Mirror Image
(A/N: Thank you for all the reviews and helpful comments and opinions I received on the last chapter. Well enjoy this chapter. Happy reading!)
Chapter Three: Dirty Dishes and Broken Windows
Adrian swirled around the kitchen, yanking a soppy dish cloth over a fish shaped platter. The soggy cloth merely making the dish wetter. Dropping the still soaked dish on the pile of clean dishes, Adrian plunged her hands into the hot water and blocked out all the noise of the Lantern's kitchen.
. Adrian continued to dance as she washed dishes – so she'd been doing for the last half an hour.
"I wonder if Serenity's almost done work" Adrian thought as she rinsed a dish and proceeded to dry it with the soggy towel "She should have been here by now"
Suddenly Adrian dropped the plate she'd been … "drying" and threw her earphones off. A breath taking pain interrupted her thoughts, bringing … someone else's thoughts. Adrian's vision clouded until she had to clench her eyes closed in an attempt to stop the pain.
"As is I haven't had enough infuriating attitude today" a familiar voice resounded in Adrian's head and the pain ebbed away with the voice… her sister's voice. Adrian could almost see through Serenity's eyes. She sensed that her sister was freezing from the inside, barely controlling her power. She could also see… Warren!
Adrian's eyes flew open as she realized that extremely loud voices were coming from the back of the restaurant.
"Uh oh" Adrian muttered as she began to recognized the voices.
"Don't assume anything about me" Adrian heard Serenity's loud, angry, voice which sounded perilously close to a yell from near the back of the kitchen. Listening Adrian heard Serenity attempt to control her fury… to no success. "You don't know anything about me"
Adrian's eyes closed in annoyance as she recognized the tone of voice and the words. Warren had either thought that Serenity was Adrian or called her a twin. Shaking her head Adrian made her way through the crowed kitchen to the door to find it jammed.
"Apparently I'm not the only one who's watching her making a bloody fool out of herself" Adrian thought feeling exasperated and amused at the same time. Even though Adrian could no longer hear Serenity's thoughts or see through her eyes, she could feel a thin awareness stretched from her sister to her mind. Shaking her head again Adrian, shoved her way forcefully through the crowd to find herself beside a very angry Kim Sue.
Trying to inch quietly away Adrian, attempted to slip behind the furious Chinese woman; only to catch her foot on a chair that hadn't been pushed in. She fell quickly and managed to catch the chair by the top and pull it down with her. Adrian felt the impact with the ground before she found herself being yanked back onto her feet and staring into the narrowed green eyes of Kim Sue.
An Angry spurt of Chinese erupted from her, and she continued to yell in her naïve tongue before she saw the annoyed confusion on Adrian's face. Sighing angrily Kim Sue gave Adrian a push in the direction of her the commotion.
"You go make them stop! Your sister! Tell boy you two lose jobs, if no stop!" Kim Sue said angrily in broken English, her face red.
Nodding her head Adrian turned to see her sister slowly lift her hand. Adrian didn't have time to hear what her sister had to say, because she sped across the room as fast as she could. Sub-consciously realizing she'd only run that fast once before.
Adrian came to stand between her sister and Warren just as Serenity lost the last of her control on her power. A thin spray of ice hit the side of Adrian's face. Glaring angrily at Serenity, Adrian grabbed her hand and yanked it down to her side.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Adrian asked angrily, as Serenity's gaze snapped away from Warren's. Serenity stared in confusion at her sister for a second before yanking her hand from her sisters and drawing the ice back into her palm.
"It's not my fault" Serenity hissed angrily, finally controlling the volume of her voice. Realizing she sounded like a spoiled eight year old Serenity shook her head angrily. But before she could say anything else Adrian turned on Warren.
"And you! DO YOU WANT TO GET US FIRED?" Adrian glared angrily at Warren, the spitting image her sister had been a second ago. Warren ripped his eyes from Serenity's to look into Adrian's matching ones. A little disoriented, Warren held his ground.
