~Note: this takes place in it's own universe completely separate from McInTots or Into A Tizzy~
Isabelle Lisa McIntosh and Taylor Ryan McIntosh
in
Unexpecttraction, Vol. 5
Waiting For A Star To Fall
by the kzx
Chapter 1
A Sound That Makes Me Cry
If there was any moment of happiness in the young dingo girl's heart, temporarily forgetting what happened last night, it was far too brief for Izzy to have noticed it. The thoughts which woke her up first were fights with herself. Then thoughts of despair began to sink in.
Unlike most recent mornings, this one was bitter. This one stung, causing the little dingo girl an ache that would hardly go away. The light in the room, the warm rays of gold. Nothing might as well had been there. The sun had never been so cold.
There wasn't any moment where she had forgotten what happened. The sting from the night before still ached, just waiting for her head to catch up. She cleared her throat and maybe that's all it needed. Her throat then clenched. There it was. The loss. The emptiness. The utter despair. The truth came down like a hammer. The fact that the worst had happened: she had broken up with her brother, Tay.
So many what-ifs and could-have-beens surged through her head. 'Maybe we could never have cubs.' She thought, shaking her head immediately and covering her eyes with her paws. 'No, that wasn't the whole reason.'
She felt trapped between two walls. She wanted to be in his arms again, to kiss him, to feel his warmth. But there was no future in it. Was she being smart? Was it the right thing to do?
There was a noise outside. Was it him? As the dingo girl slithered out of bed to investigate, memories of the night before Valentine's Day (just a few days ago!) flooded her mind. 'Oh, I wish it was like that again.' She thought, coming to a short halt by her door. 'This noise.... is it Tay?'
The mere thought of seeing Tay again made her nervous and terrified. Why was she terrified? She was terrified cus her heart can only break into so many pieces, right?
That series of thoughts caused something to dawn on Izzy: how's life gonna be from now on? 'I mean,' she thought, 'how am I gonna ever function around my own brother again?' Someone approached the door and gently knocked.
"Isabelle, love, are you awake?" It was Mum.
"Ye-" Izzy cleared her throat, "Yeah, Mom, I'm up!" Izzy tried to sound normal and cheerful.
"Good. I didn't want you kids oversleeping and messing up your sleep schedule for school." Her mother said gently. Oh, if she knew how apocalyptic Izzy's situation was. What would Mum do if she found out? What about if she finds her daughter crying? She'd ask questions, right? Izzy felt weird that this conversation was through the door and was sure her mother would feel the same.
"So, Mum," Izzy said, trying to quietly get back to her bed and clear her eyes. "Are we doing stuff like yesterday?" Wiping her eyes, Izzy thought about it. Hey, she did just wake up, right? No one looks great straight from bed, right?
"Isabelle, may I open the door; this is weird." Brenda chuckled. Okay, here we go.
"Sure." Izzy responded. Brenda opened the door slowly, peering in and smiling, hanging on the door handle.
"So, 'are we doing anything today?' Hmm..." Brenda mused, "Well, probably not because the weather report doesn't look too good. More rain and such, so we thought we'd just have a long lazy day. How's that sound?" Sounds terrible, but it'll work, Izzy felt.
"Sounds okay." Izzy said, smiling, just about starting to make herself busy. "Tay might jot like that though." She giggled. Inside, alarms went off; what's wrong with you? You said his name out-loud! Izzy scolded herself. ‘You shouldn't play with such sharp knives like that!’ Outside, though, Izzy just smiled, turning on her desk lamp and setting out the items from her backpack. Brenda chuckled, looking at her son's door.
"Well, he'll get over it." She said. Izzy scrambled, but came across a saving grace. She saw her backpack right as Brenda turned the light on. Homework! Thank god! Something Tay would never say! Izzy's heart thumped and her throat clenched a little. ‘Stop stabbing yourself!’
"Well, I have homework to do anyway." Izzy said, already starting to feel like this was the best cover, probably because it wasn’t a lie. Brenda seemed to smile, or at least was smiling during the small looks Izzy gave her mom. Maybe she was proud. She was always proud of her daughter, not that Izzy ever let that go to her head; she was very humble about it… unless she was thinking she was, herself, humble… ick…
“Okay, well, Jason and I are probably gonna binge-watch some show we’ve been meaning to get to.” Brenda said, exiting. A smile crept onto Izzy’s face; she had great parents.
