Clash

Lindsey walked through the house late one night a few days later, going to get a glass of water when she heard a door open and close. She looked around in the dark, trying to see where it came from. She automatically assumed the basement studio, so she grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and headed off in that direction.

The basement was made soundproof, which she was grateful for, so she knew she wouldn't hear anything until she opened the door at the bottom of the stairs. When she did, she was more than a little shocked to see Bill in the studio area, fitting a pair of headphones over his ears. She figured he was just rehearsing something, until she saw him plug in his mp3 player, an iPod Touch with an orange and red Adidas cover. She snuck in quietly as he did what appeared to be voice preparations, doing the 'do-re-mi' thing, and watched quietly with her finger hovering over the record button.

Bill cleared his throat and put his mouth up to the speaker. Lindsey, sensing opportunity, pressed record. Bill had his eyes closed as he was swaying slightly, like he was listening to the beat of a song. Lindsey watched him intently, wondering what sweet, melodic song he'd sing, knowing the type of music he preferred.

What she heard when he actually opened his mouth was a bit of a surprise.

"Storming through the party like my name is El Niño, when I'm hanging out, drinking in the back of an El Camino. As a kid was a skid, and no one knew me by name. Trashed my own house party 'cause nobody came."

Lindsey stared, wide-eyed, as Bill sang the Sum 41 song with a slight accent, his face a mask of concentration. It was almost comical, how much his eyebrows were furrowed, and how hard he seemed to be struggling. She didn't hear any mistakes, though, which she thought was good. The song was meant for two people, and he seemed to be doing just fine by himself.

"I know I'm not the one you thought you knew back in high school. Never going, never showing up when we had to. Attention that we crave. Don't tell us to behave. I'm sick of always hearing 'act your age.'"

Lindsey couldn't help but smile. Bill's dreadlocks were pulled back with a glittery scrunchie, he was free of makeup, and he was bumming in a pair of track pants, and here he was, singing his heart out at midnight. She had to appreciate the odd affect.

"I don't wanna waste my time. Become another casualty of society. I'll never fall in line. Become another victim of your conformity. And back down."

Lindsey was imagining the music in her head (she had learned the bass several years earlier) and began playing the notes on a nonexistent bass, focusing on Bill, who looked entirely concentrated.

"Because you don't know us at all, we laugh when old people fall. But what would you expect with a conscience so small? Heavy metal and mullets, it's how we were raised. Maiden and Priest were the gods that we praised."

Lindsey doubted this fact, but she was pretty sure it was how Bandit was going to be raised, minus the mullets.

"'Cause we like having fun at other peoples expense and cutting people down is just a minor offense then. It's none of your concern. I guess I'll never learn. I'm sick of being told to wait my turn."

Another chorus came and went.

"Don't count on me to let you know when. Don't count on me, I'll do it again. Don't count on me. It's the point you're missing. Don't count on me, 'cause I'm not listening."

Lindsey felt her jaw drop. She hadn't had a chance to hear Bill's soft voice and she liked it a lot. She might have even asked him to sing Bandit to sleep when she was being a fussy little brat.

"Well I'm a no goodnick lower middle class brat, backpacked, and I don't give a shit about nothing. You be standing on the corner talking all that kufuffin. But you don't make sense from all the gas you be huffing. 'Cause if the egg don't stain, you'll be ringing off the hook, you're on the hit list, wanted in the telephone book. I like songs with distortion, to drink in proportion."

She was almost ready to start clapping.

"The doctor said my mom should have had an abortion."

Lindsey couldn't stand it anymore. Bill's eyes were still closed, his concentration high, so she jumped up and began to sing along. She knew the words, and she knew he wouldn't hear her.

"I don't want to waste my time. Become another casualty of society. I'll never fall in line. Become another victim of your conformity and back down."

Lindsey was hopping around at this point. Bill was radiating pure energy.

"Waste my time with them. Casualty of society. Waste my time again. Victim of your conformity and back down."

Bill smiled widely and started pressing something on his iPod. Lindsey pressed the record button again to turn it off and then pressed the intercom button.

"Hey there, singing insomniac."

Bill squeaked and ripped the headphones off his ears. "Oh, um, hi, you, um… hi."

"So, do you normally get up at two in the morning and sing or is this just a one-time session?"

Bill rubbed his arm. "I have jet lag."

"How far ahead of us is Germany?"

