Uh... hello.

This is my first story in this fandom, though I've fell in love with it ever since, like, forever.

Forgive me if I unintentionlally use crappy grammar, or OOC-ness, or anything else that makes you scrunch up your nose and squint your eyes. I am not a native speaker, nor the best writer, but I am trying to do my best, so give me a chance, yes? *cue for puppy dog eyes*

disclaimer: disclaimed.

Ahem. Without further ado, I present you... this.

CHAPTER ONE.

Washington DC, United States of America.
Tuesday, February 20th 2027.
Brooke Dalton Private Middle School.

"Iva, leave!"

Flames. Blood. Chaos. Screams everywhere.

"No! I am not leaving without you!"

More blood. The tug on her sleeve tightened, but she stayed put where she was. Eyes pleading, his eyes. Silent argument. Another scream. BOOM.

"Go, Iva, go!"

It was hard to breathe. Suffocating. Lack of oxygen. Everything was blur. Stubborn. A frustrated sigh, his fingers ran down his tangled and messy hair. He had bruises, blood, and odd-angled leg. The weight on her shoulder felt heavier. Shaky ground. His face determined.

"Iva, this is not an argument. Take yourself and go. Now!"

She shook her head. He sighed. And then he froze. Then flashed his smirk. His signature half-smirk. And he hugged her. For a moment, she thought that they were going to stick together. She hugged back.

"I love you, Iva. So much." He whispered, "Take care of Ima and Tali for me."

And then Push. Big push. Falling. Someone caught her. And then there was light. Blinding light. And overwhelming air. She could breathe. Hands everywhere. Noises, loud ones. A pull, away from the building. And she screamed.

"No! No! He is still there! Evan is still there! I need to get back inside! Release me! NO—"

BOOM.

"NO!"

"Iva!"

With an abrupt movement, the fifteen years old awoke from the terrifying sleep. With each intake of breath laboring, she wildly scanned the areas around her, her state of mind not yet returned to the mortal world. Her face paled, her body tensed, her eyes were shady from unshed tears.

Mr. Geoffrey was the funniest and most laid-back teacher the school had ever had. He called his students with their first names and made actually funny jokes while he was teaching, so he bonded real close with his class. But even he backed off, his face surprised and confused, as he eyed the odd student. The entire classroom's focus was now on Iva, for her face troubled and traumatized, and it was something that was unusual to spot a sight on a regular basis. Her friends muttered her name in a hushed tone, no doubt about the confusions and the suspicion underneath their voices, since they didn't knew better.

Once Iva calmed down a bit, she realized that everyone's attention was directed to her and her only. Her once pale face was now beet red, as she hastily mumbled an excuse to leave the room and did so rather quickly, her bag on her hand. Mr. Geoffrey didn't even have the time to stop her.

She slammed the door, and took a fast walk along the empty hallway to the nearest Ladies' room. In there, the tension that she'd kept before poured out without mercy, as her eyes clenched shut, her knuckles white as the fingers balled to strong fists.

'Breathe,' she reminded herself firmly, and let out a deep, troubled breath. After a few of inhale-exhale session, she finally had the courage to look up the mirror.

Her image on the glass made her wince.

Her hair was tangled and messy. Her hair was damp on places, her face was pale, her forehead slick with sweat, her hands cold, and her eyes—oh, her eyes were crazy. She looked like that she just saw a ghost flashed in front of her. Iva was sure that if a person walked in on her looking like this, they would think of her as the ghost herself.

Ghost.

Iva chuckled humorlessly. The word ghost had brought her mind wandered back to the very reason that she was inside that room looking like a whole big mess right now.

A year, three psychologist, countless nightmares, a seemingly endless pit of depression, and she was still like this. Haunted, shadowed by the past. She could still distinctively hear the noises when the bomb went off, and his screams for her to let go, to get away from there. And along with those vivid images and voices, she could feel the pang of guilt, the hurt and regret that was settling at the pit of her stomach.

'I should have pulled him through... should have shoved him first… should have saved him…'

Sighing, she turned the faucet on and washed her face with cold water, feeling the icy sensation washed off her skin. What was done was done, and as painful as it was, she could do nothing to change the past. The only thing to do now was to move on and let go.

Which was easier said than done, by the way.

"Iva?"

Said girl silently groaned as she wiped her face with the towel provided. She knew the tone all too well, and she hated it also. Iva slowly (half-heartedly) turned her head to see the newest intruder that was actually not that anonymous to her.

"What do you want, Tali?" she asked, her tone annoyed, brilliantly covering the feelings that lay underneath. Iva's twin sister winced at the snappy remark, but she approached her none of the less.

"You're having nightmares again." Talia said, and it was a one-hundred percent statement, not a question. Iva struggled to hold a wince, and Talia got the confirmation that she didn't need. "You have to let him go, Ives." Talia pleaded, her feature softened even more.

