Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.
***
A/N: Just in case you thought the multishipping wouldn't get worse, it did. Someone please stop me from lowkey shipping Bree and Fred. Their ship name is Free by the way. Also don't attack me, I'm still a total sucker for Conneree (Conner and Bree's ship).
There are also Fredlex undertones here, but judging from the response from the previous chapter, y'all seem to like them :)
***
The Bailey twins had officially disappeared.
And apparently, so had their mother.
Rumour had it the twins were "terribly ill". Bree snorted. Yeah, as if she would believe that.
It would probably be more believable if they hadn't also disappeared for quite a long period of time before. And it would definitely be more believable if anyone could contact them.
But no, not even the twins' childhood friend Fred Hayford could see them. Which Bree knew because he complained about it daily.
Bree overheard the Book Huggers discussing the matter eagerly in the library. Apparently they were planning to visit the twins' home and search for clues. Bree had no intention of doing that, because firstly, that was creepy, and secondly, that would raise a lot of suspicion.
As the days of their absence dragged on, Bree found herself getting more and more curious. If they weren't really sick, what were they doing right now? Where could they be? What were they hiding? These questions tormented Bree's mind and while she tried to ignore them, the thoughts would float back to her incessantly whenever she was bored. It was almost like something in her blood and soul was telling her she was destined to find out the answers. Bree genuinely thought she might be going delusional.
The twins had been absent for four days now. Bree exhaled, blowing at her pink and blue bangs. While her restless classmates fidgeted, anxiously waiting for the lesson to end, Bree studiously copied down notes. Sure, she also anticipated the end of the lesson, and the end of the school day, but Social Studies was one of her best subjects. She couldn't afford to slack.
"... And that's all for today," the teacher said, and everyone in the classroom let out a collective sigh of relief. Bree glanced at the clock. There were three minutes left.
"By the way, does anyone know where Alex Bailey lives?" the teacher continued. "Can someone give her the homework for this week?"
Bree peered around the classroom. Her peers were mostly ignoring the teacher and chattering among themselves. Those who weren't talking just deliberately avoided looking at the teacher. It didn't take a genius to figure out that no one wanted to deliver Alex's homework.
Bree gulped, an uneasy knot forming at the bottom of her stomach. Did Alex have no friends in this class? Did no one care for her at all? That didn't sit well with Bree, and she began to feel bad for her. Alex was a nice girl, she didn't deserve that.
"Anyone?" the teacher asked again. When no one replied, she sighed and muttered, "You guys are so cold to one another."
Judging from her classmates' responses, Bree had guessed she was the closest to Alex (and they weren't even that close). The chattering grew in volume and no one gave Alex a second thought.
"I'll take the homework to Alex," Bree said coolly. A few people stopped and stared, but most of the class just completely ignored her.
The teacher looked a bit surprised as well, but that was covered up quickly when she probably remembered Bree and Alex had worked on a project before.
"That's great, Miss Campbell!" the teacher beamed. Bree went up to the teacher's desk and fetched Alex's pile of homework.
Now that Bree thought about it, she might have acted a bit too impulsively. First of all and most importantly, she had no idea where Alex lived. Bree vaguely thought of asking around, as someone was bound to know. And Bree was pretty sure the twins' best friend, Fred, was familiar with their address. She honestly hadn't really talked to Fred before, so it was going to be slightly awkward.
However, Bree would be lying if she said she didn't have any hidden motives. While of course she felt bad for Alex and wanted to help her, Bree was also curious about the twins' absence. Maybe they really were very sick. Maybe their mom had taken time off to care for them. But Bree's gut feeling was telling her something was wrong. And when was Bree going to ignore her trusty instincts?
The bell rang and excited classmates dashed out of the classroom, eager to go home. But Bree had a mission to do. After quickly telling one of her friends she won't be leaving school with them, Bree clutched Alex's homework to her chest and headed out to search for a boy with blond (not strawberry blond!) hair.
It was not difficult to find Fred, considering a) he was pretty tall b) he tended to attract attention. Today, Fred was wearing a baseball cap and a shirt with a rock band logo on it. As Bree swiftly approached Fred, she suddenly hoped he didn't have afterschool basketball practice that day (she knew of his practices due to Danielle), and she really, really hoped Danielle wasn't going to be mad at her for talking with her crush out of the blue.