Bill looked up as he counted in his head. "Nine hours."

"So it's like eleven there."

Bill nodded. "It's about the time I usually wake up when there's nothing important to do."

"Ah, you're like Gerard. You sleep as long as you can."

Bill smiled. "Objection. I sleep longer than I have to."

Lindsey smiled widely. "So, Bill, I was doing a little research and I came across something I couldn't find a name for."

"Syphilis?"

Lindsey laughed as Bill smiled mischievously. "No, I know what that is. I couldn't find a name for it, but I did find a nickname. The Brother Song?"

Bill covered his face with his hands and squealed just a small bit. "You've heard of that?"

"Yeah, I've heard of it, but I didn't hear it. What is it?"

Bill wrinkled his nose like a little kid. "It's a song. Tom and I were just messing around on a free day, we had nothing better to do, and we just started writing a bunch of songs together. A lot of them were completely stupid, but there was one we were sort of serious about that was supposed to be only for us."

"The Brother Song."

Bill nodded. "The song's title is In Die Nacht and it became the most successful song on our European tour. We played it every night, Tom and me, and there was always cell phones and lighters in the air."

"What does in die nacht mean?"

"Into the night."

Lindsey thought about that for a moment. "Does that have anything to do with the fact that if one of you quits the band, the other quits too?"

Bill shook his head. "Tom and I are twins, identical, always been together, always will be together. Even in death. That is what the song is about."

"In death?"

"When sadly translated by me and my English skills or thereof lack-"

"Lack thereof," Lindsey corrected.

"My point exactly. Anyway, when it's crappily translated, it's supposed to say 'I do not want to be there alone…' um… something…"

"Having some English troubles?"

Bill pouted. "I swear I translated it really well once! God, where is Jost when I need him…"

"Just say what you know."

Bill licked his lips. "Um… I do not want to be there alone… leave us, something… into the night. It will be time sometime… leave us, something… into the night."

Lindsey looked like she was trying not to laugh.

"I know it better in German!" Bill said defensively, crossing his arms.

"So why don't you sing it for me?"

"Because it is not just my song. Say, you and Gerard had a song together. It expressed your love for one another, a love that will never end. Would you want Gerard showing it around to other people, making it look like you didn't care who heard it because you were not around to help him display it?"

Lindsey mulled this over. "I guess I can understand that."

"So I can't do it without Tom."

"So go get him!"

Bill raised an eyebrow. "You obviously have never tried to wake a sleeping Tom. Call my mom, she's still got the picture of my black eye when I was eleven. That is one bruise I do not wish to get again."

"Oh, he can't be that bad."

"You do not have Tom as a brother, you do not know. I can show you a scar."

Lindsey looked a little taken aback. "A scar? From what?"

"I decided that jumping on Tom was the best way to wake him up. That was a bad idea, especially since I have been a stick all my life and Tom has always been stronger. He pushed me off of him and I landed wrong on the corner of my bed frame."

"Did he feel guilty at all?"

"Nope. He blamed me for it, saying if he hadn't been woken up in a bad way, I would never have been shoved off the bed."

"Like a true brother."

Bill nodded, and then Lindsey used a tactic on Bill she often used on Gerard: she used puppy dog eyes.

Bill's face was priceless and pathetic. "Oh, don't, please. I really don't want to wake him up!"

Lindsey's lower lip gently pushed out.

Bill covered his eyes for a moment, muttering darkly in German. He finally sighed and looked at the ceiling. "Fine! I'll go meet my doom, you cruel woman."

Bill hopped off his stool and walked out the door. Before he left the basement, he turned to Lindsey.

"You are paying for my funeral out of your own pocket."

Lindsey smiled as Bill trudged up the stairs. He made a quick pit stop in the kitchen, grabbing a Capri Sun and a snickerdoodle to entice Tom out of bed.

Bill set both of the items on Tom's nightstand and sat down next to him, shaking his shoulder gently. Tom groaned and turned away.

"Tomi."

Tom pulled the covers over his head. Bill ripped them back down and jumped on Tom's back, tugging on Tom's braids.

"Get up."

"Get your bony body off of me or so help me I'll fling you in the pool from here."

"Please Tom? Lindsey really wants to see us play together, for her?"

Tom lifted his head up and tried to look at Bill. "You sound like you have a crush on her."

Bill snorted. "So having a female friend means I automatically have a crush on her?"

"Yes."

