His friends hadn't noticed how he sagged back into the living room after his encounter with Trina, but back at home Kin was finding it difficult to ignore his much larger twin continuously picking at himself in the mirror. He raised a brow at his odd behavior before putting his game controller down and leaning up against the bottom of their bunk bed more.
"Kon..?" He started curiously. "What uh.. what are you doing?"
Kon turned to look at him with his stomach out of tank top and squeezed it at him a little.
"Am I fat?" Kin gave him a bewildered look so he quickly added, "—like, too fat for girls to like, I mean." He looked away awkwardly and turned back to the mirror still messing with his gut. He frowned a little, squishing it in his two massive hands.
"N.. No?" Kin sat up a little. "I don't know, maybe, some girls? But a lot of girls like a uh.. huskier? kind of guy?—You're not even like fat anymore though,you're The Muscle!" He exclaimed a little, flexing his two skinny arms at him for emphasis.
Kon swished his cheeks in thought and slapped his stomach lightly. That was true at least. He'd really thought he'd slimmed down from his younger self. Sure, he was still thick, but it wasn't as doughy as when he was littler. He'd grown some nine inches since he was thirteen, and all his girth seemed to rearrange itself in a more appealing way—up into his chest and arms and thighs. And sure, drumming for over five years had really built up muscle underneath those chest, arms, and thighs—and his calves, especially. He deflated a little; it still wasn't enough for her.
Kin watched his brother's face sadden while he looked himself over and he frowned.
"Why do you even care all of a sudden? You never worried about it before!" He insisted scooting up into a straighter position. "And you've got loads of girls—groupies and stuff,l yknow? There's always girls that like the drummer most!" Kon sighed loudly and rolled his body lazily to look at him.
"It's not about girls. Well, not those girls.." He looked away again. "It's a.. specific girl.." Kin smiled at that.
"Oohh?" He sat up, smiling at his twin knowingly. Kon frowned at him, already embarrassed about where this is going. "Wh—"
"Don't ask, 'cause I'm not telling you." He closed his eyes and nodded at him in a 'so there' way before turning back to the mirror. Kin huffed and crossed his arms.
"Well! After all we've been through—!" he sniffed and turned away indignantly. Kon laughed before grabbing his shirt and pulling it over his tank top.
"Maybe I'll tell you later, when we're not late for practice." He shot his eyebrows up at him a few times. Kin shot up quickly and muttered a few curses about how Kon had 'distracted him' from finishing this level before they had to head to Corey's.
"Yeah I know like, I swear to God Mina, it was so bad!" Trina cackled to her best friend and rolled around on her bed gleefully.
"Yeah hehe, it sounds bad!" Mina giggled into her hand watching Trina relish in her moment.
"I was so pathetic like, I didn't even think any of them were capable of being so lame—and that's saying something.' Her smile dropped momentarily at the thought of her idiot brother's band. She sat up and shook out her hair. Mina watched with a little anxiety hoping Trina's hair-trigger emotions didn't blow up at her again for some reason. Trina stood up and smoothed her hair before heading to her closet, only to spin around at the last second to show off her nightie to Mina, making her wince in fear.
"So like, I was just in this like, it's whatever you know?" Mina nodded, despite being unable to imagine herself calling that lingerie 'normal' sleepwear for herself. "Yeah so, I'm wearing this and he's just gawking like, I swear I saw drool." She gave the idea a mean laugh before turning to her closet again. Mina smiled a little, still a bit tense.
"Haha, ew, that's gross." She smiled more when Trina didn't seem to mind her impute, happily digging through her wardrobe.
"—Not that I can blame the loser, I mean like, LOOK AT ME, right?" She turned to her BFF and struck a pose with a blouse in hand. Mina nodded.
"Oh yes, of course Trina!" She laughed a little awkward. "He'd be um.. nuts to not!" Trina nodded, to herself and turned back to picking out a skirt and leggings. Mina smiled while she watched her, happy she was seemingly enjoying the idea of having younger boys hopelessly crush on her. Trina emerged from her walk-in closet with the blouse pinned to her collar with her chin, interchanging skirt and legging combos at Mina.
"Which of these looks more.. sexy?" She smiled coyly at herself. Mina winced—she always seemed to pick the wrong answer with these.
"Uhm.. I think the.. the pink pencil and black leggings um—" Immediately Trina piped up, infuriated.
"Augh, what!? You know I hate black leggings, Mina!" She screamed at her. Mina winced, bringing an arm up to defend herself.
"U-um well the black would uh—d-define your.. your super pretty leg curves more?" She smiled nervously, hoping the answer would appease her. Trina breathed heavy for a minute before chiming up, happy again.
"Oh-my-gosh, you're right, Mins!" She beamed, before smiling evilly and shutting the closet door behind her. Mina breathed a sigh of relieve and took a moment to enjoy Trina's approval before she burst out again. Trina slipped on her flats and started pacing around, smirking to herself. Mina watched her, a little concerned, but silent. After a few minutes Trina went for her purse, and tossed it at Mina roughly. She caught it with a little difficulty, barely managing to get up after Trina as she headed for the door.
