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"...I don't want you having to hurt people, Cain. I'm going to sort this out, I'll confront his parents in the principal's office and hopefully they can at least control their son a little. No parent would support the sort of things he's done to you and Gabriel, so... I'm confident they'll reprimand him somehow," she decided, smiling to herself once managing to get the bed neat and tidy in a record two minutes. "Like you said, there's no excuse to be a physical bully, is there? I feel for the boy, but... but you're my son, so I don't have much sympathy for him."

It was pretty easy for Pearl to say she had no sympathy for the kid that was bullying and physically hurting her children, both of whom she fiercely protected, but it was harder to stick to her declaration when coming face to face with the boy's parents a day later. She didn't know what to really expect, but she certainly didn't think that Felix's mother would be as bad as she was. In contrast to Pearl, who sat by her sons with loving smiles sent their way, Felix's mother clearly couldn't be bothered even confronting her son. She was fidgeting from the lack of her morning shot of heroin, and her appearance was quite obviously dishevelled. The only attention she really offered her son was a slap to his shoulder, blaming him for her missing her usual morning routine of drugs and a few beers.

Felix, meanwhile, had never really been quieter than he was right now. He was sunk in his chair, hunched over and with his eyes glued to the floor. He was incredibly embarrassed by the fact his mother had even bothered to come into the school, but perhaps more than that, he was just downright upset. The twins had a mother who actually cared enough about them to head into the school to sort out the bullying issue. When Felix was bullied and sometimes even had limbs dislocated, his parents hardly noticed and, if they did, he was just yelled at to toughen up and not bother them.

"...Is that really the boy that's been bullying you?" Pearl quietly whispered to the twins while awaiting the principal's entrance, casting cautious glances across the room at the other mother and son pairing. "...There aren't any excuses, but... I feel for him, I suppose."
 
Bundled up in layers of black clothing, Cain was still feeling incredibly ill, and he only followed his mother out of the feeling of obligation. If it were up to him, he would be buried under his blankets sleeping. Instead, he was sat next to the same boy who had beaten him to near pulp.

The second feeling he felt was guilt once noticing the wrapped up nose and his clearly uncomfortable position. In that moment, he realized that the two at least shared something in common, his own slumped position being proof of that. He tried to offer a smile but it faded once noticing the boy's mother, before looking over at his own with pursed lips. Leaning over, he offered an awkward smile to Felix to at least lighten the mood.

"Hey, uh... Are you okay?" Cain asked quietly as the secretary absently tapped away at his computer. "I really... I really didn't mean to hurt your nose. I just - I was scared, a-and... um... I did your homework," he admitted, handing over the neatly folded paper as a peace offering.
 
Felix did have every intention to simply ignore the twins, specifically Cain. The last thing he really wanted was to look their way, get wound up, and mounting more evidence against himself. He didn't want to be expelled and, ignoring his bad behaviour and bully tactics, he was a good student. He was getting straight As in every class bar Biology, and he was sort of hoping that that was going to be taken into account. Getting expelled was, quite honestly, a nightmare for him. He was counting on graduating and moving to a college to escape his parents. Expulsion would ruin all of that.

Finally eyeing the paper, he reached to take it as quickly as he could, messily shoving the neatly-folded homework into his backpack with a brief, incoherent mumble. It was purposely incoherent - he felt obligated to offer a 'thank you', but he made sure he was barely audible.

"...I ain't apologising to you. You're as fucking violent as I am," he began under his breath, just to avoid the attention of their mothers. Pearl was too busy with Gabriel, anyway, and Felix's own mother was far too distracted trying to deal with her fidgeting to even care, anyway. "You almost broke my nose, so I ain't the bad guy in this. I... I'm gonna blame you and your brother for, like, winding me up, so..."
 
"I-I... I didn't mean to punch you that hard, but you deserved at least some of it," Cain defended, albeit weakly as he fiddled with his sleeves. "You always hurt me and my brother, it's... not okay. Just because you have some issues doesn't give you the liberty to be a jerk, Felix. I think you have a lot of talent a-and... I dunno..."

Staring down at his feet, he immediately regretted his words. It didn't take a genius to know that Cain wasn't the most social person in the world. To stand up against his bully was one of the most difficult thing in the world for the boy, after all, and he didn't even do it well.
 
