Author's Note: In my head, I've been referring to this as Cedric's 'crisis of conscience' chapter. This was actually written very differently at first, but it felt too melodramatic, and that's saying a lot considering that THIS was the less over the top version.
The pairs of siblings made their way through the crowded city streets as the sky darkened above them. James and Amber chatted away in the front, while Cedric and Sofia hung back silently.
A drunken lecher wolf-whistled at the girls as they passed a seedy looking dive bar, and Cedric instinctively reached for Sofia's hand, only to have her reject his touch and hurry to catch up to the others. She hated kissing me that much. He frowned, staring down at his ignored fingers. He wondered what he expected to happen, that he would kiss her and she'd fall madly in love and then they could somehow... what? Magically become a normal couple. Fuck, I'm stupid. He berated himself, shifting his gaze to Sofia's back. The truth was, he hadn't given any thought to what would happen between Sofia and him after the kiss. He'd been acting completely on impulse, and he had no idea how to fix the tangled mess he now found himself in.
"Hey, Cedric. Your parents aren't home, right?" James called as they approached their block, slowing his pace so they could talk. Cedric nodded, still preoccupied with his misery. "Can we come over and watch a movie or something?"
"I... don't think that's a good idea tonight." He mumbled. The last thing he wanted were witnesses to the complete destruction of his relationship with his twin.
"Did something happen?" James lowered his voice to avoid being overheard by the girls. Yeah, I assaulted my sister in a public place, just minutes after another jerk tried to do the same damn thing.
"Some creep tried to force Sofia to kiss him." Cedric admitted, producing his battered knuckles as evidence. "I think she's pretty freaked out right now." James patted him roughly on the back, letting out a laugh.
"Look at that, you're finally acting like a brother." Cedric glanced at James in disbelief, amazed that someone in his own family could misread a situation so spectacularly. Still, something in his words, no matter how inaccurate they were, struck a chord with Cedric. A 'normal' brother, one who wouldn't reject her because having her close made him long for her, and certainly one who wouldn't behave the way he had tonight... Sofia deserved a brother like that. Maybe, if he could fulfill that role from then on, she would eventually forgive him for kissing her, and they could forget this whole awful night ever happened. He tightened his fists, suddenly overcome with determination. From now on, I'll only think of Sofia as a sister! He vowed to himself.
As they turned onto their block, Amber and James bid them goodbye, walking in one direction as Cedric and Sofia went in the other. Before they reached their empty house, the looming clouds that had been threatening to storm all day opened up, drenching the twins in an instant.
Cedric was the first one through the door, holding it open and urging Sofia to hurry inside. When a flick of the hall light switch failed to produce any results, he realized that their problems didn't end at the front door.
"Should we call Cordy?" Sofia asked, immediately looking to him for guidance. Pulling his phone from his pocket, Cedric frowned and shook his head. "My phone's dead." He grumbled, trying other switches as he cautiously went through the house. Sure enough, none of them worked, either.
"My purse! I left it at the bowling alley." Sofia moaned, curling her fists in frustration.
"Nothing we can do about it now. We'll have to go back after school tomorrow." Cedric pointed out, heading up the stairs. Sofia followed closely behind, clutching the back of his soggy dress shirt. He led them into the bathroom, reaching up to the high shelf over the toilet to bring down some of their mother's fluffy towels. "Come on."
Taking his sister's hand, they continued into his almost pitch black bedroom. He started to towel off her hair for her, but the way she gazed sweetly up at him made him want to kiss her all over again.
"What are you doing?" Sofia demanded when he left her to finish the job herself.
"It's fine. I'm just getting some dry clothes." He explained, rifling through his drawers blindly.
He managed to find shirts for both of them and a pair of boxers for himself. He tossed one shirt to Sofia, who quickly pulled hers off without giving him a chance to look away first. Normal siblings don't change in front of each other. He told himself, spinning on his heels. It's fine. She always does that. No reason for her to see it differently tonight. He countered. In fact, he reasoned, it would be more telling if she suddenly acted self-consciously around him. He tugged his own shirt over his head and replaced it with the dry one, then changed into the boxers. When he turned around again, he caught Sofia climbing into his bed.
"Go sleep in your own room." He complained, grabbing her around the waist to yank her back down. She stuck her tongue out at him defiantly, dodging under his arms to try again. That's right, it's just a regular night with my sister, who I am absolutely not in love with. He dragged Sofia out of the room, then ducked back inside, slamming the door behind him and leaning against it, refusing to leave his post until he heard her footsteps crossing the hallway to her own bedroom.
He had the room to himself for about twenty minutes before the first deafening roar of thunder shook the house. Less than a minute later, the door to his bedroom creaked open, and Sofia tiptoed across the room.
"Go away, Sofia." Cedric growled into his pillow as she snuck into his bed. Normal siblings do not still share a bed in middle school. He griped.
"You know I hate thunderstorms." She whimpered, climbing over his body to squeeze into the narrow gap between him and the window. "Cedric, roll over..." She whined, tugging on his arm to try and turn him towards her.
"No." He refused sharply. More thunder, and Sofia squealed with fright.
"Please." She added fearfully, and he complied, rolling onto his other side and wrapping her up in his arms while lifting his top leg to allow hers to slide in between.
Normal siblings do not tangle themselves up together in bed whenever their parents are away. He added this to the growing list in his mind as he coiled himself tightly around her. He had vowed earlier to act like a real brother, and he was already failing miserably in that regard.
"Are you still mad at me?" Cedric whispered.
"Yes." Sofia breathed after an uncomfortable pause.
"For how long?" He asked.
"I don't know, yet." She informed him, though her anger didn't stop her from pressing impossibly closer when the next round of thunder started up.