"Cmon Mina, we're going to the mall—so I can make a super fabulous entrance into the garage later." She nodded, smiling evilly again. Mina gave her a strange look but sighed and followed. Trina walked down the steps, knowing Kon and his brother weren't there yet, but smiled devilishly at the drum set resting on the stage behind her brother and his girlfriend. "We'll see what this does to him, huh!" She smiled at Mina for reassurance and got in Pinktastic, Mina nodding all the way, thought uncertain why all of this was necessary.
The first half of practice, AKA the instrumental part, went smoothly like always. Kon remembered breathing out in relief that Trina's car missing from its spot in the garage when he and Kin finally arrived. The fact she wasn't in the house let him relax a little more during practice—but that half of practice was always easy. Getting up on stage and jamming and working out chords and notes together had always came to the group almost effortlessly—the hard part was lyric writing, which Corey made them all participate in VIA 'brain storming'. He claimed it 'helps him get it out better', and with him being weaned off Trina's diary for nearly two years now, they weren't taking any chances of him reverting to 'easier methods'. So there they were, lounging around in the garage, listening to Corey scribble on a notepad and every once and awhile pipe up with a 'What's a good word for—' or a 'What rhymes with—'.
Laney was huddled up on the opposite corner of the couch to Corey, comfortably resting her feet on his thigh and reading a magazine as he wrote. Kon sighed with a hint of jealousy as he drummed out a beat on one of the crates lying around the garage. It must be nice, he'd assume, to be dating. Kin always talked about how he was going to soak up as much 'groupie action' as he could once they hit it really big, but that's not what Kon was after himself. Sure it'd be fun, and knowing you have a ton of girls with crushes on you is pretty cool, but he's always wanted to 'go steady'—have something that he could show off as just his. Corey smiled at Laney pushing her foot up against his leg thoughtlessly as she read, and flicked her magazine to get her attention. She stuck her tongue at him and laughed before hiding behind her reading material. Kon whined again and tried to ignore the pit in his stomach. He remembered when they first started dating, about a year ago, and seeing them kiss and hold each other had been so weird—now he couldn't really remember what the group was like before it. The dynamic hadn't really changed much, at least, not as much at the twins had feared—besides the occasional need for 'alone time'.
Kon snapped out of his funk at the sound of the opposing garage door opening. He swallowed and tried to find something to look at so he wouldn't have to see Trina for the few seconds it took her to storm up to her room. He settled on an empty bag of chips and stared at it as if his life depended on it. He heard the engine turn off and the doors open and then shut. His heart began to thud with anxiety when he realized Trina didn't seem to be in any rush to get to her room. Kon looked to the side a little and could see her legs as she leaned up against her car, gossiping with Mina loudly about a girl they'd seen at the mall. Corey furrowed his brow in frustration and shot up to give her a look.
"HEY! Some people are trying to work here!" He stared at her pointedly. She sneered back at him and cocked her hip, placing a manicured hand on it.
"I don't see anyone working, only a group of lazy bozos." She smirked at him, infuriating him more. Kon looked up in upset, out of habit, and instantly knew he made a mistake. Trina made eye contact with him immediately and stared him down like a predator to its prey. Kon's eyes shook under her gaze, and he tried to look away, only managing to look down at her body instead. He gulped at how unusually tight her outfit was today. He snapped his eyes back up to her face, trying not to come off as gross, but was unsure if that was the best choice from the way she stared at him.
"You have a room, you know—it's kind of precious to you?—no one's allowed in?—where you could gossip or whatever about whatever!?" Corey yelled at her, but she didn't respond, still caught up with the face Kon was making at her. She smiled more at the drummer and snorted, making him blush before she drug Mina upstairs without another word. Corey huffed, puffing his chest out. "Yeah that's right."
"HAHAHA Did you see that!? He's like, so~o into me." Trina closed her eyes smiling to herself, soaking up the newest addition of male adoration. Mina nodded with a tiny smile.
"I sure did! He totally likes you!" She smiled more, clasping her hands. "What are we going to do now?"
"Pff—oh, silly baby Mina." Trina practiced a seductive smile in her vanity. "You know you can't keep teasing boys, or they'll think you actually like, want them—bleck! You've got to give them time to steam about you.. fantasize about you.." She wriggled her shoulders, eyes shining at the idea of being fantasized over.
"Oh uh.. right." Mina held up a finger. "Well then what are we going to do after uh.. that?"
"Hehehe! Oh, I don't know, probs just like, tease him a little more tonight or whatever." She shifted in place again, fixing her hair a little. "We can shop for cutie purses or whatever until your mom makes you go home though!" She gestured at her computer excitedly. Mina gasped and clapped her hands in excitement, eagerly joining her BFF at the computer.
Ahh, two chapters in one day? I'm so proud of myself! uwu Being the slowest writer in the world and all. Thank you for all the attention so far! It means a ton to me QwQ Please keep reviewing, it keeps me going!