Harmony Nox's Story

Chloe squinted as the light of morning shone through her windows. She sighed and looked at her clock, she groaned and slid out of bed. She walked toward the bathroom, then remembering there was a attractive male in the house went back and checked herself in the mirror. Unfortunately she was a mess, she forgot to straighten her hair so fierce curls clustered all over her head. She sighed in defeat, knowing she couldn't do much with them unless they were wet. She quickly yet quietly, for fear of waking Harmony up early, went to the bathroom. Once showered she tamed it to a manageable curly texture, thanks to a ridiculous amount of conditioner. And she styled it into a curly style with a braid wrapping under it. she wrapped herself in a fluffy towel and walked to her bedroom. She strolled to her closet and drummer her fingers along her lower lip as she skimmed through it. She wanted to look warm and welcoming but not like a house wife, more independent and sexy, but not too sexy. She finally decided on a off the shoulder peach dress, and a pair of wedges, and she wore her favorite rose chain on her left ear and rose earring on her right. Once she was totally dressed she walked in Harmony's room.

---

Harmony pushed her long blonde bangs off her face, she blinked her big brown eyes and squinted to adjust to the bright light. Her mom strolled in as she got dressed and leaned to kiss her forehead, "Morning mama," She said with a yawn.
"Morning harmony, time to get ready," Her mom said ushering harmony to the bathtub, Harmony frowned as she took her bath. She hated mornings, they were stupid, and busy, and annoying.

Once out the tub her mom styled her hair in a pretty bun with a braid in the front and a yellow bow in the back tying it all together. Her mom emerged from harmony's closet with an outfit, which harmony frowned and shook her head to.
"Harmony, sweetie," Her mom said with a sigh, since she and harmony both knew they would fight over her outfit, "Please wear this,"
Harmony shook her head and walked over to the closet, she pulled out a pretty pink dress. "I like this one," She said with a pout.
"That's a formal dress, no harmony," Her mom urged with a meaner tone than usual. So Harmony complied since her mom hardly ever refused to compromise. She dressed into the yellow polka dot shorts and white top outfit like her mom instructed with tan strapped sandals. She sighed with defeat as her mom walked into her room. She sat quietly, occasionally flinching as her mom styles her hair with a braid. Once she was finished she sighed and walked out of her room.

---

Chloe walked out of Harmony's room and into the hallway, she walked into Dehlillah's room and opened her curtains "C'mon Lilah gotta get up," She said as she walked out the door. She then walked into Asher's room and opened up his curtains.
"Morning Asher," She said in a sing song voice, "you gotta get up, also can you make sure Jared in awake?" She said, but noticing he wasn't up yet she sighed and walked down to the kitchen.

She prepared some eggs, blueberry pancakes, and bacon and hoped the smell would wake them up. Just as she finished Harmony ran down the stairs into the kitchen and bellowed "Yeah, food!" in her version of a manly voice. Chloe sighed and made harmony a plate. She walked over by the steps and yelled upstairs "Breakfast is ready, better get down here soon or Harmony is gonna eat it all,"

She heard the door bell ring and quickly answered it. It was the caterers. She had hired them for the brunch since she preferred not to cook in mass amounts. "Um you guys can set up in the dining room, she said to the head organizer. She had hired her multiple times for different functions. That was one thing about Chloe, she hated big unorganized parties with alcohol and beer but she loved a good function or organized party with impeccable planning.

Jared woke up screaming... again.
It seemed like this had become a routine like thing for him. Fall asleep, wake up screaming his head off, being terrified of something that had appeared in his dreams.
He didnt even remember what the dream -or rather, nightmare- was of, he didnt know what caused him to wake up every morning and feel like he had been seconds away from death...
Wait, no, that was wrong.
Jared did know what frightened him so much, he just preferred not to think about it.

Staring up at the perfectly white ceiling, Jared took a few moments to allow his brain to realize that he was absolutely fine... probably just a tad bit paranoid, but fine.
He was safe, completely safe with a bunch of other people who were... Jared didnt know specifically where, but were thankfully not in the very room he was in at the moment, but they were in the area.
They were nice, most of them, anyway.
Jared knew right away that some of them wouldnt be very friendly, and indeed some of them were definitely not Mr/Ms. Nice, but that was to be expected, of course, how could they be?
Most of them probably had a more fucked up past than him.

Jared, also thankfully, wasnt at home... or was he? This place practically was home now, he would be there for awhile, so yes, he was at home, a second one. He was glad he was at the better of the two.

