The Stepbrother’s Hidden Desires

Annabel didn’t take David’s words from that day to heart, but she didn’t expect David to actually ask her during physics class. He asked three questions in a row about things he had just covered, so simple that anyone who had paid attention in class could answer them, but she couldn’t answer a single one.

A few sneers in the classroom, intentional or not, were particularly harsh. Annabel wasn’t embarrassed, but David looked at her with some helplessness.

Even though David had only been in Class 5 for a few days, he could see that Annabel was consciously being excluded by her classmates. Her only friend was George, but according to the other teacher, George’s mother had complained several times that her son was being led astray by his desk mate, and his grades were dropping drastically, so she demanded that George be separated from Annabel.

Since learning that David was a teacher, Annabel had been cold and distant towards him. It was even hard to run into her on the court. David initially thought she was angry with him, but later realized that her attitude towards every teacher was the same. She seemed to be fighting against the world around her, which made David, who had been confident at first, feel somewhat discouraged.

As the last class ended, David stood at the office door and glanced in the direction of Class 5. After a while, he saw Annabel coming towards him, with one hand on George’s shoulder, chatting and laughing. The two were about the same height and were both wearing school uniforms. If you didn’t look closely, you might mistake them for two boys. But at Shining High School, Annabel is really the only one who can ride a boy’s shoulder with such bravado and without feeling out of place.

George was the first to notice Mr. David, who had recently become popular among the girls. He stopped and called out, “Mr. Curry”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Annabel, beside him, let out a soft grunt and muttered, “Fraud.”

David nodded and turned his gaze to Annabel. “Would you like to play basketball later?”

“I’m busy.”

Annabel rolled her eyes, knowing that David was trying to be nice to her, but she wasn’t interested in teachers.

—

Mason and a few others had rented an old factory building in the suburbs and had carefully transformed it into a rock-themed space mainly used for band rehearsals.

Mason had just written a new song and had been rehearsing for the New Year’s Eve party performance. Annabel liked rock and heavy metal music and enjoyed playing the drums. Taking advantage of the days when Thomas was on a business trip abroad, she would hang out at Mason’s place after school and often return very late.

Brenna waited for her every night, and tonight seemed particularly late, but she couldn’t ask because Annabel never answered her or Logan’s calls.

At midnight, the sound of roaring motorcycles filled the yard, and soon Annabel pushed the door open.

“Have you eaten?”

Annabel nodded, and Brenna wanted to say something else, but Annabel had already gone upstairs.

Brenna was filled with conflicting emotions. If she told Thomas about this, Annabel would surely resent her more, but if she didn’t, she feared Thomas would blame her. However, thinking it over, the relationship between Annabel and Thomas was such that any attempt to change Annabel was just wishful thinking on Thomas’s part. As an outsider, why bother meddling?

Logan’s room door was wide open, and Annabel glanced inside to see Logan sitting in front of his computer playing a game, Annabel muttered to herself, “No way!”

Curiosity got the better of her as she approached, and sure enough, he was playing the same game she was. If they were in the same server, she’d hunt him down every day.

At that moment, Logan suddenly turned his head, sizing her up. Annabel figured he probably hated her because of Aria’s situation, but she didn’t care and even provocatively waved at him.

Logan suddenly stood up and walked towards her. She thought he was going to get angry, but instead, he just frowned at her and said, “You’re home so late and didn’t inform anyone beforehand. Your dad will be worried.”

Mentioning Thomas made Annabel a bit nervous. She reached out and grabbed Logan’s collar. Logan leaned back, and instead of pulling him down, she almost ended up pressing against him, her breath falling lightly and ticklishly on his chin.

Unaware of her proximity, she pointed a finger at his nose and said menacingly, “If you dare to tell him, I won’t spare you!”

Probably feeling like threatening him was pointless, she huffed, “Even if I can’t do anything to you, I can still bully Aria.”

Logan, contrary to his usual snappy demeanor, looked at her dumbfounded, as if genuinely intimidated by her. Annabel was satisfied and let go of his shirt. Indeed, threatening with a girlfriend always worked.

After the midterms, they had a three-day New Year holiday. The day before the New Year, Thomas deliberately rushed back from overseas.

In the evening, Mason’s band participated in a music festival. Annabel had promised to attend, but when she came back and saw Thomas sitting on the couch, disappointment was written all over her face.

She barely greeted him, and Thomas seemed a bit displeased. After not seeing him for half a month, she was met with this expression. Surely she had been having too good a time lately.