“Love ya, Mom!” Izzy said, turning to smile at her mother. Brenda gently closed the door and seemed to drift next door. Izzy’s fur stood on end; would Tay be able to cover being so hurt? Then Izzy went from fear to despair. What if Tay wasn’t so hurt from the break up? Sure, he was crying last she saw him, tearfully leaving the room and going to his room, but… but what if he’s already over it? Was she more in love with him or… was he in love with her at all? Izzy felt her throat clench again, and her face got warm. Was she gonna cry again? Did Tay ever love her? Was he just in it for the sex?!
Izzy felt a whimper escape her, but before more could come out, her little brain stepped in. ‘No! Of course not!’ she thought. ‘Don’t let yourself think that! Tay loves you! Probably still loves you!’ Izzy was trembling. Though logic seemed to be winning the debate, she still feared and despaired. In a weird moment, Izzy felt that if Tay wasn’t really in love with her, he would easily not be figured out by Mum as he wouldn’t be emotional. At all.
Izzy dragged her legs up to her chest in the chair, bundled up in a ball of fear, despair and confusion. What was gonna happen? Izzy sat there in her worry-bundle, listening hard for what was happening just outside her bedroom door. She of course heard a knock and her mother’s voice calling for Tay.
“Taylor? Are you awake?” Brenda said. Silence followed. Maybe the ambient sounds of a body moving on the 2nd floor, right beyond the wall. A door opened. “I guess you are awake. You okay, love?” Brenda’s voice was worried!
“Mmmahhh….” Izzy’s heart beat fast at the sound of Tay’s voice, “I… I been up all-” Tay yawned. Oh, god, his voice… “…been up all day…” gonna cry… “My hair is…” maybe not… “…I look great, whatcha talkin’ ‘bout, Mom?” dunno…
“Like I was telling your sister, don’t sleep too late. You don’t wanna be awake too late for school tomorrow.” Brenda said, seeming to be less bothered than before by whatever state Tay was in.
“Yeah, okay, Mom.” Tay said, sounding bothered a bit. Izzy felt a bit better, but her heartache panged louder with no other distractions of worry and fear. She still despaired, though. ‘Stop that!’ she yelled in her head. ‘Tay loves you!’ Izzy couldn’t hear anymore. His voice was so bittersweet. Would she ever again hear her brother’s voice and not get emotional? Izzy sat at her desk, looking over her homework. It was only then that she came to realize she never did homework with her brother. Do brothers and sisters do homework together? Well, most aren’t in the same grade. Only twins could do that… Twins…
“Wait a minute…” Izzy said, out-loud for some reason, but she went with it; no one was listening after all, “Doing homework together…” she started. ‘…doesn’t mean doing the SAME homework…’ he mind finished. What a weird thought.
A while later, Izzy came to believe there were no more parents upstairs. Raindrops on the window. The sky was darkening, thus getting darker in the room. Izzy looked at her blue glowing clock to see that it had already been only a few hours since she woke. How long had she been doing homework? How long since she had… thought of Tay? Then, thinking of Tay, it hit her chest hard.
“Oh… god…” Izzy mumbled, throat lumping up, face becoming warm. She wasn’t about to cry, was she? “Oh, god…” she felt the need to say out-loud, “…we broke up!” she whined, tears forming. Izzy was a mess; there was no way she could do any homework; it was just a cover anyway, right? Looking down at the pages, everything was blurry. She took off her glasses and wiped her eyes. God, the pain… She thought about the little snippets of his voice, they were like candy, maybe they’d be like medicine.
Izzy took a deep breath, swallowed her tears and stood up, looking at her door. That door, the door was the last time she saw him, and he was crying. Thinking of that made a whimper escape the little girl. No, no, I gotta hear him. I gotta hear him!
Izzy walked gently to her door, cracking it open. The cold hallway air pushed it’s way in, over her face, across her tears. She was very aware of how wet her eyes were. She wanted to be with Tay. Wanted to be with Tay so bad. So so bad. She saw a glimpse of the edge of his door. Oh, god, Tay’s door… Tay’s bedroom… the last time… ‘That was the last time we were together in bed…’ she thought, holding a paw over her mouth and silently sobbing into it. Oh, god…
Ears open, eyes wet, mouth trembling, Izzy listened hard for anything from Tay’s door. Maybe he would be crying, too? That would mean he loves me! The rain got so loud Izzy couldn’t catch much, but she tried. If she could just hear him, she would feel infinitely closer to him.