Sitting up, Jared took a quick look around his room. He couldnt help but feel a bit disappointed to find that it was still a bit messy with clothes scattered across the floor, but then again, Jared hadnt bothered to clean the room at all, and he didnt expect some sort of magical cleaning fairy would come in and do it for him.
Sighing, Jared pulled himself out of bed and quickly put on a clean pair of clothes... he hoped they were clean, anyway, with almost every piece of clothing he owned laying on the floor, Jared had no way of knowing what had been recently washed or not.

Next, Jared took the time to do his best to try and brush his hair in a way that it didnt look so... well, like he didnt look like he just rolled out of bed. However, he failed at this, and four minutes later Jared's hair looked more tangled than it did before.
"Terrific." He muttered, staring at his reflection in the mirror.
Jared tried to avoid the next part of his morning routine nearly every day, but for some reason he always found himself staring sadly at the ugly scar that marked his face, the one thing about him that people actually noticed.
He hated it, he hated how he had gotten it, he hated how people looked at it, Jared didnt want the hideous marking. He didnt want the reminder of... Jared shook his head, immediately blocking the thought.

For a second he considered going back to bed, and then Chloe's voice sounded from downstairs, and Jared decided that he want some breakfast, though he imagined Harmony might of eaten most of it already.
He walked downstairs and passed through the dining room. Jared was surprised to see people setting the table and decorating everything in such a way that it looked like they were expecting The Queen or something to come over for an afternoon tea, he had to admit that it looked nice, though.
Jared entered the kitchen and served himself a plate of two blueberry pancakes and a few pieces of bacon. Before he actually ate anything, let alone sit down at the table, Jared said a quick good morning to Harmony and Chloe.
Asher's probably sleeping... He guessed, taking a seat at the table.
"...Where's Delilah?" Jared asked, hoping the question didnt seem odd.

Asher stifled a yawn. He was only vaguely aware of Chloe breezing through his room, opening the curtains, and telling him to wake up. Once she left, he buried himself deeper under his comforter. The room he stayed in had been done in light colors, mostly white, and when the curtains were opened the sun was relentless. Claire must've known this. Her tactic in waking him. With a groan and the release of his kept yawn, Ash threw the covers off and placed his feet on the ground. His long, graceful fingers quickly ran through his hair trying desperately to get it to settle. No such luck.

Asher padded to the bathroom. Usually he would hop into the shower for a quick wash, dress, fix his hair, and be downstairs for whatever breakfast had been prepared. Today was different though. Ash had prepared for today the night before, taking a shower and laying out his clothes. Chloe had reminded him time and time again to dress nicely for the brunch and he'd set out clothes he thought fit the bill. He'd even gone as far as to shower the night before to save more time this morning. Usually he indulged in a morning jog, but had decided to forego that as well. Instead, he wet his fingers and combed his hair into a fashionably messy style. The kind of look that said 'I woke up like this' while still complimenting his features. He dressed quickly only glancing in the mirror briefly before leaving his own room.

A quick check into Jared'd room told Ash that his assigned 'Problem Child' was already out and about. Asher actually liked Jared. Sure, the kid was quiet and reserved, but Asher had liked him almost immediately. He really wanted to teach Jared to stand up for himself and that sometimes it's best to put yourself before others. They weren't quite there yet, but Ash had no reservations that he'd be able to get through to Jared. At least he hoped he wouldn't.

It was then that Asher heard Chloe's call from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready, better get down here soon or Harmony is going to eat it all." Ash laughed under his breath. He doubted the five-year-old could eat a breakfast prepared for everyone in the house. "Har-Bug!" Ash called from the top stair as he began to descend. "Did you save me some food? At least a crumb, right?" he asked her teasingly before sweeping her into a hug. Things with him and Chloe had escalated pretty quickly and things were never easy, but he fell in love with Harmony almost right away. The little girl could always bring a smile to his face no matter what the situation.

Still holding Harmony in his arms, Asher went around to where Chloe was standing and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Morning." he told her before setting Harmony down and setting about making himself a plate. "You're going to spoil brunch you keep feeding me like this." he told her jokingly.

With eggs, pancakes, and bacon stacked onto his plate, Asher took a seat at the table next to Jared. "Good morning." he told the younger boy. "Sleep okay?" he asked genuinely. Asher had known that Jared was having some trouble sleeping and always made it a point of conversation in the mornings. The caterers provided enough noise with their hustle and bustle that their conversation wouldn't be overheard, should Jared want to keep it private. Knowing the guy, that was a very real possibility.

