Chapter 1
Like a Gentle Breeze
Sam x Hannah
She didn't think she'd ever get used to the Washington's home. Large, Victorian style. One of the only few Victorian style homes in the area, and old. Old old old, but crammed full with minimalist furniture. It wasn't like their winter lodge Sam had seen pictures of. Not...decked to the nines in Native American cultural décor.
That wasn't to say that it wasn't a lovely house, because it was. Deep red, cherry wood floors, perfectly glossy, always clean. There was nearly glass everything and simple hanging light fixtures. Each room decorated...well...minimalistically.
But the house had that feeling to it. Like when you were watching a horror movie and the main family buys that large house packed full of bedrooms, and the first thing out of their mouth is Look how beautiful this place is right before knives started flying across the room and shit.
“You can take your shoes off, you know.” Beth chuckled, looking up at the girl standing awkwardly in the door as she disrobed her own hoodie and sneakers off, pulling an orange leaf from the shoe laces and depositing it on the floor to be swept up later.
“Nah, I think I'll just...stand here a while, you know? Because that one awkward and out of place piece of furniture that every house ends up getting.” She joked, flashing the short haired girl a smile. Reaching up, she unzipped her own jacket and shrugged it off her shoulders as the sound of too heavy footsteps came from the kitchen, followed by some...collaboration of stupid noises.
“Whoa-ho,” Josh stopped, head whirling around to look at the two girls standing just in front of the door, a smile twitching to his lips. He rubbed his hands together as Sam exposed a couple of bare shoulders. It was Autumn and things were getting chilly, but not chilly enough where Sam felt the need to pull out her winter wardrobe just yet. “Don't tell me you're stopping there Sammy.” He teased, looking at her top approvingly.
“Har har, Josh. Funny.” She smiled, looking at him playfully. She was in a thick strapped, lacy white top that zipped down the front and went down, nearly covering the short, upper thigh length denim miniskirt she donned. And to even it out, a pair of stockings that looked nude until the knee before they transitioned into fluffy white clouds.
God she loved those stockings.
“Well, I do try.” He replied, a warm, slightly flirty look to his features. One that made her flush a little as he shifted a little closer, her blonde hair cascading down her shoulders as he looked at her.
“Yeah, well, try in the other room, jerk face.” Beth joked, pushing him back and into Chris who emerged through the doorway to the kitchen almost right behind him. The blonde held his hands up, gasping dramatically as if it were some sort of attack. And just like that, Josh was going along with it, falling back into his friends arms, right arm swinging up to wrap around Chris' shoulders.
“How could you, Beth? Attack my beautiful, beautiful friend so harshly!” He pulled Chris' head down into his chest and dramatically sniffled, sucking air through quivering lips. “Oh, oh Chris.”
“Dude,” Chris struggled a little, laughing but seeming slightly in pain. “dude, dude, my nose is all sorts of tweaked out of whack.” He muttered, though his lips were muffled by his friends chest. Sam watched on in intrigue, finding the entire thing hilarious.
When Josh didn't let go, instead, petting the blondes spikey blonde hair down and playfully sobbing, Chris closed his eyes. In a matter of seconds, Josh stopped, face twisting as his jaw dropped in pain -although there was a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. He squeaked, laughing a little, then pulled away, hand over his left nipple.
“You bit my nipple.” He looked down at the hard nipple, poking up beneath a slightly wet section of his t-shirt.
“You were crushing my nose, dude. Had to do it.” Chris replied, smile on his face as his friend rubbed his chest.
“Wow, I had no idea that that was all it took to get him to stop.” Sam grinned, looking at the two big idiots in front of her. “I would have done that a long time ago.” She added as Beth rubbed her forehead seeming embarrassed of her older brother.
“You're always allowed to bite my nipple, Sam.” Josh teased, wiggling his eyebrows.
“I'll keep that in mind.” She shot back, although fairly sure she was never going to take him up on that offer.
“Can we stop this whole...nipple play going on?” Beth asked, pretending to be more stuck up than she actually was. Beth sometimes acted like she wanted nothing to do with Josh, but that was just her way of playing around with the older teen, and he knew it. Beth was always willing to defend Josh to the bitter end, even if it meant her getting a black eye or two.
