"Hey, munchkin?" Dylan nudges my side while I fill up my mouth with a fist full of popcorn. I don't pay any heed to him, enjoying the movie with the rare silence in the house.

But it's apparently too hard to take a hint that I don't want to be disturbed because my stupid brother nudges my stomach again. I let out a low grunt, narrowing my eyes at him.

"What?"

He grins at me, leaning forward to take popcorn from the bowl in my lap. My first instinct is to move it away from him, but I'm too late because he's already munching it down his throat.

"You've been ignoring me," he says, still chewing and I give him a disgusted look.

"Gross."

"It is gross. It's against the rule to ignore your other half."

His dramatic take on this entire twin thing always makes me roll my eyes. But I don't say anything else, going back to ignore him.

"See! Right there, you just did it again." He gasps at me, successfully distracting me from the movie.

"What?" I snap at him. "Why are you always so needy?"

"Look who's talking." He obviously doesn't take offence at my words. "Why am I being avoided? At least give me a good reason."

Oh, I don't know, Dylan. My best friend is in love with you, and she's going to confess it to you. If I don't ignore you, I'll tell you all about it and that would make me a horrible friend.

"I'm not ignoring you. Just watching the movie, geez." I sigh, far too occupied with my thoughts and hell bent on not spilling my guts to him.

It's extremely difficult for me to hide anything from Dylan. He just always knows something's up, and so far I've been able to hide two things in my life from him. This is the second thing, and I plan on being hella successful.

"Alright. Don't tell me. I'll figure it out myself," says with a grumpy tone but doesn't move from beside me. I start to count till ten in my head and reach five when he speaks up again, "It's awfully quiet in the house."

"Dad is out with his friends." I inform him and the realisation must dawn upon him because he nods along.

"So, we got one peaceful hour before hell comes down."

I narrow my eyes but silently agree with him. When he doesn't nudge me for the rest of the hour, I'm extremely grateful. But my gratitude for life only lasts for another half an hour because Dad strolls in the living room. His eyes are bloodshot but he has a small smile on his face when he looks at the two of us.

"You guys eat yet?" He asks and Dylan narrows his eyes at him.

"Yup. Do you want me to heat up the food for you?" I get up, not waiting for his response.

"Where's your mother?"

"She had a headache, probably resting," Dylan tells him, his eyes fixed on the television screen even the movie ended fifteen minutes ago.

"How's school going?"

"It's fine, Dad. Dinner?" I ask again but he just shakes his head.

"No, I'm going to head to bed."

He pats me on the head and moves on to do the same for Dylan who just presses his lips together in response. Once Dad moves down the hallway, my eyes move to my brother who seems to be fuming.

"What's wrong with you?"

"You know what's wrong, Farrah."

I do, but it bothers me when he doesn't talk about it. He just gets up from the couch and goes upstairs to his room. A sigh escapes me at his behaviour but along with many other things under this roof, I'm learning to get used to this too.

It isn't until I reach the banister do I hear the yelling of my father. I look at the clock in the hallway, realising that it's almost midnight. A part of me wants to go and intervene but from past experiences, I know that in another ten minutes when Mom doesn't respond to him, he'll calm down and go to sleep. Paying heed to the other half of my mind, I make my way to the bedroom and brush my teeth before heading to bed.

As soon as my head meets the pillow, my phone screen lightens up with a text notification. I frown upon seeing Kace's name. The text reads, "Will you help me with the sociology project?"

Just as I start typing to respond to him, the phone starts ringing and it's a call from him. I answer it without much debate, "You have no patience."

"I noticed that you were typing, calling seemed the better option."

Cue the eye roll. I sit up a little in bed while answering him, "Okay, well?"

"So, will you?"

"What kind of help are we talking about?" I ask, not wanting to promise anything I can't live upto.

"Not much, just guiding me and helping me collect data. I just need help with the process a little and you're obviously smarter than me so you must know what you're doing."