(Bree wasn't blind. She'd seen the jealous looks Danielle sent to Alex at the skating rink. That being said, Danielle stopped being bothered by it soon afterwards.)
"Hey, Hayford!"
"You could've just said 'Heyford'," Fred joked without turning around to see who it was. When he did turn around, his grey eyes swept over Bree, taking her in, and a look of confusion dawned on Fred's face. "Campbell? Hi?"
Bree was aware Fred's friends were staring at her, probably wondering what was up. Bree didn't care what they thought of her. "Our teacher told me to give Alex her Social Studies homework, so I was going to ask if you know where she lives?" Bree continued smoothly without batting a single eyelash.
Fred's look of confusion faded slightly, although he still appeared somewhat dazed. "Oh? Yeah. I can show you the way. I also have to give Conner his homework as well."
"Oh, I see." Bree had caught onto Fred's hidden meaning- that he was suggesting they go to the Bailey house together. Obviously Fred hadn't said it out loud because he knew how ravenous middle-schoolers were for gossip, and literally any interaction between a guy and a girl could spark rumours of romance.
(Bree privately thought they were being rather heteronormative, but didn't mention it. Imagine how terrible life would be if everyone was automatically gay for anyone they brushed hands with.)
Fred hastily said goodbye to his friends and set off. After an awkward pause, Bree trailed after him, still holding Alex's homework.
As they walked, Bree was well aware of the meter long "we're just random classmates please DON'T mistake us for a couple" gap between herself and Fred. Fred, despite being a huge flirt (as she had heard from her friends, most notably Danielle), didn't even glance in her direction. Maybe Fred remembered how Bree had annihilated Brad when he tried to ask her out. Maybe he didn't care for her. Either way, Bree was glad for the silence, even if it was uncomfortable.
"So," Fred began, "you're friends with Alex?"
I spoke too soon, Bree thought to herself, but answered politely, "Well, I won't say that, we're kind of acquaintances."
"I see," Fred replied. He shoved his hands in his pockets and took a look around. "This is the neighbourhood they live in."
Bree squinted at the neat line of houses and lawns. The houses were smaller than the ones in her neighbourhood, but Bree couldn't compare as she had a whopping total of six people in her family.
They finally went up to the Bailey residence, which was a small, quiet house with all the curtains drawn shut. Fred rung the bell and as they waited, Bree peered around and a detail on the lawn caught her eye.
"Is it just me, or are there a lot of garden gnomes here?"
Fred actually paused to stare. Bree saw the little figures, covered with garish colours and large, weirdly creepy eyes. She never understood why garden gnomes were popular among suburban families.
Fred wrinkled his nose. "They look like gremlins guards." He picked up a gnome, inspected it, then put it down.
"Maybe the twins' superstitious grandma placed them to protect the twins from illness," Bree joked half-heartedly.
"I actually met their grandma before, she's pretty cool," Fred said. He stared at the door and tapped his foot impatiently. "What's taking them so long?"
A suspicious crash sounded from inside the house, followed by several clangs, almost as if several metal items had fallen down. Surprised by the sound, Fred jumped. Bree did not.
Fred gave Bree a wary look, almost as if asking her for an explanation. Bree raised her eyebrows, then turned her gaze to the door. She could hear footsteps.
The door opened by a mere crack. "Umm, hi," Alex croaked, voice muffled. "You got homework?"
The wariness in Fred's look instantly vanished, replaced by one of joy. "Hey, Alex! How are you doing?"
There was a shuffle and Alex opened the door further. Half of her face peered out, long strawberry blonde hair falling over her shoulder. She was covering her nose with a tissue. "Still feeling sick. Don't come too close, it's highly infectious," Alex muttered.
Fred's face fell. "So... we can't come in?"
"Sorry, no." Alex stretched out her hands and grabbed the homework from Fred, then Bree. "Thanks for coming over, but Conner and I are still really, really sick."
"Where is Conner, anyways?" Bree asked, perhaps too casually. She instantly regretted her question, as she wasn't supposed to be close to Conner. But apparently her deceptive face of "I'm just curious, haha nothing strange is going on" had worked and neither Alex nor Fred looked weirded out by her question.
"He's... asleep!" Alex said quickly. She wrapped the pile of homework close to her chest and reached for the doorknob-
"Hey. Cute bunny slippers." Fred nodded towards Alex's feet, which were covered in fluffy bunny slippers. Alex stared at them, then managed a laugh.
