Magnum Opus

[potassiumboron]

​

Even though the twins were now 16, and pretty capable of being alone in the house for a few hours together, or venturing into the town, it didn't make it any easier for Pearl to have to leave them when work demanded her to. Usually, Sundays were her only day of the week off, and it had become a habit for her and the twins to cook Sunday dinner together and bake a few cakes. It was a tradition they'd done for a few years, no matter what city they'd moved to-- but a vicious murder in the centre of Toronto apparently required her expertise. It was hardly something she could say no to, so it did mean having to abandon the usual plans and head on out, leaving both the twins as a result.

"Now, you'll both be fine, won't you? I shouldn't be too long, a few hours, perhaps a little more-- I want you to go down to McDonald's and buy yourselves dinner, alright? It... It won't be the same, I know that, but I don't want you boys going hungry, so you go and buy yourselves something nice. Get some ice cream too and a milkshake or two, make it a real treat," she babbled, frantically walking in and out of the kitchen and living room to find her coat, then her car keys, and then whatever else currently missing from her handbag. Even in the midst of the panic and the rush, and despite only having had five minutes to get herself ready for work, she still managed to hold herself together and look both composed and polished. Eventually finding her ID and scan card, she threw it over her neck and took a moment to stand in the doorway of the living room, observing the boys with a frown. "Oh come on, Gabe, it's not my fault I have to go to work. I'll leave the money right here, and you two can go and have a nice hour together in McDonald's, you can get that burger you like--"

"It's not the same! I... I want to cook up the chicken and potatoes a-and then bake those cupcakes," began Gabriel, who, up until five minutes ago, had been his usual cheery self. He'd been sat on the couch with the cartoons on in the background, playing at some game on his laptop... until his mother was apparently called into work. Rather than being able to understand it, he'd instantly pouted and believed she had some choice in the matter. "Tell her, Cain! I... I don't want to go out, it'll suck and it's not how we do Sundays! I-It's too much change, I don't like that."

"...Look after your brother, will you, Cain? I won't be too long." Pearl sighed, knowing better than to get into a discussion with Gabriel. Leaning over to kiss them both on the forehead, despite Gabe's childish protest, she adjusted her light scarf with a smile. "And if you get hungry, I... just lock yourselves in the house. There's some liver in the fridge I was going to cook up tomorrow, but you could have that if you get too desperate, hm?"

 

[saturnia pavonia]

"We'll be fine, mom." Cain reassured her, before glancing over to Gabriel with his usual small, but genuine smile. "Hey, we can still make the cupcakes, right? They can be a big treat for when mom gets home, don't worry. Besides, it's supposed to be clear tonight, so you and I can get some food and eat out in the yard. That sounds nice, don't in?"

This was a pretty normal scene for Cain; having to take care of his brother before everything else. Sharing that equal discomfort in the fact that their mother was leaving, he was obligated to immediately come to his brother's comfort, despite being physically disturbed at the thought, seen by his tense muscles and colorless cheeks. Taking Gabriel's hand under the guise of doing it for his brother, he glanced back over at his mother with an encouraging nod.

"We'll be fine, yeah. I've got the emergency phone if we need you, and you'll keep yours on, right? I don't... I don't want something happening and for you to be, like, impaled with a scalpel or something. Just - be safe, please? We'll do the same." He insisted sternly, almost more demanding and parental than Pearl. "We promise to lock the door the minute we get back, right, Gabe?"

 

[potassiumboron]

"Oh, have some faith in me, Cain. This is my job, hm? I'm not going to dramatically impale myself-- but my emergency phone will be on, of course it will be. Now, I... I really should get going. Keep those doors locked when you come back and-- hey, you should make those cupcakes. It won't be the same without me, I get that Gabe, but you can still have fun doing it with your brother? How about you make me a vanilla one, with those sprinkles I like the best. It'll be lovely to come home and have some nice homemade cupcakes," she continued in her own effort to cheer up Gabriel. She wasn't blind, and she knew that Cain put himself under a lot of stress comforting his twin when he was probably just as uncomfortable and as disappointed as he was. She did feel guilty for it - all their lives, she'd urged Cain to keep an eye out for his brother, to make sure he was alright. On one hand, she felt justified in doing so when one brother was clearly less aware than the other, but she also realised that Cain needed someone to reassure him too. "...Look, you both look after one another, I won't even be that long, okay? Okay. Love you both, alright?"

