(A/N): If you don't want kids, just bear with me for this chapter cuz its for the sake of the book. I get the 'I don't want them,' opinion, but it's solely for the writing. Notice how I put this at the top, so after you read this you're wondering what the hell I'm taking about haha you'll see. It's not bad. Anyway, I'll let you read.
My sister has always been a follower; I've never seen her make a single decision on her own. One of her "friends" in our old town told her she'd look better with different clothes. So, she set out and bought a whole new wardrobe that looked nothing like her. Or when they suggested she paint her nails because they looked 'awful' without any polish. She doesn't even like nail polish, but she came to school the next day with periwinkle fingers. So when she overheard Samantha suggest to one of her friends that Ginny might be prettier if her hair was straightened, guess what she did?
"Your hair! It's straight."
She shrugged with a slight grin, as if she was basking in the attention. "I wanted a change. New, older me." I scoffed and turned away. New? News flash, village idiot: you're still black. "But I love your natural hair." She rolled her eyes and made a sweet face, "Aww. Then you wear it." I but in, "Straightening your hair doesn't make you a new person...." I added, in a sing-song voice. Her smile seemed to falter, but it appeared again in a second. I hated her blatant attempts to look more like her friends. It was hard enough being black in a predominately white town. But when you see another black person trying so hard not to fit their stereotype that they lose their own identity, it's really frustrating. I pushed my emotions down to help my twin celebrate her birthday. I truly didn't feel like it, but I faked a smile and sang, as mom pulled out some cake. ""Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you..."
"It's 7:00 a.m. I don't want cake." I put my finger over my mouth and kept singing. "Happy birthday dear Ginny..." She cut us off again, "Must you sing the whole song?"
"Yeah," mom said. I put my middle finger up. "Shut up, Ginny I don't wanna be singing all day." She playfully rolled her eyes and laughed. "Happy birthday to you," we finally finished. Mom thrust a package into Ginny's hands. "This came from Zion's parents." Virginia looked a little mad because mom opened it and she commented as much. "They sent 500." Damnnn.
"Happy birthday, Ginny!" Austin looked very cheerful for early in the morning. We rehearsed this last night, down to the smile and perfectly brushed hair. He sat there patiently as I combed it for about 45 minutes this morning and then we practiced smiles in the mirror. "Aww! Thanks, Austin!" He smiled again and looked to see, "Cake! Cake!" Mom shooed him away and forced him to go brush his teeth. Then, she started a whole monologue about Virginia growing up. "Sixteen. An adult. A little woman. My little woman. Louisa May Alcott's all atingle. You really are growing up." Ginny thought this meant she could get an attitude again. "That mean you'll treat me like a grown-up? Trust me with important factors of your life, like, I don't know, off the cuff, the fact that you have a sister and your real name is Mary."
"Ugh, I've already been forced to be all cheery, stop being annoying, Ginny. And, btw, you get treated like an adult when you grow up mentally." Mom waved her finger to the ceiling, "Preach!" Dad got Ginny a piano. Does she even know how to play? He always buys these big, grand gifts, as if he wants us to forget that he's never with us. But that only works on Ginny and Austin. Yes, my mom brags about my father's relationship with me. But is it actually that great? No. I'm not gonna romanticize the relationship I have with someone that's only there when he feels like it.
My twin gave me a hug and last wave before she left the house to go make birthday plans with her friends. I'd come to the sleepover mom was gonna throw, but I didn't want to go to whatever dumb party they were throwing. I hadn't seen Abby in a while, so I didn't mind hanging out with them for a bit, though. Most likely, they'd end up in jail for underage drinking and I'd be sitting at home with an ice cream sundae and Marcus. I ran up the stairs to get dressed for school.
--
"Surprise! Happy birthday!" I waved to Bracia over my head and walked by Ginny with Marcus to my locker that was close by to where they were talking. "You guys really didn't have to do all this." She was ecstatic and the girls waved their hands dismissively, saying it was mostly Max. "It was all Max, actually." Maxine yanked on my sister like a puppet on a string. "I'm so happy you moved here. I don't know what I would have done without you. It would have been like Drake and Josh, but no Josh. Just Drake. But not Drake Drake. Drake. We should all go to a concert together." Marcus and I laughed at his whacko sister. Ginny honestly didn't really add to their conversations and as much as I love my sister, I don't think our moving here made that much of a difference on Maxine. But I was glad she was nagging someone other than me.
