Twinfestation

He ran. Before the car was even full stopped, he jumped out of the door and darted towards the school like the Road Runner. Ash and I looked for him for a bit, me kind of peeved that Silver made us arrive early so he could meet this David kid then ran so he wouldn't have to introduce us. Which, I guess I could understand, but it still pissed me off.

“Salem!” I turned around at the sound of my name only to be hit full force by the blonde and blue body.

“Hey Hayden.” I greeted him as I took his waist to steadied us. “Why are you here so early?”

“Me and Johna are helping Mr.Smith with last minutes stuffs for the trip today.” He smiled. “What about you?”

“Silver wanted to meet David.” I shrugged. “He dragged me out of bed early.”

Hayden jumped under my hands, his smile growing bigger. “They’re meeting? Where? I wanna see, it’ll be so cute!”

“Calm down, I’m sure you’ll see them later.” Laughing, I tightened my grip to keep him on the ground. He’s the only person who would be this jumpy in the morning, without a cup of coffee.

Taking my action as something else, Hayden got that look on his face and snaked his arms around my neck. “True.” He breathed as he pulled himself up. As usual, he tasted like oranges.

Someone cleared their throat as Hayden started to draw a leg around mine, causing him to jump and stand back on both feet. A slight shade of red covered his face, making him look like he’d just run a marathon. Probably like Silver’s.

“Johna’s looking for you.” Anita stood there with a small smile on her face. With hands in pockets and bottom half pushed forward, she looked like a male model. “Unless you’re too…busy.”

“N-no, not at all.” Hayden stammered as he hugged me and hurried off.

“Your boyfriend’s a pussy.” Ani informed me. “Offense intended.”

I shrugged. “I think it’s just around you. What did you do to him?”

“I smacked him once.” She mimicked my actions. “He should get over it. I smack a lot of people.”

Nodding, I smiled at the thought of Hayden getting slapped. Guiltily, but not regrettably, imagining if I had done it myself. Lately I’ve realized that, yes, I do have a problem with Hayden cheating. I didn’t come to this realization by myself, in fact I put most of the blame on Johna. But when I think about it she did have a point. It was something that needed to be addressed because, in all actuality, it may be useful information for the future. My dreams of having Silver were too far fetched, made even farther by David.

“I guess Johna has nothing to worry about then. With you around and all.”

“Yeah.” Ani smiled goofily for a moment, then regained her cool composer.

“So, uh, how did that happen anyway? The whole you and Johna thing…yeah.” I felt awkward asking. I never associated much with Anita and she certainly never dated any of my friends. There was never any reason to learn to feel comfortable around her since I barely was ever near her.

“It just did.” She shrugged. “Natural attraction, I guess. You can’t really help it.”

“Don’t I know it.” I mumbled. “But how you? Not to be rude or anything, but Johna never seemed interested in anyone. And she acts… different around you.” I realized. “More selfish.”

“Maybe that’s what she needed. Someone she could take something from rather than give.” Taking her hands out of her pockets, she rummaged through her messenger bag. “People act different around people they really like. Here.” She said as she pulled pamphlets out. “Johna wanted my to give these to Silver.”

The pamphlets had titles that I’d rather not say. Though probably helpful, defiantly unappealing.

Where does she get these from?

With a wave, Ani walked away, her feet making commandingly even footsteps.



One thing Ash and I will always have in common: David is a bitch. The hottest, kindest, most happy fucking despicable bitch I’ve ever had the extreme unlucky misfortune to lay eyes on. And the way Silver walks so close to him, holding his hand like they’ve been dating forever, blurs my vision. I could deal with Ash dating Silver; this David kid was an intruder.

“Why is he even here?” Ash grumbled next to me, arms folded over his chest like mine. “He’s not going on the trip, is he?”

“No.” I answered bitterly, glaring out of the door with him. Silver had apparently invited David over after school. To my dismay, I was welcomed by a uncontrollably giggly Silver and a overly charming David, chatting away in his room and dismissing me with nothing more than a ‘hi’.