"...Love you too," mumbled Gabriel. As mad as he was, he would never go a day without telling his mother he loved her at some point, and once his moment of petulance ended, he rushed up to offer the woman a hug before she, similarly, rushed out the door in a panic. Standing awkwardly in the silence that was left, the boy shuffled on his feet before flopping to the couch, tugging up the hood of his favourite Hello Kitty sweater.

"Can we go to McDonald's, really? We never go without Mom," he pointed out with his blue eyes now locked on his brother worriedly. "But... But hey, it could be fun! We can get, like, five ice creams each or something! And that nice guy works there, he's always really sweet to us, ain't he? He won't, like, make fun of us."

Expectedly, Gabriel was blissfully unaware that said server had often shared ridiculing glances with his co-workers whenever Gabe babbled on to him whilst ordering, and he was painfully oblivious to the unsubtle laughs and giggles. In his head, that server was as nice as pie, and someone he childishly pinpointed as a friend. Hell, he thought he had a tonne of friends, when in reality, he only really had his brother and his mother.

 

[saturnia pavonia]

Offering his own kiss and hug to his mother, Cain then turned his attention to his brother as he moved to take a seat besides him, absently fiddling with his constrasting, black sweater. The night was particularly cold and, thanks to the house being old, the walls weren't the best at insulating them. Because of that, he tugged the knitted blanket resting on the arm of the chair and offered to wrap it around them both. Once nestled on, he peaked over at his twin with a smile.

"It's going to be okay, don't worry. We can get ice cream in a little bit, if you'd like? We should have some proper food, too, y'know. I mean, I don't think mom would appreciate us only having ice cream for dinner," Cain reminded, while absently fiddling with the fringe of the blanket. "I... I-I think we'll be fine, at least. I think I can find some DVDs around, and it can be just you and me! Or, we can go in the woods for a bit - only for a little while, though. I don't want those guys to come and threaten you again."

As he spoke, his anxious eyes did dart to the door, then back to his brother. With his hands beginning to wring, he decided to scoot closer if only to rest his head on his brother's shoulder and stare at the television in clear contemplation.

"Do... Do you think I'm too quiet? I know that kid from class thinks so. I'm trying to talk more, y'know? Like... You're too popular, Gabriel." He began to babble, the topic having been on his mind quite a bit. "Like, the guys at McDonalds like you, and there's that one guy at the lunch room that sits with us. I think he likes you... I think. He might just be scared of us. I dunno."

 

[potassiumboron]

If Gabriel was a little more aware and quick, he probably would have realised that he was just as unpopular as his brother was, and that all those guys at McDonalds, like many of the people at school, really didn't like him. However, he was under the belief that they were all his friends, that their 'kindness' to him wasn't to exploit how naive he was, but was perfectly genuine.

"...I don't think I'm that popular, dummy. You're popular, too! Not that popularity matters. You should be nice to everyone, I think, and... and if you're not popular, it doesn't really mean anything. You'll always have me as your friend, a-and... and hey, like you said, we have that guy who sits with us for lunch sometimes. I'm sure he has to like you, because why would he sit with us if he was scared or if he hated us? He doesn't make fun, he... he talks to me about cartoons and stuff! He's a nice guy," he babbled, while, as discreetly as he could, hiding his cheeks with his hands once becoming faintly aware that he was blushing hard. It didn't take much for Gabriel to fall head over heels with someone - he'd once decided he was in love simply because a stranger shot him a smile on the street. In the cast of the boy, Tyrone, who sat with them at lunch, though, he felt he had enough reasoning to declare he had a crush.