Abby looked tired of her overdramatic speech, "OK. Yeah, we get it, Max. Yeah, Ginny's the best. You're amazing. You're the best, and I'm just over it. I'm so over it. And I...I have to go to class." I thought it was kind of bitchy of her, as did her other friends, But I also got how she was feeling on some level. She'd been best friends with Maxine for way longer than Ginny had and she was already the favorite. Her parents were always screaming and she probably didn't feel important at home, either. Norah had a boyfriend and probably didn't care as much for Max's opinion. But Abby even felt second place with Press, her crush, and the opinion of someone who felt that she was first place was really needed, in her case. I went to go talk to her when I saw something I wish I could scratch out of my mind.
"I'm scarred for life." Marcus buried his head in my arm. "Me too, Marcus, me too." It was worse than the song, the Snapchats, the Happy Friday. The infamous tap dance. I shuddered at the thought of it after Hunter had already walked off with Ginny. If she didn't dump him soon, I would beat her up. That was scary. A jumpscare.
Later in the day I overheard yet another conversation, "I think I'm ready to have sex with Hunter." I turned around, stunned, "After that conjuring seance this morning, I don't even want him in our house. You do you I guess, bitch." Ginny giggled and responded, "Why do you always hate on PDA, but then do it all the time? Don't you kiss..I mean.." She realized she wasn't supposed to say anything in front of Maxine. "It's because I'm always the attractive couple people wanna see in public. But you should stay inside, though." She laughed again and turned around. Maxine gave me a face, but decided to turn around too, I guess. I think she's gonna back off a bit now that she has a girlfriend. Good enough for me.
"This is perfect. We'll lose our virginities together. Not in the same room together, 'cause that would be insanely creepy, but doing it the same night is such a best friend bonding thing." Whack job!!
--
I sat across the lawn from my house with my boyfriend. We sat on this cute little blow up couch his mom bought, watching my brother play soccer with Paul. Paul praised my brother as we looked on, "You're a natural. You should join the team, bud." Austin shook his head, a little worried look on his face. I swallowed and Marcus squeezed my hand. I knew Paul would probably comfort him, but I didn't like seeing him sad. "Things like that give me stomachaches." Paul kicked the ball back and gave him a warm glance. "Yeah. It's OK to be nervous." Austin nodded and kicked the ball, "That's what Ginny says. When I'm nervous, she takes me on vacation. So does Y/n." Paul questioned, 'vacation?'
"In books. We go on vacation in books. But Y/n has money, so she brings me on real vacations. To the beach, to the amusement park, she brought me on a food road trip once." Paul had a warm smile on his face when he spoke next. "Well, those are very fun sisters you have." He agreed excitedly, "They're the best. But Ginny said that Wellsbury's weird. I don't wanna go back to school."
"Why not?" He shrugged and kicked the ball back. "'Cause everyone thinks I'm weird." I frowned and Marcus put his arm around me. "He's okay." Even though he reassured me, I still wanted to comfort him. "Weird, huh?" He tried to subtly help. He started doing awkward little motions. "Is that weird?" Austin nodded, "Yes." He did it again, "Hmm? Is this weird?" Austin said 'yes' again. "What if I walked like this? This. Is this weird?" Austin giggled and responded with a yes again. "Then be weird with me, man. Show me what you got!" They started dancing around and being weird, Paul occasionally encouraging him, "Come on! Come on. Yeah, there we go. No, really cut loose. See? Getting weird's fun, man." I smiled and chuckled under my breath a bit. "You're right, Marcus. He's fine." He looked at me in a weird way I hadn't seen him ever look at me before. It seemed kind of loving, comforting, and warm. "Do you want kids? I know that's like an awkward question to ask, but I was just wondering. Or...maybe I should've kept my mouth shut...?"
I gave him a reassuring smile, "It's fine, Marcus. Yes, actually, I do." He nodded, looking down at the floor, with his arm still around me squeezing my shoulder a bit. "Ditto. You like the name Stacy?" I shrugged, "It's an alright name, why?" He shook his head, looking back at me. "No reason. I just wanna be married to Stacy's mom." He burst out in a small laugh he tried to hold in and I lightly swatted at him, laughing. "Does that mean you'd be fine with Jamal?" He grunted in a jokingly aggressive way and turned away. "I actually like the name Renee and the name Lilith. Or Estrella, that's my grandma's sister's name. It means star in Spanish."