"I heard something fall down just now, are you guys okay?" Bree asked, concerned and curious.
"Ohhhh, that's nothing," Alex chuckled somewhat nervously. She began to shut the door. "You two should go now, don't want you getting sick-"
"Wait!" Fred cried out.
The door slammed into Fred and Bree's faces, the noise echoing in the otherwise quiet neighbourhood.
Bree sneaked a peek at Fred. He looked uncharacteristically lost, like a toddler whose favourite toy had just been snatched from him.
"Alex?" Fred called out. "Hope you and Conner get well soon. I miss you guys."
Bree cleared her throat. "Yeah, get well soon," she added rather lamely.
Alex's tone softened. "I miss you too, Freddie."
Bree was beginning to feel like the third wheel. Thankfully for her, Fred decided to leave. Fred and Bree then awkwardly pattered down the stairs, Bree's arms feeling oddly empty without Alex's homework.
Once they were out of earshot, Fred hissed, "Why is Alex being so weird?"
Bree raised an eyebrow. "I thought you should know?" It was common knowledge that Fred, Alex, and Conner were childhood friends. If even Fred was kept in the dark, it was likely that no one else knew about the Bailey twins' secrets.
Fred scowled. "That's the frustrating part. I just don't know what's going on."
"Sorry, but I really don't know what's up with her," Bree replied honestly.
"That's alright, didn't expect you to." Fred sighed and moodily shuffled in the direction opposite of Bree's. "Bye, see you tomorrow."
Bree waved, then turned on her heel and went on her way. Bree had a sudden urge to befriend Fred, because a) he seemed sad b) he was a pretty cool dude c) he potentially could give her information about the twins.
Speaking of the twins, the crash she heard was definitely suspicious. And Alex's behaviour was unusually guarded, almost as if she was hiding something. She also seemed too eager to chase Bree (a random classmate) and Fred (her best friend) away. In addition, Bree believed their mom wasn't inside. If she was there, she would have probably answered the door or at least said something.
But again, everything could be a gigantic coincidence. Maybe Bree was overthinking per usual. Even with that, Bree was certain the aura she felt around the twins was a "magical" thing. Previously, she'd wondered if it was just chemistry, charisma or plain romantic attraction, but Bree was pretty damn sure she wasn't crushing on both of the twins at the same time. That was just weird. Alex was a cute girl, but no, Bree didn't feel for her that way.
Little did Bree know, she wouldn't be seeing Alex for a very, very, long time.
(As for Fred, heck, he might never see her again.)
***
"The two humans are gone," Xanthous sniffed. A collective sigh of relief permeated the small house, and the soldiers in the house started to stretch their limbs. Protecting the Fairy Godmother's grandchildren was a noble task, but damn, was it taxing. Especially when they literally had to hold their breath when the outsiders came by.
Alex's shoulders slumped and she tossed away her tissue. She wasn't really sick, and had relied on Xanthous' magic to make her skin pale. "That wasn't a very convincing performance, was it?"
Conner's head popped up from behind the tattered couch. He had been hiding there for the entire conversation, for fear he might do something stupid. "No, you did great. What I'm more worried about are those swords that fell down. That was loud."
Xanthous winced. He had been too busy observing the two human beings to stop the swords from falling.
"Do you think they suspect anything?" Xanthous asked matter-of-factly. "Do we need to, say, erase their memory?"
Both Alex and Conner looked utterly horrified. "No! They're cool, uh, umm, we trust them!" Conner squeaked.
"Yeah!" Alex chimed in, voice equally high-pitched. "They totally believed in me!"
(Internally, Alex was a bit worried, because she could read Fred's expression- he was doubtful and concerned. She knew Bree was smart as well, and had frequently caught her browsing murder mysteries in the library. But she didn't voice these worries because Xanthous might just carry out his threats.)
"Who are they, anyway?" Xanthous asked, his tone icy (which was a dramatic contrast from flames rising off his skin). "Your friends?"
Conner was quick to answer. "Yup, Freddie's our best friend. And Bree..."
"We do group projects together," Alex interjected. Truth to be told, she wasn't close with Bree, but wanted to convince Xanthous they perfectly trusted Bree and Fred.
Xanthous' eyebrows were raised, but after a few seconds, his cautious expression softened. "Are they going to come again?"
