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He met Lian in the hallway and walked steadily beside her, trying not to bump into her with his shoulder. "What's the ball for this time, do you know?" a sigh left his lips. "Perhaps its just another excuse for dad to meet young single women again…"
Lian didn't answer. She hated when Aidan talked about this, even though she knew exactly what was happening. Not having to think about it made her feel more comfortable and safe than having it in her mind.
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"Well I intend to make the most of tonight, perhaps worm my way into a deal of some kind." A devilish grin appeared on Aidan's face. "Perhaps they will be choosing a suitor for you, little princess." Though it was doubtful. If Lian was to marry into another family, their parents wouldn't be able to keep control of her. It would be interesting nonetheless, because he knew how much Lian hated acting all prim and proper. With so many people looking at their faces, it would be hard to keep up the act. Aidan offered Lian his arm as they reached the top of the stairs.
Lian stiffened when Aidan mentioned a suitor. There was no doubt that their parents would try to find her another suitor. Sooner or later they wouldn't take no for an answer and would make her marry the first one. Her father was the one that cared, her mother not so much. As long as she married rich, Mrs White didn't care. Lian carefully took Aidan's arm, breathing slowly to steady herself.
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"I'm always around if you need to escape." Aidan whispered into Lian's ear as they gracefully made their way down the stairs. That could have been taken in two ways, however he wasn't inclined to drag his little sister down the hole of his version of escaping. Aidan's eyes wandered over the crowd of people in the foyer, all waiting to enter the main hall, and recognised a few faces among them - none of whom he would have expected to have been there. They stood against the wall with smirks on their lips, and waved slightly at Aidan as he came down the stairs. Aidan averted his eyes from them, turning to smile at Lian. "Would you like me to stay with you?"
Lian shook her head quickly. "No, I should go find Father. He wanted to see me before it started, so I shouldn't keep him waiting." With that, Lian broke away from her brother. As she weaved her way through the crowds, avoiding as many people as possible, Aidan could still see her. Despite blending in with the rest of the people at the party, there was something distinct and recognisable about her.
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Aidan watched her weave through the crowd, her hair shimmering under the glow of the chandelier. He caught a woman glaring at him - his mother. He knew how much she hated him going near Lian, but he never was one to follow the rules. He waved slightly at her with a genuine smile, causing her to huff indignantly and turn her back to him. Aidan directed his attention to the men at the door, the ones who had waved at him earlier. He gave them a knowing look and they nodded, following him into the drawing room. He knew what they were there for. He closed the door behind them and smiled grimly. "Lets talk business, shall we?"
Lian opened the door to a small empty room and closed it behind her. She knew that she had to find her father, but right now she wasn't in the mood. She hated crowds so much: there was always eyes watching her. She hated the feeling: everyone was judging her every move. She felt like they were even if they weren't. It was a horrid feeling.
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Not many words needed to be said between the small group in the drawing room. In fact, only five words were said at all. One of the men handed Aidan a large silver briefcase, another handed him a thick black case, while Aidan handed the other man a slightly smaller silver briefcase. He flipped open the locks to check the contents of the case, all the money they needed was in there. Aidan himself had every confidence that everything he asked for was in the cases he had been given. He opened the door with his best, brightest business smile. "Pleasure doing business with you."
The men walked out with satisfied expressions and Aidan made his way back up to his room, just so he could safely secure the cases in a safe in his wardrobe. After doing so, he joined the slowly growing gathering in the foyer. He just wanted it to start already.
"Lilian!" Lian heard her dad calling from outside of the door. "Lilian! Come on, no time for hiding!" Lian carefully made her way out of the room.
"Here I am, father," She said softly.
"Oh, splendid. Are you ready to perform to the crowd?"
"Must I?"
"Yes, you must. You know this. It is tradition."
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Mrs White opened the doors to the main hall, greeting everyone as they flocked into the large, beautifully decorated hall. The chandeliers twinkled like thousands of stars, casting spots of light all over the floor. Aidan made his way into the room, beaming at his mother as he waltzed through the doors. He knew how much she hated his attendance at these kinds of events, and so he had never actually been to one himself before. He'd heard many stories about the events his parents put on, and he often tried to sneak into them, but needless to say he was always caught. In any case, as long as Aidan didn't do anything to embarrass the family in front of such a large crowd, he was allowed to attend. That's all Mrs White cared about - perfection. Aidan glanced around the hall, and though there were hundreds of people surrounding him, he could clearly see that Lian wasn't in the room.
Lian waited backstage. Her parents always made her perform a couple songs at the parties. They were normally simply ones, but she had a different idea this time. She was friends with the band: they came every time and she would often sit in on their rehearsals. She waited offstage as her father made his big speech that rarely ever changed from year to year.
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Aidan hadn't seen his father for a couple of days so it was a little strange seeing him upon the stage. He gave some random speech about thanking everyone for taking time out of their schedule to attend their event, and a load of other stuff that Aidan wasn't really listening to. All he could think about was the fact that he couldn't see Lian anywhere. His fingers twitched nervously at his sides and his eyes moved around the room a little quicker than usual. He was beginning to freak out, and if Lian didn't appear soon he would take matters into his own hands.