Delilah trembled as she slept, curled into a tight ball with her arms wrapped around her body. A little white kitten with bright emerald green eyes nuzzled her cheek, causing Lila to jerk back in shock and fear. Her gentle blue eyes flew open and she realized a second too late that she was falling off her bed. As she slid off the mattress, she grabbed onto her sheets in an attempt to stay on. She ended up falling with a loud thud, with her blankets following and ending up covering her completely. The little kitten peeked over at her curiously, as she rolled over and fell back asleep.

"C'mon Lila, get up." Chloe called to the mass of sheets on the floor, waking Lily up again. She groaned and reluctantly kicked the blankets off of her body. She yawned and sat up, glancing over st the door that her sister had come in by.
With a sigh, she got up and pulled her wild mane of curls into a loose ponytail. Not bothering to get dressed quite yet, she left her room in a lacy tank top and shorts. She knew her sister would probably snap at her to get dressed, but she would do that once she was fully awake. Anyways, the mentors and 'At risk' teens wouldn't be coming over for a while. Glancing over her shoulder, she let out a short whistle. "Come on, Lucy." She called, and the little white kitten with bright green eyes hopped onto her shoulder with ease.

Lila padded down the stairs, chuckling as she saw the parade of people setting up the brunch. Her sister always led everything being completely organized. She walked into the kitchen with a bright smile. "Good morning." She softly played with one of her niece's curls affectionately, and glanced over at everyone who was awake. Lily adored Harmony, and was often guilty of spoiling her.
She stood next to the sitting Jared, resting her arm on his head gently.

When her phone buzzed in her pocket, Lila jumped in surprise. Chuckling at herself, she pulled out her phone. Her face immediately lost the bright radiance it had. Stepping back, she pursed her lips and glanced at the scar on her hand. "I. . . Uhm I have to visit a friend soon. I might have to leave a little early."

Jared was just about to eat the blueberry pancakes when his Mentor, Asher, came into the kitchen and after speaking with Chloe and Harmony, took a seat beside him.
"Good morning... Sleep okay?" Asher asked, not for the first time.
Jared paused and briefly glanced at the other people in the room, "Yeah, fine... thanks." He replied after a few seconds, fixing his eyes back on the plate of food infront of him.
Truthfully Jared's sleep had been anything but fine, but he could tell Asher about that later... just not while other people could hear.

Once again, Jared was about to begin eating his breakfast when Delilah made an appearance.
"Good morning." She said, and Jared looked up to see her playing with Harmony's hair.
Jared allowed himself to slightly smile, from the moment he saw her Jared had liked Lila... well, he liked a lot of people the moment he saw them, but Delilah was just... different.
"Morning." Jared said when she stood beside him. He was going to say more, but was interrupted by her phone.
Jared looked back at the pancakes on his plate, Stupid phone...
Delilah stepped back, and Jared expected what she would say next,
"I. . . Uhm I have to visit a friend soon. I might have to leave a little early." Of course.

Chloe smiled as Jared padded down the stairs. She smiled at him and ruffled his hair a little. "Hey, don't mind the staff, you'll get used to it. Since me and Delilah usually host functions for the program." She shrugged and walked to the backdoor, watching the staff as they set up everything for the brunch. She smiled thankfully to them then sighed and pushed a hair off her face.

"Where's Dehlilah," Jared asked awkwardly, making Chloe smile.
She smirked and placed a hand on her hip. "Don't worry she'll be down soon," She said before grumbling under her breath, "Or I'll drag her out of bed, I swear her and Asher would wake up at noon if I let them." She composed herself and smiled again.

She was about to yell at Asher and Dehlilah when she heard him at the top of the stairs. "Har-Bug! Did you save me some food? At least a crumb, right?" He said jokingly pulling her into a hug.
"Asher! She's eating." Chloe protested with a pout. To which Asher completely ignored.

She was about to whine about him getting Harmony riled up when he gave her a peck on the cheek, making her blush. She sighed, a little upset that Asher so naturally fit into Her and Chloe's life. "Morning." He said sliding past her and making a plate "You're going to spoil brunch you keep feeding me like this." he told her jokingly.

She looked down, "I like cooking," She mumbled, "Anyway I'm glad your dressed," She added with a half smile as Asher sat down next to Jared and began talking to him.

