Breathe

eighteen

[ nora ]

I stare down at my dessert. The pink cherry cupcake is topped with perfectly swirled vanilla icing. It looks nearly too perfect.

"Are you going to eat that?" Spencer nods her head towards the small cake.

My eyes slowly raise, but I find myself looking past her shoulders to the view beyond.

Cole sits at his normal table, with all of the other stereotypical people at his sides. The only difference between now and a few weeks ago is that now he stares at me. He hasn't looked away since lunch started.

I blush and push the cupcake towards Spencer.

Georgia yet again seems to notice how uncomfortable I appear but chooses not to say anything. Like the thoughtful person she is, she simply gives a sympathetic look and changes the subject.

"Spencer, is that your brother over there? He looks like a lost puppy."

I follow their gazes to find a dark headed boy who does in fact look like a lost puppy.

"Yeah." She dips her finger into the icing before waving at him.

He awkwardly waves back and walks over to us.

Spencer takes a bite of the cupcake and almost instantly spits it out into a napkin. "Is that cherry?"

I nod, suddenly self-conscience as I feel the new pair of piercing green eyes on me.

"I didn't even know cherry was a cupcake flavor. That's disgusting." Her face twists with displeasure.

The mysterious boy, who now sits across from me, fakes a gasp. "Spencer," he proclaims as he places his hand over his heart, "don't you ever talk bad about a cupcake ever again."

He snatches it from her and takes a bite. "Personally, I find them delicious."

"Me too." I mumble and look into my lap. He blocks my view of Cole.

"Nora, this is Miles." Spencer glares at him. "He's my twin brother."

My head snaps back up to take them both in.

"I didn't know you had a twin."

"Well, you've been quite busy lately." She doesn't say it too harshly, but there is some kind of pang behind the statement.

Georgia just reaches over and pats my hand.

"It's whatever." Miles takes another bite. "I prefer to tell people we're not related at all."

He smiles and something inside of me snaps.

"They really are nothing alike." Georgia pipes in.

I look at their matching jet black hair and bright eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Well they have a general similarity but in two complete opposite ways."

Spencer pokes at his glasses. "Yeah, this dork is nothing without me. He can't even talk to anyone without stuttering."

He shifts in his seat.

"I haven't noticed any stuttering."

"That's because I'm around. It's some twin bond thing."

He rolls his eyes, but I can tell he's secretly embarrassed by the slight blush on his face.

I understand what Georgia meant by her statement. They're both considered socially awkward by society, but one is usually loud and the other is apparently quiet and stutters.

"So, why did you have a cherry cupcake anyway?" He brushes the crumbs into his hands and looks at his sister.

"Oh, it wasn't mine. It was Nora's."

The look on his face reminds me of someone who has found a piece of art that helps them to discover a new part of their soul. All of those emotions, and all it took was a cherry cupcake.

"Nora." He repeats my name as if he's going to remember it forever.

My face feels more red than the cherry flavoring.

"I'm, um, pleased with your taste in treats."

I smile.

But my happiness is interrupted.

"Can I sit with you guys for just a second?"

The face I see above me has never made me so terrified. I can't explain why it has this effect on me all of a sudden.

"Of course." Georgia answers for me.

He sits close.

I notice how Miles stares at the floor.

The two of them are such a contrast. Light hair and dark hair. Muscle and lanky. Confident and awkward.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" He whispers the words in my ear.

Part of me truly does feel for him, but it's like he's a puzzle piece that just doesn't fit right.

"Um, I-" Miles starts to get out of his seat. "I think- Well, I need to- I'm going to go."

His stunning black hair falls into his face.

I watch him walk away. A strange feeling creeps into the pit of my stomach.

"Nora."

"Cole?"

"I miss you."

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[A/N]

honest opinion / review of this chapter?

I'm trying to make it last as long as possible lol