█▓▒▒░░░ YOU SHINE ░░░▒▒▓█

How much longer?" I whined as an itch surfaced on my back. I attempted to scratch, but Silas whined in protest. "I'm almost done. Just hold still!"

I groaned as he wiped his paint brush and dipped it in another color. I silently mouthed the words to the french sound that played, smilinging as I stared at my brother. The sun colored his face as he concentrated, gold rimmed glasses adorned  his face. Just as the song said, my brother shined.

𝘛𝘶 𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘶 𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘴.

"Which college are you admitting this to, anyway?" He hummed for a moment as his tongue was bitten between his teeth.. "Uuuh… Julliard."

"Matthew's gonna be jealous." I joked as my smile grew wider in pride. He offered a smaller one back as a pink color dusted his cheeks. He pulled back and blew on his canvas. "Done."

"Oh, thank God," I purposely groaned loudly as his smile grew wider. I stood up with a tingling leg. "With the way things were going, I might have been late for my school trip." I grinned as Silas cut the music off with an amused look.

He turned the canvas around, and my lips parted in shock, "Your talent still amazes me." He blushed again, not used to compliments, and awkwardly scrubbed at the dried paint on his fingers. He whispered a quiet 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 before lowering his head.

I sadly smiled at the gesture before wrapping my arms around his shoulders from behind. I was glad he was sitting because I would not have been able to hug him otherwise. He tensed before relaxing, one of his hands reaching up and rubbing my forearm in appreciation. I leaned forward and kissed his cheek before pulling away. “Love you, see you later!” I called over my shoulder as I rushed towards the door and grabbed my two bags, quickly rushing to school.

❂

I twirled in my green chair as Mika rushed around. Much like Miles, I was relaxed. A bag with my clothes was standing beside my desk as I doodled in my journal, occasionally writing some lyrics or phrases that came to mind. My book was leather bound and a pale green with many carved designs. It had lines that formed flowers and butterflies.

It had many different things contained in it. Personal thoughts, lyrics, drawing, sketches, pictures, memories, anything I wanted to keep and save.

“C’mon! Let's go, 𝘴’𝘨𝘰, 𝘴’𝘨𝘰, 𝘴’𝘨𝘰!” Ray shouted as he walked in through the school doors. He waved us out with his right hand and held a duffle bag in the other.

“We’re 𝘴’𝘨𝘰, 𝘴’𝘨𝘰, 𝘴’𝘨𝘰 𝘴’𝘨𝘰ing!” Mika yelled as she closed a gray suitcase  on her desk and zipped it up.

“Our Goober Lux is three minutes away, and I'm not gonna lose my five-star rating for any of you!” Ray gritted out as he pointed a demeaning finger at us.

“You could help us.” Mika shouted back as she struggled to properly zip it shut.

“I'm helping you by yelling–let's go! Let's go!” Mika made a noise of panic and dropped her unfinished luggage. She quickly rushed to the closet as Miles spoke up.

“Relax, boss. I'm good to go.” He leaned back in his yellow chair, reading a magazine with his feet propped up on the desk. Ray quickly and stiffly walked over in suspicion.

“We're going to Paris…You're not gonna pack anything?” Ray asked with a confused look. Miles only softly shook his head, still reading his comic.

“Whatever I need, the universe will provide.” Mika chose to then walk out from the closet, calling out to her brother with two more cases. “I packed all your stuff… again.”

“Told ya.” He smirked as he flipped the page. Ray turned to the other half and said something I couldn't hear to Mika. I saw Mika make slow hand movements, as if she were talking to a child. Ray didn't seem amused and walked away, heading towards me.

“Phoebe-”

“All packed!” I smiled up at him, stopping my pencil from dragging across the paper. He froze, giving me a weird look. He eyed my bag before looking back at me before looking back at my bag and then, once again, at me. All suspicion seemed to fade as he shrugged.

“M’kay. Bose! Bring the stuff outside.” He ordered as he headed towards the door. The sound of an accentented voice, however, stopped him in his tracks.

“You got it, Bo𝘦ss. Remeb𝘦𝘶r, I am B𝘰𝘰𝘦𝘦𝘶𝘶𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘳𝘴e.”

