Stupid Hormones

A groan escaped my lips as I slowly became conscious; into the world of the living. I turned to my right and saw Shane still asleep in bed—snoring wildly, might I add.

A sharp pain in my stomach caused me to lose focus, catching me off guard. I groaned, curling into a ball, waiting for the pain to pass.

Ah, the great old gift Mother Nature that decides to pass on once a month.

I knew I should have bolted to the bathroom, but another sharp stab coursed through, making me stop. "Keep quiet," Shane mumbled, rolling over to the other side.

Men; so lucky they don't have to experience this horrific crime scene every month.

Finally, I made my way out of bed, plopping down on the toilet. I huffed. Obviously, there were only two pads left. Leave it to me to wait till last minute to restock. I couldn't even go to mama's bathroom since she used tampons.

After finishing up my business, I headed back to bed, not mentally or physically stable to start the day just yet. Right on cue, another earthquake sounded within, making me want to curl up into a ball and cry yet again.

—

"Amelia?" I felt a hand nudge my arm, shaking me awake. I hummed.

"Papa's asking if you want breakfast."

"Yes please," I muttered, shoving my face deeper into the pillow.

"Not feeling well?" I heard sympathy in his voice, and just like that, I knew he knew. "Do you want me to get up, or do you still want to sleep?"

I turned onto my back, slowly sitting up, shaking my head. "I think I slept enough," I said, eyeing  the clock that read quarter to noon, though there never was such a thing as too much sleep; at least in my book.

"Alright," he nodded, scratching his bed hair as he hopped out of the bed. Inevitably, I had to get out of bed. Eventually, I managed to make it down the stairs. 

"You look like utter shit." I didn't have to look up to know who that was coming from.

"Shut the fuck up," I snapped at Shane as I rummaged through the fridge.

"Morning papa," I grunted, sitting down at the table when I noticed he was making food on the stove.

"Zucca," he replied, passing a plate a steaming hot plate of pancakes to me. It was times like these where I appreciated the fact that mama made sure everyone in the household knew how to cook—even if it was just the basics.

"Grazie. Where's mama?"

"She came home late, so still sleeping," he replied. "I'm going to take these up to her, need anything else?" I shook my head, then trying to shake his hand off my head as he ruffled my hair.

"Aren't you going to ask me if I need anything?"

"Nope," papa replied popping the 'p'. I smiled while Shane frowned. "I heard what you said to your sister." Shane sat back realizing, knowing better not to insult me in front of our papa.

"But she swore!" Papa closed one ear with the empty hand.

"I heard nothing!" He declined, walking out of the dining room. I laughed, cutting up a piece of pancake, shoving it in my mouth. These were good, but not Dylan-good.

After the small moment, or whatever else it was yesterday when I held his hand, we sat in a comfortable silence for a while. It wasn't until after a couple of minutes Dylan initiated another conversation that had me laughing until my stomach hurt. He dropped me off soon after, thankfully before Shane was home.

"Going anywhere today?" I chuckled. When I told him about his car yesterday, it looked like he wanted to cry. Men and their love for cars, I will never understand that.

"Yeah, Tyler and I are meeting up Henry's house. Something about a barbecue and the pool," he humoured. "You want to come?"

I snorted. It wasn't anything out the ordinary if I hung out with Shane's friends, seeing as Amy was currently dating Tyler. But without Amy around, and Aunt Flo, I really didn't feel like going out.

"Nah, I'm good. I'll stick to my normal plans, you know; binge watching Friends in my room. Who knows, I might even feel adventurous and watch down here," I shrugged. Shane snickered.

"Whatever floats your boat I suppose."

"Also, I think I'll take a trip to the grocery store and grab myself some food, do you have Enzo's keys?" He nodded.

"Do you want me to go?" He offered, knowing all too well about my current pain.

I declined. "It'd be good to get out."

"I'll leave the keys in the bowl in the front."

"Shane?" I called out just as he was heading out into the hall. He turned around, raising as eyebrow. "Thank you," I said sincerely. He shot me a grin, walking out.

—

I decided to ditch the car keys. I don't know why, but I felt adventurous as I started walking to the grocery store, which was only a ten-minute walk. I clutched the twenty-dollar bill Shane had left in the bowl with the keys which had a note attached to it saying, 'get yourself some chocolate and ice cream :)', and my other twenty dollars in my pocket. I knew I had lot of options that were waiting for me at the grocery store.

