Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There’s a kind of ease that settles over someone as they move between lives. A breath of fresh air that intoxicates them when they leave the problems and worries of one space behind. The ability to let it all go and start over. That drive between one town to the next was something Xander had come to enjoy, if only because of the relaxation it gave him. 

He’d watch trees and fields pass behind them, and it let him forget every need, and problem he’d had. Once the car’s tires screeched to a stop he’d been forced to accept the fact that–while he’d left one responsibility behind–he’d arrived at the next one. He could only appreciate the time between when no one relied on him for anything. 

According to their parents, Hermitville was a quiet town. It was everything Evo wasn’t. 

At first the idea had seemed impossible, for a town–no more than half an hour away–to be so different. But after one week of watching from their new home, Xander was beginning to see it too. 

The neighborhood their parents had chosen was quiet, Xander hadn’t any sign of actual people no matter how long he watched. He’d perched himself in the window seat of their living room, watching every day for the past week while his brother scrambled to make their home seem lived in. 

Their parents, upon arrival, had quickly shoved their few boxes into the master bedroom. Xisuma, his twin, had offered to help. The boy asked thousands of questions about the new city, and neighbors, questions that neither parent could answer nor wanted to . Even two days after their arrival their parents hadn’t left their bedroom.

They were scared, Xander knew, but from what he could see there really wasn’t much to be scared of.

As his brother tossed their packaged items into place, Xander would sit at the window seat and watch. 

No one had thrown a brick through any windows yet. 

No one left notes left on the front door, or in their mailbox, or slid under the door. 

No one spray painted images on the paneled sides.

No one yelled vile things over the phone at them.

And while he was glad to have a calm neighborhood, he couldn’t shake the lingering pulse that thrummed under his skin. 

It was on day four that Xander realized he had to move things along by himself. The twin’s parents wouldn’t leave their room no matter how much coaxing Xisuma tried. Xander had printed the needed papers, and filled them out while his brother scrambled to cook something for dinner one night. 

“Do you really think they’ll let us apply without an adult?” Xisuma asked as he jumped to turn the stove top down as the water boiled over. 

“It’s either that or truancy.” Xander muttered under his breath as he signed the bottom page. 

Xisuma frowned, but turned back to the food. 

The next day, Xander walked with his twin down the sidewalks and roads to the nearest school. The sidewalks twisted and turned along back roads, following different houses and buildings. Each eerily quiet with only a few residents wandering between shops entranced in their own lives. 

More than once, Xander found himself pulling his brother out of the way of adults rushing by. He glared at each one as they nearly ran the two over. Even if they weren’t focused on their phones, the residents were too oblivious to notice the odd twin children galavanting the town square area. 

There was only one school in the area. It wasn’t separated into elementary, middle, and high school; instead all grades were squished into one small area. All grades run under one small administration. 

It was easy enough to spot, Xander found. It was the only place people actually seemed to be involved in what they were doing. 

Atop a small hillside were five white brick buildings, each facing the rectangular courtyard. Down the hillside, behind the farthest building was a field fenced off from the road. A class of students spread out across the field, their loud voices echoing up the hill to the courtyard. 

Xander could see as his twin paused to look below to the field. His brother looked over the students playing together. Xander sighed, following his brother’s gaze. 

One group of students had gathered near the corner of the field. A boy wearing a face mask was twisting redstone into a small contraption in his hands. While another boy with a fuzzy green jacket watching over his shoulder with a grin. One boy wearing a lab coat handed off something to the first boy, before the contraption finally sparked to life. Earning a shout from the group. 

On the other side of the field, a boy was standing on his hands before falling on his face. He’d let out a yelp before pulling himself from the ground with a jump, and a large grin. A strand of green hair sticking out against brown locks as he let out a boisterous laugh. 

The boy looked over to the fence where another student sat, with their arms crossed. They were stuck on the opposite side of the fence than everyone else, sitting alone with what Xander assumed to be their teacher. The boy huffed at the other student before turning their wheelchair away so they couldn’t face the boy anymore. 

Xander grabbed his brother's arm, pulling him along. “Come on.”

He led his brother into the main building, large glossy letters spelling out the name of the town above their heads. They walked into the main office, finding a small waiting room next to a brown desk. 

The little area was only separated by a glass door, between the waiting room and the actual office. Xander dragged his brother over to the desk where the secretary was sitting typing away on their computer. 

“We’re here to enroll.” Xander stated, blankly. 

The secretary looked up, eyeing them before speaking, “Where are your parents?”

“Out. They asked us to give you the paperwork.” Xander said, having crafted the lie on the way over. Where were their parents? At work. Why couldn’t they get the paperwork? Well, they work late and by the time they are off, the school would be closed. Why couldn’t they just take it by quickly? Well, they weren’t sure how long it would take, and they can’t miss too much work.

He was prepared for whatever questions the secretary threw at them. 

Only, she didn’t. 

“Sit down, the counselor will be with you in a second.” She said, pointing to the chairs that lined the back wall of the waiting room. 

Xander frowned, but nodded. He led his brother over to the chairs and sat down. There was only one other person in the room with them. At first, Xander had ignored them, but now they were the only interesting thing. 

A boy around their age, sat boredly in one of the chairs. Dark brown hair matched with wide brown eyes. He watched the twins with a newfound curiosity, his anxiously tapping foot paused. He wore a blue Hawaiian shirt over his white polo, that Xander could only assume was a school uniform. 

Xander waited, wondering if the student would try and start some conversation, but the boy stayed silent. His brother looked between the other boy and the clock above the door, eyes darting every way. 

Across the glass door, Xander could also back out a set of two doors. One of the doors had a little sign reading principal and the other reading counselor. The second door had a tiny bench just outside where two other students sat. They looked only a bit younger than himself. 

One of the students was a girl with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her eyes glaring at the floor, as her fingers fisted the fabric of her red jacket. Her hair was a mess, strands pulled out from the tie and tangled around her ears. Her hands were dirty, muddy and her knuckles were red. 

Next to her was another boy, this one rather nervously looking between the girl and the door. He had black hair that at one point must have been perfectly made. Instead, as he ran a hand through it, the matted curls were gathering. He oddly wore a stiff black suit with a red tie.

“Are you sure about this?” Xisuma whispered to his brother, without turning away from the other three students. The twin knew better than to turn his back on new people. 

“You got a better idea?” Xander muttered back, and Xisuma shrank down into his seat. 

The counselor’s door opened and another boy left. His hands fisted at his sides as he stormed out, he tore open the glass door as the counselor reached their door. 

“I’m serious about this, Jevin.” The man said, tiredly, rubbing their eyes. The counselor sighed, turning to the bench on the other side of the door. The girl huffed, standing up and slamming a piece of paper into the man’s hands. The boy slowly gathered himself, keeping his head down as he held the paper up to give the man. 

“Pearl, Mumbo.” They greeted sadly, as if he already knew why the two were there, “This is the second time this week.” 

Xander raised an eyebrow, waiting to hear the shouts and screams that would collect just outside the door, but the man just sighed as the two entered. He carefully and quietly shut the door behind them, leaving the office back into the silence from before. 

The older twin looked over to the younger, “Are you alright?”

Xisuma nodded, silently, his eyes glancing each way. The older could tell he was mapping out the room and each escape. He didn’t blame his brother. He had done the same thing once they entered. 

“What do you think that kid did?” Xisuma asked, looking over to the doorway where the first boy had stormed off. His eyes wide as disks as he watched the boy stalk down the hallway through the window of the doorframe. 

Xander shrugged, “No clue.”

“Probably got caught without a permit again.” A new voice came from the side, quiet but melodic. 

Both twins snapped their heads over to find the boy in the Hawaiian shirt looking back at them. He was picking at the fuzz of his pants. He seemed about as interested in the conversation as he was about his pants. 

“A permit?” Xander asked, as his brother fell silent at his side. Xisuma was the quieter of the two, he could open up and annoy his brother to no end, but with strangers it was a different story. 

The kid nodded, “Jev’s always trying to sell stuff. He’s got no permit to sell though. So he just ends up getting himself in trouble. Or maybe he broke into a car again…who knows.” 

“You don’t sound surprised.” Xander commented.

He shrugged, “I’m not. He’s always doing stuff like that.” He looked up from his pant leg, eyes glancing between the two, “I’m Keralis by the way. You two don’t go here.”

“We’re applying.” Xander answered, shortly. 

He expected the answer to shut the student up. Kids who spoke up first were always up to something. This kid wanted to know something, he wanted some kind of information about them and Xander wasn’t about to give it up. 

They thought back to Evo, that mangled cinderblock of a school. Where students were constantly prying, poking and prodding for something. They’d find the smallest little thing and use it against them. Xisuma had been about three years younger when one student gave him the scar that crossed over the bridge of his nose. At the time they had claimed it was an accident, but Xander had seen the group snickering together the moment Xisuma walked out to the playground. 

“Hm,” Keralis hummed, “Fun.” The boy pointed to his brother, “Does he talk?”

“Why do you care?” Xander grumbled, crossing his arms, as his brother tensed. Xisuma sank further into the chair beside him. Xander continued to glare at the other boy who seemed unbothered by what he had said. 

Keralis shrugged, “Just wondered is all. You’re really aggressive, you know.” 

“Keralis, leave those boys alone.” The secretary chided, finally looking up from the computer. Keralis frowned, huffing. He sank into his chair, going back to picking at the fuzz on his pant leg. Xander watched him closely, wondering if he’d steal a glance back at the twins. 

Time ticked by, the two students in the counselor's office were quiet. Xander could only make out a few words whenever the girl shouted at whoever had offended her. 

Just a few words were able to pass through the doorway, “What am I supposed to…he stole…brother…” 

Xander rolled his eyes, looking back to the other student, “So why are you in here? Shouldn’t you be in hula class?”

The boy’s glare snapped right back to him, “Haha, very funny.” Xander could see the boy’s leg bouncing impatiently, “My parents are supposed to pick me up.” 

“Hm,” Xander hummed, “Well, where are they?”

The younger twin swiftly kicked him in the back of the leg. Xander winced but didn’t make a sound, he didn’t take back his words either. The other boy tensed, shoulders hiking up and fists clenched. 

“You’re the one applying for school. Where are yours, smart-”

He was cut off by the counselor's door opening once more. Xander could see the second the click of the doorknob echoed in the boy’s mind. His mouth shut, and his eyes softened as he settled back in his seat. He politely looked over to the two students walking out of the office as if he wasn’t about to curse the elder twin out. 

“Mumbo, you’re free to go back to class.” The man said, sadly, “I know this is hard, but I need you to really think about what you’re doing and who you’re associating with, kid.”

Xander squinted his eyes, watching the scene unfold. The man had squatted down to speak with the younger, a hand rested on his shoulder. The suited boy was still staring at the ground, unmoving. Xander could barely see the flicker of his eyes glancing between the counselor and the girl. 

The boy didn’t say anything, he simply turned on his heels and walked out. He stumbled out of the office, sliding through the glass door carefully and silently. Only then did he sulk his way out the front door rather than moving to the hallway. 

The counselor turned to the girl next, her face screwed into something furious. She had her arms crossed, and her nose wrinkled up. She glared at the man, as he knelt beside her. 

“You know I’m going to have to call your brother, right?” The man asked, and she said nothing in return, “Pearl, work with me here.”

“He deserved it.” She snapped.

He only sighed, nodding, “Okay, go sit.” He instructed, quietly, pointing to the lobby area. She stomped off, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder. He settled into a seat across from Keralis, but neither one of them said a word to the other. Xander wondered if the two even knew each other, they were both angry enough, he thought. 

The counselor followed after her, before stopping at the glass door. He smiled, and for once Xander got a good look at him. 

He was tall–that was what he noticed first. He had dark brown hair with a pair of dark black and blue goggles on his head. He wore a black jacket over an otherwise light blue shirt. His jacket oddly had yellow patches on the elbows that looked sewed on. 

“Alright, Void twins, am I correct?” He asked, pointing to the two of them. 

Xander nodded, standing up and pulling his brother by the wrist to follow him. The man led them back into his office. 

It was a small little square room. Most of it looked like any other counselor’s office, a desk in the middle and two chairs on the other side. A file cabinet in the back and a bookshelf to the side. Yet, some of it stood out.

Next to the file cabinet was a little cat tree, and in it sat a large orange cat lazing out in the sun the window provided. The cat didn’t even open its eyes upon the newcomers. It had its own food bowl and water bowl placed atop the file cabinet, and pictures framed of it and the other students above. 

It didn’t seem like the cat was the only animal either, in a separate corner there was a square dog bed. It’s own food and water bowl were empty at the moment. 

All along the bookshelf were jars and cases of all sorts of creations. Some pictures of student fairs and contests, while others looked to be the actual things that competed. Xander wasn’t too sure if the thing beating in the jar was alive or not, but he didn’t really want to find out. 

The man settled into his seat, motioned to the two chairs in front for the twins. He smiled as they sat down, “Well, then! Sorry about the wait, boys, I don’t tend to get a break with this lot. My name’s Dan. Feel free to call me Dan or Counselor Dan, either works. And you two are?”

“Xander,” The older answered immediately, “And that’s my brother Xisuma.”

Dan nodded, “Before we go any further, I do have to ask- where might your parents be?”

Xander blinked, swallowing. He was prepared for this. He had the entire lie set up in his head, he knew what to say, how to say it and when to say it. He could play this man like a fiddle. He let out a breath, opening his mouth to speak.

Only for his brother to beat him to it, “At home.” 

Xander darted his gaze over to his twin, the boy staring straight at Dan. 

“X.” Xander chided, about to scold his brother before Dan interrupted.

“It’s fine.” He waved it off, “Believe me this isn’t the first I’ve seen of this.” Xander looked back at the man, eyebrow raised, “I’m not going to pry, although I do have a few questions, but those can come later. And I’d much rather you tell me the truth than lie.” Xander frowned, “The matter at hand though, is to get you two enrolled.”

Dan took their paperwork, lining it up in front of him as he scanned it over. He was silent as he typed a few things into the computer on his desk. Copying down the information, he’d look from the paper to the computer and to the twins in front of him. 

As he did, he started rambling, “We’re a Kindergarten through twelfth grade school, each of our buildings houses a different level. The first being our K- 3 kids, the second our 4-6, third is where you’ll be at in 7-8, and lastly is our highschool level. The main office building–which you two are in right now–is where you’ll find classes that all grade levels take. For example, our cafeteria is down the hall and to the left, the band room, art room, and theatre are also in here. You might have actually seen some of our seventh grade class on your way in here,” He rambled off, “They’re out in the field right now.”

“Why do you have a cat?” The words escaped Xisuma’s mouth so quickly Xander wasn’t even sure if the man heard them. 

But the counselor looked up, eyes glancing over to the orange cat fondly, “Oh, him? He’s one of the many cats you’ll find around here. I hope you don’t mind. The strays are a bit difficult to get rid off, especially with one student continuously feeding them whenever he gets the chance.” Dan chuckled, “But he stays with me, he’s one of the oldest here. His name’s Stampy.”

“You just let him in here?” Xander asked, nose wrinkling. 

Dan nodded, “Yup, he ends up helping out a bit whenever I get a student in here that might not always respond the best to me.” 

“Why wouldn’t they?” Xisuma asked, quietly. 

Dan sighed, looking away from the computer, “We’ve got kids here from all walks of life, I don’t expect them all to like me. I don’t even expect you two to like me, much less trust me, we just met. But if I can get them to calm down even a little with some help,” Dan rolled back on his chair to scratch behind the cat's ears, “then it’s all good.”

The counselor looked back to them, “Now, we’ve got a few elective classes to choose from. Things like art, theatre, band, game design, coding, and a few others. Anything that catches your eye?” 

He slid them a piece of paper with a long list of class names. Xisuma scooted forward, carefully picking up the paper as if it might bite him. Still he scanned over the page, silently. 

Xander frowned, Dan was watching them closely. He seemed nice but there Xander couldn’t shake the feeling that the eyes on him were dangerous. He shifted uncomfortably, and if Dan realized he didn’t comment, he only looked back to the computer in front of him. 

The older twin turned to the younger, leaning forward, “Anything?”

Xisuma shrugged, “Evo didn’t have these.” Xander hummed for his brother to continue, “If I did something would you do it with me?”

Given the chance, Xander would go through his entire life by his brother’s side. The offer laid at his feet, Xisuma’s eyes nearly begging him to answer quickly. 

He sighed, “Yeah,” And even if Xander wanted to be with his brother, he knew his brother needed his own friends. The younger needed to have someone outside of their home, if only he’d try. 

Xisuma let out a shaky breath, smiling, before pointing to one listed, “Coding?” Xander asked, making sure he understood his sibling correctly. Xisuma only nodded, and Xander handed the paper back to Dan. 

“We’ll take coding.” 

“Together?” Dan asked, his eyebrow raised, “We have plenty of options if you’d like to take something else Xander.”

Xander grimaced, there was no way he was leaving his brother’s side that quickly, “No, I’ll take coding.”

Dan sighed, but nodded, typing away on the computer. “Well, I should have your schedules printed by tomorrow. Once we get the paperwork filed, you two will be ready to join us. So can I hope to see the two of you at the beginning of next week?”

Xander nodded, silently, quickly standing up. His brother followed, easily. Dan led them out to the door, but paused once they reached the glass door. He looked from the twins to the Keralis who was still sat waiting anxiously. 

On the other side of the room, the girl, Pearl, was sitting next to an older boy. He had blond hair, and dark bags underneath his eyes. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, speaking in hushed tones to the secretary. 

“Would the two of you be interested in a tour?” Dan asked, politely, “Just so you know where things are here?”

Xander looked to his brother. Had it been his decision he would have said no and walked away. He would’ve left the second their impromptu meeting was over. But Xisuma wasn’t like that, he liked school. 

And Xander could see it in his eyes that Xisuma was liking it here. He liked Dan, because Xander could actually see the curves of his lips smiling. He could see the spark in his eyes when the word ‘tour’ was uttered. And no matter how much he wanted to ignore the offer, he couldn’t. 

Xander sighed, waving a hand, “Sure.”

Xisuma’s smile grew, as he wrapped an arm around his brother’s neck as a thank you. Xander only shrugged him off. Dan nodded, looking back at Keralis, “Keralis, think you can show our two new kids around while you wait?”

And Xander’s mood plummeted, the glare he was given by the boy returned. He huffed, standing up and crossing his arms. “Yeah.” 

Dan thanked him, and quickly ushered Pearl and the older boy back into his office. Leaving the three in the lobby alone. 