Ray slowly turned around, sniffing the air. I winced at the odd action and went back to my journal. I only pulled away as the warning bells echoed. The real Bose and Chapa fell from the ceiling in their respective chairs, each with a matching bag. Bose stood up and plopped it onto his desk. “Sorry I'm late… I couldn't find my hoodie.”

Bose then locked eyes on Schwoz, still in a brown wig. “H𝘦y!” his voice cracked, “I have that same hoodie.” Schwoz then stood straight from his bag, “And that same hair!”

I smiled and shook my head at his obliviousness. Chapa walked closer to me and placed the bag she carried on my desk, the grayish-brown bag seeming dull compared to my green one.

My smile grew, and I gazed up at Chapa. She wore a nice pair of black jeans with a black tank top tucked in. On top of that, she had a cropped and plaid yellow jacket. It had two pockets on the front and a collar. I saw one gold dangling earring and couldn't help but wonder if the other one was matching because she often switched them up and a necklace.

“You pack all our travelin’ weapons?” Ray asked her. She nodded, “Yeah.”

“You got Lil’ Sizzler?”  Ray asked as he held up his hand like a gun.

“‘Course.”

“The Smoke Wagon?” He held up his other hand in the same gesture.

“In there.” Chapa said as she tilted her head and crossed her arms.

“The Mean-Wheel?”

“Trick question; There is no weapon called The Mean Wheel.” She sassed.

Ray hummed in approval before Bose spoke up. “I got a Mean-Wheel right here.” He smiled as he held up a silver chromatic pinwheel with his, or Brainstorms, face on it. It slightly spun and flopped around because of the weight attached.

“You show it to the bad guy, and when he sees all the mean faces on it, he's like, 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯!” Bose brightly grinned as he spun it with his fingers. Despite the dumbfounded looks Mika, Chapa, and Ray gave him, I still smiled and nodded along.

“That's a great idea, Bose.” I smiled at him. His smile, despite already beaming with joy, grew even larger at mine. Miles went to say something over his shoulder with a look of disappointment, but green wrapped around his mouth before he could.

“Thanks!” Bose smiled as he put it back in his bag, looking proud as could be. Suddenly, he gasped, “Ah, I forgot my Boo-Boo Pew-Pew upstairs!” He quickly rushed to his chair and hit the button. I smiled and clicked mine as well.

I stood from my chair after I stopped moving and brushed my hair back, the rise up causing my hair to stick up in many different directions. Bose quickly searched around as I bit my lip. “Come on, we're gonna be late.”

“Got it!” He smiled as he held up the teddy bear. I opened my mouth to say something, but a red laser caught my eye. Then two. Then three. I gasped and grabbed Bose, pulling him before the next bright streak could hurt him. Green quickly cocooned around us, a green bubble forming a protective barrier.

Looking up, the smile Bose had was gone. His arms had wrapped around my waist, and I hissed as the laser burned my shield. The more that impacted green, the more I lost my breath.

❂

I wasn't sure how long we stood frozen in place, but my nose had started dripping blood, and my knees wobbled. I honestly wasn't sure how much longer I would be able to stand on my own.

“Phoebe…” Bose whispered. I could only groan as my hands shook. Bose had already taken most of my weight, but I could feel the way he shook in fear.

“Uh… Security system lady?” He called out. A monotone female voice called back.

“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩?”

“Can you turn these lasers off?”  He cried, his voice shaking in every word.

“𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥.”

Bose whined, “I wish I were smart like Schwoz.” He frowned and dropped his head onto my shoulder. “Schwoz is smart. He’d know the magic word.”

And like that, the lasers disappeared. I gasped out as my shield collapsed like my knees. Bose yelped and grabbed me before I could hit the floor. He slowly guided me to the ground until I could sit. He also sat beside me and sighed.

His brows quickly furrowed, however, “Wait, that's three words.”

The laser quickly turned back on, my shield not reforming before my arm was grazed, “Bose!” I yelled.

“Okay, that's fine, that's fine!”

They disappeared again. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer. “They forgot us.” Bose frowned.

I looked up with a heavy head before wrapping my arm around his waist. “I guess it's just you and me then.”

Bose nodded. “Are you okay?”