"Look, this is really depressing. I want ice cream, can we just go out now? You know, at this time, all the kids from school are gonna be there, you know? Hanging out outside McDonalds. Maybe we'll see Tyrone there! He's friends with the 'popular' kids, like Max a-and Felix and all them. C'mon, we could at least go grab ice cream a-and maybe we can hang out with them, that'll be fun."

 

[saturnia pavonia]

"No!" He blurted almost immediately, his face expressing horror at the idea. Maybe it was his anxiety, but Cain could just imagine having the ice cream shoved into his brother's face as someone like Max laughed teasingly. Darting his eyes from his brother to the floor, he quickly shook his head.

"I... I don't want to go when everyone else is there. Tyrone is nice, yeah, but... he might not be there, and it'll just be all of the jerks who hurt us, Gabe. Can't we just wait a half hour? Besides, I... don't want to miss this episode...?" He offered weakly, as he himself shyly hid his cheeks. He was always jealous of his brother and just how easily he fell for others. Meanwhile, it may seem nihilistic, but he knew that no one would ever love him other than his family. All he wanted, when it came to relationships, was someone to cuddle with him and just enjoy their embrace... and he knew the likeliness of that happening for him or his brother was slim.

"If we're going to go now, I want it to be a quick in and out, okay? We can talk to Tyrone if he's there but... no one else."

 

[potassiumboron]

He may be naive, but he wasn't so oblivious that he forgot about the many times Felix and his friends beat them up, locked them in the janitor's closet and just made their lives a living hell. It had become incredibly common to return home with bruises and a bloody nose, and while he had the urge to wait for his mother to come home and cry in her arms, he'd made an agreement with his brother not to let any of the bullying be known to their mother. It was hard, hiding the bruises, but seeing how distraught and upset Pearl would get at knowing they were being constantly physically and emotionally hurt would be a whole lot harder.

That said, Gabriel still thought those boys were friends of his. Just friends who had a horrible, warped idea of what fun was.

"...Tyrone doesn't hit us and... and he always tells Felix off, I've heard him. He says it's not nice that Felix sometimes gets nasty like that, and he holds him back. He's really strong, don't you think? He should be captain of the soccer team. Maybe we can go watch his team play? He did say we're welcome to go at any time," he babbled, eagerly jumping up off the couch to root around for his favourite pair of bright yellow sneakers. He didn't really pay any attention to the colours he wore and whether they matched, as evidenced by his current outfit - the pink hoodie was paired with his comfy electric blue jeans. His mother often joked that he walked around like a rainbow had exploded over him, given his propensity to don as many colours at one time as he could.

"Come on, we can't sit around the house! Sure, those guys are mean and sometimes they hurt us, but... but we can't, like, never show our faces in places they're at. And they're still like our friends, in a weird way. Why would they bother even talking to us if they didn't like us? If they hated us, they would ignore us, and they don't do that, so... so in my view, they do like us. And Felix is... he's really mean, but he's super cool, so... so it balances it out."

 

[saturnia pavonia]

"We can definitely hide our faces from them," he corrected easily as he stared back at his brother critically. Once seeing the other slip on his shoes, though, he knew he couldn't stop him. So, with a deep breath and aggravated glare at his feet, he pushed off the couch to wander to his brother's side and slip on his own loafers and brown cardigan. Glancing at himself in the mirror, he adjusted his back a bit before grabbing the house keys and the wadded up cash to shove into his pocket.

"I really don't want to hang out there, though, okay? I'm hungry and I don't want to start trouble," he explained in a whisper before immediately grabbing his brother's hand and entwining their fingers.

 

[potassiumboron]

"It's not going to start trouble! They're really nice sometimes, and... and I want to at least make this Sunday fun, and hanging out with our friends sounds fun. It's not as fun as baking cakes with Mom and watching a movie with her, but... but we can at least see our friends and Tyrone and hang out a little. I don't know why you don't like us hanging out with our friends, it seems silly. That's what friends do, Cain. Hang out, socialise. We have lots of friends and you never want to join in with them," he countered in return, the fact his frown had deepened so significantly indicative of just how much he honestly believed that. He could get pummelled and beaten until he was on the verge of blacking out, and yet still defend and want to befriend the people that had hurt him. It was almost unbelievable in its ridiculousness, but that was just Gabriel all over - he didn't really think things in the same logical, rational way most people did.

Gripping his brother's hand back in return regardless, he leaned across to offer him a kiss on the cheek, if only to try and reassure him that everything would be fine. After all, he was pretty sure that Tyrone would be there, and out of everyone, he was the one who Gabriel wanted to see the most. That being said, he was happy to see anyone he considered a friend... which was pretty much everyone in his class at school.

"Do you really think Tyrone likes me? Like... not in a romantic way, that'd be silly, right? But maybe he... I dunno, you'll always be my best friend, but he could be a good friend, at least, and he's so cool, Cain."

 

[saturnia pavonia]

".... he's alright," Cain grumbled in response as he set his eyes out in front of him. Keeping close to the sidewalk in their suburban neighborhood, he went as far as to actively avoid some fallen leaves, if only for the fact that the sound made him uncomfortable. While he was always tense, his body physically tightened once approaching the giant golden arches that illuminated the dark. Swallowing hard, he clutched his brother's hand tighter as they took a step in.

Of course, there were other students. It was a Sunday night, school was in the morning, and there was nothing that made a good ending to a weekend than eating fast food with pals. Keeping his eyes locked on the flooring, Cain only really glanced up once face-to-face with the cashier, and he hurriedly offered his order before glancing at Gabriel to do the same. ".... Get an actual meal, not just ice cream, okay?"

 

[potassiumboron]

"I'll have some chicken nuggets, then, if you insist," grinned the twin back in response, rolling his eyes playfully, assuming that the other's insistence had something to do with him being the slightly older brother and thus having some older brotherly role to keep up - even if they only differed in age by ten minutes or so.

Instead of sharing his brother's anxiety and his very obvious tension, Gabriel was the happiest he could be. Granted, he would much prefer being at home doing what he usually did, normally being a creature of routine, but this came a close second to that once he saw that a few people from class were there. Said people were, unfortunately, Felix and his friends, but Gabriel wasn't exactly as fearful of them as his brother was. They could hurt him to within an inch of his life, and he'd still class them as good friends of his and Cain's-- particularly Tyrone, who Gabriel shot a grin and a small wave the moment he caught his eye.

"Should we go on over there?" He asked quietly, leaning on the counter as he waited while fiddling subconsciously with his hair. "I mean, Tyrone just smiled at us, so maybe we should go and say hi, Cain. It wouldn't be right not to say hi to those guys, it'd be rude, and Mom raised us to be good and police and kind, right? And... And Tyrone looks really good today. He always looks good, I guess. He's, like, half-Jamaican, isn't he? Or something like that, it's really cool. C'mon, can't we at least say hello? You said yourself, you're too quiet, and I'm loud and confident, so... so learn from me, let me teach you something. You're always teaching me things."

 

[saturnia pavonia]

"I... I don't know. Is that a good idea?" He whispered warily, as the boy's hands began to fumble. "We don't need to say hello to them, you know that. I-I mean... It is rude to not acknowledges someone, sure, and Tyrone is nice to .us... Look - okay, go ahead. Just wait to get your food. I need to be able to figure out what to say," he admitted, before setting his hands in his cardigan with pursed lips.

Of course, while Gabriel seemed to lock onto Tyrone, Cain's attention was brought towards Felix. He would never admit it, but the boy was a bit interesting. It didn't mean he didn't hold resentment or fear towards him, especially from all of the times he had his face bashed into a wall or head shoved into a toilet. So, while Gabe was hopeful to have Tyrone give him more than some sympathetic attention, Cain was desperate to just keep hidden as much as possible, as was obvious by his hunched back and his hovering towards the corner as they waited for food.

 

[potassiumboron]

Out of all the people that could have possibly entered the fast food place, it just so happened that the twins had to enter. He didn't know why they annoyed him so much, but Felix always found his good mood disappearing the moment he saw them. Gabriel was always far too happy, and far too naive, and Cain was always hunched over with an anxious look on his face. In short, both annoyed Felix for different reasons, and while he didn't need a reason to bully anyone, he felt he could find reasons to defend his actions when it came to the twins. Everyone thought they were creepy, so he at least took comfort in the fact he wasn't alone in hating them - it was much harder to find someone who liked them than someone who hated them.

"Fucking... they got some fucking balls to still stand there after seeing us. You'd think they'd, like, do the wise thing and leave after everything. Then again, one of 'em is a fucking idiot who thinks we're his best friends, of course they ain't going to run. They're both thick as shit," he grumbled to his group. None of them were really his friends. Maybe one or two he could class as his mates, but the others were all assholes who had once bullied him relentlessly until he stood up for himself and gained popularity. He didn't forget that, which was why he wasn't going to open up to them like friends did. He kept them at an arm's length, and wisely so - he'd be bullied again if he so much as indicated he was gay.

"You gonna tell that fucker to stop waving at you, Ty? It's pathetic. Do you want me to go, like, shove a fucking fist in his gut until he throws up? 'Cos I will. Everyone knows he's got, like, mental problems-- but that's no excuse for being a weirdo," he continued with his hazel eyes now locked on Tyrone, one of the members of the friendship group he was prepared to call a friend. Out of all of them, Tyrone seemed to be the most genuine.

 

[saturnia pavonia]

"I dunno, he isn't terrible, Felix." Tyrone replied as he took a sip of his milkshake. Offering a small smile to Gabriel, he went as far as to teasingly wink. "You don't have to be an ass to everyone you meet. Let them say hi without punching their teeth out, how about that? Maybe they'll leave you alone once you treat them not like shit."

As Tyrone seemed to murmur to Felix, Cain watched cautiously from the counter, his mind immediately jumping to conclusions. For all he knew, Tyrone was planning to beat them up alongside Felix. They'd probably jump them the moment they left, probably steal their leftover cash, and leave them bruised and beaten up - well, leave Cain beaten and bruised. After all, he'd happily block his brother if he needed to.

 

[potassiumboron]

Admittedly, Gabriel had been teetering on the edge of just leaving the fast food place and heading home. He may have been a tad clueless at times, but it really didn't take a genius to see how uncomfortable his brother was, and while he wanted nothing more than to say hello to Tyrone, he also didn't want to have his brother be this uneasy.

Except, witnessing the wink from Tyrone pushed him to wander over with his tray in hand to say hello, murmuring to his brother that he didn't have to follow and could instead just find them a seat, that he'd only be a few seconds. Obviously Cain was going to hurry along behind him, but he didn't really consider just how protective his twin often was of him.

"Hi Tyrone-- and you guys, obviously. Hi to all of you," he beamed, holding his tray easily and offering across confident, oblivious smiles to the group who, Tyrone excluded, all really didn't like him or his brother all that much. "...You guys hang out here a lot then, huh? That's totally... that's rad, right? That's cool. My brother and I are only really here 'co our Mom had to rush off to work. Some guy got murdered or something, it's all gruesome and gory and I'm not a fan of that. I cry at horror movies all the time, don't I Cain?"

 

[saturnia pavonia]

"Why watch them, then?" Tyrone questioned simply. Statements like those were often the reason the boys were bullied so often, and he knew that. Instead of teasing, though, the boy did offer a smile to at least ease the other's clear anxiety. He was often referred to both a saint and a moron for putting up with the twins. "I mean, I'm afraid of spiders, so I make sure to stay away from them."

"... Gabriel..." Cain called quietly, his own food set on a plate as well. Taking a seat very obviously as far away from the boys as possible, he watched his brother warily. "Let's eat and go. We... We need to do our homework."