"Oi, don't talk to him, he ain't worth your time, kid. He's a waste of space half the time. He's been beating you up, huh? You know, he used to come home all the time with fuckin' bloody noses, so this isn't too big of a deal," the boy's mother suddenly snorted, giving her son a harsh nudge, though all it really did was cause Felix to grow silent again and stare at the ground. "Ain't you, Felix? You're a big waste of time. Pushing about little kids is how you make yourself feel good? That's pathetic. Your Dad always said you were fucked in the head."

"...Can you mind your language, please? And perhaps you... shouldn't be talking about your son that way, it won't solve his problems. Maybe encouraging him to be a nicer person would, I... I don't know." Pearl interjected as quietly as she could. On one hand, she knew better than to criticise another mother's parenting-- but clearly the other woman was far from a model parent. Her method of parenting seemed to be not to give a fuck, and even if Felix was the bully who'd tormented her sons... Pearl was far too sympathetic to put all the blame on him, when his parents seemed to be at fault too for not even caring about him. "...Would you like a mint? I have plenty to spare-- or maybe a butterscotch candy, they're Cain's favourites."

Silently watching the woman press a candy or two into Cain and Gabriel's hands, Felix's eyebrows knitted together before reaching out to accept the offer. It was pretty sad that the mother of the twins he'd been bullying, and an actual stranger, offered him more kindness than his mother had done for 16 years... and as much as he wanted to keep up the 'don't-give-a-fuck' attitude, it was hard to reject the offer. "...Thanks, I guess."
 
"Felix isn't a mistake," Cain defended, which surprised himself. "Sure, he's got some issues, and the way he treats my family is awful, but... b-but if he would just leave me alone and stop hurting people, he would be a perfect person. It isn't his fault that you're an awful mother!"

Taking in deep breaths after his quiet squeak, that of which was a full-blown scream for him. Instantly did his cheeks go red as he nervously kept his eyes locked on Felix' mother, though they did slowly drift away to lock on the floor, similar to Felix himself. Popping the candy in his mouth, he nervously began to fiddle his thumbs
 
While Felix's mother grunted indifferently and scratched at the various needle marks along her arms irritably, Felix's eyes had shot from the ground to Cain in a mixture of astonishment and... well, perhaps a little gratitude. The last thing he wanted to do was feel positively towards Cain after everything... but he did, and he managed to at least offer a quiet smile to show that, hey, he did appreciate it.

"...You don't need to do that, she's... she's a bitch," he muttered under his breath, watching as Pearl began to baby Gabe a little and wipe toothpaste from his face. "...Nothing like your Mom, I mean... she's lovely, Cain. I ain't your fucking friend, but I can at least say your Mom's nice."
 
"She's pretty good, yeah?" He whispered, though still avoided the other's eyes. If he looked at her, he would probably feel guilty over that fact. Pursing his lips together, he grew silent for a good minute. When he decided the tension was too much, Cain offered his other caramel - he wasn't much hungry with just how sick he was, and only ate the first one for his mother's sake.

"I... uh... I know you play guitar, right?" He offered meekly. "I wish I could play an instrument. I mean, it would be cool virtuoso, you know? I want to play the violin. I don't really have the muscle strength to, though."
 
"I... yeah, I'm self-taught. I watched a bunch of YouTube tutorials. My Mom was hardly going to pay for me, so I did it the hard way," he explained quickly, his smile widening a tad at the turn of conversation. He was only really and genuinely happy when talking about his music, and the fact the first person he discussed it with happened to be the boy he bullied was pretty fucking sad. Not that he didn't appreciate Cain asking -it meant more to him than he cared to admit- but it just showed him how shit his friends were, even Tyrone, who'd failed to ask more than a fleeting question.

"...I'm sure your mother would buy you a violin if you asked, she seems like she'd support anything you wanted to do. I-- look, Cain, I... don't fucking tell my mates this, but I'm sorry I talked shit about your Dad and stuff," he blurted suddenly, shrugging his broad shoulders. "I mean, I get that parents can be shitty. Your dad's clearly an ass-- but so's mine. We have that in common, huh?"
 