I wiped my nose with the back of my hand, a dark, sticky red substance coating it. “I'll probably have a headache. Might need a bandaid or two for my arm, though.”

My nose curled as I looked where my shirt had been burned from the laser. “And a change of clothes.”

He nodded with a frown. “Maybe your bag is still downstairs! I can go get it!” He smiled and quickly rushed up. I weakly nodded, and I lay back on the cold floor. “Thanks Bose. “ I called

He seemed to freeze for a moment before he turned around with sad eyes and a matching smile. “Thanks for not forgetting me.”

And with that, he was gone.

❂

“Phoebe! Phoebe!” Bose yelled as he rushed back with my bag over his shoulder. “We're all alone in the man's nest!” He grinned like a child with candy.

“Yeah..?” I looked at him with furrowed brows, and he dropped to his knees in front of me and shook my shoulders.

“No, Phoebe… We're 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 in the man's nest.” Before I could ask him what he was talking about, it clicked. I gasped and grinned as well, Bose nodded to my thoughts.

“We're all alone in the man's nest!”

❂

There's a new level of fun when you knowingly break the rules. The feeling makes your heart beat faster, and your throat closes up for a moment before a rush of adrenaline washes over you. That's what messing around in the mancave felt like. Bose and I danced, changed our hair styles, (even if I had to stop him from eating Rays hair products) bounced on a bed that we didn't even know where it came from, ate ice cream sundays, and more.

Now we sat and laid on the bed. My head was in his lap as he twirled my hair and created tiny braids in my hair.  “So..” He mumbled.

I hummed from where I closed my eyes.

“You and Chapa, huh?”

I froze, and my eyes quickly shot open. My face heated up as I sat up, turning to where he sat, looking alarmed at my movement.

“W-what? I-I have no clue what you're talking about.” I stuttered.

Bose furrowed his eyebrows. “Oh. I mean, you like Chapa, right?”

I shot forward and covered his mouth, “Shhh!” It wasn't like anyone was around to hear the words, but it still affected me. Bose said something against my hand, but it was muffled nonsense. I took a deep breath and pulled my hand away with caution.

“So you… don't like her?”

A blush rose again to my face. “It's complicated.”

Bose frowned. “It is? I mean, she likes you and you like her. What's complicated about that?”

“Bose…” I sighed.

“And when people like each other, they date.”

“Bose.” I warned with a clenched jaw.

“It's not like she doesn't like you, I mean, I see the way she looks at you-”

“She's a girl!” I shouted.

The boy across from me jumped with wide eyes. It was silent for a long time as I looked down at my hands. I picked at the skin as my vision blurred with tears.

“What's wrong with that..?” He whispered. My head snapped up in confusion. “W-what?”

“What's wrong with girls liking other girls?” He looked so innocent in front of me, his head tilted and eyes wide. “Love is love. I… I dont think that's something you should be ashamed of.”

The tears finally spilled as I practically jumped onto him with a hug. My shoulders slightly shook as Bose pulled me closer. I tucked my head into his shoulder as he rubbed my back. “Thank you.”

My whisper was so quiet that I didn't think he heard me for a moment. “You're welcome.” He whispered back in the same volume. I pulled away as one side of his lips pulled up.

“So… Phapa?” I never knew that all the color could drain from my face in one word. Bose, however, looked like he was holding back a giggle. “Cheobe? Joliva?”

“Oh my god, Bose, stop it!”

Bose suddenly couldn't take it anymore, and the giggled spewed out of his lips. I could only pretend to be annoyed for a few more beats before I also joined in.

❂

Back in Hip Hop Paris, Mika furrowed her eyebrows, “Wait, if that was Schwoz… Then where…”

Ray gasped, “Kevin! I mean–Bose! I mean–Brainstorm!”

Chapa said as she turned to her left, “I can't believe we…” She trailed off as she noticed the empty space beside her. Mika furrowed her eyebrows as she noticed, “Chapa…?”

Chapa lowered her voice and turned to Mka. “Phoebes always on my left…”

Mika suddenly gasped, getting Miles and Rays attention. “We left Safeguard too !”

And Chapa froze.

