My Stepfather Discord

by Raikage77

Ginger Crush

Ginger Crush

September/3rd/2013

The beginning of September to me has always been the period of 'getting back on track', adults work longer hours, and for kids and teenagers, they start stocking up on supplies for the first semester of the school year. It was also the time when good ol' summer was in it's last stride before Autumn rolled in to claim it's place.

Of course, for the kids that went to my brother's school, William Penn Private School (or WPS), they got an extra week or so to stay on break because they get out of school for summer vacation later then most of the other schools.

That being said, today had been a nice day so far. Mom had been given time off from work, and Discord had nothing to do for the day, so we all went out to Fairmount Park for a small picnic. I was seated under our usual tree, reading one of my Stephen King books, and John was at the basketball courts across the field playing with some slightly older kids. As for Mom and Discord, they were busy trying to teach Taylor better flight control, because as Discord put it, if Taylor could control his flying better, he would be able to control his chaos magic better.

This had been going on with little progress, but no one said flying was easy.

"Okay, sweetie, just a little more. You can do it," Mom encouraged him, from her spot on the grass a few feet away from the toddler. Discord had put up some sort of magic bubble thing around our picnic area, so even if someone looked in our direction, they wouldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

Discord was walking next to the child of chaos, holding his petite hand as Taylor kicked his legs and flapped his mismatch wings way harder then needed. "C'mon, Taylor, flap those wings~! Good job!"

"Is all the flapping really necessary, though?" I asked, looking up from my book at the pair. "I see you fly all the time, and your wings barely move at all. Not counting when you fly without them."

"Well, as true as that may be, I've been flying for thousands of years, thus I have experience. It's our magic that allows us to take flight, the same goes for Pegasi," Discord explained, not taking his eyes off the toddler. "As for newborns and toddlers, however, flapping the wings hard and fast works as a crutch of sorts, like training wheels."

"So ...flapping their wings helps them concentrate their flight magic," Mom mused.

Discord grinned. "Exactly, in the future he won't even need to flap his wings as much. Flying will come as natural as breathing." He said, then quickly adding. "And so will chaos."

I nodded. So that's why Discord wanted to teach Taylor to fly before teaching him to control his chaotic magic, his flying was connected to his magic. Or at least partially ...it actually made a lot of sense.

...Oh, my, God.

Discord's actually making sense!

"Alright, dude, who are you and what have you done with the real Discord?" I asked.

The spirit of chaos raised as eyebrow. "What in the world are you talking about? I haven't switched places with anyone," he said, before putting on a thoughtful expression. "I don't think I have, anyway ...I would've noticed something like that."

"Discord ...you're making sense, and if there's anything I've learned about you over the years we've lived together, it's that you never make sense," I said.

Mom nodded. "You know, Justin's right, Dissy," Mom joked, smirking a bit. "Whatever happened to 'what's the fun in making sense'. I think even Taylor understood what you just said."

"Aba ba~!" Taylor babbled out.

"See, even the baby understood that."

Discord frowned. "Hey, now. Just because I say what's the fun in making sense." He said, giving a shrug. "Doesn't mean that I can't make sense when I want to. I just find it funnier when someone can't understand half of what I'm saying, keeps them guessing."

"So you don't make sense just so you can annoy people?"

"That, my boy, is putting it lightly ...but, yes."

I sighed, and shook my head, a smile forming on my face. "See, Mom, this is the guy you married. He doesn't even need the internet to be a troll."

"I guess that makes me, Ms. Troll, then. Cause I do find his antics pretty funny," Mom giggled.

Shaking my head again, I went back to silently reading my book. My Mom is truly weird, there's no other way to put it. Just weird. She's weird, Discord's even weirder then her; it's as if them finding each other was nothing short of a match made in heaven. Either that, or Cupid shot the both of them with an arrow the first chance he got.

Whatever the reason, though, they found each other, and nothing short or a natural disaster was going to make a split between them.

Taylor's little flying lesson ended about a half hour later. The little guy was so tuckered out he fell asleep the second Discord laid him on his blanket; I would've been lying if I said my little brother wasn't cute when he slept. Though, another weird thing about Taylor was that he had the oddest snore ever, it was like a mix between feline purring and soft neighing. Odd, but cute. He defiantly didn't get that from Mom's side of the family, thing was that Discord didn't seem to snore any time I've seen him sleep, so it was probably something Taylor got through his father's random genetics, he was a sorta mix and match of all types of creatures after all.

A few minutes into my book, I pulled out my cellphone and checked the time. It was around noon, which meant lunch. Something that after reading a good book for a few hours, I was happy for.

"Mom, did you pack anything to eat when we left?"

