A/N: For those of you who celebrate Christmas I hope you had a very very merry one! :)
I know I'm happy because we're finally here! :D The present day. The meat.
Father and son take over the story from here. Things settle down for a bit but I promise they will pick back up again. It might seem like a whole new story but it will all come together. I promise. I do hope you enjoy!
Everyone… meet Alex

14. Siblings

SIX YEARS LATER (PRESENT DAY)

Tobias is 35, Tris is 33, Rae is 24, Alex and Anna are 16, Christian is 8.

ALEX

"Pleeeease?! Be the Ying to my Yang, the peanut butter to my jelly, the lime to my coconut."

"No." And why am I the lime?

"Come on, Alex. It's gonna be super fun! Why do you have to be SO boring all the time?"

I suppose that's why I'm the lime.

My sister paces back and forth on the roof, a little too close to the edge for my comfort. This is the worst place in the world to try and convince me to do anything. It's dark, it's cold, and it's high. Rooftop access is one of the many benefits of living in the Pire, although I'd hardly call it a 'benefit'.

"I'm not going." I cross my arms and stand rigid, levelling my breathing and hiding the sibling sensitivity that usually resides in my eyes, all in an attempt to make my response believable enough so she'll stop asking. It's harder than you could imagine. Annabelle can smell weakness.

She continues to make her case as she tries with all her might to get me to take her to Amity's pre-choosing party tomorrow night. It's a party that's held the week before the choosing ceremony, where we all get to get high on Amity bread and pretend that we won't be making the biggest decision of our lives in a few days. Most factions have their own party, except for the Abnegation of course, but Anna insists on going to Amity. I guess she can relate to them since Amity is after all her second aptitude. Also because I can't imagine how boring the party at Erudite and Candor would be, and our father would drench himself in gasoline and light a match before letting my sister anywhere near a Dauntless party.

"No," I say again, with an effortful attempt to sound harsh. She lets out a fierce grunt as she continues pacing as if making me dizzy will somehow make me change my mind.

I've never liked parties. Especially Dauntless parties, where there always seems to be a theme of nakedness, drunkenness and groping. It's the damn Abnegation in my blood that my parents passed on to me.

"Look, Anna," I say. "I know you really wanna go but I really don't want to. And you know dad will only consider letting you go if I go with you. And if you try and sneak off without permission he'll find out anyways and then he'll kill you. He'll probably kill me too even though I had nothing to do with it."

"Yeah, and I don't understand why. I'm not a child! I'm just as old as you are but he acts as if I'm eight years old and I need my older brother protecting me everywhere I go." She practically spits out the word 'older' as if it leaves a bad taste in her mouth. "He doesn't even treat Chris that way!"

"Hey don't get mad at me." I raise my arms in surrender. "You think I enjoy getting punished for stuff that you do? Like that time you got burnt after you intentionally placed your hand on the oven to see how hot it was? I don't like it any more than you do."

But that's a lie. I've always felt responsible for my sister. I look out for my little brother too, but Christian is not half as adventurous or as oblivious as Anna is, so he requires far less attention. Besides, it's different somehow. She may only be eight and a half minutes younger than I am but she's still my baby sister. Every time she gets hurt or gets herself in trouble it feels like a failure on my part. Not only because my dad gets on my case for it, but because I know he's right. We're supposed to be looking out for each other. It's what Rae did for us. It's what siblings are supposed to do. Plus there's the whole twin thing.

"Well then talk to him! Do something! Anything, I don't know." Her shoulders slump and she looks defeated as she finally stops pacing and stares out into the city. The lights look nice from up here.

"There's no need to rush, Anna. After initiation we'll be on our own and then we can just do whatever the hell we want. One more week won't kill you."

"I just really want to go to this party, Alex," she says as she turns to look at me with those eyes. She has our mother's eyes. Those blue grey eyes that remind me of open skies that I can't ever really say no to. I sigh heavily. Sometimes I don't know why I even bother to put up a fight.

"Fine," I say with evident reluctance. Anna grins immediately. "But I'm only going if dad says it's ok. If he says no, then you're on your own."

That's another lie. I'd probably sneak out right behind her. There's no way I'm letting her out of my sight. I've seen what certain boys do to young pretty girls who are too high on peace serum to stop them. My blood boils at the thought. I push it away before I decide to go hunting for every guy that's ever looked at my sister.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she squeals, forcing me into a hug. I don't return it.

By the time my parents get home they both seem tired and hungry, and it doesn't look like a good time to ask for anything. Anna seems to realize that since she doesn't give me the when are you gonna ask them look every three seconds like she usually does.