❂

“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘸!” Ray, or Captain Man, said on the video Bose was playing. I could help but giggle at the song. Bose and I were dressed as a cowboy and cowgirl with black bandit masks on. I wasn't quite sure what was going on with the outfits, but I loved it.

“𝘠𝘦𝘦!!”

“Haw!”

“𝘠𝘦𝘦!!”

“Yee! I mean, haw!” Bose corrected himself. I stopped mid-spin and cackled, clutching my stomach as I bent over. His hand dropped from where he was holding it above my head to spin me. Tears of laughter made my vision blur as he continued to dance.

“𝘠𝘦𝘦!!”

“Yee haw!”

“𝘠𝘦𝘦!!”

“Haw haw!”

His words only made me laugh even harder.

❂

Chapa paced back and forth with her arms crossed. “What are we going to do?”

“Relax,” Miles smiled, “I’m sure Phoebe is fine-”

“But what if she's not?” Chapa cut him off. “What if she's hurt? I can't relax when my-”

She froze with her back facing everyone, unable to see the look that the three of them exchanged. When she turned around, her eyes were glossy.

Her bottom lip trembled.

❂

Bose spun me around, but something caught my eye. I gasped and froze as I saw The Toddler and Goomer fighting right outside the glass doors. Bose soon gasped as well.

“Bad guys? That's bad.” He muttered before grabbing both of our gums. He passed the green container to me, and I opened it, blowing one gumball. Our outfits disappear, the only sign of the previous costumes being the cowboy hat we both still wore.

“These two are about to get a taste of the Mean-Wheel.” Bose said to me as he opened the bag.

Only to pull out a plasma blaster.

“Shoot.” I mumbled, “The team must have taken the wrong bag by mistake.”

“What am I supposed to do with this?” He asked before he accidentally shot a blast of light. It bounced off the door and ricocheted back to him. The previous shield I created seemed to do some damage to my powers because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do anything.

Luckily, the weapon didn't seem to have it out for Bose and only knocked the hat off his head. Bose was quick to panic as his hand frantically ran over his head. I grabbed the weapon from his hand and held it myself. Bose took careful steps away as he stared at my hand.

I took a deep breath and nodded, “Okay, so here's the plan..”

❂

Mikas hand held Chapas shoulder.  “Phoebe will be fine.”

Chapa looked over. Miles nodded, “She's strong. Stronger than all of us.”

“Well-” Ray interrupted.

“Quiet!” Chapa cut him off as her hand glowed.

“Okay.” Ray took a step back with a nod.

“She's always been strong.” Miles continued.

Mika picked up where he left off. “Now it's time for you to be strong for her.”

❂

Ignoring the sounds from upstairs, I quickly rushed towards the panel on the wall. Bose opened it as I read the sticky note.

“I got this.” Bose smiled as he used his powers to lift a pencil. I blinked for a moment before punching in the code with my finger. Bose frowned, and I patted his shoulder. “Sorry buddy. You can do it next time, promise.”

He quickly grinned and nodded.

❂

Bose and I sat in our school chairs playing a card game. We no longer wore our western and superhero costumes and had changed back into our regular Bose and Phoebe clothes.

“Go fish!” Bose yelled with a smile.

I blinked a few times. “Bose… We're playing Kings.”

“Oh...” He frowned.

The doors then busted open as people flooded the room.

“Phoebe!”

“Bose!”

I only had time to stand before I was tackled in a hug. Arms wrapped around my neck as someone slightly taller hugged me. I admittedly grinned like a lovesick fool as I hugged her back with closed eyes. “Hi Chapa.”

“I was so worried.” She whispered. The smile grew even more, but she pulled away.

And punched me in the arm. I hissed as she shouted, “Never do that again!”

I clutched my arm, holding back a groan from my injury as a blush rose to my face. Looking away, I noticed how Mika was pulling away from a hug with Bose. His face was pink as she looked down at her shoes. Before I could mock him like he did with me, Chapa had pulled me into another hug. I couldn't help but giggle at her mixed signals.

“I’ll try not to.” I smiled and pulled back.

She smiled back at me.

I was right. Her other earring was a small, mismatched hoop.

✩░▒▓▆▅▃▂▁𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄▁▂▃▅▆▓▒░✩