Keralis tapped his foot on the ground, before turning and walking through the double doors into the hallway on the main building. Xisuma quickly followed after him, his feet rushing along the tile floors. Xander walked slowly behind them, keeping an eye on his brother’s movements. 

Keralis stopped near the middle of the hallway, before pointing to the side “That’s the cafeteria. Sixth grade’s in there right now, so I’d stand back.” 

True to his word the room was full of little eleven year olds running around. A curly redheaded girl jumped about the room as she told some story to her classmates. One of which was the boy they had seen come out of Dan’s office first. He was looking less than amused. 

Then Keralis pointed to the opposite side of the hallway, where a separate set of double doors stood. Through the window they could make out a semicircle of a few students working with instruments. The booming music took a pause as they listened to the woman at the front speak. 

“That’s Miss Griande’s music class. She also leads the school band.” Keralis said, boredly, he kept walking, stopping a few paces away to point at the next room, “That’s the art center,” A girl with fiery red hair stood sculpting some statue out of clay. “That’s the theatre room.” Inside was a boy reciting some long monologue to a group of students that were either intricately thrilled or half asleep. The one thing that stood out was the boy next to the red caped lad, who held a large puppet beside himself. 

Keralis swiftly moved on, stumbling out of the main building back to the little courtyard. He pointed to the field, “Field where we get recess. And this is our building.” He motioned to one of the smaller buildings, its white walls void of almost anything. 

Once inside, Keralis seemed to move even quicker, pointing to each room and spouting off its use and teacher. “Redstone, Mr. Ron. History, Mrs. Jill. Math, Mr. Rich…”

It was only when Keralis’s ramblings did a lull did Xisuma actually speak up, “I can talk, you know?”

Xander nearly froze in his steps at his brother’s voice. And their tour guide copied, he stood frozen, turning around to look the boy up and down. Then he looked at Xander and went back to Xisuma. 

“Do you like it here?” Xisuma asked, quickly afterwards. 

Keralis shrugged, “It’s alright. I guess.”

“You're anxious to leave. People aren’t that anxious without a reason.” Xisuma stated back. 

“I guess I’m just ready to go home.” 

“Is it because you don’t like it here?”

“That’s not what I said.” 

“Then what do you mean?”

“My parents were supposed to pick me up so we could go on vacation.” Keralis spat out, “I guess I’m just tired of waiting on them.” The boy didn’t wait for a response, he stormed past the twins brushing his shoulder against Xisuma as he left. 

Xander glared at him, only for his brother to turn back to him when the boy was out of earshot. 

“Did I say something wrong?” Xisuma asked, quietly. 

_______________________________________________

When the twins arrived home, Xisuma was quick to hide away in his room. He hadn’t spoken once after the conversation with Keralis. Xander allowed his brother the silence, knowing that to push him any farther would only make it worse. Instead, he just let his brother stumble up to his new bedroom and hide away for the night. 

The older twin offered food to their parents through the crack in the door, but was met with a quick no thank you and sent on his way. He then tried his brother, laying the food he’d made on the stool next to the closed door. It was a simple dinner, something they had learned how to make early on. 

And then, he fetched his own bowl of macaroni. The sun had set already, and the dark night sky was something Xander had become fond of over the years. Back when they lived in Evo, he would sit outside their porch late in the evening and watch for anyone on the street. It became a habit, one he wasn’t ready to let go off. 

So he settled himself down on the porch steps of their new home, patiently waiting for anything strange. 

It didn’t take long before something caught his eye, though. Down the road, walking along the sidewalk towards him was a small group. The first figure he saw was tall, a green coat wrapped around broad shoulders and they had something cradled in their arms. The second figure was shorter, maybe around his own height, but they wore a bright red jacket sporting speckled yellow stars. 

The closer the two got, Xander began to recognize them. 

“This was the second time this week, kid.” The larger of the two said, his voice oddly quiet and soft for the aggravation it held. Whatever they held in their arms, they bounced up and down, “This isn’t you, Pearl.”

The girl huffed, “You’re only mad because I got caught. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t even know it happened. You’d be super happy, all at home.”

“You broke into someone’s car.” The boy sighed, rubbing his face. As the two came closer, Xander could recognize the final figure. In the older boy’s arms was a toddler, or at least that’s what they looked like. They were small, and curled up asleep in the older’s arms. 

But Xander was much more interested in the comment. He hadn’t heard what the girl had done to earn herself a spot in the office, but breaking into someone’s car seemed a heavy sentence. 

“He deserved it.” Pearl spat out, and the older raised a hand in front of her. He stopped her from walking farther, kneeling down to be in front of her. Xander watched, waiting to see his reaction. 

“Pearl, think. Think for just a second. I know you’re trying your best. You’re trying to do whatever you can to help, but it’s okay. I want you to think about where this is going. I know you’re mad. You can be mad for as long as you want,” Xander could hear the older boy’s voice cracking as he spoke. “But don’t go getting yourself into trouble you can’t get out of. Because, you’ve still  got me and you’ve got Jim, too. We’ve already lost one, I don’t want to lose a second, too.”

Pearl was staring at her shoes, in the night air Xander couldn’t make out her expression, but he could hear the slight sniffles. The boy frowned, offering out one arm for a hug. The girl tunneled into him, nearly crushing the baby in his arms. Only then did he stand up, and pat her on the head. 

“You know you’re grounded, right?” He asked, smirking as she clutched his coat tail.

“You can’t ground me.” Pearl pushed back.

“I’m afraid, I can. And you are.” He said, ruffling her hair, “Now, come on. It’s past his bedtime.”

The older boy started walking down the road again, but the girl stayed still. Xander hummed, placing the bowl down next to him. He left his meal and ventured to the end of their yard to the sidewalk. He stepped up to where the girl was, “Grounded, huh?”

She whipped around to face him, her expression screwed up once again. Her eyebrows tight and eyes glaring into. He could see now that she had been crying. Her tears barely dried up on her face. But her hands clenched into fists at her sides, and Xander had half the nerve to duck before she threw a punch. 

“Were you spying on me!” She snapped. 

“No--for the love of–” He cut himself off, straightening himself back, “No, I wasn’t spying on you. You’re in my front yard. It’s kind of hard not to hear your conversation.” 

She grimaced, looking over to their home, “Your house looks like an insane asylum.” 

Xander blinked, scoffing, “Wow, thanks, you know, I’d actually be offended if you didn’t look like you just escaped one.”

What he expected to become a shouting match, where they throw insults at each other like a fist fight, turned into something he didn’t expect. She laughed. 

Pearl laughed, starting with a little chuckle before bellowing out something deeper, “Nice one.” She added, wiping her nose, “Most people don’t realize I’m joking.” 

Xander shrugged, “I didn’t really care if you were or weren’t. My answer stays the same.”

She rolled her eyes, holding out her hand that wasn’t covered in snot. “I’m Pearl.”

“Xander.” He greeted, shaking her hand loosely. “Did you really break into a car?”

She shrugged, pulling her hand back and tucking it away into her jacket, “I mean, kind of. I threw a brick into the window to get in.”

He scoffed, although it sounded more like a laugh, “Why?”

“Bunch of jerks keep picking on my brother. They took his book yesterday. He doesn’t normally let me get involved, but I was walking around with Mumbo and we saw it in one of the cars. So I kind of acted then, just chucked the brick and stole it back. The alarm went off and that’s when we got caught.” She explained, “And before you try and tell me off, might I remind you I am now grounded.”

Xander rolled his eyes, “I’m not going to tell you off,” He said, easily, “Would’ve done the same thing.”

“Really?” She asked, quickly.

He nodded, “Had it happened to my little brother, I’d probably find the jerks themselves.”

She cringed, “it wasn’t my little brother.” 

“It wasn’t?” Xander blinked.

She shook her head, “No. It was Martyn, he’s my older brother,” She pointed down the road where the older boy had gone off. “He takes care of us.”

“Huh,” Xander paused. He thought for a moment about having a little sibling protect their older. He thought about how odd it would feel for Xisuma to stand up for him. He didn’t like it. 

There was no way he was letting anyone younger than him take his punches. He’d handle it by himself  if it came down to that. He suddenly felt a lot more confident in letting Pearl take her punishment if that meant she wouldn’t put herself in harm's way again.

Pearl looked him over, her expression morphing once more, “I guess your opinion changed, then.” She grimaced, “You know I can take care of myself you know! Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean anything! He’s my big brother and I’m going to do whatever I can-”

“It wasn’t because you're a girl.” Xander clarified. “It’s just…” He paused, “If you’re looking out for your older brother, who looks out for you?”

“My brother does, you idiot.” 

“But then?”

“We look out for each other.” She stated, “Even if he doesn’t realize it.”

________________________________________

Over the course of their first week at the Hermitville school, Xander became closer friends with Pearl. Most of the students he found were quiet and rarely spoke to one another, and when they did it was so avoidant that he thought they were truly living up to their namesake.

Anyone he did see together, would turn out to be siblings. 

But Pearl was kind–in her own weird way. 

She argued with just about everyone. But in the end, it was just as she had said, what she thought was joking turned out to be insulting to most other students. 

She got into trouble. Small things here and there, but nothing ever bad. Xander had overheard from the teachers that she was only acting out because of ‘what had happened’ and that ‘they should give her space’. It was odd.

And eventually Xander started to join in with her. There were times when her buddy, Mumbo, just wasn’t up for whatever she wanted to do. So, instead, she’d come to him. 

Xisuma was also doing better. Whenever the two were at home the older would find his brother tucked away somewhere new. He was always working on something, and when asked, Xander found that Xisuma had made a few friends. He had smiled, saying they were nice. He didn’t give much other information, but Xander had cheered internally at the thought his brother had made friends. 

It didn’t matter anymore to him who they were, so long as his brother was doing well. And so with his brother’s newfound grin promptly on his face as they left their home in the mornings, Xander found himself relaxing. 

It was during that relaxing time when he had settled into his bed that he heard the tapping against his window. He’d just said goodnight to his twin, reminding him to head to bed soon. The moon was high in the sky, and whatever knocked against his window wasn’t getting the message to go to bed.

He’d gone to the glass, peering down about to glare at whatever creature decided to annoy him when he found Pearl tossing pebbles to his window. She grinned, waving him down; and, curious, Xander obeyed. 

That was how it began. The two had a nightly routine, that after Xander said goodnight to his younger brother he’d sneak out. Pearl had shown him the way to her home, crossing one street and walking down another. She then showed him how to climb the nearest tree to reach a slanted rooftop. 

They could sit and watch the neighborhood from their roof, unbothered. Every once in a while, someone unlucky soul would wander down the path and Pearl would point them out given a one-sided description of them. 

And it seemed Xander wasn’t the only one Pearl ever invited up to her secret space. Jevin, the student from Dan’s office, would stop by every once and a while. He never stayed long, but would sit quietly exchanging sharp comments with Pearl at each other’s expense. Neither took offense to the other’s insults, but they would leave peaceful silences in the air to hang. 

All things considered, Xander had started to count Hermitville as a success. 

That was until he actually came across those so-called friends of Xisuma’s.

It had happened when Pearl and Jevin were tossing pieces of candy to each other. Xander had been watching over the streets when he spotted a few figures stalking down the sidewalks. He pointed them out to the two, earning a shrug from Pearl. 

“It’s probably just that old drunk fart again. He comes home late.” She mouthed off, popping a piece of candy into her mouth. 

“They look younger than that, and there’s more than one.” Xander pointed out, as the group of about four.

Pearl hummed, noncommittally, but Jevin turned to see for himself. He grimaced, faking a choked gag, “It’s highschoolers.”

Xander raised an eyebrow, as Pearl straightened and came closer to see for herself. She cringed, “Ew, those are the same ones that pick on Martyn.”

“Really?” Xander asked, watching them closer now. They could hear the muffled shouts and snickering laughs, their voices louder than what a normal conversation called for. A few stumbled over their feet, dragging each other along and laughing when one nearly fell over. “Are they drunk?”

“Probably.” Jevin shrugged.

“Xan, why are they going to your house?” Pearl asked, spotting as the figures turned into Xander’s yard. The older twin stood up, the back of his mind flaring up as he thought through every action he made as he left the house. 

He had locked the doors, right?

He’d shut all the windows?

The keys were hidden. Xisuma was in bed. Their parents locked themselves in their room. 

His jaw locked, “I need to go.” He snapped, moving quickly to get down from the roof. He reached the limb of the tree when Jevin grabbed his sleeve. The boy tugged him back to look once more. 

“Ain’t that your brother?” Jevin asked, pointing. 

And sure enough, out from their front door Xisuma hopped from the porch steps. He stood in front of the four highschoolers, and Xisuma waited for his brother to start screaming. For the punches to be thrown. For the threats to be spoken. He waited for something to happen, but his brother only stood, his hands behind his back as the four laughed, clapping each other on the back. 

Only then did they move along again, and this time with Xisuma just behind them. 

“What?” Xander seethed.

____________________________________________________

Xander sat at the kitchen table in their small dining room. He waited for his brother to sulk downstairs as the sun rose over the trees. He had the whole conversation planned in his mind. He would confront his brother, ask him where he went the night before and his twin would answer him point blank. They had never hidden anything from each other before, today would be no different. His brother would fold and spill everything his newfound friends did and Xander could make a judgement. 

He had returned the night before after Pearl tried to calm his anger. He implored her effort, she knew the real dangers of getting into too much trouble. He was glad she had some self-restraint, it made that worried web in his mind calm. But Xander was different from Pearl in that aspect, while she still cared about what consequences she’d face,  Xander had no worries. Pearl was younger than him after all. 

So he had no quells with sending those four highschoolers to the grave if he had to. Maybe it was a bit far, and maybe Pearl had been right to tell him to not act irrationally. But his mind was made up, if these four did anything to ruin the peace they’d found, Xander was not above anything.

He held steady as he heard taps of his twin's feet on the stairs. Xisuma stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. The younger of the two poured himself something to drink, ignoring the heavy stare his brother was sending him. 

Only when Xisuma sat across from Xander did the boy look over the edge of his cup.

“What?” Xisuma asked, confusion and exhaustion layering his voice. 

“Where were you last night?” Xander spoke. He’d rather rip the bandage off than dance around the topic. He saw as his brother’s eyes widen only slightly, and he laid the cup down gently.

“I’m sorry?” Xisuma chuckled, “What are you on about?”

“I saw you.” Xander stated, blankly, keeping his expression cooled.

Xisuma’s jaw tightened, “I don’t see why it’s your business.”

“You’re my brother.” Xander huffed, crossing his arms, “You snuck out. I want to know what you did, I think that’s plenty of my business.”

“I’m not telling you, Xander.” Xisuma sighed, and Xander’s plan split in two. His brother really wasn’t planning on telling him. He felt his spine chill over, and the fire in his fingertips flared up once more. “You always do this.” Xisuma continued, “You figure that whatever I get into, I need you to get me out of. So I have to tell you everything, because if I don’t you panic. I don’t have to tell you what I’m doing, I can make decisions just as well as you can. Unless you forgot, we’re the same age. We’re twins.”

Xander clenched his fists at his side, he shot up from his spot at the table, “Maybe I wouldn’t worry if you weren’t hanging out with a bunch of highschoolers!”

Xisuma wrinkled his nose, slamming his hands on the table before meeting his brother’s height, “Atleast, I’m not hanging out with a bunch of troublemakers! Don’t think I haven’t seen the lot you’ve chosen, too.”

The older twin grimaced, thinking back to Pearl and Jevin. Two kids who had been slotted under a title that didn’t fit them, just as it didn’t fit him. But no one would ever look past that title to see the reason behind them. All they saw, all his brother saw, was a couple kids causing problems on purpose. 

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” Xander warned, jabbing a finger at his sibling. 

“And neither do you! You see I’m making friends and immediately assume the worst! Don’t you trust my judgement? Can’t you just trust me on this? They’re nice. They’re my friends.” Xisuma defended, motioning to himself and then to the room around them. 

“I’d trust it a lot more if I didn’t see what I saw last night! You snuck out! You snuck out with a bunch of drunk highschoolers!” Xander yelled, glaring his brother down in case it would finally make him fold. 

“The only reason you know that is because you snuck out, too! Why is it suddenly okay for you to do it, but the second I do it you-you get,” The younger motioned to the other, “All like this!”

“Because I can do it!” Xander bellowed, “You-You’re better than that. You’re supposed to be better than that.” 

Xisuma frowned, “Yeah? Well,” he paused, “Well, maybe I don’t want to be.” The younger pushed back from the table, storming off back upstairs. He left his brother to mull in the sprawling clawed mess he’d created. A dark scratched out tangle of emotions hidden beneath the flaming fingertips and hotheaded shouts.

As the door upstairs slammed shut, Xander sighed. He sank into his chair, laying his head in his hands, before weakly glaring at the shut and locked door of the master bedroom.

___________________________________________________________________

“And he insists that it’s fine! That I’m just being paranoid! Like he can actually trust those idiots.” Xander huffed, mumbling the last part. He crossed his arms, leaning back against his chair. 

Pearl sat next to him, her lunch forgotten, as she continued to try and saw through the table with a plastic knife. She hummed along, eyes glued to the little marks she had made on the table. 

Xander watched her, raising an eyebrow, “What are you doing?”

She shrugged, “I dunno. You were complaining, so I thought I’d do something pointless, too!” She smirked, tossing the knife back on her plate, boredly. “Why do you care anyway?”

“He’s my brother. You literally broke into a car for yours, I think this is a step down.” Xander mocked.

“That’s different.” Pearl said, plainly.

“How is that different?” 

“Just is.” She replied, looking over the cafeteria. “But fine, what do you want to do about it?”

Xander sighed, running his hands through his hair, “I just want him to see that they’re playing him. I don’t know how, but I know they are. Highschoolers don’t just hang out with a kid for fun, right? I’m not crazy here, am I?”

Pearl hummed, “Well, I would say you’re crazy in other ways, but no I think you’ve got a point here. They’re jerks, whatever they’re doing, probably ain’t good.”

“See!” Xander huffed, “I’ve just got to find a way to get him to see that.”

Pearl smiled, “Are you asking me to come up with a super weird maniacal evil scheme to out these jerkfaces to your brother, cause I’ll do it!” Her voice held a light tone that Xander hadn’t heard from her before. It almost sounded like she was mimicking someone else, from the way she repeated her words, each descriptive making her grin grow wider. 

“I mean…” Xander shrugged, “I guess?”

Pearl cheered to herself, punching the air before leaning forward to whisper, “Meet me on the rooftop tonight.”

And before Xander could say anything else, the girl had twisted her way out of her seat. Her ponytail flipping back and forth, and red jacket sparkling with tiny moons and stars. She threw her food away, before strutting off to the hallway of the main building. 

