Title: Cytokinesis
Rating: M
Warnings: sex, swearing, minor non-con
Fandom: Sweet Valley High
Pairing: Elizabeth/Todd, Jessica/Silos(Brad)
Spoilers: 3.17 - All Along The Water Tower
Disclaimer: All Sweet Valley High characters belong to Francine Pascal, Saban Entertainment, et al. No profit made in the creation of this.
Notes: Marla belongs to Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. I have not actually seen the full episode in a long time so if there is anything amiss I apologize – call it artistic license if you will and let me know. Comments and crit welcome and appreciated.
Elizabeth is the smart twin. It is a widely accepted fact that Elizabeth is going places. Now Jessica, she's going places too but different places. It's something that they don't talk about because it's just the future and well they like being the Wakefield twins – Jessica and Elizabeth; Liz'n'Jess. So when Jess meets Silos she isn't thinking that it's going to be anything because they're Liz'n'Jess and not even Liz's Todd broke that up so why should Jess's Silos. Except Silos isn't really Silos in the sense that he's real. Silos is dreamy blank Brad. Brad is living out Silos and isn't really anything that he told Jess except that he's her gorgeous boy with the wicked tongue. In her head she calls him Brad because really it's a much nicer name than Silos no matter how lovely a creation Silos is. Brad is the first boy to put his mouth on her, to slip his tongue into her pussy and lick at her clit. Lying back on the blanket on the beach with Brad between her legs is … well it's nice and she wonders if Todd does the same thing for Liz.
Late at night with the moon turning their hair silver blond and Liz curled up in her oversized t-shirt at the end of Jess's bed she says,
"Does Todd ever?"
He doesn't and Jess thinks it's a damn shame.
She says to her book-smart twin, "He should. You should ask. I mean you do it. It's fair."
But Liz is the good twin, the nice twin, and she isn't going to ask for that — not from safe boring Todd, especially not from Todd, no matter how much Jess encourages her.
Jess likes Brad but she doesn't like him when he isn't Silos. Silos is sweet and kind and he knows things. He makes her feel a little bit older, a little bit wiser and she likes it; likes feeling like she isn't just some dumb teenager, like she's at least a senior. Brad's family is crazy strange but Silos is gentle and lets her ramble. If Silos didn't have Brad's family he'd be perfect.
"He's not real you know." Liz tells her, grumpy from the football players constantly following her saying "go out with me Liz, pretty Liz."
"But he's perfect."
"Brad," Liz's voice is harsh on his name and suddenly Silos does seem like a nicer name, "Brad is screwed up Jess. You don't want to be with a crazy boy."
"He isn't crazy. He's an artist, they have moods. You're too young, you wouldn't understand."
Liz's eyes are shiny with unshed hurt tears when she leaves the room and Jess doesn't care, too hurt that Liz doesn't seem to share her joy in her gorgeous boy.
In the afternoon, laying back in the dunes while Silos's camera clicks and her bare skin is printed into film, she realizes they aren't Liz'n'Jess anymore and doesn't care.
"Push your top up a little bit more Jessie."
She does feeling the wind whisper over the wire in her bra. The camera clicks and then Silos leans down to kiss the skin just over her ribs.
"You're a beauty Jess."
She pulls him up for a kiss that tastes like sun and cinnamon. Later, with the sun falling into the ocean, she'll go to her knees and take him in her mouth while the warm wind slides over her bare breasts and Silos's hands tangle in her hair and loosen the bobby pins.
He disappears for two days and nobody knows where's he's gone. Enid dismisses it with a shrug and says he's probably off in another book. When Silos shows up again he's got a plaster over his nose and bruises ringing his eyes. His smile is more sneering snarl and it makes his split lip break and leak blood onto his chin. Jess touches his lip and he jerks back.
"Silos what happened?"
"What the fuck Marla?"
"I'm not Marla. I'm Jess, remember?"
He grabs her shoulders and kisses her. His fingers are digging painfully into her skin and later she'll look in the mirror and see bruises. Silos isn't her gentle boy with the cleaver tongue anymore. He's rough and hard, demanding her body and she doesn't like it. She wants her Silos back. Jess wants the happy boy with the camera who took pictures of her with her shirt rucked up and legs spread wide while she invited him to come closer. She doesn't want this bruised boy with his cold eyes and quick hands. In the end it's her heavy purse that saves her from him. He's dazed when it hits the side of his head and that buys her precious time to run, run away from this boy who isn't Silos.
Jess's mouth is still tender when she finds Liz late in the evening sitting hunched over a calculus book.
"You were right."
Liz looks at her and doesn't say anything just gets up and hugs her. She holds tight to her sister and lets the gentle hug smooth over her memories. Liz holds her close and lets her cry. After she's cried and is just shivery Liz tucks her up in a blanket and brings her popcorn dripping with butter. They curl around each on the couch and watch Pretty in Pink. By the time Andie is kissing Blane Jess isn't shivering anymore and they are Liz'n'Jess once again.