Dawn Hollow

XXVI

The first full day came and went pretty fast. Going around and around the Monopoly board seemed like strange second nature. Their eyes were glazed in sleepless thoughts, yet they never felt more alive.

Melinda was in pretty rocky grounds, only having cheap properties with no hotels and the familiar pattern of landing on all other owned properties with no one landing on any on hers.

Kane was doing rather well, having one of the dark blue spaces but not much else. He kept landing in jail, which made him shiver, but he always found a way to break himself out.

And then there was PJ, who couldn't stop banking everyone else's money. As a result, he had most of the commonly landed on properties, hotels on the cheap ones, and all four railroads. Not to mention, he was the person who struggled to break up fights between Kane and Melinda when they failed to pay up what they owed.

After the house had gone pretty quiet at some point in the night, Kane still laid awake. In the dull lamplight, he had Sock comfortably grumbling in his lap as well as PJ against his shoulder, dead asleep with a paper $100 slowly floating out of his hand. He wasn't looking at anything in particular, but his eyes were half-lidded and staring at his old stonewall fireplace. Though not lit, it still brought him warmth from all the memories of sitting around it during Christmas or just cold, snowy nights. His mother would make hot gingerbread tea for him of her own recipe. It was nearly the best thing below her pumpkin bread. She was amazingly talented in the art of sweet things. The memories curved his lips.

A door down the hall squeaked against its hinge upon curving open widely. Kane's ears twitched with the spike of the sound. The hair limply resting atop his head rubbed oddly against the couch when he turned his head, seeing Noah emerge from the hallway rubbing his weary eyes. Kane bobbed his head back forward. The fireplace was still as fascinating as ever.

"What are you doing up?" Kane asked uninterestedly.

"Got up to use the restroom and saw the light out here. What about you? It's nearly 2:30 in the morning. You know we need all the rest we can get, especially now," Noah replied. Kane sighed, looking back over at him before once again turning away, patting the open spot next to him on the floor to sit. Confused, Noah took it.

"You're funny, Noah," He grinned and scoffed.

"I...I don't understand."

"You're dogging on me to sleep, yet you really expect me to sleep after everything that's happened these past few days?"

"I am not expecting or wanting you to do anything. I'm just recommending that you sleep. There's a difference between caring and just generally wanting you to be okay!"

"Then what was it before this happened?" Kane snapped, making the sleepy PJ stir but immediately fell back asleep, "Did you care about me before or just 'want me to be okay?'"

"I...ugh! I did care about you! I actually did! You're a good dude with a big heart, and you're brilliant and sweet, and you mean well! Sure, you pissed me the hell off when you were gonna ask PJ to the dance, but I can live with that because...I don't know. Maybe Joseph was right, and you're better for his happiness than I am. And I was willing to look past everything because I knew PJ was happy. But then, I turned my back, and you're a murderer! Like, what the fuck? That's the biggest 180 you can do!"

"I get that you're upset, and if I was in your position, I'd be too. But you're not doing the one thing that I would, and that's listening. And if you were wise, that's exactly what you'd do now!" Noah opened his mouth to protest, but an invisible force stopped him, lips sealing and body relaxing. Open to hearing at last. "I was born different, given a gift that carries severe consequences when taken out of control. I was never trained to control it or 'improve it.' I grew up knowing that I was not alone in my body. That there was a monster inside of me. I grew up scared of everything I am because I wasn't even sure what I had to be afraid of."

"And that was because you weren't even in full control, huh?"

"Exactly. Mixed with never remembering what would happen when I was out of control, I grew afraid of the skin on my bones."

"That...that actually makes sense." Noah crossed his arms, looking at the socks on his feet with wide eyes and rolled lips. "I'm sorry that you go through all that and still continue to struggle with it."

"Not much to apologize for. It's out of anyone's hands," Kane responded, coming to terms. "My question for you, though, is why does it only make sense to you now?"

"I don't know. I think deep down it always did, and I figured you weren't in control, but I didn't want to listen to that side of me because I didn't want to believe that was true. So I thought maybe this was a valid reason to not like you! Because- surely I can't be friends with my crush's crush, right?"

"Noah, who fucking cares?" Kane laughed, "You said it yourself; Joseph is right! All you want is to do what's right by PJ, and from all I've seen, what you do is present yourself as a practical god to try and entrance him with it! It's the same with the proposal. I don't think you know anything about PJ besides him liking 'everything' you do. Noah, life sucks shit sometimes. You lose the game despite having the highest score. And while the idea of being in a relationship makes you happy, it doesn't make him as happy as being friends with you does. It's not always the Noah show. But when it is, you can focus more on making sure that he's happy," He finished, bobbing his head over to PJ on his shoulder. The twin let it all sink in with a fond smile at the sleeping form.

"You know it really means a lot. You having this conversation with me."

"Well, don't we both want the same thing? PJ's happiness. For that to happen, I have to make sure that everything surrounding him makes him happy. Even if it doesn't make me the happiest. Like this, I don't want to be mean to you because I like hanging around with you too. You've taught me a lot about this strange world's customs."

"And you've taught me a lot about what I refused to see. Which was nearly anything and everything past the visions in my head," Noah added gratefully. Kane nodded, ruffling PJ's hair with his opposite hand.

"You're not a bad guy, Noah. Just a guy that needs work. But then again, don't we all?" Kane snaked his arm around the twin's neck and left it there. Noah sort of smirked in comfort, leaning his tired head back against it and closing his eyes, the tired energy rushing through him again.

"Actually get some rest, okay?" Noah breathed with shut eyes.

"I'll do my best." The lamp went out, and the room fell into silence.