Alex and Conner exchanged looks.
"Maybe they'll come back a few days later," Alex said. "I mean, they still have to give us homework. And we still have to do it."
Conner gave her an incredulous look of disgust. "Our mom vanished and you're thinking of doing homework?"
To be honest, Alex's mind was nowhere near homework. She was worried sick about her mom's disappearance, but she wanted to maintain her "good girl" composure in front of their temporary guardian Xanthous. Maybe he would then release his iron grip on them and grant them more freedom.
"I was a bit nervous when one of them picked up a gnome," Xanthous admitted. "Fortunately that didn't go wrong."
"It's probably better than having a pigeon excrete on your head," Conner commented.
"Please don't bring it up again," a soldier hollered from a corner.
Xanthous sighed and paced back and forth in the tiny dining room. "At least we're safe for now. Let's hope we can keep it that way."
"I just want to get Mom back," Conner fired. Evidently he was still mad at the fairies for hiding information from him and his sister. Alex felt the same way.
Xanthous was well aware of his anger. "We want everyone to be safe. The Fairy Godmother thinks it's best if we keep you safe here," he said calmly.
Conner thumped his fists on the soft fabric of the couch. "Urgh! I hate this!" he complained. "I feel like an animal trapped in a cage."
"And can't we like, talk to our friends for a bit longer?" Alex demanded. "They'll only get more skeptical if we avoid speaking to them!"
The flames on Xanthous' head flickered a bit more wildly than usual, and Xanthous exhaled. "Conner, Alex, I know you're both frustrated, but-"
His face hardened.
"Orders are orders. We have to keep you safe."
***
The Bailey twins had been gone for far too long.
Bree was getting fidgety. Fortunately for her, Ms. York, her English teacher, asked Bree to be her teaching assistant. Grateful for the opportunity and hoping to distract her mind, Bree immediately accepted the position. Fred was visibly annoyed, and spent more time at the basketball court to vent out his frustration. The Book Huggers had apparently gone to the Bailey residence, but they didn't find anything special. Bree had casually asked them if they'd seen the army of gnomes, but they just looked confused. Wanting to keep the information from them, Bree quickly said she must have mixed up. The Book Huggers appeared to be dubious, but let it slide.
Until one day Conner Bailey showed up out of nowhere.
His hair was as messy as always, his navy hoodie a bit crumpled up, the freckles on his face as numerous as ever. At first Bree was relieved to see him, but her heart sank when she realized something was missing.
There was no Alex beside him.
Maybe the twins had a fight. Maybe Alex was still sick. Maybe-
"Hi," Conner said as if his prolonged disappearance had never happened.
Fred blinked. "Hi."
People were staring at Conner, and Bree couldn't resist. Conner looked the same as usual, but his smile was a bit too wide, a bit too saccharine. He nearly jumped when Fred clapped a hand on his back, and something sugary sweet blossomed inside Bree. Bree had actually missed Conner's cuteness.
"Hey dude! I missed you!"
"Sorry for being sick for so long, Freddie." Conner awkwardly scratched his head. "You know how it is with my nagging mom..."
Fred laughed. "Yeah, your mom can be quite a handful sometimes. Soooo, where's Alex?" Fred looked around expectantly, almost as if waiting for the girl to pop out in a poof of magic.
Bree suddenly had a terrible feeling. She couldn't feel Alex's aura at all.
"Oh, err..." Conner's usually cheerful expression falted. Then-
"Alex moved to Vermont," Conner said a bit too brightly.
Hushed whispers spread through the crowd like a ripple from a pebble. Bree's fist clenched instinctively. Something was up. Alex wouldn't disappear randomly. Even though she had been whispering "please take me back" to books. This wasn't happening.
And apparently Fred shared her disbelief. "Okay, cool joke, Conner. Where really is Alex?"
Bree watched as Conner bit his lip and deliberately avoided looking at Fred. "It's not a joke, I swear. She really did move to Vermont to live with our grandmother. She wants to... uh... further pursue her studies."
Fred wrinkled his nose. "That's... sudden."
"Uh yeah!" Conner laughed, but Bree knew it wasn't a genuine laugh. He too was probably missing his sister. "Apparently she had been thinking about it for a long time, and she'd talked to our mom and grandma about moving. She just didn't tell me. Or you." Conner patted Fred's shoulder. "Don't worry, we're in the same boat here."
