GIA LEANS OVER one of the sleek marble counters that line the walls of Mo's Electronics, disapproval written all over her face as she turns to me.
"You guys are still doing Prank Week?" she asks.
"Of course," I reply. "Would I be a Mackler twin if I forfeited? The only way Prank Week isn't going to happen is if Hayden backs out first. Though... I'm sure you could convince him if you tried."
Gia frowns, backing away from me.
"Yeah, no. There's no way I'm getting involved in this." She spins round to face Jay, who is stationed behind the counter in his baby blue work uniform, looking like the last thing he wants is to be involved in our conversation. "Jay, remind me to stay away from theirs for the next five days."
Jay slaps a label on the small electronic gadget in his hand, dropping it among a tower of other electronic accessories that lies to his side. Without looking up at us, he murmurs, "Wise choice, to be honest."
I pout at Gia, choosing to ignore Jay's remark. "You aren't going to help me?"
Gia places a consoling hand on my shoulder. "I'll let you think about the answer to that one."
I sigh. I was expecting this, as unfortunate as it was. Gia may not know, but she has been instrumental to a lot of my pranks over the years. Hayden has a tendency to let down his guard around her, making her the perfect bait. It's a shame. I'll have to think of more inventive ways to lure Hayden in now.
"Hey, question." Jay sets down the charger cable in his hands, propping his elbows on the checkout counter and inclining forward to talk to us. "How much longer do you two plan on staying?"
"Sick of us already?" I joke.
"I'd just like to get back to work," Jay replies, quirking an amused expression as his gaze flicks over to the store entrance, "and you two loitering around here is scaring away customers who actually plan on buying something."
Gia and I look around the empty tech store.
"What customers?" Gia quizzes.
"Precisely," he answers.
"Don't worry, Jay," I say, a malevolent grin spreading across my face, "we'll be out of your hair soon."
I rest my back against Jay's checkout counter until I hear footsteps approaching. Hayden walks out of the 'employees only' area, making a beeline for Jay. He bares his teeth at his best friend, and I have to hold myself from bursting out laughing.
"Is it still obvious?" Hayden asks in a worried voice.
Jay grimaces. "Just... avoid smiling at any customers today. Or talking to them at all."
"It's that bad?" Hayden groans. "Ugh, I blame her—"
I ready my phone for the moment he turns to glare at me.
Click!
A light flashes and my camera roll is gifted with an angry picture of Hayden, exposing his muddy grey teeth. They were jet black before, but after an hour of scrubbing, followed by the application of a teeth whitening gel he'd bought this morning on his way to work, they have lightened up a bit.
"What's wrong with you, Harv?" Hayden barks. "Are you trying to get me fired?"
I lower my phone. "Oh, boohoo. Meanwhile, every time I sneeze, I still cough up flour!"
Perhaps Gia notices Hayden is about to deck me, because she immediately comes between the two of us, snaking her arms around Hayden's torso and slightly tugging him away from me.
"It doesn't look that bad," she says in a placating tone. "At least you smell very... minty."
Hayden sighs, shooting me a final death glare before resting his forehead on Gia's.
"Gi," he says calmly, wrapping his arms around her waist and bringing her even closer to him, "please tell your psychotic best friend that if I lose my job because of her, I'm going to make her pay for it."
"Gia," I respond saccharinely, "please tell your hysterical boyfriend that he is the one who initiated Prank Week, and if he cannot handle retaliation, then he shouldn't bother starting something he can't finish."
Gia peels herself away from Hayden, latching her hand onto my arm.
"Alright, I think it's time for us to go now, Harvey."
"But—"
Gia cuts off my protests by eagerly waving goodbye to Jay and Hayden, before promptly dragging me out of the store.
><{{{(•>
"Harvey," Harry asks me the following morning at breakfast while I'm pouring out a bowl of cereal for him. "Why's the milk green?"
"Because Haydie is an unimaginative schmuck that wants me to die of starvation," I mutter darkly.
A pensive look forms on my five year old brother's face as he stares into his cereal bowl.
"It reminds me of dinosaur milk," he giggles. "Steggy from Dino-Cafe only drinks green milkshakes."
The memory of one of his favourite tv shows, a cartoon about a group of bright-coloured dinosaurs that run a cafe together, amuses Harry enough to eagerly scoop up a spoonful of the green stained cereal into his mouth.
At least, Harry isn't put off by it. As I sip on my black coffee, watching Harry dig into his breakfast and try to explain more about the show to me, I ponder over the health risks of a purple-fleshed stegosaurus consuming such a high dairy diet. Not that I bring this up with Harry — he'd probably stare blankly at me if I did.
