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Changes

September 2017

Harry sat down at the breakfast counter with a groan as his mother placed a plate of toast down in front of him before turning away and rifling through the large black handbag that sat at the other end of the marble countertop. She furrowed her neat brow in frustration as she didn’t find whatever she was looking for.

“What have you lost?” He sighed, taking a bite of one of the lukewarm pieces, being careful not to get any of the sticky purple jam on his fingers or face. Her tired eyes darted around the room as she tried to remember what she had done with whatever she had lost, but at the sound of his voice, they settled on her oldest son followed by a warm smile.

“Just my phone, you haven’t seen it have you, love?” She said as she walked briskly over to the coat closet by the door, opened it and began fishing around in different pockets. This was a regular occurrence with his mother as she was often misplacing her belongings. Suddenly, she squeaked in triumph as she held up the small black device for Harry and his brother to see. He smiled at her affectionately and rolled his eyes without another word as he carried on eating his breakfast. His mother threw the phone into the handbag and then came and stood at the sink directly opposite her two sons with a grin.

“First day of sixth form, hey boys, excited?” She asked as she began washing a few plates that were sitting by the sink. Harry glanced at his twin who was looking at their mum like she had asked him if he wanted to lick her toes.

“Not particularly, it’s still a load of shit-“ Luke grunted.

“Oi! Language!” She snapped instantly, the playfulness gone from her voice as she reprimanded her son, “I mean it! You might be seventeen tomorrow but if I catch you speaking like that again, I’ll rinse your mouth out with soap and call your father!”

He just rolled his eyes as he finished the last bite of his toast, then passed his plate over the counter for her to add it to her pile before walking out of the kitchen. Mrs. Fletcher’s expression softened as she looked back to Harry waiting for his answer.

“I’m the most excited I’ve ever been in my life.” Harry said sarcastically, brushing the crumbs from his fingers over his plate as he popped the last huge bite into his mouth. His mother rolled her eyes as she reached over to get his dirty dishes to wash.

“I’m sure you don’t mean that, you used to love school!” She said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

It was the truth, of the two brothers, Harry was the one who had always got the better grades and taken part in more school activities and he had to admit he still enjoyed being on the First’s Under 17’s Rugby Team. This year he was even tempted to try out for captain as the coach had recommended at the end of the year before. He didn’t say any of this though.

“I’m just glad that school always start back on a Thursday and that it’s Friday tomorrow.” He added instead, shrugging his shoulders non committedly.

“What about Olivia? Did she decide to stay at Willow, or is she going somewhere else this year?” She glanced up at her son with a small, knowing smirk as she saw his face redden slightly, caught off guard by the change in topic.

“Uh, yeah, Liv stayed...” Harry said attempting to keep his voice even and averting his green eyes to anywhere but at his mother, he was silently willing for his face to cool down and for the redness to subside.

“I always thought that you two would make the cutest couple.” His mother said evenly, looking back down at the washing up in her hands.

“Mum, no! We’re just friends, I’m not interested in her like that!” Harry lied. He prevented any further conversation by springing from the chair and muttering something about finding his school bag and putting his shoes on as he left the room. Luke was standing in the hallway, ducking down in front of the mirror and running his fingers through his messy blonde hair, pushing it back from his face but making sure not to flatten it. Harry slipped his new smart black shoes onto his feet before joining his brother in front of the mirror to tie his hair back in a messy bun.

People were often surprised to find out that they were twins because other than the height and strong build, Harry and Luke were stark opposites of each other. With his shoulder length dark hair and dimples, Harry was usually described as being cuter than his younger brother, his big green eyes and cheeky smile often making people presume that he was in fact the younger of the two. Luke on the other hand had an edge to his look that his brother didn’t possess. His deeper set blue eyes, combined with a stronger jawline and high cheek bones, all features that he had obtained from his father, made him look more mature and serious than Harry. Both were good looking in different ways and they knew it too, with both of them receiving more than enough attention from the opposite sex throughout high school.

After tilting his head from side to side and seemingly deciding that he was happy with how he looked, Luke turned to his brother as he grabbed his suit jacket from the end of the bannister.

“Quick, grab your stuff, she’s forgotten to take the first day pictures…” He trailed off as the kitchen door opened at the other end of the hall. Mrs. Fletcher appeared next to him waving her phone at them with an excited smile.

“Almost forgot to take the pictures!”

Luke groaned and looked up to the heavens as his mother placed her hand gently on his back and guided him toward the living room, “Lukey, stop moaning, I want to send them to Grandma Elaine!” her voice fading as they disappeared through the door.

Harry looked at his watch to check that there was definitely no way out of it and then followed after them. Luke was standing in front of the white double doors that lead through into the dining room, the same place that they stood to take the same pictures every year. Harry perched himself on the arm of the red love seat opposite the fireplace while he waited for his mum and Luke to stop bickering about his brother’s lack of ability to smile convincingly for photo he didn’t want taken.

“For god’s sake Luke, can you not just try and take a nice picture for your grandma? And can you not pull that face please?” Mrs. Fletcher snapped as she lowered her phone after looking at the picture she had taken of her son. Harry leaned forward so that he would be able to see the picture that was still up on the screen and had to cough to hide the laughter at his brother’s awkwardly fake smile. He looked as though someone had put an ice lolly stick sideways in his lips.

