Chapter 1

a small introduction.

“What if my feet were fish?”
 Blinking, I looked up from my book and stared blearily at my best friend, Brendan.
 He continued to look at me seriously, and I cocked an eyebrow before answering, “You’d need a rather large bucket.”
 Eden, sitting across from us, suddenly burst into hysterical laughter. We shushed her, grinning, and she clapped a hand over her mouth, doing little to actually contain her mirth.
 I exchanged a look with Brendan, and we advanced on her with fingers outstretched. Her eyes widened, and she bolted for the door of the library. Ignoring the glares of the library ladies, Brendan and I chased after her, just barely clearing the automatic doors before catching her as she was running across the grass of the library lawn.
 Brendan caught ahold of Eden’s shirt, and they went tumbling down among the well-trimmed blades. Grinning maniacally, I waited until they had stopped rolling some before adding my own body to the mix.
 Brendan had Eden by the arm and was poking her in the side repeatedly while the squealed and attempted to squirm away. Still breathless with laughter, I rolled onto my stomach and watched the struggle.
 “Get her, Twin!” I cheered as Brendan attempted to gain a hold on Eden’s other arm. She struggled more frantically to get away as he tried to throw himself onto her to stop her squirming.
 “Nooooooo!” she cried out dramatically as she disappeared under Brendan, who was grinning evilly as he attacked her sides, tickling her until tears ran down her face.
 I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe, but in the next second I shrieked and scrabbled away from the hands that had now descended upon my own extremely vulnerable ribs.
 “D-Danny! Stop!” I gasped, managing to get on my feet to rapidly back away from my grinning boyfriend, who had snuck up behind us while I wasn‘t paying attention.
 Still grinning, Danny came after me, and I broke into a sprint, dashing across the parking lot and dodging in between the cars to evade capture.
 Rounding the side of a large van, I was sure I’d lost him, at least temporarily, until a pair of hands came out of nowhere and clamped down on my waist.
 My shrill screech of surprise was swiftly muffled as Danny pressed his lips to my own. Pulling back slightly, he shook his head at me and said, “Jeez, with all that screaming people are gonna think that I’m trying to kidnap you or something.”
 I stuck my tongue out at him and shrugged. “I’m ticklish,” I responded simply.
 Danny laughed and gave my waist a quick squeeze. “I’m aware,” he said, grinning cheekily at me.
  Sticking my tongue out at him again, I took his hand and led him back to where Brendan and Eden were waiting, nudging each other and pretending to whisper loudly about our activities behind the cars.
 I rolled my eyes and was about to give them a stiff middle finger, but Danny’s hand on my arm stopped me. He shook his head and gestured at the window, where one of the dour-looking, middle-aged librarians was glaring out at us. She pursed her lips and disappeared from the window when she noticed us looking. Probably to place our things outside the door with a respectful request to not show up again for a month or so.
 Now confident that my actions would go unnoticed, I completed my flipping of the bird to Eden and Brendan, to the great offense of the latter.
 “Well!” he gasped indignantly, folding his arms and staring down haughtily at me. “I can see how much my own twin appreciates me.” He stalked away, head held high, muttering under his breath about the ’vulgar gestures’ and ’impudence of his other half.’
 Brendan and I weren’t really twins, but we were so alike that most people, including ourselves, referred to us that way. So now I ran after him, calling, “Aw, Twinnie! C’mon, don’t be that way!”
 Managing to get in front of him, I stopped short and gave my best pouty face, tugging on his sleeve gently while saying in a small voice, “Pwease fogive me, Bwennydon?”
 Brendan gazed at me for a long moment before laughing and shaking his head. “No wonder Danny’s wrapped around your finger, with a face like that!” he said, grinning. I laughed as Danny, overhearing, tried to protest.
 Eden shook her head and laughed at Danny’s weak attempts at an argument. “Give it up, Danny!” she called, grinning. “We know you’re helpless against Brynn!”
 Laughing at the helpless expression on Danny’s face, I slid my arm around his waist. “Aw, come on, guys, give it a rest,” I said, leaning into him. “It’s not all one way, you know.” Smiling, I felt Danny kiss the top of my head fondly. “There’s hardly a thing I wouldn’t do for Danny-kun.”
 Eden rolled her eyes at my use of Japanese affixes, but Brendan fixated on the rest of the sentence. “Hardly a thing you wouldn’t do?” he repeated. “Like what?”
 I shrugged. “I don’t know,” I replied. “That’s why I said hardly. Who know what kind of things might come up that I won’t be able to do?”
 “Would you spend the rest of your life looking for Narnia?” Brendan questioned. I grinned.
 “Well, duh! Not only would that be fun, but it’d fit in with our plans to travel the world together!” I exclaimed, and felt Danny’s chuckle.
 Brendan frowned, tapping his foot. Finally, his face lit up and he said, “What if you had to kill someone to save him? Would you do it?”
 “Innocent or guilty?”
 “Guilty.”
 I snorted. “C’mon, Twin, be a little more original! Course I would!”