Nothing. Absolute silence. Somehow this lingering silence hurt the little dingo girl more than she would have ever imagined. Nothing. He wasn’t even crying. He wasn’t even sleeping!
Crawling back into bed, Izzy's sobs were becoming violent, her breathing shuddered. Why did it hurt so much? Why did it hurt to fight through the thick forest and vicious swamp of her uncertainty just to arrive at her brother's door and hear nothing? Nothing. The homework became cold and abandoned.
She thought about the fear, pain and despair from the situation. It felt like it had taken everything she had to open her door, listen for a sound from Tay. Just… anything!
Silence. Nothing. Not only did that now heavily signify and represent how their relationship stood, but it was a terrible sound. 'A sound,' she thought, 'that makes me cry.'
Chapter 2
I Wish I Didn't Feel So Strong About You
Morning, once again, was bleak and hopeless. Except for school, Izzy didn’t feel like there was much worth getting out of bed for anymore. Was school even worth it? Lying there, staring at a once-shared ceiling, she shook her head. No, school was still important; it’s part of that normal life she almost wished she had again.
The girl sat up, gravity seeming to work overtime on her ever since the break up. Yawning didn’t even feel necessary. She was awake, but awake or asleep, she was still unhappy. Her eyes felt a little puffy from so much crying the past two nights. God, last night was emotional. She caught the early morning blue light fleck off the white pages of her unfinished homework on the desk. It wasn’t exactly due yet; not til tomorrow. Hopefully she wouldn’t be crying all night tonight.
Standing up, however, did elicit a hard stretch and finally a yawn. Scratching her back. Need to pee. School. Izzy was actually impressed she got up, but that was to be expected anyway; she was hardly relaxed. ‘Funny,’ she thought, ‘being unhappy makes getting up easier? Heh…’
A noise. Next door. It was Tay. Maybe being unhappy made even a lazy boy like him get up easily for school after an amazing, and utterly earth-shattering, weekend. So casual, thinking of him like that. She didn’t feel anything, thinking these thoughts. She wondered if she’d ever again think thoughts of her brother without questioning if she should or not. God, things were so messed up…
Izzy cracked the door open; empty hallway. Creeping into the hallway, the girl hoped Tay didn’t come to pee as well. That did happen a lot ever since they moved into this house. She slipped by, leaving her door cracked a bit to hopefully let Tay know that she was out of her room. A warning.
The somber dingo made her way silently down the hall. The house yawned around her. Morning sun. Warmth. The only warmth. She passed the stairs. Dad’s already gone to work. She could still smell a faint hint of his cologne. Approaching the bathroom door, and opposing hallway to the parents’ bedroom, she swung to the left, closing the door. ‘Mum’s still asleep.’ she thought.
As the bare walls slightly echoed the sounds of her peeing, Izzy sat and stared, thinking. She felt beat. Her heart still ached. Did she cry it all out last night? She wasn’t sure, but it felt like there might be an eternity worth of more crying ahead of her. It all felt possible, though not at that moment. She felt like during the day, she might cry at the littlest thing. Great.
Finishing up, Izzy left the room and though her eyes hadn’t landed on the hallway yet, she knew, just knew she wasn’t alone. As she began her walk back to her room, she saw him. Her brother, her twin, her lover, her ex-lover, ex-boyfriend, ex-everything Tay was walking to the bathroom. She wanted to look at him. Look at him! LOOK! YOU LOVE THOSE EYES! PLEASE LOOK! Passing was imminent.
Nothing. The twins passed each other, seemingly ignoring the other. Afterwards, Izzy turned and watched Tay walk to the bathroom and close the door. He… he didn’t even… well, I didn’t either… Didn’t what? …I didn’t even look at him…
That was the first choke she felt of the day. Oh, god, this day was gonna suck. Breathing in, she became aware of the tiny amount of his scent which got caught in her nostrils. The scent in her chest turned to tears in her eyes. God, how can such happiness suddenly turn into sadness?!
