disapprovingly, Jack started gathering the crickets she had been so polite to drop. "Honestly," he said. "You'd think you're doing it on purpose." He stood, stretching, knowing that he was toned from playing so much lacrosse. He knew she'd be almost going out of her mind annoyed by now.

 

[DamiClo]

Eve bit down on her bottom lip before a sigh escaped her. She couldn't. Arguing with him was useless. Even more when he wanted to play innocent.


"Sure, whatever you say Jack" She finally stated.


Not willing to spoil her mood even further, she took a step back and headed back to her room. The young girl opened her closet, took out a blanket for herself - being it that she had left her sheets back on her annoying stepbrother's room - and clambered into her bed. She curled up on herself, and sooner than later she had already drifted off.


Next day, Eve woke up to Maroon 5's Sweetest Goodbye song. She stirred on her bed and lazily felt her way to her hand cellphone to stop her alarm.


It's too early She complained mentally. She wasn't ready to wake up just yet. You said you didn't want to be late today A little voice reminded her on the back of her head. I know, but it's still too early. She thought. But you may fall asleep on the shower, Genevieve. The little voice scolded her.


"Fine" She groaned and slipped out of bed.


The house was quiet and somewhat dark still when she stepped out of her bedroom. She knew it! It was way too early. Not even her stepmother or Jackson were awake, much less her dad. They'd be in a couple of minutes, though. Eve brushed a wet strand of dark hair from her face and silently went down the stairs. She did her morning routine, filling her thermos bottle with coffee, and eating a loaf of bread as she rushed to the front door. When she realised that there was no need to hurry, though, she slowed down. Slow down! Now, that was odd.


The dark haired girl walked past her car and decided to take a walk to school. It wasn't that far from her house to begin with. To start her day like that, it wasn't all that bad. Even if she didn't take her car, she'd still be early. Earlier than Jack, wow, that was even stranger.

 

[Aaya Woods]

Jack woke to the slamming of the front door.


It was still almost six, and he wasn't sure who'd be leaving the house. He shrugged and got out of bed.


He pulled on shorts and a T-shirt before walking outside for a run. Jack glimpsed Eve's dark hair swinging behind her as she walked to school and grinned in amusement.So that's who it was, he thought. She must be proud of herself for dragging her ass out of bed before eight.


Shaking his head and chuckling he started jogging toward the park.


Jack arrived back at the house at seven fifteen. He showered and changed into school clothes before eating breakfast. He grabbed lunch money and was out of the house before his stepfather had even woken up.


Jack's phone buzzed with a text from Peter.


pick me up? hungover


Jack rolled his eyes but drove to Peter's.


"Hey, Pete," Jack said.


"Never drinking again," groaned Peter. "Never."


"Meaning, next Friday, right?" asked Jack.


"Shut up," Peter muttered. Jack laughed and drove to school.

 

[DamiClo]

Eve stopped in front of the old tree that stood by the school's parking lot with her camera raised. A few leaves still clung to its branches, silhouetted against a clad autumn sky. A grin had spread across her face, while she pressed the shutter.


"Genevieve Romero early to school? If I don't see it, I can't believe it" A voice practically whispered into her ear.


"God!" She exclaimed, jumping back as she turned on her heels "You almost gave me a heart attack" Eve raised her hand to her chest in a poor attempt to calm her pounding heart "I swear to God that you'll be the death of me, Theo Adams"


"Sorry" He chuckled "I couldn't help it"


"It's a bad habit, isn't it?" She asked, though she couldn't stop a smile from teasing its way to her lips.


"It is, indeed. Seriously, though, why are you early today?"


"No reason" She shrugged "Maybe I got tired of being late everyday" She sighed.


"Well, that's pretty good, I'd say. Actually, it's perfect"


"Why so?"


"There's something I'd been wanting to talk to you about" He declared, and the look on his eyes made Eve blush for no apparent reason.

___________

​

"Yes, of course it's a yes" The black haired girl exclaimed, before she wrapped her arms around the sandy haired boy's neck. "Oh, God. Sorry, I-I just..." She began to pull away, embarrassed.


"Don't" Theo declared simply as his arms closed around her back, pulling her closer.


It was then - while she hugged her new boyfriend - when the girl began to laugh like an idiot, her eyes sparkling with mirth. She was so happy, nestled safe in Theo's encircling arms, that she didn't even care when she saw Jack's car driving into the parking lot, much less when her stare met her stepbrother's for a split of seconds. He wouldn't spoil her mood.

 

[Aaya Woods]

"Who's that?" asked Jack, pulling into the school's parking lot.


"Theo, or Thad. I don't know, something dorky like that. Kid's a weirdo," answered Peter.


"What's he doing with Eve?" asked Jack.


"Who cares? Let's go in, the sun's hurting my eyes," groaned Peter.


They went inside. Leila was waiting at his locker.


"Hey, Jackie," she smiled, reaching up to kiss him. Peter snorted. To his horror, he saw Eve pass with a smirk on her face.


He hid his embarrassment and said, "Hey, Leila. There's a game Friday, you coming?"


"Course," she said, beaming. "That means you have practice today, right?"


"Yeah, but I'll pick you up at six-thirty. Okay?"


"Sure. Bye, Jackie." She kissed him again. "See ya, Peter," she said, walking off.


As soon as she was gone, Peter burst into laughter. "Jackie?"


Jack scowled. "Shut up." They started walking to class.


"Okay, Jackie."


During his free period, Jack went to the library to finish his homework. Between lacrosse and Leila, he wouldn't be able to finish it tonight.

 

[DamiClo]

"So, which book is it?" Theo asked, running his eyes through the bookshelves.


"Mansfield Park" Eve muttered, maybe too lowly, but she still remembered that time she had been kicked out of the library for being too loud. It hadn't even been her, but Jamie, still given that she was there with him the two of them had been asked to leave.


"Austen? You like her?"


"Not really, It's for my english class. I've got to read the first three chapters." She explained.


"Hmm ... There it is" He exclaimed, while he pulled out a thin book and handed it to her "Enjoy"


"Thanks" She muttered.


"I can still stay with you" Theo suggested, his face split in a wide smile as he slipped his arms around her waist. God, he'd been wanted to hug her casually for quite a while now.


"No, no. You've got a meeting, right?" She could easily feel his muscles against her body. She really liked being in his arms.


"The team will understand" He declared.


"I bet, but you're the captain. Let's not give the basketball team a reason to dislike our relationship, okay? Besides, the library is kinda full today, I doubt I'll even find a seat for myself" Eve argued.


"Fine" He sighed "You didn't bring your car today, right? Let me give you a ride home"


"Okay" She beamed before she got on her tiptoes and pressed a brief kiss to his cheek.


"Okay" He repeated with a smile as he turned around and walked away.


Eve watched him go in silence before she turned on her heels, the book pressed against her chest while her face broke into a grin. A happy expression that died out as soon as she saw Jack occupying the table before her. She skimmed her eyes through the place, unfortunately, his table was the only one with a seat available. No, no. Positive attitude.


The black haired girl drew the seat back quietly and sat down just as silently. When the memory popped into her head, she couldn't just stop herself "Doing your homework, Jackie?" She whispered, chuckling lowly as she opened her book. She didn't expect him to answer back.

 

[Aaya Woods]

"Yep," said Jack, not looking up. He had the upper hand and he would keep the upper hand. "So are you. Then again, you probably won't be able to do homework later, since you'll be too busy doing Thad." Jack looked up at her, a mischievous grin lighting his face. "Isn't that right?"


He went back to math, congratulating himself on his remarkable ability to annoy Eve.