You're Automatic.

I had locked myself in the bathroom, really wanting to just be alone. I had been in there for what had felt like forever, but had only been a couple hours according to a clock hanging on the wall. The first half an hour I had been in there, Bill had tried to coax me out. When that didn't work, Tom had taken his turn. After Tom wasted forty-five minutes, I gave them something of an explanation: "It was my dad." After that, they stopped and left me alone.

But then I started to get hungry and bored. I had stopped shaking completely and my brain was functioning for the most part. But I knew I could only sit there by myself for so long. I bit my lip and stood up, opening the door a crack; barely a second after I'd turned the door knob, the twins had rushed over. "Whoa, down boys! Can one of you give me my bag?" I waited as Tom went to get it, then handed it to me through a gap I mad just big enough before shutting and locking the door again.

I took the clothes from the night before off and looked at myself in the mirror. The bruises on my face from before dinner were worse and accompanied with a cut about an inch long over my eyebrow; my lip was also cut. I had a bruise on my back from slamming into the wall, one on my shoulder, one on my hip, one on each arm... I sighed and turned the shower on.

[Tom's POV]
I heard the water in the bathroom and start up and knew Amanda was in the shower. I was seriously thinking about marching to her house and beating her pitiful excuse of a human step-dad within an inch of his life. But I wasn't going to leave her, even if Bill was here. I also wasn't going to go do anything in fear that I wouldn't be able to stop myself.

But what was I supposed to do? I'd never had to deal with anything like that before! It wasn't like I could seep her off her feet like a knight in shining armor. Right? And the thing that bugged me was the most was she looked like she'd never been hit in her life when we met her; at dinner when I saw the bruise on her face, she said it had just been an accident... And I had been stupid enough to believe it. And her step-dad had been right there too! If I had just known, I would've done something. But what could I have done?

I grit my teeth and stood up, pacing for a minute. I growled and grabbed my keys, stomping toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Bill asked, turning to look at me suddenly. Sometimes having a twin, someone who knew you like they did, could be a real pain.

"Out," I muttered, slamming the door behind me. I knew he'd take good care of her while I was gone. Maybe I'd be in a better state of mind when I came back and she'd want to talk about it.
[End POV]

I heard the door slam and I jumped. I quickly finished rinsing off and grabbed a towel, scampering out of the shower and to the door. It was a relief to only hear the television, no screaming or yelling. I sighed and forced a chuckle. Of course Shawn hadn't found me, he wasn't even off work yet. I shut off the water and got dressed.

I swiped the condensation from the mirror and looked at myself again. I still looked pretty bad, but not as bad as before my shower. Plus, I felt a lot better and that definitely counted for something. I towel dried my hair and brushed it before leaving the room, my blanket folded over my arm.

Upon walking out, I noticed only Bill was on the couch watching tv. There was no sign of Tom anywhere. I was just about to ask where he was when Bill noticed me.

He jumped up and ran over to me, hugging me tightly like an old friend hugs someone they haven't seen in a long time. I awkwardly hugged him back, giggling. He let go of me and smiled, "You look a lot better."

"I feel a lot better," I told him with a smile. He interlocked his hand with mine and lead me to the couch. "Hey, where's Tom?" I sat down next to him.

He seemed hesitant before he answered, "I don't know. He just got up and said he was leaving, didn't tell me where." He shrugged and bit his lip. "He's really pissed though." He looked at me, his eyes worried for other reasons than they had been earlier when he first saw me on the couch.

I nodded and sighed, leaning back and pulling my legs up to sit criss-cross. "So, what now?" I didn't really want to go out and risk running into my step-dad... or my mom, for that matter.

He shrugged and turned to face me, sitting the same as I did and still holding my hand. "I don't know. What do you want to do? We can watch tv or go play Xbox with Georg and Gustav. Or whatever you want really." He smiled, giggling.

I opened my mouth to answer but my stomach growled, answering for me. I stifled a laugh and looked from my stomach to him. "I guess I haven't really eaten since yesterday morning." And, no, I was definitely not going to bring up the fact that I had thrown up. Yuck.

He laughed and stood up, walking me to the small kitchen area of the suite. He looked through the small fridge and the cabinets. "Let's see. We have cereal. And candy." He grinned and grabbed a bag of Swedish Fish, putting them under his arm before searching again. "And bacon and eggs. And that's it." He frowned and looked at me, "The life of a touring rockstar isn't easy when you have company." He shook his head.