Xander didn’t know what Pearl would plan. There was no way to prepare, there was no way to contain her when it came down to it. He had once seen her get into a full on fist fight with a kid because they had off-handedly said something to some boy in a wheelchair. He’d seen her shout at Dan only because he had suggested she go home early one day. There was no telling what all she would plan for something like this. 

So when the door to his brother’s room shut with a click that night, he hurriedly gathered his shoes. He waited a few minutes on the porch, wondering if he’d catch his brother sneaking out once more, or if he’d seen the few teens beforehand. When neither happened he stalked down the road to Pearl’s home, climbing up the tree to the highest sturdy limb. 

He crawled to the rooftop, dragging his legs up behind him when he saw Pearl waiting for him. She smiled, toothily, her bag was set beside her. Its zipper opened showing the overhauled clutter she carried around with her. On the other side of the roof, Xander saw Jevin already halfway into a bag of chips. 

“Finally!” Pearl complained, groaning exaggeratedly, she rolled her head around on her neck. “Took you long enough!”

“You better have a good plan.” Xander huffed, crossing his arms.

“Relax, I got you.” She grinned, standing up, “Jev heard they’re having a party nearby. Some kid’s hosting in our neighborhood.” She shrugged, “So we’re going!”

“What?!” Xander snapped as the last words left her mouth. Pearl grinned, bouncing on her heels. Xander shook his head, there was no way he was taking a seventh grader and a sixth grader to a highschool party! He didn’t want his brother around these kids, and he was the same age, much less ones younger than them. “No. No, absolutely not.”

Pearl rolled her eyes, she smacked the other on the back of the head, “Not us, idiot. You.” She clarified, “Martyn would kill me if he found out I went. And I’m already gonna get in trouble for this alone.”

“You want me to go?” Xander scoffed, “Are you crazy? The second I go in there they’re going to know I’m Xisuma’s twin. We’re twins! We look the same! How do you even know he’ll be there! He won’t! He’s at home right now in bed-”

“No, he’s not.” Jevin cut in. Xander blinked, turning to the other who was watching over the neighborhood, eyes clocked on their side. “He left before you did. Went around back so you wouldn’t see him.”

Xander’s face screwed up, his nose wrinkling as his jaw clenched. The fire returned to his hands, burning at his fingertips. Pearl smirked in front of him, jabbing a finger in his face as she giggled while his cheeks turned red. 

“See! This is perfect!” Pearl giggled out, “You’re going to go in there and when things go wrong, you’ll be there to fix it!”

“How do you know they’ll go wrong?” Xander asked, quickly. 

“Trust me, it will.” Jevin jumped in once again, as Pearl nodded. 

“And you’ll easily fit in!” She continued, motioning to him, “You’re tall enough for one. Once I fix you up, you’ll look exactly like a teenager!” She smiled, before skipping over to her bag. She knelt down beside it, pulling out brushes and combs. It was when she pulled out a little pallet full of a rainbow of colors, did Xander intervene.

“Pearl!” He shouted, as she hummed, “I-You-You are not putting make-up on me.”

She stopped humming, glaring at her friend, pointing a fluffy brush at him, “Do you want to help your brother or not!” She threatened. 

“This isn’t going to help him!” 

“Oh hush! Sit down!” She huffed, “I’m just going to make you look older! Teens wear make-up, you gotta fit in.” She pulled Xander down by the arm so he was forced to sit in front of her. Xander glared at her, trying his best to grab at the brushes and pallets she held out of his reach. All the while he pinched and kicked her, she only giggled until she had successfully tackled him to the rooftop ground. 

He groaned, “Pearl, get off!”

“Nope!” She yelped, poking the older’s face as she worked. 

Jevin ignored the two, only joining in to poke fun at Xander’s expense. Xander continued to threaten the two, claiming he’d push the other boy off the roof if he spoke once more. Jevin only grinned, telling Pearl to add more purple. 

“Why do you even have that much purple?” Jevin asked, after noticing the many pallets filled with purple colors. 

She flinched, freezing for a second, before shrugging, “I dunno. It’s my mum’s.” She quickly rolled off Xander, cheering, “I’m done!”

“Finally.” Xander grimaced, moving to wipe his face only to earn a smack to the hand. 

“No!” Pearl reprimanded, moving over to her bag once more. “And now for the final piece.” 

“Which is?” Xander huffed, crossing his arms. Pearl hummed, pulling out a long necked bottle and holding it out for Xander as Jevin ‘oohed’.

“You had that this whole time!” Jevin complained, as Xander stared wide-eyed at the bottle of alcohol. 

“I stole it from our kitchen. Martyn doesn’t think I know where it is.” She explained, when Xander’s face didn’t relax she continued, “No one’s going to let you into a highschool party without booze.” She said, shaking the bottle. 

Xander clenched his jaw, only for Pearl to entice him once more, “You want to help your brother, right?”

Xander sighed, snatching the bottle away from the girl. He turned on his heels, heading for the tree limbs, as Pearl and Jevin both called out their assurances. 

_____________________________________________________

Xander cursed out Pearl and Jevin in his mind as he waited at the steps of this house. Pearl had given him the number once he’d gotten halfway down the tree. But now as he stared at the flickering colored windows, he wasn’t so sure about what he was doing. 

The music from inside the house was vibrating the ground below his feet. The thrum of it shaking the door and the walls. He had no idea how his brother would even deal with such noise. Already trash had begun to pile at the porch steps, cups still half-full laid about and leaked into the bushes. 

The front porch also wasn’t empty as two highschool students plastered themselves to the wall, where Xander forced himself to block off his vision. He snuck past the two, he raised his hands to knock on the white door, only to see the crack just between the wall and the door already open. 

He cringed, lightly pushing it open to reveal the mess of a home. The trash outside was only the beginning with boxes of food, cups of any kind of liquid and just school bags tossed around. Pictures had been knocked from the wall, and the music blasted over the furniture echoing off empty walls. Students of all ages swarmed in the different rooms, some dancing, some talking and others simply lazing about. 

He shook the music and noise of shouting and off-beat singing out of his head, trying to focus on the sight of a shorter brunet that he might find among the sea of teens. He pushed his way through the swarm, trying to get passed the hallway, he jumped looking over shoulders. 

An overwhelming smell of alcohol punctured the air, mixing with fumes of stale food and the heat of so many people. He shoved passed people, never calling out any apologies, there was no point. The students would only shout out a curse for being pushed aside before returning to whatever they were doing. 

He tried to get through to the living room, where he could see students dancing along to whatever song had been played. A few shouting at the one who was standing atop a chair. Xander nearly could see the room, as he peeked over a large shoulder. 

While one student was drunkenly standing atop one chair, three other students lazed about on a couch. Each one cheering on the other, raising cups and sloshing liquid over themselves. Other kids made up the area, some jumping along the coffee table. 

The only thing that caught Xander’s attention was the smallest in the room. The short brunet shoved in the corner, awkwardly staring at the cup they held in two hands. A student on the arm of the couch continued to poke and prod at him, joking around, only to earn a half-hearted chuckle. 

Xander pushed through the last wall of shoulders and heads, his ears barely picking up the warped conversation that happened feet away from him. 

“Come on, kid, it’s not bad!” The teen sat on the edge of the couch, prompted, lifting his own cup up. 

Xisuma cringed, taking a small step away. 

“Just drink it!” Another egged on, laughing. “Here watch, it ain’t hard.” 

Xander grimaced, storming forward to pull his brother away from the crowd. Only the boy on the edge of the couch stood up blocking his way, turned to his brother, and stood over him. “Oh for cryin-just-here!” 

The teen raised his hand to grab the brunet’s cup, only for Xisuma to flinch away at the raised hand. His eyes widened, as he flung the cup into the boy’s face without a second thought. Clear fuzzy liquid splashed across the boy’s face and clothes, coating him in bubbles. 

Xisuma gasped, pulling closer to the wall, as the boy collected himself in front of him. 

“Did-” The teen scoffed, flinging his hands about to dry them, “You little-” Before he could say anything else, the teen had lunged forward to the younger. 

Xander could only stare, frozen as his brother screamed, before ducking under the boy’s arms. 

Xisuma was fast. Xander knew that he had practice running from other students. He knew how to predict which way would be the easiest escape route. So it was no surprise that by the time the older boy had spun around to try and grab at Xisuma’s jacket the kid was halfway across the living room. 

Xander glanced between his brother and the teen. While his brother ran on two shaken feet, his thoughts were racing to catch up with the scene in front of him. He had no time to react before the teen was chasing his sibling through the house. 

He tossed the bottle of alcohol Pearl had given him, uncaring of where it broke or spilled. He only cared about running after the two people shoving their way through the crowd. They pushed through, nearly lunging over students who didn’t move quick enough. 

He followed after the teen, watching as he chased his sibling into the backyard of the house. His legs burned underneath him, matching the fire in his fingers and chill that ran down his spine. He sprinted out the glass door, reaching the back porch of the lovely home only to see his brother gripped by the hood of his jacket. 

Xisuma struggled in the grip of the older, snapping his hands at the one that held him. The boy seething, what Xander could only assume was an alcohol stenched breath in his face. Xisuma wrinkled his nose at the smell, kicking his feet out at the boy. His mouth was held shut, something he’d learned as his best action back in Evo. 

Xander felt the moment the string in his chest snapped he felt as though his mind finally communicated with his body again. He clenched his jaw, storming forward until the teen had finally recognized he was there. 

“Hey!” He bellowed over the sound of harsh music that exuded from the back door, his glare  taking over his entire expression, “Let him go!”

The teen scoffed, looking him over. His brother only stared at him wide eyed, his breaths escaping his chest rapidly. “Oh well, would you look at that, Mr. Glitter is here to save your ass.” 

Xander huffed, as the boy laughed, he rubbed the paint smudging his face. There was no way he was letting Pearl get away with this later. “I said, let him go.”

“Or what? You know the drag show is actually on the other road.”

“And the place for hitting kids is prison.” Xander sneered, “So unless the next time you want to party it’s in a prison riot, let my brother go, now.”

The teen smirked, “So you’re his brother?” Xander saw the moment when Xisuma flinched at the title. The teen grinned, looking between them, “The resemblance is uncanny! You know what,” The boy dropped the younger, tossing him down to the grass. Xisuma scrambled to sit up, brushing off the dirt as he darted his eyes between them. “It’ll be a lot more fun to teach you a lesson than your brother, he’s a little too quiet. Don’t you think?”

Xander grimaced, “If it makes you shut up, fine.”

“Xander?” Xisuma whispered, worriedly from the side. 

Xander glanced over to his brother, the boy watching him with concern laced over his face. Xander opened his mouth to say something, only to be met with a swift punch to the side of his face. Bruised knuckles meeting his cheek, he looked up to see the drunken grin of the boy.

He scowled, the fire in his fingers finally had something to burn. 

He hurled a fist into the kid's eye, scuttling him backwards. Xander wasn’t sure what all he did during that fight. He knew that later on that night when Pearl asked him for details, all he could remember was the feeling of skin hitting skin. All he would remember was the blood spilled from knuckles and the kicks to the stomach. He would remember the pain on his side, but he’d grin as the teen continued to stumble. He would remember thanking the years of preparation from Evo that night. He’d think about every time he threw a punch into someone his age, only to come back later to someone older and bigger than him. 

But he knew that deep down that fire in his fingers, those flames in his knuckles were dwindling. They were smoldering, slowly burning out until they matched the chill in his spine. They would flicker, but they’d never rage again to the same forest fire they were as they did then. 

And he knew that he was only stopped by the sounds of sirens blaring in his ears, and the flashing blue and red lights that blinded him as his brother pulled him back. 

Chapter Text

“-the user input is still acting up, unfortunately.” Xisuma presented, his voice somehow steady and calm as he spoke in front of the class, “Luckily, I haven’t reported any out of place bugs in the system, the input just takes a few seconds to catch up.” 

He pressed a button on the screen, showing how his system gave the related response after a second or two. He turned back to the class, smiling widely, his hands twisting behind his back. His fingers tangled together, pulling at the seams of his knuckles as he waited for a response from his classmates. 

The eighth grade coding class had been something Xisuma wasn’t expecting to enjoy this much, but everyday he got to learn more about creating something from his own fingers. And then he could actually show it off! Sure, most of the other students weren’t as excited as he was about it, but that didn’t matter. 

He didn’t need applause. He didn’t need them to grin at his hours of labor. He didn’t need them to laugh at his jokes. Or pat him on the back. Or tell him they were proud of him.

No, they could sit there and stare at him. They could blink slowly, half asleep as he collected his materials to finish his presentation. 

“Wonderful job,” Xisuma smiled, papers and books hugged against his chest as he turned back to the teacher. “A wonderful example, Mr. Void. And I’m sure we can get that delay down.”

He nodded, letting her shoo him back to his seat politely. She stood back at the front, going down her list looking for the next name. 

Xisuma rounded the desks, finding his own close to the center of the room. He laid his items down, packing away his books into his bag. He slid back into his seat, pressing his fingers against the wooden tabletop. 

The teacher called the next student up, and they slowly trudged out of their seat pulling along their presentation. 

“You know, if you work hard enough maybe you can code that scar off your face.” Xisuma heard from behind him. He huffed, the mark that stretched across the bridge of his nose burning at the mention. He had never thought much about it. Most of the time it was just a small line that separated his face in two. He still didn’t think much of it, but the more people pointed it out, the harder they were making it to ignore. 

Had Xander been nearby, Xisuma was sure the words never would have left the kids mouth. His brother had that effect on people; keeping them quiet. Unfortunately, his brother had gotten into a bit of trouble with that girl again, leaving him alone for the day. He didn’t mind it, he was capable of ignoring rude comments, he’d done plenty of that in Evo. 

He just thought Evo would be the last of it.

And in truth, Hermitville was a million worlds away from Evo, but it was times like this Xisuma wished he could be like his brother. Wished he could just swing a punch and be done with it. 

“Oh shut up! ‘Least he’s able to do something, you can’t even figure out how to turn the shower on.” Someone snapped back, voice quiet but sharp enough to sting. 

Xisuma looked over his shoulder, seeing the student sat next to him glaring at the other boy. He’d only ever spoken to the student next to him once, and that had been when he first started at the school.

Keralis had seemed a bit–brash then. He was quick-witted, but quiet. 

The bigger student glared at the two of them, about to speak up once more only for the classroom’s attention to snap to the presentation. With the student working through their speech it was hard to sneer anything out without the teacher noticing. So for now, Xisuma relaxed. 

It was only after the student started to slow down, reaching the end of their project did he whisper something to the other. 

“Thanks.”

Keralis shrugged, leaning against the back of his chair. “No problem. Where’s your brother at? He normally keeps them quiet.”

Xisuma sighed, rolling his eyes fondly, “Yeah, well, he’s gotten himself into a mess again.”

Keralis hummed, nodding, “Your project was good, by the way.”

“Thanks,” Xisuma beamed, trying his best to hide the excitement in his voice. “I-It took like all night! And-and I’m still working out the delays and stuff, but-but I might-”

“If you switch a few things around the delays wouldn’t happen.” Keralis explained, Xisuma blinked, staring at him in confusion. The boy shifted in his seat, “You showed the system. I saw a couple of lines out of place. You probably just made a typo or something.”

“Huh,” Xisuma mumbled, pulling out his notes once more, “Do you-do you think you could show me?”

Keralis raised an eyebrow, shrugging, he held out his hand for the notes. Xisuma handed them over, letting the other look over them. 

“You know, you’d probably do a lot better with making friends without your brother, right?” Keralis asked, taking his pencil and underlining a few scratches. 

“What?” 

“I’m just saying, he-he can be a bit much sometimes.” Keralis shrugged.

“He’s my brother.” Xisuma grimaced, crossing his arms.

“Doesn’t mean anything.”

“I-yes it does! It means everything.” Xisuma huffed.

“Look, all I’m saying is,” Keralis placated, handing the notes back after he’d finished, “Don’t let him get in the way of you making friends. He’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

Xisuma furrowed his brow, “So what? You’d be friends with me if it weren’t for my brother?”

“Maybe.” Keralis shrugged, again, “I mean, you’re nice enough. I guess.”

“Wow, thanks.” Xisuma rolled his eyes, as the bell rang for the end of the period. He pushed his chair back from the desk, collecting his things, “Well this has been a great conversation,” He laced the sarcasm into his voice, wrinkling his nose as he pushed his chair back. 

The other followed his lead, grabbing his bag. He dropped the bag on his desk, before glaring at Xisuma, “Alright, look. You’re probably the only other one in this class that actually is into this stuff–and do not say your brother. I know he only got in here because you took this class– and it would be nice to have someone to talk with.”

Xisuma eyed the other, “But?”

“But your brother can be a bit of an ass,” He sneered, “especially when it comes to people being around you.” 

Xisuma frowned, turning to leave the classroom. He ducked under the arms of other students rushing to their next class. He kept close to the walls, straying out of the way of older students. He never liked that small window between classes when everyone jammed into the hallways, pushing and shoving their way through.

He huffed, thinking of what Keralis had said about his sibling. He knew Xander could be a bit much, but his brother only did it to protect them. Having people close to you was a danger, Xisuma knew that. They both learned that early on. He’d thought when they arrived at Hermitville that maybe those rules didn’t apply but the first week of school seemed to prove otherwise. So Xisuma still lived under the guise that a solo life was a safe one. 

He had his brother, and for all intents and purposes that was all he needed. 

Xisuma slinked into his next class, not bothering to greet his teacher. He sunk into his preferred seat, grabbing his notebook. He set his pencil to the right of his notebook, before his eyes landed on the vibrant colors of a Hawaiian shirt. 

“What?” Xisuma grumbled.

“I didn’t say it to be mean.” Keralis explained, “I only meant that I don’t exactly trust him.”

“Well, I do.” Xisuma stated, blankly. 

“Brothers aren’t normally that nice,” Keralis spoke up, sharply, “ and that destructive.”

“What are you talking about?” Xisuma snapped, glaring at the other boy.

Keralis stared at him, his expression blank, and eyes unblinking. “I know what happened that night.” Xisuma flinched, the other’s eyes sharpened, “My brother might be a jerk but beating him up in our backyard might be a bit over the top.”

“That-That was your brother.” Xisuma whispered, fingers twisting into tangled webs. 

Keralis nodded, “Your brother might be all nice and cool with you right now,” He pointed a finger at the other, “But just you wait, he’ll turn on you.” He sighed, muttering under his breath, “They always do.”

The boy didn’t say anything more. He shuffled his way over to his own desk, settling himself down, and ignoring the questioning look Xisuma passed him. The brunet ignored the other, turning his pencil straight once more as the bell rang out. 

