The weekend came by in a flash, Oliver relishing in the feeling of being alone. He always spent his Saturday's in his room, his parents were working, Jean was usually out with friends, so the house was quiet. He made sure all the doors were locked before making himself a snack and heading to his room. He closed his door and sat on his bed, scrolling through his phone while eating the fruit he bowled up. Everything felt peaceful for once, he was able to relax and just laze about.

"You should check the attic."

He furrows his brows softly, thinking about why he would need too. Maybe he has some things in there, or he could clean it up like his mom has always wanted to do.

"It's important."

But why exactly? He glanced to his door, pondering the idea before setting his things down and getting up. He pulled on some shoes and left the room, walking to the middle of the hallway and tugging down the string to the attic door. Stepping back he let it open, and slowly pulled out the ladder. He climbed up the dust covered wood and stood in the attic, sniffling as dust filled his noise. There were boxes piled in different spots, and a lot of old antique items that his mom just never got rid of. He began looking through the boxes, shuffling through any that seemed interesting.

"Check the corner."

He looked to the back corner of the attic, a large wooden chest grabbing his attention. Going over he kneeled down, sitting and examining the chest. It had a lock on it, but it was very old and rusted, so he gave it a good yank and it opened. Slowly he pushed the lid back, looking at the contents inside. There were some old books, some parchment and feather pens, very old items that could be in a museum. One book caught his eye, it was a dark purple with a golden spine. The language on the front was ancient, he couldn't read it whatsoever.

"Open it, it might be interesting."

He pulled it from the chest, sitting it on his lap and wiping dust from the cover. His fingers slid across the paper as he opened the book, a sudden yell from behind him caused him to jump and turn.

"Put that back!" Jean had come back early, rushing towards Oliver and snatched the book from his hand.

"Hey! Jeez what's the big deal?" Oliver stood up hastily, reaching for the book.

"How much did you read?" Jean held the book away from him, Oliver rolled his eyes.

"I had just opened it when you scared the shit out of me, why does it matter? It's not yours!" His older brother rolled his eyes and pushed past him, tossing the book back into the chest and shutting it closed.

"You weren't supposed to find it, this is Mom's chest and you're lucky I caught you before things got worse!" Oliver looked to his brother confused.

"What do you mean? Was something going to happen if I read it?" Jean let out a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his eyebrows.

"Look- I'm gonna tell you this but you've gotta keep it a secret ok? Mom can't know you found the book, it holds a lot of dark shit that you don't need to get into." Jean sat on the chest, Oliver crossing his arms and listening.

"You know how none of our family has magic right?" Oliver nodded. "Ok well guess what- we actually do- well Mom's side does. But it's not the fun, make fire or grow plants kind of magic. It's destructive and very dangerous, I found this chest a few years ago and Mom caught me. I didn't touch anything in it but she told me the story anyway. I'm sure you've heard in history about dark elves right?" Oliver nodded, then looked to his brother in disbelief.

"We can't be...?" Jean nodded softly.

"Centuries ago dark elves were some of the most dangerous and vicious warriors out there. So the other elves decided to get rid of them all, the ones who survived had a spell casted on them. Basically they were turned into normal elves with no magic, but that magic was stored into a book. And it's been passed down through each generation, the reason we don't open it is because as soon as you do the magic returns to that person." Oliver listened quietly, millions of questions flooding his mind.

"Why didn't Mom tell us?" Jean shrugged and scratched his chin.

"To protect us I assume, the type of shit dark elves did was not for the faint of heart. They were cold blooded killers, thieves and mercenaries. Who knows what one could do in our time. But either way, you cannot open that book. If the legend is true, you could be changed into something dangerous." Jean stood up and pushed Oliver to the ladder, his little brother sighing and climbing down the ladder.

Jean followed and ruffled his hair, "Don't get into any trouble ok? I'm only gonna save your ass this one time, and don't mention any of this to Mom." He walked away, disappearing behind his room door. Oliver stood in the hallway quietly, contemplating his entire life. He couldn't believe that they were dark elves, but it was also very possible. He had heard about spells being cast to stop a war or to change a person but an entire race sounded very complex. Quietly he went to his room, closing his door and locking it. He needed to clear his mind, the best way of doing that was to watch something he'd rather his brother not catch him with.

It wasn't like it was a hobby or something, but it made him feel something and relax so he decided to do it anyway. He hopped onto his bed, pulling a blanket over his lap and pulling out his phone and headphones. Even though the door was locked, he felt better if he covered up. He opened up a new tab, going through the website he knew fairly well. Porn probably wasn't the best thing to watch after hearing about your families dark secrets but hell he didn't care. He scrolled for a while, finally finding something to watch. He stared at the screen, watching the two elves feel each other's bodies and kiss like they were eating each other. It wasn't until further into the video where Oliver decided he'd give it a go. Masturbating was something everyone's done at least once, and you either hate it or love it. It was the only thing that brought him a sense of relief, and after the act, he relaxed in bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Jean would kill me if I tried to go back up there...he's not gonna leave me home alone for a while."

"Why shouldn't he trust you?"

"I've always listened to him, and done whatever he wants. So what if I read the book? It's just words, it's not like it's going to change me or anything. Besides, that dark elf stuff was probably made up..."

"He's just lying, he doesn't trust you enough."

Oliver sighed softly, sitting up and checking the time. His Mom would be home soon, maybe he could get to her before Jean. So he waited, watching the time tick by, minute by minute. Then he heard a car enter the driveway, he hopped up and opened his door. Before he could blink his brother emerged from his room and tan towards the door. Of course he was also waiting, was the book really that important? Oliver walked towards the living room, watching as his mom and brother brought in the groceries.