"... yeah." He grumbled, this previously nervous disposition stiffening with anger at the mention of his father, but it did ease once taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. "At lease you still have your father, though. What my father did - he's the reason we move so much. Heck, I don't think we'll even be here for more than five more months. You have a chance to make something of yourself, and... I dunno. You won't have to deal with us. The only reason we're still here is because my brother likes you guys."

Much like Felix, he too realized just how sad he was. It felt more comfortable venting to the same person who had beaten him to the point of near hospitalization. If he vented to his mother, she would just grow overly panicked, or space out st the mention of his 'father'. Gabriel would cry, or simply not believe him. He wasn't going to spill the whole situation to Felix, but letting something as simple as the fact that they had to move out, it was somewhat therapeutic.
 
"He shouldn't like us, we're not... we've been assholes to you guys. I specifically have. I dunno, I'm not promising we're gonna be best buds, but I... I can lay off you guys. I need to be at school, you don't understand how important this all fucking is for me. It's... I need to get good grades-- thanks for doing my homework, by the way. I... I'm not great at science," he admitted after a moment, hoping that would at least bring them off the tense topic of their families, specifically their fathers. "So... hey, I can always help you with something I am good at, if... if that'll help make it up to you, maybe. I'm pretty good at English, I like the whole Shakespeare stuff we're doing, so I... I can help with that. You and Gabe, maybe. I know he fancies Tyrone, so I can invite Ty as well. I... I know he wants to apologise to Gabe."
 
"You aren't just saying this so you can get us to lower our guard, right? You... You are, aren't you?" Cain whispered, his momentary lapse in defense quickly returning to it's usual paranoia. Once realizing and declaring that, that was most likely the case, he grew physically restless and nervously sat on his hands, a trick his mother had taught him from nervously picking at his skin or fussing.

"Look, let's just leave each other alone. I'll d-do your bio homework if it means you'll stop messing with my brother. You've made it very clear that you don't like us, and that's fine. Like I said, we're going to be gone in a few months anyway." He grumbled quickly.
 
Surprisingly, Felix had been genuine when he'd offered the help across. It was his way of fully apologising, which he was glad to do if it meant avoiding the threat of expulsion. Besides, he liked Pearl, and the least he could do was get on with her sons. He wasn't going to pursue a friendship, but he could help them like Cain was helping him.

At least, he planned to until his motives were questioned and doubted. Deep, deep down, he realised Cain had every right to doubt him. For all Cain knew, this was going to end with him and Gabe being beat up when they least expected it. That hadn't been his intention, and while he did understand, it did make him scowl to himself in annoyance. If he was going to be misjudged and doubted when he tried to be nice, why bother trying in the first place?!

"Fuck you, then. Yeah, you're right. I won't try to make up for what I've done, I won't try and lend you fucking help. I'll keep away from you freaks, I'll make sure Tyrone stays the fuck away and you can go carry on your pathetic little life, yeah? That what you want?"
 
Stiffening immediately at the words he was far more familiar with, Cain stood up slowly and whispered an excuse to his mother, insisting he had to go to the batheoom. If he flat-out told her he was trying to stop himself from crying, not only would his mother fuss, but it could mean expulsion for Felix.

He didn't hate the boy, at least not completely. He knew how fucked up the boy's family was, and from what he had heard, he was equally bullied as he was not more than a few years ago, maybe even less. That was no excuse, he declared, as he pushed into the stall of the bathroom and slammed hard on the stall door, cringing when it reverberated and nearly fell off the hinges. Locking it closed, he pulled his knees to his chest, pursing his lips like a child. He'd give it a few minutes to think, calm himself down. If not, he could either burst into tears or punch Felix in the face.
 
Predictably, it didn't take long for Gabriel to trail into the restrooms in search of their brother. Cain had had the whole school at his disposal to hide out and gather himself, and asking someone to go and find him was hardly an easy feat-- unless you were Gabriel, who took a grand total of five seconds to work out where his brother was.

On one hand, it could be twin intuition. On the other, he was used to hiding out together in the bathroom stall to evade bullies, so it made sense that that would be where his brother was. He may have missed the reason why Cain was upset, but if he was in the bathroom sniffling like this, clearly something had happened.

Clambering up onto the toilet seat in the stall beside Cain's, he peered over the top and grinned quietly down at his twin, holding onto the shared wall for balance.