Not that he really needed it. Josh was very capable of handling himself, and on top of that, he was fairly likeable -even if he was considered the weird kid at school. “You can head up without me, Sam. I'm gonna grab something to snack on while we chill, ok?” She smiled, turning and looking at her friend. Sam nodded and grabbed her phone from the jacket she wore over and slipped past both Josh and Chris to the stairs across the small entry way room, past the doors that lead to the living room on the right and the kitchen on the left. A door leading down to the basement tucked into the side of the stairwell on the left hand side while the hallway narrowed, a closet stashed away in a small nook between the left wall and stairs.
“Yeah, Sam, it's uh, up the stairs and down the hall to the left, past the stupid girly looking rooms with the butterflies on the door-” Josh hollered up after her. Beth looked at him confused for just a moment before she pulled her beanie off and hit him with it, her hair sticking up everywhere but still managing to look flawless.
“Uh, that's your room.” Sam replied, turning to look at him, slowing her ascent up the steps.
“Yeah, and sadly, you're going to have to leave those clothes outside in the hall. You know...cooties.” He replied, innocent look on his face. The blonde behind him turned his head as he chuckled, his hand going up to his hair, fixing what was mussed up from the headlock earlier.
“Josh!” Beth growled, lifting her hand to slap him, the boy lifting his own hands instinctively and pulling away, laughing as she swung, easily deflecting the half-assed hits. Sam laughed and shook her head as she watched. Those two were horrible. It was any wonder why she loved them.
“Welp, now I have to bra bomb your bedroom, Josh. Beware, your nerd crap is gonna be covered in cooties.” The girl shot from her spot on the stairs, making the response sound as close to a threat as she could through the wide grin on her face.
“No! Chris, stop her!” Josh gasped dramatically, his hand outstretching to the girl on the stairs. And of course, just like any friend of Josh's, Chris tensed right up and ran for the stairs, making it as comical and dramatic as he could. Like some shitty re-enactment of an action scene in a movie -and she could probably name which one it was off the top of her head.
Turning, she raced up the steps, Chris clamoring after her. The sound of his feet and hands pounding the steps behind her drew a scream from her lips, then a hand grabbed her ankle as she laughed. She tripped, hitting the steps, a thick body climbing over her, arms around her waist. She screamed again, laughing as she clawed at the carpet. “No! Chris get off!” She squirmed.
“I got you Sam!” Beth shouted, the sound of her feet coming up the steps, then the feeling of a body hitting the body that had her pinned to the steps reverberated through her spine, making her cheeks flush and her body tingle as the smell of cologne hit her nose, Chris grunting in her ear. “Go Sam! Go!” Beth shouted. Then another set of stairs, and a final body -who she could only assume was Josh joining the dog pile on the steps.
It was just enough action going on for her to be able to wiggle out of Chris' grip and dashed off up the rest of the steps.
Reaching the top of the steps, she fixed her skirt -which was nearly pulled down in the dog pile- and laughed. She made her way down the hall, looking at the family photos on the walls.
They were all photos she'd seen half a thousand times, but every time she looked at them, she felt a strange sense of nostalgia. There were photos of Josh and a couple girls, like his middle school dance with a girl named Katie West. They dated for a while, she remembered. When they broke up, Josh was crushed, but he'd agreed that it was for the best.
Josh was dating another girl now. Some...Felicia Cummings.
Sam didn't know who she was, really. She was a college freshman who had been a senior when Josh was a Sophmore and they'd been together for nearly a year and a half now. He rarely spoke about her unless she was brought up in conversation.
She's too busy or She's ok is all Josh would say on the matter. Hell, Josh talked more about Chris than he did his own girlfriend, but something told Sam that Josh wasn't really...he didn't really want to date Felicia. After what happened with Katie, he'd been kind of...sucked dry of his dating urges. So either he just wasn't interested in dating but was too much of a sweet heart to break it off with her, or he had his eyes on someone else but wouldn't pursue them based on the fact that that wouldn't be fair to Felicia.
Music drifted from down the hall, pulling her mind off of her best friends brother's relationship. Classical music, she knew who that was.
Smiling, Sam made her way down the hall to the white door with the butterflies on it. It was open a crack, though kept mostly closed to keep the sound of her music from floating out into the hall and bothering anyone else.