“I may have shot myself if he was.” I said

“I would too, if it wouldn’t mean people using my name in the same sentence as yours.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well people wouldn’t say ‘Ash shot himself. Salem shot himself.’ They’d say ‘Ash and Salem shot themselves.’ “

“Why does your name get to go first?”

“Alphabetical order.” He shrugged. “And I’m better than you.”

About to fight back, I was stopped by Ani who walked up to us and almost obscured our view of Silver and David. She looked behind her then turned back around with a smile, as if she’s seen a box of kittens fighting next to a baby dressed as a pumpkin in the hands of a K-pop idol. I hear they’re very cute.

“They’re such a adorable couple.” She squealed, actually looking like a chick for a second. With a glance at me, she regained her normal facade and looked over at Ash. “Johna’s driving me back home to get our stuff, there anything you forgot?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Actually,” I cut in. “You should bring something you could wear to a club.”

They looked at me as if I’d lost my mind in the past ten minutes we’ve been staring at Silver and David. Which I can’t say I’ve not, but this idea had been forming beforehand.

I shrugged. “Silver’s been down lately. And self conscious.”

“As usual.” Ash nodded.

“So I figured we could do something, since we have Sunday night to ourselves.”

“Ah, I was thinking the same thing.” Ash informed me. “But I wasn’t planing on dressing up, he’d complain about how he didn’t look good in anything.”

“So? He always looks good, if we go out we can just prove that to him.”

“Buy letting gay guys hit on him.” He nodded again.

“What?” I shot a look at him in alarm. Where did he plan on taking Silver? A fucking bear cave?

Ash’s gaze lazily drifted to me, bored, and he shrugged. “There’s a gay club near there. It’s the perfect place. Silvester is gay, gay guys are gay. Silvester is cute, gay guys like to eat cute things.”

“You plan on letting a gay guy, that isn’t you, take my brother?”

“No. I plan on letting gay guys hit on him so he knows that he’s cute enough to make them disregard every other horny twink in the club to try and rip his pants off.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.” I turned to Ani. “Get him clothes he could wear to a gay club. You and Johna too, we all can go.”

With a nonchalant nod as to the odd and swiftness of this decision, she turned and took long strides towards Johna’s car. Johna hugged her, as if she’s been gone for hours, and Ani wrapped her arms around Johna’s waist, pulling her up to her lips. Ash looked with a mix of expressions on his face, but quickly switched his attention to Alan as he approached.

“Come with me.” Alan ordered as he took Ash’s hand and leaned all his weight back to budge him.

“Why?” Ash asked as he took slow steps forward.

“Because I’m short and you’re a foot taller than me without heals on. Which makes you tall and capable of doing the things I cannot.”

“Good enough for me.” With that, Ash walked beside Alan, still hand in hand.

Ash looked comically tall and Alan especially bouncy. Together, they looked like a good couple; energetic and calm all balanced out. I glanced over to were Johna’s car was, her and Ani still clinging to each other while leaning against it. With Johna’s head on Ani’s shoulder, they looked perfect with each other, like that was how it was meant to be. Going back to look at Silver and David being painfully cute together, Silver hiding his red face and David leaning down to see him through his fingers, a feeling of sadness suddenly hit me. Everyone had someone that they could go to, even Ash, who loved Silver, had Alan who seemed helplessly attached to him. But not me. I was left to stand here and look at it all with a aching chest.

In these moments, I felt a overwhelming feeling of loneliness that I never had before. It settled into my stomach, making it's own place, and stirred every time I took a breath, threatening to come out in the form of vomit. Even though I felt alone and empty, being sick was seemed like a very realistic reality right now.

It’ll pass soon. I told myself. Just bear it for now.



“Get your knee out of my crotch!” Ani shouted.

“Get your foot off my neck!” Ash cried back.