He tried to pay attention to the teacher as they started their little ramble. All the while his fingers twisted under his desk, each pulling at strands in his mind. A small piece of thread unraveling his thoughts like yarn.

Xander was his brother, his best friend, he’d never been anything but that. He was sure he would always stay that way, and yet, the more he pulled on the thread the more the tension snapped. Until all he could see was himself and his brother. 

His brother who had given up everything for him for years, and still did so. Maybe there was something behind what Keralis had said. Would Xander ever turn on him? Would he ever grow tired of him? Would he one day stop keeping the students quiet, and one day join in with them? He’d already started, hadn’t he? He was always with that girl now, or the other boy. What were their names? Xander had mentioned it once or twice? Pearl? Jared? Jevin? He wasn’t sure. 

But if he was already joining in with their games, how long before he became the victim of one? Would his brother go through with something like that if he knew? 

Xisuma’s thoughts unraveled in his brain until the seconds ticked past the end of the period, once again. 

Well, how did Xander make friends? Xisuma had tried of course, the end result was a party that he’d rather forget about. But he could make friends–Keralis had said so, he just had to take a step outside of their safety net, right? Hadn’t Xander been doing that the whole time?

It was really only fair, wasn’t it?

Xisuma rushed to catch up with the vibrant shirt before the boy left the classroom. He tugged on his sleeve, lightly. The boy turned around with a flinch, he looked over at Xisuma confused, “What?”

Xisuma let out a tiny breath, he nodded, “Okay.”

Keralis let out a tiny smile, “Okay.”

______________________________________

Keralis wasn’t exactly like Xisuma thought he would be. After the first day or so, the shallow hard exterior disintegrated into scrunched laughter and grins. 

He was quiet at first, they never spoke much. Lunch was shared between them as nothing more than a meeting to go over notes from class. Occasionally Xisuma would throw in a pun or a joke, earning a huff of amusement from the other. It took about five puns before Keralis started tossing it back in his face. 

Other than the odd joke, they didn’t speak. Xisuma never asked him anything more about his siblings or parents, having learned that was a subject better left undiscovered. And in turn, Keralis never mentioned his brother or parents. There were no conversations passed between them, in Xisuma’s mind their relationship was merely as colleagues. 

Two or three lunches were nothing, and if his brother began asking questions he only ignored them. Xander didn’t seem to mind it either. Although Xisuma could feel his brother watching him during lunch. His twin learned to stop mentioning it after the second day. 

It was around the fourth day that they began to actually talk . They had sat down at their normal small table, Keralis dropping his tray on the tabletop–allowing it to rattle. His brow was creased, and his mouth formed a thin line. Xisuma was halfway through a bite when the other dropped into his seat in front of him. 

Xisuma blinked, setting his fork down. His notes laid out next to his own tray, his handwriting scrawling across the page in odd curves and scratches. 

When Keralis didn’t reach to take his own notes out, he knew something was different. 

“What?” Xisuma asked, confused. 

“You should come over.” Keralis blurted out.

“I’m sorry?” He asked again, the words didn’t seem to make any sense. 

“You should come over.” Keralis repeated, never looking away from Xisuma’s face. His own expression blank. “My family is out of town.” He shrugged, finally turning back to his plate, “You could come over.”

Xisuma’s own brow furrowed, he looked back to the notes beside him. Carefully, he slid the notes off the table and back into his bag, “And do what?”

Keralis shrugged again, stabbing his fork down into the food slopped onto his plate, “Whatever you want.”

He blinked, “Wouldn’t your parents be upset over you having me over when they’re not there? Why aren’t they there? Why are you here and not with them?” He rambled off, forgetting the one rule he had set for himself when speaking to Keralis. 

The other seemed to remember it though, glaring at him, “Who cares–” He muttered, looking back at his food, “Come over or don’t, it’s up to you.” 

The rest of their lunch that day had been spent in silence. Xisuma had tried to toss a pun to the other, lifting up a bite of mashed potatoes with a smirk. He was only greeted with an unimpressed harrouff. 

He did, actually, end up going over that day. Standing outside of that same house he’d visited during their first week was—odd. Even as the driveway was vacant of cars and students, he couldn’t help but imagine the house bustling with teenagers. The yard was a perfect green, rather than that sick color it had been late that night. There was no blood splattering the blades of grass, no flashing lights reflecting off of puddles, it was a model home. 

He had stood at the front porch door for a good while before Keralis opened the door for him. He hadn’t needed to knock. 

Keralis hadn’t been lying either, the house was void of life. A perfect replica of what might have been seen on a home redecorating show. He had slammed the door behind Xisuma, before sighing and showing him the living room. At first, they simply sat and stared at each other. 

Keralis sitting on the floor, his arms cushioning his head as he leaned against the coffee table. He blew out air–bouncing around a rolled up piece of paper, boredly. Xisuma matched him, sitting on the couch stiffly, eyes dancing around the room for any sign of red cups. Any sign of long neck bottles hidden in the corners of the room. 

But the house was spotless. 

Keralis ended up telling him that day; told him about his parents. 

And in turn, Xisuma shared about his own. 

The air seemed a little lighter after they both spoke. The strings that he’d been unraveling in his mind finally stitching back together into a tapestry. And rather than a weaving of colleagues, Xisuma found himself with a friend.

It was easier after that day. 

Their lunches were louder now, mixed with jokes and pun, but never bringing in their notes. They bickered over which food was better, argued over what movie to watch next, shared stories from classes they stayed alone in. And suddenly, going over to Keralis' house in the afternoon became routine. 

Keralis brought out board games that had been packed away in closets. They raided the kitchen for snacks during movie marathons. They jumped on the beds, climbed over the counters, built pillow forts, and pretended. 

Xisuma knew they were pretending, because every time they walked in Keralis would shout out to someone, “We’re home!”

He never got any response.

Keralis dumped all the long neck bottles one day. He tossed them all out, and never explained why. 

He was pretty sure he knew why though, Keralis wasn’t that good at keeping secrets. Which was why Xisuma knew immediately when Xander confronted him. He knew it would come eventually, he expected nothing less from his twin. So when he caught Keralis speaking to his twin one day just before lunch, he was quick to interrupt the two. 

Only he was shocked to see them both smiling. He had stopped in his tracks, watching at a stand still as they shook hands, before Xander turned on his heels and walked away. 

He asked Keralis about it later, but the other was tight-lipped. 

His brother was less so. 

“What did you say to him?” Xisuma pressed once he got home that day. His brother was lying on the couch with a textbook fallen on his face. The older twin jumped at the noise, grabbing the text book off his face, to view his brother. 

Xander had shrugged, waving his brother off. 

“I’m not leaving until I know.” Xisuma snapped, tapping his foot on the ground. He glared at his brother. “He’s my friend.”

He had expected his brother to argue back with him. 

“Yeah, I know.” Xander shrugged again, standing up. He brushed past his twin, shoving a hand in his face to push him away. The younger sputtered as Xander finished, “I don’t care if he’s your friend. I’m just glad you have one. A good one, at least.”

And Xisuma had been left in the doorway, gaping as his brother walked to his own bedroom. 

_____________________________________________

He had been walking down the hallway when he first saw the poster. Keralis was rambling on about some postcard he’d retrieved from his mailbox that morning. It was just before their first period and Xisuma was trying his best to listen to what he had to say. 

“I mean, seriously, the audacity.” Keralis huffed, crossing his arms. 

Xisuma hummed along, before he spotted the brightly colored poster taped to the plain white wall. The hallways were a bare constant in the school. Boards and posters never marred the walls, and teachers kept all student work safely inside for privacy. 

But there it was. A rectangle card taped to the wall with big bright letters framing the top. Xisuma stopped, staring at the poster for the first time. 

There was a small picture of a voting box drawn on the center of the page. Underneath laid a short instructional paragraph. 

Keralis continued walking, rambling off until he realized he’d lost his only audience member. He turned, seeing Xisuma staring at the cardstock poster. He frowned, joining his friend’s side. Quietly, he read the poster before groaning, “Really? Again?”

“What is it?” Xisuma asked.

“Student Council.” Keralis grumbled, crossing his arms. “Dan tries it every year. They’ll post these reminders and ask students to run for office, but every year no one applies. So they just wait until the next year when they can try again, only for the exact same response. They’ve been trying for years.”

“No one applies?”

Keralis shrugged, “Why would we? Who in the world would want to be in charge of us?” He jabbed a finger at himself, “Even if someone did apply, which they wouldn’t, they’d never be able to get any votes.”

“Why?” Xisuma pressed on, taking a step towards the poster to read the instructions underneath. 

Interested in applying? Pick up an application in Counselor Dan’s office today! Campaigning begins next week! Voting begins the week after!

Keralis huffed, “I don’t know. I only started talking to you like three days ago! Everyone just likes to keep to themself.”

“You’re all a bunch of hermits, you know that right?” Xisuma jokes, a smirk growing on his face. 

Keralis rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Make fun of the quiet kids.”

“Oh no, you lot are worse than quiet kids.” Xisuma continued, earning a sly smile from the other.

He shook his head, hiding a laugh, “Come on, we’re going to be late.”

Xisuma nodded, but not before checking over the bottom instructions one last time. 

__________________________

Getting away from both Keralis and his brother had proven to be a bit difficult. He shared most classes with his friend, meaning the walks to and from class where spent stuck close together as the halls filled with students. Even when he wasn’t around Keralis, he found his brother was keeping a close eye on him even from across the hallway. 

He had spent the whole day trying to pry himself away from either one, but each time he was questioned. 

So rather than try and sneak away from them, he stopped by the office on the way out the door that afternoon. He grinned when he spotted the office empty. He closed the double doors with a click before heading over the glass wall. The secretary had already packed up and left, leaving a completely unobstructed route to the counselor’s office. 

He wandered into the office, taking his time to look around the few doors he had yet to see the other side of. One had a metal plate attached to the center with an odd assortment of letters that looked more like an acronym than a word. The other had a small clipboard attached, and a few chairs sat just beside the door. And lastly was a door with no decorations.

The only door he was focused on, though, was the one next to the small bench. He knocked on the door, lightly. He expected a quiet ‘come in’ or ‘come back later’, but instead he was met with the door opening a moment later. 

The counselor looked down to his height, confusion plain on his face. 

“Oh, hello there.” He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, “I wasn’t expecting to see you back here so soon.” 

Dan motioned for him to enter the office, closing the door behind them. Xisuma grinned, bouncing with excitement as he settled into one of the two chairs. He could still see the orange cat lazily sleeping on the cat bed, but now there was a second. The second cat was a grey and white tabby, sitting perfectly straight staring back at him. 

“What can I do for you, Mr. Void?” Dan asked, rounding his desk and nearly falling into his seat. He swiveled around in his chair to face him with a smile. 

“You have two cats now.” Xisuma found himself saying first. He had planned out the entire conversation in his head all day, and two cats had not been a part of it. He blinked, before realizing his mistake and nearly slapped himself in the face. All he had to do once he’d gotten into the office was explain what he wanted, not ask about the guy's weird obsession with cats. 

Dan only laughed, looking over to the two. He nodded, “Yup, Stampy’s a bit of a lazy-head. He mainly just sleeps around, but I have to say when it comes down to it, he does his job.” Dan reached up scratching the cat behind the ears, when the orange tabby flicked an ear in response he stopped, “Jellie on the other hand just wanders. Scar’s pretty fond of her, he’s the whole reason she sticks around, what with all the treats he carries for her. She came in with him earlier this morning and hasn’t left yet.”

Xisuma nodded, slowly, “But I’m sure you didn’t come in here to talk cats with me, did you?”

He blinked, before straightening as he remembered his first mission, “Right! Yes, I– well I—” Dan hummed in response, waiting patiently for him to finish, “I wanted to ask about the application?”

Dan blinked, “Application?”

“For the student council?” Xisuma clarified. 

The older was silent for a second, and Xisuma nearly thought he’d imagined the whole ordeal. But Dan’s eyes suddenly widened and he snapped his fingers, before grinning, “Oh! Right! I posted those this morning!”

Then his brow furrowed, “You want to apply?”

Xisuma nodded, silently. 

“Well,” Dan paused, at first he’d seemed thrilled by the idea but now his mouth formed a slight frown, “Are you sure? There’s a lot to it. And you’ve only been here for maybe a week or so, maybe you’d want to settle in some more?”

Xisuma shook his head, “No.”

“Okay, well, there’s a lot to the job you know? Which office did you want to run for?” Dan asked, there was still a level of concern in his voice that Xisuma didn’t miss. 

“President.” Xisuma answered, quickly. 

Dan sputtered, “I–well–you see– there is quite a bit involved in that office. It’s quite a lot of work, and we normally save that spot for our upper grade levels.”

Xisuma frowned, “But no one applies.” He saw as Dan swayed his head side to side, trying to come up with a response. Xisuma shook his head, continuing, “Keralis told me no one applies. I want to apply. Why can’t I?”

“I’m just concerned that you’re not thinking this through.” Dan breathed out, “It’s a big responsibility and as a new student you’ve already got your work cut out for you. This would be a big thing to place on your shoulders. Especially, since you're only in eighth grade. We only have one student council, they’re responsible for all our grade levels.”

“No.” Xisuma shook his head, “You don’t have any student council.” 

Dan smirked, “But if I let you run, then I would, huh?” He chuckled, lightheartedly. He was well-versed with the student body’s dry humor and comments. It was how they all were, some more than others, but it never ceased to make him laugh. 

“If I run, there would be no one running against me, right? I’d be guaranteed a win.” Xisuma pressed.

“Well–,” Dan waved his hand around, “Technically, yes.” 

“I promise I can handle it.” Xisuma swore, standing up from the chair. He laid his hands on either side of the counselor’s desk, a hopeful grin on his face. 

Dan was silent. He looked him over, considering, before sighing. He turned in his chair to reach behind him into a cabinet. He opened a drawer pulling out a small folder. “Alright,”

Xisuma cheered, jumping in his spot as he pumped his hands in the air. 

“On one condition,” Dan interrupted, and Xisuma froze looking back at the counselor. The man placed the folder down, “Our student body is made up of around five hundred students, that includes everyone from kindergarten to twelfth grade.” He pressed on, opening the folder, “I can’t just hand the presidency over to you on a silver platter, you have to at least work for it. So you win if you can get three hundred votes—no less.”

Xisuma frowned, settling back into his chair. Three hundred votes, three hundred people he’d have to convince to vote for him. In a school where everyone was practically a hermit, the task almost seemed impossible. 

“And you’re going to need a vice president.” Dan continued, “I’m not letting you run this by yourself. Get three hundred votes and the spot is yours; and your vice president’s of course.”

Dan picked up the application form, holding it out for him to take, “Do we have a deal?”

Xisuma frowned, staring between the counselor and the paper in front of him. He bit the inside of his cheek, before nodding and taking the paper. Dan smiled, nodding back.

“Let me know if I can help you.” He added, once he was standing up and leading Xisuma out of his office. 

Xisuma sighed, three hundred votes. 

Three hundred votes out of five hundred.

Easy.

He could do that.

He just had to get a vice president.

________________________

“No.”

“Why not?” Xisuma sighed, falling onto the couch cushions. He dragged out the last word, frowning when Keralis didn’t say anything back to him. 

They were at the other’s home. A movie was playing in the background that Xisuma had specifically picked out to ignore. Keralis sat on the floor beside him, watching it intently. Apparently, he’d never seen it before and had gotten attached to the storyline. 

Xisuma had spent the first thirty minutes of the movie explaining himself to his friend. All while he filled out the application that laid in his lap. The last thing he needed was a vice president. A job he was sure Keralis was capable of. 

Only, “The answer is no.” Keralis was not interested. “I already told you, X,” He huffed, leaning his head back against the couch cushion, “No one runs because no one wants to do it. If someone wanted it we’d already have a president. There’s a reason no one wants the job.”

“You don’t even know what you’d have to do.” Xisuma mumbled, crossing his arms. 

“I know I don’t want to do whatever it is I’ll have to do.” Keralis shrugged.

Xisuma groaned, pushing himself up from the couch with a huff. “Come on! How cool would it be to run the student council?”

“There is no student council, X.” Keralis spun around to face the other, “That’s the point! Dan has been trying for years to get a student council. You show up and become ‘president’ or whatever and nothing happens! You’ll just have a title that no one will care about. There are no representatives.” Keralis began to list off, “There are no fun decisions. You will be nothing more than an errand boy, you will be bored out of your mind.”

“You don’t know that.” Xisuma pouted.

“Why do you want this so bad, anyway?” Keralis asked, resting his arms on the couch, “I feel like you’ve got enough already.”

Xisuma shrugged, “I don’t know. It just—it seemed fun.”

Keralis looked him over, his brow creased, “No. No,” He argued, “There’s something else going on. Why do you really want to do this?”

Xisuma picked at the edges of his shirt. He was silent for a moment, the only noise coming from the movie they had playing in the background. He sighed, turning his head to glare at the other. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”

Truthfully, he didn’t know. At first, seeing the poster in the hallway had been nothing more than a blip in his day. He didn’t think much of it at all, but as the day went on it was all he could think about. There was suddenly a tingling underneath his skin, the same feeling he got solving a tough math problem. It was like the threads were pulling him to the answer and he just had to follow them. 

He had no idea why his brain had latched onto the idea. Back in Evo, he spent most of his days doing homework and cheat sheets for students just so he had the chance of a conversation. He had been desperate, and he took whatever they gave.

He hated the idea of going back to working for someone, but here–this would be different. He’d be helping; he’d be working with people. Maybe that rumbling in his mind would trigger, and he’d love every moment of helping people without that sinking feeling. The idea that would send him hurling in the morning as he worried about disappointing someone else.

It would be different.

Keralis looked him over, the slight frown on his face twitching, “Why don’t you ask your brother?”

“Really,” Xisuma scoffed, “Yeah, let me get my brother, the guy who just got let back into the school after only one month.” He held up a single finger to punctuate his point. 

His friend shrugged, turning back to their movie. “This kid’s weird.” Keralis muttered, talking about the children on screen. The movie showed a boy dressed all in green flying across the screen with three other children. 

Xisuma looked over, spotting Peter Pan flying across the screen, “Yeah, I guess he is.”

Keralis looked between the movie and Xisuma, before sighing, “Alright, fine.” He relented, curling his knees to his chest, “I’ll be your vice president.”

Xisuma raised an eyebrow, “Really?”

He nodded, “Yeah, you really want this. Besides, you have to actually win first, you know.”

