SURPRISE!

I know it's been a while, and I'm about to be completely honest. When I started writing this story, I was a senior in high school with tons of spare time and an obsession with TMI. When I started college, it got harder to write, and I am just not that into TMI anymore. The series still holds a special place in my heart, but it's been a while since I've thought about it.

Regardless of TMI, I still really like this story and didn't want to abandon it. I was waiting for some very much needed time and inspiration. I don't know how many more chapters I am going to write, but I want to give this story a proper ending. So, HERE I AM AGAIN!

It's been a while since I've written, so I might be a little rusty. Please let me know what you think! Hope you enjoy!

5 Years Later

Clary's POV

I lean against the kitchen counter bringing my hands to my face and taking a deep calming breath as I hear Bree slam her bedroom door shut. I had always expected the twin's teenage years were going to be tough, but I did not expect it to start before they were even teenagers. The twins are about to be 13, but Bree has already been driving me insane for about a year now. Mia has definitely been the easiest from the day they were born, and almost thirteen years later that still seems to be true.

Bree is still going strong with her dance, acting, and singing. A few years ago, she booked a role as Debbie in a production of Billy Elliot, and soon after she spent a whole summer in the cast of Matilda the Musical on Broadway. That was a hard summer, as I went to New York City with the girls and Jace stayed in L.A. with the boys. Of course, they came to visit, but it was still hard being apart. Last year she was asked to do private classes by Madame Galina herself. Apparently, that was a big and rare honor in the academy. She seemed so motivated when it started, but lately she doesn't seem to be motivated by much. Well, other than finding any and all reason to argue with Jace and I.

"You ok mom?" Gray walks into the kitchen. He must've heard the yelling-fest that had just happened in here. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if the neighbors heard too.

"Yeah" I smile at my now 18 year old son. "Your sister's just going to be the death of me" I joke and he chuckles under his breath.

Grayson has grown into such a fine young man. Most days I can't believe I have such a grown up son. Sometimes I still see the little boy who would sit at the café while I worked closing shifts. He's a senior in high school now, and he has been trying to figure out what he wants to do. He's gotten some offers to swim for some good universities, but he hasn't made a decision on what he wants to do. The band he had with Raf and a few of his friends has been on a bit of a hiatus, since they have all been quite busy with school and college applications. Gray loves his music, but he doesn't know if he still wants to pursue it full time.

"Can I help? Do you want me to go talk to her?" he offers with a sympathetic smile. He has always been the best big brother, and if there was someone who could get through to Bree it was Grayson.

"It's ok Gray" I shake my head, "I think she needs some time alone". If any of us go up there now, she'll still be riled up. So, it's better to let her cool off first. "How was your day?" I ask. I don't get to see Grayson as often now that he's older. Jace got him a car as soon as he got his driver's license, and ever since, he's become very independent. He even helps by picking up or dropping off his siblings.

"It was ok" he says as he reaches into the fridge for a snack, "I had a meeting with the academic advisor about making a decision about next year, but I'm still not sure". He shrugs letting his head drop a little. Jace and I haven't been pushing him to go in any particular direction. Jace didn't go to college because he got the opportunity to pursue music, and I only took some art classes because I had a baby, but as much as we'd love to see him get a degree, we just want him to do something he's going to enjoy. I think he's feeling pressured from seeing his classmates decide.

"You have time" I reassure him, reaching up to put my hand on his cheek. Gray passed me in height many years ago. He now towers over me, like Jace. He is always going to be my baby boy though.

"I know" he nods, taking a bite of some leftover lasagna from last night.

"Don't eat too much" I suggest as he stuffs his face, "Your dad is getting chinese take-out on his way home."

"Ooh" his face brightens up at the news "sweet". He puts the leftovers back in the fridge and goes up to his room with an excited grin on his face.

Just as Gray disappears up the stairs. I hear the garage door close and the door open and shut quietly. "We're home" Jace calls out from the front entrance.

"Hey" I say as I see Mia walk through the kitchen to drop off her lunchbox and water bottle. She's still in her school uniform, which tells me that she didn't go riding again today. Her blazing red hair is in two dutch braids, and her clear framed reading glasses are slipping down her thin nose. Her left wrist is firmly held by a light grey brace. The last remains of a terrible incident that happened last year.

"Hey" she responds quickly before heading up the stairs to her room.

