Chapter 3A Chapter by InsanityIsTheNewBlack things begin to spin out of control. I glanced up from my guitar momentarily. “You know, when writing an essay, it’s a good idea to actually write something.” Brendan just groaned in response and rested his head violently on the desk. I snickered and continued with my scales, the motions having grown so natural to my fingers that I could continue to talk with little concentration. “Alright, what’s up, anyway? You’d usually not give a s**t about this kind of thing.” I let my language slip some when alone with Brendan, and he simply ignored the language and gave me a shrug. “I dunno,” he said, voice muffled by his arm. “I just felt the urge to…write something.” I raised my eyebrows. “Hm. Hell froze over, it’s a bit chilly in here, thanks Brendan.” He burst into laughter at that, and we shared in the merriment for a few minutes before Brendan regained control of himself and responded, “Yeah, I’m not really sure what came over me. I just feel the need to express myself, you know?” I nodded. Of course I knew. This was my area of expertise, after all. “Okay, then, lets start with the basics. What, exactly, do you want to write about?” Brendan paused, and I saw the indecision in his eyes. “Well…we can write about people, too,” he said at last. I stopped in the middle of the C scale to put a hand to my breast. “Brendan, I’m flattered,” I said, fluttering my eyelashes at him. He snorted, and I grinned. “Kidding, jeez. But anyway, so what’s to stop you from writing about Eden, then?” Brendan stared at me with wide eyes, and I executed what would be known among anime fans as a facepalm. “How’d you know?” he asked. I uttered a large sigh. “Brendan, let me explain it to you. I would have to be Hellen Keller and dead to not notice that you’re head over heels for her. And even then, my deaf, blind, and mute spirit would be like, ‘OMG! He’s totally in love with her, I know it!’” I accentuated my point with several accusing stabs of a finger, and Brendan avoided my gaze. “That obvious, huh?” he said, his voice soft. “F**k yeah it is” was my blunt answer. Brendan sighed heavily and rested his chin in his hand. After a moment, I returned to my scales. “So, this is, obviously, the perfect opportunity for you,” I said, my eyes focused on the smooth pattern of my fingers up and down the neck. Even without looking, I could feel Brendan’s gaze burning a hole through my skull. “How?” he asked. I sighed again and looked up at him. “Dude, I cant do this for you. Think about it.” Even as I said it, I could see the light of understanding flare in his eyes, and I nodded. “There you go. See, I knew my twin couldn’t possibly be a total dumbass,” I said teasingly. Brendan rolled his eyes and tossed his pencil at me. It hit one of the strings, creating a clear, if weak, tone. “A,” I said without hesitation. I frowned down at the guitar and plucked the string again. “Hm. Out of tune.” I fixed the error and ripped off a quick lead to check the rest of the strings. In doing so, I snapped the high E-string, the backlash snapping against my third finger as I had it bending the string. I yelped and swore quietly under my breath, sucking on the injured finger. Pointing with my good hand, I instructed Brendan, “Toss me that box of strings on the table.” He did so, and as I methodically replaced the broken string, he asked again, “How?” “Hm? Oh, right,” I said, glancing up quickly. “I’ll describe it in more detail. So, you write this essay on Eden, yeah? I’ll help you out, smooth out the rough spots, give tips on good metaphors, et cetera. We write it so its terribly obvious as to who you’re writing about, but without using the L-word. Understand so far?” Brendan nodded, and I continued to outline my plan, tuning the newly replaced string as I did so. “So, we- or rather, you, since I won’t be getting in the way for this moment- hand it over to your ladylove, tell her you need to edit it, cause I’m not currently available, blah blah blah. She reads it, realizes what you feel for her, and bam! We find out what happens next.” “What happens next?” Brendan echoed me, looking doubtful. I nodded. “Yup. After all, it’s totally possible for her to completely shove you off like a load of garbage. She’s Eden. You, of all people, would know how she does with relationships.” This meaning to say that Eden never did well with relationships, and would often lose that initial spark within the first few weeks of dating a boy. Needless to say, this left a lot of heartbroken fellows in her wake, so she tried to lay off the dating. Brendan was looking a tad white-faced, I noticed. Perhaps I shouldn’t have hit him so hard with the truth. But it was for his own good, after all. I couldn’t be sugar-coating everything and pretending like everything would turn out all right. This was real life. S**t sucked sometimes. “What do I do if she says no?” Brendan asked softly, distracting me from the reverie that I so often fell into when absorbed in my music. Looking up, I blinked a few times to clear my mind and soak in the question. “You live, Twin,” I responded at last. “That’s all we really can do.”
