lantern
"Um, that's not mine." I stood awkwardly next to my desk in the library, trying to politely decline the laptop that the guy in front of me was holding out. He had afro-like spiky black hair and dark, dark eyes paired with pale skin. He was wearing a black long sleeve under his school shirt, and he had painted his nails black. On closer inspection he had kohl around his eyes. He spoke with a drawling, sarcastic voice. He was an anenome, which explained the hair. The Librarian shot us a look, and as soon as she turned her back, he rolled his eyes and winked at me as if he didn't have a care in the world. He pushed the laptop towards me and said, "If you ain't Lamp DeepSea, then who the hell is?" The Librarian snapped, "Language," and the boy shrugged. His hair fell over his eyes, and it took all my willpower not to reach over the table and brush it away. I struggled to keep my cheeks from reddening.
Then someone pinched my arm and I turned around and almost clocked my twin in the head.
lamp
I can't believe he was going to punch me. I ducked the blow and his fist stopped an inch from the bookshelves. The Librarian gave us a dirty look, and I resisted the urge to return it.
lantern
I stopped my fist an inch from the bookshelves, shaking with silent laughter. Then I remembered the anenome boy and turned, a flush creeping up the back of my neck and stealing onto my cheeks, flushing them bright red. He grinned wryly, his eyebrow raised. He said, "Cute. So you're Lamp?" Lamp nodded and smiled broadly, grabbing the laptop. He turned on me quizzically and asked, "So if you're not Lamp, then who are you?"
"Why do you want to know? You gonna stalk me or something?" He laughed and drawled, "No, but I like that you're cautious." And he winked again and strutted off, swaying his hips. He threw open the library door and said over his shoulder, "See you in biology, Lantern." My jaw dropped and Lamp snickered softly. Then the bell rang and the Librarian said loudly, "Out, all of you." I shushed her and pointed at the sign behind her head, saying Absolutely no loud talking, loud noises, or loud actions. Lamp snickered again and the Librarian's face went bright red.
Long story short, we got detention.
I trudged to the detention hall, with Lamp hot on my heels. Then I rounded the corner with Lamp still behind me, and heard a thump followed by a small sound of exclamation. I turned around and saw a girl with pink tentacles for hair lying on the floor surrounded by ink and papers. I immediately went to help but she pushed me away. She stood up and shouted at Lamp, "Watch where you're going, stupid!"
"You bumped into me, and I apologised straightaway! Geez."
"Geez? What do you mean, geez? You could have hurt me!"
"How could I have hurt you?! I barely even touched you!"
I ignored them both and walked off. I heard a thud followed by Lamp swearing loudly, causing a teacher to come out of a classroom and give them both detention. I walked a little faster and got to the detention hall, kicking open the door. I didn't look up and walked to the desk furthest from the door, dropping my books with a loud thud. I sat on the chair and kicked my feet onto the desk. Only then did I look up. And I almost fell off my desk.
I composed myself quickly and tried not to stare back at the guy in front of me. Anenone guy. He smirked at my reddening cheeks and I stuck out my tongue. It was childish, but something about him provoked me. Just then Lamp and the girl from earlier walked in, still squabbling. She tossed her hair and caught sight of the almost identical girl sitting in the second row. She walked over and sat with the girl, immediately slipping into a relaxed state, chatting easily. I waved Lamp over, and he hobbled over, wincing when he sat down.
"What happened, twinsie?"
Lamp grinned wanly at the anemone boy and said, "She kicked me. Hard." I winced, and patted him on the back. The anemone was studying us carefully. Before I could turn around, Lamp stuck out his hand and introduced himself to the anenome boy, who was watching us talk curiously. "Lamp DeepSea, as you already know. And you are?" The boy raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow but introduced himself nonetheless.
As Spyke.
Spyke.
Even just hearing his name sent shivers down my spine. I discreetly pulled out my notebook while Lamp and Spyke chatted, and started to draw Spyke. I decided to play some music to myself, and put in my earbuds. I scrolled through my music list, and chose the newest rap songs released by Marina, and the white haired squid gal. I always forget her name.
I'd always been good at drawing. So is my older brother Lumien. My little sister Murky was more of a music person, and Lamp?
Lamp's a story for another time. But his interests were gaming, sports, (I think), and he looked exactly like me. We both had chin length black and turquoise tentacles, we were the same height, and both our skin shade was slightly olive coloured. The only way to tell us apart was the piercings in our ears, and our hair. We had the exact same hairstyle, but vice versa. Same with the ear piercings. I think that's why the teachers let us keep them.
But our personalities were vastly different. I have a big fat attitude, but I'm funny and caring about people close to me, (this is him describing me, by the way). But I also have a temper. Lamp is more laidback and social, and he gets along with everyone. But his flaw, (unlike me), is he is easily annoyed. Like really easily. And another huge difference was…
I like guys. He likes girls.
While I was concentrating on getting his eyes just right, I saw a shadow pass over my drawing. I snapped my notebook shut, whirled around, and yanked out my earbuds. A tall, skinny guy stood behind me, trying to hide his smirk. He wore a red jumper with the school logo over his school uniform, and was at least a head taller than me. He had muddy green and brown short, spiky hair. His eyes matched his hair, and they had a glint in them that I didn't like. I could feel my face going red, and the tips of my fingers started to tingle. He held up his hands, still trying not to smirk. I heard someone call over my shoulder, "LJ, man, what's wrong?"
It was Spyke.
I felt my insides melt and I tried to send LJ a telepathic message imploring him to not say a word. But LJ's eyes widened and he looked between me and Spyke. I didn't think my face could get any redder. I squeezed my eyes shut and wished I could fall through the floor. But to my surprise LJ clapped me on the shoulder and said, "I was just teasing him, that's all."
Then the bell rang, but I just sat there for a minute, finishing off my drawing. I guess I was satisfied. It was Spyke with a smirk on his face, his eyes smiling. I hastily packed my laptop bag and hurried to catch up with Lamp and Spyke.
I wonder if it's actually possible to fall in love so fast.