Reaching forward, Sam gave a gentle knock before pushing the door open, popping her head inside. The song was recognizable now. Aria Da Capo by Bach.
Sam wasn't a fan of classical music to be honest. Not saying she hated it, or didn't like it at all, she just preferred other types of music to the older genre. As ridiculous as it sounded, Sam preferred Melodical Dubstep -something mechanical yet gave the light, airy, emotional feeling of being in flight. Something you'd imagine standing among the milky way watching the nothern lights dance across the stars.
“Hey,” She greeted, smiling at the twin as she sat at her desk. Hannah popped her head up, hair pulled back in a messy bun, wearing a light, white, furry looking sweater that hung off one shoulder and a pair of pink shorts.
“Sam!” Hannah smiled. Pushing herself from her desk, Hannah stood and made her way over to her friend, giving her a tight hug. “I was wondering what the screaming was.” She smiled, pulling away.
“Oh you know me, I love to scream.” Sam laughed, looking at her. There was...there was just something about her. The disheveled look as her hair fell from the bun in loose, loose ringlets. The way her glasses slid down her nose, and the necklace hung from her neck amongst her chest.
“That sounded wrong.” Hannah laughed lightly before pushing her chair back into her desk and making her way to her bed. She sat down on it, motioning for Sam to sit as well. As long as Hannah had known the girl, and how many times she'd been over either to visit or spend the night, she was surprised she still had to invite the girl for a seat, or to lay down, or make herself at home.
Maybe it was just her manners.
“So, tell me what happened.” Hannah bounced a little as she bent her left leg, tucking it beneath her right one which hung over the edge of the bed. Sam cocked an eyebrow as she made her way over, sitting on the foot of the bed.
“What happened with...what?” She looked at the girl confused.
“With David Lareu.” Hannah gave her a light tap on the arm with the back of her hand, giving her a playful scold.
“Oh,” Sam groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “David.” To be totally honest, she'd wanted to forget about that so badly, but she'd forgotten that she had told Hannah she was going to ask him out before the twin was pulled out of school for two weeks for a minor surgery.
“Sam?” Hannah looked at her friend concerned, seeing the expression on the girls face. She was afraid of what that look meant. She was afraid that maybe her friend had been hurt, or humiliated, and when Sam spoke, it only confirmed her suspicions.
“Well, what happened was, I went up to him at lunch and asked him if he wanted to be my boyfriend, and like every boy with wonderful manners he said well I thought you were a lesbian.” She replied plainly, mocking him in an exaggerated, deep and idiotic sounding voice.
Hannah's eyes closed, lips parted as if she'd just been slapped, a strand of hair falling in her face. She turned her head, unable to believe the nerve of the boy to just...out right say that. Especially to Sam. “So, as you can guess,” Sam continued after a minute of silence, laying back across the girls bed, her hands on her stomach. “his friends started laughing, and half of the cafeteria thinks I'm a totally lesbian.” She replied, a bitter smile on her face. “God I can't wait for those people to grow the fuck up.”
“Sam...God, I'm so sorry.” Hannah replied, her voice soft and sweet. She sounded sad for her friend which sent a small pang of guilt through the blonde, although she couldn't tell what for. “Boys can be...they can such jerks. They should know that there's no way you're a lesbian.” She defended, patting her hands on her knees frustrated.
Sam looked up at her, the light of her bedroom soft against her tan skin, her eyes glittering even behind the slight glare on her glasses lens. “Well, not completely.” Sam admitted, joking around a little. Although it was true.
For as long as she could remember, she'd always harboured a small crush on her friend. Of course, who didn't? She remembered a small time when Josh's friend Chris had a crush on her, and a handful of boys from school. Hannah was...she was one of kind, even if she was an identical twin.
She was so soft, and delicate. But she was strong, firm, but oh so sweet. Her smile was like the smile of an angel, and the way her eyes glistened even when she was deep in thought on a matter that was different than the one at hand. Or the way her gentle and musical laugh danced through the room like the soft ringing of bells. Or the way her hair shimmered like satin, cascading down her shoulders and back like a waterfall of black silk strands.