“I would if your knee wasn’t trying to invade my fucking vagina, you bloody twit!”

“I’d move it if you’re foot wasn't choking me!”

Silver sighed, sinking farthing into the passengers seat. He and Yu had offered to sit in the back with the bags but, through a few ‘what if’s’ and compromises, Ash and Ani had ended up back there.

“I wonder what’d they do if mom hadn't let us borrow the van.” Silver muttered.

“We’d have one less passenger.” I answered, rubbing my face in annoyance.

“Ah!” Ani squeaked. “Ashton, move your foot, move your foot, move your foot!”

“Kick me in the nuts one more bloody time and my foot is going more than there!”

“It’s this!” Ani shout. “This guitar in my back!”

“Shut up!” I finally shouted. “Just shut up! Why can’t you guys just find a position to sit!? It’s not that hard! Conner, Johna, and Yu did it!”

“Sorry if I don’t want my sister settled onto my dick!”

“He just needed more room for his legs!” Yu's shouted was followed by a hiss of pain. “I’m not sitting on his dick!”

“Aw, geez.” Through the mirror, I watched Conner’s face turn red behind his hand, a embarrassed smile on his face. “Come on guys, just settle down, geez.”

“Yeah, that’s it.” Ash sneered, seeming to have finally found a comfortable position in the. “He just want to get between your legs.”

“Ashton!” Conner shouted, anger and embarrassment overtaking his voice.

“Díul mó bhad!” The Irish words came out funny in Yu’s accent, but Ash seemed to get what they meant.

“Right after you suck his.”

A smack, so loud that it set us all in a almost panic state of silence, filled the car, accompanied by a loud thud and grunt of pain. The van seemed to jump to one side for a moment.

“Tuilli, go hifreann leat!” Conner shouted, his voice shaking the floor. “Apologize to her! Now.” He added when hesitation held Ash’s voice.

“I’m sorry, Yu.” Ash finally said in a pained voice, sounding as if he was holding his nose. “I’m sorry.”

After a moment of awkwardly aftermath silence, Ani spoke up. “Hey Salem, mind if I play this?”

To get rid of the atmosphere, I said yes and mentioned nothing of the difficulty of playing in a moving car. Long trips to Disney world had proven that. Not only were Silver and mom terrified of planes, but you can’t play a guitar in one. So we drove and I learned how to play in a moving car, but I doubted Ani could learn so quick.

A few seconds later, a faster version of a familiar tune filled the car and proved me wrong. The pace reminded he of hours races, quick but also slowing. Anita’s accent gave it a oddly pleasant spin, making it the perfect tune to be playing in the growing darkness.

“Oh, we’re on the bay bridge!” Silver perked up, sliding his knees into his seat and pushing himself against the windshield as Ani started singing through her chuckles.

“I think I saw you in my sleep darling. I think I saw you in my dreams. You were stitching up the seams of every broken promise that your body couldn’t keep. I think I saw you in my sleep.”

Within milliseconds, the whole car was singing the old song that every usta-wanna-be hipster knows, Such Small Hands. Though, I’m not sure you can count what Conner was doing as singing. Not that I noticed his voice much at all, the one I was fixed on was the angelic sound coming from Silver. He put so much emotion into it, as if he was in the process of having his organs torn out.

Silver had fallen asleep not long after we cleared the bridge. Curled against the door and twisted in his seat belt, he was as cute as ever. There were no more battles over space as Ash lightly snored in the back, Ani and Johna awake but not saying anything, a soft smile on both their faces. Conner and Yu murmured soft words in different languages, occupationally laughing softly and correcting the other. The mood of it all gave me a warm smile, obliterating the bad feeling I’d been carrying for the past week. That is, until Ash’s stomach growled so loud Silver stirred.

“Yeah. I’m hungry too.” Yu said. “Look, there’s the sign for the restaurant we’re suppose to meet at.”

Sighing, I drove until the restaurant came into sight, the feeling coming back.

Just bear with it.