"Knock off the sarcasm. At least right now."

"Then I'm not getting out of bed."

Bill whined and leaned his head on Tom's shoulder. "Please? I brought you a cookie and a Capri Sun!"

Tom nudged Bill's head with his own. "Make it a can of Coke instead and I'll get out of bed."

Bill smiled and got off of Tom as the older twin stretched and rolled over, sitting up. "Thank you, Tom, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Tom grabbed the cookie and followed Bill out of the room. "Yeah, yeah."

Bill was so happy that he had both gotten Tom out of bed and done it without getting injured that he slid down the banister. He grabbed a Coke from the fridge for Tom and a bottle of water for him and then pulled Tom to the basement, smiling while Tom yawned and grumbled.

Lindsey looked at Tom and laughed. "Tired, Tom?"

"Don't make me slap you," Tom groaned, grabbing his acoustic guitar.

"He will, too, you don't know what he's going to do next," Bill joked, following Tom into the recording area.

Lindsey sat down at the chair and kicked her legs up. "So, can I ask a question before we begin?"

"Sure, go ahead," Bill said, opening his water bottle.

"If 'in' is 'into,' then what is 'in' in German?"

"Well, if stupid here would stop telling lies," Tom said, tuning his guitar and pointing his elbow at Bill. "'In' is both 'into' and 'in,' but 'im' can be used as 'in' as well. It's for like… different contexts, I think."

"Yeah," Bill said, nodding.

Lindsey blinked. "So… im and in, in and into."

"Genau."

Lindsey blinked again. "I'm sorry?"

Bill smiled. "It means 'exactly.' You said you wanted to learn."

"I do, but not this early in the morning."

When Bill and Tom laughed, Lindsey couldn't help but smile. They're voices sounded just a bit different in pitch, but their laughs were identical.

"So, what was I dragged out of bed for?" Tom asked, flicking the tab on his can.

"Bill said he would show me In Die Nacht."

Tom glared at Bill. "You couldn't have done this without me?"

"Can we just play it for her, please?"

"Whatever."

Tom began to play. Bill smiled and sang.

"In mir wird es langsam kalt, wie lang könn wir beide hier noch sein bleib hier. Die Schatten wolln mich holn, doch wenn wir gehn, dann gehn wir nur zu Zweit. Du bist alles was ich bin und alles was durch meine Adern fließt. Immer werden wir uns tragen, egal wohin wir fahrn egal wie tief."

Lindsey smiled. No matter how pissed Tom had been at Bill waking him up, he seemed to be happy as Bill sang seemingly only to him, a huge smile on his face.

"Ich will da nicht allein sein, lass uns gemeinsam, in die Nacht. Irgendwann wird es Zeit sein, lass uns gemeinsam, in die Nacht."

Tom apparently needed to be punished for some reason, because Bill stretched his leg over and kicked him in the knee, which made Tom laugh and look at Bill. Lindsey felt the interaction was because of the something else, and made a note to ask what about.

"Ich höre wenn du leise schreist, spüre jeden Atemzug von dir. Und auch wenn das Schicksal uns zerreißt, egal was danach kommt, das teilen wir. Ich will da nicht allein sein, lass uns gemeinsam, in die Nacht. Irgendwann wird es Zeit sein, lass uns gemeinsam, in die Nacht. In die Nacht irgendwann. In die Nacht. Nur mit dir zusamm'n!"

Lindsey was pretty sure that if Bill could have pulled the microphone off the stand, he would have.

"Halt mich sonst treib ich alleine in die Nacht! Nimm mich mit und halt mich sonst treib ich alleine in die Nacht! Ich will da nicht allein sein, lass uns gemeinsam, in die Nacht. Irgendwann wird es Zeit sein, lass uns gemeinsam, in die Nacht."

Bill took in one last breath. "Du bist alles was ich bin und alles was durch meine Adern fließt."

Lindsey couldn't help but clap. "That was awesome, you guys. Freaking amazing. I do have a few questions, though."

"Thank you, and ask away."

"Why did you kick Tom?"

Bill laughed. "Everyone asks me that! Really, the only reason I do is because the idiot refuses to look at me. I'm singing my heart out for the moron and no one else and he's always like this." Bill mimed looking down. "I kick him so he'll look at me!"

"You know why I look at my guitar instead of you."

"Please, Tom, you don't need to look at the strings to play this song. You can play it in your sleep if you wanted to."

