Sacred.

I was thankful for the darkness. It meant she couldn’t see me blush as I talked. The cool autumn breeze blew our hair lightly, and the reflection of the moon on the lake was beautiful. I was so thankful for our secluded spot too. We were never found when we went here.

“I love you.” I whispered.

There was a slight pause, and everything seemed to stop as I waited for a reaction. Her next words were music to my ears.

“I love you too, Bill.”

Regardless of how brightly the moon shone, it was her smile that seemed to light up the night.

We sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each other’s presence.

“We have school tomorrow, and it’s already eleven.” I smiled.

“We’d better get going. Goodnight.” She kissed me on the cheek and then stood, and disappeared into the darkness. I stood a few minutes later, then sneaked back home.

* * * * *

“Where were you last night, lil’ bro? Don’t lie, I saw you leave.” Tom pounced on my bed.

I cracked an eye open.

“What? I was nowhere.”

I sat up and stretched.

“Liar, I saw you leave. You went off to meet Kayleigh, didn’t you?”

Our twin bond kindof let him know that his assumptions were correct.

“Hey, I reckon it’s nice that she has you, I mean, what was she like before?” he smiled, then left my room.

I got myself out of bed and thought on what he said. Yes, Kayleigh was a loner of sorts. Or, she had been. I had invited her to hang out with us at lunch once, and everyone had taken a shine to her. She had fit right in, and eventually, I had come to like her in a more romantic way. She had depression, and times could be hard, but I was positive she could recover with our help and support. One thing that scared me a little was that, on particularly bad days, she had a history of self-harm. I never liked to see her hurt, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.

I readied myself in black jeans, a black shirt with a red skill on it, my skate shoes, plus various rings/armbands, and a touch of eyeliner and eye shadow. I teased the layers in my hair carefully, making sure that only certain ones stood. A fingerless glove completed my look. Oh, I love to look unusual! After readying myself sufficiently, I went downstairs for breakfast. After eating, I brushed my teeth and joined Tom, quickly grabbing my Nena messenger bag. We walked down the streets to our school.

When we arrived, we were greeted by weird stares, plus Gustav, Georg and Kayleigh.

“Hey.” I greeted everyone.

“Heya Bill.” Gustav and Georg grinned.

“Hey Bill.” Kayleigh kissed me on the cheek.

“Roar.” Tom smirked.

“Heya Tom.” Gustav grinned again.

“Tom!” Georg and him had a secret handshake that no one caught on to.

Far too complicated.

“Hello Bill’s older brother.” Kayleigh teased me.

Honestly, I should totally be the older twin.

To my dismay, and instant concern, Kayleigh’s face had no light in it. This was not good. She seemed rather flat. I knew that things hadn’t been going well at home. Her parents had recently divorced, and her older brother, Artur had been killed in a car accident only a few weeks ago. No, things had not been going well lately.

So I decided to stand next to her, and I wove my arm around her waist. She leaned on me, and I kissed the top of her head.

“You know I love you, right?” I whispered in her ear.

“Mhmm, and I love you.” She replied.

The bell went, so we moved to period one. Kayleigh and I had maths together, but Gus, Georg and Tom were in a different maths class to us. Period two and three we all had together; music.

“Seeyas soon.” I waved to the guys, and we moved off.

“Hey Kayleigh?” I laced my fingers with hers.

“Yes?” she looked into my eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?” she tried to bluff her way out.

“You look… flat, upset, and I’d be a shitty boyfriend if I didn’t try to find out what’s been going on.” I replied bluntly.

“Please Bill, not here, not now.” She groaned.

I tugged her to a standstill.

“Then when? If not now, then when?” I asked.

“Just leave it.” She grimaced.

“Show me your arms, Kayleigh.” I demanded.

She reluctantly pushed the sleeves on her hoodie up to her elbows. Fresh cuts lined her arms.

“What’s wrong?” I asked softly.

“Bill, not at school. Meet me at our place tonight and I’ll tell you.” She compromised.

“I will.” I decided.

“Mr Kaulitz, Miss Brücke, class, Now.” Miss Bahn appeared in the hall.

We broke into a sprint, arriving at class late.