"All I did was ask for her order" Warren said slowly, anger was slowly falling from his face; even though his eyes remained narrow. Looking between the two twins her realized only a fool couldn't have recognized the difference between the two.
"Well" Adrian said the annoyance clear in her voice "Who could have guess that? Go explain what happened to Kim Sue before we both lose. While I take Ser's order"
Warren stared stubbornly at Adrian for a second before shrugging and walking to Kim Sue. Adrian and Serenity soon heard angry Chinese from that end of the restaurant. Adrian turned to where Serenity had been to find her sister already sitting back in the booth. Her head cradled in her hands.
"What –"Adrian started angrily not quite finished yelling at Serenity.
"Look" Serenity said frustrated, running a hand through her hair and looking up at her sister "I didn't mean to cause any problems. I'll apologize to Kim Sue before I leave." Taking a deep breath she stared back at her sister "Ad… Were you … I mean … you weren't inside head somehow were you?"
Adrian swallowed the words she'd been about to say, subconsciously saving them for later.
"You felt it?" Adrian asked slowly, sliding into the other side of the booth.
"Well, you were kind of invading my thoughts" Serenity said a slow smile lighting on her face. As she remembered the feeling that Adrian was … well…literally in her head. It wasn't as new as she would have thought it would be. When she had been bullied at school and had ended up bleeding badly in the leg, Adrian had come from halfway home to find her behind the school. Just like the time when Ad had been stuck in a classroom and Serenity had … sensed it from the principal's office. Three floors away. "I guess it comes with being twins …with super powers" Serenity said grinning at Adrian.
"Yeah" Adrian agreed, looking up she saw that Kim Sue had finished scolding Warren and was looking angrily around. "Too Bad" Adrian scowled "I'll have to scold you for making a scene in the restaurant with a total stranger later" seeing that Serenity's mouth was opening while her eyes narrowed she hurried on – "Can I take your order?"
Glaring at Adrian, Serenity looked back at the menu while quickly slipping the pamphlet into her bag so Ad couldn't see it.
"Egg rolls and fried rice" Serenity replied her eyes still narrowed as she handed the menu to her sister.
"Lash!" yelled a middle aged woman; she leaned forward from the porch of an old two story townhouse. The door of the house hung slightly on it's rusted hinges, the paint was peeling from the window frames and the glass in all of the upper windows were shattered.
The dark leaves of the great oak that stood proudly in the small front lawn of the rundown house ruffled slightly as a brown haired. His dark eyes stared from beneath the leaves as his mother hollered his name again.
"LASH!" Melanie Wright shouted to the night, her rounded face turning pink from the effort, green eyes sharp from annoyance. "COME GET YOUR SISTER!"
A faint smirk formed on Lash's face as he grabbed the branch beneath him and stretched to the ground.
"I'm right here, mom" his smirk grew wider as his mother placed her hands on her hips and quirked an eyebrow "No need to yell. I was only in the tree" He walked toward her only to notice that she was struggling to hide a smile, the corners of her mouth twitching.
"Well" she huffed, the corners of her mouth still quirked "El's inside with her stuff. Can you take her too her sleep over?"
"Do I have a choice?" he asked lightly, his lips forming a lopsided grin.
"No, you don't" Melanie said her face breaking into a smile "Now stop fooling around and get your sister" Laughing happily she went back into the house carefully closing the door, so the hinge didn't break further. Lash followed slowly, but before he could pass fully through the door a bright spot of color ambushed him from the kitchen. Catching the small body he caught his balance, laughing as small arms wrapped around his neck.
"Laniy!" Lash struggled out between laughs "What have you been eating?" he asked teasingly as be walked into the small and kitchen and plopped her on the rickety metal table. Feigning tiredness he rubbed his neck sorely "You're heavy"
Elaine Wright stuck out her tongue "At least I'm not an elastic band!" she teased back jumping from the table, grabbing a worn pink duffel bag with fraying straps. Suddenly she was hanging upside down by her feet, her bright red hair falling in her face.
Grinning at his sister's narrowed eyes and scowl Lash lifted his stretched arm that held the squirming 10 year old.