I looked back and forth between the two products in my hands. With wings, or without? I contemplated for another quick second, before putting the later back on the shelf, and the other on in my basket. I hesitated, then decided on getting two boxes since they were on sale. I knew how expensive these products could get. Skimming through the rest of the shelves, I decided I didn't need anything else.

My basket really was starting to get heavy, and dejectedly headed out the aisle with the intention of going to the checkouts.

I quickly turned around on my feet, but not before bumping into wall, falling on my butt and spilling all the contents in my basket out on to the ground. What the fuck?

"Fuck." I muttered, getting up, dusting the dust off my sweatpants.

"Damn, I'm sorry Lia." I refused to look up at the person whose voice that belonged to. Only one person called me Lia. Instead I looked down on the ground and my eyes found the box of pads lying on the ground next to my chocolate bars. "Lia?" My heart sped up faster and my cheeks started to flush, realizing that not only had Dylan saw the box of pads, but he had also seen me in my worst state.

I had gotten my period a couple of hours ago, which in other words, I looked like literal shit, as Shane would put it—but he wasn't wrong. My hair was tied up into a gigantic messy bun, I had on Shane's sweatshirt which had a massive stain of mustard from the sandwich I had for lunch, along with my (or should I say Shane's) over sized sweatpants. All in all, I looked like a trash bag.

"Lia? Are you okay?" I finally looked up to see Dylan scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"Y-yeah. I'm okay," I said with my voice thick. I bent down, along with Dylan trying to fill my basket back up again. I had several chocolate bars, a huge pack of skittles, a box of frozen pizza, pre-made cupcakes—which I'm pretty sure are squished by now—, and three tubs of ice cream, oh and my boxes of pads.

I quickly grabbed as many items as I could, giving up on concealing the box of pads, seeing as he already saw them.

"Rough day?" He said quietly.

"You could say that," I replied, not meeting his eyes. A sharp contraction passed, forcing me to shut my eyes and grasp my stomach. A muffled groan escaped my lips as I tried my best to hold in back.

You'd think I was exaggerating, but I was not. At the moment, I was Mufasa, and my cramps were the hundreds of hyenas trampling over me.

I felt a hand around my arm trying to help me balance on my feet. "Lia?" A sigh of relief escaped my lips when it passed.

"Sorry," I breathed out.

"That's nothing to be sorry about," he said. Tentatively, he let his hand go, a cold void remaining in his absence.

I looked over to the one item in his hand which was a bag from the pharmacy. "Are you done shopping?" He nodded. We both headed to the checkout line. After I had payed for my items, I had attempted to part ways. However, once Dylan noticed me walking he decided to give me a ride home.

Stupidly, I didn't take the groceries into count, so it clearly would've been difficult to walk home, seeing as my ice cream alone weighed ten pounds, so in the end, I accepted his request.

We reached my driveway in a matter of seconds. Papa's and mama's car were gone, and Shane had left earlier with Tyler. What I said next was purely done without thought.

"D-do you want to come in?"

He shrugged, turning off the car. "Why not?"

I laughed, jingling my keys at the front door, unlocking it. "W-welcome to the Trevino residence." The cool air immediately greeted us, taking us away from the humid environment.

He peered around the foyer, his eyes stopping at the huge mural located on the wall in front of us. "That's a really nice painting," he commented. 

I felt a blush creep on. "Thanks," I mumbled. He snapped his head towards mine so fast, I'm pretty sure he got a whiplash. Hell, I'm pretty damn sure I got a whiplash from just watching that.

"You painted that?!" His eyes widened.

I nodded, biting my lip. "It took a couple of months to finish, but I finally finished it." Whenever I had felt stressed or felt my emotions running all over the place —which was quite often— I took it out on the mural. It was a twist on Starry Night, and it was one of my favourite pieces.

"Wow," he walked up to the wall, analyzing every aspect. "I didn't know you could paint!"

I shrugged, playing it off. "It's a hobby."

He scoffed. "This isn't a hobby, you've got serious talent, Lia. Damn."

"Thanks," I replied, looking down at my feet.

"Where do I put these?" Dylan asked, his eyes still concentrated on the wall as he held up the grocery bags he forcefully took from me when I exited his car. I gestured to the hallway beside the mural that led to the living room and the kitchen.