Tom merely rolled his eyes. Lindsey raised her hand. "Question two: what's the significance of the last line? I noticed it was said twice."

"Ooh, she's perceptive! Very good, Lindsey. The last line says 'You are all that I am and all that is flowing through my veins.' Sort of a summary of Tom and me."

Lindsey smiled. "Cute."

~+~

Jimmy was dancing around the island in the kitchen and Kitty was using knives as drumsticks, both of them wired from their morning coffee. Georg was finding it hard not to smile at them, they were just that infectious.

Kitty went into a very wicked drum solo, almost cracking the tile counter, then pointed at Jimmy. "HIT IT, EURINGER!"

Georg laughed as Jimmy started to tap dance, singing 'Tiptoe Through the Tulips.' Despite the fact that Jimmy seemed to make it a point to tease Bill, he enjoyed his company. He was a riot.

A few minutes later, Lindsey came down and ignored every hello sent her way. She trudged over to the coffee pot, poured a cup for herself, then almost chugged down half of it. She looked up. "Ungh."

"I forgot, you're useless before you've had coffee." Kitty smiled at her friend.

Lindsey grumbled something else and began to drink again.

Kitty laughed. Tom came trudging down the stairs, but he wasn't alone. Attached to his back like a koala baby was Bill, dark circles under his eyes, a thoroughly tired expression playing on his features. And he had commandeered Tom to give him a ride downstairs. Tom, being a good older brother, gave him one.

"You know, Tom, they have procedures that remove growths like that," Kitty said, smiling.

Tom rolled his eyes, pulled out a stool, and turned around. "All right, Bill, train stops here. Off."

Bill groaned and slid off of Tom onto the stool, letting his head fall on his arms.

Jimmy came skipping up. "Cheer up, little emo kid, you get to meet my lady love today!"

Bill slowly lifted his head up. "Someone was crazy enough to marry you?"

Lindsey spit out her mouth of coffee and started to laugh, holding onto the counter for support.

Suddenly, a woman that Bill had never seen before in his life came skipping through the house. She was very peppy, bright, and had a huge smile on her face.

Bill would dislike her until noon.

"I'm crazy enough to marry him! Chantal Claret, nice to meet all the foreign people, and nice to see all my other bitches again!"

Oh yeah. Bill was definitely going to hate her until noon.

"Aw, now who is this cheerful little ray of sunshine?" Bill suddenly felt someone leaning on him. He groaned. "Wake up, darling! Greet the day!"

"The day can kiss my ass."

"That is no way to live."

"I don't know you, I was up very late last night, I am very tired, and I have not had anything to eat or drink that contains caffeine or sugar yet. May we continue this conversation when I'm more alive?"

The woman tapped Bill's shoulder, then looked around at everyone. "Oh, I like him. Can I keep him?"

"I don't think my mother would appreciate if you kept him for yourself," Tom said, sitting down next to Bill, pushing a cup of coffee and a bowl of Frosted Flakes towards him.

Bill looked up at him. "My god, thank you, I love you, I don't know what I would do without you."

The woman looked back and forth between Tom and Bill. "Can I ask a question without offending anyone?"

"I didn't know you were capable of that," Lindsey said, smiling.

The woman rolled her eyes. She pointed at Bill and Tom. "You said your mother wouldn't appreciate it. She obviously likes him very much. Are you two boyfriends?"

Bill and Tom took one look at each and were falling all over each other, laughing, clutching onto each other so they wouldn't fall of the stools.

Tom's eyes were actually watering.

The woman blinked. "What?"

"Chantal, just, once they calm down, look at them. Look really, really hard at both of them," Kitty said, smiling.

Tom wiped his eyes and Bill took in a deep breath. "Yeah, look really hard," he said, putting his face next to Tom's.

The woman, Chantal, blinked, eyes going back and forth between Tom and Bill. Her eyes suddenly went wide.

"Let me guess: your mother would not appreciate me keeping him because she's his mother as well."

"Bingo! We are Tom and Bill, Kaulitz twins." Tom and Bill simultaneously made a flashy hand gesture.

Chantal's eye twitched. "Twins?"

"Identical."

Her eye twitched more. "And I just asked... I'm going to go bang my head against the wall for a moment if that's okay with you."

Bill smiled. "Don't worry. People have assumed worse."

"And still assume worse," Tom said, nodding.

Chantal nearly squealed. "Now I want you both! You have cute accents!"

