The One in the Middle

Chapter 4- I Think I'm Walking on Air

I lay on my head and I stare at the ceiling blankly. My face may have looked blank, but my brain was so active that it rivals an athlete. 

I couldn't stop thinking about them. Robin and Maurice. 

There's something about Robin that made me like him since the day we met, and it makes me go absolutely crazy. Maybe it was in the way he talks, or laughs, or smiles, or even the way he goes about life. It can even be all of the above. 

But with Maurice, it was gradual. He is quiet and calm and sweet, friendly, but don't forget that Robin and Mo are twins. He has a similar sense of humor to Robin with his own twist to it, and he has the same sense of adventure. He's so sweet and friendly and he's the kind of guy that makes you feel warm inside. 

My hands lay on my stomach, and I feel it slowly rise and fall as I breathe. 

The door creaks open quietly. "Hazel, what are you doing?" my Mom asks. 

I crack a small smile and turn my head to face her. "Oh, just thinking..." 

Technically I wasn't lying. I just didn't specify what, or who, I was thinking about. The thing is, she doesn't know about Robin and me, or even Mo and I for that matter. It makes me feel queasy inside and nervous, so nervous that I can feel it every time I breathe in my chest. 

Mom sits beside me on my bed, so I decide to sit up to face her better. Placing a hand on my back, she looks me deep in the eyes. I know I'm in for a more serious conversation. 

"Honey, is there something you want to share? I promise it will stay between you and me," she asks. 

I want so badly to tell somebody about this. All of it. I want someone to confide in and to share it with, and who better than my Mom? She would understand best. 

"Well, there is something, but you promise not to say anything?" I prompt. 

She smiles at me reassuringly and nods her head in confirmation. 

I suck in a deep breath sharply. "Well, you know Robin and Maurice Gibb, right?" I pause to see her response. "Well, I think I kind of, sort of, like them both. Ever since I met Robin, we have liked each other, except everyone thinks we're just that close of best friends. We've even kissed... 

And with Maurice, the other day he admitted to me that he liked me and I think I like him back. But it's so sudden and unexpected!" My breathing is heavy as if I had just run a mile and back. 

"Well, your secret is safe with me. But I would never have expected that you and Robin liked each other, no one would've. And everyone knew that Maurice liked you except you!" She laughs quietly to herself. 

I pause, my breath caught in my throat for a moment. 

"Everyone knew?" For some reason, I couldn't wrap my head around it. My mind swims at the idea because, to me, Mo has always been a bit shy and I do know he has his moments of being outgoing as well. But I never thought that him being quiet and shy was because he liked me. 

Mom nods quietly. 

After a second or so of silence, she gives me a look as if she's finally realized something. "Wait a minute- You and Robin kissed?!" She was in shock, but he enveloped me in a hug. 

"It was the day he and I went to the park. We laid down on a blanket in the grass and we told each other how we felt and we said that we wanted each other to be our first kiss." I stopped, blushing madly, and I felt my face getting warmer with each passing second. 

"How about this. I'll take you and Robin and Maurice out for some dinner and you can see how they all act around each other around you," she suggests optimistically.