Ellie
"Okay, lets play twenty one questions." I suggest, kicking off my shoes and sitting criss cross applesauce in the passenger seat of the twin's car. Kit pulls the lever on the side of his seat, pushing it back to give himself more room - which isn't much considering how far they have the seat pushed back to begin with.
"Twenty one questions, seriously?" He gives me a pained look as he hands me my fries and burger from the take out bag sitting on his lap.
"Yeah, come on, it'll be fun. You can go first."
Kit rolls his eyes but goes along with the game, "What's your favorite color?"
"Purple." I answer as I reach for my drink and look out towards a couple walking on the boardwalk in front of us.
Driving around and getting food before parking somewhere to talk has become a thing of our over the past few weeks. Since Kit doesn't want his mom to meet me and I also don't want him to meet my mom, we usually hang out in the quiet of his car, just the two of us. We go out with Finn sometimes too, but I secretly like it better when it's just Kit and I.
"What's your dream job?"
He thinks about the question for a moments before shrugging his shoulders, "I don't have one."
"Everyone has a dream job, Kit."
"What's yours?"
Without even needing time to think, I answer, "I would want to video and photograph animals in the wild like the Thornberry's."
"The-are you talking about the family with the monkey that lives in an RV?"
"Yeah!"
He laughs at my excitement and almost knocks his fries over onto the floorboard."Then I guess my dream job is to be like Danny Phantom."
I roll my eyes at him as he continues to laugh at me. "My job is real, it's just based off of a cartoon. Yours isn't possible, you have to come up with another answer."
"Okay, fine. When I was little I wanted to be an architect. I like drawing buildings and walking around downtown to see all the skyscrapers and stuff."
"You don't want to do that anymore?"
He gets a distant look in his eyes, one that I've noticed a lot lately, but it's gone as quick as it came. "Nah, I can't really draw that well."
I take a bite of my burger as I wait for him to ask his next question. "Who do you miss the most from Greentree?"
I think about Greentree and the people I left behind, I haven't talked to anyone since the second or third week of summer and honestly, I don't really miss anyone. "I guess my dad. I didn't really have a lot of friends and I haven't kept in contact with anyone, so there's really nothing to miss."
"No boyfriend of best friend?"
I smile at his subtle way of asking if I had a boyfriend before the move, "I haven't had a boyfriend since Tyler Prescott sophomore year and I don't think I've ever really had a best friend. I had some girls that I spent a lot of time with, but we weren't actually that close."
Kit just nods his head in response, taking in all the information I had just shared. "In a way, this move was a good thing." I add. "So, what's your favorite and least favorite thing about being a twin?"
"Who says I have a favorite thing about being a twin?" I can see the humor in his green eyes as he leans his head back on the seat and looks over at me.
"You love him, you can't hide it." I've spent a lot of time with Kit and Finn over the past few weeks and I've gotten to know them both fairly well. Of all the things I've learned about them though, one thing is very obvious - they are two halves of one whole. They know what the other is thinking at times, they have that unspoken form of communication that no one else can pick up on, they mirror each other sometimes and are totally unaware of it, and they love each other more than anything.
"I do love him, but he's a pain in the ass sometimes." He takes a bite of his food and thinks of an answer for my question. "I guess my favorite thing about being a twin is that I'm never alone. Finn has been there my entire life and I've never had to go through anything without him by my side."
I've always wished that I had a sibling, someone to play and share secrets with - someone to go through this separation of parents with. "And your least favorite?"
"I don't think I have one. I love being a twin, I don't know life any other way, and I love Finn."
"Awe, that's so sweet." I tease, reaching over to ruffle his hair.
"Wait, I take that back. I hate that on our birthday we only get one cake."
"And I bet Finn doesn't let you blow out the candles."
"He doesn't!" Kit's eyes get wider as he throws his hands up for dramatic effect, once again almost knocking his food onto the floorboard. If he's not more careful, Finn is definitely going to discover that we've been eating in the car and all hell will break loose.
"When's your birthday? I'll make you your own cake." I say when I recover from laughing at his outburst.
"It was in July, you missed it."
"There's always next year." I say, tossing the last few of my fries in my mouth.