Chloe tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Delilah. When her sister came down the steps, in a lacy tank and shorts. She sighed deeply "Delilah, what the hell are you wearing?" She asked "Tell me your not wearing that to brunch," She rolled her eyes, "Actually I have the perfect Outfit for you, and it goes with mine?" She added with a smile, since she and Delilah used to coordinate their outfits when they were kids. She pulled a dress out of a bag that was like hers except it was a ivory that complimented Delilah's pale skin and pale hair, making her look like an angel. While hers was a peach color that complimented her tanned skin and golden hair. The sisters looked very much alike with their wild blonde curls and stunning blue grey eyes. However Delilah inherited their mothers pale skin and their fathers naturally pale blonde hair and Chloe had their fathers golden skin and her mothers golden hair. So together they almost looked like a angel and a goddess. Though Chloe envied her sisters slender body, and her innocent vibe. While she had a more sensual air about her and she inherited her father's side of the family's curvy figure.

She gently stood behind Delilah and did her hair, which was in a ponytail. She felt no need to ask, since she walways styled everyone's hair. She quickly turned it into a bun with a braid surrounding it.
She quickly did a braid around her hair next in a loosefishtail. "Ok now get dressed in that dress and you'll look insanely pretty."

Just as she was about to enthuse about the outfit Delilah spoke "I. . . Uhm I have to visit a friend soon. I might have to leave a little early."
Chloe's face fell slightly, making her smile less bright and more forced, "Your... your leaving?" She asked quietly. "Your leaving the brunch.... early?" She said though the last part came out like a whisper.
She sighed and glanced at the clock,"Our guest will be arriving in a few minuets," She walked toward the the back door and glanced back at her " I wish you'd stay and help," Then she walked out back.

---

Harmony pouted as her mom walked out the door and tugged at Asher's shirt "Why is mama sad?" She asked staring up at him with her big brown eyes. She pouted and just as quickly as she asked she changed the subject "Mama wouldn't let me go swim today, she put a blanket thing on the pool and wouldn't let me wear my pretty princess dress." She tapped her chin ad if she was thinking and said "I think it's Mr. Chris's fault, whenever he calls mama cries." She said with a frown.

She balled her tiny hand into a fist and pretended to punch the air "If I ever see him I'm gonna do this and that," She said imitating a kick, which made her stumble a little. Then beamed a dimpled smile at them and got back up.

She loved Aunt Dee, and Asher, and Jar-Bear. Asher made her mama happy and he made her mama smile. But Mama never lets her call Asher daddy. She glanced as her mom came back inside and sat in a stool, well more like she jumped around in the stool. "Dad.. I mean Asher, can I have a cookie" She said seeing the look her mom gave her.

---

"Harmony I told you, you can't call him that, Asher isn't your daddy," Chloe said with a straight face, picking Harmony up and grabbing a cookie out the cabinet and handing it to her. She knew Asher would be mad that she said that but it was the truth. Asher isn't Harmony's dad. She wished that she met Asher before she met Chris but she didn't. I mean she knew him for two years now. Since he was a problem child last year but the fact of the matter was, she didn't want him to get too close to harmony. Just so he could leave when things got tough. She glanced at him and turned away quickly. All that could come from her and Asher was hurt. And she couldn't handle hurt. Not again, not ever. She realized the time and said "Clean your plates everybody should be arriving in like a few minuets."

Finally, Jared was able to eat his breakfast. He wasnt that hungry anymore, so he found himself picking at the pancakes and barley eating any bacon. Once what was on the plate was pretty much finished -and by finished, he hardly ate any of it- Jared stood up and scraped what was left into the garbage, then began to wash the dish.
When that was done, Jared said a quick thanks to Chloe for making breakfast, and he apologized for not finishing it.
She really was a good cook, much better then Jared, who stuck to putting bread in the toaster and calling it a meal.
After that, Jared decided that he'd wander around the Nox's house until the brunch/meeting, whatever it was, started.

They had a nice home, it was a lot better than Jared's, anyway. Beautifully decorated, everything looked expensive.
He found himself wishing that he could of grown up in a place like theirs... in a place where everything was so... normal.
Of course, the Nox's probably werent the definition of normal, since they had a bunch of people with weird issues and even weirder backgrounds under their responsibility... but still, the Nox's were lucky.
Extremely lucky, to have such a good life.