Fred opened his mouth, then shut it. "Oh..." he said hollowly.
"Yuuup." Conner gave a small smile, which vanished quickly.
Normally, the school didn't care much for Alex Bailey, but her abrupt disappearance had caught everyone's attention. Her peers might have ignored her, but Alex surely hadn't been bullied. Maybe she had some mental health problems? And according to Conner's claims, not even Alex's twin brother knew of her intention to move. That seemed a bit fishy.
Bree was still thinking about it when she stayed behind during English class to help Ms. York. After returning some reference books to the library, Bree ambled back to her classroom. Right before she entered the room, something else made its presence- Conner's aura.
Apparently Conner was talking to Ms. York and handing in his homework. Bree quietly stood to the side, waiting for Ms. York to speak to her.
Conner caught Bree entering. Bright red blossomed on his cheeks and almost instantaneously, he started to ramble.
"Uhh yeah, so here's my creative writing... actually found it quite fun to do, haha..."
Ms. York picked up his homework. "The Curvy Tree," she read out loud. "Sounds pretty intriguing, doesn't it?"
Conner shoved his hands in his pockets, while stubbornly refusing to look at Bree (who was literally standing next to him). "Ah... you'll have to read it to find out!" he said lamely.
Bree perked up at the mention of Conner's story. She genuinely wanted to read it because she'd enjoyed his previous bits of writing. Maybe if she asked Ms. York and came up with a decent excuse, she would allow her to read them.
"Oh! Bree, you'll have to wait after I get things sorted out with Mr. Bailey. Sorry about that." Ms. York sent Bree a glance.
Bree shrugged, as nonchalant as always. "It's cool, Ms. York. I have plenty of time."
Finally, finally, Conner dared to sneak a look at Bree. Bree pretended not to have noticed, but she'd caught the extra flush on his cheeks.
"And now I have to give you the text from yesterday." Ms. York hastily rummaged through her folder. "Give me a sec, it's buried under all those papers from today..."
Bree watched as Conner's Adam's apple bobbed. He was, once again, refusing to acknowledge her existence. Funny how one moment, he wanted to stare at her, and another moment, he wanted to do the exact opposite.
Bree edged closer to Conner. "Soo... Alex left for Vermont?"
It took Conner two seconds for him to realize Bree was speaking to him. "Uhhhhh yup! I-I know it's really sudden but it's what she wants." For no reason, Conner started to use animated hand gestures, which came out as jerky due to his nervousness.
"Interesting. I thought you might go with her, seeing how close you two are," Bree suggested innocently.
"Huh? Nah." Conner waved a hand dismissively, his movement a tad exaggerated. "Someone needs to stay behind with our mom. Besides, I like y- I like it here."
Bree just "hmm"ed in reply. The two teenagers then stood there quietly and waited for Ms. York's further instructions.
Bree didn't know if she had the right to say it, but she thought Conner was a pretty bad liar. He was visibly apprehensive and obviously concealing something. His voice was overly cheery and he stuttered too much. That being said, he could just be skittish around his crush (which was Bree, by the way. Bree hadn't forgotten that). But Conner had also been behaving oddly around Fred, which cancelled out her "he's just anxious around me" theories.
Ms. York dismissed Conner first. He stumbled over his own feet but thankfully didn't fall. Conner chuckled awkwardly and made a speedy exit. Ms. York didn't even look up from her work.
Bree thought Ms. York was either the second most oblivious person on the planet (guess who the first one was) or she just didn't care for middle school theatrics. Ms. York thanked Bree for waiting and briefed her on her next task.
Afterwards, Bree "casually" stepped closer to the desk and subtly snuck glances at Conner's story. His handwriting was as chaotic and messy and recognizable as ever, and suddenly Bree felt that glimpse into his life was too intimate. Like, that was how he wrote every day. It was like the written form of his voice.
"Interested in his story?"
Bree coughed and shifted away from the desk. "Well, as a writer myself, I'm always interested in what my classmates write."
"I enjoy reading your stories. They're suspenseful and I like the graphic descriptions. You seem to have an affinity for blood and gore," Ms. York laughed. "His stories are good as well." She gestured at Conner's piece of writing.
"Ah yeah, I actually read them before. His writing reminds me of fairy tales."
