After a few months of the four teenagers and two adults living together, a routine had developed between them. Pedro would be the first one up, wandering around the house aimlessly, closely followed by Professor Chambers who would say good morning and depart to her study, and then Richard, who would go on his five mile daily run. Later, Matt would arise and come down the stairs in his pyjamas to get something to eat, followed less than two minutes later by Scott and Jamie, both of which would usually be dressed already.
At about seven thirty am, they would assemble in to the kitchen to collect their toast and spreads and sit down to eat. Once this ritual was done, the two adults who migrate to the professor's study to do whatever it was they did in there, where they would stay until lunch was ready. The teenagers promptly went into the bathroom together to brush their teeth, run a comb through their hair (in vain, in Pedro and Scott's case) and Matt and the elder twin would shave the little hairs coming up on their faces. Jamie and Pedro didn't have to do that yet. They would then go outside and do some sort of activity, usually football, or stay inside if they preferred, and played some kind of board or card game.
Around eleven o'clock, Scott would go into the kitchen and prepare whatever he felt like cooking, calling them all a half hour later to eat. That done, the adults would disappear again and the boys would settle down to watch a movie or once again go outside. The afternoon passed in this fashion, until dinner, once again made by Scott, and then with more board games, in which the two adults took part as well. They would then say goodnight and part ways.
It was a fairly simple routine, one that never changed and has nothing hidden within it at all, as the twins believed. How wrong they were, poor mites.
One Tuesday, Scott and Jamie were both in their room, having finished their showers after a particularly rough game in the garden, resulting in all four of them covered in dirt and dust. They walked down the stairs to rejoin the previously cleaned Pedro and Matt and, as they got to the living room door, they heard Matt's voice say, ". . . Scott."
To which Pedro replied, "I knew it, Matteo. It is obvious."
Scott, angry that they were talking about him behind his back, seized his brother's arm to stop him from entering and motioned for them to listen. Jamie obeyed him, he too angered at the secrecy.
"Well, how could I not feel that way?" Matt continued, oblivious to the eavesdropping pair. "He's just . . . Scott. How could anyone not feel that way?"
"I disagree." Pedro replied. The twins shared a glance. "It is Jamie people would feel that way about."
That surprised the Americans, who looked at each other again in confusion. Were they missing something? "Says who?" Matt sounded angry now. "Jamie's not bad, but Scott's gorgeous."
What?! The twins thought simultaneously.
"Scott is good-looking," Pedro agreed calmly, "But I believe Jamie is prettier. That is all I'm saying."
The twin in question could only gape, turning to stare at his elder brother as if he would give him an answer to his question, What the hell is going on?! Scott's mind was completely blank; he was shell-shocked.
"He is friendlier, too." The Peruvian boy continued.
"Okay, so Scott's quiet, he's also a deeper thinker and he's quite kind too, despite how much he pretends he isn't. He looked after Jamie for all of those years didn't he? He has very expressive eyes, as well."
"Yes he did. I'm not saying Jamie is better than Scott, just that I . . . find him more attractive. And his hair is nicer, by the way." Jamie felt the blush creeping up his face at Pedro's words, the unspoken message loud and clear.
"I can respect that; just like how I like Scott better." Matt finished. Scott didn't blush like his poor brother, but his mind was still completely blank.
"Like? I thought you were in love with him?"
"I am." Now Scott was blushing. "Just like you love Jamie." Just when the younger twin was about to pass out, Scott snapped back to reality. He hauled his brother to his feet and pulled him back so they were at the foot of the stairs. He then took off his trainer and dropped it, making the wooden floor bang loudly. The voices of the other two abruptly and a moment later, Matt walked out to see what the noise was, followed by Pedro peeping his head around the door frame.
Scott shrugged and scooped up his shoe, pulling it on, "Dropped it." He stood once he had laced his trainer up and made a show of looking at his watch, "It's twelve; I'm going to start lunch." Just as his twin began to panic at the thought of being alone with the other two boys, Scott said, "Could you help me please, Jamie?"
He nodded and followed his brother past Matt and Pedro, who were looking at them curiously. It was all Jamie could do to keep his blood from turning his face red again when the Peruvian boy caught his eye.
XXXXX
The adults and Matt and Pedro ate their lunch acting perfectly normal, though Scott thought he noticed Matt staring at him at one point and he was almost certain that Pedro looked at Jamie way more than was strictly necessary. Was it just today? Or had it been happening before then and he and his brothers had simply been ignorant of it? Certain things that had happened before were sticking out in his mind; the time he thought he felt Matt's hand coming into contact with his backside in the bathroom, the English boy shivering slightly when their hands touched as they played cards, laying on top of him a little too long after a tackle as they played in the garden.