Unlike Harry and his dear friend Steggy, I am not a fan of the green-dyed milk. I'm allergic to the green food colouring Hayden has put in every bottle of milk in the house, and now I'm too afraid to touch anything else vaguely resembling the same shade of green in case I end up breaking out in hives.
I've already had to spit out the first cup of coffee I made this morning, thanks to my half-asleep brain not noticing the odd colour until the milky beverage was halfway down my throat. Now I'm just too paranoid to eat anything else.
"AaaaAAAAAAGGGHHHHH!"
At least that will always be a comforting sound. The horrified wails of Hayden shrieking at the top of his lungs. He must have found my surprise for him.
I can here the faint snapping of the eight mousetraps I'd set up outside his room going off. Earlier this morning, I wrapped a thin layer of cling film over Hayden's door. If all is going well, by now he must be struggling to free himself from the transparent plastic wrap which should have caused him to trip over onto the mousetraps. I chuckle quietly to myself.
Hunter walks into the kitchen to see the satisfied smile that settles on my lips.
Moments later, Hayden dashes in, hair dishevelled and heaving dramatically as his eyes land on me. "Well played, Harvey, well played."
He flattens his palm on the kitchen table, narrowing his eyes at me while Hunter helps him to remove the final mousetrap lodged in his hair.
"You're welcome," I say, smirking into my cup.
Harry stares at the two of us curiously, drinking up his bowl of green milk. Hunter meanwhile, wears a thoroughly unamused expression.
"You two are too old for Prank Week," he says. "Please. Stop."
I pause, looking up.
"Nonsense," Hayden tells him, just as I adamantly reply, "Never."
Hunter massages his forehead, frustration practically dripping from his pores. "What is the point in dedicating an entire week to making each other angry and arguing all the time?"
"Hunter, Hunter, Hunter," I shake my head in disappointment, "I thought you knew better by now? Prank Week is more than an argument, it's a bonding ritual."
"How do you think Harvey and I get along so well every other day of the year?" Hayden asserts. "It's because of Prank Week."
"You two call the way you act 'getting along'?"
"Mostly civil, with a few little disputes here and there? Yeah," Hayden says with a shrug, snatching away the mousetrap Hunter placed on the table before Harry can get his hands on it. "Now, imagine if Prank Week didn't exist. It would be back to when we were seven and Harvey and I were tearing each other's hair out every other day."
"And do you really want that, Hunt?" I ask in a solemn tone.
"The answer, of course," Hayden replies, "is no."
I nod vehemently in agreement, bringing my coffee mug to my lips to take another sip.
"By the way, Harvey," Hayden adds without skipping a beat, "I added the green dye to the coffee beans too."
I choke, spitting out the liquid in my mouth on impulse.
It's not until my coffee is spluttered all over the table and Hayden booms with laughter that I realise he is probably just joking. But the damage is already done. Damnit.
><{{{(•>
Despite starting strong, by the fourth day of Prank Week, I'm nervous.
While Hayden's pranks have been increasing in complexity, mine have been getting progressively more feeble to the point Hayden has even managed to spot and successfully evade two of mine from today.
It doesn't help that I'm always busy coaching Finn on his surfing these days to be completely dedicated to pulling pranks on my twin. And because I forgot to prepare beforehand for this week, I find myself running out of both ideas and resources much earlier than I anticipated.
Eventually, I'm forced to face the facts: I need help.
And there's only one person who can provide it.
Gathering up my courage, I knock on the door to Harry and Hollis's room, lingering trepidatiously outside for a moment before walking in.
"Hello, Harvey... I've been expecting you."
Hollis swivels round in his gaming chair to face me, his face void of emotion as he cradles Bugs in his arms, leisurely stroking the turtle's bony shell.
My eyebrows knit together. I frown.
"Why are you bothering Bugs?" I reproach. "Return him to his terrarium."
"Yes, Harvey." Hollis grumpily stands up to restore Bugs back in his glass habitat.
When he sits down again, I say, "I'm sure you know why I'm here. I need help with Prank Week."
"What's in it for me?"
I stare into space for a moment, trying to wrack my brain for something that could be of use to Hollis. Hollis's birthday is just around the corner, so he won't care for anything that he could end up getting for that anyway.
"Umm," I say, "that's not important right now. How about an IOU?"
"You know I no longer trade in IOUs, Harvey," Hollis responds smoothly, gesturing back to his shelf where he has a box full of the little square white notes I've given him this year. Gia's right, I really need to stop handing those out...
"Oh, come on then, Hollis," I plead, coming closer. "What do you want?"
Hollis strokes his chin, considering this for a moment.
"Information."
My forehead furrows. "Information?"
Hollis gets up again to pluck a black-skinned notebook from his shelf. He briefly flickers through the pages.