Choking back the tears, sniffling and coughing, Izzy tried to distract herself with getting ready for school. Did she do any laundry this weekend? She didn’t even know anymore. Izzy went for the closet. God, when I pick up this uniform… She grabbed the top and skirt and sniffed. It smelled like herself, and school. No hint of Tay. But his name having crossed her mind, a whimper escaped. No. No! Gotta keep it together! Please!
Panties; she was still wearing those panties. The panties which she wore last time they had sex. The panties which were no doubt covered in Tay’s cum stains. They had to go! Finally, Izzy slipped the dirty panties off, not looking at them as she buried them in the hamper, taking a mental note to DO this laundry tonight herself.
“Ick…” she said gently, “wish I took a shower…” Izzy turned around, slipping off her pajama top, leaving her naked, moving about collecting clothes items. She WOULD try to take a quick shower before leaving, but the idea of running into Tay made her choose otherwise.
Izzy slid her undershirt on and assembled the school uniform top, tie and all. Was Tay doing this same thing right now? She slipped on her skirt. ‘I know he’s not doing this right now.’ she thought, smirking, playing with knives again.
Turning around and around in her room, Izzy had no idea where her shoes would be. They weren’t under the bed, near the closet or any other place she normally put them. She tried to recall the last time she had them. It was on Friday… Her heart stopped for a split second; it was Valentine’s Day. Oh, god… Izzy sat on the edge of her bed, shoulders slumped some. It was when we came home and wanted to be all over each other… we wanted to have sex so bad and be with each other… so bad… How was it possible that Tay was in everything and he was everywhere?
No matter! Izzy still needed to find her shoes. Where did she kick them to? Painfully, the little girl had to remind herself of a very sexual and romantic moment in her recent life. It was almost as if she was wading through the memory, trying to push Tay aside, only for her mental paws to be touching him… and he felt warm. Izzy sniffled and shook her head, shrugging Tay out of her head, which she knew was impossible. Gotta find those shoes, though…
Finally, frantically throwing things around in an effort to just FIND the shoes rather than have to pick through a painful memory, she found them tossed beside a dirty set of school clothes and some dirty panties. Oh, right, this was the uniform and panties she wore that day. She picked the panties up and sniffed them. Sure enough, these were very wet on Friday.
Izzy dressed and assembled her backpack, heading out the door. No sign of Tay, not even a smell of him. She thought she caught a whiff of his toothpaste, but may have been mistaken. Would they walk to school together? They had made a pact as kids to always walk with each other to and from school. As she came down the stairs, Izzy thought maybe Tay would still be here, she could ask him to still walk with her. She’d look at him this time!
Tay was in the kitchen, his back to the stairs. He appeared to be heating something up in the toaster; some take-with breakfast item. Izzy’s stomach turned. That hair. Tay’s ears perked hearing his sister and he nearly turned around, but stopped himself, crossing his arms.
“Say, Tay?” Izzy said gently.
“Yeah?” Tay said, not turning around again. Izzy swallowed hard.
“Are we still walking to school together?”
“I guess so.”
“Okay. Cus, you know… we made that pact and… although we aren’t um… we aren’t together anymore-“ Oh GOD, she said it! Out-loud! The room seemed to shiver. “Um, we are still brother and sister, always…”
“Yeah.” Tay said, short vocal noise. God, this was it, wasn’t it? This was how things were. Just 24 hours ago, they were sleeping together, lying blissfully in Tay’s bed, happy as they could possibly be. The picture. Mom. The whole time, for a whole month… she had that picture… Izzy felt the tears again. She coughed and sniffled. Don’t let Tay know you’re crying… The toaster popped up. “Want one?” Tay said. He was actually looking at her! Izzy went flush.
“Oh, I, uh…” Izzy stammered, not sure what to say. “Um, yeah.” Tay put another one in the toaster. She wasn’t even hungry, but she knew she might be later. She felt like crying and throwing up. She wanted to run back upstairs and lock the door and throw herself on the bed and cry forever. God, this feeling.
After Izzy’s breakfast popped up, the twins gathered their things and walked out the back door. Izzy lagged behind to lock the door, but Tay walked ahead. He didn’t seem to want to wait for his sister to catch up. This was hurting Izzy, of course. She looked at the toasted pastry in her paw and sniffled silently. ‘I will absolutely eat this. You made it for me, Tay.’ This caused tears to flow. ‘Everything from you… everything about you… Tay…’ she thought, walking several paces behind her impatient brother. ‘It’s so hard to exist not being yours…’ Pastry gone, Izzy brushed off crumbs and swallowed her tears, feeling foolish for crying and eating. ‘I wish I didn't feel so strong about you.’