After Dylan and I had put the groceries away, since he insisted to help me, I had excused myself. I quickly switched my clothes out into a long sleeve shirt, ditching the mustard stained sweatshirt, and switching into another pair of sweatpants. I had refreshed in the bathroom, making sure to clean up my hair.

I found Dylan downstairs staring intently at another one of my paintings located in the living room. This time it was one of my first paintings, consisting of dark colours as I poured all my raw emotion into it. He hadn't noticed I had come down, so when I put my hand on his shoulder, he jumped slightly.

"Sorry!" I chuckled.

He laughed back shaking his head. "You just got my heart racing, nothing new," he said mumbling the last part. He quickly turned around back to the painting. "This one yours as well?"

"One of my firsts actually," I admitted, still thinking about what he said previously.

"And these?" He pointed to the shelf arranged with countless number of trophies. There were many from the duets and solos both Shane and I had performed.

"Shane and I's. From dance." He looked at me with surprise.

"You paint, you dance, what else do you do?" He chuckled.

"I-I um, also into photography?"

"A woman of many talents I see," he raises his eyebrows with an impressed look. I opened my mouth to reply, but quickly shut it as my face scrunched up in pain. Dylan reached out grabbing my shoulders steadying me. "Come on," he mumbled leading me to the sofa. I instantaneously felt better once I sat down. "You okay?" I nodded, trying to form a smile.

"Thanks, Dyl." I turned to face him, "what about you? Any favourite hobbies or pastimes?"

"Well, I like to swim." I snorted. I've noticed. "What?" I looked up to see him with an amused expression.

I shook my head quickly. "Nothing, continue," I gestured.

"I also like long walks on the beach and watching the sunsets over the water," he joked. "I also work at the auto shop, so I guess that can count as a pastime," he shrugged. My stomach suddenly grumbled, grabbing Dylan's attention.

Call my stomach bipolar; screaming out in agony the first second, grumbling in hunger the next. I had an intense craving for something sweet and I knew just the thing.

"I'll be right back," I said walking into the kitchen getting the necessities. I trotted back to Dylan. "Pick your poison," I grinned. He pointed to the chocolate tub of ice cream, so I settled for mint chocolate chip.

"What are you going to do with those?" He said motioning to the chocolate bars in my hand. I smirked, placing the tub down on the sofa, opening a kit-kat up. I broke the bars into pieces, sprinkling them over the ice cream.

"This." He laughed shaking his head. I handed him the other kit-kat bar which he gladly accepted. He repeated the same actions I had, digging into his ice cream.

"You really shouldn't be eating ice cream, you know?" He spoke as I shoved a spoonful into my mouth. "You're literally shivering, I don't want you to catch a cold or something."

I don't know if it was just me, but I feel insanely cold during my period. "I'm also on my period, and I get cravings." I chortled, not bothering to hide the fact that I'm on my period, seeing as he already found out at the store. Plus, it shouldn't be something any female should have to hide. It's natural.

I snuggled in farther into my shirt, shivering while eating another spoonful. Yes, I may be cold, but I was not giving up my ice cream. Dylan got up walking to the other sofa picking up the warm blanket. He shook his head. "You're so stubborn. You're visibly shivering, yet you still won't give up your ice cream."

"Nope. Ice cream above everything."

"I can see," he chuckled, resuming back to his previous position after placing the blanket on me. I was enveloped into a seal of warmth, and I sighed.

Ice cream. Chocolate. Dylan. And a nice blanket. I was practically in heaven.

"Where's Ollie?" He asked looking around.

"They took him over to my sister's place, even though James is allergic," I chuckled. "Oh wait, Shane took Ollie with him," I corrected.

"Sister?" I nodded. "How many siblings do you even have?" I laughed at his baffled expression.

"'So, we have Mariana, who is the eldest and engaged to James. He's practically one of my brothers since I knew him when I was a little kid. Then we have the twins."

"You have two sets of twins in your family?" I grinned.

"My mom's mom was a twin. Anyways," I said pointing the spoon at him. "There's Julian and Enzo. Julian is older by three minutes. They are also identical twins."

"It must've been hard to tell them apart then?"

I laughed, nodding my head. "As a kid I used to always mistake one for the other. I think I was eight, and Enzo ate my ice cream, so I set up water balloons filled mixed in with mud. I ended up throwing them at a poor unsuspecting Julian instead."

"Damn, you were a mean kid, and ice cream obsessed."