“We have done this three times now mum, this is my permanent face so there isn’t a lot I can do if you don’t like it!” He hissed back at her throwing his head back in frustration before slumping back into the previous awkward pose for another try.

Harry rolled his eyes and looked over toward the mantelpiece lined with pictures to ignore them as they continued arguing. This could go on for a while knowing his mother and brother and he didn’t have the energy to play mediator. He stood and walked over to get a closer look at the pictures which he usually paid no attention to.

The first was a picture of him and Luke on their first day of school when they were four. He chuckled quietly to himself as he noticed that his brother was about as good as smiling for photos back then as he was now. They had their arms slung around one another’s necks, dressed in crisp white shirts and blue school jumpers that were too big for them, paired with grey shorts and little black school shoes. It seemed like it was so long ago since they were this small and now here they were about to embark on the beginning of the end of their school lives. Harry turned back to see his mother still getting more annoyed with his brother by the second. He rolled his eyes with a sigh before deciding to step in. He casually strolled over to stand directly behind his mother and began mimicking her, contorting his face into the ugliest and most theatrical expressions behind her head in an attempt to make his brother laugh. After a few seconds Luke noticed and began smirking which broke into a wider grin as Harry got more dramatic with his facial expressions.

“Finally!” Mrs Fletcher said enthusiastically as she snapped the picture of the now chuckling Luke. Harry straightened himself up, waiting for his mum to tell him to join Luke in front of the door. She snapped a few shots before turning to Harry, shooting him an incredulous look, questioning the change in Luke’s attitude to which he just shrugged with a polite smile.

“Okay, now one of both of you, then we’ll do yours Harry.” She said as she gestured for him to take his place and then turned back to Luke, “Whatever made you laugh before do it again!”

Harry and Luke shared a look and the pair both began to snigger together at their mum’s apparent obliviousness and within seconds Mrs. Fletcher was telling Luke to go and make sure he was ready to go, leaving Harry standing alone for his picture. He grinned widely, showing off his teeth and dimples, earning a sentimental sigh from his mother as she tapped the screen and then looked at the picture with a smile.

“You always were the more photogenic one...” She said quietly, making sure that Luke wouldn’t hear. He chucked as she stepped forward and tucked herself into her son for a hug. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head sweetly. After a few seconds they pulled apart and followed Luke into the hallway where he was standing holding both his and Harry’s bags waiting to leave.

“We’re meeting Liv on the corner.” He said handing over one of the black bags to his brother and then turning to open the door. Harry couldn’t help as he felt the corner of his mouth twitch at the mention of her name, but composed himself quickly and followed his brother out the door.

“Have a good day boys, see you later.” Mrs Fletcher called as she closed the door behind them and they walked along the path and through the old chipped wooden gate and onto the street. They walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes while Luke was texting someone and Harry was wrapped up in his thoughts about Olivia.

Considering how long Harry had known Olivia he couldn’t fathom how she still managed to make his heart feel like it was trying to escape his chest whenever he saw her. They had been best friends since they had started at Willow Park Primary aged just seven and all three of them had spent pretty much every day together since. It wasn’t until they had gone into year ten that Harry had started seeing her as more than a friend, but had never found the right time to tell her since he didn’t want to spoil their friendship. So, he had loved her silently for the last two years without telling a soul, not even his brother.

“Do you think Poppy will still be mad at me for what happened?” Luke asked as he put his phone back in his pocket pulling Harry abruptly from his thoughts.

“Uh, yes, I’d wager that she still wants your balls in a jar...”

Poppy was a girl who Luke had been casually seeing before the summer, although it had turned out when she had caught him with another girl that he had forgot to mention to her that it wasn’t anything serious. No one would have guessed that someone who looked so sweet could be so aggressive, as she had screamed expletives at him in the middle of a packed garden party. Luke seemed to be recalling the memory along with Harry as he shuddered and nodded awkwardly.

“So she probably won’t come tomorrow?” Luke continued as they stopped on the corner of the street where they had to wait for Olivia. Harry leant against the red brick wall and looked up at his brother with raised eyebrows.

“I doubt it, why?” He frowned as he shoved his hands deep into his jacket pockets, confused as to why his brother was so interested in Poppy again all of a sudden. He hadn’t mentioned her once all Summer and Harry was almost surprised that he even remembered Poppy existed. Both brothers had gained a bit of a reputation as players over the years but Luke was significantly worse than his brother. Harry used to get jealous of how easy his brother had found it when they were just stepping into the dating game. Even though he was six foot one and only two and a half inches shorter than Luke, he hated it more than anything when girls would comment on his brother's height. For a while he found nothing more annoying, and even began to resent his brother a little because of it. That was until Harry learnt to stop focusing on the height he didn’t have and the qualities that he did. As they had gotten older they hadn’t changed apart the fact that Harry would actually be open to a relationship whereas his brother was very much still a casual dater and afraid of commitment.

“Alice is coming.”

