They all head out to the bus graveyard to discuss their next moves while waiting for the solar lights. Tyler steps onto the bus and sees that the others are already there. The strawberry-blond-haired boy and the tall, brunette-haired boy are both sitting by the window, while the blonde-haired boy stands near the driver's seat. "What're they doing?" Aiden asks, gesturing with his head to the girls outside as Ben and Logan turn away from the window as if they hadn't just been staring.'Shameless fools,' Tyler thinks as he shrugs and walks over to his usual seat. "None of my business." He goes over to the water jug to fill it up while they're all waiting for the girls to finish up their conversation. Aiden watches him walk from the aisle to the seat before turning his gaze back to the window. It's not until a couple of moments of silence fill the bus that Tyler accidentally starts to vocalize his thoughts while simultaneously watching the water pour into the big jug. "It's a little ironic that we have these big walls, but now we have to fortify them?"
"Well, who could have predicted that a phantom could climb thirteen-foot walls? Let me give you a hint, none of us, Halfwit," Aiden retorts as he turns his head away from the window to face him, his head resting on his hand and his elbow resting on the window's lip. Tyler furrows his brow at the annoyance known as Aiden.
"We all chose this place for the resources and safety," Logan reminds as he fixes one of the weapons on the ground. Ben nods in agreement as he sits with a red notebook in his lap.
"You chose this spot too, or did you forget?" Aiden asks with a head tilt. Tyler feels attacked all of a sudden from every angle, it seems. 'Damn!' he thinks, feeling defeated. He stops pouring the water so he can concentrate on saying this next thing. "I'm not whining. I'm just saying how ironic it is..." Tyler mumbles as he pouts a bit before looking down and continuing to pour the last of the water. "I'm still not sure if all that effort getting here is worth it in the end..." he mumbles lowly to himself. He recalls the moment he first woke up in the mirror dimension after returning home from that nightmare field trip. Tyler was so exhausted when they finally got off that school and city bus that he just collapsed in his bed as soon as he got home. When he woke up that night, he didn't expect it to be in...that place. He found Taylor, and they hid until morning as those things tried to claw their way into the house. That's a night Tyler would rather not remember... It wasn't until the next night that they made a plan to meet up at the School Bus Graveyard in the weird world to discuss their situation, as it seemed these nighttime adventures would occur more frequently than they had anticipated. The twins ran through the empty and silent street that next night while almost getting clawed up by many phantoms in the process. Those things sounded like rabid wolves, squealing pigs, or a demon straight out of a horror movie. It scared the short-haired brunette more than he'd like to admit, but that's not something he'd ever tell anyone.
"Well, we're here now, so let's just make the best of our situation, okay?" Taylor asks as she walks into the bus, the ginger-haired girl following behind her. The long-haired brunette walks over to the box of weapons and sits down next to Logan, who's just staring at it. She gives him a soft smile before turning around to look at Ben. The tall, short-haired brunette looks down at her before giving her a small smile.
"Agreed," Logan says, looking back at Tyler, who just rolls his eyes. He looks away from everyone and shakes out the last few drops of water into the container before screwing the cap back on.
They spend the next hour discussing the possible traps they could set up to enhance their safety in the graveyard. Taylor gets a little distracted talking with Ben, so she's not exactly a part of the conversation. Everyone is kinda just having their own little conversations at this point, though. The long-haired brunette girl holds a mace ball in her lap as she talks with Ben about God knows what. It's painted orange with a cute mouth and big eyes on it. She's the one who painted it, after all. She keeps pointing at his red book page in the book. 'What're they doing?' Tyler thinks as he tunes in and out of Aiden and Logan's conversation. He and Ashlyn are the only two who don't seem to be talking much.
Shortly after that brief conversation, they get to work setting up traps and securing the walls more effectively. That's Tyler and Logan's job.
