Chapter 56 - New First Impressions

Cassidy hasn't felt this way for what seems like a very long time.

Unbeknownst to Damien and his brothers, she's secretly beholding them like they're the most adorable creatures in the world. For the entire time, she just keeps smiling at them in an effort to pull out her friendly approach - one that she usually uses on children their age.

In reality, though, she is only playing it cool so as to not appear like a creep.

The thing is, Cassidy had grown very, very fond of little children after spending a good portion of her life in taking care of orphans.

Since she herself was one, she helped her guardians in looking after the orphanage where she was raised in.  Only a small few knew about this significant detail about her past, though. She's been keeping it as a secret from most people.

"And I believe that you're Damien... Is that right?" Cassidy asked the oldest, much to his surprise. 

"Yes, Aunt Cassidy. Good evening..." Damien answered a bit meekly, looking hesitant to talk casually like how she seemed to want him to. 

"We heard that you were involved in an accident and lost your memories. My brothers and I are glad to see that you're now all up and well. We'd been worried."

"You and your brothers...?"

For a moment, their aunt only blinks at him in puzzlement. His eyes widened a little at the impression that she just noticed something about his speech that made her react quizzical. She then appears to be ponderous all of the sudden while she only continues exchanging looks with him. 

That's until she spreads yet another one of her bright grins, taking them aback once more.

"My, what a reliable big bro you are~ You're acting like their spokesperson..." Cassidy giggled lightheartedly before paying attention to the other two this time.

"Thanks for being worried, guys. It's all good now. I'm quite tough, you know!"

At this point, the three seem to be really in for quite an exchange with their once unapproachable aunt.

As she continues beaming at them reassuringly, they have come to see the plane crash as something that is not actually as scary as they think at first. Since that tragedy was all over the news back then, they were genuinely frightened by it.

"No, it's not that it's not scary anymore..." Damien thought silently, a realization dawning on him.

"It's just probably because Aunt Cassidy is indeed that tough like what she said."

"By the way, Damien, I've got something for you..." Cassidy chimed in again before handing over her present to him.

"Happy thirteenth birthday!" 

Taken aback by such a blithesome greeting, he stays silent still for a second before eventually taking the gift.

What's inside is a little big and heavy, but more surprisingly, the shape seems very familiar to him. With eyes as wide as saucers, he then begins to grope every part of it, feeling it more now that he has touched it.

"M-May... May I open it?" Damien asked with a somewhat desperate tone, looking as if he's keeping himself from appearing too ecstatic.

"Go ahead," Cassidy simply said with a nod.

That's when he starts tearing off the gift wrapper with an expectant expression on his face. She can tell that he has already realized what it is by now, and going by the hint of delight gleaming in his eyes the entire time, she knows that he's going to like it. 

"Woahhh...!" Joshua suddenly chirped in pleasant surprise, beating the celebrant in reacting first.

"What a cool skateboard!"

While his brothers gape at the black skateboard that has a few golden yellow stripes as its main design, Damien is so astonished that he's struck speechless. 

Cassidy is glad to see the warm reception that they are giving the present. Just as she expected, boys their age were interested in this kind of things, though that's not really the only reason she decided to choose this gift.

"It's my birthday present to you, and a form of apology too..." she confessed all of the sudden, making the three look back at her again.

"I kinda broke your skateboard. You know, that one you left back in our lounge before."

"O-Oh, right... I forgot that I left it there when we visited. But it's alright. It wasn't important at all..." he trailed off with a downcast smile that betrayed his words.

"You could've just told me. I would understand that Aunt Cassidy only broke it on accident."

"Not really. I borrowed it without your permission. I broke the wheels after pulling a crazy stunt when I slid down the stairs. It even reopened my wounds."

"Huh?!" 

Their eyes widened in flummox at that, expecting the reason that she herself rode on it as the least probable thing that could've happened. They had no idea that she could skate - much like how they were completely clueless that she could drive a motorbike.

This whole thing would definitely sound implausible had they not heard it come straight out of her mouth.

"You can skate, Aunt?! And even pull that difficult of a stunt?!" Damien couldn't help but ramble eagerly like the teen that he should've always been - his mature front finally cracking. 

"Sure, I can. It's quite easy, but just don't do it when you're riddled with wounds. I learned the hard way," Cassidy replied with a shrug as she put her hands on her h.i.p.s and proudly puffed out her chest for a bit.

"That's cool, Aunt Cassidy! Your bike over there is cool too!" Joshua enthused from beside his brother. 

"Thank you. For a young man, you've got good eyes for things..." she commended before patting his shoulder approvingly, much to his delight.

"Oh, and also, Damien..."

That's when she looks back at the teen again, her expression turning a bit serious this time. His lighthearted smile drops at this for a little, taken aback by how he's feeling that same impression again - that she just noticed something about him that he himself wasn't even aware of.

"You're lying when you said that your skateboard wasn't important, weren't you?" Cassidy asked gently.

"H-Huh...?" Damien blurted out, flabbergasted by how uncalled-for that was.

"I noticed the wheels, you know. They're really worn out, which either meant that you used it often or it's very old. That's actually one of the reasons I ended up breaking it after pulling that stunt. I got quite a heavy landing that time."

He found himself blushing at this, unable to deny it anymore.

What she said was just so on point and reasonable. It's true that he would use it whenever he was out of his relatives' sight, after all.

In fact, that skateboard had always been one of the few things that made Damien feel like a true teenager for once.

"I bet you're not allowed to play with that in your manor," Cassidy pointed out with a sympathetic smile. 

"How... Just how could you keep guessing right?" Damien asked a bit sheepishly, averting his gaze.

"It's cliche, my friend. If you're watching soap operas and reading novels, you'll usually see that people like your family do this kinds of things. Funny how it actually does reflect real life, huh...? And since I myself have experienced it, I already expected that it would be hard on you too, kids."

At that point, the brothers are really beginning to see their aunt under a different light.

Her character is just so refreshing - far from the stiff and stern personalities that most a.d.u.l.ts here possess. She is understanding and thoughtful enough to talk with them using their own language, thus not making them feel anywhere near inferior or less important only because they're younger.

Her intentions are also clearly genuine. She doesn't seem to be pretending friendly just to please them or gain their favors.

With all these said, even Hugo has finally stepped out from behind his brothers and tried to take a closer look at the woman he thought was scary at first. He's still as shy as always, though. His back remains crouched slightly while his head droops low.

Right then, Cassidy finally notices that he's actually cowering the entire time. 

"Why, hello there, little guy...!" she called out blithely, making him jolt in surprise. 

"Oh, don't be scared~ I'm not going to eat you or anything."

"Then, A-Aunty... W-Why'd you have to wear black of all things? T-This is brother's birthday, n-not a Halloween party."

Cassidy knows that she should feel even the tiniest bit offended by that, but because of how adorable Hugo and his fluffy red cheeks are, she just chooses to smile. The sight of him fidgeting timidly makes her heart melt from how cute it is. 

"You shouldn't judge people by their appearances, you know. You always gotta take a closer look..." she gently said before stretching out her arms and asking him to come to her.

"Come here."

Despite his hesitation, Hugo slowly walks closer to Cassidy and lets her wrap her arms around him. She then takes him away from the stage and carries him - a gesture he finds unexpectedly comfortable. That's when he also realizes how beautiful she actually is this up close.

More than anything, though, he feels really safe and warm in her arms for some reason.

"See? Do I still look scary?" she asked to which he slowly shook his head in reply. 

Though Cassidy may look like she's merely entertaining a child's curiosity, she just really wants to hug and squeeze this fluffy cinnamon roll in reality.