"Please tell me you kids made dinner." My mom stumbles inside first and looks at us with droopy eyes as she leans over the couch, too tired to stand up straight. Her blond hair tosses itself forward as she does. She closes her eyes as she says, "Of course you didn't," and her body lands beside me, head first, in the couch.

I suppose listening to the ugly, uncensored truth all day has taken its toll on her. I can barely stand the Candor on the rare occasion that I talk to one of them at school. I don't know how she deals with them on a daily basis.

"I'll do it!" Annabelle hops up out of her chair and happily volunteers to make dinner. More than likely in an attempt to sweeten up our parents before making her petition. She hates cooking.

"You'll do the dishes too? I'm feeling super tired," I say with a wink, making use of her favourite word. I might as well make the most of this situation.

"Don't push it, Alex." My sister walks over to the kitchen, removing random items from the cabinet and the fridge. They land with a gentle thump as she sets them on the countertop.

My dad steps in a couple minutes later. He's having a heated conversation with Christian but stops in the middle of his sentence and dead in his tracks as he sees Annabelle smiling and cutting vegetables.

"No," he says in his deep, scary voice. He tenses and I chuckle a little. He can't say no to Anna either.

"Huh?"

"No. Whatever it is that you want. No."

Chris walks over to the couch and sits between me and our mother's exhausted body that's still very much tossed over it. It's a big couch. We've had it for as long as I could remember. It's starting to get holes in it now but my parents refuse to get rid of it.

"Why do you assume that I want something?" Anna says. "Because I'm cooking? Can't I just cook cause I want to? Cause I love my parents? And you're both obviously tired right now?"

My mom laughs wryly into the couch. I didn't even realize she was still awake. I was sure she would have fallen asleep by now. "Anna's cooking because she wants to," mom chuckles. "That's unheard of."

"Well?" My dad looks at her, still standing rigidly in that same spot, patiently waiting to hear his teenage daughter's demands.

"Well… Alex and I would like to go to this party tomorrow night. It's gonna be at Amity so it'll be pretty safe and-" but before she can finish her sentence he interrupts.

"You mean you want to go to a party at Amity tomorrow night, and you're taking your brother with you to chaperone."

My father is well aware of my dislike for parties.

"I just don't understand why I can't go by myself, dad. I'm not a baby." Ironically enough, she's careful to use her sing-songy baby voice to make her case. My dad can be quite intimidating when he's outside the confines of our home. But we all know he's a big softy when it comes to his family; especially Annabelle.

"I don't see why not, Tobias," my mom adds as she sits herself up in the couch, pulling Christian into her. "They're both sixteen, and after next week we'll have no idea what they're up to anyways." She smiles apologetically at him but he doesn't smile back.

He looks deep in thought for a couple seconds but then his feet become unglued and he walks over to Anna and takes her in his arms and says, "I know you're not a baby, Anna," his voice deep, vulnerable. "And that's exactly why I'm not too comfortable with you wanting to go to parties all the time. I know you just wanna have fun, but not everyone's intentions are as innocent as yours. And neither am I comfortable with sixteen year old boys' version of fun."

Anna presses her head into his shoulder. She's taller than most girls her age.

"Why can't you just go shopping with your friends later?" my father says. "Stay inside the compound. I'll happily give you credits for that."

Imagine that. She gets paid to stay out of trouble.

"You know why, dad," she whimpers. "Everything's black!"

My mom smiles, probably at Annabelle, or maybe she's thinking about her own shopping adventures with my aunt Christina. I'll never understand the joy that women get in buying stuff.

Dad releases Anna from his embrace and turns to me. I don't hold my breath. I already know what's coming.

"Alex, you're responsible for her."

"Yes!" she squeals loudly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, dad." I answer looking a bit annoyed, but he knows I'm not. Looking into his eyes I can see the worry there. I know that he doesn't like the idea of his little girl going to a party any more than I like the idea of guys looking at my sister like she's the last piece of Dauntless cake. I'm sure he can read my eyes the same way I can read his.

I've realized over time that my dad and I aren't that different. Maybe he realizes it too and that's why he expects so much of me. He thinks I'm as strong as he is. I hope he's right. All I ever want is for my father to be proud of me. But I guess that's what any son would want.

Dinner passed by quickly. We talked through most of the meal as we usually do when Annabelle cooks, jumping from topic to topic, leaving her no air whatsoever to ask what we think of our meal.

Rae missed dinner tonight, and the gurgling colic in my stomach that is making me toss and turn in bed, constantly waking me up as I try to sleep, makes me envy her. But I smile through the discomfort and the knowledge of imminent diarrhea. There is not a thing in the world that could make me lament my twin sister, her cooking, or anything that she does. Not a thing in the world.

A/N: Please let me know what you thought of this chapter! Hope you guys like Alex :)