"Oh, perfect name for our kid." I flushed a slight pink and grinned at him. "Our kid?" He shrugged like I had and turned, this time moving his legs so that he was facing me directly in front. "I-I really kinda like you," I cut him off, asking 'kinda?' and he slapped me before continuing. "Yeah, Y/n, I do. I know you might think it's, like, sudden of me, but I feel like we've been through a lot and I haven't ever dated anyone before." He cleared his throat, "I've never felt like this, I guess, before and I think I-um, uh." His mouth opened wide like he was gonna speak, but no words came out. I looked at him questioningly and he scratched the back of his neck. We sat there for a few minutes looking at each other before he flashed a smile again. "Yeah, I just think you're cute, neighbor." I kissed him on the cheek, "How sweet of you, Marcus. Be careful, though, romance might ruin your 'rep'."
He chuckled and tackled me off the blow up couch. "How's that for a rep?" We screamed, still laughing, and I took him down. "10, 9, 8...have you given up yet?" His head shook vigorously to say no and he pushed and pulled with all of his might. But, as he was a skinny little stick, on the floor he stayed. "3, 2, 1, and...zero. It's cute that you tried, though!" He rolled his eyes at me and grinned, and I kissed him before getting up. He brushed his clothes off, as did I, and got up from the lawn. "Want a milkshake?" I nodded and Marcus grabbed my hand, running to the car. I waved bye to Austin and Paul, dashing into my front seat.
--
As we walked into Blue Farm, Marcus spoke to me about his new idea for a tradition. "All the couples in the movies have them. We could get a cookie dough milkshake whenever we come here to share. It'd be, like, one of those sock hop dates in Grease." I laughed, "Bold of you to assume a movie from the 90s could tell you anything about dating. He glared, which made me laugh harder. "I don't think they're called 'sock hop' dates, but sure. It's a cute idea." He wiggled his eyebrows and leaned into my face, "For a cute girl." We both chuckled at this, "Wooww, how original. We saw that both of our mothers were at the counter with Maxine. "We're gonna have karaoke, pedicures, cake, a movie, sleepover." Maxine questioned this as we walked up to them. "I asked Georgia to make it a sleepover 'cause your dad and I are in Maine this weekend, and that way, you won't have to be in the house all alone."
"Hmm. What about Marcus?" Their mom shrugged, "He'll be in the house all alone, but he likes to be alone. And Georgia said he can come over if he'd like." Maxine looked appalled, "Um, why exactly would Marcus like to spend time with my friends." Their mom turned to her, looking confused, "He spends time with Y/n all the time. What do you mean?" Marcus tapped his sister lightly from behind. She screamed in response and turned around to hit him hard. "yea, Maxine, whaddya mean? And, ow!" She stuck her tongue out at him menacingly and he returned the face. "We're in public, guys, please stop," their mom 'reminded' them with a stone cold voice.
We stepped away and went to sit at a table, Marcus on the left and I on the right. As if god was answering our hungry stomach's calls, Joe showed up to ask our orders immediately. "One cookie dough milkshake, please." He nodded and waked off with one last smile on his face. "How do you even make a cookie dough milkshake? You can't really blend it."
"It's more like a blizzard, than a milkshake." I absentmindedly nodded, playing with my hands. "We should tell her. I don't like dating you in secret." My eyes widened at Marcus' abrupt sentence. He'd never said something like that before. "What?" He swallowed before continuing. "I'm not good at words or feelings, but I think I'm a good boyfriend, right?" I smiled at him, grabbing his hand under the table. "Of course you are."
"I just, I want everyone to know, I don't know. Maybe it's like a guy, bragging rights, thing. Or maybe it's because Maxine likes you and I don't want her to? Really, I think it's possible because I 'm really proud of the fact that you can stand me." I laughed and squeezed his hand. "I am too," he started laughing as well. "Seriously, though, I'd like that." Marcus gave me an incredulous look, "Really?" "Of course!" I gave him a small hug with my other arm and put my left and his right hand that were interlocking on the table. "We'll tell her tomorrow, though, because she's a little dramatic and I don't want her to ruin your sister's birthday."
"A little dramatic?" He shrugged and put his index and thumb together. "Just a pinch." He beamed at me as I shared the same look with him. "Here's your guy's order." I went to ask if we could have two straws, but I was cut off by Joe's serving. He put the milkshake down on the table with two straws already in it. I glanced back up at Joe, who winked at the both of us, and sauntered away, clearly enjoying his little five minutes of fame. I bit back a laugh and took a sip of the milkshake. "Oh. This is good!" Marcus put the hand I wasn't holding on his hip. "Of course it is, neighbor. God. So uncultured." I thwacked him on the back of his forehead. He picked a ball of cookie dough off the top of the drink and took a bite. "Now this," he said with his mouth full, barely audible. "Is bussin." I rolled my eyes at him and he shrugged again, putting the rest of dough into my mouth. I bit it and silently chewed, as he anticipated my response. "It is pretty good."