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After they're done, they decide just to pack up a couple of minutes early. Tyler needs to check on their mom. This morning was pretty rough. He hopes she's doing better now, but...who really knows? They can never leave her for too long, or else she thinks that they might not be coming back. They always will, but sometimes she just can't get out of her head.
Tyler drives Logan home. "Thanks again. You know you don't have to do this, right?" the strawberry-blond-haired boy says with a soft smile as he unbuckles. Tyler shrugs.
"I don't mind. Really—" He sees Logan's grandma in the window. She's waving at them. Taylor notices, too. They both give a wave. Logan hurries out of the car as he says his goodnight, clearly embarrassed. When Logan is inside the house, Tyler puts the car in drive and drives off. The ride back home is primarily silent save for Taylor happily humming in the passenger's seat. "What's got you so smiley, sis?" Tyler asks, trying his best to be as light-hearted as possible even though he doesn't feel it inside.
"Oh—nothing... Do you like Logan?" she suddenly asks, her head bobbing slightly. Tyler frowns at the road ahead of him. He turns onto their street as he follows behind a truck.
"Why do you ask that? Where did this crazy thought even come from?" he asks, slightly glancing at her for a split second with an irritated look on his face.
She shrugs. "Just asking. You always seem so nice to him, so I just thought—"
"Being nice to someone doesn't equate to me having a crush on him—"
I didn't say "crush," I said "like."
"What's the difference?" he asks, squinting his eyes at the road. The truck pulls off into a driveway, and Tyler continues driving.
She shrugs again. He lets out a soft, annoyed sigh. On the outside, he just looks annoyed, but on the inside...he feels fear.
"Relax," she says. "I'm only kidding. You seem more interested in Jessica anyway—"
"-That bitch—"
"Tyler!" Taylor giggles out as she playfully hits him on the shoulder. "She is, but I don't know—it seems like you like like her~."
"Ha ha, enough, Tay... You got me—" He lies but is cut off by a squeal.
Tyler winces a little. They're getting close to home—only one more block. "I knew it! I saw you two after the game a month ago—" Tyler just blocks her out at this point. He doesn't want to hear it anymore. He feels like he's going to throw up or something—he's so shaky... 'She doesn't know... Of course, she doesn't. She can be so oblivious sometimes. Goddammit-my god, breathe! It's not like she's going to hate you for it... She's your sister for crying out loud,' Tyler thinks.
"So, when did it start?" the long-haired brunette asks.
"Taylor—"
"-What? You don't want to tell me? I won't tell anyone," she says in a way that doesn't reassure him. He doesn't care if this little Jessica thing gets out, but if the real truth got out... He thinks he might just die on the spot.
You see, the moment Taylor mentioned she witnessed was when Jessica found out that Tyler likes guys. That tennis-playing bitch confronted him after he rejected her proposal of being her prom date a week before, saying she knew his secret. He asked "what" to indulge her stupidity, and she just blurted it out. It made him almost pass out right then and there, but that conversation didn't go as he expected after that. She actually seemed okay with it—understanding more, and she apologized for causing such a scene the week prior about the prom thing. She then went on to explain how she only made a scene because she was acting. Tyler has to roll his eyes at that. She then came out as Bi to him. "There, we know each other's secrets. Now, we're even—" And after she said that, she took off, her hair flipping back as she swayed her hips back and forth.
The short-haired brunette pulls into the driveway and parks his car before shutting it off and getting out. Getting his backpack from the back seat, he makes sure to lock the doors before heading into the house. 'Let's hope she's in a good mood right now...' he thinks as dread fills his aching heart. He feels like he's going to throw up for some reason...it's probably just his anxiety. 'What's wrong with me?' Tyler kicks the door shut before taking off his shoes and carrying his backpack up the stairs. He'll do his homework after checking on Mom and starting dinner. He drops his bag on the floor next to his desk and exits his room, then turns right and walks down the hallway.