Mia has always been an easy kid. She does well in school, she is responsible, she is sweet and dedicated, but last year was really hard for her. She was excelling at her jumping competitions. Her side of the twin's room was quickly covered in medals and ribbons and trophies. But one competition, her horse, Snapple, refused to jump a fence, and Mia flew off and over the fence. Snapple was a great horse. Mia loved him, but something must've spooked him because he had never done something like that before. After she fell, Snapple jumped, landing just where Mia had landed. She had been smart enough to roll out of the way, but she hadn't been quick enough. The horse's hind legs still found the left side of her body, especially her left arm. She was knocked out from the pain, her body limp on the ground. It is the scariest thing I have ever gone through.

The only other people there were Izzy, Simon, Cooper, Logan, and of course Talia who was also competing that day. I rode in the ambulance with her as she was rushed to the hospital, and Izzy called Jace to let him know while Simon took the kids to our house. Izzy picked up Bree early from dance, and told Gray to get home as soon as he could. They told them what was going on and stayed with them until we were ready for them to come to the hospital. Jace made it there in record time, even before the ambulance did. They took Mia in immediately, and we had to stay in the waiting room. When the doctor finally came out, she told us that Mia had some internal bleeding that seemed to be getting better on its own and some bruising on her ribs, but she was going to be ok. The biggest concern was her arm. Her forearm, wrist, and elbow had been completely shattered, and she had to have a series of surgeries to repair it. Once we knew that Mia was going to be ok, Izzy brought the rest of the kids to the hospital. They were so concerned. I could feel Bree's heart beating through her chest as she ran to hug me and ask about her sister. Luckily, all her surgeries went well, but she is still recovering physically and mentally.

"Hey gorgeous" Jace wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me up to meet his lips to mine. Our life has changed so much since then, but sometimes it still feels like we're 16 years old and madly in love. I mean, I'm still madly in love, but it's different from teen love. There's something about that that is so special. "How was your day?" He asks as he pulls away to get a glass of water.

I don't reply. Instead I just look at him with my eyes wide open and he immediately understands. "What happened now?"

"Sabrina's attitude is just... " I take a deep breath, "she's just driving me insane. I got a notice today from her tutor, and she's doing fine academically, but she's falling behind on her lessons. And then, I got a call from Andrea at the reception asking where Sabrina was. Turns out she had extra classes this morning, and she didn't tell me. She was late and missed two classes. When she was told she had to stay late to make up for it she smart-mouthed the teacher, and now she's benched. No dancing, just school and conditioning. She was not happy about it." I stop, shaking my head, "I just don't know what's going on with her lately."

"We'll talk to her Clary," He nods and takes a sip of water. "There must be something going on that she's not telling us about." He's right. I just hope she feels like she can open up.

"How was Mia's PT?" I change the subject. Mia had been going to physical therapy for her arm since she had her surgeries. At first, her arm was completely immobilized. Then she has in a cast for her wrist and a metal brace for her elbow. After that she moved on to wearing the elbow brace sporadically and a wrist brace instead of a cast, and then the elbow brace came off completely. When she was left with just her wrist brace, the doctor told her she could start riding again. Jace started taking her to PT after school, and then taking her to the ranch. That was over two months ago, and Mia still hasn't gotten back on a horse. "I'm guessing she didn't ride today?"

Jace shook his head. Ever since she was given the ok to ride again, she just sits there looking at the others practice. She hasn't even asked to groom Snapple herself.

"Do you think we should take her to see someone?" I ask, frowning. After Mia's accident, we went to NYC for the summer. Originally, it was just supposed to be just me and Bree. But I thought it might be good for Mia to get away for a bit and do something fun. She seemed to enjoy that summer, but it didn't make a difference when it came to riding. We asked her if she wanted to stop riding when we came back home. She said she didn't want to stop, but she still hasn't been able to get back on a horse. "Maybe talking to someone would help".

"I think" Jace says with a sigh "I think she'll get back on when she's ready. She enjoys going to the ranch, and that's the first step." He's right, again. I nod in agreement. It's hard to stand by and do nothing when it feels like your kids are falling apart, but sometimes they need to figure things out on their own.

"Dinner!" Jace yells from the bottom of the stairs, letting the kids know it's time for dinner, as I set out all the food.