He cheered and shook me so hard I felt like my brain tumbled out of my head. "Hey guys, what's up?" I saw Maxine standing over us with a half menacing, half happy grin. I expected the later half was for me. "Nothing, we're just sitting." She eyed the milkshake, "Two straws? Seems a lot like a date."
"Or, you know Maxine, us hanging out. Nosy doesn't suit you, girl." I bit back another laugh at Marcus' comment. "Could you excuse us for a moment, Y/n? Get up Marcus." He got up faster than the speed of light as Max dragged him outside. I quickly heard almost inaudible yelling from outside and I stood up. Max yelled something at him and shoved him. He yelled something back, catching the attention of people walking by. They went back and forth for another few minutes. "Are they at it again? I'm sorry, Y/n." Their mom got out of her seat to walk outside, with me following. But then, Maxine stopped yelling. A loud sob could be heard throughout the store and she ran away, leaving Marcus to deal with his mother's wrath. "Marcus! How many times have I told you guys not to act like that in public? Why do you always insist on getting into arguments with your sister? No response? You two embarrassed our family and you, your girlfriend. Go home. Now." She pointed left, where a 25 minute walk would await.
He nodded, sharply, running a hand through his hair. "Embarrassing. Yeah, I'm the embarrassment of the family." His arms stretched out wide and he turned in a small circle with a laugh. "Yes, look at me, Marcus Baker, the son you didn't want to have." He laughed harder as his mom's face softened. "Marcus, that's not what I said." She tried to come closer, but he put his hands in front of him, to give space. "It's what you meant. Did you yell at Maxine? Do you ever yell at Maxine?" His mom looked away and I felt a little uneasy. "Please, you know I-" He cut her off quickly, "Love me? The last time you said that to me was when I turned 14. You told Maxine you loved her yesterday. I'm sorry, I'm still embarrassing you, aren't I? I'll get out of your hair. Have a nice trip." He turned around and sped down the path, the distance between us getting wide quite quickly.
His mom opened her mouth, but closed it directly after. "I'm a horrible mother, aren't I?" I shook my head, "No, you aren't. You were just mad. My mom says that when we fight in public too. I got him." I rushed to catch up to him, hearing something that made me turn around. "Tell him I'm sorry, okay? And that I love him. I'm sorry I didn't say " I gave her a weak smile and kept walking.
I saw him ahead, waiting for a crosswalk sign. I began jogging, almost up to him. He looked around, tapping his foot impatiently. When he turned around, he saw me and turned back to walk across the street. "Marcus, wait." He clearly wasn't looking where he was going and took a step into the road. I finally reached him and went to walk to. "Shit, Marcus, get out of the way!" He looked at me quizzically and I shoved him to the ground, a car speeding past us a second after. "Holy shit, I almost died." I rolled my eyes, "Really, you dipshit? You almost killed me too!"
"I'm sorry. Max and I were yelling about you in front of half the town. I didn't mean to embarrass you or my mom-" I grabbed his hand, and told him to 'shut up,' which worked. "You didn't embarrass me or your mom. She was just mad. She said to tell you she was sorry. And that she loves you."
He got up and reached his hand out to help me do the same. I accepted the gesture and got up too. "Okay, I know this is dumb, but I didn't think actually almost dying would put things into perspective." I chuckled and nudged him with my elbow. "I shouldn't have fought with my mom. And I guess Max kinda did have a reason to yell." My brows furrowed, "What do you mean?" He shoved his hands into his pockets before answering my question. "She likes you. Like, really likes you. And it doesn't matter that she's dating Sophie, she still likes you. I heard her tell Nor, whatever her name is, last night on the phone."
"I guess it's kinda selfish of me to not care, but you're my girlfriend, not hers. And I couldn't not be with you. I'm in love with you." I grinned at him and he itched his head, looking at me weirdly. "What?" I laughed and widened my eyes at him, with a look. "Oh, I said that." I nodded at him, still laughing. "Sorry, too early, right? You don't have to say it back or anything." I walked away, to my car. He jogged to catch up, but I kept walking with a grin on my face. "Soooo, you're not gonna say it back?" I walked a bit faster, which made him start laughing too.