*Knock* *Knock*
"Mom," Tyler calls out but receives no reply, as he expected. He knocks again and waits for a second time to see if he'll get a reply this time. He doesn't. He doesn't know what he was actually expecting... "I'm coming in," he calls out before he opens the door. A wave of BO hits his nostrils, but he's used to this by now. He stands in the doorway with his left hand on the doorknob, scanning the room for his mother in the darkness of her room—if you can even call it that anymore. It's like a cave at this point. He looks at the bed with the crumpled-up blanket kicked to the end. The only thing he can make out is that pillows are thrown onto the ground, but no Mom. He looks over to the closet and sees clothes strewn about on the ground, with hangers thrown into a pile in the corner, but still no sign of Mom. He lets out a soft sigh before he realizes that she's in the bathroom. He hates that place... He'll just get the cleaning instead. He'll check the bathroom after. Tyler takes off the sheets from the bed, along with the blanket and pillowcases, before tossing them onto the ground. He walks over to her closet, where she keeps the clean sheets, and grabs some, along with new pillowcases and a blanket. With the stuff he needs in his arms, he walks over to the bed to dump the clean materials on the ground. He puts on the fresh sheets first and tidies up the blanket before opening up the window on her side of the bed. He picks up the clean pillowcases and stuffs the pillows into them before throwing them onto the bed. The short-haired brunette stares at them for a second before shaking his head and coming back to reality. He then walks over to the closet and picks up all the clothes so he can hang them up on their hangers. He puts the clothes back into the closet before shutting the doors with a soft sigh. After everything is done, he still doesn't hear his mom making any sounds from the bathroom. This worries him a little, so he decides to call out to her again. "Mom, are you in the bathroom?" He still gets no reply from her. Tyler looks away from the bathroom, feeling low, when he hears a sudden thump coming from the other side of the wall. "Mom?" Tyler calls out again.
He takes a deep breath before he walks over to the bathroom door. It's slightly ajar, so he's able to peek through. On the floor, he sees his mom lying on the ground with some crimson splattered all over the tiles and her arms and clothing. He pushes open the door quickly and drops down to the floor to see if she's still breathing. 'Fuckfickfuckfuck—oh my god... Taylor— She's in the basement... Dammit,' the short-haired brunette frantically thinks. He puts two fingers under her jaw and thankfully feels a pulse. He lets out a soft breath of relief before snapping back into action. He quickly gets up and walks out of the bathroom, out of his mother's room, and into the hallway to reach the main bathroom. He rummages through the medicine cabinet and finds some bandages and some gauze before grabbing two small face towels. He takes what he needs and returns to his mother's bathroom, where he must quickly mentally prepare himself to deal with this mess. When he's on the bathroom floor again, he puts down what he was carrying onto the bathmat. The next thing he does is inspect her to make sure that she's still alive again by placing two fingers under her jaw one more time just to reassure him. He waits a couple of seconds as he feels her pulse under his fingertips. 'Still breathing,' he thinks, feeling relief washing over him again. He stands up and wets a cloth in one of the sinks with warm, soapy water before ringing it out and coming back down to clean the wound on her right arm. He holds her right arm in his hand and just stares down at the cuts for a second before dabbing the lukewarm, soapy cloth on her arm to wash away the blood. She jerks her arm away from him hard. It slips right through his fingers. Tyler quickly calmed the rage that was threatening to bubble up. He grabs her arm again and cleans the wound the best he can while she winces on the ground, seemingly semi-conscious with the way her eyes are squinting and with the way she keeps twitching. He doesn't know how long she's been lying here, but it must have been at least half an hour, maybe. The wounds look pretty fresh still. They hadn't even begun to scab or even stop bleeding yet. 'It doesn't look or sound like she hit her head, so I think she's just...' He can't finish his thought. It's like he's on autopilot now. He can't afford to lose his focus now. He needs to get these bandages and put her to bed.
