The One in the Middle

Chapter 1- The Beginning

The warm Australian sun beats down on us. My eyes flick to Robin, whose messy hair is blowing in front of his eyes with the wind, and then to Maurice, whose hair is also blowing messily. 

Being a teenager is supposed to be complicated, but not like this! I never thought it would be like this in all the years we've known each other. How in the world did I get stuck between two twins, and how did I become the one in the middle? 

*** 

My name is Hazel, named after my striking hazel eyes as my parents always say which goes nicely with my golden brown hair. It's currently 1965 and I'm just about 16 years old. I've lived in Australia my whole life, I would say. 

Today is Saturday, and it's about 9 a.m. I walk downstairs to see my parents sitting at the kitchen table. 

My dad has the morning's newspaper in his hands and is fully engulfed in it. So much so, that I don't think he saw me coming. 

My mom has a pristinely white coffee mug in her hand that looks to be made only moments ago. 

"Good morning, how are you dear? Any plans for the day?" Mom asks with a grin on her face. 

"Oh you know me, I'll be spending the day with the Gibbs," I state with a gleeful grin. 

Dad looks up from his paper and looks me in the eyes. "Ah, yes, I figured as much. You and those Gibb twins always have been close. Especially you and Robin." 

Oh, Robin and I have a story behind us. The thing is, ever since we met each other when we were about 9 or 10 years old in 1958, Robin and I have liked each other and had a crush on each other. Except, no one knows that except for us two. Everyone else thinks we're such close friends. Normally when a girl and boy want to have a sleepover at each other's house as kids, parents are quick to say no. But our parents think they know us so well and always say yes because we're "only best friends". But we know better. However, all we've ever done is holds hands or cuddle when no one's looking. 

I snap myself out of my thoughts and roll my eyes at my Dad. "Yeah, Dad, we three are like the Three Musketeers." 

As soon as I get ready with a shower and brushing my teeth, I head out the door. Dad has already migrated to his office. To be honest, I don't know what he does in his office, nor do I care. Mom is sitting in the main room on the couch, turning to me. 

"Bye Mom," I say quickly. 

"Be back before dinner!" she exclaims. 

"Of course." I head out the door and to Robin and Mo's house. 

As soon as I knock on the door, Mrs. Gibb answers the door with a motherly-type of a smile. "Oh, good morning, Hazel! I'll get the boys for you." She winks at me. "Maurice, Robin, Hazel is here!"

As soon as she says something, a frenzy of footsteps from upstairs can be heard. They both look to be racing who can get down the stairs quicker. Typical, and I chuckle to myself at them. 

"Hazel!" Robin exclaims, racing up to me along with Mo. I engulf them both in a group hug. 

"So, what do you want to do today?" Maurice asks eagerly, looking at me with the same kind eyes. 

I quickly notice that they're both taller than me, only by a bit though. It's not anything new, but I guess I haven't noticed before. Technically, I'm older because I was born in June whereas they were born in December, all of us in 1949. So, they're both 15 still since it's October and I'm 16. 

"Maybe we should go to lunch at that diner? I did wake up hungrier than usual," I suggest. 

"You would. You eat so much that I don't know where it all goes!" Robin comments, making it a point to point out how small my waist is. He smirks knowingly, yet slyly so no one sees. However, it's Maurice who seems to be a bit bashful. I put it off as him being a bit shyer than Robin. 

"Well, let me take you all to the diner then!" Mrs. Gibb offers with a smile plastered on her face. 

We all thank her as we walk to the car, all of us three piling in the back seat. Naturally, I sit in between Robin and Maurice. 

Outside, a calm yet strong breeze blew our hair out of place. I had noticed as we climbed in the car and I smiled at them. "Let me fix your hair, it's out of place." 

They both remain silent and let me fix their hair. I place my hand on the right side of Robin's face to hold myself steady, and I feel his face is warm. I run my fingers through his hair to fix it properly. 

"Thank you, Hazel." Robin smiles at me gratefully. 

I turn to my left to look at Maurice. "Your turn." 

He doesn't speak a word and just lets me work. I place a hand on the left side of his face to steady myself, similar to what I did with Robin. As I was running my hands through his hair, I saw that his eyes were fixed on mine but looked away. It is always awkward when you're this close in proximity to someone, and it's like you never know where to look. 

"All done," I say with a warm smile. I see out of the corner of my eye as I face forward that a tinge of pink appears on his cheeks for a split second. 

It's funny, with Maurice, we've always been close but differently than me and Robin. We're best friends too, but I can't put my finger on it. 

Taking me off-guard from my thoughts, however, I find that Robin is holding my hand, and does so in a sneaky manner. It makes me jump for a second. 

We arrive at the diner which adorned a bright neon sign that seemed to glow in the daytime. Robin let go of my hand as we walked out of the car though, and I saw that same gleam in his eyes that makes my heart skip a beat. 

As we enter the diner, a Beatles song was playing from the jukebox. I recognized it immediately as "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" from the Beatles for Sale album. I grinned as the music filled my ears. 

"You like this song?" Maurice asked abruptly. 

"Yeah, it's not my favorite one but I like it." My eyes avert to the jukebox quickly. 

"Oh? What's your favorite Beatles song then?" Robin interjects with a toothy grin. 

I laugh at his question while I gave it some thought. "'If I Fell' from 'A Hard Day's Night'. I think it's really romantic..." I couldn't help but glance a sideways glance at Robin when I thought of romance. 

"I wouldn't have pegged you as the 'romantic' type!" Maurice laughs, but I notice a lively gleam in his eyes. 

"I'll have to remember that," Robin mutters under his breath. 

The current song ends, and "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley immediately beings. We all exchange knowing glances, and we spring up out of our seats and head towards the empty part of the diner which, I'm guessing, is designed for dancing. At least, that's how we're utilizing the space. 

Robin and Maurice each grab one of my hands, me grabbing each of theirs, and we all start moving about. But it feels different when I hold Robin's hand.