"I didn't need to, everything's already taken care of," she answered, looking up from her I-Pad screen. "It is time for lunch, though." She then looked over to her husband. "So what did you have in mind for lunch, dear? ...Something that doesn't give us high blood sugar, I hope."

"Well, that's not really what was on the menu, cotton candy is a favorite of mine." Discord said, rolling up his shirt sleeves. "But I believe I can make an exception ...this time, anyway." The human formed draconequus snipped his fingers, and a spread of food appeared in a flash of white light. There was a plate full of sandwiches as cut in perfect fours, a cooler filled with canned sodas and bottled waters, more then enough freshly made apple pies (that smelled good even from this distance), and a salad with some type of red dressing.

Mom looked the spread over, picking up a lettuce leaf in her fingers tips and eating it, then gave a nod of approval. "Not bad, tastes almost like my grandma's recipe."

"Almost, huh." Discord took a taste of the salad, taking a bit more then Mom had. "Well, I'm not that far off, I'll admit ...something is missing."

"Discord, the one thing you should know about my grandma's Jamaican salad is that it always has a kick to it," Mom said.

"Oh, you mean Scotch Bonnet hot sauce?"

"Yep, thing is you never add too much or too little, it has to be just right." As Discord conjured up a bottle of the Jamaican hot sauce, Mom turned to me. "Justin, call your brother, tell him it's time for lunch."

"Uh-huh." Came my reply. I bended the corner of the page to save where I was in my book, and put it in my shoulder-bag for later, before pulling out my phone and dialing John's cellphone number. The phone rang a few time and no one picked up, some I tried again and finally got an answer.

John sounded slightly winded. "Yeah ...What is it?"

"Um ...it's time for lunch," I said. "The foods already out."

"Really, but I'm still in the middle of a game here."

"Well, you can stay over there and play around. I don't mind," I said, dismissively. "But when all the foods gone, don't say I didn't call you over here. Besides, you know how much Discord and Taylor can eat. Remember last Thanksgiving."

"Man, don't even remind me," John uttered on the other end of the line. "Fine ...I'll be right over ...oh, and is it okay if I bring a friend over to eat with us. There's enough food for one more, right?"

"More then enough, I'll check and see first, though." I lowered the cellphone from my ear and turned my attention to my parents. "John wants to know can he bring someone over to eat with us."

Mom and Discord looked at each other, the latter pausing in mid-bite of a slice of apple pie, then gave a shrug.

"I see no reason for him not to," the trickster spirit replied, raising his apple pie. "The more the merrier~!"

"Tell em' to come on over, before the food runs out," Mom added. She was making a plate for Taylor, who had just woken up from his short nap. He rubbing his eyes tiredly, but seemed happy to be getting food all the same.

I gave a nod and put the phone back up to my ear. "They don't mind. So bring your friend over."

"Yes! I'll be right there ...Katie, our picnic spot is this way!"

"Oh ...lead the way, then." A rather tomboyish female voice spoke, the accent was different. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, though.

I grinned over the phone. "So, little brother, your friend's a girl, huh?"

"Sh-shut up, it's not at all what you're thinking. And you had better not try to embarrass me," John whispered harshly, before hanging up.

I put my cellphone back in my pocket, and crawled my way over from the tree to the food spread. I sat across from Discord, who was getting feed pie from my Mom, and he was doing the same for her, only the fork was floating on it own rather then him holding it. He snapped his fingers and a can of whipped cream flashed into existence; he sprayed an abnormal amount of it over one of the whole pies, before shoving it do his month, sliver tray and all.

Mom slapped him on the shoulder for that one. "Honey, eating like that at home is fine, but outside please try to control yourself. You are going to freak people out."

"Oh~ you act like a few freakouts is a bad thing," Discord said, licking the whipped cream off his lips with a tongue long enough to cover his entire face. "I, on the other hand, would find them quite intriguing."

"That too, Dissy," Mom continued, sternly, grabbing his tongue and forcing it back into his mouth. "No body altering, and no chaos magic. John's bringing over one of his friends; remembering, act normal."

"Right, normal," Discord uttered, using air quotes. As in to quoting marks appeared in the air for a moment before vanishing. He grinned. "Normal is so overrated, way too mane stream if you ask me."

"Discord," Mom said, in a warning tone.

Discord gave a sigh. "...Fine, I'll be on my best behavior. The perfect little angel." And out popped the white wings, and a halo appeared over his head. Mom just starred at him, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "What?" She pointed at the top of his head. "Oh ...right." He snapped his fingers and the halo and wings flashed away. "Old habits, dear, you can't teach a master new tricks, as the saying goes."

"Master, really? ...Goofball is more like it," Mom stated smugly, as she fed Taylor some pie. The classic airplane spoon was something Taylor really enjoyed. "Isn't that right, daddy's a goofball, isn't he," she cooed to the two-year-old.