He cleans the cuts some more before he dries off the area with a different towel. Tyler tosses the towel behind him and then reaches for the bandages. He applies some of the soft, fluffy material to the wounds before wrapping them in gauze. After that's wrapped, he puts the gauze aside. Now comes the tricky part. The next thing he does is help her stand up. It's no easy task, but he manages to get her to wrap an arm easily around his neck before using all the strength in his legs to stand up, with her leaning all her weight onto his side. Maybe it's the fact that she doesn't weigh as much as she did a month ago, or perhaps the fact that he learned how to pick someone up when they're on their side like this from watching a firefighter's video and the internet, but this has become a bit easier to do. Well, that doesn't really matter right now. She lets out a groan as her head falls back on her shoulders, then rolls forward. Her head hangs low in front of her, her greasy hair covering her hollow-looking face. Tyler gulps down a nervous breath as he tries to regain his composure. "Okay, Mom. We're going to move now, okay? You can lay on the bed in just a few seconds, but you have to move your legs with me," the short-haired brunette says with a clearly fake, enthusiastic voice. He helps his mom to her bed very slowly before gently laying her down on her side. She lets out a soft groan before she rolls over onto her left side. She curls up into a ball again and reaches out to hug a pillow that's right next to her. Her hair covers her face before she buries her face into the pillow. Tyler decides just to walk away while he can. She's not in a bad mood right now, nor is she in any danger. He walks over to the end of the bed and picks up the bedding on the floor to put it in the hamper on the other side of the room. Picking up the hamper, he takes one last glance behind him—knowing he shouldn't, but sometimes he just can't help the temptation. All he wants is just to see his mom again, the one who came to his baseball games, the one who encouraged him when he was struggling in English class, the one who listened to him talk about how his passions for hours. But...sometimes he thinks that the day their dad died was the day she also died. With a heavy heart, he turns away and takes the hamper out of the room. He closes the door behind him with a soft click door as the door signals to him that it's shut.
Tyler lets out a shaky sigh as he makes his way towards the stairs leading down to the first level of the house. He needs to get these clothes down to the basement.
While making his way down the stairs with the laundry hamper, he hears Taylor coming up from the basement. They stare at each other at opposite ends of the hall before Taylor goes into the kitchen to start dinner. The short-haired brunette goes downstairs to drop off the hamper so he can wash it later in the day. Maybe he'll have to wash it tomorrow since Taylor was already down there today.
Tyler takes a few steps down the stairs leading into the basement when the cold air chills the skin on his exposed arms. He still has his sleeves rolled up. He's always hated the basement. It's always so dark and cold and honestly too quiet for him. Descending the winding stairs, the cold air makes him feel as though he has just touched death or something. Entering the laundry room, he hears the washer going. He quickly reaches for the light on the left side of the room and flicks it on with a forced, anxious breath out. He sets the laundry hamper down next to the side wall on the other side of the room and lets out a long sigh as he leans overthe table next to where he placed the laundry hamper. It takes a couple of deep breaths before he can fully regain himself.
Taking care of their mother has been a greater struggle for Tyler than it has been for Taylor. He lets her go out and do normal teenage things while he stays at home and takes care of their mother, with the occasion of Taylor actually taking care of their mom. It's mainly when he's at baseball practice or picking up groceries or something like that. It's a burden that he puts on himself that daily only because he feels like he has to. He doesn't need to be the sole caretaker of their mom; however, he feels like he owes Taylor something—happiness, maybe. The thing that he needs to be right now is strong, and he doesn't need Taylor to see him like this. He's always been the stronger twin, or so said his uncle. He just figured that he needed to be strong for everyone in the house because it was such a difficult time back then. Now is different, but it's difficult to break old habits. Their dad is gone; he's never going to come back. That's why Tyler took up the role of provider. When their mother fell into a very deep depression, it was up to him to do everything in the house because she was incapable of even getting out of bed by herself. He doesn't blame her, though. However, grief shouldn't last this long, should it? The therapist said it shouldn't, but sometimes connections go deeper than just grieving for a year. When you truly fall in love with someone, it can be very, very difficult to let them go. Sometimes, the grieving person will be unaware that they are hurting loved ones around them really badly because they get clouded with depression. That's why I think they have to continue talking to her, getting her out of the house, taking her on walks, and taking her out shopping, to the grocery store—wherever. It takes time, said the therapist, but how much time will it take for his mom to at least regain a semblance of her old self?
