Media: Fic
Title: Opposite Sides of the Same Coin
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Everything up until "First Time".
Warnings: AU. Twin!klaine.
Word Count: 1589
Summary: Remember when the twin!Klaine idea was really popular on Tumblr? Well, this is my take on it.
Cameron never felt so humiliated.
The last time he cried was at his mother's funeral, but -here he was- sitting on Blair Everett Anderson's bed, his eyes and nose red from crying. And Everett even held him before tending to the rest of his injuries. And lent him a shirt to wear, since his was ruined.
Cameron pressed a finger to his torn lip, smearing the ointment on it a little. He should probably thank him, he knew. Even if he didn't necessarily like Everett, he wasn't as awful as he originally thought. ...Which was definitely a strange thought within itself.
Shaking his head, he glanced around from his seat on Everett's bed, admiring the room. He didn't know much about fashion or interior design like Kurt did, but even he could tell just how fancy the Anderson home was. It intimidated him a little.
"Hey." Cameron jumped and glanced guiltily at the door, where Everett stood with a tray of steaming mugs and snacks. He set it down on a desk by the bed and handed him one of the cups. "Are you feeling better?"
"...Yeah," he said as he took the offered drink, breathing in the aroma of strong coffee. Surprisingly, he meant it. He took a careful sip from his cup and nodded. "Yeah, I am."
Everett sat down beside him, cradling his own mug between his hands. If he noticed Cameron scooting away from him to maintain some distance, he didn't mention it. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Cameron shook his head. "Then do you mind if I ask you a question?" He waited until Cameron met his gaze. "How do the kids at school treat you for being gay?"
Cameron gaped at him. "How-..." He swallowed hard. "How did you know-..."
"I can just tell." At Cameron's incredulous look, Everett smiled and shrugged. "Let's just say it's a gift of mine."
"Some gift," he muttered. But Everett waited patiently, making him sigh. What was he supposed to say? That he knew as soon as Kurt did? That he angrily lashed out at homophobic bullies -not only to protect his brother- but because he hated being different?
He was ashamed of that part of himself.
"Cam," Everett said softly, placing his hand on his arm.
Cameron jumped at the contact -nearly spilling coffee over them both- and shivered as fingers traced over the inside of his elbow. It should have annoyed him that Everett completely disregarded personal boundaries. But, at the same time, his touch made his heart pound.
Because, though he would never admit it out loud, Everett was handsome in an irritating sort of way. His eyes were a soft brown with flecks of green that he had seen light up with mischief at their first meeting and darken with concern now. As for his hair, while his twin used a ridiculous amount of gel for his head, Everett clearly let his curls have a life of their own. Cameron had to clench his hands around his mug so he wouldn't give in to the urge to run his fingers through it.
"Kurt has a worse time with it than I do," Cameron mumbled down at his coffee. Everett was still touchinghim, which made it hard to think straight, but he rambled on. "Because he's not afraid to be himself. To dress as he wants and to say what he wants and to like the things he does."
Everett nodded. "And what about you?"
It was a simple question and wasn't judgmental in the least, but Cameron still flinched as if it was. "I'm the opposite," he admitted. He was sure that people are school knew he was gay, but he didn't stand out the way his brother did. He preferred to wear ratty jeans and loose shirts. He was on the football team. He didn't stand out at all.
"But you still get into fights to defend your brother. You're amazing," Everett said quietly.
Cameron frowned in confusion. "There's no way I would let an asshole like Karofsky get away with bullying Kurt. He's my brother."
"I know." He took their cups and put them on the bedside table. Cameron meant to protest, but then Everett was suddenly leaning in to his personal space, eyes dark and intense. He panicked and tried to pull away, but Everett had slipped an arm around him, trapping him. "Cam..."
With a hard gasp, his heart pounding painfully against his ribcage, Cameron managed to free his arms and shove him away. "Everett, stop!"
