He knew they could barely stand him, he wasn't stupid, and by the look in her eyes, Briar didn't want him close to her sister.
5
The talk with Jesse left the twins unsettled so they spent their Sunday talking about ways to avoid the gang of bullies at all cost.
Briar promised to herself that she was going to try and control her trips to the restroom and never leave Aly alone in the break or before, after or during class.
She was down to team up with Finn and Rae in order to keep her sister away from Bastian.
A bully broke Briar's heart and left a scar in her knee and she felt unable to handle seeing her sister with a broken heart and she knew that it was all Bastian could bring.
6
When the twins hopped out of the car, Finn was waiting for them next to the door.
As they were walking to the ramp; Briar looked at him and he gave her a thumbs-up, meaning he was ready.
– Hey Aly
– Hey Finn – she could recognise the voice of all her classmates by now
– Asked for permission to study together next weekend?
The first exams, it was harder for the girl of amber eyes since they had to be all oral for her.
– Yea. Mom and dad didn't have a problem
– Cool
– The help is more for me than for her, trust me
The trio went straight to Briar's locker and Finn took Aly's hand as the girl of the blue eyes stared at the schedule and took the books and notebooks she'll need to throw them in her backpack.
– Aly! – Bastian wanted to get close but Briar and Finn positioned themselves on either side of her and walked away
– Was that Bastian?
– It was nobody
Bastian just stood there thinking if she didn’t hear or decided to ignore him.
– What's up, mate?
– I'll have to catch Aly later, I need to talk to her
– Don't waste your time
– I beg your pardon?
– Look, I know that she's pretty and nice but you don't really want to date her or play the nurse for the rest of your life, you know she's not easy to get and that's why you want her, as soon as she gives you the chance you'll leave her
– You think you have me all figured out, don't you?
– That's what we do – he shrugged –. Come on, there's plenty of girls that want you so just move on
"He's right" He shrugged and followed Tobias to the classroom.
7
Bastian spent the week flirting and getting himself "study" dates for Friday and Saturday.
He was the type of person that left the time to study seriously for the very last second.
He would always study at night and he felt it worked for him.
With his behaviour, Briar and Finn confirmed he was indeed a player and they were right about their idea of protecting Aly and keep her out of his reach.
Every time he intended to get close to the girl of amber eyes, Briar would make her sister ignore it or just take her hand and walk her to somewhere else.
The first ten times he shrugged and turned away rolling his eyes thinking that Briar was beyond immature.
"Now I can't talk to her or what?"
– What's your problem, huh? – He called at Briar's back when he tried to make conversation with Aly and she took her arm
– You're my problem, tosspot! – She turned to him to say that and gave him the finger
– Bitch – he was about to walk to them
– Leave them alone – Finn said grabbing him by the collar
– Why, because you tell me to?
– Now that Aly knows your ways she doesn’t want you close, she repulses you! – Finn exclaimed to then let him go, and Bastian stared at his former lacrosse teammate as if he punched him in the face, eyes wide and the whole deal –. Briar won't let her sister hang out with a bully and neither will I – he walked to Rae's car to take the girls home leaving Bastian shocked
– Hey, come on – Tobias took his arm so they could gather with their late-night companions
8
– Tobias, do you have Briar's phone number? – Bastian changed the conversation subject as they made a trip to the lockers
– I do, but she must have changed it after what happened
– I want to try, let me see
Bastian wanted to talk to her to see if she'll let him get close to Aly if he cleared things up but didn't want to do it face to face because leaving aside the fact that he's banned, the eldest twin can be pretty scary.
– Who's calling you? – Aly asked as Briar brushed her hair
– It's Bastian – she informed looking in the screen the number Finn added for this particular case and rolled her eyes
– Why does he have your number?
– I bet Cross gave it to him, I never changed it
– Your stupid ex – Aly had to admit the mention of Tobias Cross still boiled her blood
– Easy Aly
– If he asks, I'm busy
– I'm not answering – she was about to press the red button
– Just to know what he wants Bree – Aly didn't like it when people ignored calls
– I will not do such a thing
– Okay, I'll answer! Press the button for me
– Hello?
– Briar! I'm so glad you answered
– This is not Briar
– Aly, I was going to beg your sister to let me talk to you
– Who gave you this number?
– Tobias – he said making her curse under her breath
– And what do you want? – She insisted and then heard him say 'excuse me' in a whisper and then closed a door
– I need to discuss something with you, it's very important
– I'm not interested
– Please, Alyssa! Just hear me out, I'm begging you
– Fine, I give you 30 seconds. No more
– That's all I need – he stopped to take a deep breath and then started –. I'm in love with you, madly. You just attract me so much; your eyes, your smile, your personality since Tobias introduced me. I was fighting against it hard and but then I fell for you
– Is this a simple joke to the weird eyed freak? Did you lose a bet, Bastian?
– Okay. Firstly, nobody thinks you're a freak, everybody in the school literally envies your eyes and respect you very much and second, I'd never bet on you. What do you take me for?
– That's what you make me think with your attitude! – She protested –. My sight might not be the best but I hear very well and I don't like what I've been hearing about you
– I would never be mean to you Alyssa what I said is the truth
– Well forgive me but I can't believe you, Bastian. This better not be a lost bet because I swear that…
– Why can't you believe me? – He asked cutting her off mid-sentence
– Because of the way you are and act with your friends
– But I'm not like that with girls
– C'mon, do you think I'm stupid? I talk quite a lot to Jesse and he told me about the kind of bets that you guys make so go waste your crap with one of your whores that are stupid enough to believe your little stories
9
Bastian didn't stop trying to get closer to Aly but Briar and Finn didn't stop getting Aly out of his way, either, since his promiscuous ways lived on, more discretely but they did.
He spent the year thinking of ways to get rid of them. Unsuccessfully.
The two weeks of finals came to an end, Aly finished the year victorious as always, with straight A which was surprising for her new classmates due to her condition. Briar followed close, not as perfect as her sister but not bad at all.
– So when will Terrence come back? – Finn asked in the lunch break
– Who's Terrence? – Jesse, who joined the squad after Finn left the team looked at the twins inquisitively
– Our eldest brother – Aly answer
ed as she unwrapped her sandwich
– He's coming back a couple of days before Christmas
– Where is he?
– In Scotland, he wanted a change for his practice
– He's a doctor or something?
– Similar, he's on the way to be an Optometrist
– The people that tell you if you need to wear glasses?
– Yea but he still needs a master and the doctorate
– For what?
– He's helping our parents with the cause to get my sight back
– And you'll wait like 6 years?
– He said to us the last time we spoke that he met a specialist from the U.S. so he may be able to help
– If it isn't an indiscretion, when did you lose your sight? – Jesse asked
– I was born what you can call completely normal but then cataracts started to develop when I was 8 weeks old
– And why do you use a braille keyboard to study and read in braille if you aren’t blind?
– In my early years I started using glasses because I see cloudy but one day I started to get migraine because I was forcing my poor sight too much so when I stopped using them the optometrist suggested braille because if I don’t get surgery I can end up blind so I’m basically just anticipating – Aly answered and he nodded, not really knowing what to say, he made a quick subject change
– Can I meet him?
– Sure, you two will
When the end of the break was just 7 minutes away, the quartet walked to the classroom.
Briar couldn't hold it and left her sister with the boys to run to the restroom, knowing that they would take good care of her if Bastian dares to try and get close.
Finn helped Aly to sit down and took a seat behind her and Jesse sat behind the desk where Briar's backpack was resting in.
– Aly, I'm barely knowing you and I'm very curious
– Ask away
– Why don't you go to some sort of special school? – He asked and Finn pursed his lips and gestures that he was going to commit murder dramatizing a cut in the neck deep enough to leave him nearly headless to then point him
He was curious too since they didn't get to that point when Bastian forced confessions in the first week but he never asked so Aly wouldn't feel bad and so Briar wouldn't get mad if he asked those unwise things.
– Oh, that's quite simple – she said unaffected –. Because of Briar – she sighed–. At first, my parents offered me to go to this school for the visually impaired here in Sydney right after we walked out of the optometrist but I didn't want because I wanted to be like an average teenager and besides I wanted to be with Briar. Sometimes I think I made the wrong choice because in a school full of people with the same condition I would be treated as an equal, not like somebody fragile that needs compassion and special treatment but that feeling vanishes when I remember I did it because I didn't want my sister to go through this alone
Briar stayed in the doorway listening, she already knew that but she didn't think Aly would say it out loud to somebody else and she started thinking that if her sister was opening up to Finn and Jesse then maybe she could give them a shot.
10
Terrence landed in Sydney four days before Christmas just in time to celebrate the 17th birthday of his favourite twins.
Their birthday parties were the best part and he couldn't help but get excited every single year.
The Brighton family had 3 days of celebration.
The evening of December 24, there's a Christmas dinner and they open gifts in the midnight, after that, it was the twins' time.
Briar's official birth time was at night, so the fun started at 11:00 pm and the grandparents along with aunts and uncles came and they all would be in the back yard staying close as their dad checked out on the hamburgers, talking with music in the background.
The clock was ready to count down ten seconds on the way to 11:56, the girl of the blue eyes received her birthday with confetti cannons and her cake comes out so they sing the song and she blows out the candles.
Then, 19 minutes later, there was also a count down and they sang happy birthday to Aly as their parents came with another cake and a cupcake so she could blow the candle out safely.
Terrence loved to see them cutting the cakes together and their parents took pictures to then put them in albums.
Aly’s cataracts were not so noticeable, their dad just told her where to look clockwise and she would look straight to the front.
He also loved that they were making friends since Rae, Finn, and Jesse joined the fun.
It was somewhat weird to him that they were more guys instead of girls but they were nice.
He liked Finn the most and would perfectly allow it if he wanted to date one of his sisters.
11
The last year of senior secondary school has begun for the twins.
– How was your vacation, Finn? – Bastian asked as they put books in their backpack
– It was alright
– Any highlights?
– Aly and Bree invited us to their birthday party
– Us?
– Rae and I
– When was it, their birthday?
– After Christmas but it was odd
– Why odd?
– As I could manage to understand Bree was born on the 25th at 11 something pm and we sang happy birthday and then when it was 26th and Aly was born and we sang happy birthday to her and then they cut the cake together
– Different birth dates, wow
– Yea – Finn shrugged
He knew exactly the times in which they were born but wanted to act as if he didn't care.
He didn’t want to tell him that they had a brother, also, if Bastian really wanted to make it right with Aly, he had to meet Terrence eventually.
Meeting Terrence would also make Bastian think it again if he wanted to hurt her.
Actually, Rae and Finn had a hard time, just like Jesse, thinking about the twins' presents.
Briar was easy, but Aly wasn't.
For the three of them, it was the first time they met somebody with Aly’s problem but wanted to make it right.
Finn bought two poetry books by Lewis Carroll in braille for Aly and a novel for Briar.
Rae decided to gift them a pair of earrings and a necklace to each. She realised that even if Aly’s sight is all cloudy she likes to look good. Aly goes to school with a cat eye, for crying out loud!
Jesse was a little bit more complicated, he spent a part of his monthly savings to buy a braille phone from the UK and ran to a local bookstore to get a book of photography.
***
During the lacrosse practice, Tobias couldn't help but realise that Bastian was a bit off.
– The hell is up with you today? – He went straight to the point in the locker room
– Aly and Briar turned 17
– I know
– And they invited Finn, my invitation must have lost in the mail
– They avoided you half a year, mate – he protested –. Why would they invite you anyway?
– You have to help me to get to her, to my gold eyed angel
– How so?
– I told her I'm in love with her, she thought I lost a bet, told me to go fuck myself and hung up
– That's what you get for being so close to this team, you're becoming exactly like them and I told you at the very beginning that Anthony and Felix aren't a good company
– Then what do you recommend?
– You know how Aly is and if you want her to at least be near you in a class, you obviously need to get new friends just if you truly love her and want her to be with you
– That's what I want but you know what? – He stood up taking his bag – I don't want to be this anymore
– What do you mean?
– I don't want to be a bully, I don't want to be on this team, tell Anthony I'm out
– You can't do that, are you crazy?
&nbs
p; – I like Aly, a lot, and if being a bully is the reason why Briar and Finn are taking her away from me then I'm out!
Tobias stared blankly at his empty and open locker and felt goosebumps. Anthony and Felix won't like another absence on the team.
12
– Turner! – Anthony closed his locker door abruptly, he could barely manage to take his hand out and the noise the door made scared him to death making him jump but he tried to look normal
Bastian turned to see Anthony and Felix Milner, the worst bullies in school.
When secondary began, they entered the lacrosse team without knowing that bullying others came with that package too.
He didn't want to hurt anybody but had to accept that condition if he wanted to be completely accepted.
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