LABEAU, DEREK AUGUSTIN

[DEREK LABEAU]

derek augustin labeau


twenty-four. upper class. andrew garfield.

"i'd rather not talk about my brother. it's not that i don't care about him and it's not that i don't look out for him, it's just that i always get questions about him. i'm almost like his pr rep or something. okay look, declan is pretty much my best friend and, quite literally, my other half or whatever, but there are just sometimes when i feel like talking about him is digging into his personal business, and while that's okay for me as his twin, it's not okay for other people. so for now, i don't plan on talking more about my brother.

but yeah, i'm a twin. being so confuses some people sometimes, but honestly i find that humorous. i kind of laugh when people mistake me for declan or vice versa, but not necessarily to point how stupidity. it's really easy to confuse the two of us, except that i'm usually the one in a suit and tie. i've always worked for our father. it's kind of been my life goal to inherit the company. and i don't mean that in the manner where i spite declan and hope he never gets anywhere in life - no. i'm a better brother than that. i'd rather take care of him myself, knowing that i had the company in my hands and the means to take care of him. but it's not like he's handicapped. declan is just...... different. that's what i was always told: "derek, don't treat your brother like that!" "but mommy, i was only having fun." "fun to you is a different fun to declan. play nicely." so things weren't always exactly like that, but it happened enough for me to realize that i had to be the understanding one. i had to figure out where declan was coming from and just that sometimes i couldn't figure out what was going on in his head, and eventually that left home with me and went on with other people.

my family is well known, and a lot of things are said about us. when i was younger, there was a rumor that my father was having an affair with the maid, who was promptly let go as if that would make the rumor any less real. i knew better - my father was not and is not an idiot and i firmly believe that he would never do such a stupid thing. i doubt our mother would have let him stay if that had been the actual case. then things were said about my brother, and my whole family, including myself, came out and denied anything that was way out of the picture. declan's not autistic, nor does he have down syndrome. he's not bipolar as far as i know and he never tried to tear my eyes out. he's moody, yes, but not deadly. there were rumors that i was a clone, which is funny only because just before i'd heard the rumor, i'd seen that movie with will smith about the robots.... nothing to do with clones, but i thought it was funny. ironic. but all of this goes to show that i'm kind of a pr representative, even though i'm not. i'm just good with words, you could say.

and then people are asking me about me. magazine people mostly, people that want to know about the people running companies. local people. they all want to know what labeau people are like. they want to know what motivates us, what personalities run the company. i always tell them the same thing: i work hard, i'm determined, and i listen. i keep things general with those people because it's not really any of their business what i'm like. and i know that if i said i was caring to a magazine rep, i'd get teased by people i didn't even know. being good with words includes knowing what to say and what consequences come with saying certain things. but i am caring, and i'm careful and cautious. i watch out for everyone. i don't let anyone fall to hard because i know it hurts, but sometimes watching out for everyone else takes a toll on what people are doing to me. i've been taken advantage of a few times, mostly by women, but none of those people ever stuck around anyway.

basically, i have a good time taking care of others but i end up worrying about myself when it's too late. then again, i'm not really a vengeful person, though if it comes to it, i can manage a sharp tongue. being a businessman has it's perks, as well as it's downs, but in the end it's all worth it. so, in a sense, i guess you could say that that's who i am. a businessman that takes everything in stride."

paigels. seventeen. what like four and a half, almost five years? i love cora and rini and alice and everyone.