“You’ll have to help me campaign, you know?” Xisuma added, worry lacing his voice. Keralis could take away his assistance whenever he wanted, and Xisuma really didn’t want to be the one that drove him away.

“Yeah, I know, but you’re not going to get three hundred votes without me.” He grinned, cockily, “You’ve got no idea what you’re doing. You’d be lost without me, admit it. I bet that’s why you wanted me,” Keralis continued, rambling on, “You just want to know everyone’s weak point.”

“Do you know their weak points?” Xisuma asked, carefully.

Keralis blinked, “Not really.”

Xisuma laughed, hiding his face in his hands. Keralis only grinned up at him, knocking him with a light punch in the knee. “Come on, big brain. You’ve got to have some plan up in that head.”

The twin huffed, shoving the other’s hand away, “Well, three hundred out of five hundred students. And that includes everyone from kindergarten to high school. Easiest votes to get,” He thought for a moment, leaning his head into his hand. “Would be the little ones. They don’t really know what they’re voting for anyway.”

_____________________________________________

The next day Xisuma and Keralis got to the school early. Xisuma ran by the front office sliding his application under Dan’s door before the counselor had even gotten into the building. Once done there the two hurried off to the building that housed the youngest of the school. 

Xisuma had done the math the night before; five hundred students meant that there was an average of 38.5 students in each grade. To win his bet with Dan he’d need about seven to eight grades to vote for him. 

The back of the kindergarten building was fenced in to protect the small playground. The back door into the playground led back into the faded purple hallway where the three kindergarten classes were housed. The playground was mostly grass, with sparse equipment scattered around.

Keralis and Xisuma paused at the back fence to the playground. The sidewalk that wrapped around the buildings passed right by the playground fence, oftentimes leading to multiple kids waving and shouting at older siblings and students as they walked to and fro class. They stopped just by the fence, Keralis leaning against the chain link as he waited. Xisuma watched carefully as the kindergarteners were slowly being dropped off to the caretakers at the front of the playground. 

There were already a few stragglers playing around. A boy with colorful blue hair had settled down into the sandbox, digging around with a small shovel. Another boy, claiming to be a pirate, chased after a little girl. The boy’s hand curled into a hook as the other girl giggled, leading him in circles. A third boy with bright red hair was plucking clumps of grass from the ground and huddling the mess against his shirt. The rest of the kindergarteners came into the playground, dropping off their bags by the building wall and running off to their own corners. 

Two out of the three teachers were out front, opening car doors and greeting students as they came. 

“So what’s your plan?” Keralis asked, the tilt in his voice mocking his friend. “Bribe them?”

“What?” Xisuma sputtered, “I’m not going to bribe them!”

“Oh, of course, then let me type up a three page speech for you to bore them to death with.” Keralis jeered, “They’re five! You really think they’re going to remember you when it comes time to coloring in the right bubble?”

Xisuma glared at the other, kicking him in the side where he sat on the pavement. “I thought you were going to be helpful.”

“I said I’d be your VP, not that I’d be helpful.” Keralis huffed, rubbing his side where the other had kicked him. He shuffled around, sitting where he could see the kids playing. “But seriously, dude, what’s your plan here?”

“I’m thinking.” Xisuma mumbled, leaning his arms along the top of the railing. He watched as one student walked up to the teachers, just behind the boy was a taller girl and even older boy. The youngest of the three ran into one of the teachers, barreling into them with a hug. The girl turned on her heels and walked off, leaving the oldest boy to speak with the teacher. 

The boy, wearing a bright blue jacket, ran off into the playground throwing his bag away. He quickly settled into a colorful playhouse by himself. 

“Do you have any ideas?” Xisuma asked, looking down to his friend.

Keralis gave his friend an unimpressed look, “How am I supposed—I don’t know these kids!”

Xisuma rolled his eyes, “You don’t even know your own classmates.” He muttered, looking back to the playground, before he noticed something he hadn’t before. He straightened for a moment, pushing against the fence. His eyes widening as he thought, before, “I’ve got it.”

Keralis looked up, confused, his head resting in his hand perking up. “What?”

Xisuma didn’t hear his friend, before rushing over to the gate into the playground area. Keralis struggled to get up from the ground in time to meet his friend. He quickly scrambled to the other’s side just in time to hear, “They don’t know each other.”

Keralis blinked, “What?”

Xisuma stumbled into the playground, earning a confused look from the blue haired boy in the sandbox. He quickly shut the gate behind him, barely catching the attention from the two teachers focused in on a conversation with the parents and that older boy. 

Keralis watched as Xisuma knelt down beside the sandbox with a smile, “You want to play a game?”

Keralis nearly pulled the boy aside and told him then and there how odd that sounded. He nearly yanked the clearly brain damaged kid away from these kids and handed him off to his older twin. He should’ve shook his head and left. He could’ve complained and abandoned the other to his own devices with the little maniacs. 

But something about how Xisuma earned that quiet smile and nod from the other made him stop. 

The boy grabbed his hand so quickly that Keralis couldn’t catch up to the two before Xisuma was gaining a small crowd of kindergarteners. Xisuma waved each of them to join them, most of which came over once they saw the large group forming. The girl running in circles stopped, before tugging along the boy chasing her. The boy covered in grass clippings stared up at Keralis from the sidelines of their small gathering. The ginger boy’s wide eyes sent a shiver down his spine. 

The last of the group to join was the blond boy hidden away in the playhouse. He had been dragged out by the blue haired boy after the group formed. 

Xisuma stood at the front, listening to each of the students ramble to him. Keralis couldn’t understand anything of what they said and he doubted Xisuma could. One girl held up something in her hands that she clamped together tightly. Xisuma flinched when he saw whatever she held, before urging her to let it go. Keralis only saw something hop out of her hands when she dropped them, he doubted he wanted to know what she had found.

So, curious, Keralis decided to listen to whatever Xisuma thought would get these kids on his side. 

“Okay, okay,” Xisuma pleaded with them as they continued to talk over each other at the sight of a new person. “Shh.” He tried, “Okay, how would you guys like to play a game?”

Many of them nodded, a few still mumbling to themselves only to be hushed by the ones next to them. 

“Okay, it’s called Simon Says. Do you guys know it?” he asked.

They shook their heads together. 

“Okay,” Xisuma continued, even as his heart pattered in his chest. He had the attention of every single kid locked on his every move. They all watched him, blinking and swaying back and forth. “So I’m going to be Simon–”

“Your name’s Simon?” One boy asked, raising his hand high in the air. 

Xisuma blinked, “Uh, no. My–My name is Xisuma.”

“Then who’s Simon?” A girl in the front asked. 

“I am.” Xisuma tried once more “It just—”

“But you says your name is ‘shuma.” A second boy added in. 

“Yes, but—” Xisuma tried, but he could see the confused looks he was getting from each face. He was losing their attention and fast. “Okay, so the game is that when I say ‘Xisuma says’ you have to do what I say.”

“What if I don’t wanna?” The boy in the bright blue jacket asked, his hand raised high in the air. 

“Well,” Xisuma rubbed the back of his neck, “if you didn’t do it, you’d lose.”

“Lose what?” The girl whose hands were still sticky with frog asked. 

“The game, dummy.” A boy huffed, crossing his arms.

“I’m not a dummy.” She bickered back.

“Okay, okay,” Xisuma quickly cut in, “Yes, you’d lose the game. And if I tell you to do something, without saying ‘Xisuma says’ and you still do it, you’d also lose. Are you ready?” Xisuma watched as the group of five year olds nodded. A few bounced on their feet, while others shifted towards the back of the group. 

Keralis stood to the side, running a hand down his face. 

“Okay, Xisuma says touch your nose.” Xisuma instructed, placing his own finger on top of his nose. The children followed his lead, placing their fingers on their nose. They stared back at him in confusion, glancing at each other. Xisuma nodded, before changing the instructions, “Xisuma says jump.”

He jumped once, watching as all the kids jumped in place. He heard a few giggle to each other as they hopped multiple times over. He let them continue, before speaking, “touch your ears.”

He mimicked the instructions, watching as a few followed his lead while others kept their fingers clamped to his nose. He smirked, as the students began to realize. 

“You did it!” One pointed out to another who had their hands on their ears. “He didn’t say it!”

“Nuh-uh!” The other yelped. 

“Yes, you did! You lose!” 

Xisuma smiled, sadly, “Well, yes, that does mean you're out. I didn’t say it that time.” He tried to explain, carefully, to the kid who pouted. 

“But I wanna play!” 

“Well, then how about we try again?” Xisuma compromised, looking at the group. They all nodded along, bouncing. He looked back to Keralis, his friend’s brow furrowed as he watched. Xisuma smirked, straightening up, “Alright, here we go.”

He started again, calling out instructions. The students followed along quickly, giggling at the directions that made them act out. Xisuma asked them to make the noise of an elephant. He told them to hop on one leg. He asked them to find a partner and get their name. They stuck out their tongues. They clapped. They whooped and hollered. 

And all along, one or two students would pull away from the group as they got out. Still they waited by Keralis’ side until they were allowed back into the game. 

Xisuma laughed along with them, until there were three students left. It was only then that he noticed the wide eyes of Keralis pointing him in the direction of the gate near the teachers. He looked over quickly, seeing the two teachers staring back at them in surprise. The teachers didn’t stop them, they just stared in awe as the students laughed and giggled and played together. 

The younger twin smiled, he turned to the last three, “Alright, who’ve we got left? Xisuma says…” He paused, watching the three carefully, “turn around in a circle.”

The three did as he said. 

“Jump three times.” Xisuma instructed earning six jumps from the students. He smiled, as two of the students realized what they had done. One of the students pouted as they joined their friend, while the other giggled celebrating the last student standing. Xisuma smiled, turning to their winner, he knelt down, “So who do we have as a winner?”

The blond boy stared back at him confused. 

“What’s your name?” Xisuma asked, laughing lightly. 

“Jimmy.”

Xisuma smiled, ruffling the kid’s hair, “You’re pretty good at following directions.” 

Jimmy frowned, nodding, “Thanks.”

Xisuma didn’t notice the cold tone, looking back at the students, “Who wants to play again?”

They all jumped up, raising their hands and circling around him in a tiny crowd. Xisuma grinned as they all shouted up at him, he looked over, finding the teachers still watching in awe. He looked back.

“I wanna be Xisuma! I wanna be Xisuma! I wanna be Xisuma!” was all he could hear as the student chanted around him, begging to play once more. 

Xisuma looked back to his soon to be vice president, “That’s how we get them to remember us.”

Keralis glared at him, but Xisuma could still see the smile hiding behind his eyes.

_______

“Alright, Mister President,” Keralis mocked as they walked down the hallway between classes. “You might have gotten those kids to remember you, but you’ve still got an entire school to convince.”

Xisuma smiled, shuffling the books held against his chest, “I’m aware.”

“And do you have any mysterious plans for them?” Keralis asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Xisuma hummed for a moment, “We don’t need everyone. If we managed to get the kinders with a game–”

“I don’t think that’s going to work for highschoolers.” Keralis joked as they entered their next class. 

“Like I said,” Xisuma shrugged, “We don’t need everyone.” Their next class was practically empty when they walked in. The desks were vacant, and the teacher was absent from the room. The windowsill was lined with hand crafted pots filled with dirt. And in front of the window was a girl, only slightly shorter than them, jumping from spot to spot. 

She twisted the pots, lining them up so each could get sun. Two red braids bouncing up and down as she went. She ignored the two as they walked in, and Keralis did the same. His friend walked right past the girl, setting his things down in his seat boredly. 

Xisuma looked between the two, frowning at his soon to be vice president. Keralis rolled his eyes, shooing him away. Xisuma huffed, before walking over to the girl. 

“Hi,” He greeted, quietly. Even though he kept his voice low, the girl still jumped out of her skin. She looked him over with a glare, her brows pinched together as if she was judging him. She huffed, turning back to the plants in front of her. “What are you doing?”

“M fixing plants.” She said, shortly. 

“Cool.” Xisuma smiled, “What for?”

She scowled at him, “Sixth grade don’t have a good window for the plants. So my teacher said to bring them to the eighth grade science room.” She picked up one of the potted plants and carried it over to a different window pane with the care of a mother to her child. 

“So you guys are working with plants?” Xisuma asked, she nodded. “That’s neat.”

“‘Suma, leave her alone.” Keralis advised, leaning his head into his hands as Xisuma continued to try and strike up a conversation with the younger. 

The girl sharpened her look over at Keralis, before sticking her tongue out at him. She blew a raspberry, and set her plant down. 

“Wha–Hey!” Keralis shouted back, snapping out of his seat. She laughed, before skipping out of the classroom leaving behind a trail of giggles. Keralis grimaced, sinking back down into his seat, “I can’t believe you want to have anything to do with those kids.”

Xisuma smiled, looking back to the plant that the girl had placed delicately in the best spot. He spotted a colorful name that lined the top of the pot, with flowers drawn around it. “I think I’ve got another plan.” 

_____________________________

His plan being a sixth grade scavenger hunt. He tore a piece of paper from his notebook, wrote a cryptic message and attached his name to the bottom. He ripped the paper in two and stuck both halves into the dirt of the two plants. 

Keralis had watched him in horror and confusion as he carefully began to plan a small scavenger hunt for the younger grade. He spent their science class planning each segment, forcing the students to go outside of their grade to involve the fourth and third graders. 

Xisuma chuckled as Keralis followed him around for the rest of the day as they planted each hint, and small prizes along the way. Each time his name was written out at the bottom as some gamemaster. 

Whether or not the kids would enjoy the game was yet to be discovered.

_________________

“What are you doing?” Xander asked, his arms crossed as he eyed his brother. 

Xisuma hummed, pausing in his efforts. Once he got home he’d immediately grabbed all the paper and pens they had in the house. He couldn’t go out and buy posterboard, he had no money, and there was no way he’d be able to get his parents out of their room. 

So he’d stacked the paper and one by one was drawing out sketches of posters. He wrote out cheesy propaganda, drawing all sorts of pictures to go along. He had turned on their television to some children’s show as he zoned out. He hadn’t even realized his brother had come home until he was leaning against the doorframe of their living room. 

The older twin had an ice cream bar in his hand, an unimpressed eyebrow raised. 

“Making posters.” Xisuma answered, easily. 

Xander rolled his eyes, taking a moment to enjoy his ice cream. “I can see that.” He stepped closer to the finished posters, leaning over to look. Xisuma frowned, batting at his brother’s legs to keep him away from the posters. 

“Keep your mess to yourself! You drop ice cream on there and you have to remake it!” He announced, proudly. Xander grimaced, taking a half step back. 

“I meant, why are you making posters?” Xander asked again.

Xisuma shrugged, curving the last letter in the word student. “I’m running for student council president.” He didn’t see his brother’s reaction but he could almost feel it. He could feel how his twin’s brow furrowed in confusion before the snarky smirk grew on his face. 

Until it turned into a snide laughter, “You? You’re running for the make believe president position? Honestly, I thought you were past that age.” He muttered the last part to himself, plopping down onto their couch. 

Xisuma returned a scowl at his brother, “For your information, it is not make-believe. I’m really going to win.” 

 Xander frowned, but he stayed quiet. The only sound came from the television as the cartoon echoed through their living room, and down the empty halls of their house. Xisuma continued to work on his posters, coloring in each bubble letter and dotting every I. He grinned at each finished product, placing it aside delicately. 

His brother finally spoke up once again after the cartoon had finished, “Are you sure about this?” He asked, his voice somewhere between concern and mockery. 

Xisuma paused, he rarely ever heard the kind of lilt to his brother’s voice. He turned back to his twin, “Of course.”

“It’s just,” Xander frowned, picking at the fuzz on his pant legs, “You barely managed to talk to anyone the first week, and you want to go from not talking to anyone to possibly talking to everyone? Doesn’t this seem like a bit of a leap? I mean, we’ve been there only a few weeks, X. Don’t you think it could wait a bit?”

The younger looked back to his posters, then to the ghostly door at the end of the hall. A door that hadn’t been opened since they had unpacked their belongings. He frowned, running a hand along the cotton sleeve of his shirt. 

“I know what I’m doing.” He whispered back, earning a nod from his brother, but he didn’t miss the small frown that plagued his twin for the rest of the day. 

____________________________

Xisuma arrived early to the school the next day. Posters, tape and more piled high in his hands. His brother sulked behind him, the younger watching for the worried lip that his brother continued to hide. His brother had insisted on following him that morning as they walked to the school much too early for the other students. 

The older twin had denied Pearl’s request to walk together, instead following in his brother’s shadow like a watchdog. Xisuma hummed along the way, shuffling his arms around to get a better hold. 

They arrived at the same time as Dan was opening the front office. The counselor hugged his coffee in his hands, tired eyes sluggishly poking keys into the locks. Just behind the counselor were a small group of cats. Each with their own plate of food placed out along the rock fence that lined the pathway. 

Xisuma grinned, shouting out a hello to the counselor once they were close enough. His brother startled at the sound of his voice, tensing with concern before a confused smile slid across his face. 

The counselor jumped at his voice, too. Dan nearly splashed his coffee on his shirt, lidded eyes suddenly wide as he fumbled with his keys. 

“I–wha–What are you two doing here?” Dan asked, stammering as he looked between the two. “School doesn’t start for another hour!”

Xisuma smiled, nodding, “Yup!” He hurrumped the items in his hands, almost bragging, “Came by to set up!” He paused for a moment, “So long as that’s okay?”

Xander watched the exchange, carefully, a guarded scowl growing. 

Dan blinked, “Oh, you—you’re still…” Dan smiled, laughing to himself, “Well, okay then! You go right ahead! Oh, and if you don’t mind, Xisuma, stop by my office when you finish.” 

Xisuma raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. Xander frowned, as Dan motioned for them to enter. The two wandered into the main building, Xander following his brother around as he taped posters up along the hallways. His twin poked fun at each cheesy slogan, adding his own smaller comments in black sharpie when his brother wasn’t looking. Xisuma would only roll his eyes and pretend not to notice once they had finished. 

They finished nearly thirty minutes later, Xander bored had resigned himself to the lobby as more teachers and workers signed in. Xisuma laughed under his breath as his brother mocked each one under his breath, all while upside down on one of the chairs. 

The younger twin knocked on the counselor’s door when he finished. Earning a quiet come in, he opened the door to see the counselor still nursing a cup of coffee, while hanging up a new drawing on the backboard of his office. The drawing couldn’t have been done by someone older than five. 

Dan smiled, motioning to one of the chairs. He slid into his own as Xisuma followed suit. Dan didn’t say anything, pulling out a drawer near his seat and taking a manila folder out. He slid it over to the boy, Xisuma looked closer seeing papers sticking out the sides. His own name dawned the label. 