Iva clenched her eyes shut, forbidding the horrible memories that threatened to spill. "Easy for you to say. You were not there." She muttered unconsciously. Talia flinched uncomfortably at the tone Iva was using. "You did not have to see him like that every time you shut your eyes."

Talia, sighing, leaned down to the faucets, a faraway look then etched to her face, "You know," She said, "in dreams, we enter a world that is entirely our own."

Her twin rolled her eyes, "Not in the mood for a book quotation, Tal," Iva muttered, before starting to straighten her appearance to look at least decent.

"It's also in a movie, actually, which is actually your region of power. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth installment in the Harry Potter series. Released in the year—never mind. That's not my point." She quickly held herself before her mouth went full speed on said movie's trivia, and shook her head. "My point is, that even in your nightmares, you are in control. You need to stop feeling guilty. Stop being haunted by this. By him." She emphasized on the last two words.

Iva looked away, her face sad and distraught and perhaps angry, "And what do you think I am trying to do for the past year? He is my brother, Talia. And you are not the one who witnessed him at his final moments. Can you not see that I am trying? Those screams at night do not just disturb you! I was distraught, too!"

Yes, Talia could perfectly see the dark circles around her twin's eyes, a proof that she had not been sleeping well. Actually, none of her family members had been sleeping well ever since a year ago. Only, Iva was the worst out of them. After all, she had the most traumatic experience, compared to the others. And she could see the guilt and pain that was eating her twin sister alive slowly by the second.

"Ives," Talia whispered, as she stepped closer to the older twin, grabbing her shoulder softly, "Iva, he wouldn't like seeing you like this." She said, her tone somewhat begging and reassuring at the same time.

Iva shrugged off her hand, suddenly over her outburst, "I think we should get going. Jo and Chris must have been waiting for our presence. You know, lunch." She mumbled before she walked out from the door, Talia ever so presently tailing behind her, the worry was still visible on her face.

Even though both of them didn't hear it, the lunch bell must have rang when they were inside the restroom, since the once empty hallway was now filled with famished kids, all walking (some running) to the same direction; the cafeteria. Iva and Talia slipped and elbowed their way to the canteen, and had finally made it fifteen minutes later.

In their defense; these kids were seriously dangerous when they were starving. Clever thoughts and actions were mildly necessary.

Pushing the door open, the condition inside the huge room was not as much as a difference as the hallway. Still crowded, still filled with food-deprived kids. Iva, who was now putting on her stoic, unpredictable face on, scanned the whole space with bleak, bored expression. But the eyes, once again, told the whole truth that bubbled up inside of her.

Her eyes were desperate, as if searching a way out from something. She only moved her head slightly in observation, but her eyes were almost wild at their disguise. The look in those orbs told her twin that the memories of the nightmare were yet to leave her mind, and would not set it foot out from it anytime soon.

"Tali, come on." Iva called, her voice low, as she tugged her sister on the sleeve, and made her snap out from her thoughts.

"We should go and get the food before they run out," Talia suggested, but Iva mumbled that she wasn't hungry—like she always did every time something was bothering her more than usual—and then led their way.

Talia quickly followed her twin sister to their usual table, the one at the left back corner, away from the mass of kids. At the table, they sighted Christine Lister, Henrietta Dunham and Johanna Rook, all turning their backs on the twins, unaware of them approaching.

Talia could see that Iva was still more than just distraught, since the crazily empty eyes had yet to go away. But Iva was still Iva, and the Iva Talia knew would never let anyone know what her problems were, for she was a kept and deliberated person. So albeit it was painful to see Iva throwing off plastic smiles and faking happiness, Talia knew better than to brought up the previous topic.

And thankfully, so did her friends.

As they slid themselves to the seat, Johanna and Christine immediately caught the warning glint on Talia's eyes and dropped the questions that they were about to ask. Henrietta didn't even need the glint, and immediately launched an interesting conversation about fiction books and movies that her companies soon followed.

Henrietta, or Etta—the creative, the jokester, and often the object of laughter in the group—was the one closest to Iva than the other girls, although Talia could safely state that the five of them bonded like sisters, hence the fact that they had just met no more than a year ago. And it was at these times that Talia was extremely grateful for Henrietta's natural laid back personality and her knack for bringing up good, distracting topic.

"…so then, she just twisted his arms and smashed his head into the window! And then they found the second body, also chopped into pieces—"Henrietta was in the middle of re-capping the movie she watched last night, when a bowl of spaghetti 'accidentally' made its way to Iva's head.

Talia gasped, Johanna's jaw dropped, Christine was muttering, "Oh my God," and Etta—given the place where she could see the culprit clearly—was letting out evil eyes.

But none of them compared to how Iva reacted.

Iva was clenching her eyes shut, her mouth quirked into a forced smirk, before she said, "DiNozzo." With overly controlled voice, as if even the simplest thing would trigger her to do something that she would later regret. She then turned her face to the attacker so abruptly that the some of the meatballs on her hair fell off, throwing her that fake smile Talia hated so much, the 'I-may-be-smiling-right-now-but-I-swear-to-God-if-you-move-another-inch-I-will-punch you' smile.

