Twinfestation

My phone sat on my bed as we stared at it. The screen shined and vibrated every few minutes, making Cali look up at me in question and my chest contrast a little each time. The '1 message' alert glowed bright with David's name too plane under it, almost making it unbelievable. We sat there for a straight forty-five minutes, writing lists and thinking of reasons not to answer and make the inevitable date that would be scheduled if I did. Not being able to take my eyes off of the phone caused my handwriting to down spiral as well as the word's alignment.

My list:
- Salem doesn't know him
- He could be a pervert
- He could be a bug keeper
- He could be sane and think I wasn't cute or good looking
- We could have nothing in common
- I'd have to tell my mom if she was here and he picked me up

Cali's list:
- Meow
- Meow
- Purrr
- Meow
- Yawn

I think Cali made some valid points, he could get bored of me and fall asleep too. But mostly I was worried about my mom, Say, and the bugs. Mom never expected anything from us and wasn't one to have thoughts that I was gay unless she saw me making out with a boy, hard evidence. Say didn't know the guy which made me nervous even thinking about him. Say knew which guys were good and I didn't want to tell him that I made a date without checking with him first, I know it's not what sibling do, but for some reason I felt like I was betraying him by not doing so. And bugs. Just.....bugs.

"Hey." The voice made me jump so high I could have touched the ceiling.

"Hey, Alan." I said breathlessly after a set of sneezes that stole a bit more of my air. "You scared me."

He shrugged. "I have no idea why. I've been standing here for, like, ten minutes."

"....how'd you get in?"

"The girl, Rachael let me in." Wondering to the bookshelf, he picked out the first book to Darker Than Black and sat on the bed across from me. For some reason, I didn't feel the need to act any way around him. He gave me blank looks, like he was empty, and it didn't matter what was wrong with me as long as he was empty. It made me feel comfortable and strangely understanding. We were friends without words and I knew he knew it too.

"Sooo" He said "What's wrong with your phone?"

"Nothing." I sighed. "I'm just....trying to work up the courage to make a date."

"Oh." He smiled almost like he was amused. Then his smile grew and his face lit. "How about a double?"

After almost chocking on my spit, I gave him a wide eyes unbelieving look. "It I can't date one guy, what makes you think I can do two at once!"

"Well, you do have two holes in your body, it's really not th-"

"Alan!"

When he laughed he smiled and showed every bit of metal in his mouth, looking probably dorkier than me in my suspenders and too-small T-shirt. "I meant a double date. You go with whoever texted you and I go with that British hottie."

Chewing this over, I decided it wasn't a bad idea. I liked Alan and Ash would definitely make sure he wasn't some sort of pervert. Plus, Ash might find he likes Alan and get himself a boy friend. Alan certainly doesn't seem like he had anything against it, so the only one who might be apposed is David.

I smiled over at Allan as I picked up my phone. "You just want a excuse to get Ash to go out with you."

He smiled. "Yeah, totally. That too."

Swallowing my fear so hard Cali woke up and Alan raised an eyebrow, I picked up the phone and willed my fingers to text back. My heart pounded so hard I swear Alan was smiling at that and not something he had read. When my phone vibrated again, I jumped across the bed and landed half on Alan half on my bear.

"This guy," Alan questioned. "he doesn't have a background or anything, dose he?"

"Why?" My voice sounded urgent, even to me. "Do you know him? Is he abusive?"

"No no. I'm just wondering why you're so jumpy over a high school student. Think about it, your friends are probably the most buff guys in your school, right?"

I nodded.

"After hanging out with them, why are you so scared of any other high school student? Not only should size not be a problem for you," He paused to laugh at his perverted thoughts. "but he would and should be scared that all your sexy muscular men are going to destroy him like silk in the washer."

"You make me sound like I have guys crawling all over me."

"Honey, from what I saw and just looking at you, it's hard to believe you're not in danger of being raped everyday."

I snorted at his comment. The thought of me being good looking enough to have guys over me was almost to funny to comprehend, but his air just made it all the more humorous. "Yeah, okay."

My phone vibrated again, reminding me of the message I hadn't answered. I looked down at it for a minute then finally picked it up when Alan loudly cleared his throat. Our conversation went smoothly for awhile as David proved to be a basically decent guy. No perverted comments, no sketchy phrases or word choice, and no talk of bugs. After a while of Alan looking over my shoulder, I felt the grin spread across his face when David suggested meeting before school the next day.

"I wish I started your school already." Alan sighed "I want to see this."

"Thank you, Alan." I said sarcastically. "That makes me feel very confident."

"No problem, Honey."

Shaking my head at Alan, I agreed to David's idea, admitting that I had no idea what he looked like. I was a bit ashamed to admit it, but it's not like Hayden had given me a picture or much of a description to go bye. Not minutes later, a photo was sent.

It was obvious he hadn't planed on going anywhere for the rest of the day, his black hair was flying all ways off of his head, but pieces still making their way to his brown eyes. His gray T-shirt was wrinkled and smile small, because he didn't like pictures or he was nervous were the only two explanations I could think of. A hand was held next to him, waving at me and letting me know he wasn't taking the picture himself.

Point: He was cute.

"Drop your pants. Just drop them now." Alan's demand seemed to come out of nowhere before I remembered that he was over my shoulder. I assumed he was talking about the picture David had asked to see, so he'd know what I looked like, and declined Alan's request.

"um....I'd rather not."

"To bad, take them off. He's a total hottie. Not your brother level, but still a hottie. You need to make sure you keep him and the only way to do that is to drop your pants." Before I had a chance to respond, Alan was pulling at the leg of my jeans. "Come on. Lift that booty."

