Pieces of Us: Living in Parallel

Chapter 1 - Roman

A/N - I'm training to be a teacher this year (woo) but that means I hardly have time :(. I've written 6 months in advance so... wish me luck.

Roman Nightingale was used to a busy life. He spent his entire life in the city filled with bustling people. Cars and ambulance sirens were his home sounds. He grew up with five siblings so there was always shouting and petty arguments at home, always someone to go to the mall with or to do homework with or to run around the park with. His life was constant high energy.

Until he sat and wrote. When he wrote he could be quiet, escape into a world unlike his own, be at peace and in control of his environment. He could sit in front of the computer for hours, building worlds and creating humans. And he had hours to do so – being the middle child had its perks.

He wasn't the only middle child though. Roman was blessed to be a twin – and it was a blessing, although sometimes it turned into a curse. Remus was the same energy levels as his twin and the rest of the family but had no way to contain it – leading to some adventures. He cracked his head open walking down the stairs as a toddler, stabbed himself in the eyebrow with a pencil in first grade because he wanted piercings, and in middle school... Well, he was almost hit by a car.

It was a Friday in eighth grade and the twins had got an average report card, so they were celebrating their achievements by walking across the city. Roman was walking like a normal person with his hands in his pockets while Remus was treating the edge of the sidewalk like a tight rope. "Promise to be careful Rem."

"I will, I will. I got a B- in science, I know how physics works!" Remus cheered. The pair continued walking, Roman nudging past the crowds of people to stay close to his brother. Conversation took the two boys' minds as they walked through the busy streets. Roman imagined what each person was thinking, whether they liked their jobs, whether they had a chaotic brother too. As the streets got busier, and cars got faster, a gut feeling came to Roman, he turned to his brother on instinct and... "AH FUCK!"

Luckily the car only hit Remus' shoulder, but it gave Roman a heart attack to hear his brother scream. It was obvious the green wearing thirteen-year-old was holding back tears as he clutched his shoulder. Roman went into big brother mode without hesitation. "Oh my God bro, are you OK? Is your shoulder broken? The hospital is right around the corner, come on." There was no reaction from Remus. He was stood in shock – absolutely silent, which was very unusual for him. "Look, if it has to be amputated you can tell everyone you protected me from muggers, and that'll get you so many cool points you'll beat me in the 'get a girlfriend' bet! We need to get it checked out."

Roman placed his hand where Remus' hand lay, looking into his eyes, and helping him breathe. They counted breaths together, Remus let a few tears go, until he stopped. He furrowed his eyebrows, looked at his shoulder and then back at his brother. "It doesn't hurt anymore..."

Honestly, Remus could survive anything at this point so Roman didn't put much notice to the change. "That's great! Maybe it was just shock or something?"

"No, it hurt before – I couldn't move my elbow." Now Remus was waving his arm wildly, bringing down his t-shirt to show there wasn't even a bruise near his collarbone. He was just hit by a car? Yet, Remus' arm looked like it had barely received a pinch. Roman must have healed it somehow. "You're magic Ro! Beat you to ice cream!"

Roman continued experimenting with this magic power on his younger siblings. If anyone was to fall over at soccer practice, or bump their elbow on the kitchen counter, Roman was the first to run and help. And every time – as soon as the place that hurt was touched by Roman – it would magically heal. His family called it the 'Roman touch', and said it was magic, but it was never taken as serious magic.

Remus believed that it was serious magic. He also believed that pigeons were international spies though, so his stories were very imaginative. Roman was introduced as 'the magic twin' several times but no-one second guessed it – it was just Remus' personality to make weird comments. When the twins started college they lived alone in a four-bedroom apartment so siblings and family could stay over during the four years they were studying. They struggled through all-nighters side-by-side.

"Does your magic heal brains Ro? I really need to absorb these flashcards for my final." The twins sat opposite each other on a cramped dining room table, Roman writing an essay on his laptop one side and Remus staring at flashcards the other. Roman chuckled and got up – mainly to refill his Crofters jar, rubbing his brother's curly mullet on the way to the kitchen.

As he was staring at his flashcards, Remus looked one step away from deep sleep. His eyes were half-shut and his body and voice were slower, but as Roman ruffled his brother's hair it seemed as though an energy surged through him as his eyes opened wider. Just as he did when his shoulder was healed seven years prior, he stared at his brother confused before screaming. "YOU DO HEAL BRAINS!"

With his second magic power Roman found the cheat code for college. He could do an all-nighter before an exam and then brush his clothes with his hands before walking in and he'd have the energy levels of a healthy human. His brother was forever jealous of his twin's magic and kept on making bad decisions knowing his brother would heal him whatever happened.

Unfortunately, as college ended, Remus got a job in another state so had to move away. This left Roman as a new college grad with a four-bedroom apartment, and no-one to live with. He put an advertisement out for roommates, expecting to get a few weird responses.

He didn't get any weird responses though. Three men responded to the advertisement, they joined a group chat together, and got chatting. He was excited to meet these guys in person for the first time and live with them, even if that did mean hiding his magic powers and calling them 'coincidences' again.