Taylor ate his food with a wide smile. "Goofy~!"

Discord gave a hurt expressed, that was way too exaggerated to be real. "Dominique, why must you two wound me so~."

"Please, as if the most horrible trash talk could hurt you in the slightest."

"Quite true, my dear, quite true indeed."

"Anyway, Mom," I finally spoke up, munching away at a half of sandwich. "What's this I here about Uncle Charlie having to go to the hospital or something like that."

"Oh, that," Mom sighed. "Well, as it turns out your Uncle got himself a bad case of the clap. I would say that'll teach him not to sleep around with every girl who spreads their legs for him, but we both know once it's taken care of he'll go right back to doing his usual shit."

I took a bite of my food. "Wow, it sounds like you've given up on him," I said.

"It's not that, I'm just sick and tired of him and his baby mama drama and other issues. Lord knows I've talked to him countless times about getting his shit together."

We talked about the subject of my Uncle Charlie for a few minutes. It was a topic that got Mom highly annoyed, hence, her swearing much more then she usually did. Luckily, though, the conversation shifted to something else; it was around that time that John and his 'friend' showed up at our picnic spot.

"Aw, come on, did you really starting eating without me," John said, as he approached us. We turned and looked a girl standing just behind him, near his left shoulder. She was a bit taller then my brother, wearing a white shirt, black basketball shorts with tights going to her ankles and her red hair in a ponytail, it's length going past her neck. She even had small freckles that spotted the bridge of her nose and cheeks.

Discord grinned at the two, keeping most of his attention on my brother. "Well, isn't this something," he mused. "So, Johnny-boy, who's your lady friend?"

"Yeah, bro, introduce us, will ya," I added. Mom just smiled at him, saying nothing.

John gave a nervous, half smile, and shifted his weight slightly. It was something he did sometimes did when he was nervous, embarrassed, or put on the spot.

"Sure ...everyone, this is Katie," he then turned to the girl. "Katie, this my brother, Justin, my mom, and my step-dad, David. And the youngest one is Taylor."

His friend gave us a wave, smiling. "Hi, um, thanks for having me over for lunch. You didn't have to."

"Oh, it's no problem at all, sweetheart," Mom said, gently. "There's more then enough here for extra company. So sit, and enjoy yourself."

Discord held up a slice of pie to the ginger girl. "Could I interest you in some pie, Katie?"

"Sure, sir, thank you."

"No need to be some formal, my dear," the trickster replied, tossing the plate next to her place on blanket. "Just call me David, everyone does."

"Oh ...okay. Thank you, David."

They sat down and dug into whatever happened to be in front of them, John's new friend was eating the pie Discord had given her, and the boy his self began eating one of the many sandwiches Discord conjured up, as if it was his last meal on Earth.

"So, Katie, how long have you been playing basketball for?" I asked, suddenly.

Katie glanced up from her pie. "Hmm, about five years, actually," she answered. "My dad sighed me up for an official team a little while back. He says I have a real gift when it comes to playing any sport, really, mostly basketball, though."

"Well, he wasn't lying," John said. "You should have seen her in the game we where in, she made a shoot from half court, and even got us a lead by like five points."

"That's really impressive. A girl your size making a shoot from half court," Mom mused, starring at the girl. "I've never heard of such a thing before."

Katie chuckled. "Oh, it's really nothing at all, I just practice a lot. My dad helps me, too. He used to play basketball in collage." She replied. She sat there quiet for a moment, before adding. "By the way, the baby has white hair, is that, ya know, normal?" She asked, glancing at the toddler next to Mom.

John gave a nod. "Yeah. It's been that way since her was born."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "...Um, not to be rude or anything, but doesn't that seem sorta weird? I mean, it's so ...odd."

"Believe me, dear, there are a lot more things out there that are weirder then my baby boy's hair," Mom said, smiling, stroking Taylor's hair a bit. "He may not be as ...normal as the other kids, but he's a good boy."

"When he's not blowing up stuff," I uttered into my soda can as I took a sip of Coke.

Mom shot me a glare, and Katie turned to me. "What was that …?"

"Nothing," I said, quickly, shaking my head. "Nothing at all." I decided that now was the best time to change the subject, before she started asking questions. "Anyway, Katie, how long have you been in Philly? I can tell by your accent that you're not from around here."

"You're right, I actually from England. Dad said it would be a fun trip to come here for summer vacation. He was right. I'm having a blast!"

I nodded. "That's good to hear. How much longer with you be around for?"

"Uh," Katie put on a thoughtful expression, looking off to the side. "A few days, give or take. My dad's been taking care of business, so we should be leaving after he is finished, whatever."

"At least you've got a few more days to play before school starts," I said.

"I know, right," Katie agreed. "Summer's almost over; it sucks, but I can't wait to see my friends again in school."