"Mr. Bailey has a good grasp on humour as well. His writing is just packed with puns and jokes. And spelling mistakes as well. Don't tell him I said that though," Ms. York added as an afterthought.
Again, Bree shrugged in reply. She was too busy reading Conner's story. Hoping Ms. York wouldn't care, Bree picked up the paper and flipped it over. Was it too unrealistic to hope Conner had somehow projected himself in his writing, and Bree could analyze his words to uncover his secrets? Probably.
Bree put the paper down and sighed. She was being too desperate. She was basically grasping at straws and clinging onto every opportunity, no matter how small it was. Sure, Alex moving to Vermont out of the blue was by no means a small thing, but Bree was overreacting. Besides, people were allowed to have privacy. Maybe Alex had been struggling, and it wasn't Bree's place to pry. Perhaps she should just let it go.
***
Life without Alex wasn't easy.
Conner had spent his entire life with Alex. They grew up together, laughed together, cried together. They were there for each other when their father died. They had journeyed through the Land of Stories together. They were best friends, siblings, partners, twins.
And now they were literally worlds apart.
At least they could still communicate through the mirror. It wasn't much, but Conner was glad he could at least see and hear his sister. And Alex seemed pretty happy over there in her world.
With every passing day, Conner saw Alex's smile grow wider and wider, her eyes shining brighter and brighter. He now knew what she meant when she said she was meant to stay behind- Alex thrived in the fantastical land of fairies and magic. It was the missing piece to her soul.
And Conner understood. While they had been at the Land of Stories, Conner had missed his home, the Otherworld, in the same way Alex missed the Land of Stories. Sometimes Conner thought it was lucky that he was born to stay in the Otherworld, because after all, he had his mom, his stepdad (ugh, that concept was still so weird to him), and most importantly, cheeseburgers.
Despite all of that, Conner still couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. Alex was having such a fun time without him as she spent time with their friends and learnt how to cast spells. Meanwhile, Conner had to deal with stupid homework and tons of tests (he was still lowkey waiting for a letter from Hogwarts even though he was American). And for some reason, it didn't sit too well with Conner that he wasn't the source of such happiness. Everyday Alex rambled about fairy rituals and what sort of delicious food she ate and what spells she learnt that day. And Conner listened and nodded. It was almost like he didn't belong in Alex's world of magic and joy.
And it hurt.
It hurt a lot more than it should.
Conner knew he was being oversensitive and irrational but heck, his twin sister was literally living in another world, he had the right to be oversensitive and irrational. At least for a while. Conner knew (read: hoped) he would get over his sister's absence and continue to support her no matter which direction she wanted to take.
So Conner put on his signature grin for Alex and replied enthusiastically to her stories. One time Alex tried on a new dress and Conner just about screamed the house down ("Alex, all the boys (and girls!) are going to love you."). In return, Conner would talk about the silly things he and Fred did that day and how his mom and Bob were faring. Alex seemed particularly interested in their mom and Bob's relationship, which was rather odd to Conner because Alex previously hadn't cared for romance.
"Alex, you gotta tell me when you get a crush on someone," Conner said.
Alex gave him a cheeky grin. "Only if you tell me yours."
Conner's face flushed inexplicably. "I don't have a crush on anyone."
"Sure," Alex laughed. Her blue eyes twinkled, almost as if she knew something Conner didn't. "By the way, I stopped by Trollbella this morning."
Conner groaned loudly and slapped a hand to his forehead. "Oh God, not that woman."
Alex giggled at Conner's melodramatic response. "Apparently she misses her Butterboy."
Conner burrowed his fingers into his hair, making it even messier than usual. "I don't want to see her or hear her voice ever again," he moaned.
"It could've been way worse, though," Alex teased lightly. "I could've brought her back here and she would've gone nuts when she sees your face."
"Please don't talk about that," Conner grumbled. "Oh, by the way, Fred wrote you a letter."
Alex stopped. "He WHAT-"
Conner was glad for the topic switch. He fumbled around in his schoolbag for a slightly crumpled envelope, and fished it out triumphantly. "Behold! Frederick Hayfrod's letter which he wrote with his blood, sweat, and tears!"
"Oh. Wow. Never thought he was the letter-writing type."
"Neither did I," Conner confessed. "It really shocked me when he asked for your address. Since I can't really say 'The Fairy Palace, The Fairy Kingdom, The Land of Stories, Somewhere In The Universe', I made up some excuse on how it would cost less if we sent our letters together. So Freddie just gave the letter to me and here I am."
