Rotten Nostalgia

His preferences abundantly clear, Evie sank down in her chair all the more, crossing her legs and looking entirely comfortable precisely where she was. Truthfully she didn't mean to be so bitter towards her twin, but her parents had driven this particular wedge so far in between them that the path of tension was usually the most obvious one. As for being such a bitch to him? That too was because he simply made it so easy to be. "Oh, so now you're interested in my life?" Edy shot back with a tittery sort of laugh. "For all you know I come here often. My friends are just outside after all. They were the ones who brought the Spark Bird here by raising the perch and then fixing it." She added with a triumphant smirk. evie Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere

SAMUEL STRETCH OUT MY LIFE & PICK THE SEAMS OUT Suddenly, as he heard Evie's laugh and teasing words, Sam felt a hard anger wash over him. Not the pettiness of before, not the embarrassment or bitterness, but a steel wall around his emotionalism. With a flat, dry voice, he responded: "Then I gu-guess we're friends. Be-because I helped raise the perch. With my b-boyfriend and some others." Not even a triumphant smile could be brought from him this time, the victory made shallow by his anger. "I didn't s-see you there." He placed the glass down at the bottom of his chair and looking up from his leaned over position, gave Evie a look that spoke volumes more than he could have ever said. "You are n-not bet...better than me." take what you like, but close my ears and eyes, watch me stumble over and over.

"You mean you did something useful for once? Wow. Look at you go Sam. Its only taken you 26 years to finally do something with your life." What was probably meant to be some small win from Sam, only made Evie shrug. "No, you're right. I wasn't there. Good observation brother. Its almost like I had other things to be doing. As Sam looked up at his twin, Evie almost thought she saw something brave in his eyes. But his stuttered speech ruined the effect almost instantly, and the twisted smile on her pretty pink lips was evidence of that. "No, of course not. You, the big brave ascended. You with the boyfriend who drinks wine now, and can feel things with his fancy upgrade." Evie said in a sarcastic whisper. She was a Wordsworth after all, and would not start a shouting match with her twin in such a public place. "I guess if I'm not better than you, that makes you better than me, hm? Well good for you Sam. I really hope that makes you feel better." evie Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere

SAMUEL STRETCH OUT MY LIFE & PICK THE SEAMS OUT "You we-were proud of...of the perch a moment ago." Sam pointed out, growing weary of the contradictions in Evie's desperate digs at him. Did she consider the perch worthwhile or not? When it had been her friends building it she seemed proud enough, but now that he'd been involved it was a waste of time. He sighed and rubbed at his temples. "I'm not b-better than yo..you either. That's...n-not what I'm trying to say. I just...I d-don't know why you...you...why you w-want to talk to m-me like this. After y-years of our p..parents doing it." His voice was growing more and more unsteady as he went on, his strength unravelling. "What did I d-do to you, Evie?" take what you like, but close my ears and eyes, watch me stumble over and over.

Evie rolled her eyes with a dramatic sigh. "Yes I am proud of it. You made it sound like I'd done something wrong by not being there to help. But unlike you, I actually have things in my schedule more than once a year. So you'll forgive me for not being there." Biting the inside of her cheek, Evie felt the familiar sting of anger and unfairness pinching the back of her eyes. "What did you ever do?" She repeated in a wounded and hurt whisper. "So after 26 years you've finally decided to stop only thinking about yourself and actually think about someone else?" Rising, the twin glared down at her brother. 'Well 1. it's a little late for that. And 2. the problem is not what you did Sam, but what you didn't. Did you ever stop to think about what that meant for me? No of course you didn't. It was always boo hoo Sam, right?" evie Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere

SAMUEL STRETCH OUT MY LIFE & PICK THE SEAMS OUT "I have a j-job and a store, you..you know." Sam said with an irritated sigh, knowing he was busy enough with things but still feeling automatic guilt from her words. Even when he knew things weren't true he found it hard to swallow the instant reaction of shame they invoked in him. He was honestly, truly, confused by what she said next. What would he have needed to do for her? Evie had had everything she'd ever wanted laid out for her on a silver platter. She had been loved, preferred, accepted; he had never seen her wish for anything. But honestly? No matter what she might have gone through in secret, he didn't feel like it could match his formative years. "Oh. I'm s-sorry, I didn't realise you we...were taken to a sh-shrine and fo-forced to undergo a p-painful transformation because you weren't g-good enough." His voice dripped with bitter sarcasm as he stared into the fire, trying to block out the memories of his first day at the shrine. take what you like, but close my ears and eyes, watch me stumble over and over.

"A store?" Evie asked, genuinely surprised and curious. Clenching her teeth together, Evie could only roll her eyes with a huff. "If you had tried even a little none of that would have happened. Did you even bother to visit any shrines when we were kids? To try and get the favour of the gods? We're accepted Sam, it isn't that hard." Saying this, especially for Evie, made her voice lash out coldly and harshly because while it was true for Sam once upon a time, it had never been true for her. "And now that you're strong and fast and can't get hurt and after its been like 10 years, you're still whining about it. Get over it Sam. You're an adult now, feel free to act like it." evie Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere

SAMUEL STRETCH OUT MY LIFE & PICK THE SEAMS OUT Her words were still like spears, reaching right to the core of his insecurities and pain, and Sam could stand no more. He stood, his face a picture of hurt anger. He began to walk away, to find Remi or cry or get to a quiet place or something, but he found himself needing to step back and have a last word. She wasn't right, though. He knew that. When would he have had the chance to go to shrines? To explore his Acceptedness? He had been kept inside, forbidden to go anywhere alone, hurt and neglected and controlled at once. Choice had not been something he had possessed until very recently. "It's...i-it's not very adult to approach someone j-just to bitch and in-insult at them either, but here you are." Sam pointed out. "Goodbye, Evie." take what you like, but close my ears and eyes, watch me stumble over and over.

Evie laughed brightly before leaning in towards Sam with a poisonously sweet smile. "Not very adult? As if you know the first thing about it." Turning, hopefully before Sam could, Evie tried to waltz towards the bar as casually as possible, with a youthful and bright smile on her face. If she could, she'd order a glass of wine from the bartender Sam had kissed. If successful, she'd turn around and offer a silent cheers to her twin. Goodbye indeed. evie Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere