I know I have a book for short stories, but I figured you all would enjoy this one better here. Just to also let you all I'm not dead. Just been pretty busy and trying to figure out how to word the next chapter of The Real Ghostbusters Are Back. So enjoy the story from Egon and Natalie's childhood!
"Whatcha doing there Brainiac?" Natalie asked, trying to look over her brother's shoulder. He had been working nonstop for an hour without paying his sister much mind.
"I'm working," was the simple response she got.
"Come on, you can tell me what it is! I won't tell anyone," she whined.
This was a very common thing to do between the two. Egon would be working on something and Natalie would try to figure out how to annoy him. After all they were only allowed to leave the house for so long due to the strict rules in place. Though Egon was very unwilling to let Natalie know his projects. It wasn't he didn't trust his sister, he very much did. It was mostly because it annoyed her and he liked to do that more than anything else. He may have been a stick in the mud most his life, but he was still a kid.
"Let me think about it... no."
"Fine, be that way smart guy."
"I will be tough gal."
"Bookworm."
"Sports freak."
"At least I can do more than name forty molds at a time."
"At least I can actually identify what a mold is correctly."
"Nerd."
"Cockalorum."
"I don't even know what that means!"
"That was the point."
"Ugh, fine!" she snapped, storming out of the room that was Egon's.
That caused the boy to look up from his microscope, blinking. He couldn't lie, he did like to tease his sister, but he didn't like it when he did it to the point she got upset. He would never admit it even to this day, but he knew she struggled enough in the house. With their father's high standards for his daughter, she was always upset about something. Living in Egon's shadow in a family of scholars wasn't easy. Add to it the fact that Natalie wasn't the brightest light on the tree didn't help her case. She spent most of her time with their family members being told to be more like Egon. And he saw that. He knew that she struggled with the higher than normal standards that people put on her because of him. So if he could make her happy he would. But sometimes their little fights did make her upset.
After all he was the person who never told her to be something different. He loved his twin just the way she was. He didn't care she wasn't has smart has him. He liked that she wasn't. What she lacked, he had to make up for it. What he lacked, she had. They were the perfect time because of this.
He sighed, standing up and walking out of the house. He knew when Natalie was upset she would sit under the maple tree in the backyard. That way she was outside but wasn't using her precious time to get fresh air. He sat next to her.
She had her knees pulled to cover her body, her head hidden by her cover of legs. She didn't even look at him when he did sit next to her. He looked at her for a while before he smiled a bit. He may not know emotions and people all that well, but he did know Natalie better than most. Maybe it was some weird twin connection or just living with her for so long. He lightly nudge her side, looking up at the tree.
"You know if we really wanted to, I bet we could climb this tree," he told her. That caused her to look at him.
"Why? You hate climbing trees."
"I do. But you like to do it. And you always do things I like to do."
"I'm not making you climb a tree. Besides, it would take too long and Dad wouldn't like it."
"I know. But you're smiling."
"Shut up."
Egon smiled at her. She couldn't help but smile back. After all, he did know just what to say and do to make her feel better. Even if he was the reason she was upset in the first place. After a while, she looked at him and held her hand out. He knew what she was about to say. It was something they used to do all the time. Neither one can remember when they stopped doing it again. They both honestly forgot about it nowadays in their Ghostbusting years. But back than when they were little one would hold their hand out just like Natalie did.
"Best friends forever?" she asked with a small smile. He returned it and took her hand.
"Yeah, best friends forever," he answered, pulling her into a hug.
And despite everything that as happened to them, with the world ending, their rocky relationship with their families, and everything else, they have managed to be best friends forever.
