Everyday Combat

Everyone sat watching Sarah as she stormed off, but I just sat glaring at my brother hard. Well, considering I wanted to cry I glared at him as hard as I could. Finally he looked back and met my gaze. For a moment a look of worry flashed through his eyes but the moment it was there it was gone, only to be replaced with a frown.

"What?" He grumbled but I just sat there, unsure of how things would come out of my mouth if I opened it. For once, I had my brain and my mouth connected. "For fucks sake Faith! Why are you looking at me like that?!"

"I can't believe you're acting this way," I whispered. I actually wanted to yell at him, but at least I'd said something rather than continued with my silence.

"My girlfriend is going away to Europe for a week, how else am I supposed to react?!" He yelled.

"You don't have to act like life is only interesting when she is here!" I yelled back, my voice wavering.

"Well it is!"

My hand shot to my mouth, trying to hold the whimper in my mouth but it came out anyway and a stream of tears fell down my face, dripping onto my bare legs. I simply couldn't say anything right then in retaliation to that, but it seemed Zack hadn't finished since his mouth opened once more.

"I'm in love with Sarah, Faith! I'm not just gonna be all 'oh you know, it's okay you're going to Germany for a week and leave me here in California with nothing to do!'"

"Nothing to do?" I yelled incredulously before screaming at the top of my lungs and lobbing Brian's shoe at him which hit his shoulder. I had a very good aim. "Nothing to fucking do?! How dare you fucking well say that?! Who do you think I am Zachary? The whiny annoying clingy parasite you were unfortunately brought into the world with and have had to put up with for the last fourteen and a half years?!" My chest was heaving as I let this all off. "You are acting like the world is going to end just because precious little Sarah isn't here! Well guess what? It's not going to end!!"

"You're just jealous that I actually have someone who loves me and cares for me!" Zack screamed jumping up to his feet. "This is all because you don't have a boyfriend!"

I really couldn't say anything to that, I just sat there in the grass staring up at him with glassy eyes and my jaw slightly agape and quivering as the sobs came up my throat. I could feel my hands beginning to tremble as my eyes begin to feel hotter and hotter.

"You say that like you don't love me Zack," I whispered, trying to keep control of everything that was coursing through my body.

"Yeah well some times I do wish I didn't have a twin sister." He spat but the moment he had his hand shot to his mouth and his eyes widened as he realised what he'd just said.

My body now completely taken over with the pain of his words I climbed to my trembling legs, tears running down my face like a leaky drainpipe, I turned and hurried away without saying anything. I had never wished I didn't have Zack. I was thankful to God everyday that I was given such an amazing twin brother.

I guess the feeling wasn't reciprocated.

[[Brian]]

Faith wobbled away slowly, crying silent with grief to herself and saying nothing to any of us. I couldn't believe what Zack had just said, and right about then I felt my fist ball up and I lunged at him, only to have Jimmy hold me back.

"She's your sister, how can you say that to her?!" I yelled angrily at him as I thrashed against Jimmy and eventually Matt who had to help hold me back. "You don't even realise how much she idolises you! She has you on such a fucking pedestal, it's not even funny!"

"What is this?" Matt now spoke up, finally letting go of me. "Are you trying to set the world record for number of people you piss off in one day?"

"Don't you fucking start," Zack grumbled.

"Why shouldn't we start?" Jimmy retorted. "Not only are you making your sister feel like she's not good enough you're practically putting your own friends down by being like this!"

"And another thing," I spat getting right in his face. "You're hardly one to talk when the reason she doesn't have a boyfriend is because of you, her own twin brother."

"Why do you even care all of a sudden?!" Zack yelled back at me. "What, do you like her or something? Because it sure as hell seems that way lately!"

"No, I just fucking care because she is my friend and friends don't let their friends get hurt," I shoved him. "Neither do they wish their twin sister didn't even exist! I know I don't exactly get on with my brother some times but I'd never wish he wasn't alive!"

Zack shoved me back till I hit the tree right behind me, knocking the breath out of me instantly. "If I ever find out you've been fooling around with Faith, I'll fucking kill you with my bare hands!"

"I think it's a bit too late to act like the caring type Zack!" I yelled. I'm surprised the teachers hadn't come down to see what was going on. Enough people had stopped what they were doing and were watching with interest.

Suddenly Zack put his head in his hands before turning around and driving his fist into the tree. Then he sank down to sit with his knees drawn up to his chest, his arms wrapped around them and his face buried in his thighs. I looked at Matt and Jimmy who looked just as confused but we didn't go off. I wasn't like that. If my friends needed me, I was there regardless.

"Do you know how hard it is, having these two girls in my life who I love more than anything and would do anything for?" He said quietly, finally looking round at us. "I'm so in love with Sarah it's stupid. I just want to do everything with her, I want to spend the rest of my life with her. And Faith...how do I explain why I love my twin sister? There's nothing in particular I love about her, I just always have loved her."

I sighed and sat down beside him, rubbing his back.

I did, honestly, feel sorry for him. I wasn't in his position, I never had been and I never would be because I didn't have a twin sister. I mean, we all loved Faith; she was so fun loving, optimistic and like the Warped Tour she brought the sunshine wherever she went.

But for Zack...

He had to juggle his time between the two of them, and being a confidant of Faith's, he obviously wasn't doing it fairly. And even though she'd only told me, the other three could tell too. The only person who couldn't see was Zack himself.

"Don't worry, we don't hate you." I said as he wiped the tears from his face quickly glancing to see where Matt and Jimmy were and if they had seen the tears. "Sarah is only going to be a phone call away and Faith couldn't hate you if she tried."

Zack nodded and smiled weakly.

Now all I had to do was hope to God the part about Faith and Sarah was true.