He didn't exactly understand what the therapist meant in the beginning but tried everything to get their mom back. Taylor has really helped a lot of the time, and she still does so often. However, he feels like she's losing hope because she is spending less time with their mother, she keeps going out late, and she keeps ignoring her responsibilities around the house, too. Again, Tyler doesn't blame her, but sometimes he just wishes that he didn't have the burden of taking care of their mother everyday. Shouldn't a parent be taking care of their children, not the other way around?
The radiator in the other room, where they store old things from their last move, makes a hissing sound, and that kick-starts Tyler's heart a little as he jumps and slams his hip into the table. "Fuck!" He hisses out in pain before making a mad dash to the stairs and running up them like a scared young child running from the monster under their bed. Once he's about halfway up the stairs, he calms himself and tries to walk up the rest as quietly as he can. When he walks into the kitchen upstairs, Taylor gives him a funny look before gesturing with her head to chop up some vegetables.
"Don't say it," Tyler says, rolling up his sleeves and heading to find a knife in one of the drawers. Taylor lets out a snicker as she puts some meat into a pan to cook.
"I didn't say anything," the long-haired brunette says, her face sporting a smug look. Tyler blushes and looks away, not wanting to deal with this right now.
—
The next day, the solar lights appear at the Clarks' house, and Aiden asks them all to come over.
Phantom Club
Aiden;)
Yo
Yo
Yo
Ash
What?
Stop spamming
Tay-Tay
What's up, Aiden?
Aiden;)
The lights finally came in!
Ben
Tay-Tay
Finally!
Aiden;)
I also have something 4 evry1
Meet at Ash's in 30
Logan
Now?
Aiden;)
Tay-Tay
Tyler and I will b over shortly
Ash
Why my place?
Tay-Tay
Do you have ballet today?
Ash
No...
Aiden;)
Then it's perfect!
Ben and I will b over in 10
Ash
When the group finally arrives at Ashlyn's house, they see open boxes in the bus, with Ashlyn, Ben, and Aiden crowding around them. He bought them all black suits to wear along with ordering the solar lights. "So that's why you asked for all our sizes?" Tyler asks. Aiden nods with a smile on his face as he continues to dig in the lights box. 'I thought he was just being a creep... But why...this? We're not assassins,' he thinks, his eyes narrowing.
—
A week later, they're all finally approved for the self-defense training! It took some convincing from Ben's parents, given his past, but apparently, Ashlyn's parents explained it in a way that allowed this self-defense to be learned in a controlled manner, just as he had with the kids earlier that week.
Logan's parents and grandparents came to talk with Ashlyn's parents in person. The twins weren't complicated at all and got an okay right away because Taylor and Tyler both knew that their mother wouldn't even acknowledge them asking permission to do something. They haven't had to ask their mom for permission to do something in a very long time. For Aiden. A video call, and his parents just said yes. They sounded like they didn't care, but a yes is a yes.
—
They meet at Ashlyn's house on Monday after school and begin their training. Tyler is up first. "Your footwork needs some work, but honestly, you have a really great start," Mike says right before he knocks Tyler's feet right out from under him, and the short, brunette-haired boy falls onto his back. As for Logan, he's a bit too timid. He's doing okay, but there's much to improve.
"Your dad's brutal," Tyler says, rubbing the back of his neck as he stands next to the ginger-haired girl who's sitting on a piece of concrete. Ashlyn lets out a soft, amused breath through her mouth. "Yep... No one in this world is going to let us off easy. So, he's teaching us to the fullest."