“Gan has a performance tonight. Go have dinner , and then we’ll go together later” he said.

At the school’s New Year’s Eve party, Logan had a piano solo. Thomas flying back specifically for Logan’s performance made Annabel even more annoyed.

“What does Logan have to do with me? Who is he?” she retorted.

Thomas’s expression darkened. “Annabel, remember this. Logan is your brother!”

Just as they were about to start arguing again, Logan’s nonchalant voice came from behind.

“If she doesn’t want to go, forget it.”

Annabel turned her head and saw Logan coming down the stairs. He was wearing a suit with a down jacket draped over his arm.

Annabel, annoyed, muttered, “I have a stomach ache, I’m not going!”

With that, she rushed upstairs.

“Then stay at home and don’t run around!” Thomas, who had been persuaded by Brenna, couldn’t help but add.

Once the Thomas family left, Annabel made her bed look like someone had been sleeping in it and quietly slipped out while the maid was away.

The music festival was by the lake, not too big a venue, but it was already crowded. Annabel risked squeezing the air out of her lungs to get backstage. Mason’s band had a bit of a following online, and they were frequently asked for autographs.

“Wow, you’re all big stars now.” Annabelle gave a thumbs up to Orla, the only girl in their band, who wore braids and dressed like a black musician.

She winked at Annabel. “You’re late again.”

“No choice, school ends late,” Annabel replied.

After signing autographs, Mason glanced at Annabel and teased, “Annabel is a straight-A student now, can’t compete with her.”

Annabel pretended to hit him. “Stop teasing me, Itching for a beating, huh?”

Alex, the bassist, looked at Annabel’s listless appearance. “Heard you’ve been having a tough time there. Don’t understand why your dad insisted on sending you to that school, it’s nothing like us.”

“What can I do? It’s all because of Logan.”

Orla put her arm around Annabel and winked. “Is your dad trying to set you up with Logan?”

Annabel had just had an argument with Thomas about Logan tonight and couldn’t help feeling annoyed. “Shut up, don’t mention him to me!”

After a while, the staff of the music festival came to discuss the performance with Mason and his band.

Orla set down her guitar and sat next to Annabel, her face full of anticipation. “You really seem to dislike Logan.”

Annabel rolled her eyes. “Obviously!”

Orla’s face lit up with joy at this response, her eyes shining. “I’ve always thought Logan was great”

Annabel suddenly understood and scrutinized Orla’s face for a few moments, somewhat incredulously asking, “How did you suddenly develop a crush on Logan?”

Orla had met Mason about half a year ago when they performed at a bar. She gradually became friends with Annabel, but she had only met Logan a few times and had no real interaction with him.

Orla chuckled, “His voice is nice, especially when he speaks softly, clean and aloof. I have no resistance to this kind of restrained style.”

Annabel shook her head in disdain. “What nonsense is that? He already has a girlfriend.”

Orla confidently patted her chest. “As long as his girlfriend isn’t you, it’s fine.”

Annabel chuckled. “Logan likes girls who are good at studies and delicate and petite. Someone like you, a rebellious girl, breaking your tiny frame wouldn’t do any good.”

Alex couldn’t help but interject, “Exactly, he definitely wouldn’t like a wild girl like you who doesn’t study.”

“Wild? ” Annabel laughed, then suddenly noticed Mason beside her, staring blankly at Orla. His hair was somewhat long, almost covering his eyes when he lowered his head, and his thin face looked a bit melancholic.

Mason’s demeanor felt somewhat unfamiliar to her. Orla had mentioned to her in private that it seemed to be because of conflicts at home regarding the formation of the band, and he had moved out of his house as a result.

Before she could ask anything else, cheers from outside interrupted them. The show had started, and the DJ’s enthusiastic and infectious voice pierced through their ears.

The festival had invited several bands and some moderately famous local singers. The audience consisted mostly of young students, and the intense music, dazzling lights, and hoarse voices of the singers instantly ignited the atmosphere.

Annabel was swept up in the excitement and waved goodbye to Mason and his band, squeezing into the audience. She saw some friends in the front row whom she hadn’t seen in a long time and indulged in some banter.

Mason’s performance was around eleven. He was the lead singer and sang three songs. He got so hyped up that he even jumped the railing. The scene was about to explode, with Mason on stage, the dazzling lights, the crazy music, and the exuberant youths enjoying their time recklessly.