He blinked. 

“Two students join the kindergartners during their drop-off time. Soon enough they’re playing ‘Simon says’ without even knowing the name of the game. A scavenger hunt running through sixth, fifth, and third grade. Kids are digging up plants in the front garden claiming it was in their clue. They’re sneaking into the library, flipping through every book to see if they can find a slip of paper. The music teacher is finding students sitting in on band practice. And any time we ask why? You know, only one name keeps popping up.” Dan said, easily, opening the folder up to show the reports. 

“Um…” Xisuma swallowed, “I can explain?”

His eyes squinted, nose wrinkling. He slid forward on his seat. Dan raised an eyebrow, waiting. Xisuma stammered out, trying to find the right words. 

Dan chuckled, grinning. Xisuma blinked, looking back at the counselor confused. Dan clapped his hands, happily, “Kid! You’re not in trouble!” He smiled, “I’ve been trying to get these kinds of results for years! And you’ve hit the mark in a matter of days!” 

“What?” Xisuma asked.

Dan sighed, “Just—you’re doing a good job kid. I don’t know how you’re managing it, but these students—your classmates—they don’t do this. They don’t go ‘round playing games with each other during recess. They don’t talk to each other during lunch. They don’t work together unless they have to, and you’ve managed to get them to do every one of those things.”

“I can’t say that I approve of sneaking into the kindergartener’s drop-off again. Or asking kids to dig up our front garden, those custodians have enough to deal with if you know what I mean, but,” Dan shrugged, “keep up the good work.” 

Xisuma smiled.

“Thanks.”

“You know I’d say you’ve proven yourself.” Dan continued, taking a sip of his coffee. Xisuma looked up in surprise, his hands gripping the fabric of his pants. “If you want, we can call off this deal…you’re still the only sign up. You’d win.”

Xisuma nearly broke out into a cheer, except, the more he thought about it the more he didn’t want it. He could do it. It would be so easy, to just nod along and take the easy way out. He’d win just like Dan said, but…this whole time he’d been trying to prove something. 

He’d been trying to prove something to someone. What kind of message was it that he took the easy way out? He just let himself win by default? How unfair was that? 

His jaw locked, “No.” 

“No?” Dan asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“No.” He repeated, he had to do it this way, “We had a deal. That deal stays. Three hundred votes and I win.” he counted on his fingers, “I’ve got,” He paused, “two hundred thirty one votes.”

Xisuma’s voice faltered as Dan continued to smile at him unmoving, he waited for the man to backfire. The counselor only nodded, “Then I’ll let you get back to work.”

He froze, his fingers pulling at the strings of his knuckles once again. He let out a shaky breath, nodding and rising from the chair. He left the office. 

__________________

It was easy to figure out Keralis’ opinion on the new posters. 

He was not happy.

“Posters!” Keralis shrieked, as he pointed towards one as they walked to the lunchroom. “Are you insane?!” 

“What?” Xisuma chuckled, “What’s wrong with posters?”

Keralis’ expression fell, “You know, sometimes you’re an idiot. You seriously think it’s a good idea to show everyone you’re running for president?”

Xisuma shrugged, “How else are we going to get votes?”

“Okay…” Keralis dragged out, pinching the bridge of his nose, “I’ll ask it a different way. Do you like getting stuffed in lockers?”

“Hey!” Xisuma snapped back, crossing his arms. 

“You just advertised to everyone , I can not stress that enough about what you’re doing. Sure, it’s fine with the little ones, but you want to tell the highschoolers? How do you think they’re going to feel when they figure out a middle schooler is going to be in charge of them?”

Xisuma rolled his eyes, “I’m not going to be in charge of them.”

“Student council. Student council.” Keralis stressed, “You’ll be in charge of the student body. All of the brats.”

“They’re not brats.” Xisuma grumbled. 

“You don’t know them!” Keralis huffed, “Dude, for once will you stop and think about what you’re doing?! You just put up posters on a hallway that everyone goes down! The second the older kids figure out you’re running for this position, they’re going to…well, I’m not actually sure what they’ll do, but they won’t be happy.” Keralis pointed out, rambling on, “You already got picked on enough before.”

Xisuma cringed at the statement, a small flinch overtaking him. He frowned, looking his friend over, “I–” He worried his lip, “This will be different.”

“How?”

“Because,” Xisuma sighed, his fingers pulled taut against his palms. “Because this is different.”

“Different like the friends you had last week? Cause that didn’t work out too well for you, did it?” Keralis jabbed, “Next thing you know, you’re going to be held above the water again. And you won’t have your brother to get you back to the surface.” Keralis snapped, a finger jackhammering into the other's chest to emphasize, “Can you even swim?”

Xisuma scowled, the strings wrapped around his knuckles tightening into knots. He took a shaky breath, “Shut up.”

“That’s your response?” Keralis scoffed, tilting his head to the side, “Give me something to work off of here, I’m trying to help you.”

“No!” Xisuma snapped, “You’re trying to get me to back off. You’re trying to get me to give up!” he jabbed back, “But just because you’re scared to do anything, doesn’t mean I am.”

“I’m not scared,” Keralis jeered, crossing his arms, eyes flitting around the hallway. “I didn’t have to do this. The only reason I’m here is because you talked me into it.”

Xisuma grimaced, “And as soon as we’re done, you can leave. You can leave and never look back. I don’t care!”

“Why does this matter so much to you!” Keralis stomped, “You’ve spent this entire week manipulating–”

“I was not manipulating–”

“Kids into voting for you so you can what? Be all buddy buddy with the counselor? Make recess longer? Ban homework? What are you going to do? What’s the whole point of this? Because for a president you haven’t said squat!” Keralis finished, swiping his hand through the air like a knife. The knife cut through the strings holding back Xisuma’s knuckles, nearly sending them flying until the words erupting from his mouth instead. 

“Well–Well–” Xisuma stammered, trying to tie the strings back together before the words fell past the netted lining, “Where are your parents? What’s with the postcards?!” Xisuma fumbled out, knowing his words didn’t make much sense, “You’ve got stuff you don’t tell me, I’ve got stuff I don’t tell you! It’s none of your business.”

Xisuma could see as Keralis face welled up in red, the tipping point of boiling water reaching his ears as they steamed. The boy’s nose scrunched up as his forehead wrinkled, his fists tightening at his sides. 

“You don’t talk about my family!” Keralis shouted, shoving the other boy in the shoulders. 

“Then don’t ask why I’m doing this.” Xisuma snipped back.

Keralis’ eyes crinkled, “You’re just like everybody else, you’re too caught up in your own world.”

“And you’re not?” Xisuma grumbled, seething, “You called everyone here brats like ten seconds ago. And you think everyone else is the problem?”

Keralis blinked, huffing, “Well–they are..”

“Do you even know anyone else?” Xisuma questioned, “Before me, did you ever talk to anyone else?” Keralis was silent, looking away from the other boy. Xisuma scoffed, “You asked me to be your friend, because you were lonely.” He pointed out, “You never gave anyone else the light of day.”

“And you’re better than me?” 

Xisuma frowned, grabbing hold of the other’s wrist and pulling him down the hall. He stopped in front of the lunchroom, pointing through the doorway to where students lined the tables. At one table were two boys. One drowned in a green hoodie with a tiny pocket watch poking from out. He was giggling to himself as he spoke to the white haired boy next to him, who watched boredly. The first boy gathered something in his hand before tossing it across the lunchroom and hitting another student in the head. 

The student who was sitting in a wheelchair looked around confused before going back to his food. Xisuma waited for a moment as the first boy smirked and spoke animatedly to the other before turning back to Keralis. 

“Can you tell me what’s going on in there?” Xisuma asked, he himself didn’t know much, but he knew the basics. He knew that the first boy was the other’s brother. He had seen the two in the hallways together, and while when together they seemed on good terms, the moment they split up their relationship was shaky. 

Keralis shrugged, “I dunno, annoying kids.”

Xisuma pouted, “They’re siblings.” he grabbed his friend’s hand again and began to drag him across the hall to a separate set of doors. The doors were closed but they could hear the rampant drumming coming from inside.

Xisuma pointed, “What’s going on in there?”

Keralis rolled his eyes, “band practise.”

Xisuma shook his head, “Two kids in there come to school together and leave school together. Everyday. They don’t go anywhere without the other, and they’re not siblings. They eat lunch together there. The band teacher lets them.” He moved on to the next classroom, pointing to the art room door. 

Behind it they could see through the small window a girl working away at a new sculpture. Xisuma asked the same question, and once again Keralis answered boredly, “Art.”

“She’s making a new sculpture for her brother. She gives them to him to make him feel better.” Xisuma said. 

“And you know all this? How?” Keralis sniped, placing his hands on his hips. 

Xisuma smirked, “Because I look and I see. ” He said, purposefully barring the word from coming to his mouth that wished to escape. He swore he wouldn’t think about those people anymore. “You think you know these kids.” he smirked, “but you don’t know anything.”

“Xisuma.” Keralis sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“No, listen to me. You think everyone here is a jerk. You think they all have it out for you.” Xisuma stated, watching as his friend shrunk. “They’re not your siblings.” he said, quieter, Keralis looked up confused, “You think everyone is going to act like that but they’re not. You just have to find the people that don’t. You thought the same thing about my brother, and you were wrong.”

“So this was all just to prove me wrong?” Keralis asked, the edge of his lip curling. 

Xisuma shook his head, “No.” He sighed, “When I get the spot, I want to make everyone see what you just saw. You saw those kindergartners! They weren’t even playing together! Look, I wouldn’t say friends were in high demand back at my old school, but I know they’re important.”

Keralis frowned, but Xisuma kept going, “You said it yourself, you wanted one. I meant what I said, you leave the second I win, but I am winning this.”

The other sighed, the red in his cheeks turning pale, “You still need seventh and eighth grade to win.” 

“I know.”

“We do it my way.” Keralis demanded, throwing his thumb into his chest, “You got lucky with the kids. We do this one my way.”

Xisuma smiled, nervously, he nodded.

________________________________________

“So who is this guy to you, again?” Xisuma asked, that same day after class. Apparently, Keralis had some ‘secret weapon’ to use, but they could only meet after the school day ended. And they could only meet in the theatre room storage closet, which was an odd place to say the least. 

The theatre room itself was nice. The class was working on some play with royalty, a classroom stage decorated to look like a medieval castle was propped up at the front. A sign reading ‘Dogwarts’ painted in sprawling lettering. Overall the rest of the room looked neat and tidy, excluding the few stray scripts and props that had been left out. 

Keralis led him to the back of the room where the storage closet door stayed shut. Light was billowing out from under the door, short giggled laughter escaping the walls. 

“He’s…” Keralis paused, “I wouldn’t say a friend…but something like that, I guess.” 

Xisuma cocked his head to the side, confused, “Okay?”

“Look, he’s just,” Keralis sighed, one hand on the door knob and the other raised to knock, “He’s a little weird.”

Xisuma shrugged, as Keralis knocked on the door three times, before turning back around quickly, “You’re not afraid of puppets, are you?”

Before Xisuma could answer, the door swung open to reveal a brightly colored kid. He had long brown hair tied back, and a huge smile that reached across his face. He wore a pair of green framed glasses that were propped up on the tip of his nose, Xisuma wondered if they might fall off. His blue shirt was mainly covered by the fuzzy contraption on his arm. 

A contraption that was promptly shoved into Xisuma’s face. 

“Well, howdy!” The puppet’s shrill voice erupted, mouth moving up and down to reveal the felt lined tongue. 

Xisuma blinked, “Uh…”

The puppet raised one hand, blue skin stretching to shake Xisuma’s hand. “This here is Joe Hills, coming at you from Nashville, Tennessee!”

“Um,” Xisuma took a silent step back, “Okay?”

“Joe, put the puppet down.” Keralis seethed, running a hand down his face. 

“No, you aren’t no Joe Hills! That’s me, buddy!” The supposed Joe laughed, speaking in a regularly high pitched voice, drawn out with an accent. His puppet turned to face him and for a moment Xisuma thought the two would have a spat between them. 

“Well, if you’re Joe, who am I?” The puppet asked.

“Inconvenient.” Keralis huffed, pushing the puppet away much to Joe’s disappointment. 

Xisuma smirked, “Are you really from Tennessee?” 

Joe opened his mouth to speak but Keralis beat him there, “No. He’s not. Don’t let him tell you he is.”

“You ruin the fun.” Joe huffed, glaring at the other. 

“Only because you’ll go on forever with a made up story.” Keralis said back, “And we’re in a rush, so…I’m calling in my favor.”

“Favor?” Xisuma muttered.

“Oh? Really? It’s been a bit!” Joe laughed, turning to his puppet, “Hasn’t it?”

“Indeed, it has! Why! I remember when–” 

“Enough with the puppet,” Keralis cut him off, eye twitching. Joe’s smile fell once more. 

The boy rolled his eyes, turning back to Xisuma, “And who might you be?”

“Xisuma Void,” He introduced, holding out his hand. He stayed firm, standing up straight as any good politician would. He smiled, proudly, expecting a formal introduction right back. Instead, he was greeted with the soft felt hand of a puppet slipping into his own. 

“Howdy! Oh, you’re that kid running for president!” Joe said, loudly. He looked to his puppet, “He’s the one I was telling you ‘bout.”

“Madder than a hatter he is!” The puppet agreed, earning a laugh from Joe.

“Look, Joe, the favor—” Keralis tried again, but Joe was too far gone to reason with. The boy and his puppet looked Xisuma over in odd animated ways, before whispering to each other. 

Xisuma could only watch as Joe circled him, rambling on and on with his puppet. 

“You’s got some scar there! Looks like someone drew a treasure map on your face!” Joe said, before returning to the puppet voice, “What kind of thing you hiding? It can’t be that good?” Joe rolled his eyes, “Oh, can it you!” The other voice returned, “I reckon we follow the map till morning, we’ll find the rest of you’s face!”

“You’re just mad I snuck a carrot in your cookies!” Joe fired back at the puppet.

“I got perfectly good eyesight!” 

“Well, you missed your cue earlier! How’s that for eyesight!”

“It’s not like I got the feet in this relationship!”

“And you’re the one with the mouth! Next time, get the lines right!”

“I would if someone read them!”

“I do so. You know, I made you! I can just as well unmake you’s.” Joe snapped, for the final time. He tore the puppet off his hand and threw it down on the ground, before stomping on it with the heel of his shoe. His breath quick, as he reached down and snatched the puppet from the ground before hurling it back into the storage closet. The boy slammed the door shut, “Stay in there! You—You–”

“Joe.” Keralis seethed, as Xisuma watched with wide eyes. Joe spun back around the frustrations melting from his face, and curling into a loopy smile. 

“Oh, sorry ‘bout that!” Joe grinned, “So what’s the favor, buddy?” Joe asked, hopping into one of the seats near the tables of the theatre room. Xisuma’s brow furrowed, worried for the boy who had switched from ten to hundred back to ten again in seconds. 

Keralis only shrugged, “Votes. Seventh and Eighth grade, we’re not going to be able to convince them the traditional way. So we’re going to need untraditional methods.”

Joe leaned forward, excitedly, “Like a puppet show?!”

Keralis frowned, pushing him back into the seat with the palm of his hand on the boy’s forehead. “More like I need you to annoy people into voting for him.”

“What?” Xisuma yelped. 

“Oh yeah, he’s great at it. All we gotta do is set Joe on them and he’ll have them voting for us in seconds.” Keralis explained, as Joe nodded along enthusiastically. Keralis stopped closer to the other, whispering, “It’s not that people think he's annoying or anything, it’s just everyone’s kind of freaked out by the puppet stuff.”

Xisuma nodded, slowly, “oh.”

“Anyway, Joe, do we have a deal?” Keralis asked.

Joe hummed, rocking his head back and forth, “Well…”

“No, no, hold on.” Xisuma spoke up, “Isn’t this a bit mean? Like, forcing kids to vote for us? I mean, we can’t just sick someone on them until they give up, that’s—that’s cruel.”

Keralis blinked, sighing, “Okay,” he put his hands together, “”Suma, I’m going to walk you through something,” he said through his teeth, “You tricked kindergarteners into voting for you by a game. So that they’d immediately pick your name because they only know it from a game. You manipulated three grades in a giant scavenger hunt putting your name as a gamemaster. But this…this is where you draw the line?”

Xisuma paused, “Well–” He stammered, “It’s just…”

“It’s just reverse psychology!” Joe added, kicking his feet. 

“It is not reverse psychology.” Keralis intercepted, crossing his arms, “But look, he’s okay with it.” He motioned to Joe, the other boy throwing a thumbs up at the other. 

Xisuma frowned, “You’re…You’re okay with this?”

Joe shrugged, “I get to share puppets! What’s not to like!”

Keralis smiled, motioning to the other, “See.”

“Ugh,” Xisuma groaned, “Fine.”

Joe jumped up, “Alrighty then, I’ll just take that IOU, Keralis.” Keralis rolled his eyes, pulling a small slip of paper out of his pocket and handing it over to the boy. Joe grinned, shoving it away into his own pocket, before tossing his backpack over his shoulder. He started for the door, “Bye future president! Bye Keralis! See you at dinner!”

The door shut behind him. Xisuma looked over to his friend, “You eat dinner with him?”

Keralis huffed, offering a shaky smile with a nervous laugh, “Only sometimes.”

Xisuma smirked, nodding as Keralis quickly grabbed his things. He muttered something under his breath before heading for the door. Xisuma followed after him, ignoring the mess of the theatre room as they shut the door behind them. 

“So what did you do for him to gain a favor?” Xisuma asked, as they sauntered down the hallway, posters lining the walls like stained glass. 

“You don’t want to know.” Keralis groaned with a chuckle.

_____________________________________________

The reaction wasn’t as bad as Keralis had made it out to be. Sure, a handful of teens made snarky remarks, tore up his posters or scoffed at him. But none of them could be compared to what would’ve happened at Evo. He matched each scornful jest with a smile and nod. He replaced every poster with a new one, Keralis eventually adding his own touches. He stood taller with every scoff or laugh, his brother’s glare and flexed fists enough to shut them up. 

His brother was one of the surprises of the campaign. Xander had stuck close to his side the entire time, watchful eyes scanning crowded hallways. He stopped making jokes about the campaign a day after learning his brother’s entry. Instead, Xisuma was forced to endure concerned glances and protective encouragement. He would have rather had his brother make fun of him, but Xander was still trying to fill a void in their lives. 

He had laughed upon hearing about Joe’s involvement. At first, he recalled, Xander had thought Joe was poking fun at him. The older twin nearly threw a punch before Joe switched his puppet’s voice calling out for votes. Only then had Xander asked his brother and his new friend about the occurrence, when Keralis explained. 