"Great," Tyler says sarcastically. He's actually very interested in this, but he's just trying to act nonchalant.
*Thump*
They hear from the other side. "Actually... I think I'm more scared of your mom," Tyler admits with a slight shiver as he sees them sitting on his ass with his arm in an uncomfortable position behind him. Ashlyn smiles up at him. Aiden watches from afar until his name is called. He shakes his head, and Taylor pushes him out there. Emma doesn't go easy on him, just like she didn't go easy on Ben. Tyler finds it a little amusing as he watches the blonde-haired boy get flipped onto his back.
"Whew," Emma says, standing up straight and leaning back to crack her back. "I think we should stop there for today." She smiles brightly. "I haven't done this in a bit!"
"Safe—" Logan lets out a sigh of relief, but that's short-lived.
"Don't let your guard down," Mike says as he puts Logan in a headlock. Tyler and Ashlyn both flinch at the sudden movement on the mat in front of them.
When they stop for real, Emma asks, "Do you guys want to come in and play board games? I can make snacks for you guys if you want."
"Sorry, we have to study for our math test," Taylor says, and Tyler nods in agreement.
"I've got a chemistry test," Logan says, stretching his aching muscles.
"Bio test," Ashlyn says.
"I don't know." Aiden shrugs, feeling sure about each part of his body. Ben just smiles. He has a science test on Earth materials.
"My condolences. I'll just bring some snacks out," Emma says with a wink before going back into the house to get them. Mike followed her.
Ashlyn gets up and goes around a bus, bearing them pretty quickly, slightly alarming the other five kids. Aiden, Ben, and Taylor follow the ginger-haired girl around the bus while Tyler and Logan hang back. "What're they doing?" Logan asks, turning his head to look in the direction they had gone. In response, he just gets a shrug from Tyler before the short-haired brunette takes a sip of his water. The others return after a couple of seconds, following behind the bus.
"Where did you guys go?" Logan asks again, but this time to the blonde-haired boy. Aiden walks over and looks down at the strawberry-blond-haired boy sitting on the ground next to Tyler, who is leaning back against a piece of concrete that Ashlyn had been sitting on earlier.
"Ash thought she heard something, but it was just a crow," Aiden says with a shrug before giggling a little.
"A crow?" Tyler asks. Aiden nods. He looks like he wants to say more, but he doesn't. Instead, the blonde-haired boy just turns away and walks off to follow the ginger-haired girl like a lost puppy dog. Tyler rolls his eyes before looking away and taking another sip of his water. He doesn't feel so good all of a sudden...
They spend an hour studying on their usual bus, taking a few short breaks with the snacks that Ashlyn's mom brought out for them. 'They're honestly pretty good,' Tyler thinks. He wishes that his mom was more like Emma—not that he'd ever admit that out loud. He can't. That would hurt more than it would do good, but... it's true. He loves his mom, but...he...nevermind.
When they decide to call it a day, Tyler offers to drive Logan home again. It's his way of showing that he now more than tolerates the strawberry blonde-haired boy. That sounds wrong... but the short, brunette-haired boy doesn't know how to word it properly. 'Is Logan a friend? Can I call him that?' Tyler thinks, feeling very conflicted. Anyway, he knows what he's going to say, but Tyler always cuts him off because, honestly, it doesn't matter. "Logan, really. I don't mind. It's literally on the way to our house." And that's that. The strawberry-blond-haired boy gets in the back of Tyler's red 1965 Skylark. This car was bought by his dad many years before he and Taylor were born. Their dad wasn't exactly big on fixing up cars, unlike his father, their grandfather, but it was a good little project to keep his mind busy when thedays got tough... The car is a bit unlike the others out there due to the fact it has four doors, but Tyler loves it with all his heart. He cherishes this car because it's a piece of his dad he won't ever forget.
The short, brunette-haired boy starts the car and waits until everyone is buckled up before leaving. Taylor and Logan wave goodbye to the others through the window. Tyler feels okay now.