~*~
Something was nagging at Eden again, and, looking askance at her friend’s boyfriend, she knew what it was. Ever since that day a few weeks ago when Danny and Brynn had legged behind in Brendan’s room, something had changed between the two of them. At first glance, everything seemed to be normal. The two still talked frequently, and hung off of each other whenever they were in the same room together. But still, Eden sensed something was amiss. Maybe it was in the way Brynn talked about Danny now, as though she was watching her words to keep something hidden. Or the looks Eden had seen her throw him, as though she were afraid of something. Danny would also go into periods of silence, during which all he did was stare blankly at a point in space, twisting his hands nervously, as though some big problem were just over the horizon. It worried her that there might be some sort of trouble between her two friends, and, having made up her mind to ask one of them about it, now found the perfect opportunity to do so without any idea what to say or how to go about it. Brynn had voice lessons today, and Brendan was simply elsewhere, as Brendan had a habit of doing occasionally. Eden knew he would return eventually, but for now, it was just her and Danny, who was twisting his hands again. Taking a deep breath, Eden opened her mouth to say something, and promptly closed it again. What if they didn’t want to talk about it? That would make for a terrible awkward moment, for sure, and Eden didn’t really want that. But she had to ask. It might even be something she could help with, for all she knew. So, Eden opened her mouth again. And closed it once more. What if they were just waiting for the right time to tell her, and Brendan, too? It would be rude and prying to ask about something before they were ready to tell her, and Eden didn’t want her friends to be mad at her for that. Frowning, Eden chided herself mentally. Come on now, just do it. After all, you didn’t really know either way, so its not your fault, is it? Nodding resolutely to herself, Eden opened her mouth a third time. But oh, what if there really wasn’t anything wrong at all, and she accidentally made matters worse by thinking there was? Resisting the urge to throw her arms into the air in exasperation, Eden finally got out, “Something wrong, Danny?” Danny blinked and looked up at her, as if just remembering she were there. “Huh? Oh, nah, I’m fine.” He smiled slightly and returned to staring at his hands. Eden snorted despite herself, and poked her friend gently on the shoulder. “C’mon, I think I know my friends better than that. Something’s been bothering you recently, and I know it. I won’t tell anyone, promise.” Eden made the motion of zipping her lips and throwing away the key, and Danny laughed a little. “Well, I dunno. Its just, Brynn-” he stopped himself. Eden leaned forward unconsciously, waiting for more. “What about Brynn?” Danny shrugged. “Well, Brynn told me-” he stopped again and cleared his throat. Eden gestured impatiently. “Told you what?” she asked, becoming slightly anxious by the look on Danny’s face. He looked uncomfortable. “It’s been a few months since then, so I guess I never really questioned it…” he muttered to himself. Eden nearly clawed her hair out with frustration. “What are you talking about?” she demanded, all tact disappearing in her annoyance. Danny was distracted by something else, though. “Oh, hey, I’ve gotta go,” he said, grabbing his bag. “I’ve got practice in twenty minutes, and I don’t wanna be late.” Eden hurried after him as he headed for the door. “Wait a minute! What about what Brynn said?” she asked, desperate. Danny paused and looked at her, his face a mixture of discomfort and a tinge of sorrow. “It’d probably be better if Brynn told you,” he said. Then he was gone, leaving Eden with even requisitions than answers. She pondered over it as she wandered back to her seat. What had Danny meant by “It’d probably be better if Brynn told you”? and why was he being so vague about it? Was it because he didn’t want to give away what Brynn had to tell her? Or was there some other reason? Eden slumped down in her chair, defeated. A single phrase kept drifting around in her mind. “It’s been a few months since then, so I guess I never really questioned it…” Eden sat up straight in her chair as a sudden thought occurred to her. Could it be possible? Yes, she supposed so, though it took a huge stretch of the imagination to see Brynn actually being that careless… But it made sense. The vagueness, the comment on how it had been a few months, Danny preferring that Brynn told her. Hadn’t Brynn been complaining just the other day about how her period was particularly out of whack recently? As her mom pulled up to the library doors, Eden left feeling sure she had it figured out. Brynn was pregnant. © 2010 InsanityIsTheNewBlackAuthor's Note
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6 Reviews Added on February 18, 2010 Last Updated on February 18, 2010 Author
InsanityIsTheNewBlackOHAboutSalve! I'm Brynn, and i'm actually quite intrigued that you bothered to come reading about me. I suppose I should give you a little bit to ponder about myself, then. I'm a teenager in a very small to.. more..Writing
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