Don't Panic - B. Hargrove

SIX

David hated Halloween, while his little brother adored it. He and his friends had agreed on a group costume, the ghostbusters to be exact, and Will was already flaunting his beige overall in the early moment. He looked adorable, with a shy smile on his lips and happiness in his eyes, and his brother was glad he could enjoy himself like that.
Things had been taught since his return, and their mother had brought him to the lab for testing just this week. She first wanted Jonathan and David to go trick or treating with their brother, but as soon as Jonathan had mentioned David had been invited to a party and Will had assured her he would be fine with his friends, Joyce had agreed to let her teens go. It was seldom enough that David was invited to anything, and she was well aware he would never go without his twin. So she and Jonathan had ignored David telling them how okay he would be taking Will and had even started talking costume for him.
But David put a quick end to that discussion as he threatened to stay in bed all evening if they made him dress up. Luckily, they left him alone after that. So he ate his cereal in peach while the others helped Will to get his gear on.

When they were done, Jonathan took a few pictures of their little brother playing around with the proton blaster Joyce had built for him., who was so happy watching him pose. Even David had to admit that they had outdone themselves this year.

"You look good," he told Will as they climbed into Jonathan's car to catch a ride to school.

"Thank you." Will beamed at him. "And thanks you for going to that party."  The boy couldn't wait to spend a night with his friends and without his brothers lurking around.

David could perfectly relate. He would love to spend the night with only his friends as well. He still wasn't buying into Steve's argument that they would stick together at the party. Even. David, who was the last to understand any social rules of his age group, said that Steve would most likely wander off to make out with Nancy or talk to the plenty of other friends he still had. David only had Steve. And that was enough to live but too little to enjoy that party. Maybe if he just stopped thinking about it, he would forget it.

It was a silly little idea, but as David entered the school perfectly in sync with his twin, he committed to it.

"See you at lunch," Jonathan said his goodbye, and David gave him a little wave as he walked off to his first class. They didn't share like most of their classes.
It was a stupid rule the principal had come up to strictly separate twins and other siblings to make it easier for the teachers to remember their names. Well, they might didn't confuse Jonathan with David in that way, but David was called a slightly - off variant of his name at least twice a week.
He didn't mind. Davis, Dave, or Davon weren't so bad and today was his lucky day of the week in which he shared his first class with the only boy he could endure apart from his family.

"Hey, Doodle." Steve greeted him by his locker, a pair of shades on his nose.

"You look like an idiot." David bluntly told him while collecting the books he needed.

"I look hot," Steve responded. David shook his head.

"I don't like the light here, and I still know wearing shades indoors is a fashion crime."

"Yeah? So is your grandpa's sweater. That thing is at least twice your size." Steve just said, looking him over.

"It's comfy." David shrugged.
They fell in step as they walked through the hallway, taking, ignoring when they passed by Tommy.  With Steve, David was safe.

Billy hated waiting. Significantly of, it was waiting for the baby sister he never wanted. That girl had her own mind, which included never being on fucking time.
He was waiting in the parking lot, cigarette between his lips as usual, and watched student after student leave. Most of them were going to change for tonight's party as soon as they got home, and basically, that was Billy's plan for the afternoon too. He needed to shower, get his hair done and find something to wear that screamed king of the party while blasting his favorite metal songs to get in the mood, and he really hated how Maxine was stealing precious time from it.
He heard the little wheels on the asphalt that sounded like her skateboard, but as he turned, it was just David Byers skating away from his brother's car; what an idiot to skate while his brother was driving alone.

But it wasn't his business, and he just frowned as he accidentally made eye contact with the tiny boy going by, not even thinking about a greeting at all. He didn't even know why he kept looking after him.

Then there was a second set of wheels, and this time his redheaded sister approached. Billy didn't look at her.

"You're late again," he told her sternly. She knew how much he hated when she was late.

"Yeah, I had to get catch-up homework." she quickly apologized while getting in the car, minimizing the risk of him leaving without her. Not today; he didn't think about that option. But he was not ready to fight with his father about it. He had plans.

"Jesus, I don't care. You're late again, and you're skating home. Do you hear me? " he responded, throwing his unfinished fag away and slipping behind the steering wheel.

His music was too loud, and the throttle was at maximum as the car sped towards the other side of town. Billy loved it fast and dangerous; sticking to the tempo limit was for losers and wimps. So was this town. You could drive for miles and nothing about the scenery outside ever changed.

"God, that place is such a shit hole." he huffed.
"It's not that bad." Max disagreed. He frowned at her.

"No?" Then, he let down her window. "Do you smell that, Max? This is actual shit. Cow shit."

"I don't see any cows." she said.

" Clearly, you haven't met the high-school girls. " he huffed as the window slid back up again.

" Don't say you like it here now. Why are you defending it? You didn't want to come here either. " he pointed out.

Max shook her head.

" I don't like it here. It's just... we're stuck here. Might as well make the best of it."

Billy hummed. The best of it. What the hell was that supposed to mean in a town like this? He huffed.

" And whose fault is it?" It's yours." she whispered, looking outside to avoid his gaze.

" Did you say it's my fault? " he asked calmly.
" No"

"Good. We both know it's yours." Without her, he would still be in California, far, far away from this shit show. Just thinking about it made him incredibly angry, and the music was doing its best to support that feeling.

He drummed on the wheel aggressively, pumping himself up. The car got faster and faster,but he was unbothered.

"Billy, slow down!" Max told him, who had leaned forward, having spotted some kids on their bikes on the road ahead.

"Are these you're new hick friends?" He asked. It was pathetic how she always befriended the losers, and those kids dressed in Halloween costumes were a prime example of that.

"No, I don't know them," she huffed. But he knew she was lying, and to be honest; he couldn't care less about who she was wasting her time with. She wasn't his real sister. But he loved it to tease her mercilessly.

"I guess you don't care if I hit them then. I get bonus points, I get 'em in one go?" he cackled maniacally, enjoying the fear on her face. He just wanted her to admit what weirdos she's met. That was all. He would never hit over a couple of boys. That would hurt his paint job.

" Billy, stop! It's not funny! "she demanded, and he cackled even more.
It was hilarious how she actually thought he would ever do it.

"Come on, stop it! There were just boys who talked to me because I'm the new kid. Let them be!"  That was all he had wanted to hear.

With a victorious smirk, he stepped on the brakes, just enough to smoothly dodge the boys. Max was visibly relieved.

"Why can't you just find yourself some better friends for once?" he asked, glancing back at the weirdos through the mirror.

" Maybe I just like the outcasts." she snarled, crossing her arms in front of her chest, demonstratively turning her attention to the scenery passing by in a blur.
Outcasts. Billy had never had a thing for that kind.