"I guess that's one advantage to the school year."

"Speaking of school," John interjected, facing her. "Got any funny stories to tell? I'll share mine if you share yours."

Katie smiled a mischievous sorta smile. "John, look who you're talking to," the redhead said. "I've got tons and tons of funny things that happen at my school on a regular bases. I mean, just a few months back before summer break started, me and my friend started a food fight in our school's cafeteria, and that's not even the best part."

For the rest of our time together, we talked and laughed at Katie's misadventures in school. I even shared a few of my many, many high school misgivings about the trouble I got me and my friends into; God knows how many times mom had gotten calls home for my bad behavior. Soon after, the sun started to set, and it was time for us to leave.

Katie went back to play on the playground until her dad came, and we packed up our things and headed home. The day had ended faster then I even realized.

XxxxX

We got in the house a few minutes after six; I was currently sitting in my room on my bed, playing Resident Evil Zero on my old, but still usable, Nintendo GameCube. I've yet to actually beat the game, but I was close to the final boss, give or take a few more puzzles to solve. I was about a half hour into the game, when I got soft knocks at my door.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

"What?"

"It's me," John spoke through the wood. "Can we talk for a minute …?"

I glanced over at the door, then back at the television screen. "Yeah, sure, come on in." The door creaked open, and the pre-teen walked in, taking a seat next to me on the bed. I kept my eyes on the TV, giving him a glance every once in a while, when he didn't say anything I noticed that he was probably waiting for me to pause the game so that he had my full attention, rather then just talking to me when my mind was on two things at once. So I paused the game, and turned to my brother, giving him my undivided attention. "Alright, so what did you need to talk about, John?"

"It's not really anything big, I just wanted to know, how do you know if someone has a crush on you?" John asked, meekly.

"Is this about, Katie," I asked, smiling, knowing full well it probably was.

John shot me a nervous grin, tapping his hands on his knees. "Uh, yeah, sorta." He said. "Is it that obvious?"

"John, I've had my fair share of crushes. So seeing the obvious comes easy," I said, giving him a playful nudge. "...What makes her stand out?"

"Stand out?"

"Yeah, what makes her seem so special to you?"

John seemed to think on it for a bit, then answered. "Actually, I really don't know," he uttered, loudly. As if speaking to me and himself. "I mean it could be the hair, maybe. ...It just sorta happened, we looked at each other and I got this weird feeling in my stomach." He looked over at me, frowning. "Is that weird, to just like someone like that out of the blue?"

I shrugged. "It depends, when I was your age I ran through crushes like that," I said, snapping my fingers. "I'd be into one girl one day, and a week later be into another. I never went out with any of them, but the feeling came and went. Thing was I never acted on any of my crushes, I'd just ...sit back and let it pass." I then turned to him, beaming at him. "You, on the other hand, baby brother, should at least ask this girl out. Give it a chance."

"B-but, she'll be going back to England soon. It'd be a waste of time," John muttered. I shook my head, and flicked him on the forehead. John let out a surprised yelp, rubbing the spot with his hand. "Hey! What was that for?"

"You must have forgotten. We have Discord, remember, spirit of chaos and all that jazz. I'm pretty sure he could help you with a little distance gap, he did get me a job in Vegas after all, that's as far from philly as you can get."

"Okay, but wouldn't that be weird. Going from here to another country for a girl. How do you even know Discord will help?"

"I don't. And you didn't ask him, either," I said, simply. I picked up the controller off my bed and went back to playing the game. "Just think about it. If you like this girl, try and go after her. It might work out, it might not, but you'll never know unless you try."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," John sighed. He hopped off the bed and strolled over to the door, opening it. He step out half way, and turned back to me. "Thanks for the advice, by the way. I guess coming to you first about this was better then talking to Annie. Now, at least." I gave him a nod, and he left out, closing the door behind him.

With my focus on the shooting down a zombie doberman, It took me a few seconds to register what John had said.

"Wait a minute," I paused the game, my lips in a thin line. "Did I just get put as option B, to a rabbit." I didn't know what felt worse; knowing the John would rather work out his problems with the help of a rabbit rather then his own brother, or that he rarely came to me for advice at all since he got the fluffy, adorable thing.

It made it even worse that the rabbit could understand him.

Author's Note:

Yeah, so, I've been gone for a while. But, I'm back now and better then ever, and in the time I've been gone I've brain stormed different directions this story can go. So a lot of fun coming the next few chapters, and a lot of awesome ideas~!

Comments

[Raikage77]

5340846
Oh, don't worry, I know it's a bit late to answer. But the next chapter is coming up soon, very soon!

[rikusorasephiroth]

This dead yet?

[rikusorasephiroth]

6155682 So much for that 'next chapter'.