A FATHER'S LOVE A Tale of the Twins' Past II

The twins stood as bravely as they could as a united front. Their heads held high as they suffered the perusal of a group of curious six-year-olds. They weren't used to dealing with children their own age. The only experiance they had had with other kids was dealing with the older

neighbour children and their cruel taunts.

{That's the test tube twins. They don't even have a father.... I bet their mom got them out of a mail order catalog.}

{Stop it! Sev, make them stop....}

{Quit it or I'll... I'll....}

{You'll what? Tell your daddy?}

"So what's your name?" The pair turned their attention to the boy in the lead. He was tall, with short sandy colored hair, and was flanked by a few other children. Two girls, one with a long mousey brown shaded braid, and the other with a wild, curly friz of red hair and a smattering of freckles. There was also a second boy who's dark hair was cropped in a close buzz cut. A style that he obviously didn't like by the fact that he kept rubbing at it.

Severin finally stepped forward slightly, taking the lead as ususal. "I'm Severin," he said as bravely as he possibly could. "And this is my twin, Ada."

"Hi," Ada piped up meakly, a tiny smile on her face.

"Hi." The boy nodded at them, a large smile on his face as he began to introduce himself. "I'm Alec. And this is Myra...." He indicated the girl with the braid. "...Lexie...." The redhead. "...and Cristan." The boy with the buzz cut.

"Call me Chris," he immediately piped up, rubbing at the back of his head. "My full name stinks, it sounds like a girl's name."

"I like your name!" Ada said quickly, a hopefull look on her face. "It doesn't sound like a girl's name to me."

"You think so?" Chris asked, a confused look on his face. "A bunch of big kids...."

"I told you not to listen to them Chris!" Lexie cut in with a defiant toss of crimson locks. "They do that to try to get to you. I heard them talking once. They got a contest to see who can make the most little kids cry."

"W... why would they do that?"

"Cause they're stupid and mean!" She turned her attention to the twins. "You've got to watch out for them," she explained to the pair. "They're pretty nasty. But anyways, what about you two. Where are you from?"

"The apartment complex a few blocks down," Severin explained with a small shrug, his head spinning slightly with the warnings.

"That's where most of those kids live," Myra put in softly, her head down.

"Yea!" Lexie agreed happily with a brisk nod. "I just bet you know how to handle those bullies!"

"Umm...."

"What about your parents, what are they like?" she continued proding, green eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Our mom's just perfect," Ada began carefully. "She's pretty, and kind and she works in a big office building."

"Really? Your mom works? So what does your dad do?"

Both of the siblings winced slightly at that question. "We don't know," Severin finally mumbled. "We don't have one."

"What?" Lexie blinked in confusion. "You don't have one? Did he die like Myra's dad? Her dad died in an aircar accident."

"No." Severin shook his head slightly, his face once again hidden behind that black, silken, curtain of hair. "We don't know what happened. He just isn't there."

"Oh." The small group of children shared a glance, not knowing what to make of this. They had never seen a family where the father 'just wasn't there'.

"Well," Alec finally said, not looking at them. "It was nice to meet you two. We'll see you later." The group moved nerviously away and the second they were gone Ada smacked her brother on the arm, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Why did you have to tell them that!?" she sobbed, hitting him again. "They were being nice to us. They liked us! Why couldn't you have said our dad died, like Myra's. At least that's _like_ someone! Why'd you have to show that we were diffrent!?"

"They would have found out," Severin mumbled. "The kids from our building would have said something and they would have found out. It all would have turned out the same."

"Why do we have to be the different ones," she sniffled, rubbing at her crystaline eyes. "I hate being the different one."

"It doesn't matter," he whispered, wiping at her tears. "We don't need them. We've got each other, that's all we need. Right?"

"Right...."

********************

Word about the twins spread quickly and they spent most of their time that day alone, aside from one another's company. The only thing that seemed fortunate was that the older children from their building seemed to be ignoring them. Their luck didn't hold out however.

"Hey, twins! I want a baby brother, can I borrow the catalog your mom used?"

Ada winced slightly as the first of the taunts started and Severin gripped her hand tightly in reassurance. "Be brave Ada," he whispered in her ear. "You heard what Lexie said, they got a compitition going. You don't want to be just another point to them. Besides, it's all the same. It's not like we haven't heard that one before. If that's the best they can do...."

"What are you talking about," another cut in, causing him to stop in his whispered reassurances to his sister. "I know exactly where the twins came from and it wasn't no catalouge. They're the by-product of a business transaction." The group stared at him blankly. The boy who had spoken was

older than most of the others and obviously knew a little more about the finer points of slinging crude insults. "Don't you guys get it?" he asked. "Their mom got paid for doing little favours and these two happened by accident. They're bastards."

There was a colective gasp at the sound of a cuss word and Severin felt a red haze of anger cover his vision. He had no clue as to what that word meant, but he knew it wasn't the best thing to be called. He let go of his twin's hand and clenched his fists, glaring at the group surrounding them.

"Sev... what...?"

"Just stay put, no matter what happens."

"But...."

"Stay Put!"

She made a worried noise in the back of her throat but stepped backwards a bit as her brother stepped forwards. "Take that back," he growled, his eyes narrowed to cold slits.

"Make me squirt."

He needed no other prompting beyond that. With a yell he launched himself at the older boy, and was immediately knocked backwards with an idle swat. He let out a grunt of pain as he hit the ground, stars dancing across his vision, and was vaguely aware of his sister at his side as the group shot one last taunt at him before leaving.

"Not bad for a dumb little brat. But if you had a dad he could tell you that you don't pick fights with people bigger than you...."

He let out a small groan as he sat up, gingerly touching the bump that was forming on the back of his head.

"Oh... oh wow! That was amazing! I've never seen anyone stand up to those guys before!"

The sound of a voice nearby caused him to turn and he finally spotted the group that they had first talked to, with Lexie in the lead looking wide-eyed. "You're so brave," she continued, walking up to him and sitting down at his side next to Ada. "I think I'm in love. You want to be my boyfriend?"

"B... boyfriend?"

"Please say yes," she pleaded, grabbing his hand, an eanest look in her eyes. "I want a big brave boyfriend to protect me from those guys. Come on, what do you say?"

"Um... okay?"

"Yay!" She let out a small squeal and wrapped her arms around his neck, all but choaking him. "This is great! I'm the luckiest girl around! Imagine, the bravest boy in school is my boyfriend."

"Sorry about the way we acted earlier," Alec apologized, stepping forward to take charge again. "We just didn't know what to think. Friends?"

"Sure," Severin mumbled, getting woozily to his feet. "Friends...."

R&R Plese.

My Message to the World