The first one down the stairs is Logan. He's gotten so big in such a short amount of time. He'll be turning 10 this summer, and I just can't believe how grown up he's getting. Out of all my kids, Logan is the only one who doesn't have something he likes to do. Gray has always had his music, and swimming, and multiple sports. Bree's always been the performer, and Mia has her riding and her reading. Logan, just seems to enjoy life. He's very good at the piano, but so are all of my kids since Jace had them all take lessons. He also plays soccer at school. He's not that into it, but he says he enjoys playing with his friends. He's such a bright and positive soul. I think that's what makes him so special.

"Hi dad," he smiles and quickly makes his way to the food.

"Hi Buddy" Jace greets him and tussles the top of his head.

The next person to come down the stairs is Gray, who quickly makes his way to the food. He is closely followed by Mia, who has changed out of her school uniform and is now wearing shorts and a hoodie.

"Where's your sister?" Jace asks as he scoops some rice onto his plate.

"I don't think she's coming down," Mia shrugs as she grabs some food. I let out a frustrated breath, letting my shoulders slump forwards.

Jace starts getting up to go get her, but Grayson goes "I'll go talk to her" and heads upstairs.

Gray's POV

I know my dad was about to go get Bree, but I still offered to come up because I don't think she wants to see either of them right now. Bree's always been a daddy's girl, but it's not the same as when she was little. If she got in trouble for spilling glitter, she would just bat her bottle green eyes at dad and he'd clean it up for her. Now, it wasn't as easy. Especially when they argued about things like her outfit being too revealing or inappropriate. Dad would not cave for that one.

I reach the twin's bedroom door. I don't bother knocking, so I slowly open the door and peek in. Bree is lying on her bed looking at her laptop, gold headphone on her head. Her golden blonde hair is tied up in a high ponytail and falls in loose waves, and she's wearing a really old Rogue Kingdom shirt with navy blue leggings. She looks like she might be doing some schoolwork.

She looks up for a second and realizes it's me before saying "I'm not hungry" and continuing to look at her laptop.

"I highly doubt that" I laugh at her lie. "You got a lot of homework?"

"Yeah" she moves her headphones down to her neck, "Apparently" she says in an incredulous tone and raises her eyebrows "I'm three weeks behind on my school work. Not that it matters, it just means I'll have to do a few more weeks into the summer."

"And you want to have school during the summer?" I question. I know she doesn't, but she uses it as an excuse to slack off. She just shrugs and quickly mutters "I don't care".

She stares at me for a few seconds before going "So, did you want something?" with her eyebrows still raised in defiance.

"Nah" I shake my head, "Just letting you know that dad got chinese for dinner". Her eyebrows quickly drop,, and looks down considering her options. She really likes chinese food, but she couldn't be the first to cave after her argument with mom. "Ok" her eyebrows go back up as she talks, "but I already told you I'm not hungry".

"Not hungry?" I challenge, "or don't want to see mom?" She frowns and I know I'm right. "Look" I continue with a sigh, "I have absolutely no idea what's been going on with you lately. But you know you can always talk to me right?" She doesn't respond, but she gives me a forced smile and a nod.

I start to make my way out of her room, but I stop when I feel like I need to say something else. "Don't" I start, stopping her from putting her headphones back on, "Don't drive mom crazy. She just wants what's best for you".

She doesn't say anything again, so I start heading out again when her soft voice stops me. "Gray?" she asks. Her eyes are now big and pleading, "Is there any way you could sneak some food up?" My mouth goes into a smirk as I remember her lie earlier. "I'm starving" she says with a final cheeky smile.

"I'll see what I can do," I laugh. I actually head out of the room this time, and I hear a faint "Thank you!" as I make my way down the hall.

Bree's POV

"That little turd,' I complain crossing from my bed to my desk and setting my laptop down. "He said he was going to bring me food and he didn't".

"Well" Mia says disapprovingly, "maybe you should have just come down to dinner". She has just gotten out of the shower and is brushing her hair at our vanity. I scowl at her for a second. She's not wrong, but still.

"Uuuughhhhh" I grunt throwing myself on my bed.

"What did you do anyway?' Mia moves to sit on her bed as she continues to brush her red hair.

"I-" I take a deep breath before going on, "I didn't tell mom that my schedule at the academy changed"

"I'm guessing it didn't just slip your mind" Mia chuckles. She knows me too well, but then again we are twins.

