Author's note: Here we are, on New Years Day! This is my first official fanfic of 2018, and my sixtieth story on this site in general. I plan on writing as much as I possibly can up until January 8th, which is the last day of my winter break, and exactly a week from today.
Decided to upload another short little one-shot. Thinking about possibly writing just one more before I head off to bed here.
And once again, happy New Years everyone! Make this 2018 a great one, and, if your 2017 wasn't too great, there's always this year! If this year isn't too great, there's always 2019!
Twins
On some days, he thinks of her like a man would think of an alien.
He knows that he shouldn't think of her like that; she's his twin sister, after all. It's always been just the two of them, ever since they were born – Phil and Lil. There's never been a Phil without a Lil, and there's never been a Lil without a Phil, not really.
Or at least, that's how he likes to think about it. Phil's not too sure what she's even thinking, not anymore. He used to be able to read her like a book – if she was happy, he knew. If she was sad, he knew.
They used to stay up late, telling each other secrets. He'd always promise that he wouldn't tell, and he never did (well, maybe except for this one time, but they had been furious at each other that day anyway, so what was the real difference?) She used to stay up late at night with him, admitting to him that the thought of the future scared her, that as much as she wanted to grow up, she was afraid of leaving Mom and Dad. She'd tell him all about how mean the other girls could be sometimes, about how she could feel her friendship with Kimi starting to decline…
And now, she told him almost nothing. When he asked her about things, it was always an, 'Oh, I'm fine,' even when he knewthat she wasn't. He wanted to tell her things, he really did – but telling secrets was supposed to be a mutual thing, not a one-sided thing.
Sometimes, at lunch, he sees her. She's always sitting with the 'popular' girls, the most stuck-up ones; they don't make fun of Phil like they do everyone else (he'd like to think that Lil doesn't let them,) but all that they do, really, is dye their hair and focus more on becoming trends than becoming high school graduates. He can't believe that Lil is one of them.
At the very least, he supposes, Lil does seem to be focusing on her schoolwork, as her report cards usually have B's on them now, with the occasional C. He still remembers the days when she had a perfect GPA, one that made him envious; he remembers how she started to tutor him after school, and how somehow, he started to understand, even for a little while.
Today, he watches her as she sits back at lunch with them, applying her lipstick. To the average outsider, geek, or even jock, she probably looks normal, like she's perfectly content with being there. Phil has known her for fifteen years. Phil knows better.
He knows that while she'd never admit it, Lil is faking a smile. He knows that she's been insulted by them at least once today. He knows that she's miserable with them. And he knows even better that she'll never admit it, at least not to him.
He wants to help, he truly does. Phil knows that Lil is better than this. Everyone should know that Lil is better than this. No one, it seems, has really told her that. Phil almost pinches himself for having never told her himself, for having not done much but make her feel bad about it when she started to hang out with those girls.
He sees her glance over at him. She's not glaring at him, but rather giving him a look of…. sadness.
'Meet me afterschool,' she mouths. Phil hates the fact that he can still read what she's saying, like he did all those years ago. He almost hates the fact that he already knows where they'll meet twice as much.
He feels his mouth go into a straight line. He purses his lips together, and then smiles sadly.
'Of course,' he mouths back.
And then, they turn away from each other, just like they always do. They go back to their respective friend groups, just like they always do. Phil looks up, and decides to listen to what Dil's saying.
"And I swear man, they're going to find aliens in the next five years!" Dil exclaimed. "I swear, the CIA's hiding them. They have to be. I mean, the government is really shady! They listen in on phone conversations, did you know that? Just like in ET! And…"
As Phil listens to Dil ramble on to one of their friends across the table, he smiles. Quietly, he decides, even if he'll never be as close to Lil as he once was, at least he has these guys to keep him company meanwhile.