"And I'd now like to invite my daughter Lilian onto the stage to perform a few songs. As you all know, this is a tradition at this annual ball." Their father walked off stage, and Lian took his place. She tried to act confident, but it was clear to those who knew her that she was screaming inside. She waited for the music to start, and then she sang.
"Hey girl, open the walls
Play with your dolls
We'll be a perfect family
When you walk away is when we really play
You don't hear me when I say
"Mom, please wake up
Dad's with a slut
And your son is smoking cannabis"
No one ever listens
This wallpaper glistens
Don't let them see what goes down in the kitchen"
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Aidan froze in his place, his eyes wide in horror. That was Lian, but that wasn't any old song. He didn't know whether to smile or silently leave the room, but he was interested to see where she would take the 'song'. However, he was concerned about what the others in the room would think, for he had noticed a couple of them whispering among each other. And how did she know it was cannabis?
"Places, places
Get in your places
Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through the curtains
Picture, picture, smile for the picture
Pose with your brother, won't you be a good sister?
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through the curtains
D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E
I see things that nobody else sees
D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E
I see things that nobody else sees"
Lian knew what this song was meaning, and she was glad. Matias, her best friend and member of the band, had convinced her to write it. And she was glad for it.
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With every new lyric, Aidan felt his heart slowly stopping. His mind became swarmed with thoughts on what Mr and Mrs White would do to Lian, because no doubt that wasn't the song they had expected her to sing. The lyrics were surprisingly accurate, and that scared him. He slowly turned his head in the direction of Mrs White and sure enough the horror was clear as day on her face. Lain was in big trouble now…
"Hey girl, look at my mom
She's got it going on
Ha, you're blinded by her jewelry
When you turn your back
She pulls out a flask
And forgets his infidelity
Uh oh she's coming to the attic, plastic
Go back to being plastic
No one ever listens
This wallpaper glistens
One day they'll see what goes down in the kitchen"
Every single word struck a chord in her parents hearts, but they loosened one in Lian's. She didn't care what her parents did to her, everyone had to know the truth.
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Aidan slowly wove his way through the crowd of silent guests, all of them none the wiser as to what Lian was singing about. They had no idea why she was singing that song, or what the meaning was, but her family did. He slipped out of the door, and ran down to the basement to find the fuse box. He needed to cut off the electricity. A little bit of a fuss would move things along. He fumbled around until he found the fuse box, all he needed to do was pull the handle down and the electricity would be cut off. His heart raced and his palms became sweaty, no one needed to know the truth about their family, and all it took was for one bright mind to put two and two together. He pulled down the handle and everything fell into darkness.
As the hall plunged into darkness, Lian started to get scared. She needed to move, but she was rigid. She needed to move in case her parents came hunting in the dark. She tried to slow her breathing, but it was raggedy and her palms were slippery. As someone grabbed her wrist, she stifled a scream. "It's me, Matias," a calming and familiar voice whispered. She grabbed his hand tightly.
"Get me out of here."
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Aidan made it back to the hall just in time to watch Lian be taken off stage. At least she was safe. Mr and Mrs White told the guests not to panic, for it was all part of the show. The ball was to be held by candlelight. As if to prove their point, Mrs White snapped her fingers and the maid and butlers lit every candle in the room. The guests 'oo'd and 'ah'd, for the room had become more beautiful than when the chandeliers had been lit. While Mr and Mrs White took matters into their own hands, Aidan slipped out of the hall to find Lian.
Backstage, Lian was freaking out. Her breath was raggedy and rushed, and her hands were shaking. "Hey, hey," Matias said softly. "It's OK. You're safe. Nothing's gonna happen to you." Lian looked up at him and then wrapped her arms around his waist, tears streaming down her face.
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"Lian?" Aidan called out to the mansion. Why couldn't he find her? He had searched everywhere, well… Almost everywhere. He ran to the backstage entrance, bursting through. His breathing was unstable, his hands twitched at his sides. He found Lian, crying her eyes out, holding onto Matias for dear life. Why wouldn't she hold him like that?
"Lian…" he croaked, slowly stepping towards her.
Lian didn't hear Aidan, but Matias did. He glanced up to see who the voice belonged to, and he glared when he saw it was the eldest White child. Matias secretly despised Aidan, a fact he had never told Lian. She didn't need to know: she already had enough on her plate.
(blep?)
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(Sorry, I was at work!)
(that's OK… Reply?)
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Aidan inched closer to his sister, kneeling down beside her, placing his hand gently on her shoulder. "Lian, it's me. Aidan. Lets get you to a place with light."
Lian jumped, and she instinctively moved to being behind Matias, using him as a shield. She didn't know why, but she didn't want to see any of her family right now. Especially Aidan.
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"I see how it is." Aidan stood up, glaring at Matias. The fire in his eyes gave away every emotion he was feeling, but he knew he needed to stay calm. He couldn't hurt anyone, not while his sister was there. His fingers began twitching again and his entire body became suddenly uncomfortable in the suit he was wearing. He couldn't stay there, he needed air. He quickly turned away from them, striding towards the door, and before leaving he planted a large hole in the door. "If you touch my sister in any way I deem unacceptable, I will kill you."
He left and swiftly walked upstairs to his room. He needed to hurt things, he wanted to tear things apart, he wanted to hurt Matias because Lian trusted him more than Aidan.