Chapter 3
But I Can't Love You This Much And Love You From This Far
The twins rounded the corner and closed in on Tavin Elementary. Still several paces behind her brother, Izzy reflected on how weird the cold air felt on her face when she cried. She wasn’t crying now, lest the other kids see. She heard a voice and turned slightly to see Becky and Jules catching up. Okay, now she had ta wipe those tears away.
Maybe seeing her friends would make her feel better. Tay honestly wasn’t treating her any different than he used to, just an indifferent brother ignoring the girl he lived with. Is that all she was again? Just a girl? ‘No,’ Izzy thought, ‘you’re his twin sister. You two have a very special bond regardless and he loves you.’ Yeah, but… what about the ‘other love?’
“Morning, Iz.” Jules said, unenthusiastically shouldering up to her dingo friend.
“Morning, Jules, Becky.” Izzy said, at first feigning a smile, but then feeling it reinforced with sincerity. She was always glad to see her friends, no matter what.
“Hey, Izzy.” Becky started, smiling at the dingo then turning to the kangaroo bitterly, “Jules, I told you five times already…you can’t just use these powers like that.”
“But, c’mon! If you just expended something, like, ALL of your power, and in the right direction, I’m sure you could do it!” Jules said, brightening up with a smile. What the heck was this conversation?
“First of all, that’s highly irresponsible.” Becky started, serious tone. “Second, just because you’re using a thrust like that to slow the rotation of the Earth doesn’t mean an extra day would be added to the week.”
“Shows how much you know about Earth-slowing!”
“No! In fact, speeding UP the Earth’s rotation would add in an extra day!”
“There you go then. You know what to do now, raccoon!”
“No! If I did that, we’d have extra days in the week, but the days would then be SHORTER!”
“Yeah, shorter school days!”
“Not to mention screwing up gravity and momentum and…”
“If I had those powers-”
“Oh, I can’t even imagine the nightmare.”
“What nightmare?”
“Jules, if you had HALF the powers I have, I’m sure we’d all be living in some sort of weird, bouncy world under YOUR control where everyone would be, like… having sex all over the place or… something…” Becky drifted off, beginning to blush. Jules crept up to her, smiling big.
“you know you’d like that…” she whispered to the raccoon girl who shot up and cleared her throat loudly, blushing.
“You’re friggin’ weird, Jules! Stop that!” Becky cried out, thrusting herself away from the laughing redhead. Izzy giggled at this interaction, beaming at her two friends.
“You guys, ugh… I love you.” Izzy said, smiling and hugging the two, who hugged back. Jules and Becky usually argued, but when it came to Izzy, they both came together.
“Anyway, Iz, how was your weekend?” Becky asked cheerfully.
“Oh, it was fun. Had fun times with Mum and Dad!” Izzy answered. How WAS her weekend? It felt devastating, actually.
"And Tay, right?" Becky said, clearly pointing out the dingo girl's glaring omission.
"Rrrright... him, too..." Izzy said, tummy turned slightly.
“Ahh, went to Rivertown, didja?” Jules said, casually picking at her teeth. Izzy’s eyes went wide. Rivertown... that's where she... where her and Tay revealed their secret to Jules.
"Heh, yeah, wow, how'd you know?" Izzy stammered.
"You just told me." Jules said, faint hint of satisfaction on her face. Becky scoffed at her 'friend.'
"Ok, so, we went to Rivertown and ate at Big Steak Roadhouse and went shopping. Woulda seen a movie, but nothin' good's out." Izzy hoped she didn't appear nervous. Why would she be nervous? She had no reason. She's heartbroken, not nervous. Still, can't let on that she was heartbroken either. Maybe that's why she was nervous. She caught Jules staring directly at her, expressionless. What... what was she staring at?
"Steakhouses are great. But, meh, it's too early for talking about food like that." Becky said, finishing with a yawn.
"Food like what?" Jules said, breaking the odd stare. Becky looked at her.
"You know, big dinner type food." The raccoon said. Jules smiled and rubbed her belly.
"Mmmm, I could go for some big dinner type food." She said sensually.
