Chapter Text
He almost felt claustrophobic, in a way, driving down the long roads between mountains, watching the trees zoom past as if they were also revolted by him. We're also trying to get away from him. Just like his adopted father. However, how could he think about that now? Now when he was in a whole other continent from his home in China.
It wasn't that Till hated being out of Shanghai- God knew he needed a break from paparazzi and back to back jobs in movies- but knowing that he was being sent to some small city in Oregon, so far away from home, made him feel uneasy. Especially since he knew his adoptive father, Urak, had chosen this place specifically so Till wouldn't be swarmed by paparazzi.
But now he wondered what would life be like in a place where nobody knew his name and his voice. What would school be like in a small city? What would the kids there think of him? Could he possibly make friends that wouldn't try to suck up to him the moment they found out he could practically *buy* the town?
He sighed quietly as he leaned his head against the window of the SUV he was currently trapped in, his own voice taunting from the radio like a depressing ghost. Like some distant part of himself he left back in Cali, being prodded and poked like he was on Toddlers and Tiaras.
"Can you turn off the radio?" Till finally muttered to the driver, absolutely sick of only hearing his albums when he was in a car with anyone. It was like hearing himself talk, or moreover sing, about dumb shit he didn't really know about. Shit like falling in love or ladies flocking him or even having some humble, quaint beginning like he wasn't fucking 8 when he won an Oscar.
The driver, a older military veteran named Grant who Till's adoptive father had hired, quietly flicked off the radio with a soft *click*, looking into the rearview mirror with a slow blink. "Till, you know what your father has said about leaning against the window" Grant gruffly reminded the boy, returning his gaze to the road ahead. "If I find smudges or eyeliner, you'll clean the car in the rain, got it?"
Till quietly huffed in annoyance at the threat, knowing full well Grant would a hundred percent make him mop snow in winter or clip the grass with scissors. That was just military parenting for you.
Grant was Till's assigned guardian now that he was moving to Florence for a few months, now tasked with keeping Till safe, protected, and basically miserable until Urak finally needed Till back for another monkey show. But although Grant was sometimes a pain in the ass, Till strangely had respect for him, more than he had for his father- although the amount for Urak was in the negatives.
However, as the car rounded the mountain, the view of town now began to show behind trees and fields, Till's eyes darting to the city of Florence with an almost surprised glint in his eyes. He expected more hill billy town, something Urak knew Till would be miserable in, however this place seemed... Decent. At least to Till's standards.
"... Florence, right?" Till hummed quietly, leaning forward in his seat to get a better glimpse of the town through the front windshield.
"Yep, Oregon" Grant responded back without looking back at the young boy in the backseat, continuing his smooth drive through the mountains and fields. "Good Ol' Oregon, State of beavers and beer"
"Beavers? Bullshit" Till scoffed, almost snickering at the idea of an American state being boiled down to a bucktoothed animal.
"Language." Grant warned, his warm, ember eyes narrowing as he slowly stopped an intersection where the light above was a prominent red. "You're too young to be cussing like a grown man, Till"
At that, Till simply sighed in exasperated exhaustion before collapsing back in his seat, arms crossed across his chest as he simply glared out the window once again. "Sir yes, sir" He grumbled under his breath, not dating to be louder in case Grant really did make him wash the car in the rain.
"Oh my God, can't you just leave me alone?" Sua groaned in pure annoyance as she shoved at her brother's face off of her shoulder, setting her book beside her on the swinging porch bench before sliding off her headphones.
Ivan, having just finished his chores, snickered at Sua's annoyance with a grin, moving beside her to lean his hip on the swing. "Well sorry for wanting to spend a little quality time with my little sister." He teased.
Sua groaned as her thumb and index finger pinched her nose with an expression only described with pure disgust, scooting towards the middle of the bench to get away from the scent.
"Ugh! You stink, Ivan!" She hissed, shoving him away with her usual broody glare she gave everyone except her girlfriend, who most likely was currently cheerleading at some football game or at her job at a karaoke bar. "Go shower, you absolute pig!"
At her words, Ivan scoffed in mock offense as he gripped his white, sweat soaked T-shirt right above his right, fanning himself with his other hand as he dramatically wailed. "Oh you wound me so, dear sister!"
"I-I... I think I'm going to cry" Ivan sniffled through fake wails before immediately smirking down at Sua, shoving the bench forward to get the swinging motion started, knocking Sua's book off.
Sua groaned out in annoyance as she used her foot to stop the swing, reaching down to pick up the book before checking it for any damages. "Ivan, if the school charges me for any damages on this, I'm going to sell you to a freak show to pay it off" She hissed threateningly, Ivan knowing fully well it was an empty promise.
"Speaking of freak show," Ivan grinned as he moved to sit beside the black haired girl who was still dusting off her book. "Did you hear some new kid is moving into one of those pricy houses up by Tournament?"
"Yep," Sua sighed as she flipped through a few pages, trying to find her spot before laying back against the bench with a relaxed slouch. "And why should I care? It's probably some prick who came here for the aesthetics"
Ivan simply rolled his eyes at her feigned nonchalance that she always seemingly attempted to wear, knowing full well she was just as curious as he and the rest of the whole of Florence was. However, pushing would simply lead to more and more bantering.
"Well, I hope she's hot-"
"It's a boy" Sua butt in, sounding eager to correct him for someone who supposedly didn't care.
"Boy, hm?" Ivan asked, nodding as he thought about how this boy would be. A city boy would probably be wimpy or stuck up, or maybe he was some blue collared guy jumping from a farm to upscale? Ivan would find out tomorrow anyways, so there wasn't a point to him really wondering for much longer.
He was soon snapped out of his thoughts by his father, Unsha- or by his American name, Daniel-, who had stepped out the front door to grab the two. "Hey, dinnertime" He spoke in broken English.
Ivan and Sua both pushed themselves off the bench before Ivan began to stretch his arms up, Sua immediately dashing to the door as she pinched her nose once again. "Ugh! And go shower! You stink like cow poop and B.O."