I laughed and pointed at the box of Froot Loops in a cabinet. "Those will work just fine. They're my favorite anyway." I smiled and pulled the box out of the cabinet.

He grabbed two plastic bowls and spoons, not once letting go of my hand. We walked over and put the cereal and bowls on the coffee table before he guided me back to the fridge. "Uh oh..." He frowned, face still buried in the refrigerator.

"What?" I tried to look but he was in the way. But I laughed when he took out a carton of milk and held it upside down with a pout. "Oh no, no milk!" I laughed again. "It's okay, we don't really need it." I pulled him back toward the couch. We sat on the floor and he poured a bowl for both of us, a childish smile on his face. He slid one to me and picked a green loop out, tossing it up in the air and catching it in his mouth.

I smirked and laughed. "Hey Bill?" He looked at me questioningly after doing the same thing with an orange loop. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise." I smiled, glancing pointedly at our still intertwined hands. "Unfortunately, I haven't mastered the art of eating with one hand like you have. Especially since I'm right handed." I snickered and showed him, throwing a piece of cereal in the air and trying to catch it in my mouth only for it to bounce off the tip of my nose and roll under the couch.

He laughed and let go of my hand. "Oh, sorry. Tom would kill me if anything happened to you while he was gone though." He snickered at my last statement then burst in full on laughter at my display. "Maybe I can teach you someday. It's fun." He threw another piece in the air, but pouted when I caught it. "Hey!"

I stuck the piece in my mouth and stuck my tongue out. "Didn't your mom ever teach you not to play with your food?" I poked his stomach and smiled. I giggled when he pouted, widening his eyes. I imagined this was the look that melted people's hearts and made Bill get whatever he wanted. "Hey," I said, tossing a piece of my cereal at him and laughing when he caught it. "Why would Tom kill you?"

He looked at me for a second. "He likes you. A lot. I can't tell if it's as a one night stand like or more, but I think it's more." He put a handful of cereal in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. My face must have told him what I was thinking, 'cause he answer the question in my mind, "He didn't tell me or anything. But we're twins, and we can usually tell what the other is thinking or feeling." He shrugged.

"Oh. And you're just being the good brother and looking not letting anything happen to me for him?" I nudged him with my shoulder jokingly, though part of me was serious.

"Not just for him. I could feel terrible if something happened to you, whether he liked you or not." He wasn't looking at me anymore. He broke a purple Froot Loop into four pieces then crushed them under his thumb.

"Why?"

I watched his brown eyes look frantically around the room as he though. He bit his lip and looked at the ground, stuttering over words he wasn't sure to say. It reminded me of when I was trying to think of an excuse when they wanted me to see them play.

[Bill's POV]
No, no, no! Why did she have to ask that? I couldn't tell her the truth. I couldn't tell her that Tom wasn't the only one who liked her, that I knew how he felt about her 'cause I felt the same. I had already messed up last night when I kissed her. Why hadn't she brought that up? Maybe she didn't like me, maybe she was under Tom's charming spell. He was probably willing to be her slave, to do whatever she asked at the snap of a finger.

I looked into her waiting blue eyes and a split second before coming up with an excuse: "It's just who I am. I don't like bad things happening to people, especially my friends." I couldn't come between Tom and a girl he liked, he would hate me. He'd have the same respect for me. Something flickered in her eyes but she turned away before I could figure it out. She nodded, looking at the tv, and ate a few pieces of her cereal.

Suddenly, I just wanted to cry. I wanted to tell her the truth, to hold her close and feel her in my arms. I wanted to be the one to console her and make her feel safe in my presence. I wanted to kiss her, again and again like the night before. I mentally slapped myself.

Stop fantasizing about Tom's girlfriend!

I looked at my bowl of cereal, the empty pain of hunger in my stomach replace with a simple empty pain.
[End POV]

I was just another person to him, just a friend at best. Nothing more, nothing special. I guess that wasn't right: I was just another one of Tom's girls, someone he had to look out for when he wasn't there. I concentrated on eating, even though my stomach was knotted and the hunger had been replaced by disappointment, and I tried to not think about that disappointment. I guess his friendship was enough, if he didn't like me back, and I could live with that.

The kiss! You idiot, why would Bill kiss you if he didn't like you!?

I tried to ignore the small, hopeful part of me that was screaming. I tried to tell myself it was just an intimate situation, and Bill was still a man. What would any other guy do with a girl laying on top of him?