"I bet you could." Becky smirked. Izzy felt she should have smiled. Of course she should smile!
"That was funny!" Izzy blurted. Why did that part come out?! Well, at least it was just THAT part. The girls chuckled along with Izzy, however, both seemed worried over their friend. Oh, no... can't let on! Can't let on!
The kids arrived on school property, walking up the central walkway over the timeline that was painted into the cement long before the twins ever came to Sugna. The timeline started with Prehistory with pictures of an explosion, space and dinosaurs.
"Are you okay, Izzy?" Becky said softly and closely. Izzy smiled, eyes closed. Bah! That mighta been too obvious! Becky's good at sensing emotions!
"They had a fight." Jules said, expressionless. Izzy whipped her head toward the kangaroo, eyes pleading. Jules, why would you...
"A fight? Who?" Becky asked, skeptical.
"Her and Tay. They've separated." Jules casually remarked. Izzy, still staring at Jules, wondered why this was happening?! They walked over Early Antiquity. There were pictures of Babylonian fishermen and horses and walls being built.
"'Separated? Like how?" Becky asked. Please stop this!
"Well, you know how siblings are..." Jules quipped, apparently on her own. 'Oh, I see.' Izzy thought. Her shivers of fear dissipated and she slowly turned her head forward.
"Oh... I'm sorry, Iz. Is he being his usual way again?" Becky asked, concerned. It wasn't falsely appropriated concern, was it? No, something WAS wrong, just not what Becky thought. Izzy nodded.
"Yeah, he... I dunno... he's hard to get, y'know?" Izzy said. She eyed the boy several paces ahead of them still as he ducked into a restroom. At times, Tay WAS hard to get. Was he angry? Did he blame her for the break up? Well, it was her fault... but it had to happen; there's no future in it. Izzy's tummy turned a little more.
The girls walked over Middle Antiquity, with horses, Greek temples and pottery, and approached the cafeteria for Principal Ludwig's morning speech he did every school morning. Becky excused herself to the restroom and immediately Jules pulled Izzy close.
"okay, what's going on?! you look hurt! what did tay do to you?" Jules asked, heavy concern in her voice. Izzy looked at her friend a little oddly; she'd never heard such concern coming from Jules before. Izzy cleared her throat.
"well-"
"you don't need to clear your throat for whispering." Jules cut in. Izzy looked strangely again.
"sorry, it's like a social cue, you know? anyway, tay and i, we... we broke up..." Izzy felt tears coming. No. No! Not here! Becky was making her way back to their spot. Oh, god! Izzy hurriedly wiped her tears and sniffled. Jules' eyes were clearly following the raccoon.
"becky's comin'."
"i know!"
"gonna tell her?"
"i would, but-" Izzy was cut off as gray fur-covered legs appeared between her and Jules. Conversation over.
"Izzy, if there's anything we can do for you..." Becky offered, sitting and hugging the dingo. Izzy smiled.
"Thank you, Becky. You're an amazing friend." Izzy said. Was she amazing? Izzy didn't feel like she was giving the same love and friendship back by not telling Becky... about... Something Izzy saw in Becky's eyes, maybe the honesty, the integrity, made her feel even worse about keeping the truth. Becky smiled in response.
"Looks like Ludwig's starting." Jules said, descending into a whisper. Izzy scanned for her brother, but couldn't see him. Oh, if only she could at least look at him it was almost as if the act that would cause her the most pain would also make everything feel alright, even for just a split second.
The dingo girl spun her head around a few times, trying to catch that alike tan fur and brown hair combo. No luck.
"what're ya doing, iz?" Jules whispered.
"lookin' for tay; we rarely don't see each other during morning speech." Izzy said, finding this excuse to be more logical than most.
"i saw him over there by the teachers and some other fourth-grade boys." Becky said, motioning to the right far by the door. Izzy tried to see and saw what may have been him, maybe not.
Even though she wasn't sure, just the idea... the very idea that she might be looking at Tay, her brother, her twin, her former everything... maybe things would be alright. What if they had to return to a normal life? A normal brother/sister relationship? It wouldn't be so bad, she guessed. They were doing it just fine for 9 and a half years!
Izzy's eyes wandered across the crowd and the stage. She didn't take in anything Ludwig was saying. Sorry, Principal.