Xander had clapped his brother on the back, encouraging them both and laughing with Keralis. It was odd, seeing his brother and Keralis suddenly get along. He knew Keralis was still unsure about the elder's presence, but he had yet to make it known. 

So when the day came, and the votes were casted, Xisuma had pulled Keralis into the lobby of the front off after the last bell. His brother was propped in one of the chairs, picking away at one of the side tables as they waited. 

“I know you want to know as soon as possible, but Dan has to go through like five hundred votes…” Keralis complained, sagging his shoulders. “Can’t we just wait till tomorrow?”

Xisuma bounced on the heels of his feet, “Nope.”

“Not even if we go home and watch a movie?” Keralis begged.

“Depends, you picking a good one this time?” Xander asked from his spot against the wall, his eyebrow raised. 

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Keralis huffed, rolling his eyes. 

“And you don’t speak for me, Xan.” Xisuma scoffed, crossing his arms at his brother. Although there was no fire in his voice or Keralis’. Xander had joined them during movies for the past few days, even to the point where they stayed at the twins’ home now instead. Something about it being more ‘homey’ Keralis had said. 

Xander rolled his eyes in response. “You’re not going to get him to move. Once he’s made up his mind it’s hard to change it.” 

Keralis huffed a laugh, “Yeah, found that out the hard way.” He sighed, looking over to the clock on the wall. “I can’t stay late, X. I’ve got to get home.”

“Really?” Xisuma asked, the question coming out quicker than he could think. He clamped his mouth shut once he heard the word, wincing at his rudeness. He expected a snap back from the other, but Keralis shrugged. 

“Yeah,” He muttered, a shy smile on his face, “Meeting up with Joe for dinner.”

“Oh,” Xisuma hummed, “Well, I can always come by later with the results?”

Keralis nodded, “That’s fine. I’ll see you later!” He smiled, tugging his bag behind him as he rushed out the front door, “I expect news soon!” He shouted as he backed out of the front door. 

Xander smirked, “Weirdo.”

“Be nice.” Xisuma reprimanded.

The clock ticked as they waited, the teachers and administrators slowly fading out. The receptionist was quick to leave once the bell rang, leaving the two twins alone with a closed door to watch. Xisuma waited patiently, bouncing on his heels as he waited in the middle of the lobby. 

It was at least thirty minutes later when the door opened. At first the only exiting figure was the orange cat stretched their paws before sulking out of the room. Only afterwards did the counselor walk out, his hands full of index cards that he flitted through with ease. There was an easy smile on his face as he hummed, before lifting his eyes to spot the twins waiting in the lobby. 

“Oh for goodness–” he startled, grasping at his shirt, “You two need to stop doing that.” He scolded, before sighing, “Although, I should’ve expected it.”

“So?” Xisuma asked, grinning. His hands twisted behind his hand, pulling at the strings of his knuckles in different shapes. 

Dan smiled, dropping his hands, “Well, the results have come back.” He paused, “Congratulations, Mr. President.”

Xisuma’s face lit up, the grin stretching across his face as he jumped in place to celebrate. His brother leaping from his seat in stammering out questions. He jumped in circles before turning back to the counselor, “Really?!”

Dan nodded, “307 votes. You just scratched by…impressive really.” 

Xisuma laughed, looking back to his twin, “I did it!” 

“You did it.” Xander said, his voice quieter and eyes wide. 

“Now, for one last thing,” Dan interrupted, earning a confused look from Xisuma, “I expect to see you bright and early tomorrow morning, Mr. President. You’ve got a meeting with the principal.”

Dan pointed to the closed door at the edge of the office. The principal, someone Xisuma had yet to see or even hear about. Whoever it was they definitely weren’t one to be social. 

He swallowed, “The principal?” 

Dan nodded, “I wouldn’t worry. We’ve never been able to conduct a student council before, you’re the first. He’s quite impressed, and before you start overthinking, he’s a good guy. He’s just like the rest of the kids here, a bit of a hermit.”

Xisuma blinked, looking between the door and Dan. For a moment the word caught in his throat, “A hermit.”

Chapter Text

“Scar! Stop leaving cat food in my shoes!”

Keralis’ eyes darted over to the shout. He walked the same route everyday from the school to his house, and everyday without fail he could hear the arguments. It would’ve been easy to avoid if he had wanted to, Boatem Drive was only one turn away from Perimeter Road. It wouldn’t be very far if he skipped the first turn, but he always felt compelled to visit the noisy houses.

In particular, there was one that was always loud enough to be heard even when he was in his backyard. He knew two of his classmates, at least, lived there. They were always arguing, but there was something comforting about the noise, that at times Keralis found himself holed up against his fence listening.

He stopped at the sidewalk just before the driveway of the home. Keralis could see the shorter of the two–well at least he believed he was shorter. It was hard to tell when one was in a wheelchair. The shorter grimaced, dumping the kibble out of his tennis shoes and into the bushes below the railings of their porch.

“Where else am I supposed to put it?” Scar, supposedly, grinned. He shifted uncomfortably in his wheelchair, glaring as his brother dumped the food out.

“You don’t put it anywhere! We don’t have cats!” The other huffed.

“There for the strays.” Scar grumbled, crossing his arms. “Someone has to feed them!”

“They feed theirselves.” The other boy stumbled down the steps, plopping down on the last one. He shoved one shoe on, tying it forcefully. “Their cats. That’s what they’re supposed to do.”

“If you don’t want me to leave it out for them, put your shoes inside.” Scar mocked, rolling back into their home, “Otherwise, why would I make them eat off the gross ground when I can use those as a bowl!”

The other glared at him, muttering incoherently under his breath. Keralis shook his head, glancing back down to his shoes before he started down the road again. By the time he had reached Perimeter road, he’d already heard enough from the bickering siblings.

Perimeter Road was thankfully the much quieter of the two, filled with mostly single child homes as far as he knew. The only siblings were Xisuma and Xander, and they had just moved in recently. In fact, before the twins, his house had been the one to cause a ruckus at night. Between the seven of them, there was never a peaceful moment. Now his house stood as silent as the rest, and while he hated the noise, he hated the silence even more.

He stopped at the front of his home, one of the few houses that had been built recently. Clean white lines and minimal decoration completely contrasted his neighbor’s eclectic look. Their two story home, with marble and ornate detailing stood next to Joe’s shotgun home. Keralis looked over the perfect square bushes that lined the exterior garden, and just where the mailbox protruded was a break perfect for the little gate.

Keralis set his bag down, flipping the red flag down on the mailbox. The post had been by early that morning, he had seen him shuffling down the street with his canvas bag hung over his shoulder. Kerarlis didn’t know what his name was, but he always wore a silly mask over his mouth.

Mail day was something he despised more than noisy siblings and marble houses. At least on Sunday, the only mail that came round was the newspaper, but every other day of the week? One of those two boys would come by and toss a letter his way and leave without a word.

He opened the little door, spotting the single rectangle card laid inside. He barely had to look at the photo on the front before he grumbled to himself. He let the card drop to the pavement below him, flitting in the wind. He could see the blank lines on the back where the sender was expected to write a note or letter. Instead, it mocked him, stared at him completely useless.

Keralis stomped his foot down onto the card, digging his toes into the pavement till he heard the crinkling and tearing of paper. Then he turned on his heels and stormed off.

He didn’t go inside, instead rounding his own home and walking up the pavement to Joe’s. They would be expecting him after all, he hadn’t lied to Xisuma when he said he had to leave. Joe’s family always expected him on Tuesday nights.

His knuckles wrapped against the wooden door, jingling the little windchimes that hung on the eaves. He could hear the footsteps tittering up to the front door before he saw the woman's face in front of him. He forced a smile, ignoring the pain his fingers screamed at him from digging into his backpack straps too tightly.

“Hi, Mrs. Hills.”

“Keralis! Oh, come in, come in!” She twittered off like normal. She was much like her grandson, bright colors and all smiles. “Did you stop anywhere on your way here? You’re normally a little earlier–”

“No.” The word came out so quickly he barely had time to think if it was a lie or not.

Mrs. Hills only smiled and waved him inside. “Oh, well, why don’t you go set the table. I’ve just got a few more things to finish up in the kitchen! Joe’s upstairs when you’re done.”

Her skirt swayed each way as she waddled into the kitchen. Keralis dropped his backpack by the door, ignoring the blaring t.v. that no one was watching. Their living room looked exactly how he remembered it, the old patchwork couch facing the old box television. The curio cabinet sat next to the t.v. was already opened slightly, and the dining table was barren. He made quick work of stacking the plates and cups before porting them over the frayed rug that liked to trip him.

He placed the stack down, pulling a single plate off the top to lay at his own claimed seat. He could smell the chicken Mrs. Hills was working in the kitchen, and could hear it sizzling away in the pan. Which meant he couldn’t hear the footsteps coming up behind him until he felt stray fuzz brush against his ear.

“Howdy!”

Keralis yelped, hearing the heavy southern accent from his left ear. He whipped around just in time to see Joe laughing to himself as he pulled his puppet away. He had switched his puppet out for a new one, the fuzzy character stuffed onto his hand.

“I hate when you do that!” Keralis huffed, waving the other off. Joe only chuckled more, watching with wide, curious eyes as he set the table.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in!” Joe’s puppet voice mocked, before his own voice took over once again, “I would’ve thought you’d stay until you were crowned. Didn’t know we’d be hosted royalty for dinner! All hail the new vice president—”

Joe pretended to bow, tilting his puppet to look as if it was following in his footsteps. Keralis grimaced, shoving a hand into the boy’s face to push him off balance. Joe righted himself quickly as Keralis snided, “It isn’t for sure, yet. They still have to count votes.”

“Not like there’s really any other way it could go.” Joe muttered, wiping his face off. He switched back to his high-pitched voice, maneuvering his hand, “Yeah! Dan’ll just make you VP anyway, even without the votes.”

“No, he won’t.” Keralis muttered, silently hoping he was correct. As much as he believed in Xisuma, he still wasn’t sure if he was up for the whole gig himself.

Joe rolled his eyes, falling into his own seat as Keralis placed the next plate down. Joe’s fingers flitted around his puppet, straightening the fuzzy hair and pompoms. “What do you think of him?”

“Your puppet?” Keralis muttered, setting the plate down at Mrs. Hill's spot. “I think he looks as ugly as the rest.”

Joe kicked him from underneath the table, his voice cracking into the higher pitch, “He meant the new kid!”

Keralis smirked, rubbing his shin where the other had kicked. “His name is Xisuma.”

“And my puppet isn’t ugly.”

“You’re right,” Keralis mocked, “He has an absolutely beautiful face.”

Joe sunk deeper into his seat, continuing to preen his puppet’s features as he glared at the other. Keralis couldn’t help but try to hide a smile from his cheeks. Joe was the closest thing he’d ever truly had to a brother. Even though they were only connected by the hole in the backyard fence.

“I think he’s weird.” Joe shrugged.

“You only talk through puppets.” Keralis pointed out, “You don’t get to call people weird.”

Joe rolled his eyes, twirling his hand around as if his puppet was rolling its eyes as well. He huffed, “Someone’s in a mood,” He smirked, “What did you get a ca–”

“Don’t say it.” Keralis snapped.

Joe was silent, and for a moment Keralis thought the boy was reconsidering his words. He could see Joe’s lips twitch as he held back. He could see the way his jaw tightened and he gripped the edge of the table tighter. Keralis watched only out of curiosity, quirking his eyebrow up. The taunt was clear enough that Joe’s twitching lips curled into a snarl.

His voice switched higher as he opened the mouth of his puppet, “Did you know that on postcards during the Victorian era many people used the stamps to convey secret messages? One of which was the message ‘do you remember me?’”

Keralis flinched, his hand dropping the plates onto the table with little care. They clattered against the placemats but did not chip or crack. He gritted his teeth, “Why you little—”

Joe yelped as Keralis bounded over the chairs. He chased the other boy around the dining table spewing out names. Joe leaped over the seat of a wooden chair, laughing boisterously to himself as his puppet stared back at Keralis with those two beady eyes.

“I swear when I get my hands on that puppet, Joe!” Keralis shouted, tugging on the back of the other boy’s shirt. Joe stumbled back before elbowing him in the gut with a quick reprimand to his puppet for the offense.

Both boys were interrupted by the frail voice that came from the kitchen. “Boys!” Joe’s grandmother shouted, “That’s enough!”

The two paused, glaring back at each other from across the table. “I’m not having any fightin’ between you two, tonight!”

Keralis felt his shoulders shoot up at her voice, his eyes glancing to the side where the kitchen doorway stood. Joe winced himself, tensing up, before he looked back to Keralis with a huff and glare. Keralis sighed, crossing his arms, “How’s theatre?”

Joe shrugged, grooming his puppet once more. He seemed more interested in the puppet’s tufts of fur than the conversation. “The same as usual.” Then he smirked, a smug grin popping up into his cheeks, “How’s student council?”

Keralis felt his teeth grind together once more. He eyed the doorway to the kitchen carefully, hoping Joe’s grandmother hadn’t heard. She was a lovely woman, he had to admit, but the less she knew about his life the better in his opinion. She was already so excited that Joe and he were friends, even though they weren’t anything more than neighbors. She had taken him in and the idea that he would be anywhere near something extracurricular would send the woman into a fit he did not want to witness.

“Hush!” Keralis snipped, “I haven’t told her yet.” It was somewhat true, he just never planned to tell her in the first place.

Joe hummed, “Why not?”

“You know why.” Keralis huffed, moving back to fixing the table. He picked up the rest of the plates, setting them aside. “It’s probably not going to last long. It’ll be over by the end of the week. You know how Dan’s stuff goes.”

Joe flopped down into his own chair at the dining table. He laid on his stomach across the seat drooping down to the floor, “I don’t know!” he giggled, “Your little friend has the mind of a politician. He’s pretty stubborn.”

Keralis cringed, “Ew, don’t say that.” He shook his head, grabbing the utensils. “It’ll break eventually.”

“Yeah,” Joe mused, popping up from the other side of the table, “but what if it doesn’t?”

“Then I figure something else out.”

“Sounds about right for you,” Joe’s puppet creeped up from behind the table, his hand hidden with the rest of his body as he laid across his chair. The puppet continued to sneer back, “Offer your assistance only when you know how likely it is to fail–you’re just waiting for him to fail aren’t you.”

“I am not.”

“Sure sounds like you are,” Joe’s puppet laughed, “Standing there hoping the idea fails like every other counselor idea does. I thought he was your friend.”

“Shut up, Joe.” Keralis jabbed a fork in the boy’s direction.

Joe’s head popped up from the other side of the table, “It wasn’t me! It was them–I told you, you can’t say that stuff.” Joe reprimanded the puppet, pointing a single finger like a disapproving parent. “You have to be nice.”

“Oh, come on!” The puppet’s voice grated against Keralis’ ears, “You see it too! You really think that frown is going to get you anywhere— can’t wait to see what you and Presy get up to! You’ll have the whole school wrapped around your finger like you to a mail—!” Joe slapped a hand over the puppet’s mouth, offering a cheesy smile back to the other.

Keralis glared at him, “You’re lucky your grandma is still here, or I would skin that puppet in front of you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Joe glared.

“Watch me.”

They stared at each other from across the table. Joe’s eyes darted from top to bottom and bottom to top as he looked over Keralis, until finally his eyes landed back onto the table. He cringed, mouth twitching as if he held back words until he finally spoke, “You did the table wrong.”

Keralis blinked, “No, I didn’t.”

Keralis saw Joe’s jaw lock up, “Yes. It is. You did it wrong.”

“I do this every week, Joe, I know where the plates go.”

“No, you did it wrong. This is wrong. We have to do it right,” Joe demanded, grabbing the closest plate and stacking them to the next seat.

“Joe! Stop–They’re just plates! You idiot, I do this everytime, I know what to do.” Keralis shouted back, rounding the table and grabbing the plates in his hands. Joe grimaced once their skin touched and Keralis was sure he could get the edge on his friend to take the plates back, but then Joe stomped his foot down on his toes. “Joe!”

“No!” Joe yelled back, “You don’t!” as Keralis tried to pull the plates back once again. “Mom did it like this!” Joe snipped back, his hand still wrapped in the little puppet gripped onto his wrist. Keralis winced, the nails of his friend’s fingers digging into his skin as if the puppet itself was biting him.

“Dinner!”

The shout shocked them both out of their scuffle. Joe’s mouth formed a thin line as he slunk back and into his chair. Keralis huffed, sliding himself into his own chair as his grandmother came in with a platter of food. She set the little platter down, shooing them off to wash their hands and pile their plates full of food.

Keralis washed up quickly, dumping the food he could stomach onto his plate before he walked back to the dining room. He finished his plate off with the chicken nuggets and fruit that had been set out on the table. It was an odd assortment, but there was nothing about Joe’s family that could ever be considered normal in his mind.

He sat back down, watching with unkempt ease as Joe’s grandmother hummed to herself. Joe finally came back down, his hands washed, but a new puppet was dawned on his hand. When his grandmother spotted the sock creation she cleared her throat, pointing to it sternly.

Joe huffed, tugging the puppet off and laying it carefully on the table next to his plate.

“You know the rules, no puppets at dinner.” She reminded him.

Keralis knew why Joe hated that rule. Of all the rules his grandmother had, that was the one he hated the most. Joe had some strange rule for himself that he wouldn’t talk unless he had the puppet on his hand. And dinner was one of the times he could be the center of attention—if he was able to actually talk.

Instead, the talking fell to Keralis’ shoulders.

“Anything interesting happening at school?” She asked, quite quickly.

“No.” Keralis answered back just as fast. He could see Joe squint at him from the corner of his eyes. He knew Joe wanted to spill the beans, he wanted to tell his grandmother exactly what Keralis had gotten himself into. But luckily for Keralis, the boy couldn’t speak without that puppet on his hand.

“Oh, what a shame! You know, we used to have so much going on every day. You might find something you like doing if you try out for something, Keralis. Joe’s been loving the theatre so far, aren’t they holding a new play soon?” She rambled off, her question focused back on Joe but the other boy said nothing.

Keralis waited a second longer, watching as Joe played around with his food and shifted in his seat. He obviously wanted to say something from the way his lips twitched, but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t let himself.

Instead, Keralis shrugged, “Probably. They’ve always got something.”

“Well, why don’t you try out next time!” She offered as if the idea would change the world.

“I don’t do theatre.” Keralis answered.

“Oh, you never know! Joe thought the same thing–and now look at him.”