Hannah was beautiful. And Sam would have considered herself lucky if she could date either of them, Beth or Hannah.
No one really saw it; the differences between the two except one would characterize Beth as being headstrong and Hannah as being a pacifist, but it was so much more than that. Beth was like a diamond, strong and hard to break. She was funny and beautiful, like Hannah, but more...robust. Her personality -if expressed through art- would be more contrasted. Her lips bright and smooth chiseled from marble, and her laugh like an orchestral crescendo.
God, Sam had it hard for the girls, probably more than she had ever had it for a boy.
Shifting, Hannah laid down next to her and sighed, looking at her friend apologetically. Her hand reaching up lightly, fingers twitching as she rested her forehead on her friends, looking into her eyes. Sam stared into her eyes for a long moment, then reaching up, she linked fingers with her best friend, feeling the soft warm skin in her own. “I shouldn't have ever told you to do it, Sam, I'm so sorry.” Hannah replied, her voice timid and sincere.
“Sorry for what?” Sam looked at her confused. It wasn't like there was much for her to take the blame for here. She suggested Sam should ask him out, Sam did, David was an asshole and half the school thinks she's a lesbian because of him. “You didn't do anything wrong.” She insisted.
“But half of the school thinks you're a lesbian because I told you to just to up to him and ask him out.” Hannah returned. Sam's face crinkled a little. Keeping her fingers latched with her friends, she pushed herself up on her elbow, looking into the soft face of the woman beside her and shook her head.
“I'm pretty sure whether I asked him out or not, half of the school was going to end up thinking I was a lesbian anyway.” She replied, trying to convince her friend not to shoulder the blame of a completely idiotic situation. “And you know what? It's not even like they'd be 100 percent wrong anyway.” Sam replied, lifting her hand to push her hair out of her face.
Hannah gave her a curious look, as if she were trying to figure out what she'd meant by that, but after a second, it seemed to click. Hannah's cheeks flushed a little, her fingers tightening up as she held her friends hand.
“So it...it doesn't bother you?” She asked, her voice quiet.
“I don't know,” Sam replied, shrugging, her own voice sounding so deep and gravely compared to her friend. “does it bother you that I might be less straight than you thought?” She spun, turning the question around and redirecting it.
Sam knew Hannah's initial response to homosexuals. The girl was very open and accepting of any sexual orientation, but hearing that the bestfriend you've had since you were 5 years old is any level of lesbian could be a pretty big bombshell to some people. She didn't want that to get in the way of their friendship. She didn't want that to make Hannah pull away and nervous to be around her, so the pounding of her heart was warranted.
Hannah looked up at her friend for a long moment, not saying a word. Her eyes flickered over the blondes worried expression, their fingers still intertwined. Finally, she shook her head, rolling over so she was on her back so she could look at the other girl better. “No, I guess I kind of always knew.” She replied, a small smile quirking at her lips, one that made Sam's heart skip a beat.
Sam didn't say anything for a long moment, both of their eyes just glued to one anothers as they listened to the soft thrumming of piano keys. Then before Sam could stop herself, her eyes were closing. Leaning down, her lips gently caressed the twins beneath her, the taste of raspberry chapstick and lemon cookies mixing together for a raspberry lemonade jig across Sam's taste buds.
Pulling her fingers free of Hannah's, she reached up, cradling the other girls face as neither one fought to be free.
She relished the feeling of soft lips against her own, her heart pounding so hard it thrummed in her teeth, banging in her ears, drowning out the sound of Beethoven on the speakers across the room. Finally, what felt like forever, yet not long enough, the kiss was broken.
Licking her lips, Sam cleared her throat, looking into the face of the girl she'd been wanting to kiss since she turned 12. “I should...I should go find Beth.” She replied. Pushing herself up, she felt both incredibly excited, and angry with herself.
What had she been thinking, kissing Hannah like that? What they had was far too valuable to ruin with something like...kissing, or dating.
She rushed out of Hannah's room and continued on down the hallway towards Beth's room, hating herself for having pushed herself on her best friend like that. But she hated herself even more for running out on her after doing it. Hannah deserved better than that, but she knew that if she were to stay behind she wouldn't stop at a kiss, and she didn't want to complicate her friendship like that.
God...she fucked it up already...
didn't she?