 Danny looked mildly amused by this declaration, and Eden just shook her head and rolled her eyes again. Brendan narrowed his eyes at the ground and was quiet for a long time. When he spoke again, his voice was slightly more subdued.
 “Would you die for him?” he asked, meeting my eyes.
 I blinked once, then again. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, but I stared at Brendan’s shoes instead, thinking it over. Would I die for Danny?
 In my heart, I knew the answer. However, I found myself suddenly unable to speak the words, so I looked around desperately for a distraction.
 Never again will I be disdainful of the library ladies. For, at that moment, one of them waddled out the door, carrying our bags with a wrinkled nose, as if they were a particularly rank bag of garbage. Depositing them neatly on the bench near the door, she proceeded to advance upon us, her “lecture face” already in place.
 “Ah! Quick, let’s scram!” I yelled, pointing and dashing around the irritated woman, making a beeline for the bench. I heard the sounds of three pairs of feet dashing after me, and I snagged my bag-an awesome army-green messenger bag with the Converse logo on it- as I ran past, continuing on across the street.
 Finally, once we were out of sight from the library, I ducked behind a stand of pine trees and threw myself on the ground, panting and laughing as everyone joined me. We all sat around, grinning at each other for a time, too worn out to actually speak.
 Brendan broke the silence first. “That was awesome,” he said.
 That pretty much summed it up for me. I grinned and high-fived him. “Hell yeah it was!” I exclaimed, rolling onto my back and staring up at the sky. It was a gorgeous, humid day, and the sky was a bright, cheerful blue, the cotton ball clouds floating on carelessly by as I watched.
 “Dude, is it summer yet?” I groaned, rolling back over to look at my friends. Danny shook his head.
 “Not yet, love,” he told me. “We’ve still got another month ahead of us before we’re home free.”
 I sighed and propped my chin in my hand. “Least it’s not cold anymore,” I said, making a face. Everyone chuckled, knowing my hatred of anything and everything winter.
 “True that, Twin,” Brendan said, kicking back on the grass beside me. “But still, it’d be better if we could just leave, already!” Brendan was one of those people who could’ve cared less about school, but were smart if they bothered to try. It drove Eden to distraction, trying to get him to do anything school-related. I think even getting him there in the morning was a challenge. I didn’t worry about it, though; he’d either bomb out or get his act together. Those were really his only choices.
 I grunted in agreement and closed my eyes, letting the warm air, slightly chilled by entering the shadows, wash over my face. The sound of the wind in the trees was soothing, and I figured I could fall asleep here…if there wasn’t anything poking my nose.
 I twitched and sneezed, and Brendan giggled quietly. Cracking an eye, I glared at him balefully while Eden tried to hold back her laugher. Rubbing my nose, I sat up and promptly socked him in the arm.
 “Heyy!” Brendan complained, nursing his arm while glaring at me accusingly. “There was no need to get violent!”
 I laughed and stood up, grabbing my bag as I did so. “Course there was!” I exclaimed, slinging the strap over my shoulder. “Your head is thick, I use pain to clear it for you! Since it’s obviously too difficult to do it yourself,” I added as an afterthought. Danny laughed quietly while Eden was getting ready to lose it, at the look on Brendan’s face.
 “Well, let me clear your head!” he cried, lunging at me. I shrieked and darted away from his wiggling fingers, dashing down the street. “Noo! Danny, Eden, save me!” I begged, dumping my bag in a random yard so I could sprint faster. Brendan was grinning evilly, hands still stretched out in front of him as he slowly gained ground on me. I willed my legs to move faster as I dashed down the street, aimed toward my goal.
 Brendan’s fingers brushed my clothes as I dashed inside his house, slamming the door on him quickly. I threw the bolt and slid onto the floor, breathing heavily, but feeling triumphant.
 “H-ha! I…win!” I wheezed, pounding the door weakly. I didn’t get a response, and I assumed Brendan was probably in the same state as I was, doubled over, trying to catch his breath.
 My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out, scanning the text from Eden.

 

You okay?

 

 Grinning again, I quickly typed back an affirmative and hit send. Staggering to my feet, I was hit by a sudden thought, and groaned loudly.
 “What?” Brendan asked, having come in through the front door.
 “Duude, I don’t know where my bag is!”
 My phone buzzed again. Looking at it, I saw the text and had to sit down again from laughing. Brendan looked at me quizzically.
 “What?” he asked curiously. Still unable to speak, I handed him the phone.
 “I know where my bag is,” I gasped.
 Brendan read the text and grinned. “You’re never getting it back now,” he said.
  I nodded. “I know. That’s the funny part!” I exclaimed.
 The text was from my friend Nikki, who occasionally walked near Brendan’s house to get to her own home. What had it said?

 

The bag is mine. I and my puggles of doom shall hold it ransom until you feed us chocolate filled with caramel. Hahaha.
…haha.

 

I’m Brynn, and this is my life and my friends. Things can get pretty crazy here, but if they weren’t, what fun would that be?