"No, Alan, no! He didn't ask to see my ass, he wants to see my face!"

"That's what he said, that's not what he meant! Everyone wants to see your ass!"

"No! You're just doing this because you want to!"

"So? It doesn't mean he can't enjoy it too."

"I'm not a slut, Alan!"

"Fine!" Finally giving up, he let go of my pants and huffed, crossing his arms. "We'll just use your face then." He mumbled.

This proved to be easier said then done. Alan tried to fix my hair and was ready to go get my moms straightener when I threatened to lock him out if he left the room. Finally, he stopped messing with my hair and trying to straighten my shirt long enough to take a picture. He was on his way to get some product from the bathroom and take more pictures when I quickly picked up my phone and sent it. My cheeks were set aflame when he texted back telling me I was cute and my eyes beautiful.

"What is this?" Alan demanded from the doorway, the jar in his hand dropping to the ground. "You're blushing? You did not sent it! I didn't get the chance to make you fabulous!"

"I'm sorry Alan." I lied. "I didn't want to keep him waiting."

He sat on my bed and began to pout again. " 'Didn't want to keep him waiting.' " He mumbled. "Yet you won't even show him your ass."

My blushed deepened and I retreated back to my phone, trying to hide the messages from Alan. Failing miserably, I hid my face in my knees when David and I started to already make hypothetical planes for a future date. My face sunk farther and farther down with each smile that spread across Alan's lips, and caught fire when he commented on how far down I had gotten my head and told me that that was David's job.

The happy embarrassment that burned under my checks and skin soon turned into a panic as I realized what I'd just done. I'd made a date with a guy I hardly knew who probably already gathered that I was the weirdest, most unobservant, unattractive, shrimp in the world. It was pity, nothing more, just pity. It'd probably be for best if I call and cancel. David could go out with someone else, I wasn't suited for things like this.

A my chest began to contract, I reached for my phone but Alan got to it first and slid it under him. "No." He said bluntly. "I sometimes think like that too when I'm nervous about something. You think too much about then start talking yourself out of it."

"How do you stand it!?" I yelled into my hands.

"I have a rule I follow. Think deep, don't sink."

"What?" I looked up to him. "Sink?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "It feels a little bit like sinking, doesn't it? You're suddenly overwhelmed with feelings and the idea that you're not good enough. It starts to get hard to breath, you begin to panic, and you try to find every way you can to float back up to the surface of it all." He shrugged. "It's easy to drown yourself like that. It's harder to drown other things."

Avoiding the situation at hand, I asked "What other things did you try to drown?"

Handing me my phone, he said "Like Frida Kahlo, I tried to drown my sorrows, but the bastards learned how to swim. Plus," His hand ruffled my hair, like I was smaller than him, before going back to Cali. "you probably have no idea just how cute you really are. It's easy for that to happen when you don't know your strengths."

The word associated with me almost made me laugh. "Strength, right."

Sizing me up for the fiftieth time today, he shrugged and turned his attention back to the book. "You're right. You have more of a chance of being raped with your looks, like I said earlier. You need protection, which is why you're doubling with me and Ash. Don't forget to tell him that, by the way."

"I won't Alan, don't worry."

To stop Alan from asking me every five minutes, like I knew he would, I texted Ash and spoke out loud when I found the contact, causing him to smile and do a extremely flamboyant, squirmy, dance. Almost as soon as I sent it, my phone vibrated over and over with a call. Looking at it, Ash's sleeping face appeared. Since he doesn't like getting his picture taken I had to get a contact picture one night when he was over, I still don't think he knows I have it.

"Hey." I tried to wipe my voice of all hesitation or hints of tentativeness.

"Silvester Marcus Ihtoo," His voice boomed in my ear, despite the low volume setting I kept my pone at. "did you honestly just text me to see if I would go out with Alan so you could double date some random guy that none of us have even met?"

I paused before answering, just to make sure that he got it right. ".....Yes."

There was silence for a moment, the only thing letting me know he was still on being two familiar voices in the background. "Gods, Silvester." He mumbled "You cruel nitwit. Give the phone to Alan, please."

"Wait, I'm not cru-"

"Give the phone to Alan!"

"Okay! I'm sorry!" I handed the phone over, giving Alan a confused but pleased look on his face.

"Hi!" He squeaked then cleared his throat. "Hello...Yeah......I totally understand....fantastic...."

'What's he saying?' I mouthed, but Alan only shewed me away. I gave him pleading looks and even resorted to letting out whimpers that he laughed at or ignored.

They talked for a few minutes longer, Alan's smile becoming so large it almost stood a chance against Conner's, before Alan squeaked a "Bye!" and hung up.

"What'd he say?" I quickly asked as I took back my phone.

"You look more eager than a horny guy at a nudist beach." As he said it his smile only grew.

"What did he say!?" I asked again, ignoring the comment.

"I'm not telling."

"What!? Why not!? I'm the one who set you up!"

"He told me not to."

"But you know me better!"

"But he's hotter!"

"......Crap, you're right." Pulling pack and sitting on my haunches, I sighed. "Can you at least tell me if you're going?"

"Yes. We are."

"You are!?" I exclaimed, leaning towards him again. The excitement in my voice shocked me as much as it amused Alan, who laughed and pushed me back down.

"You seem really exited." He pointed out the obvious. "What do you plan on doing?"

"Nothing! I just.....I don't know."

"Muhum." He said as he turned his attention back to Cali. "But whatever it is, I wouldn't tell Ash. He may just rip off someones' dick. And for some reason, I don't think it'll just be David's."