Before she even realized it, the speech was over and everyone headed to class. This would be her chance to walk up to Tay and... well, be near him! 'What good would that do?' She thought. 'It's not like he's your husband. He's your brother; just your brother.'
"Say..." Jules said. Izzy woke from her thoughts, finding herself walking to class among a sea of students. It was beginning to thin out and Becky wasn't anywhere near them.
"Where's-"
"Becky? Oh, I dunno. Said something about something." Jules said, looking around. "She's not here now, so why did you guys break up?" What? Is that what she wanted?
"Wh-what?"
"You two, you and him, why did you break up?" Jules smiled while her eyes darted around the walkway they currently walked through towards class. Passing over Late Antiquity's Roman soldiers and battle chariots, Izzy soon saw Middle Ages, reflecting how she felt just at the moment her eyes met Tay's in the crowd. He saw her, she was sure of it.
"Jules, just..." Izzy saw Becky catching up to them. She felt weird, weird about the whole thing. Leave Jules out of it until she understood it herself. That's how she felt. "Just don't worry about it, k? I'll see you guys in class!" And with that, Izzy dashed toward her brother in the crowd, who seemed to rather want to avoid his sister. C'mon, Tay, don't avoid me...
Izzy tracked down her brother, figuring he'd just dash into class. Oh, god, we're sitting next to each other... we always have. She approached the door and saw him sitting down before she even got inside. Yes, there he is. I can sit next to him. Maybe a smile will do. Feelings of despair and fear and hopelessness seemed to melt away. Was she this desperate to be with him? Hinging her entire emotional well-being on a moment that doesn't mean anything?
"Um..." Izzy started, clearing her throat just behind the dingo boy, whose ears perked and back straightened up.
"Go away." He said, not even looking at her.
"What?" Izzy said. What was this..? Tay turned, face full of anger. Why... why that face, Tay?
"I said-" Tay shouted, shoving his sister back, "go away!" Izzy fell back and crashed into a few chairs, staring up at her former lover with shock. What... what was that? Tay, what was that?! God, the tears were coming! She looked around and saw they were alone. A few students walked in, not noticing what just happened. She looked at Tay, he wasn't looking at her; he just steamed in his seat. She was crying. She was crying!
Managing to make it to the bathroom, Izzy threw herself into a stall and sobbed her eyes out, trying her best to be silent. She stuffed her face into her paws hard as the tears and sobs just kept coming. Nothing was stopping it. Nothing would be better. This was how it would be forever. And the little dingo girl's heart began to shatter, the images in her mind of the ground as she ran to the bathroom, running over a few cracks, some trash and the Age of Enlightenment. Blurs now; all blurs. Everything was watery. The pain was all too real. Life had definitely changed.
Chapter 4
I Hear Your Name Whispered On The Wind
"G'day, Isabelle!" Jason said upon seeing his daughter. She had just walked in the door after an awkward walk home with her brother; she couldn't even muster up his name at the moment. Izzy's dad looked happy and chipper, though.
"Hey, Dad!" Izzy feigned a smile, hiding her paw where there was a bit of an injury from when her brother pushed her down at school. She wasn't sure which hurt worse.
"Say, wanna come along with me to tha hardware store?" Jason said, not noticing the injured paw. Izzy thought about it; she loved her father and, yeah, this would be a welcomed distraction from her ever present heartbreak if she stayed home with... him... Izzy looked up at her dad and smiled.
"Sure!" She said.
"Great!" Jason said, grabbing his keys. "Go and get dressed while I make sure I've got a sound list." Jason went outside and closed the door. Izzy made her way upstairs. Her brother had made it home before her; he was surely up there.
Was she scared of him? No... she'd taken worse falls before. She wasn't scared of anyone hitting her or pushing her down, really... She didn't even really feel like it was... his fault. He just acted out, he's a dumb boy... I can beat him up... A smile crept onto Izzy's face, surprising the dingo girl. We're siblings; we fight. Even a peaceful, friendly girl like Izzy knew how to hold her own against her brother.
She arrived atop the stairs and turned toward her bedroom. This injury, she thought, looking at her paw, it's no biggie. It's not what hurts. Closing the door, turning on the light, Izzy forgot to even note that she had passed his door. His door. Him.