The other boy drew back with a furrowed brow. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"What's wrong?" Cameron repeated in disbelief. "What'swrong? You tried to kissme! That's what's wrong!" He leapt up from the bed, pacing the room the way a wild creature paced its cage. "I'm not like you. I'm not-..." Out. Proud. Brave. "This isn't right."
Everett stared at him, the hurt so clear in his eyes that it made him wince. He considered apologizing, but -just as quick as the expression came- it was quickly replaced by an unreadable mask. "Fine. If you want to keep hiding in the closet, then go ahead. You know your way out."
Cameron watched, stunned, as Everett lay on the bed and turned away. He opened his mouth, but couldn't think of a single thing to say and shut it quickly. Suddenly, his cell phone buzzed and he checked it quickly, discovering that he had a text message. It was from Kurt. "Where are you?" it said. "Dad and I are worried." He typed a quick reply that he was on his way home before glancing back at Everett, who still refused to look at him.
Heart heavy and not entirely sure why, Cameron left, closing the door quietly behind him.
The moment Burt saw his bruised face, he spent the next few hours lecturing him for fighting. But, when he was finished, he surprised Cameron by ruffling his hair. "Thank you," he said softly. "For looking after your brother."
He nodded, a lump lodged in his throat. His father didn't usually praise him. He glanced over at Kurt, who watched them with a warm smile. "So what happened to Karofsky?"
"He was expelled," Kurt explained. He sounded almost guilty about it, which made Cameron frown.
"That's what he gets for treating you the way he did all this time," he said viciously.
Burt studied him carefully before clapping his hands together, the twins immediately turning to look at him. "Now. Let's put all that behind us and plan this wedding."
As far as weddings go, Cameron didn't have a clue. But even he had to admit that Kurt did a fantastic job on Burt and Carole's ceremony and reception. The Glee club's performances were amazing too. They had asked for him to sing with them, but he had refused. He wasn't brave enough to sing in front of other people.
When the dancing started, he slipped away and checked his phone. He hadn't heard from Everett since the almost kiss. He was still upset at the things Everett said to him, even if none of it was false. It was the only reason he could justify for not having called him. But being at his father's wedding and hearing Finn's speech made him made him come to the conclusion that he was done running away. He was sick of lying to himself.
Before he was even aware of what he was doing, Cameron pressed send and held the phone up to his ear. It rang for a long time that he was starting to think he would only get Everett's voicemail, when he finally picked up.
"I didn't think you'd ever call," Everett said. He sounded so cold and matter-of-fact, Cameron winced.
"I-..." What was he supposed to say to that? "Dad got married today."
"I heard from Blaine," Everett replied in that nonchalant manner. "Apparently Kurt told him. Congratulations to your father."
Cameron swallowed. "Yeah."
There's a long moment of silence before Everett asked impatiently, "So is there a reason why you called?"
Just the way he said it made him angry and Cameron wondered why he even bothered. "Why are you acting like that?" he demanded. "I was going to apologize to you, even though you're the one who tried to kiss me. Even though it's my first. But you're such a-..."
"What?"
He blinks, stopping mid-rant. "What?"
"What did you just say?"
Cameron flushed to the roots of his hair, realizing when he just blurted out. "Shut up! It's not that big of a deal. A lot of people haven't had their first kiss yet. It's-..."
"Cam," Everett said, sounding as if he was fighting the urge to laugh. Then, more seriously, he added, "You're right though. I shouldn't have tried to kiss you so suddenly like that. And I'm sorry."
He nodded, his flush deepening when he realized Everett couldn't even see it. "I-I have to go now," he muttered, scuffing his shoe against the floor. "But can I-... Can I call you again?"
"Yes." And he could hear his smile. "Yes, I'd like that. Enjoy the wedding."
Losing his nerve, he stammered out a quick goodbye and hung up. He shook his head, feeling foolish, but he also felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted. Pocketing his phone, he couldn't help the smile that found its way to his lips.
It wasn't much, but it was still progress.