"...Do you want to come and help me find Tyrone? I got this cupcake to give him, and Mom said we should wait for her while she talks to the principal, so we have time to spare, and... and I'm way too stupid to talk to Tyrone alone. I want him to find me cool, and-- and maybe after that, we can do something you want. Mom told me that I'm selfish sometimes-- I don't mean to be, Cain! I'm just-- my brain is a little slow, I guess. I don't realise I'm hurting you, and-- I'm sorry?"
 
"... No, I'm sorry." Cain replied eventually, though he showed no indication that he planned to move from his tight ball. In fact, he buried his head in his lap further as he wiped the snot from his runny nose on his sleeve and attempted to hold back the hiccups he occasionally made, but only after crying. Closing his eyes, the twin eventually forced himself off of the toilet seat with pursed lips.

"I'm not coming with you to see Tyrone, Gabriel. He's just going to beat us up, don't you realize that? They're going to beat us up, a-and then you'll just forgive him immediately. That's just how you are, a-and I know you can't help it, but I don't want to break another tooth because we get our faces pushed into lockers. Just... I... Look, fine. We can go, b-but this is the last time I want to see Tyrone or Felix, s-so..." he eventually murmured, breaking down as always under the pressure of his brother. Rubbing his arm, he reluctantly moved out of the stall with pursed lips.
 
"...Tyrone's a nice person, though. And when he accepts this cupcake and asks me to the dance, you're gonna look silly. I won't go with him, not unless someone asks you, which they totally might. You're like Mom, you know? You're pretty," shrugged the younger twin, who silently climbed down from the precarious tip-toed stance on top of the toilet seat. He was naive, but he wasn't an idiot, and he knew that the other was having a quiet dig at him. He probably didn't mean anything by it, but it did cut short Gabe's excitement and eagerness a little.

"You don't want to move schools, but you don't wanna see Felix? You can't have both. I don't want to move, but I would for you," he pointed out, pursing his lips a little in a rare show of sternness. "I don't think it's fair you... you just assume I'm not gonna move schools if you really wanted to. I would, I'm not-- I'm not a bad brother!"
 
"You like it here, and I don't want to ruin that for you," he explained, wiping his tears on his sleeve with a sniffle, that of which was followed by a hiccup. "I mean, even if Tyrone does ask you to the dance, no one is going to ask me, Gabe. You're fun and cute, a-and you can talk to people, I just... can't. You'd probably make more friends if I wasn't in the picture, y'know? People would like you more if I didn't drag you down. I just... I dunno..."

The topic only started him to begin to cry once again, though he tried to hide it by just covering his face in embarrassment. After years of telling himself he was supposed to be the stronger brother, he hated showing Gabriel his upset, much like their mother. Moving to the sink, he splashed his face as his cheeks flushed - after all, he was still sick.
 
"That's bullshit and you know it. I'm... I'm not popular. We both aren't. I just pretend really well, that's all, because otherwise I'd cry all day and that isn't good. Tyrone won't ask me, I'm not daft. I-It's sad and I really want him to, but he doesn't like me like that. He calls me a baby behind my back, says I'm like a kid 'cos I'm a little... slow, but I ain't, right? I'm pretty smart and nice and if he can't see that, it's his problem," he confidently blurted, only realising how loud his exclamation was when the echo reverberated in the empty bathroom a little. Bursting forward to grab his twin's hand, he offered him another peck on the cheek, as if that could heal all the problems.

"But hey, it's not gonna stop me giving him that cupcake, 'cos he might like me. I don't know until I ask, right? And if he says no, I can, like, move on."
 
"You and I both know you don't 'move on'. You'll think about him until we move and you find someone cuter. Maybe they'll be nice, you know? Maybe they'll realize that you're really talented and sweet - sure, you're not good at math and science, but you're a really good artist, Gabe." Cain praised quietly, and did offer a shy and grateful smile at the encouraging words. Offering the other's hand a squeeze, he reluctantly followed the other out of the bathroom, though cringed immediately once expecting someone to laugh at his clear upset.

"Let's just get over with so we can go home. I'm tired, a-and sad, and I just want to sleep again. I have a test to study for, or my teacher is gonna give me an F. I need to pass this class, y'know? How am I supposed to help you with homework if I can't even do the work myself."
 
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