I think about it for a second before responding, "If I agree, would you stop getting on my nerves and calling me a weirdo?"

"Hah, nice try." He snorts and I let out a low grunt.

"Yeah, well. Alright, it's not much you're asking for. We can work on the process together; you stick to your topic and I stick to mine. Deal?"

"Sounds good. Thanks, weirdo." He emphasises on the name as if to tease me and I let out a groan. His low chuckle hits me and I hear some shuffling around at his end before he speaks up again, "Hey, did Fionna change her mind?"

"Nope, why?"

"Have you told Dylan?" He sounds extremely amused and I shake my head, almost forgetting he cannot see me.

"No, but you already knew that. If I had, he would've told you."

He chuckles again, "Yeah, I'm just imagining his reaction when Fionna tells him."

"It's not funny, Kace." I scowl, already aware that it wouldn't end well.

"Kinda is, Farrah. Oh, wow. I'm cruel."

"Yeah, duh." I lay down in the bed again and he sighs on the other end. "Also, for future reference, I prefer texting."

"I know, that's why I called you."

This is what I mean when I say that Kace goes out of his way to get onto my nerves. I hang up on him without another word. My ears perk up to listen for any sound in the house. It isn't like the voice would travel a lot anyways. I close my eyes and let calm prevail on my mind, trying not to let that teeny tiny voice disrupt my peace.

When I show up at school the next day, both Josh and Kace are on my trail, while I am constantly looking for Fionna. A part of me wishes that I could knock some sense into her, but Kace was right, this isn't my decision to take and who knows, maybe Dylan will let her down gently and she'll get the closure she needs to move on in life.

"Fay!" Josh yells from behind me and I come a sudden annoying halt, turning around to glare at him.

Kace stops along with him and squints his eyes to find me glaring at both of them, "Alright, see you later."

"No!" I mutter, frustrated and pull him back by tugging on his t-shirt, "What is so important that the two of you cannot live without telling me?"

Josh rolls his eyes, "Way to be a drama queen."

I scoff at him, "You're one to talk."

"Okay, bestie. Something is obviously bugging you, what's wrong?" Josh steps by my side, putting his arm across my shoulder.

"The fact that you called her bestie?" Kace pipes in, earning a look from both of us.

"I can't seem to find Fionna."

Kace must connect the dots in his head because an expression of realisation dawns upon his face. Josh gives me a confused look, "That's what has got you so riled up?"

"You have to stop believing people when they tell you they are sick, there's always something beneath the surface." Kace pats lightly on his back.

"What?" Josh scowls at me. "What's going on with Fionna?"

I sigh, looking at Kace and he gives me a subtle nod, "She's telling Dylan about how she feels."

Josh gasps, an audible gasp that leaves him stunned. He looks between the two of us and Kace just shrugs at him. I notice Josh processing my words. He's just as close to Fionna as I am so I can understand why he wouldn't want to get her heart broken.

"Have you tried to talk her out of it?"

I nod, "Obviously, but then Kace made me realise that it's not my place. She needs to decide this for herself."

Josh scowls at Kace, "Since when are you so wise?"

"Since always." Kace smirks, unnecessarily.

"Alright, you might have given up but our Fionna is a little baby, her heart needs to be saved while it still can be saved." Josh tries to think of a plan.

"So, you think there's no chance this can go north?" Kace asks him, looking curious at Josh's reaction.

"Duh, Dylan obviously doesn't feel anything for her." Josh rolls his eyes like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"How are you so sure?"

It would make sense that Kace and I are sure, because he's the best friend and I am the twin. But Josh sounds awfully confident for someone who doesn't know my brother that well. He probably realises what I mean when I ask that question.

"Uh- you would've mentioned something if there was potential," he tells me and I sigh, nodding because that makes sense. "I am going to go find Fionna and knock some sense to her."

"Send her my way after that." I shout after him as he runs off. "He seemed a little weird, didn't he?"

