Last year, a pair of inseparable twin sisters were torn apart by stress and their differences in the relatively smooth first year of university.
Over the break, Emily and Sarah Roses were able to reconnect and mend their friendship.
When a familia...
"-and that's all for Brandon's and my presentation!" I concluded beside my partner, switching to the last slide of my Powerpoint.
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After the whole thing was over, we were pretty excited about how well the presentation went. The two of us received a high grade, and got some nice comments from our professor on our extensive research. Brandon and I walked back to my dorm, chatting all the way there. We made a pretty good team, I had to admit.
The awkward tension we previously had broke with this project, as we could now just talk like we used to. Silly sarcastic things, fun little teases, they all snuck their way back into the natural rhythm of our conversations.
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Once we got to our hallway, Brandon stopped in front of my door.
Tilting my head up, the move was just as easy as it was when we were teenagers, he told me, "I've been wanting to kiss you for this whole project. I know you want this as much as I do."
That did not sound very platonic...She pushed a short laugh, unsure of how else to respond.
The same part of my heart that lit up when we were together in our younger years flickered on. It was only the two of us. Back then, and now... in this hall.
His hand on my chin, looking up into his eyes and looking at that gentle yet playful smile, it all felt so natural, so familiar.
Why was he still making me like this? Calvin was my one and only. Anything I had with Brandon was long over, and I could never ever do anything to jeopardize our relationship.
Calvin respected my feelings and priorities, never getting upset when my twin sister's needs came first.
Brandon manipulated my dang teenage self into leaving my family and moving in with him.
Calvin was soft, sensitive, and caring. We shared that value of prioritizing our families over everything else. The both of us shared an intense love for cinnamon rolls and the stupid inside joke with scientific process of photosynthesis. He became a brother figure to Sarah, and cared about her a lot. Sure, he got cranky and sometimes too honest, but I appreciated his raw opinions and loved how even in his crankiest moments, he never raised his voice once. Our craziest arguments ended in tickling wars.
Brandon was flashy, manipulative, and controlling. He got irritated when I put my family first, usually complaining or being overly sensitive when I'd have to do something with her sisters instead of him. Yeah, he was charismatic and had a smooth way of talking, but that love he gave Emily was a heavy chain. It dragged her down and held her in place, so she couldn't leave. When he raised his voice out of irritability, he'd never apologize with words, but just act as if nothing happened later.
So why was my heart rate quickening around the jerk when I was literally lucky enough to have this dorky, adorable, kind redhead boy in my life? Where was the logic in that?
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I pushed a short laugh, unsure of how else to respond.
The same part of my heart that lit up when we were together in their younger years flickered on. It was only the two of us. Back then, and now... in this hall.
His hand on my chin, looking up into my eyes and looking at that gentle yet playful smile, it all felt so natural, so familiar.
Why was he still making me like that? Calvin was my one and only. Anything I had with Brandon was long over, and I would never ever do anything to jeopardize my relationship.
When he started leaning in, one hand instinctively grabbed his arm, my other ready to push him away. Once he broke my personal space, the hand prepared to push fell limp and his lips were on mine again.
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They stayed there, the warmth so familiar.
"Emily?" A familiar voice finally snapped me out of my fog, causing him to shove a hand in my face and pull away quickly.
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That voice... I knew who it was. Slowly, I turned to face the person who'd seen it all.
Brandon simply bolted away, leaving behind the mess of my destroyed relationship.
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