 

[potassiumboron]

"You're gonna do your homework, are 'ya? Hey, wanna do mine for me, too? I fucking suck at Biology, and I need to get an A because I sort of want to, you know, do well. You're a brainiac, aren't you? How about we strike a deal? I'll leave you alone tonight, won't even tease you, if you do my homework for me. Hey, I have it in my bag somewhere," grinned Felix, though rather than the smile being genuine, it was clearly full of malice, shooting the venomous grin across at both the twins as he fished around his backpack for the crumpled up sheet before throwing it across to Cain. "I'm obviously asking you, Cain. I'm not asking your braindead brother, I'd end up with an F. Hey, come sit down, sit closer. I ain't gonna be a dick. We can have a nice chat, hm? Now, you hate horror movies huh, Gabe? Which ones?"

"...You know the ones with the clowns? Ugh, they suck! I think they're real freaky. Clowns scare the pants off me," grinned Gabriel, who, before the question had been asked, had been shuffling on his feet nervously. He wasn't oblivious to the fact he was being called stupid, but the insult went right over his head the second Felix smiled at him. He did forget how rude people could be in seconds, which was why he sat down at their table and proceeded to nibble at his fries without feeling uncomfortable or a target. The question was simply a way of finding out how to fuck with Gabe, of course, but he took it as Felix being genuinely interested in his life."Cain doesn't like the ones with sharks, so we usually just watch comedies with our Mom, you know?"

 

[saturnia pavonia]

Wincing at the ball of paper as it hit his arm, he unfolded the Biology homework to inspect it. While it didn't really show on his face, he was genuinely surprised by the fact that Felix seemed to be struggling with such an easy topic. Of course, this was not the first time he would do someone's homework - he often did Gabriel's whenever he was struggling. So, with a deep inhale, he grabbed his things and reluctantly took a seat at the table, his frown only growing as a few other people snickered and snorted.

"Oi, clowns are pretty stupid. Sharks are cool though, dude. I mean, they can swallow you in one bite. Chomp right through your neck," Tyrone commented, and smirked when Cain stiffened. "Like I said, spiders are creepy. Ducking disgusting, actually."

 

[potassiumboron]

"I think they're kinda cute. I mean, I wouldn't mind having, like, a tarantula as a pet, how cool would that be? I got a rabbit now, I called him Patch 'cos he's, y'know, patchy. Black and white, he's really cute," he babbled, ripping open the packet of tomato sauce and, once setting it aside, nudged his brother under the table once realising he'd fallen quiet. It was unbelievable that he didn't hear the murmured whispers or the laughs aimed at them, but Gabriel had a talent for ignoring the obvious.

"Rabbits, huh? They're more of a food than a pet though. Maybe someone will, y'know, steal those rabbits of yours and cook them up for a nice midday dinner," shrugged Felix, the fact he deliberately grinned at that meaning he meant it as a threat. Granted, he probably wouldn't go that far, but he thought the threat that he could would be enough to freak Gabriel out and stop his almost consistent smiles. Just once, he wanted to get through to the kid and make him scared, like Cain seemed to be, and it was always incredibly annoying when Gabriel shrugged off insults and continued to act like they were best friends.

Even now, at the talk of cooking up his pet rabbit, Gabriel physically shrugged and continued to smile, adjusting his basketball cap quietly. "I mean, my Mom said the same. She said rabbits were nice to eat, but... but they're so cute! I can't eat anything that's cute. I couldn't eat lamb 'cos they're so adorable, and... and hey, I could try shark! Sharks aren't cute. I know some countries have, like, shark soup or something..."

 

[saturnia pavonia]

"D-Don't joke about that!" Cain suddenly snapped, though did sink into his seat a tad only seconds later. "Don't say that. There's nothing funny about threatening our pets. I could eat someone you care about, too, b-but I won't. Just- Gabe, let's just go home."

"Hey, hey, hey, relax, country-boy. We're only teasing, take a chill-pill," Tyrone cooed as he watched the flustered Cain get to his feet. "Can't you just relax, like your brother?" He questioned, before going as far as to wrap an arm around Gabriel's side.