"Oh, I've been collecting leverage on everyone — just little pieces here and there, but for some people, it's just too empty," he sighs. I glance down to the book in time to catch a glimpse of a rather bare page belonging to Jay, and later on, one belonging to Finn.
Makes sense. Jay knows better than to let Hollis get dirt on him. And Hollis hasn't known Finn long enough to collect enough information about him.
But wait—
Was this Hollis basically confirming he has a blackmail book on all of us?!
I peer again to catch sight of Hunter's page, managing to pick out a few keywords: 'Delaney Johnson', 'T-ball', 'Living room'. The entries for Hunter seem to take more than a couple pages.
"Why do you have so much on Hunter?" I question, somewhat afraid to hear the answer.
Hollis immediately shuts the notebook, eyes flicking up to mine.
"Nothing you need to worry about." Hollis smiles. "I need you to get me six pieces of information by next week. If I think it's good enough, then you'll have repaid your debt for me helping you."
My eyebrows shoot up. "Really? That's it?"
Hollis shrugs. "Knowledge is power, after all."
I'm mildly worried about the type of shows Hollis has been watching recently, but right now, there are more pressing matters than my twelve year old brother's burgeoning megalomania.
"Six pieces of information and you'll sort out the rest of my pranks this week for me?"
"Of course," Hollis replies magnanimously, like a bank clerk granting a loan to a gambling addict. "Deal?"
I shake on his outstretched hand. "Deal."
><{{{(•>
"What's the big deal with Prank Week?" Finn asks me a day later, when as soon as he emerges from the ocean after a forty minute surf session, I throw a towel at him and steer him in the direction of the Hole.
"Other than the fact it's a 7-year tradition?" I ask him, casting a fearful glance around the beach as I hurry towards my rocky hideout.
Hayden has made me too paranoid to stay in the house anymore. After his last prank which left my skin crawling, I have decided my only safe space from Hayden is the Hole. Even the open beach isn't good enough, which is why I'm currently coercing Finn into finishing the rest of our surf class there.
"Do you get anything special for winning?" Finn inquires.
"Mostly just glory, bragging rights, and the official title of the 'superior twin'. Mind your head," I say, reminding Finn to duck upon entering the Hole.
Finn frowns as he takes a seat on the blanketed ground, "Wait, is that why he calls you the 'Lesser Twin'?"
"Nah," I shake my head. "I won last year. He's just been saying that since the beginning of the summer because he's overly confident he's going to win this time round. That, and because he's a twerp."
Finn lets out a short laugh at my choice of insult.
"By the way," I continue, moving on to a new subject, "you were really good out there today."
"That's all thanks to the sea," Finn replies, deflecting the compliment. "The waves were sound today."
I am prying my laptop open, when midway I stop, turning to shoot Finn a questioning look. "Sound?"
"Mint?" he supplies.
"The plant?"
"No. As in 'really good'," Finn translates, sounding out each syllable.
"Ah." Being around Finn, I've gotten used to his slang terms, but from time to time, he still manages to throw in a new one that catches me off guard. "But that's not true. Technique-wise, you've actually improved a lot from when we first started," I insist. "I've been taking notes. Here."
I search around for my notebook, pulling out the pen that I was using to bookmark the latest entry before I begin flicking through the previous pages.
"Hold on," I frown, "it's not here... I mean, I guess I could just show you the footage from a few weeks ago." I revert back to my laptop, using the cursor to search through the photo gallery. "No," I pause, "I just remembered. It must be in my other notebook. I think it should be on that wall, in the basket on the third shelf."
Finn gets up to search the shelf I mentioned.
"This one?" he says.
As he pulls out a familiar journal, my eyes widen as I remember why I stopped writing Finn's surfing notes in that book. That's where I put the blackmail photos I'd spent $18.50 getting back from Hollis.
"No!" I shriek, leaping up to grab the notebook from Finn.
Finn turns to me with a look that morphs from confusion to alarm as he watches me tumble forward, knocking him to the ground. I land on Finn's chest with a hard thump, instantly regretting my overreaction. I knew I should've burned those pictures when I had the chance.
Beneath me, Finn twists his head so he can look me dead in the eyes.
"Alright," he says, catching his breath, "so what's so important about whatever's in this book that warrants you rugby tackling me?"
The blood drains from my face as I tear my eyes away from Finn's to watch him wave the notebook in his right hand around, a white-rimmed sky blue square poking out the side of the journal that I recognise as the top frame of one of the photographs Hollis took.
Frantically, I reach out to grab it.
Finn automatically withdraws his hand, taking advantage of me being distracted to flip us over so my back is pressed against the floor and his arms are on either side of my head.
I look up at him helplessly.
"Drop the book, Finn," I sigh, "unless I'll have to kill you."
My mind is already a mess without having to worry about explaining why I have such a photo of the two of us, and more importantly, why I chose to keep them.