"That's nice of Freddie. I wish I could write back." For not the first time, Conner could see the sadness, the nostalgia in Alex's face, almost a mirror of his own.
"To be honest, I don't even know how you can read this letter. This mirror isn't exactly a portal."
"Wait!" Alex stood up and smoothed her glittery periwinkle dress. "I can ask around for some... copying magic. From the other fairies. Gimme a second." Then she dashed out of the room.
Without Alex's figure in the mirror, Conner could easily see the details of her room. The pastel colours were soothing to the eye, and everything seemed to be covered in a shimmery sheen. A majestic magnolia tree draped over Alex's yellow bed (the same colour as Alex's old bed, Conner remembered), the clusters of pink blossoms swaying dreamily in the breeze.
With such a relaxing atmosphere, Conner wished he could spend a few days in the palace every holiday. Maybe once a week would be great. But that was just wishful thinking, as he knew all too well the portal was sealed. Conner's heart sank at the memory.
Footsteps sounded on the other end and Alex returned. "Thanks for helping, Coral!"
"No problem!" Coral, the pink fairy, replied cheerfully. "So it's a letter from a friend?"
"Yup!" Alex then turned her attention back to the mirror. "Conner, hold the letter to the mirror."
"Alrighty." The teeniest bit of guilt seeped into Conner when he broke the seal, but he bit his lip, unfolded the letter, and held it in front of the mirror. The letter was surprisingly long for Fred's standards.
"Aww, this boy is so cute," Coral giggled. "Just look at what he wrote-"
Conner cleared his throat loudly. "Umm, I am not in the mood to invade someone's privacy right now!"
With a quick swish of Coral's hand, sparkles engulfed Alex's side of the mirror. Conner watched as a scroll of parchment materialized from nowhere and floated gently into Alex's hands.
"This should do it," Coral declared. "All of his handwriting is copied to this parchment."
"Thanks again!" Alex ran a thumb down the parchment, and as she read Fred's letter, her lips quirked up fondly.
"By the way, don't you have a lesson in ten minutes?" Coral asked curiously.
"Ah!" Alex jolted and hurriedly put the parchment down. "You're right. I better get ready. Bye, Conner!" she waved at her brother.
"Bye, see you next time!"
The communication between them then cut off. The mirror became an ordinary mirror again. Conner sighed and stood up, then realized he was still holding Fred's letter. Conner folded it and stuffed it back in the envelope, doing his best not to accidentally read it. The last thing he wanted was to violate Fred's privacy.
At least Conner could speak to Alex. At least he knew what had really happened. Fred, their best friend, had no idea. He couldn't see her, talk to her, or visit her. Even his letter couldn't reach her directly. Conner didn't want to imagine what he was feeling.
***
Fred in fact, was not feeling too good.
So Alex had moved states. That was okay. She didn't even tell him in person. That was not okay.
Did Alex forget him? Did she not trust him? He was sure she still cared about him, but she literally left without another word. Did he offend her somehow?
Was it all somehow Fred's fault? He knew he'd been lonely at school, and had tried to help her with it, but perhaps it wasn't enough. Maybe he'd been blind to her needs.
Fred was desperate for answers, so he wrote a letter. Now that he thought about it, he never even asked for her address.
Usually, Fred was not a sappy person. But the Bailey twins (especially Alex) were the exception. He would channel his inner, possibly non-existent poet to write this heartfelt letter.
"Dear Alex," he began to write.
Wow. Dear Alex. That sounded so pretentious. A half-smile appeared on Fred's face. He continued to write.
"Okay, that sounded so formal. Blegh. Anyways, this is your BF Fred-"
It was then Fred realized he'd missed a "F" in "BFF". He hastily added it back before he could forget.
(Secretly, secretly, he wondered what it would be like one day to drop the "F". Now that Alex moved away, the possibility of that began to diminish.)
Fred began with asking Alex polite questions, like "how are you doing", "how's your new house", stuff like that. He added a couple of smiley hearts for good measure.
Then Fred went deeper and began to talk about how much he missed her. He tried to keep the tone light because he didn't want to make Alex sad. So Fred added a bunch of smiley hearts, hoping they could cloud his rather-obvious gloom.
