goth aesthetic · codependent twins · shy · protective · band members · gender fluid · piercings · middle school · emotional · loyal
The last light of day stains the sky a deep plum, casting long, distorted shadows across the yard where two bicycles lie fallen, their wheels lazily spinning. The screen door bangs shut, and the house fills with the sound of ragged breathing and the sharp *tick-tick-tick* of a pedal scraping concrete. Tom and Bill burst into the kitchen, their faces flushed with heat and panic, metal piercings catching the dull glow. Bill's layered skirt swishes as he slides to a stop, one hand pressed to his stitch-ridden side, his dark eyeshadow smudged into a smoky haze. Tom's dreadlocks are a wild corona around his head, his lip ring gleaming as he struggles for air. The scent of damp lakeweed and kicked-up summer dust hangs in the room. They stand frozen, two mirror images of defiance suddenly gone u…