Finn stares at me questioningly for a minute, before deciding, "Okay."
To my relief, he lets go off the notebook, sliding it across the floor to the furthest corner of the Hole. I arch my head in its direction to confirm that the book and all its contents are still safely intact. Thank goodness.
"Plan on telling me what was inside the notebook?" Finn asks, drawing my attention back to him.
"Not if I can help it," I retort, sounding a lot more confident than I felt.
I would try to get out from underneath Finn, if not for his hands stationed securely besides my head and his body hovering right above mine. Slightly damp with the smell of the ocean stuck to his skin. His close proximity is sending my brain into overdrive.
But now that I think about it, this is all his fault. If he hadn't gotten all handsy and tried to 'confess' that day at the beach, then there'd be no blackmail picture in the first place. That day at the beach feels like eons ago now. And Finn's supposed confession more difficult to believe by the day — considering how he's currently inches away from my face and while my heart is doing somersaults, he doesn't seem in the slightest bit affected.
"Aren't you going to move?" I snap. "Do you plan on doing something? Or do you only feel like kissing me when I'm all dolled up in make-up and a pretty dress?"
My eyes widen as soon as the words leave my mouth. As does Finn's. He instantly pulls away, pushing himself up onto his knees and backing away from me so I have enough space to sit up.
Throw me into the ocean. Sacrifice me to mountain goats. Clearly, there is something very wrong with me today. Perhaps one of the fly larvae Hayden stuffed into my pillow last night had escaped and crawled up into my ear and is now currently feasting on my brain cells.
"Honestly?" Finn speaks up, surprising me. His voice is slow and full of caution as he lift his serious gaze up to me. "I feel like kissing you all the time, but I was under the impression that we were just friends."
My voice catches in my throat.
"Everything you do drives me insane, Harvey," Finn continues. "You don't know how hard it is for me to act normal around you." There is a hint of frustration in his voice that makes me feel like I'm getting told off. Finn falls silent, taking the moment to study me until there is a sad sort of look in his eyes. "And there's the problem... that look again."
What look?
"The one written all over your face. That panicked look. Like you're afraid you're about to do something you'll only end up regretting."
My vocal cords are blocked off, and I find myself incapable of replying. Finn sighs.
I watch as he gradually rises to his feet, picking up the original notebook I'd discarded beside my laptop.
"I'm guessing you made notes on what I should work on next in here already?" Finn asks me on his way out the Hole, raising up the navy blue notebook.
I nod slowly.
He throws me a weak smile. "I'll go look over this myself today. Thanks."
><{{{(•>
Setting up a bucket of fake spiders to pour out the window on Hayden the moment he appears in the driveway may not be my most innovative idea ever, but in my defence, I'm distracted.
Finn's words from yesterday are all I can think about, but all they do is make my head hurt. I'm thrilled, anxious and conflicted all at the same time but I can't decide if this temporary sort of 'complicated' is what I want. Or what Finn wants from me. Or what I want Finn to want from me.
Ugh.
Fortunately, I don't have to decide today.
Finn's family have gone somewhere for the day, and with how hard he's been working all week, we agree he was due for a rest day anyway, so he's taking a break from surfing today.
As I am fashioning a rather crude pulley system out of the rope I tie to the bucket, I glance out the window to notice a car driving into our neighbourhood, slowing down in front of our driveway.
I frown. It looked like the type of taxi you'd find at airports.
"Hey, Hunter!" I call, lowering the spider bucket back to the ground. "When were you supposed to be picking up Mom and Dad again?"
Hunter pushes open his room door, poking his head out into the hallway to reply, "Tomorrow night. Why do you ask?"
"Isn't that them coming out of that taxi right now?"
Hunter strides across the hall to me, peering out the window. He curses.
From downstairs, I hear the faint sound of keys jangling and the front door creaking open.
"Mom! Dad!" Hollis greets excitedly from the entrance.
"Surprise!" I hear my father say merrily.
"Hey, kids!" my mother calls in a louder voice, "We're home!"
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A/N:
Hey dudes, bet you weren't expecting an update. Call this my 1st of August gift to you all.
There are only 6 chapters + an epilogue left. I'm a little sad, but mostly excited, because wow, am I tired and ready to click 'complete'.
But before that, let's just all take a moment to appreciate Hunter. When I started planning this book 4/5 years ago, 19 seemed reasonably old and mature to me but now actually at 19, if someone tried to tell me to take care of 4 kids for 2+ months, I think I'd cry lol.
However now, with one day left of prank week, the parents are back. What do you think is in store for Harvey and co now?
Oh! Also, this chapter is dedicated to @thehockeybee for her green milk prank suggestion! Thank you!
♕ Carmen ♕