The Styles Triplets

Marcel 23

~RIGHT BEFORE THE MOVIE~

        I was in the kitchen on my computer when Harry came in. He went to the fridge and pulled out the orange juice. I instantly knew that the juice was for Edward because the only juice that Harry would drink is apple juice, pineapple juice (gross I know), and kool-aid. When he stopped pouring, he turns slightly and looks at me. From the corner of my eye, I could see him opening and closing his mouth as if trying to find the right words. Finally, he speaks, "Marcel?"

        "What do you want?" I say with a touch of venom. I know it was harsh, but I'm still mad at him for not hanging out with me anymore and turning me into... Into Edward. I don't like it as much as I did when we were pretending to be each other, but it gets the job done. Nobody messes with me anymore. I can practically hear Harry flinch when I said what I said.

        "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I know I haven't been a good brother, but if you can forgive me, which I understand if you don't, I promise to be better. I will always take you with me when I go out with my- our friends. Just please, please, please forgive me." I look at him like he's lost his mind. He's even bending at the knees slightly as if he's about to get on his them and beg. I feel my face soften, my other half that's longing to be his nerdy little brother again wanting to say yes, coming out. But I quickly stop it and my face turns hard again. I feel the presence of my nerdy side right underneath the surface of myself. I really do miss my brothers and how we used to be. I even miss the fighting because I would start crying and Harry would comfort me. But just 'cause I miss that, doesn't mean I'm going to come crawling back.

        "I don't know, Harry. I... I need some time to think about it." I say. I see his shoulders sag a little as he nods. He turns around to grab the juice. I continue to stare at him, looking like I didn't care about what just happened, when, I actually do. I was staring at him with what I was hoping looked like little interest, when I really was interested. I see him turn slightly to look at him, but I continue to look at him. He looks down and walks out of the door when I say, "Don't baby him too much." I know he heard me because he nods slightly. When he was out of earshot, I sigh and hit the counter top. I wish I would just act like the little helpless teenager I once was. But, unfortunately, I cannot. This, the way I act, is my life now.

        I sigh and close my laptop. I slide off the stool. I walk as quietly as I can and walk to the door that divides the kitchen from the family room. But I unsuccessfully make it there quietly because my shoes decided to gets a mind of their own and step on my tied shoelace, make them untied, and make me trip. The good thing is that I wasn't close to the doorway so Harry and Edward won't know I'm still clumsy, which I'm thankful for. I take a second to recollect myself and walk carefully the rest of the way to the doorway and just stand there, waiting for someone to notice me. They were both sitting together, like the old days. Not fighting. Just hanging out. But without me. And that makes my blood boil, making my attitude towards them grow even more. They both look at me at the same time. I look back with very little interest, but, on the inside I was hoping they would invite me to sit and watch the movie with them. Then Harry speaks up, "Marcel, do you want to sit and watch this with us?" At that exact moment, my anger melted away and in my mind, I was back to being my little nerdy self, enjoying their company, being a family again. I didn't let that show. But I was screaming like a three year old on a sugar high inside. I just nod and go sit down on the recliner farthest from them. I know Harry is upset with me because I hear him sigh. I mentally face palm. I really need to work on my people skills again. From the corner of my eye, I see Harry turn up the volume.

~AFTER THE MOVIE~

        I was in my bathroom, taking off my contacts. I look at my blurry image in the mirror and sigh. I had the sudden urge to punch something, but I fought against it. Then I hear Harry saying something. It was kind of mumbled, so I walked out of the bathroom and quietly walk towards Edward's doorway and lean on the frame. "...and, I just don't know who he is anymore. He kinda scares me now." I hear Harry whisper. I wonder who he's talking about?

        "Yeah, I know what you mean. Before I fell out of the tree, he was underneath it and he punched the tree. And he broke some bark off." Edward says. Oh, they're talking about me. I feel ashamed now. They had stopped talking for a while.

        "Hey, Ed? If you need anything, just ask. I only said what I said about taking advantage of being crippled because Marcel told me to. But, if you do take advantage, I will stop doing things for you altogether. Got it?" Harry says in quiet tone, but just loud enough so I could hear it. Just barely. I hear Edwards' bed squeak, indicating that he's laying down. Then, I hear the pill bottle open, pills being shaken out, and the lid snapping shut. Edward must be taking his pills. And I should have been there to help with everything. After all, the doctor said that I should take care of Edward, not Harry.

        "Good night, Haz. Thank you." Edward says. Then all was quiet except for Edwards' breathing. I then hear Harry getting up and his soft footsteps heading towards the door. I bolt up and run as quietly as I can to my room, closing it but not shutting it. I'm so glad our doors don't squeak.

        I'm peering out the crack out the door, seeing Harry in front of Edwards' door, a small smile playing at his lips. The door was still open. Then Harry says, "Good night, brother." and closes the door the same time I do. Then I hear his footsteps once again going past my room- no. Stopping in front of my room. I see his feet through the crack underneath the door. It looked like he was determining whether to come in or keep walking. Please come in. Come in!! Finally, he made a decision: he came in. I quickly put my head down and pretended I was asleep.

        "Marc, I know your not asleep." he says,  chuckling lightly. "I just want to talk." I sigh and reluctantly sit up. I look at him and, in turn, looks at me. We sat uncomfortable silence. He shuffled foot to foot whereas I was shifting my weight while sitting in bed. I always hated uncomfortable silence. It made me uneasy.

        "Well? What do you want to talk about?" I ask. I couldn't take it anymore. He looks at me, trying to figure out what I was talking about, then realization hit his face.

        "Oh, well. I, uh, I wanted to talk about..........us. I really miss the way we hung out. The way we did everything together. And most of all," He pauses and looks at me. Probably to make sure I was still listening. I was. I nod for hi to continue, though I probably know what he was going to say. "Most of all, I miss you. I just want the old Marcel back. I want my nerdy brother back. I want the person who would confuse me with with big words that nobody knows.

        "Marcel, I love the old you. Not this macho man that scares the living crap out of everybody. You scare me and Edward with the way you act. You aren't the same person you used to be. This," he points to my clothes, which I still had on instead of my PJs. "is not you. It's not. So, please, will you be my little brother again?" By now, he had tears in his eyes. I did too. I couldn't get any words out, so I just nodded, a huge smile plastered on my face. I smiles a huge grin and hugs me from the side. I shrug and try my best to hug him back. I really did miss this, too. I missed his hugs.

        We stayed like that for what seemed like two hours, but really, it was only about fifteen minutes. Finally, we let go of each other. And we fell into a comfortable silence that I could actually live with. Harry broke the silence by saying, "So, do you want to hang out tomorrow?" I looked at him.

        "Sure. But can we invite Niall? I've been kind of a jerk to him and I want to apologize."

        "Okay. Where do you want to go?"

        "Surprise me."