Through their connection, Scott could feel his younger brother considering similar things; how Pedro's thigh always seemed to press against his as they sat on the couch to watch movies, how the Peruvian had a tendency to claim the spot next to Jamie that was not occupied by Scott when they had to sit down together, how they literally bumped into each other a lot of the time. All the things that had been going on inside their comfortable little routine that had gone virtually unnoticed, and dismissed if either of the brothers ever pondered on it.
The problem the routine was presenting now was that the twins had no way to avoid the other two boys, as they were almost constantly together, and any change would most surely be noted and questioned. So, as per usual, the boys all sat together on the couch and Matt put some random movie from the top of the nearest pile on. It was 'Drop Dead Fred' oddly enough.
The day continued in its normal fashion, no different behaviour from any one at all, throughout the afternoon, dinner and the evening. At ten-thirty, the two adults came in and said they were exhausted after the day's work and that they were going to bed. The boys bid them goodnight and shortly afterwards, Pedro said that he too was tired and walked up the stairs. Checking his brother's state of mind, Scott ordered him to go to sleep too.
Jamie looked at him in alarm, thinking, But you'll be alone with him!
I can handle him, Scott replied, I've stayed up with him before.
Previously, Scott and Matt had stayed up well beyond midnight watching movies, usually with the Professor coming down at about two or three in the morning and yelling at them to go to bed. She liked to mother them, she'd said to Richard, since they had none of their own.
Once again, Jamie obeyed his twin, though he was worried. They watched another movie and were about halfway into the next one when Scott got very tired and everything began to feel funny. As the feelings of dread and fear swirled around in him, he realised he was having another one of his nightmares; he'd been getting them ever since his trip to Silent Creek. The sensations, however, did not consume him as they usually did, rather, they were beginning to dissipate and Scott could feel something slightly cold, yet comforting caressing his face and hair. Something soft pressed against his mouth.
His eyes snapped open suddenly and he realised three things, the first being that the cold thing touching him was Matt's hand, second he was laying on Matt's lap and third, Matt had just kissed him. He'd leant away from his mouth by the time his eyes were open, but he was certain Mat had done it. The way he licked his lips was surely a sign, as was the tingling feeling he'd experienced.
They were both perfectly still and Scott decided he should've listened to Jamie's concerns. Quickly faking a yawn, the American heaved himself off of the English boy's thighs where his back and shoulders had been resting and said, "Better get to bed then. Night!" Barely hearing Matt's answer, he almost flew up the stairs and into the bedroom he shared with his brother.
XXXXX
The next day was excruciating for the shaken Scott, he didn't say a word all day, which wasn't that unusual for him, but he couldn't look Matt in the eye or sit anywhere near him without his cheeks going even a little red. Twice Professor Chambers had asked him if he was feeling ill and Matt definitely knew something was up. Now his frequent glances at the other boy were questioning and suspicious, not (Scott couldn't stop himself from thinking it) admiring or, dare he even ponder it, loving.
Thankfully, everyone was distracted by a delivery of a very large box and several other little boxes about midday. No one, aside from the professor, knew what was inside them and she claimed they were "necessities' for my research". This also meant she needed somewhere to put them, as the hacienda didn't have an attic. She finally decided that the boxes would be stored in Pedro's room and Pedro would share with Matt from now on. This seemed like a suitable arrangement and Scott was grateful that it kept Matt's mind off of himself. The poor boy had a habit of making incorrect assumptions.
Later on, around midnight, Scott and Jamie had been sleeping peacefully when suddenly the door flew open and the light flashed on, startling the twins out of their sleep. They looked up and saw Matt and Pedro walking through the door way, the professor following. "Sorry boys," the woman began, "but I've had another delivery and the only place to put the stuff is in Matt's room, so the four of you will have to share this one. Goodnight!"
And she left, leaving two sleepy boys and two panicking ones. The blue-eyed male yawned widely and said, "Sorry guys, but her house, her rules. I think we'll all be able to squeeze in if we sleep on our sides." He walked over to Scott's bed. "Could you budge over, please?"
Scott complied mutely, too stunned by the turn of events to do otherwise. Matt crawled in beside him and rolled over so he had his back to him, Scott against the wall with no hope of escape. The room plunged into darkness as Pedro flipped the switch and Scott heard the bedsprings creak, alerting him to the fact that his brother was also stuck in a bed with someone who they knew had . . . feelings for him.
A/N: I think this is a fair place to stop it; I'll add another chapter later when I'm more . . . awake.