"Oops, David," Said Marina DiNozzo, the brunette bully in school who thought that she could have everything going on in her way, since her parents were important people in the school board member, and the government. "I guess my pasta found your messy hair as awful as a bird nest and decided to pretty things up a bit." Talia silently groaned. Apparently, Marina DiNozzo was not smart enough to understand the signal, because she continued, "I gotta say, you look better with the bolognaise sauce and noodle around it. They make the view less… dull."

DiNozzo's friends—actually, only those who were stupid enough to join the girl's group would call themselves as her friends, the rest of the kids could clearly see that they were actually being used as DiNozzo's personal servants—snickered and giggled behind their pack leader, and the said leader smiled triumphantly.

"If I were you, DiNozzo, I would make a run for it."Christine said, not in a threatening but in a-matter-of-fact tone, as she knew very well how bad it could turn out if Iva was angry. Henrietta was now hiding a grin, perhaps torn between the urge to watch Iva do no-good things to DiNozzo and the humanity side of her that scolded her at such thought. DiNozzo—Talia concluded that she was either ignorant, stupid, or a daredevil—surprisingly had the nerve to bait the spaghetti-spilled girl.

"Really, Lister? What she's gonna do, screaming for her brother? Like when she fell asleep at Mr. Geoffrey's class?" Marina said it with such disgraceful tone that even Talia gritted her teeth in anger. "Oh, but he's not coming, isn't he, cause I heard he's dead, leaving you and your sad twin with your pathetic single-mom, and—"

"You really should just listen to the girl, DiNozzo," Iva immediately muttered and stood up abruptly from her face. Next thing they all knew, her fist was landing hardly and forcefully right onto DiNozzo's face, leaving said brunette to stumble her way backward with a rather severe case of a nose-bleed. She might even suffer from a broken nose. The punch caused some of the noodle thrown onto DiNozzo's shirt, speaking about karma. Her 'friends' gasped and tried to help her up, but the rest of the people in the cafeteria were secretly happy about the bully's current state.

"And by the way," Iva exhaled, her face red from keeping her rage at bay, but she was still plastic-smiling, "Your mother is the one that we should check on, because everyone does wonder how she can raise such a bitch." She said the last word with such venom in her voice, as she eyed the object of her wrath with her sparkling brown eyes.

DiNozzo, with her bleeding nose and stupid vanity, tried to continue the act of disgracing Iva. "Your mom isn't even white, David! And she's Jewish! I mean, everyone knows that your God doesn't exist, and your entire family is just stupid for worshipping something that isn't even there! No wonder your dad left, he's probably realized that all of you are—"

This time, it was Talia that punched DiNozzo, straight on her left cheek. "You really should learn to keep your mouth shut, Parrot, because I'm really tempted to ruin that prissy face of yours right now." Talia huffed, as she retreated back her hands in a defense position. "And it's Dah-veed, not Day-vid."

Kids were now shouting "Girls fight!" from everywhere across the big hall, but the David twins just stared down to the bruised and bled out DiNozzo, who was, after two blows, slumped in defeat at the floor, looking ready to admit in losing.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"

"Oh, crapity, crapity, crap," Johanna groaned silently, "You guys are in big trouble. It's definitely the Cat." She added, raising her volume a bit so that the twins could hear her, though there was no need to, since the scream of question silenced the whole area.

The Cat—or, according to her more decent, formal entitled name, Mrs. Elizabeth Hansel, the principal—made her way to the crime scene smoothly, as the kids quickly emptied her way for her. Said principal's lips were pressed thin, for she was trying to hold back her wrath. Once she spotted DiNozzo, Mrs. Hansel quickly kneeled down and examined the now writhing in pain girl, clearly faking it. But fake or not, the principal didn't care. She stood up, fixed her cat-eye glasses, and said, "You, you." She pointed to the David twins with shaking finger, "My office, now."

Etta and Talia exchanged weary glances, before they both let out glares to DiNozzo, who was grinning behind her tears. "And someone please bring Miss DiNozzo to the health-care!" Mrs. Hansel added, and two DiNozzo servants quickly took their master's hands and led her away from the scene, whispering soothing words as they did so.

Snickers and whispers broke around the room as the David twins followed the older lady, but not the kind of whispers like Iva heard at the classroom previously. Instead of disgracing them, now the whispers were praising their bravery and their guts to fight someone that the school valued so much like DiNozzo.

They both knew that they shouldn't feel good about those whispers, but Iva smiled secretly and Talia couldn't help but to grin widely. After all, it was DiNozzo they were winning from, and that itself was quite an achievement.

"David! David! Now!"

Ignoring the situation, Talia couldn't help to mutter, "It's Dah-veed."