Chapter 1

A Chapter by Jackson Munsell

Liam knew it was going to be a bad day. Aunt Shelly was out of town again on one of her “girls’ trips” " the twenty-eight-year-old frequently disappeared for days at a time on cross-country excursions with her friends to do God knows what. Aunt Shelly was the legal guardian of Liam and his twin sister, Adare, and since Shelly was out of town, the twins were out of luck in the breakfast department. For some reason, Aunt Shelly never kept any food at their small, two-bedroom house.

Liam silently stared into the empty pantry and let out a sigh.

“No surprise there,” he muttered as his sister entered the kitchen.

“Who needs food anyway?” Adare said as she gathered her things for school. A loud noise from her stomach promptly betrayed her hunger and drew a knowing look from Liam.

“I’ll find you some food at school, no worries,” he said gently. Adare was the only thing that Liam truly cared about in the world, and although she frequently made fun of him for acting like an overbearing dad, she truly appreciated him.

Liam made his way to the bathroom to fix his messy blond hair in the mirror.

“Take your time, pretty boy,” Adare called from the kitchen. She meant it as a joke, but her sixteen-year-old brother really was handsome. She was also quite the looker, and the boys at her school were well aware.

Liam grinned as he grabbed his backpack from the kitchen floor and headed towards the door. Adare shared his smile as she followed him out of the house. Liam locked the door and the pair started down the sidewalk.

“Liam! Hey!” Mr. Swanson shouted softly. The twins’ next-door neighbor was an older man with a huge heart, and he had an uncanny knack for knowing about their many problems. Mr. Swanson was short and grey-haired, and he had lived by himself in a quaint house next to Aunt Shelly for as long as the twins could remember. Although they had never set foot in his house, he was always looking out for them. Mr. Swanson was one of the only bright spots in the lonely lives of the orphaned twins. He gestured for Liam to come talk to him.

“You kids take care of yourselves,” he said, his sharp turquoise eyes twinkling as he pushed two large, ripe bananas towards Liam.

“Thank you so much,” Liam said sincerely as he graciously accepted the fruit. He smiled as he looked into his neighbor’s captivating eyes. Liam had never noticed the rich shade of blue of Mr. Swanson’s eyes, and he stared at them a little too long.

“Well, on your way! Can’t have you kids missing school,” the old man said as he gently shooed Liam away.

Liam thanked him again and joined Adare as they began the trek to school. Her eyes widened as Liam handed her the fresh banana, and she immediately devoured it. Liam laughed as he broke off half of his and handed it to her. She stared at the piece of fruit before shifting her gaze to meet her brother’s eyes.

“Trust me, I don’t even like bananas,” he said.

Adare knew that her twin brother was lying, but she also knew that he wouldn’t eat it if he knew she was hungry. She thanked him softly as she accepted his offer, and they spent the rest of their journey in silence.

The school bell clanged through the building, finally freeing Liam from a torturous two hour geometry lecture. Hundreds of teenagers flew out of class and filled the halls before the bell had even finished ringing. Liam shoved his way to his locker to drop off his textbook. His sister joined him and deposited a book in their shared locker.

“Hey there pretty woman,” a creepy voice behind them said.

Adare whirled around to face the captain of the football team, flanked by four cronies in letterman jackets. He was tall and muscular, with straight brown hair and pale skin. His face appeared to be slightly squashed, like he was lightly pressing it up against a window.

“Homecoming is next weekend, and I’ve decided to give you the honor of being my date,” the jock said, his voice dripping with arrogance.

“How gracious of you, John,” she said sarcastically. “I think I’ll pass.”

John took a step closer. “I don’t think you"”

“She said no,” Liam interrupted.

John turned to face him and laughed. “I don’t remember asking you to the dance, Lame. Go back to class,” he sneered.

Liam clenched his fists. “You’re right. Come on Adare, let’s leave this loser to himself,” he said, pulling his sister along as he moved down the hall.

John began to call after them, “Whoa there! Leave the girl, Lame. I’m not done with her yet.”

Liam stopped.

“Keep walking Liam, he’s not worth it,” Adare said as she tugged on his arm.

“What’s the matter, Lame? Forgot how to walk?” John said as his gang erupted into laughter.

Liam’s clenched fists began to shake.

“Please, Liam. Let’s get out of here,” Adare said with fear in her voice.

The hallway was mostly clear by now, but the few stragglers that were left turned to face Liam.

“I’ll pick you up at seven, honey,” John called from down the hall. “Leave the stupid brother at home.”

Liam felt his heart start to beat rapidly in his chest. Time began to slow down as anger consumed his mind. Everything around him shifted to slow motion.

Liam’s soft brown eyes turned a sharp gold as he jumped into the air, spinning towards John and throwing his fist in a punching motion. Several observers screamed as a loud, blunt impact echoed through the hall.

His heart slowed to a normal pace. When his vision cleared, he found John lying on the ground twenty feet from where he stood moments ago. Liam was still standing next to his sister, some thirty feet away from where John’s gang was standing, gawking at the twins. Everyone in the hall began whispering and giving him strange looks.

“How did he do that?”

“He didn’t even touch him…”

The football players scrambled to help their leader to his feet. Liam began looking at the faces that were present the hall. Every single person was giving him a horrified look, like he were entirely covered in poop.

“Let’s go!” Adare shouted as she yanked her brother away from the scene. They threw open the doors and burst into the sunlight. The twins ran until they came to a stop in the school parking lot. They both bent over, resting their hands on their knees to catch their breath.

Adare grabbed her brother by the shoulders and shook him. “What the heck was that?” she asked frantically between breaths.

“I�" I don’t know what happened, I didn’t even touch him,” Liam stammered as he examined his hands for any indication of contact.

“I know you didn’t touch him, Liam. You launched him across the hall from ten yards away! It was like you used the force or something,” Adare said.

Liam hung his head. “I’m so sorry,” he said.

“Are you kidding? That was AMAZING! I’ve always hated that guy.”

Liam shook his head as he stared at his hands. “I’ve never hit anyone in my life. I don’t know what happened.”

“It’s okay, Liam. You were just defending me. He totally deserved it, he was being a jerk anyway,” Adare said, doing her best to comfort her brother. “School is almost over, let’s just go home.”

Liam nodded wordlessly as his sister took his hand and led him home.