Harry raised his eyebrows again, encouraging his brother to continue with an explanation that would actually clue him in to his thought process.

“The girl I was getting off with behind Jack's shed…” Luke said with an unapologetic shrug. Harry nodded understanding, but didn’t say anything else, he was too distracted by the small figure walking toward them from behind Luke. He instantly rose to his feet with a smile as the pretty redhead approached and his heart began to thump a little faster. Luke cocked an eyebrow at his brother’s awkwardness and then turned to Olivia as she appeared beside him.

“Alright Liv?” He asked casually as Harry tried to act normal and stop himself from staring too much.

Olivia was looking at Harry like he was mad, her dark eyes sparkling at his reaction to her presence curiously before she turned to Luke with a bright white smile.

“Beginning of the end Lukey-Lou, you-!” She stopped abruptly as Luke cut her off with a groan.

“We’ve been through this, it’s Luke! Just Luke! You promised that you would leave the shit nickname in year eleven!” He said, rolling his eyes at her but Harry could hear the pleading note in his voice and knew that he was serious. Olivia seemed to pick up on it too as she lifted her hands in mock defence with a small smile and apologised.

“Sorry, are you excited, Luke?” She emphasised his name as she nudged him playfully in the ribs.

“Ecstatic.” he grunted in a monotone voice as the three of them started walking toward the school. Olivia, unimpressed at her friend’s lack of enthusiasm, frowned and turned to Harry instead, linking her small arm through his causing the butterflies in his stomach to start dancing at a faster pace than before.

“You’re excited though, right Haz?” She sounded hopeful as she looked up at him, squeezing his arm gently.

“Yeah, sure.” He said quietly with a sheepish smile. The corners of her own mouth turned up with satisfaction and he couldn’t help but think she had a truly beautiful smile. He would have said anything that she wanted him to just to see her look at him like that over and over again.

Their conversation was light hearted for the rest of the ten minute trek to school, mostly talking about the teachers that they hoped they would get and the ones that they really didn’t want, along with their hope to be in the same free periods. Harry looked at his watch as they approached the familiar blue gates surrounded by a mass of students from all different years, all flooding in slowly to start the new school year.

“It’s nearly twenty past, do you know where we’re meant to be going?” He asked, dodging two little girls that had just ran full pelt toward him laughing excitedly, not looking where they were going. Olivia watched after them, scowling, as all three of them shared a muttered sentiment of how the year sevens were getting more annoying and childish each year. They stepped through the gates and it suddenly seemed to get busier and louder all at once now that they were officially back at school.

“I think we’re meant to go to our forms for half past for induction… You both have Mr Hughes again, don’t you?” Olivia said, looking over toward the history building where the boys would be having their form class this year, “I think I have Madame Bonhomme since Mrs. Rosin is on maternity leave…” She screwed her face up in distaste as she thought about the strict old French teacher. Madame Bonhomme was known across the school for her permanently miserable, pinched up face and stale coffee breath that she liked to breath all over students as she reprimanded them for their inability to conjugate a verb in French.

“Sucks to be you!” Luke laughed as they paused in the middle of the yard, knowing that as soon as the bell went they would be walking in separate directions, “I’m surprised that Hughes agreed to have me and Harry again to be honest, after the whole ‘whiteboard’ incident, I thought he would have finally convinced Mr. Martin to put us in with someone stricter…”

Both brothers grinned at one another, chuckling quietly as they each recalled the event that had got them three weeks detention and a further four weeks grounding last year. They tapped their fists together reassuring each other that they still agreed that it was worth it.

“Honestly, how old are you two? Five?” Olivia hissed at them, folding her arms across her dark green jacket and looking at them with deep disapproval, although Harry noted the slight hint of a smile that she was trying to hide and knew that she meant it affectionately. He rested his hand gently on her shoulder and gave her a smile.

“Six, actually. But you love us anyway.” He said sweetly with a cheeky wink. She rolled her eyes with a sigh and smiled back, her eyes gleaming with a deep tenderness toward the twins. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut short by the bell and shut it again instead. Harry felt his heart sink a little at the prospect of having to separate from her, he was quite enjoying the time he had spent with Olivia this morning. Luke on the other hand saluted her goodbye and took a few steps away before waiting for his brother to follow.

“See you in a bit then…” The petite redhead smirked as she took a small step backwards toward her class but held eye contact with Harry for a few more seconds. He felt the familiar warm feeling starting in the pit of his stomach as her gaze lingered, and then it was over. She was turning away and falling in line with the mass of students that were scurrying in that direction. Harry watched after her until she disappeared into the crowd and he couldn’t see her any longer.

“See you later.” He whispered to himself as he gazed on in the general direction, hoping that she would return to his view again if he just stared long enough.

“Harry, what are you waiting for? Come on!” Luke complained from behind him. Reluctantly Harry turned his eyes away from the spot and walked swiftly to join his brother in going to their own form class.

Notes

First chapter guys, let me know what you think?

Rate, subscribe and comment your thoughts!

Lois x

Comments

Connor sounds like a bastard... :/ Interested to see where this goes! Loving it so far!

Prinny1321 Prinny1321
6/6/19