"No" I admit in defeat, "I thought that if I could pretend we forgot, I could get out of early morning lessons at least for a day. But that didn't exactly go my way when the academy called the house and mom saw that I had the new schedule on my desk. Rookie mistake..."

The door creaks open, and my dad walks in with a plate of food and some water. Well, that explains why Grayson didn't bring me any food.

"Hey Berry," he says, "I think Logan was having some trouble with his homework. Could you go help him out?"

"Sure" she smiles and heads out of the room. We both know that's not the real reason he wanted her to head out.

As soon as Mia leaves, my dad walks in and hands me a plate of food. Mom walks in right behind him, and they both take a seat on either side of my bed. "We thought you might be hungry" dad smiles reassuringly.

"Thank you" I smile back before taking a bite. I'm not hungry... I'm starving. I didn't have the chance to eat my whole lunch today because I was called in to get told off for being late to class.

"Look princess" dad starts after a slight moment of silence, "This needs to stop. This isn't like you. You're lying about school and slacking off… What's going on?"

My eyes start feeling teary but I don't want to cry.

"It's ok honey" mom runs a hand through my hair like she does when one of use isn't feeling well. "I'm not happy about what happened today, but I just want you to be happy. So, please tell us how we can help"

"That's the thing" my voice breaks as I talk, "I don't even know". I can't stop the waterworks once they start. I really don't know what is going on.

"Is it the academy? Do you not want to do it anymore?" my mom asks and I shake my head.

"I don't want to stop. It's just-" I pause to consider what I'm about to say and wipe my face with the rim of my shirt. "Last summer, being in New York and being in a show and working… it was so so great. And then that ended, and we came back, and I went back to the academy, and it didn't feel the same"

"Oh princess" my dad moves closer wrapping his arms around me. "You can go back to normal school if you want, and you can still dance and act and sing in your spare time". He isn't understanding, but by the concerned look on my mom's face I can tell she might know where I'm going.

"No. I don't want to go back to school" I shake my head. "Look, I know the academy has given me everything I know. If it wasn't for the academy I wouldn't have been on Broadway. I will always appreciate that, but I think it's time to move on to… bigger things". They both stare at me, realizing where this is going. "I know I still have a lot to learn, but I can learn from experience too. Going back to the academy after spending 4 whole months working professionally has felt like a setback. I feel like I'm stuck. I want to work".

"Bree" my mom says in a cautious tone. "Broadway is very far away. We figured out how to make it work when it was a summer thing, but I don't think it'll be possible full-time"

"I know" I agree with her, "When I say I want to work, I mean for the screen. Either TV or Movies."

Dad and mom just sit there in silence for a second, processing what I had just said. I don't blame them. I don't think I had fully processed it myself until it just came out of my mouth.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" dad asks with a twinge of guilt in his voice.

"I didn't really know what it was," I admit. "I thought I was just going through a slump, but when I had the opportunity to dance in that music video a few months ago, I finally realized that the academy's structure is just not for me anymore."

"This is a big decision Bree" my mom says, her eyes wide. "It's not something we can figure out right now, but we will talk about it." She pauses for a second. "What about this?" she sighs, "I'll call the academy and tell them you will be staying home for the rest of the week. You can use that time wisely and catch up on schoolwork, and if by the end of the week you still feel like this is what you want, then we'll look at what our options are. Ok?"

"Ok" I agreed. Well at least that's a start.

"Good" my dad adds, squeezing me a little tighter. "So how about you finish your food before the tickle monster gets you."

"Dad… " I roll my eyes. "I'm almost 13. I'm not scared of the tickle monster anymore". He raises his eyebrows as if I just triple dog dared him to tickle me. His hands immediately go to my side and my body spasms as he tickles me. "DAD!" I complain between giggled while he just laughs, "DAD, STOOOP!"

"What was it that you said about the tickle monster again?" he teases, but I just roll my eyes.

"Don't stay up too late" my mom says standing over my bed, "Lights out at 10pm".

"What?" I whine, "but you just said I don't have to go to the academy tomorrow."

"You're still getting up early to get started on those school lessons" she says with her 'because I said so' voice.

"Fine" I cave, not wanting any more drama.

"I love you Bree" she looks down at me lovingly. My dad leans down and places a kiss on the top of my head as he whispers "Love you". They both start to walk out of my room and I just yell "I love you too" as they walk through the door.

Thank you for supporting this story through the years. It really means the world to me.

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