For probably the third time, Jared was jealous of the Nox's. In his eyes, they had everything, money, a good life, people who cared about them, family... they werent anything like the people they were trying to help, they werent like Jared, they were better.
Far better.
Jared found himself in the living room, he sat down on one of the couches and let out a frustrated sigh.
For probably the sixth time since he became part of the Problem Children program, he was angry with himself.
For One, being jealous of the people who were doing nothing but good, and for Two, for allowing himself to think like that. ... He didnt really have any other reasons, just the two.

Jared pushed away the thoughts and began tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair, when were the others going to get here?

Asher's conversation with Jared was brief, but he instantly caught onto the younger man's hesitation to talk. A conversation best saved for later Ash realized. He should have known better than to bring it up in such an open place anyway.

When Delilah made her entrance, Ash gave her a brief nod by way of 'good morning' and continued shoveling the large breakfast into his mouth. When her phone went off and the woman quickly announced she'd be leaving, Asher knew Chloe would be upset. He'd wait for it to happen and then comfort her the best he could. He knew Chloe would be even more upset since she'd gone through all the trouble of matching their dresses and planning the brunch down to the last detail. Asher wasn't the least bit surprised when she walked out back. He knew she'd need the moment to gather herself and preferred those few moments alone. So, instead of following her, he stayed inside with Harmony.

When the little girl asked why her mommy was sad, Asher was literally at a loss for words. "She's not sad, so much as overwhelmed. She just has a lot to do and think about, Har-Bug. She'll be just fine." he told her. Harmony continued talking to him about her morning. "Mama wouldn't let me go swim today, she put a blanket thing on the pool and wouldn't let me wear my pretty princess dress. I think it's Mr. Chris's fault, whenever he calls mama cries. If I ever see him I'm gonna do this and that." Asher felt the old familiar sensation of anger boiling in his chest. Chris was not someone he liked, and for obvious reasons. The fact that he'd made Chloe cry pissed him off. Not wanting to upset Harmony, he laughed as she imitated what she'd do if she ever came across Chris. "I'm sure you would. And I bet Mommy's saving your pretty, pink dress for a special occasion." he told her, a smile still on his lips.

When she called his 'Dad', it melted his heart. He knew that Harmony wasn't his, but he treated just as well. He loved that little girl. Before he could even answer her request for a cookie, Chloe slipped back in and interfered, chastising Harmony for calling his by the name. Asher turned away from both of the girls, not wanting Harmony to see the anger he couldn't hide. He knew just as well as she that he wasn't the father, but Harmony needed a father-figure and if he provided that, then why did she have to fight it so much. Another conversation to be saved for later, he decided before stalking off to his room, leaving his plate where it sat on the table. "Call me when brunch is ready." he tossed over his shoulder as he retreated.

Asher heard Chloe come in, but refused to look at her. He'd walked away because he needed to gather his thoughts before getting into an argument with her. She didn't understand that though and pushed her way in anyway. He listened as she talked, trying his best to let any anger diffuse before he opened his own mouth. "When I have to leave? When you're a bitch? When Harmony's too much? Are you serious right now, Chloe!? I've been here for two years. Yeah, I was a pretty messed up kid when I came into your life, but I've changed so much and I've been here for you and for Harmony this whole time. Have I bailed yet?" Ash fought to keep his voice controlled and level. He didn't want to yell at Chloe. When she flopped down onto his bed, he stood and started pacing - a technique he'd learned long ago to help with anger.

When Chloe finally stopped talking, Ash came to a dead stop and just stared at her. Moments passed before he opened his mouth again. "I'm not Chris. I'm not going to leave you or try to kill you. Damn, Chloe. When are you gonna stop comparing me to him? You know I care about you and Harmony more than anything. So, what if me and you haven't worked out all the kinks yet? Well'll get there. That's no reason to deny Harmony the chance to have a father figure in her life." He couldn't bring himself to say what was really on his mind - that he loved her and he loved Harmony and he'd do anything to protect them both and give them the lives they deserved.

When Chloe hiked her dress up and the bruises showed, Ash felt his entire face drain and his temperature rise. If only he could run into that scumbag just once, Asher would be perfectly content. He'd make sure that Chris never put his hands on another woman again. Instead of lashing out and hitting the wall like his first instinct had been, Ash knew that violence wasn't what he needed to show right now and laid down on the bed beside Chloe pulling her into his arms.

"I'm here for you, and for Harmony, because I want to be. I just wish you could see that. We'll talk more later. Until then, I'll tell Harmony to just call me Ash." he told her, running his finger through the parts of her hair he could reach, knowing she'd have to get up and fix it in just a few moments.