Before he realized it, Fred had filled an entire page with words. He didn't know he had it in him. He was still planning to write a couple more paragraphs. Judging by the length of his letter, if he wasn't careful, Alex could possibly discover his not-so-platonic feelings for her.
Fred gulped, and continued to write. As his pen moved, his mind drifted off to various scenarios- Alex being unable to adapt to Vermont, being lonely at school, meeting other people, dating someone-
Fred's grip on his pen tightened. Why was he already feeling jealous? Alex wasn't his. She'd never been his.
And maybe she'll never be yours, a deceptively soft voice hissed in Fred's head.
When Alex was still there besides him (her absence pained him every day), Fred liked to think when they were a few years older, say, fifteen, he would properly ask her out. If she rejected him, okay, Fred would get over her and try his best to maintain their precious friendship. If she accepted him, well, it would be like a fairy tale.
(They would grow up, hand in hand, and have a beach wedding, then have three kids and a dog-)
But now Alex was gone. Conner had given awfully vague estimations on when Alex would return. Maybe by the time she came back, they could've drifted apart, and Alex could've found someone...
Fred shook his head. He should stop fantasizing about the far future and return to the present. His stomach clenched with unease and something else. He raised his pen and wrote one last sentence:
"PS: when you come back, I want to tell you something, face to face :)"
... Maybe it wasn't the best decision, but Fred could bear it no longer. He wasn't going to stand there passively. He was going to take the risk. He wanted to tell Alex, to tell her those important feelings he'd locked away for so long.
Fred scanned the letter, triple checking for any mistakes. When at last he was satisfied, he carefully folded the paper and slipped it into an envelope.
There was no turning back. His words were sealed.
(He had no idea the other twin would be the one to open the envelope.)
***
It had been a couple weeks since Alex moved to Vermont. Or, as Bree liked to put it, a couple weeks since Alex's unexpected disappearance.
Something had changed inside Conner Bailey. Obviously that would happen, considering he was separated from his twin. He was still boisterous and humorous, but sometimes, he looked downcast. Just a bit. But that morose look swiftly vanished whenever someone spoke to him. Perhaps Conner was hiding his pain. That didn't sit well with Bree, but she was in no position to interfere.
Conner also seemed to be extra clumsy without Alex. He kept on tripping and crashing into walls. It got worse whenever Bree saw that Conner had noticed her, because he would immediately blush and ramble uncontrollably. It was kind of endearing, but also kind of frustrating because Bree believed Conner still had no idea he was crushing on her.
Bree was still highly suspicious of Alex's departure. No matter how much she tried, she just couldn't just trust Conner completely. It had nothing to do with his personality, Conner was a sweet boy, but Bree couldn't accept Alex had moved away randomly.
Hence, the Bailey Twins Mystery continued to plague Bree for quite some time until something else snatched her attention away.
The news of a certain trip to Germany.
***
A/N: Sorry for updating, like, once every half a year! I only have time to write this because school has been unexpectedly suspended (due to the coronavirus). Thank you for waiting patiently!
THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF PART II- BURIED SECRETS YEEEEE :D :D lmao I'm such a slow writer ;-;
The entire beginning was just basically lowkey Breelex, followed by lowkey Free, and more lowkey Breelex and Fredlex. Fred and Bree just going around and stealing your girls. At this point I feel like I've accidentally made everyone bisexual lol :P
I had to reread TLOS 2 for this part, and went a bit down the memory lane :) And I feel like Chris Colfer's excessive use of italics has rubbed off on me. I just keep on using italics!
Why does it feel like this chapter is rather filler-ish even though technically the plot progressed the most here (I spent ten chapters detailing the characters' school life and one (1) chapter dealing with the entirety of TLOS 2). Conner and Bree will have more interaction in the later chapters (especially during the upcoming Germany trip oooooOOO) :) For this chapter, I wanted to focus on Conner's emotions (and Fred's as well. He accidentally became a main-ish character).
The Fred part PAINED me. Why did I end up getting so attached to Fredlex when I never meant for them to be a ship?
Thank you for all of your sweet comments, there are now at least a THOUSAND of them here :D As I talked about last chapter, I'm quite busy this year, so unfortunately I won't have a lot of time to write, hope you'll understand :)
I'm honestly very happy that a lot of you enjoy this story, please review if you have time! Thanks again for reading and supporting this fic :D
4/2/2020