"Hey Oliver! Could you grab the last bag from the backseat?" His mom waddled inside, carrying one too many bags in each hand. He went out the door, glaring at Jean and made his way towards the car. While he was inside the backseat he noticed someone in coming down the street, climbing back out he closed the door and watched as a group of elves rushed down the road. They were all either on bikes, skateboards or roller blades, each laughing and yelling as they continued down the road. One of which was Maxim, who was trailing behind on his own roller blades. His headphones were on as always, he slowed down as he passed by Oliver's driveway, then stopped by the grass and took off his headphones.

"Hey, you're Oliver right?" Maxim looked to him, watching Oliver's face turn bright red.

"Uh yeah, do you need something?" He scratched the back of his head, nervously glancing to the pavement.

"I just wanted to make sure you knew it was me who helped you out, your brother seems like a bit of a jerk heh. I changed my mind while I was in line and figured I'd lend a hand, I gotta catch up with my friends though. I'll see you around!" Maxim smiled and turned back to the road, skating after his friends who were yelling back at him.

Oliver could feel his entire body burning, he felt laughing, throwing up and screaming at the same time. After he composed himself he went inside, setting the bag on the table and watching his Mom put away the groceries.

"Do you need help with dinner Mom?" He went over to the kitchen, pulling items from the bags and setting them on the counter.

"Not this time honey, have you finished up your homework?" She always asked, and his response was always the same.

"I finished it at school, and I'm caught up on the book we're reading in English." He went to the fridge, placing the milk and other cold foods in their respective places. Jean was on the other side of the counter, putting up boxes of cereal, pasta and whatever else could go in the pantry.

"You've always been a quick reader, let's just hope your next project in that class doesn't lead you to being the only person doing the work. Have you talked to your teacher about that?" Oliver nodded, grabbing a grape from its bag and popping it in his mouth.

"I have, but she already knows. It's very clearly my work and style of writing so I get a good grade and my "partners" don't." He sat on a stool at the counter, poking at a bag of rice. Every group project he's ever done is usually all of his work, there were few times where the other people in his group actually did something. His brother walked by, grabbing the rice and putting it away.

"Next time you've gotta tell them that they need to work too. It's not fair that you do all the work and they get the same grade. That happened to me too, luckily my teacher was like yours and caught on to it. Usually I'd ask if I can do it alone but some teachers think you need a team for everything." His mom pulled out a pot and pan, getting ready to make dinner. Oliver watched quietly, feeling his brothers gaze stabbing into his back.

"Hey Mom? Can I ask a question?" His mother nodded softly and continued to pull things she needed for dinner.

"Of course, what is it?" She turned to him, Oliver shrugged softly. Jean quietly listening in, trying not to seem like he's just standing and staring.

"Are we gonna go see Aunt Meri this year?" Their mother laughed a bit and nodded, grabbing a can from the cabinet.

"This year yes, it's still up in the air but your uncle and grandfather are planning to meet us there too. And that means Jean is going to have to listen to your uncles stories about the military and war again." Jean rolled his eyes, grabbing a soda from the pantry and cracking it open.

"I already told him I don't want too, military life isn't my thing." Jean walked by the counter and leaned on it, right next to Oliver.

"Why not? I'm sure the military could beat the punk out of you." The brothers shared a glare, to which their mother rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"It's nothing to joke about, it's an honorable job, fighting for your country is something many people do year round. I don't expect either of you to go into it, but if you did I'd be proud nonetheless. Oh that reminds me, Oliver next time you go into the attic could you pull out the Halloween decorations? Your father always forgets." His body tensed as she mentioned the attic, that must've meant Jean told her he was up there. His brother snickered softly as he walked away, heading to his own room, Oliver grumbled softly and stood from his seat.

"Sure thing, I'll do it tomorrow. I'll be in the living room if you need me." He made his way out of the kitchen, throwing himself onto the couch and cursing quietly. He wanted to ask her so badly, just to see if maybe, just maybe, they had some magic in them. The off chance of that being true could change his whole life, his status at school especially. But if it was all fake, and the book was just some kind of family album or something, would be the worst news ever. He stayed still, his face stuffed into the couch cushion, and continued to stay put as he heard footsteps.

"Hey olive, who were you talking to outside?" Jean was standing in front of the couch, hovering over him. He turned his head and looked up at his brother, still annoyed with him.

"Why do you care?" Jean rolled his eyes and stood up straight, Oliver pushing himself up as well.

"You were out there for a while, I figured you were talking to a friend but I didn't get a good look." Oliver huffed softly, leaning back and grabbing a throw pillow.

"It was just someone from school, Maxim Sunstone to be exact, he was just letting me know that he paid for your stupid coffees. He just overheard you in the line, he was just being nice is all..." Oliver shrugged, hugging the pillow close to his chest. Jean stared at him, his brows furrowed and an annoyed frown on his face.

"Sunstone bought those? Tch. Probably just trying to look good in front of everyone. Don't take shit from those snobby assholes, they'll "be nice" a few times just to gain popularity and then they'll drop your ass down the toilet." Before Oliver could comment his brother turned swiftly, leaving the living room in silence. Jean wasn't a huge fan of any of the popular students in school, he himself had a reputation but he built that overtime, they got theirs by just being powerful. Oliver sighed and buried his face in the pillow, his mind racing with questions. He wanted to know why Maxim bought those coffees for him, why is Jean keeping him from reading the book, and if it's true, why didn't his Mom tell him he could've had magic?