Everyday Combat

"Zachary James Baker," Brian spoke up, pointing a finger at my brother who had to go cross eyed just to see it and the look of fear that flashed through his eyes when he thought he was gonna get his eye poked out was hilarious.

"Yes Brian Elwin Haner?" He gulped in response.

"You're nan is a damn good brownie maker," Brian smirked which only made us all laugh more when Zack scowled and swatted Brian's hand away from his face.

"God I thought it was something important," Zack scowled as he lent over sideways and rested his head on Sarah's shoulder. We were all gathered around on the field under one of the large oak trees. We'd kinda claimed this as our own by scratching our names into the bark, and since the guys were all big and scary looking when they wanted to be, nobody argued the toss.

"I will have you know, dear twinny of mine who I can't really see properly right now since my sight is crappy and my glasses are falling off my face," I now spoke up in a stupid voice trying to sound important, even though my glasses were making a steady break for the grass as they slipped down my nose slightly. "That brownies are the food of the Gods thank you very much. So yes it was important."

"Thank you, Faith," Brian smiled at me, holding a hand up for me to high five. I could barely see it though. It was our Chemistry lessons fault, well ours. We'd been doing a practical, but had to make it up as we went along since we weren't listening. The subsequence of that being overwhelmingly nauseating fumes that made me throw up.

And gave me a headache.

So now I couldn't see without my glasses, even three hours after the damn lesson had ended.

"Faith, you are supposed to be on my side," Zack scowled, throwing one of his potato chips at me and finding it hit me square in the middle of my forehead, leaving a cheesy orange mark on my otherwise unblemished Mediterranean skin.

"Who says?" I frowned slightly as I pulled out my little round mirror and carefully wiped away the orange mark without disturbing my make-up, surprised I could even see my reflection. I wasn't exactly vain but I didn't go round thinking I was hideous either. I figured I was your average Italy-born Italian-American fourteen year old girl, and the only perfect thing on my face was my well perfected make-up.

"Erm, try the fact we're twins?"

I put my hand down and stared at him. "Yes but in this case I had to defend nan's brownies which you seemed to think weren't important."

"Do you always think of your stomach?"

"Actually it was Brian's," I said half-heartedly as I pulled out my black eyeliner stick and touched up the thick neat lines around my big bright emerald green eyes that seemed even brighter when I was out in the sunshine.

"Your hand is so steady," Brian spoke up from where he was stretched out, with an arm around me, and I grinned. I remember the first time that I ever applied make-up to my face myself - it was only about 3 years ago - and how unsteady my hand had been as I'd edged the black eye pencil further towards my eye.

I have never felt so much pain in my forehead since I'd been unconsciously leaning towards the mirror until I'd smacked my head upon the reflective surface which resulted in me poking my eye so bad mom actually took me to the Emergency Room to get it checked, and it was a few weeks before I tried again.

Zacky had found it hilarious, and constantly liked to remind me.

"Did she ever tell you what she did the first time she tried to put eyeliner on herself?" Zack spoke up with a loud laugh.

I knew he'd have to bring it up. "I smacked my head on the mirror and poked my eye, they know. You always tell them," I rolled my eyes with a fond smile in his direction as I put my make-up away. "And I think you're just jealous that I can do my make-up better than any of you bitches, you know, on account of being the modern Picasso here."

Jimmy lobbed a handful of his own potato chips at me with a grin. "Stop blowing your own trumpet!"

I squealed and jumped away from my seat. There was no point because the chips fell to the grass a top of all our school bags and coming nowhere near to the small flattened patch of grass that was temporarily mine.

Then I smirked. "I am a girl, not a guy," I pointed out as I sat back down. "And even though you said it Jimmy, I find it sick you would even suggest 'blowing your own trumpet'. I mean, your ribs are in the way so it's physically impossible."

Everyone stared at me where I sat with an innocent smile before they began laughing and I heard Sarah mutter an 'ew' at my statement. "Fede Del Jesus! Ottenga la vostra testa dalla grondaia!" Zacky exclaimed and I laughed, falling sideways into Brian. "Smetta di pensare al jimmy che si succhia fuori, io non può credere il mio proprio gemellato suggerito quello!"