"Elastic band? Huh? I guess you don't want to go to this party then right? I mean you wouldn't want your friends to see your brother is an elastic band?" Elaine narrowed her eyes furthered and swung herself back and forth with the apparent ease of experience until she was holding onto the doorframe from the kitchen to the hall.
"Lash! Let me go!" El whined as she tried unsuccessfully to pull herself from his arms but they only stretched further.
"Not until you say it" Lash cried stretching his other arm and tickling El's sides until she let go of the door frame.
"Fine!" she cried laughing hysterically, when she was hanging upside down in front of him. With the cross between a grin and a scowl El punched her brother's arm.
"Alright, Alright," pausing she crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes thinly "I'm a ruddy carrot top"
Laughing loudly Lash set El abruptly but gently back on the table and ruffled her hair "Is this all your stuff?" he asked the smile not reaching his eyes as he gestured to the tattered duffle bag from the floor. Nodding her head Elaine dove for her bag only to miss it by an inch, Lash's arm stretching to wrench it from her grip. Attempting to glare at him, both Elaine and Lash stood narrowed eyed at each other before they both burst out laughing. Giggling Elaine hugged Lash around the waist.
"I love you, Lash" Elaine whispered before running out the door "Can't catch me!"
Lash stood staring after his sister, his thoughts turned to the rotten door that barely held on and the broken windows that let in the cold and wet.
"She doesn't deserve to have to go to her friend's house with a hand me down bag and used clothes. Melanie doesn't deserve to live in house barely protecting us from the dangers on the street. I'll have to get some more hours and fix the door at the very least."
Shaking his head Lash ran after El who stood waiting at the end of the street, distracted he didn't see the figure on the other end of the street. A pair of head phones positioned lightly on her head.
Adrian watched carelessly as Kim Sue continued to give Warren occasional glares. Warren however seemed either not to care or he just didn't notice – he continued to wash the last of the day's dishes. Adrian picked up one of the newly washed dishes and dried them with the towel Warren had tossed at her. She had just finished bringing back her sisters used dishes and watched curiously as Serenity came towards the kitchen, her scarf around her neck and her bag slung around her shoulder. She looked around and then headed toward Kim Sue at the front desk.
Adrian shook her head as she heard her sister talked to Kim Sue, she knew Serenity would apologize for making a scene. Though this had only been the second time she'd ever done anything like it, she would still apologize. She doubted however that Serenity would apologize to Warren.
Adrian sighed as she saw her sister leave, and watched as the scowl on Warren's face widened. Waiting until Kim Sue had closed the till and gone into her office, before she jumped up on the only dry counter and tossed her towel over Warren's head and into a laundry basket.
Warren lifted an eyebrow as she slipped her head phones on and Adrian watched as he placed the last plate on a drying rack. Adrian tilted her head at Warren and changing her mind pulled the head phones down so they hung around her neck.
"So …" she said when he looked back at her expressionlessly "You met my sister"
"Your sister" Warren said clearly as he put away his own dish towel "Is a nuisance"
"Tell me something I don't already know." Adrian said laughing, she paused for a second and then -"What she do to cause that little yelling match?"
Warren's eyebrow remained raised as he leaned back against the counter "Should you be asking you sister what I did?"
"No" Adrian replied with a mock shocked look "When ever Serenity's involved it's what she did. As far as I know she says the same thing about me …" Adrian looked up at the clock and jumped off the counter, scooped up her sweater from the floor, and turning on her head phones turned back to warren.
"See You Peace" She said before walking out the kitchen, Warren didn't respond but went followed her out to talk to Kim Sue before he left. If she'd looked back she would have seen him shaking his head, a small grin quirking his lips.
(A/N: I know that this chapter is a little late in coming but I am SINCERLY and DEEPLY sorry for the late updates. I'm trying to get all my storys updated because I'm home and have the time. Please REVIEW even if it's only to tell me what a horrible author I am for not updating my stories (though nice reviews are appreciated!)
Madusa's Daughter
