Twin Fate: Sun and Moon

Chapter 16 - The Fight

We were stopped at a red light, so I took a moment to glance over at Alex. His face was tight, brows furrowed in a way that made me uneasy.

"What's wrong?" I asked, noticing the tension in his expression.

He hesitated, inhaling deeply as if searching for the right words. "I don't know," he admitted, his voice carrying a note of uncertainty. "It just feels like we're ignoring our old friend group."

I considered his words, recognizing the truth in them. It wasn't that our old friends had faded into the past exactly, but there was no denying that Arvid and the others had been left on the sidelines lately. Not that it bothered me much.

"Not really," I replied as the light turned green, and I accelerated smoothly through the intersection. "We just have another friend group now, that's all."

My response didn't seem to ease his concerns. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed his expression hadn't changed. The frown remained etched on his face.

"Yeah, but it feels like we're always with them, like we've forgotten about the boys," he said eventually, his voice low.

I bit my lip, knowing full well that forgetting them was exactly what I'd been trying to do. "It's just one day, Alex," I countered, trying to sound casual. "And it's only because the movie's playing today."

He didn't reply, and the silence in the car began to gnaw at me. It was clear he wanted to say more but was holding back, either unsure of his words or unwilling to cross a line. He remained quiet for the rest of the drive home, the occasional sigh escaping his lips as he stared out the window. It was a silence that didn't sit well with me, but I wasn't ready to confront it either.

We didn't speak much after that. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between us—a mutual understanding that the subject was better left untouched. But of course, I couldn't let it go. I never could.

"Just to play devil's advocate," I began, breaking the fragile silence, "even if we were ditching the boys, what does it really matter? Honestly, even without Elin, the new group suits me better."

Alex took his time before responding, lifting his gaze from the kitchen table to meet mine. "Oh yeah?" he said, his voice laced with something I couldn't quite place.

"They're a bunch of hippies, that's what they are," he added with a dry chuckle. "I mean, don't get me wrong, Elin's okay and all, but she's just as shallow as the rest of them."

His words stunned me, leaving me at a loss. The attack on Elin echoed in my mind, reverberating through the silence that followed.

"Wh-... What?" I stumbled over my words, disbelief coating every syllable. "Shallow?"

Alex nodded, his expression unreadable but the coldness in his voice unmistakable. "It's as good a time as any to tell you that those guys aren't a good influence. I thought you'd snap out of it, but today I realized you're not playing devil's advocate—you're playing your own. You're actually trying to ditch our original friend group." He didn't even bother to look at me, the venom in his tone stinging like a slap.

"Oh yeah?" I shot back, the words sharp, almost childish in their retort. It felt like we were squabbling over something trivial, but the stakes felt so much higher.

"Of course, if there's no drama or gossip, it's immediately 'hippies,' right? Arvid must be so much better," I spat, my voice dripping with sarcasm that even I barely recognized. "He'll be the first to tell you how superior he is, and how Elin's a lunatic—just like you think, huh?" I didn't know where this was coming from, this sudden surge of anger, but it was taking over, clouding my judgment.