iTwins
Carly, Sam and Melanie were around a table at the Groovy Smoothie.
It was a weird sensation for Carly, seeing the sisters together for the first time in a few years. Weird, but familiar. They still, as they had in junior high school, had a level of comfort with each other that neither Sam's professed distaste for Melanie or Melanie's extended absences from the Puckett home could wholly erase. Each seemed to know when the other needed a napkin or straw or something, and pushed it towards them a beat before they reached for it. Carly didn't think either was even aware she was doing it, they just knew each other, she supposed, the way you only could after spending nine months in the same womb, being born one after the other, and spending the better part of 12 years in each other's company, the first 10 of them sleeping in the same room.
When they and their mother had moved to a slightly bigger house with a third bedroom, Carly had briefly harbored fantasies that it would become officially their guest room but unofficially her room, just as Sam had made a room for herself at Carly and Spencer's. But as soon as their mother took possession of the house, Sam had begun separating her stuff from Melanie's and putting it in the extra room.
Carly could tell Melanie didn't really know why Sam wanted to be apart from her and was a little hurt, but she also loved her sister and wanted her to be happy, so she helped her move her things.
The brunette had often wondered why the two sisters had such different reactions to their fathers desertion. It'd just crushed Sam, until she built herself back up and placed walls around her heart. Melanie, though, never seemed to be bitter. Carly admired that about her, although she never said so because she knew Sam would take it the wrong way.
She also enjoyed having someone else around who could join her in lightly teasing Sam without fear of death, so she'd just told her the story of Sam's babysitting escapade, and Mel was laughing.
"You sang him that? Not sure that's a lullaby, sis."
Carly saw Sam's nostrils flare when Melanie called her "sis;" knew Melanie saw it too, in fact had used the term just to provoke that reaction.
"Hey," Sam was saying, "anything can be a lullaby if you sing if softly enough. 'Member at the mall when we saw all those CDs of lullaby versions for bands like Deep Purple?"
Melanie nodded and launched quietly into the chorus of "Smoke On the Water," played as if a hushed secret. Sam joined her halfway through and Carly remembered what a surreal experience it was to hear them speak (or sing) in unison. Melanie's eyes flashed with love for her sister and although she would never be that overt, Carly and Melanie knew Sam was pleased as well.
Melanie excused herself to the bathroom. Almost as soon as the push – in door closed behind her, Freddie entered the shop. He greeted the girls and they him, and he sat next to Sam with a smart-ass look on his face.
"So, are you Sam right now or Melanie?"
Her eyes rolling slightly at Carly, Sam said "I dunno. Does this hurt?" and punched him in the arm.
"Yeah, it hurt " he said, rubbing the spot.
"Then I'm Sam."
…
That weekend the girls were at the mall. Carly was in what Sam called her "meditation space": A Bed, Bath and Beyond.
The two sisters were sharing a snack at one of the tables.
"Sam?" Melanie asked.
Sam grunted, savoring her chicken tenders.
"I don't know if you've noticed this, but your feelings about Freddie are kind of...all over the place."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam looked up, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Well," Melanie said carefully, "sometimes you act like he just gets you angry."
"Most of the times he does."
"Uh-huh, but I watch iCarly. I saw how weird you got when that girl showed an interest in him."
"Well, yeah! She was trying to steal him for her own show! And me too!"
"Yeah, but you didn't know that then. All you knew was that she said he was cute and wanted to go out with him. And I saw the look on your face."
"What are you talking about?"
"It was the same look you used to get if I hid the boot when we were playing Monopoly. Somebody was messing with something that was yours."
"Oh, you don't know what you're talking about."
"And you've been acting weird to me all day. That wouldn't have anything to do with me and him kissing, would it?"
"Well, you are my sister. If word gets out that you gave him a mercy peck it reflects bad on me."
"I'm sure that's it," Melanie said. She paused to wipe sauce from around her mouth with the napkin Sam handed her, then went on, quietly,
"It wasn't a mercy peck, though. Like I said, he's adorable. He has the sweetest eyes."
"Can't say I ever really noticed." Sam really wanted Carly to come out so she could get up and away from this conversation.
"And you just want to take his hair and mess it up out of the 'do his mom must make him wear-"
"All right, okay, knock it off, I just had some chicken, I don't wanna be sick."
"You're not sick, Sam, you're scared."
"Shut up." Sam's eyes had narrowed into near slits.
"Sammy, it's me. I know you. Do you know what else I know?"
"What else do you know?" Sam asked reluctantly.
"When something scares you, you are the absolute queen of pushing it way, way down so you never have to address your feelings about it."
"I don't do that."
"Yes, you do. Remember how we didn't talk at all about me going away to school? I wanted to, but every time I tried you found some excuse to dash out of the room. Finally when it was time for me to leave I looked in your eyes and I just knew you had feelings exploding inside of you but you weren't going to say anything." She paused. "You didn't even tell me you were going to miss me."
"Yeah, well -"
"Sam." Her sister looked across the table at her, and Sam reached out for her hand.
"Of course I miss you, Mels."
"I know. I miss you too. And it's okay that you don't say it, and you act like I'm nothing but a big aggravation to you, because I can read your face. If there's one thing we both know, it's that face."
The two smiled at each other, Melanie broadly, Sam a little more shyly.
"I guess we both do know that," Sam said, and took a last suck of Pepsi from the purple paper cup..
"Well, that and what it's like to kiss Freddie Benson." Melanie said, with a knowing glint.
Sam broke into a coughing fit. Finally getting it under control, she asked, wide – eyed,
"How did you know?"
"I didn't, until just now. Something he said last night made me wonder if it could be possible, and you just turned over all your cards."
"You can't tell anybody, Mel. We just did it to get that first kiss over with so we didn't feel all that pressure to-"
"He was your first kiss?" Melanie said with delight; loudly enough that Sam looked over her shoulder to see if Carly had come out yet.
"Yeah. Please, Melanie."
"Okay, okay," Her voice resumed a more conversational tone. "Not too bad though, is he?"
"Well not having much to compare it to, I thought he did...pretty okay."
Melanie's smile just got broader.
"So what do you think?" Sam asked.
"You know what I think. I think you've got hot pants for that boy."
"Ew."
"Not ew. I think he'd be good for you."
"Again, ew." But Sam was realizing she missed talking like this with Melanie about things that because of what they were about, or who, she could never discuss with Carly. "Hypothetically, what am I supposed to be afraid of?"
"Well, I don't know." Melanie said hesitantly. "I mean, I have a guess, but –"
"Well, don't keep me in suspense, Doc, c'mon, diagnose me."
"..no. If I'm wrong, it's too –"
"Melanie," Sam wheedled.
Over Sam's shoulder, Melanie saw Carly exit the BB&B with three shopping bags and start heading towards them. Knowing she had only a moment to speak or not, she quickly considered her options.
She decided to go for it. Getting up from the table and gathering their tray, she leaned in close to her twin and said in a low voice,
"Sam...he's not dad."
Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter...