Into the Mirror (boyXboy)

Chapter 3

In school, Tyler and I were quite well known. Though I tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible by keeping to a certain group of friends, Tyler had been the social butterfly who bared his soul to nearly everyone he met. Resultantly, I also became known among his friends and acquaintances. We were being referred to in conjunction as the "De Luca twins"; often times, people would joke about the fact that there was one twin for each gender: Tyler for the gay men, me for the straight girls. It was a win-win situation to most people. There were also plenty of other comparisons (he's artsy, I'm athletic; he's loud, I'm quiet etc), but the gay-straight one was the main idea most people had of us.

This was why when I exclaimed "I love you!" to Nicholas Anderson, the most common comment after the intense silence was, "Now the straight one is gay too?!", along with a number of disappointed sighs and grumbles.

Nicholas just continued to stare at me with disbelief as I fought with Tyler for control inside my own body. 'Get out!' I shouted at him, though once again it failed to be said upon my own lips. His tinkering giggle resonated within head before my whole self was being relinquished from his dominance, feeling as though I was being compressed and expanded at the same time. Fresh air flooded my lungs as I took a sharp intake of breath, preventing myself from falling by shooting a hand out to the locker beside me. Despite that attempt, I dropped to one knee, hair obscuring my eyes as my shoulder banged heavily into the cold metal, gasps filling the air around me.

"That wasn't me!" I shouted before anyone could come to my rescue. I tried to focus my eyes on him, but my vision shook violently. "That wasn't me! Really!" I cried desperately. With the weakness consuming my body, I slumped against the lockers, fully sliding down to the ground. "My brother loves you! Not me!" my words slurred, mind clouding as my eyes rolled into my head and darkness invaded my world, yet consciousness still existed.

"Andrew!" Tyler fretted, though his voice seemed to be on the brink of reality, along with the others crying out my name. Strong arms lifted me from my place on the ground and I curled into that warmth, as it starkly contrasted with the cold darkness within my body.

"My god..." I heard a deep voice murmur, sending pleasant shivers down my spine. Humming, my consciousness flickered before the darkness devoured me into oblivion.

***

"...drew! Andrew! Andrew!"

"What?!" I shouted, flailing my arm to whatever was relentlessly calling my name, hand passing through air. Snapping open my eyes, I winced at the bright light that pierced my vision, groaning as I squinted.

"Andrew, you're awake!" Tyler squealed, barreling into me. I growled, attempting to pry him off of me.

"Get off of me!" I demanded, struggling within his hold. He only squeezed tighter in response.

"I'm so sorry!" he wailed, digging his nails into my shoulders. "I didn't mean for that to happen! I didn't know it would be so bad! I just couldn't help myself!"

I sighed angrily. "Get the fuck OFF," I shouted, startling him with my cursing. He pulled away from me, sniffling slightly as he glanced away in shame. Breathing through my teeth, I finally was able to absorb my surroundings. I had been laying in a plush white bed, an off white curtain pulled around the small area, along with a glass of still water on the bare side table. Everything was brightly illuminated shallowly from the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. I raised an eyebrow.

"Nurse's office?" I questioned, recognizing the environment from the many times I had a sports injury during school...which was quite often. "Who brought me here?" Just as Tyler was about to answer, someone pulled the curtain open, the metal rings clashing together in a cacophony of sound.