"What would I know? You three are weird all the time." Kace shrugs, and I swat at his shoulder.

"Why were you so desperately trying to find me?" I ask, curious to know.

"I was thinking that I will need your help with the interview schedule a little, is that okay? I'll come up with basic themes of research with a little bit of guidance, of course but I would still need help."

I nod along, obviously surprised to see how interested he is to start with the project. "Sounds good, do you want to meet after school to get started?"

"After practice?" He offers.

"Sure. Anything else?" I look into his eyes, somehow instinctively focusing on that blood clot.

He shakes his head and we silently walk to our lockers. Somehow, I feel lighter about his entire ordeal between Fionna and Dylan. It's mostly because Josh and Kace know and I don't have to handle everything alone. Even right now, he handled the situation with me. I am about to turn to him to thank him but then I see that May has already joined him by the locker.

I shake my head, pulling out the book for the first lecture. It's Chemistry AP, a class I dread because I suck at chemistry, but also because Mr. Kim stares at you until you reach a correct answer, or you die of shame in front of the entire class.

"We have chemistry, don't we?" I hear the familiar deep voice.

There goes the award for the most cliché lines out there. He's another reason why I dread Chemistry AP. Ethan and I are lab partners. Trust me, it was purely out of luck when we both picked up the same number and Mr. Kim doesn't budge on the randomisation method.

"Ugh, Ethan. Please." I fake a gag noise and he chuckles, falling in step with me to move to the chemistry lab.

"So, anything interesting happen this summer, Fay?" He tries to act nonchalant when we take a seat on our assigned table.

"Yeah, didn't you hear?" His ears perk up as he gives me an expectant look, "My fish died."

"Wait, seriously? Goldie died?" He sounds surprised and I scoff.

"Drop the act, I know Dylan and you were behind it."

He gives me an honest confused look, "What are you even talking about?"

"So, Dylan and you didn't team up for him to win the bet that I cannot keep a pet alive for a week, even if it's a fish?"

My brother and I got into a stupid argument about responsibility and he challenged me that I was incapable of keeping a pet alive for a week. Naturally, I was offended and wanted to prove him wrong so he offered that I should take care of a fish. But on the fifth day, when I came back after my shift at the bakery where I was working during the summer, Goldie, who ironically wasn't golden at all, but a black molly, was floating at the top of the tank, lifeless.

A shudder runs through me when I recall that image and how much it scarred me. Dylan can be cruel when he wants to be.

Despite his serious expression, he ends up cracking an amused smile, "You're both dumb-fucks."

"You're one to talk."

Before he can respond to me with another insult, Mr. Kim enters the lab. We spend the rest of the class following his instructions. When it comes down to work, Ethan doesn't make such a bad partner but he does complain a lot. After a while, you just learn how to tune him out.

I rush out of the chemistry lab as quickly as possible. I know Ethan tries to call out my name but I turn a complete deaf ear to him. Instead, I spot Fionna in the corridors so I rush to her.

"You told Josh?" She snarls at me. "He's the most overdramatic person I know, if things go his way, he'll go tell Dylan himself than me because he would want him to soften the blow." She breathes, her eyes falling behind me. "No dirty jokes, Kace! Hey, May."

I turn around to find those two attached to the hip as always. "To be fair, it's only a matter of time before everyone we know finds out, Fionna. You should be prepared for that if you want to go along with this decision."

"Yes, but at least it was with my choice. I don't want to be the centre of gossip."

"Aw, honey. You chose the wrong age for that." May offers her a supportive smile.

"They're both right." I shrug, not feeling remorse over telling Josh because I know Fionna is just displacing her emotions onto me. "Change your mind yet?"

"No, he's coming this way, so I am telling him." She tries to square her shoulders and I look at Kace with panicked expression.

"Here? Right now?"

"Yes! Fuck." She subconsciously takes hold of my hand and squeezes it so tight that I swear I hear a bone crack.

But this is it. This is where hell goes down.