"It's Jimmy's fault my mind is corrupt in the first place!" I yelled back, still laughing, and flinging my arm out in Jimmy's direction from where I was laying with my head on Brian's heaving chest, whilst he laughed into his hands.

"Esto es su falta, usted le deja corromperlo." Sarah muttered in a voice she obviously thought was sotto voce and I frowned. I don't know what she'd said, on account of not speaking Spanish but I knew it was probably a jibe at me.

Zack didn't think anything of it though; all he did was shuffle away from Sarah and thump Jimmy on the arm. He was frowning so deeply and I knew that to be his 'I'm not fucking joking anymore' face. Jimmy stopped laughing and rubbed his arm, whining in pain.

"Fucking pack it in round my sister alright?" He warned him as he sat back where he had been previously.

"God, I didn't know the Mafia were in town," Jimmy retorted.

"Nessun ma io vi regolerà il Cosa Nostra se non imballate la scopata in su intorno alla mia sorella!" Zack hissed.

"Oi! Imballi la scopata in su, se mi preoccupassi voi lo penso lo lasciassi farlo io stesso?" I yelled instantly with just as deep a frown as his, as I lobbed Matt's empty Coca-Cola bottle across to my brothers head which hit him perfectly on the forehead, but not hard enough to actually hurt. "Calm down, alright?"

Everyone looked at Zack, knowing that right then the word 'sorry' should come from his mouth but instead he nodded. "Okay." I knew that was his sorry, and so did they. Zack and I weren't the best for saying the word, and our apologies always came in different ways and everybody who knew us had come to learn that.

So they stopped trying to make us say it.

I had no idea why we had trouble saying sorry. There was no underlying problem from our childhood that meant we couldn't, we'd just never ever been able to mutter the word 'sorry'. Probably because Zack and I were able to apologise with just one glance, glances that everyone else couldn't decipher and so making apologies to others awkward. You were very very very lucky if you got a proper 'sorry' out of us.

Just then the bell rang, ending our discussion and we all steadily climbed up to our feet. Since our bags were all chucked down in one pile it took a few minutes for us all to sort our things before we headed off for our respective lessons. Brian quickly gave me a hug before heading off to his ICT lesson, leaving me to wait for Zack.

No prizes for guessing what he was doing.

I kept my back to them not really wanting to watch them try and swallow each other before finally Zack was at my side, poking me in the small of my back to make me walk.

"So erm, are you doing anything tonight?" I spoke up as I chewed on the Twizzler he'd just handed to me.

"Nah," he replied kind of solemnly, which my heart contradicted when it lifted slightly. "Sarah's going to LA with her mom tonight for some dress fitting or something."

I plastered on a fake smile of sympathy, whilst secretly my mind was leaping about from excitement at the fact she wouldn't be here tonight.

"Any particular reason behind your asking?" He now queried, raising an eyebrow up at me.

"Is was wondering if you wanted to go to the new batting cages up in Anaheim?" I asked hopefully. "Dad said something about him and mom going out for dinner there tonight, and there's no reason why we couldn't hitch a lift with them."

"Batting cages you say?" He then said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

I nodded. "I just thought 'cause we haven't done anything for a while, and since we both love playing ball if you weren't doing anything we should go," I explained with a shrug. "I'll even pay for you if I have to."

"Oh, you know I'll pay for myself," he grinned, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer to him.

"So is that a yes?" I grinned up at him with a hopeful smile, my fingers crossed where they were in my pocket as I dug around in it.

"Did you really think I'd pass up on the chance to go to the batting cages with my twin sister?" Zack half-yelled with excitement as he rubbed his hands together.

I didn't answer that, knowing full well that if Sarah wasn't going out tonight he would have passed up just to spend the time with her instead. I just simply smiled and shook my head before entering our classroom ready for our next lesson of the day.