“Joe can’t talk unless he has a puppet on his hand.” Keralis muttered, “I don’t see how that’s something to look up to.”

Joe kicked him from underneath the table, and Keralis could see the disapproving glare his grandmother gave him.

“Well, I just think a little extra time together would do you two some good. What good is a friend if you never see them, afterall!”

“We’re not friends.” The words came out so quickly, Keralis had barely time to even think before he was speaking. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Joe flinch his fork dropping to the edge of his plate for a second before he scrambled to pick it back up.

Joe’s grandmother looked between them, her eyes scanning for something she couldn’t find. Keralis shifted in his seat, tossing his food around his plate. The rest of the dinner was silent, no one spoke and Keralis couldn’t help but wish he was at his own silent house instead for once.

Eventually, Joe finished and set his fork down. He slipped his puppet back onto his hand and spoke to his grandmother, and his grandmother only, “We’re going upstairs. Thank you.”

And he was gone before Keralis could even spot whatever puppet Joe had come down with in the first place. He stared at the stairway where Joe’s fleeting form was, but Keralis did not say anything in return. He looked back to his plate, tossing the food back and forth with his fork. The rest of dinner was spent in silence, Joe’s grandmother tried to fill the silence with her frail humming but each pitch sent a wave of irritation through Keralis’ spine.

Finally, Keralis finished, pushing his plate aside. Joe’s grandmother finished not long after him, she stood humming along her song and picking up the dishes. She smiled down at him, “Why don’t you head on out, I’ve got this.” She claimed, her bittersweet smile tearing down any irritation that had been growing. Instead, Keralis just nodded and stood from his chair, “Don’t you worry about Joe, I can handle him just fine–you just think about what you said. I don’t see why you two can’t be friends—in my old eyes you already act like it.”

Keralis frowned, but nodded shortly. He darted out of the entryway and out the front door before Mrs. Hills could say anything more. He felt a darkening pit in his stomach grow as he looked up at the little window on the second floor into Joe’s room. The light was on and he could spot the shadow of his neighbor spouting off to the puppet attached to him.

Keralis did not want to know what he was saying to the cloth–he was sure it would be nothing nice about him.

He shuffled down the sidewalk, reaching his quiet home in seconds. He opened the pristine white door, tugging off his shoes and bag. He felt no need to put it up, no one would be there to get on to him otherwise. Instead, he let his mud-soaked socks ruin the clean floorboards as he sank into the chair beside the front door.

He had no homework to occupy himself with, no entertaining puppet master to mess with, no older brothers to argue with, and no little siblings to play with. He was utterly alone.

So he sat and waited—even if he had no reason to still be awake he found that keeping a routine helped on days like this. There was a distinct time for everything–a time for dinner, a time for bed, a time for breakfast and a time for school.

And he would stick to his schedule even if it meant sitting and waiting for the clock to strike the hour mark. He sat in the plump orange chair that he had positioned near the door. Months ago he had dragged the chair out from their living room and positioned it in front of the front door. It was a precaution he told himself, in case they came home and he was asleep.

When his brother had come back to visit a week or so ago, he had barely paid any attention to the movement. His brother ignored it. He only needed the house for a party after all. Keralis had stayed upstairs that day, ignoring the thumping music below, but he had witnessed the horrific activities that happened just in front of their pool. And while he couldn’t describe how he felt about Xander, he couldn’t help but wish he had been in his position beating his brother black and blue at that moment.

It was as Keralis started to doze off that he heard the knock at his door. He shot up, a new rush of adrenaline and excitement, as if behind that door would be the family he’d waited for. Instead he was met with a meager, but hurried voice, “Keralis! Keralis! We did it! We actually did it!”

Keralis blinked, sliding out of the oversized chair. He leaned against the door, peeking out the tiny hole in the middle to spot Xisuma jumping on the balls of his feet. His brother was behind him, leaning against the poles of the railing. In his hands, Xisuma held a pile of manila folders filled with papers.

“I–uh–I don’t know if you’re listening right now!” Xisuma shouted over the door, his excitement clear in his voice, “But if you are—we—we did it! We won! Well, you did a lot of it but we still won! I just–I just had to tell you–”

“He’s been a mess since we left the school!” Xander shouted back, and Keralis had to stop himself from huffing out a laugh.

“Oh, shut up–” Xisuma muttered, “I–I met with the principal.”

Keralis blinked, the principal. No one even met with the principal. He was a hermit. The guy rarely came out of his office. That guy himself had given up on the counselor's projects more often than the kids had. Why the hell was Xisuma meeting with the principal?

“He–he gave me some stuff for us to work on! I think–I think we should look over it together tomorrow. I can tell you more at lunch! I was just too excited.”

The principal had them working on something?

The principal had them working on something?!

This was supposed to be a one week thing. Xisuma was going to get tired of doing nothing and back out! Dan was going to realise it was going nowhere! The principal was supposed to shut it down!

Not–Not support it!

“I’ll–We’ll leave you alone now! I just really wanted to tell you.”

Keralis gripped his chest, heaving out breaths as he fell against the door. He sank to the floor, listening to Xander and Xisuma’s quiet bickering. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t see. He could barely hear the ticking of his clock striking the next hour.

As Xander walked back down the path to their house, Xisuma turned back to the door whispering, “Thanks again, ‘ralis. It–it means a lot to me. You—you’re a great friend.”

And Xisuma left.

Keralis let his head fall into his hands, Xisuma’s words hitting like a brick on an open wound.

________________

“Are we sure this is even legal?” Keralis mumbled, across the floor of Xisuma’s home were dozens of files.

“What do you mean?” Xisuma asked, riffling through the stack in his hands. “All the private information was redacted.”

Keralis frowned, poking his own file that he had successfully hidden from Xisuma’s view. The other boy had pulled him aside at lunch, asking him to come over after school. His only explanation was that they needed to speak about what Xisuma had been trying to tell him the night before. Which was nothing short of terrifying to Keralis when he heard about it.

Xisuma had already met with the principal, who Keralis had only had the pleasure of seeing a few times beforehand. Apparently, he already had a job for the two newly inducted student council members to perform. And from the amount of papers that were scattered around the floor when Keralis had stepped into the Voids’ living room, he was positive about his regret from the night prior.

Xisuma had explained it to him perfectly well, but he was still unsure. Their principal had asked them to look through very basic information about their classmates to create some kind of program or activity that would boost student connection. Something that was previously only concocted by their counselor, but from his yearly failures, Keralis could only guess the principal had resorted to this.

He had only looked through his own file so far, after seeing the information that was ‘worthy’ of redaction, he doubted that he wanted to see anyone else’s. As far as he was aware, his classmate was just that… a classmate. Nothing more and nothing less. The moment he opened one of those files, that wall would be gone—he’d know. And that was about as terrifying of a thought as talking to them himself.

He did not want to know.

Xisuma, however, seemed to have no problem.

He barely knew these kids in the first place. No wonder he could easily flick through the files, he couldn't put any names to faces. But still the thought had bile rising in Keralis’ throat.

“Not enough of it.” Keralis huffed, scanning the many names that popped out at him. They had only been given their own grade and the one just below them.

“It’s not that bad.” Xisuma shrugged, scanning over someone named Tango’s folder.

“It is.” Keralis said, firmly. “How would you feel if your principal just gave out this stuff to anyone!”

“He didn’t give it to anyone, he gave it to us.”

“We are anyone.”

“No. We’re the newly created student council.” Xisuma smirked, glancing up from the folder.

“A title that was given to us because we were the only two to sign up.” Keralis snapped, “Had someone else done this very same charade they’d be sitting in your place.”

Xisuma frowned, closing the folder and letting it fall to the ground. “I’m not going to use it against anyone. I just want to help. I wouldn’t even consider that.”

Keralis huffed, “It’s not the fact that you would do something—I know you wouldn’t. It’s the fact that all this information,” He motioned around them, “isn’t ours. This stuff is private.”

“Kera–”

“No. Look,” He huffed, grabbing the beige folder with Xisuma’s name listed at the top. He flipped it open, reading, “Xisuma Void—twin brother to Xander Void. Enrolled by twin brother mid-year. Parental conference—Not applicable. Currently taking coding classes with students above his grade level. Originally from Evo, reason for moving redacted.” Keralis shut the folder, “And that’s just the first page.”

“It’s not that bad.” Xisuma muttered, Keralis could see the pale tint to his cheeks.

“But how would you feel if someone was handed that information without your knowledge.” He raised an eyebrow, “I didn’t even read the worst part.”

Xisuma’s frown turned thin, his eyes glancing between the folder in his hands and Keralis. He sighed, “Alright, fine. You win. But we still have to do this—so…what do we do?”

Keralis glared at the papers, “Do we really have to?”

“Yes!” Xisuma snapped, he sighed, “Okay—what if we just took about all of the papers. There’s only three pages in each folder. If we turn them all to the second page we won’t see the names. The second page only has class schedule and clubs on it anyway. That stuff is fair game, right? If we just use that page we don’t have to look at any biographies or principal and counselor notes.”

The twin quickly pulled the stapled papers out, flipping to the second page. Keralis glared at his new-found friend, he was entirely too devoted to this cause he’d just picked up. They may have been elected but really how much did anyone care? They would be forgotten about within the next few weeks. That’s what happened to every single one of the counselor’s ideas—forgetten by day five.

He just had to hope the streak continued.

Keralis picked up the closest folder, being his own, and pulled out the papers. Maybe Xisuma wouldn’t recognize him without the name spelled out in front of him. Each file was flipped to the second page with the first letter of the student’s name denoted at the very top. Xisuma dropped half the files next to him and the other stack was quickly riffled through by his eager fingers.

It was all in good conscience, Keralis knew, but he couldn’t help but grimace as he picked up the paper labeled K at the very top.

He sighed, flicking through his own stack until he found an interesting letter. They worked in silence, the quiet room only filling with Xisuma’s frustrated grunts as he scanned over each file. Keralis couldn’t help but eye the other as he looked over each paper.

“How are we supposed to come up with a program with this!” Xisuma cried out, letting himself fall against the floor. He splayed out his arms, staring up at the ceiling.

“Are you ready to give up, yet?” Keralis murmured from the other side of the coffee table.

Xisuma glared at him, “We are not giving up. There’s got to be something! Some kind of common denominator we can work off of.” He sat up quickly, grabbing papers and shuffling through them again.

“Or, I don’t know, here’s a thought. Maybe there’s not.”

Xisuma ignored him, tucking into the paperwork. Keralis watched him, the boy’s finger trailing across each word as he read the files. He rolled his eyes looking at the few folded papers in front of him.

“I’ve got a boy, D, who spends his classes working on quote unquote dangerous redstone creations. Apparently, his teachers have found lines of elaborate equations spanning across his papers.” Xisuma dictated, his brow furrowing.

“You got all that from his schedule alone,” Keralis asked, raising an eyebrow. Xisuma shrugged, turning the paper over and pointing to the note written out to the side of one of the classes. Keralis frowned, “So?”

“So, what do you have?” Xisuma prompted, huffing, “This is only going to work if we work together.”

He looked down at the file in front of him. He didn’t recognize the person by the single initial listed and their schedule was completely different than his own. There were no small notes written in the margins but underneath where the clubs were listed he found a single name. “I’ve got some girl, C, who's in the Art Club.”

“Okay…” Xisuma whistled out to himself, they continued back and forth like that, sharing small anecdotes on the single initials they were given. At some point, Xander wandered into the room, splaying out across the couch behind Xisuma. The older twin kicked his brother in the back of his head as he did so.

The process was so mind numbing that Keralis couldn’t even blame Xander when he fell asleep. The boy snored behind Xisuma as they continued to try and find something in common with these people. They were forced, eventually, to turn to the teacher notes at the very last page, finding the bare minimum of information at their fingertips.

“M is silent in class, fidgeting with something under his desk that he claims to be some new invention each week. However, when asked he will unravel into long-winded explanations of how the small piece is needed in a much larger project. I and S are inseparable, changes in both their schedules have been made so they can stay in the same classes. I’s redstone creations have been praised many times, while S struggles.” Xisuma read aloud for the second time, sighing. He rubbed his forehead, looking over to Keralis. “Anything new?”

Keralis frowned, pulling his eyes away from Xander’s sleeping form. He desperately wanted to join the boy, if only in his own house. He glanced down at the paper, “B spends class time drawing plans for forests and houses, along with the rare occasion of castles. Each drawing has lists of emotions cited next to them. At times, these creations have grown into full blueprints and popsicle stick towers built at lunch.” He recited before flipping over to the next stack, “R has been responsible for many of the school’s best performing plays. His work in creating stunning and elaborate shows comes from a love of storytelling and set design. Many of the sets were hand built by him.”

“I don’t understand.” Xisuma grumbled, “How are all of these kids alike? One of them is in theatre, the next draws pictures, someone managed to release all of the school’s vexes in one afternoon, while another was set on bartering them off to the highest bidder!” He drooped against the couch, his head hitting his brother’s extended leg.

“Maybe they just don’t have anything in common, X.” Keralis muttered, “Some people are just like that.”

He shook his head, “No. No, there’s got to be something.”

“You can’t just push everyone into one mold, X. Not everyone has some deep rooted secret that’s going to solve the problems of this school. Okay? We stick to ourselves for a reason.” Keralis snapped, eyes darting down to the paper he knew held his own information, “Not all of us are ready for people to come back into our lives! We’re just trying to recreate our lives, not all of us get a fresh start in a new city.”

He glared at the younger twin, waiting for his scathing words to burn across his friend’s skin. But Xisuma did not even flinch. The boy just stared at the ceiling, Keralis could see the wheels turning in his head faster and faster with each thought. He furrowed his browning, looking between the twin and his sleeping sibling, confused.

Finally, Xisuma blinked, mumbling to himself, “‘recreate…recreate our lives’” He repeated under his breath, and it was as if a light had gone off above his head. He jolted, shooting forward and grabbing as many papers as he could. “Create–that’s it! They’re all creating! You’re a genius, Keralis!”

He gritted his teeth together, “What are you talking about! Were you even listening to what I was saying!”

“Yes!” Xisuma grinned, jumping up from his spot, “All of these kids—they’re creating. Be it with redstone or buildings or something! They’re making things! It–It might not be a lot but it’s something. It’s something to get us started!”

“Xisuma.”

“We could pull all those kids into groups. The kids who invent and re-engineer everything during class. They might not know that there are other people like them. They might not know how many people could help them—just like you helped me–that’s it! Yes. It could be a support group.”

“You’re not listening to me.”

“Well–maybe not a support group. That’s the wrong idea. A group of people brought together to help solve problems that arise with their new creations. What would that be called?”

“Stop talking! Listen to me! You do this, and they will hate you.”

“But what do we do about the others—not everyone likes redstone. They’re still creating, though–they’re creating stories, buildings, blueprints, art—anything really. It’s all visual-story driven.”

Keralis couldn’t listen anymore. The boy watched as Xisuma paced his living room, spouting off to himself all sorts of ideas. Keralis was no use to him anymore. The other would spiral until he worked into a coma. He would find the other boy in the same spot tomorrow on his way to school. He was sure of it.

But for now, he was done.

He stormed out of the living room, ignored completely as Xisuma rambled to himself. He wondered distantly, if the younger twin had even heard the door slam behind him. It didn’t matter anyway, Keralis stomped down the cobble pathway out to the road.

The street lamps had turned on, illuminating the quiet road. He could still hear the loud shouts and hollers from the house just behind his own. Tonight, he wished they would just shut up.

He slunk down the street, hands tucked deeply into his pockets. He breached his own sidewalk finding the same little red flag standing straight up on the mailbox. He glared at it, wishing that just his eyes could rain fire down onto the little pillar of brick and mortar. How dare those postmen come by?

He stopped in front of the little box, fingers brushing over the handle of the door. He was about to pull it open when a voice popped up behind him.

“I saw them come by earlier with it.”

Keralis darted his eyes over to his neighbor. The boy was sitting on top of the fence separating their yards. His hand was covered by the regular blue puppet. He looked more tired than he usually did, and Keralis wondered if that had to do with their fight recently. Other than himself, he wasn’t sure who Joe found to talk to that didn’t immediately run away at the sight of the puppet.

“Think it’s probably best if you just don’t open it.”

“Why do you care?”

“‘Cause you always get mad when they send a card.” Joe shrugged, “And you already seem mad enough. Why mess with what’s already broken?”

“The phrase is ‘break what’s already broken.’” Keralis corrected.

Joe’s puppet shot forward as if he was about to make a retort, but the boy clamped a hand down on the puppet’s mouth before he could. Keralis watched as Joe fought the urge to say something. He could see the boy’s mouth twitching and his fingers clenching down on his hand till his knuckles turned white.

“You can say it.”

Joe’s eyes glanced back at him confused, but he didn’t wait any longer. He lifted his hand, but his voice had already started, “It works both ways with you, smart aleck! A broken mess you are–”

“I get it, Joe.” Keralis cut him off, with a wave.

Joe frowned, eyes trained on the ground below him, “You know I never mean it, right?”

“Yeah.” Keralis shrugged, “Your puppet does.”

“No. I mean I never mean it.” Joe said, firmly. “All I’m trying to do is to get you to laugh, man.”

Keralis frowned, glancing up at the boy on his fence. Joe smiled back at him, nodding to Xisuma’s home, “I know I’m not as good as he is about it. Guys got his props to him, I’ll give ‘im that. But I know you, I've known you since before they left.”

Joe puppet piped up, “Back when you were just a hole in the fence!”

“It sucks, man. I get it. You get a postcard that rubs in your face the fact that they left again. The fact they forgot again. The fact that some vacation is better than coming back for their kid. It sucks. But who the heck cares,” Joe snapped, Keralis bit back a few choice words. Joe ignored the death glare he gained, continuing, “You’ve got a chance to do something, ‘ralis. You’re the flipping Vice President now, man. You’ve got a friend over there that’s coming up with something–I just know it. You going to let that card–that piece of paper get in the way?”

Keralis paused, his fingers hovering over the handlebar.

“Ignore it.”

Keralis stared at the little red flag. His mind wandering around all the different possibilities that could be inside that small box. All he had to do was open the door and find out. He could see if it truly was another postcard. Maybe they finally decided to turn around? Maybe they were coming back for him? An actual note this time? Some letter from one of his sisters or brothers? Or was it another blank postcard from another cruise?

He clenched his fist, and flicked the red flag down.

Joe smiled, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Keralis blinked, “Hey, Joe, wait!”

Joe paused, about to jump off the fence, “Yeah?”

Keralis sighed, his shoulders slouching, as if he’d given up. He cocked his head to the side, offering his best smile, “Have you ever thought about joining the student council?”