My head moved to the left to look at him and I stopped walking. "I love you too, Marcus." He made a kissy face and I blanked, crossing my arms. "Ooooh, you loove me?" I rolled my eyes and began walking again. "Don't be an asshole." This made him scoff and put a hand to his heart dramatically. "Oh, please, you love yourself some asshole."
"That sounded sus, didn't it?" I let out a cackle and ran to my car, stopping quickly in front.
Marcus stopped in front of me, looking more serious than he did a few second ago. "I love you, Y/n." He leaned in and kissed me, smiling against my lips, and pulled away. "I love you too, asshole. Now get in the car!" He laughed and slid into the back seat.
--
When we reached my house, they had already eaten dinner, made obvious by the perfect view of Austin rubbing his full stomach, looking scared. Probably because of his first day of school after the accident tomorrow, but at least he ate some food. "Oh, hello," Ginny said from the piano. "Howdy, neighbor. You got a piano?" Marcus made small talk with my twin. "I didn't know you played piano." She didn't. It was just an expensive gift from dad. "Just a little," she responded, most likely trying to look cool. Marcus handed her a gift and they continued to talk. I walked away, directly towards the chocolate chip pancakes and maple syrup.
Marcus' POV
"You don't know everything about me, after all." Yes, I paint. And I'm damn good at it. Ginny looked at my gift and her eyes seemed to well up. Chill, it's just some paint. "Marcus...thank you. I love it." She pushed me into an awkward embrace and I joined it, thinking of how great a boyfriend I was. Y/n loves me, her family loves me. I let go of Ginny after a wile, realizing I'd spaced out. As I backed up, I noticed she was still leaned in. "I have a boyfriend, so..." I stared, "Yeah, I know." What in the hell? Again, Ginny?
"We're just friends, right?" No shit. "Um, Yeah. Friends."
"And Y/n," I moved my body away a bit more. "What about her?" Ginny scooched closer, "She's your girlfriend and my twin, this is wrong." My eyes widened at her and I waved my hands. "Woah, no. Nothing is wrong because I didn't do anything." She made a face. "Do you not care when a girl likes you?" I scoffed, "Of course I care when a girl likes me...what the fu-" She cut me off, aggressively, "OK, well, I think it's inconsiderate how you treat her." I rolled my eyes, what a bitch. "I'm sorry I'm not Perfect Hunter."
"Hmm. Guess you're not." I chuckled at her ridiculousness, "Please, that guy is such a tool. He has a ponytail instead of a personality." I yelled this, so Y/n heard it from the kitchen obviously, because she yelled back, "Literal. Facts." This made Virginia even madder, "Hey! Hunter has a personality." I tried to reason with her. I know everything about her sister. Hunter, though, he doesn't know shit about Ginny except that she's good enough for a tap dance. "Come on. Does that guy even know you?" She clearly disagreed, "Of course he does. He's my boyfriend, and we're getting really serious. We're gonna have sex." I got up, "What? Wayyy too much info." She shrugged with a smug little smirk, "Yeah. Tomorrow night."
"You are batshit crazy, Virginia Miller. Bat. Shit. Leave my relationship with your sister alone. Happy birthday." I stalked off into the living room. "Are you ok, Marcus?" I shouted back, "yeah, I'm fine. Get me some bacon, will you?" I will be fine. If Virginia stays out of my relationship. Y/n came into the living room with her plate and another for me. She sat down close to me and I pulled her into an embrace, taking my plate from her. Yeah, I'm good. But no more 'friends.'
--
"You excited for your big sweet 16 surprise today?" We sat for breakfast on the date of Ginny's birthday exactly. Paul had stayed over and made us food, which was surprisingly really good. Apparently he knew what salt was, what Sazon was, and even used lemon pepper. I was impressed. "Gosh, Mom. I don't know. I had such a fun first surprise already when the mayor was naked in my bathroom." I rolled my eyes and looked away. Not you trying to sabotage their relationship. "Remember when Mom dated Omid, and he'd throw grapes in the air and catch them in his mouth? Remember Louis the fry cook? How he'd always make us biscuits. Sorry." mom gave her a dirty ass look and Austin, who didn't notice, said "I liked Louis." Ginny agreed, "Me too, but I didn't like Tucker." Austin was about to respond, but I tapped his hand, shaking my head. "Sorry about her. She's just a little tired," I bored my eyes into her head, that was facing down, seeing a straight view of her food.
"Thank you for breakfast." Paul beamed at me, looking excited. With my approval, he tried again with Ginny. "So I hear your mom has quite the big day planned. Are you excited?" She said, 'not really' and I decided to take my food to the kitchen to eat there.