Chapter Seven | All The Gossips

"someone's always talking."

...

ADELYN SCRUNCHED HER face up, skimming through the article's words. Of course they would announce it to the world only days after they moved back. The words of the article were nit-picky and unprofessional. Even the welcome statement seemed sarcastic. It was crystal clear that nothing could be held secret in this town for long. The elders desired for the next piece of gossip like wolves to their prey. Evil, pure evil. Darn their mother and grocery shopping for peanut butter. She crumpled up the paper and tossed it on the dining room floor. It bounced twice before landing.

Rampaging into the room, already in her uniformed coat, her mother picked up the crumpled paper from the floor. "Don't litter, Adelyn," she commented. Unfolding the paper with one hand, she grabbed her handbag, swinging it onto the crook of her elbow. Her eyes furrowed, an exact copy of Adelyn's reaction, as she read the paper. "Goodness gracious, is privacy such an unknown concept in this town? Never mind that, honey, can you grab me an apple?"

For once, Adelyn had to agree with her mother. At least on the first part. She snagged the ripe apple from the overflowed fruit basket and handed it to her mother. Her mother distractedly took a bite while flipping through the rest of the pages.

"Morning, mum. Morning, Ade," Lucas yawned, walking into the dining room. His hair was disheveled and looked like a bird's nest, poking out in all directions. He made his way over to Adelyn and ruffled her hair, to which Adelyn responded by swatting his arm away. Their mother hummed in response. Lucas flung himself onto the tall kitchen island chair and slid the paper their mother had ditched towards him. Like the rest of his family, their last name was the first thing his eyes hooked to. A few seconds later, he delivered his reaction."Darn it, I actually had confidence in my disguise yesterday evening. Do these women have x-ray vision or something?"

Adelyn watched him with confusion, Disguise? Had she missed something? Ignoring the weirdness of her brother, she tore a Cheerios cereal box open. The marble white bowl served as an ending when the miniature circles tumbled out like a waterfall. The Cheerios piled on top of each other, before falling as the mound passed a limit. The heavy one-gallon milk container's lid lay on the counter. Ditching the lid, she let the milk flow out, making the cereal jump around in the bowl. The Cheerios floated in the pure white lake of milk.

"Let's do something," Lucas claimed, banging a hand on the kitchen island. Adelyn raised an eyebrow at the vague comment. Do something?

"Like?" She prodded. Raising the silver spoon, she let the milk fall back into the bowl with a splatter. The cereal spun around the bowl once.

"I don't know, something. It's our first weekend back." Back, was a strong word in Adelyn's opinion. They had necessarily come back, at least according to the article, but Adelyn felt a strong sense that something was missing. It felt strange to her without their father back with them. Though their father wasn't the most present figure in their lives, he was still there. Back at their old house, Adelyn would lay in bed staring at the ceiling, until she heard the low purr of her father's van pull up in the driveway.

Most of the students at Weathering Peaks High failed to recognize the twins, since it had been so long since they left. Besides the group, of course. Seven entire years. The adults, who in Adelyn's opinion had nothing better to do, were the only ones that pointed or waved when Adelyn and Lucas walked by. Yesterday, when the twins were walking back from school, their old neighbor, Mrs. Rue, wildly waved to them, as if they had never left. But for some reason, Adelyn still felt incomplete. She didn't feel that blankety feeling wrapping over her in town. She always used to feel that.

Maybe it was the shift in atmosphere once the lunch bell rang at the group's reunion. How everyone broke apart, unwrinkled their clothes, and walked in different directions briskly. How Wesley didn't acknowledge her when he was with his group of friends. How nothing felt as simple as it did seven years ago. Maybe they were physically back, but nothing felt the same anymore. With the group and their family.

"You kids do whatever as long as you don't hurt yourself or end up in jail," their mother commented. Half paying attention, she ran a hand through her hair and scrolled her phone. The phone blast its ringtone a second later. Her mother placed the phone on her ear. "Hello, Candice Conners speaking." She left the room, oblivious to her childrens' reactions as they watched her back disappear down the corridor and out the door of the house. Without even a wave of goodbye.

One step forward, two steps backward, it seemed like.

"So... Do you want to play Monopoly?" Adelyn shrugged in response, but couldn't stop the smile that made its way to her lips. At least no matter what happened, she had Lucas. 

"I need to fix these bed sheets before my mom comes back. She'll freak," Savannah called, "She literally has OCD. Come on, Iv. Off the bed and on the beanbag." She yanked on the sheets below Ivy, but Ivy didn't budge.

"I am on the beanbag," Ivy claimed. She was lounging on her stomach while swinging her feet. They hit the comforter with a thump each time they swung downwards. Savannah crossed her arms. "By the transitive property of equality, I'm sitting on the beanbag. Technically the bed is touching the ground and the ground is touching the beanbag and I'm on the bed, so I am on the beanbag."

Savannah groaned loudly. "Go nerd somewhere else, Ivy. I love you, but I won't hesitate to pull you off that bed."

"You just made 'nerd' into an adjective, babe. But fine, since you asked so politely," sarcasm oozed onto her every word. Ivy flung herself off the bed and stood near the head board. Savannah took over, fluffing the pillows and flinging the sheets to cover the entire bed. She pulled the comforter to even it out.

The two were hanging out on Saturday, with the promise that they would study for their upcoming Calculus exam. Savannah's mother always approved of their friendship since Ivy was a 'good influence' and 'someone she can pick a few things up from.' Her mother had to run by the grocery store, so they were home alone. For once.

Ivy took back her place on the bed, albeit more neatly, when Savannah stepped back to examine her work. Good as new. Savannah, now giving up on Ivy, took the beanbag to herself. She crossed her legs. A second later, she uncrossed them, placing them out in front of her.

"I can't believe Adelyn and Lucas are back," Ivy started, her voice sounding far away. She was staring at a picture frame hung on the wall. It was taken in second grade by Savannah's mother. Adelyn, Savannah, and Ivy were holding ice cream cones with huge grins on their faces, as if it was the best moment of their lives. It probably was to them. They had no worries about the future and their only thoughts were on the ice cream in front of them and the ones smeared on their chins. Savannah had admittedly tried taking the picture down many times, only to stare at it longer.

Savannah didn't know how to reply to that, but turns out she didn't have to since Ivy kept going "I mean, yeah, I'm really excited that they're back, but seven freaking years and they appear out of freaking thin air." Ivy had the tendency to swear a lot when she was ranting.

"I know, Iv. I really don't know what to feel either. And, just, with Wesley..." she trailed off. Nevertheless, Ivy understood what Savannah was coming to say.

"It'll be okay, Sav. It'll be okay," because at the end of the day, that was all she could say. They didn't know what would happen, or what was going to happen in the whirlwind of their lives. But they did know that after all the obstacles they faced, their had to be an okay.

author's note: this was sort of a filler chapter- just to get a gist on where the characters are. i'm working on a new story simultaneously since the story's just not coming to me for this one, so sorry again for the slow updates! thank you for reading!