I could be wrong, but it seems as if my comment made Kit's face fall. He lowers his eyes to the half eaten burger in his lap and stares at it for a moment. I'm confused as to what's going on, and right as I am about to ask him if he's okay he asks his next question, "What's your guilty pleasure?"
His eyes are back to me and the piercing green holds no trace of sadness. I shake my head, my ponytail slapping me in the side of my face as I do so. "Nope, not telling you."
This really gets Kit's attention and his smile gets wider with anticipation. "Come on, El. Tell me."
"You'll laugh at me."
"Yeah, probably."
I reach across the middle console once again, only this time it's to shove him instead of mess with his hair. "That doesn't make me want to tell you."
"Okay, fine. I won't laugh at you." He tries to hold back a smile but fails, as he makes a cross over his heart. I roll my eyes and decide that telling him and getting it over with is better than listening to him annoy me about it for the next hour or two.
I can't look at him, so I face the window and look out towards the boardwalk. "I like to read fan fictions about boy bands."
"You do not."
"I do."
And then he laughs at me, just like I knew he would. When he sees my annoyed expression, he quickly sobers up and says, "That's cool. Really cool. Like...One Direction or -"
"Shut up." I slap his arm as he reaches over to tug on my ponytail.
"I'm sorry. I'm only kidding, El. Go ahead, it's your turn, ask me anything."
I uncross my arms and accept his apology. "What's your biggest fear?"
"Finding out that you not only read, but also write fan fics about boy bands."
"KIT!" I go to slap his arm again, but this time he catches my hand with his own and lowers it to the console, entwining our fingers. This is something else that has become a thing with Kit and I. We hold hands a lot, and I don't really know what it means, but I'm not complaining. I love the feel of Kit's hand in mine and I love the warm, happy feeling I get every single time his hand touches mine.
"I'm sorry." He says, more sincere this time as he looks me in the eye, still trying to hide his amused smile though.
"What's your biggest fear?" I ask him again and the same sad, distant look I thought I saw earlier returns briefly, only to disappear when his phone begins to ring and his brother's face pops up on the caller I.D.
He doesn't accept the call, instead he stares at the screen until Finn's face disappears and is replaced with the missed call notification. His thumb traces small circles on my own and eventually he whispers, "Not being a twin anymore. That's my biggest fear."
"What-"
"What's your middle name?" He asks suddenly, cutting off my own question.
"Mae. Ellie Mae Thomas." I watch him as he keeps his eyes trained on our hands, "What's yours?"
"Tyler."
I reach for my drink with my free hand as Kit takes his eyes away from our joined hands and looks at me curiously. I've only known him for a few months, but there have been times that I've caught him doing exactly this - looking at me as if he's trying to see into every inch of my mind and figure me out. I've done the same to him, because even though I feel closer to him and more comfortable in his presence than I ever have with another person - I still can't figure parts of him out. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Who are you, Ellie Mae Thomas?"
I bite down on the straw. It's a question I've asked myself a hundred times over the years, and I don't think I've ever really come up with an answer for myself. It's hard to figure yourself out when you don't know where you belong or have any idea as to where you fit in. "What do you mean?"
"I see you with Gwen and Maci. You listen to their stories and you nod your head and give advice, but you never talk about yourself, not unless they harass you with questions about me, which let's be honest, is for gossip. You talk to people and you're friendly, but you keep to yourself and yeah, you stood up for yourself with Hannah, but you don't put yourself in the path of drama and pettiness. Guys hit on you, especially Parker, and you never turn them down, just politely evade the situation. You never talk about your family or your old school."
"You're very observant." He's spot on. I don't like to get too close or open up too much because it's never worked out or done me any good before.
"I pay attention."
"Sounds like you already know who I am then."
"But I don't. You hide who you are. I think I see glimpses of you though, when we're alone or even when you're with Finn."
Again, he's right. When I'm with the twins, together or alone, I feel lighter - like I can just be me and not have to worry about someone being jealous or just tolerating me. I feel like they actually want me around, like they actually enjoy my company like I enjoy theirs. "I feel like you and Finn are the first real friends I've had. I know that's pathetic, but...it's true."
"It's not pathetic, Sunshine."
Kit's phone begins to ring again from it's spot between us on the console, and again Finn's face flashes on the screen. "You should probably answer him. You know he won't stop until you do."