"We're not the only ones with accents!" Tom whined, pointing at Georg. "What about him?"

"No offense, dude, but you and Bill have thicker accents. We can't figure it out either," Lindsey said, hopping up on the counter.

"We do?" Tom and Bill said at the same time, looking at each other.

Georg raised an eyebrow. "Yes, you do."

Their jaws dropped. "Damn!"

Chantal looked at them. Kitty smiled. "They do this often, don't worry about it."

Chantal nodded. "Well, okay then, I'll get used to it. And, when everyone gets down here and eats, may I suggest we do something outside?"

"Suggest it now, the suspense is killing me," Kitty said.

"I'm having a bout of childhood tendencies, so I was hoping you guys would love it if we went outside and played duck, duck, goose!"

Lindsey just about screamed with excitement. "Oh my god, I love that idea!"

Bill, Tom, and Georg all looked at each other.

"What is duck, duck, goose?" Bill asked, tilting his head to the side.

Kitty smiled. "Oh, dear Bill, it's only the second greatest kids game ever."

"What's the first?"

"Red rover," Lindsey piped up, refilling her coffee cup.

"Are these games fun?"

"Fun. And the best part about red rover is that it's violent," Jimmy said. "I used to know a girl who got her arm broken playing it."

"And we are no so adding it to our list of games to play today," Chantal said.

Bill swallowed. This was going to be awful.

~+~

"Red rover first!"

Bill hit Lindsey on the back of the head. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Absolutely. All right, two teams!"

Bill, like always, latched onto Tom's arm. Lindsey advanced on them.

"Uh-uh, we're splitting up the Dream Team. Tom, with me. Bill, you're with Kitty."

Bill groaned. "I'm going to die."

The separated evenly, and found that Chantal made an uneven number. She pouted.

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"You can take my place!" Bill said eagerly. Kitty clutched onto his hand tighter.

"No way, skinny boy, you stay with me."

It was at this time, with almost perfect timing, that Gerard came out in the backyard, carting Bandit in her carrier. "What the hell are you guys doing? Hi, Chantal."

"GERARD MY MAN! PUT THE KID DOWN AND COME PLAY RED ROVER WITH US!" Steve said, smiling.

Gerard blinked several times. "You want me to link hands with you, call red rover, and have someone try to break through us which will ultimately leave someone being hurt?"

"Yeah!"

Gerard put Bandit down on the grass a safe distance away so they could keep an eye on her. "I am so in."

He walked over to Bill's team and grabbed Bill's hand. Bill looked at him. "You at least need to buy me dinner before you hold my hand."

Gerard started laughing. "I'm forward, I know."

"Well, you are pretty cute."

"Stop flirting with my husband and let's play!" Lindsey said.

Bill sighed as Lindsey's team talked for a moment. Bill leaned over to Gerard. "Is there any special way to do this or do you just run?"

"Just run. And you can go through whoever's arms you want, the choice is all yours."

"Red Rover, Red Rover, send Georg right over!"

Bill looked over at Georg, who seemed to be eyeing the chain. His eyes fell on the link between Lindsey and Jimmy and he smiled. He took off for it, and Bill couldn't help but look.

Gerard started laughing as their chain fell down as Jimmy and Lindsey refused to let go of each other's hands, but Georg's momentum took them down anyway.

"What happens now?" Bill asked.

"They get to keep him on their team."

"That's not fair!"

"It is fair. He couldn't break through. But if he had broken through, he could have come back with someone on their team."

That made sense. "Okay. Can I call who I want to come over?"

"Just let us know."

"I want to call Tom over. I know he'll go straight for me, and either Gerard or Kitty just needs to hold on tight. Okay?"

They all nodded, then looked over at their friends in the opposite line.

"Red rover, red rover, send Tom right over!"

Tom locked eyes with Bill, smirked, then took off like a shot towards his brother. Bill dug his heels in the ground, gripped both Gerard's and Kitty's hands tightly, and steadied himself.

Tom's waist slammed right into Bill's and Kitty's interlocked hands. Bill gripped onto Kitty's hand so tight he was probably grinding her knuckles together, but she was gripping back just as hard.

Tom tried his hardest, but eventually, he just fell to the ground, pissed.

"Not this time, Tom. End of the line," Bill said, smirking at his brother.

Tom flipped off his brother and went to link hands with Steve.

Bill smiled. He liked this game.