"Still am," I snorted. "And then after the twins, we have Shane and me. He's literally only a minute older than me."

"That's a lot of men in your family," he sounded with disbelief digging into the ice cream tub.

"Can't forget my dad," I said with amusement.

"Right." I giggled, leaning back into the couch,

"What about you?" He raised his eyebrows. "Have any other siblings?"

A look passed over his face. He looked...happy. "You've met Lilly," he smiled. "There's Asher who is a little over a year. I also have a step sister, a year younger than me. But that is about it."

Unfortunately, I finished my tub of ice cream. I dropped the spoon inside. Dylan had too finished his tub, so I bent over to grab his. However, he moved it out of the way.

"Give it so I can put it away," I demanded. Instead, he grabbed my tub, getting up.

"You got the ice cream, at least let me put it away." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I don't like this." I yelled as he left the living room. "It's my house, the least I could do is clean up."

"Well, the least you could do is rest. Relax." I huffed, pulling the covers to my chin.

"Whatever you say."

"Tell me more about yourself." Dylan said as he settled back into the couch. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Why do I have to spill my beans?"

"Fine," he chuckled. "We'll take turns."

"You first."

"I um, I have never drunk alcohol, and I never plan to." I raised one of my eyebrows.

"Can I ask why?"

"I guess I just don't like the fact that your whole sense is altered when you're under the influence. I like to stay in control." He admitted.

In that case, you can take control of me any day.

These hormones. Yeah, that's what causing these thoughts, hormones.

"S-seems reasonable." I paused thinking of something to say. "The doesn't mean you're against anyone who drinks alcohol right?" I ask wearily. I did love my occasional drink.

"No," he shrugged. "It's just my preference not to drink, doesn't mean I'm against anyone else who does like to drink."

"Good," I chucked, leaning back. I thought about what to spill before my mouth already opened for me. "You know how I said Shane and I are twins?" He hummed. "Well I lied." I re-positioned myself on the couch to get more comfortable. "I had a sister. Had. But s-she died due to SIDS. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome." I explained playing with the blanket.

"I'm sorry." I glanced up to Dylan who was giving me small smile. I returned the gesture.

"Luciana." I looked back down. "That was her name. Luciana and I were identical twins, while Shane was the outsider." I chuckled.

"I have a question." I nodded, looking up at him. He paused, taking a moment to form his words. "How come you guys call each other your twin, instead of triplets?"

I tucked a hair piece behind my ear. "I guess it is easier calling each other twins then saying you're a triplet. No one really knows about Lucy, and it's hard explaining it every time," I said softly. "Shane and I acknowledge that Lucy is still apart of us, because there will always be a void, no matter what." I pulled up the sleeve of my shirt exposing the inside of my wrist. In black ink lay a very small triskelion commemorating the limited time three of us had together.

"It's just hard. Knowing that if she was still here, I'd probably be a different person." I sighed. "I still sometimes wonder how her personality would've been, you know? Would she have also danced like Shane and me? Or would she have two left feet, like Mariana," I joked. "There would've been another person who would've looked exactly like me." I wiped the stray tear that had fallen, thankfully Dylan hadn't noticed. Or maybe he had. He didn't let it on though.

I showed Dylan the inside of my wrist. Stupid hormones. "A tattoo?" I nodded. "I like that idea."

"Thanks," I replied, looking into his eyes. "Shane got one too. We got it on our sixteenth birthday." I also had another tattoo, but I wasn't ready to share it with him just yet.

"I've been thinking of getting one too," he mumbled, meeting my eyes. "For my dad."

"That would be nice, do you have anything in mind?" He shook his head, then changed the topic.

"I like computer science. I'm a software developer." I narrowed my eyes at him. "What?"

"That's it?" I scoffed. "I spilled the entirety of my childhood and you gave me your career?" I mused.

"As far as you know, my love for computer science could've been my deepest darkest secret. I hid it all along, not wanting to be seen as a nerd," he joked with a teasing smile. I laughed, showing him my braces.

"I don't know how to s-swim," I confessed. He gave me a shocked look but composed himself a few seconds later. "I'm not really the water type." He opened his mouth to say something but closed it. "What is it?" I urged, now curious to what he had to say.

"I-I," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "I could teach you sometime," he offered. "—If you'd like, that is."

"I think I'll take you up on that offer," I nodded, grinning.

--