H2O: Twin Tales.
Chapter one:
They never really thought much about being 'twins'. Techniquely they were born on the same day. And techniquely they had the same parents. But they weren't related to those parents. They were both adopted by Lewis and Cleo McCartney. Thier adoptive parents were slightly too young and less attentive than most parents typically were. But they weren't really bothered by that. It did bother them when they got strange looks for not being identical.
Emily had short and curly blonde hair. Aimee had long brown hair. They were of similar height but Aimee was built smaller. Both had really blue eyes and long eyelashes. So, physically at least, they looked related, but not like you'd think twins would look.
Mostly they were nothing alike personallity wise. While they both recieved top marks in school, Aimee was consistantly in trouble. Emily stayed out of trouble, and ignored her 'twin's' eccentricities. Emily was polite and had several friends from youth groups and school. Aimee had few friends she met through her various adventures and schemes.
They stayed to themselves, not wanting to deal with the stares, doing their own thing and living their own lives. They often just looked blankly back at people who asked about their sister, much less their twin.
But recently, they had to notice each other. It was hard not to. Not with Lewis and Cleo talking about their birth parents. In whispers, quietly, in the middle of the night.
It started one night right before the start of the new school year with the girl's birthday right around the corner. Emily would have slept right through the entire conversation had it not been for Aimee, waking her up.
A hand covered her mouth and in the brief struggle, Emily saw long brown hair- Aimee's. Emily tried to make eye contact but Aimee was focused on Emily's door. The door was cracked a fraction of an inch, letting in a sliver of light and a mumble of noise. Emily studied her 'twin'. She was fully clothed in dark but not totally black clothing which strangely made her even harder to see in the mostly darkened room.
She smelled nice, Emily noticed. Sort of earthly and a bit like rain and cut grass. An adventure caused casualty Aimee would probably call it. Emily wondered briefly what the adventure was but was soon distracted by Aimee dropping off the bed and crouching to slowly move towards the door.
Emily mused on how strangely cool Aimee looked in her rediculous pose and odd apparel and how odd it was that her booted feet made no noise on the usually creeky floor. Aimee didn't even have to glance back at her to know she was still laying down, bewildered. Aimee beckened her closer with a wiggle of handwarmer clad fingers.
Emily winced as the cool night air from her open window hit her bare arms. Knowing she had closed it before going to bed she glared at Aimee's back for a bit, uncomfortable in the thought that anyone could climb into her room at night. She padded over to her door sucking in a breath each time she made the floor creak but Aimee didn't seem worried so she knew they hadn't gotten caught yet.
"Wh-." Before Emily could even fully form the word Aimee's hand was back on her mouth, silenceing her. Emily was quiet, then after a few minutes of Aimee not letting go, Emily closed her eyes and concentrated on just listening. When she did Aimee let go and scooted over so she could get closer and listen easier.
"Are you sure Lewis? I mean the girls have been in our care for so long. And they don't even know we're not thier biological parents-" Cleo whispered faster and faster, each word a little louder that the last.
"Shh, Cleo, the girls are asleep." After an awkward moment of silence he spoke again. "I spoke with everyone and they're coming back- all of them, everyone." There was a brief struggle. "Cleo, Cleo, It's okay. It's not like they're going to walk through the door and announce they're their parents okay? They're going to ease thier way into the girl's lives, get to know them."
"Yeah, great, so when they do find out they'll feel decieved and angry and and, oh Lewis. Lewis, can't we just, I don't know..." Cleo struggled to form a coherent sentence and Emily backed slowly away from the door, sitting against the foot of her bed. She stared blankly at the door as the mumbles continued.
Aimee rested against the wall near the door keeping an ear to the conversation and an eye on Emily.
A while later, Aimee focused her undivided attention on Emily, the hall light went off, and she knew they'd gone to bed.
The 'twins' stared blankly at one another for a bit before Aimee moved, sitting next to Emily. She kept a bit of distance between them, feeling awkward around her supposed sister and not quite knowing what she thought or felt. "They were talking about that when I got back, thought you'd like to listen in." Aimee drew her knees to her chest, elbows against knees.
Emily drew it a deep breath and slowly let it out. Aimee fiddled with one of her many bracelets. "I like my life. I don't want...I really just can't...This is-"
Aimee shushed her quietly. "They'll hear."
Emily was quiet for a bit then turned to Aimee with a determined look on her face. "Got back from where?"
Aimee smiled at her. "Somewhere you won't be shushed if you want to yell."
Emily thought for a moment more. "Take me there?"
"Get Dressed."
x X x
It took some time to pick out clothing. Mostly because Emily was trying to just throw on something and Aimee was making quiet suggestions. "Put on something darker, doesn't have to be black, just darker." "Think warmer, layers, it'll be chilly this time of morning." "Have it cover more, mosquitos."
In the end, Emily was in cotton pj pants, a t-shirt, and a black sweat shirt. They slipped out of Emily's room and down the stairs. Aimee shoved a pair of old brown boots at Emily, leading the way out the door and into the early morning air.
They walked mostly in silence, Aimee walking a bit ahead of Emily to lead the way. Occasionally they dodged through fences and on several paths. Finally they got to the very end of the beach, still in the trees that lined it. Here's where Aimee calmly pointed out a small motorboat. "Where exactly are we going?" Emily asked sceptically, but feeling more excited than nervous.
Aimee looked at her, really looked at her. Eyes squinted a bit and a serious expression on her face. Emily took this time to notice Aimee as well. Noting her dark zipped up hoodie with both a tank top and a t-shirt layered under it, her black skinny jeans which were riddled with enough holes that she needed to wear leggings under it, her tall boots, and her various odds and ends that completed the ensemble.
Aimee smiled at her, face alive with excitement. "Trust me?"
Emily smiled back, "Enough to go somewhere with you in a boat at the crack of dawn."
Aimee looked up at the sky, eyes crinkled in the corners, biting an edge of her bottom lip. "Good enough for me." She said shrugging it off. "Mako Island."
The boat ride was nothing new to either of them. They didn't talk, just sat and steered. When they finally got to the island they both picked a tree close to one another, faceing each other, waited until the other girl had gotten situated, and began to talk.
"I worry now, every woman I meet, every man, I'll wonder if it's them. I'll wonder why and what and when. I like my life. I like Mom and Dad...Cleo and Lewis...No they're Mom and Dad, you know?" Emily said, calmly in spite of the fact that she could in fact yell and scream now.
"Yeah, I definately know what you mean." Aimee said. "But isn't it, just a little bit, I don't know, odd to you?"
"What do you mean?" Emily asked.
"Why now, why after 13 years, How do Mom and Dad know our biological parents, and-" Aimee hesitanted.
"And what?" Emily asked.
"And are we even twins? Biologically, really, really twins?"