Would that be the name she gave the huge hole in her heart? She dropped her backpack, which didn't take much of the weight off her shoulders. What else was sorrowful about all of this, she thought, was that she had no idea what his side was. Was he angry at her for breaking them up? Was he just as hurt and doesn't know how to deal with those feelings? This train of thought lead to her balling her eyes out Sunday. God, she was such a mess.
After changing into something light and playful, Izzy bounded down the stairs, looking forward to just being Jason McIntosh's daughter again. The thought made her smile, smile more legitimately than she had in a while. She saw Dad in the kitchen writing down some stuff.
"Well, looks like I've got everything I need written down here." Jason said in his thick accent, placing the pencil in his blonde hair. "Ready ta go?"
"Sure thing, but I gotta ask. Isn't this something you'd normally ask-"
"Your brother? Nah... he was grumpy when he came home; told me to build the... what is it again?" Dad looked at the paper. "The cabinets, yeah, he said go build the cabinets myself. So I said screw that, I'll just take my very talented daughter with me instead, hehe." Jason laughed. Izzy smiled at first, but then Jason's smile disappeared. "N-not to say I asked you to come along to show your brother up! No! No! I mean, uh, if..." Jason appeared nervous having felt like he stepped on Izzy's sense of being a woman. She reached out and held her father's paw, smiling.
"It's okay, Daddy; I'll be the carpenter you've always wanted."
"And your brother?"
"Eh... he'll be the princess you've always wanted." Both chuckled and headed to the car. As they drove down the street, Izzy looked up at her father and admired him. Jason had always treated both kids the same. Mum did, too. Izzy knew neither were their parents favorite. Sure, there were a lot of girl moments for her, boy moments for her brother, but mostly the kids were treated as the same. Izzy always felt like Jason wanted her to be whatever she wanted. At this moment, she loved being Jason McIntosh's daughter.
The two went shopping at the hardware store for a bit. Izzy wasn't sure whether she had any interest there or not, having walked into one only a pawful of times. Jason constantly encouraged her on anything she showed interest in, at least as far as answering all her questions.
Afterwards, Izzy dragged her Dad across town shopping for books, something Jason put up with for his princess, er carpenter. Whatever she was. They went out to eat. Sandwiches, something Izzy had a growing interest in, was the meal of the late afternoon, although she still loved barbeque chicken more than most things, except vegetables. Izzy loved vegetables, all kinds. Maybe she shouldn't be so into vegetables seeing as she was primarily carnivorous, but Izzy played by her own rules sometimes.
Izzy was beginning to feel a lot better, spending so much time with her father, being little Isabelle McIntosh again. As they finished their meal, conversation began to rise again between them.
"Well, when we looked at this place, we saw it was a great up-and-coming hot spot, with all these new projects going up in the next decade, so I opted to come here. There were other places with branches of the mag, but this seemed to be the best option." Jason said, taking a drink. A conversation about when they moved to Sugna had struck a chord with Izzy, who asked many questions.
"So, what about the house?"
"Well, it was actually on the cheap. Word of many of Johannson's projects hadn't reached all across Sugna yet, so prices were down. I think we snatched up a great one just in the nick of time, wouldn't you agree?" Jason said. Izzy nodded enthusiastically. She adored the house they currently lived in. From the backyard to the 2 stories to her own bedroom, she had always loved it.
"And I got my own bedroom!" Izzy said happily.
"Well, since we were moving you across the planet, at the time it was all we could figure to do for you both." Jason said. Izzy was caught by something he said.
"Us 'both?'"
"Yeah, you and Tay." And there it was. That name. Izzy had nearly blanked it from her mind. Tay. Hearing herself think it was even more painful than it ever should have been. Tay. Her brother. Her twin. Her everything. Tay. Her eyes stung. She was about to cry! No! Not here! Not here with Dad!
"Ahh, yeah, of course..." She said, attempting to cover her imminent sob with a fake yawn, which turned into a real yawn, offering little relief, but, hey, at least her eyes watered on their own. She wiped them and smiled, grabbing her drink. "Thanks for loving us so much, Daddy!" She said, taking a sip. Jason smiled big, reaching over to caress his daughter lovingly.
"Well, if I didn't, who would've, huh?" Jason joked.
"Mummy would've!" Izzy responded, and chuckled upon seeing the sudden empty look on her father's face.
"Heh, oh yeah, her... Say..." he said, leaning in, "you won't tell her I forgot her awesome motherly contributions, will ya?" Izzy chuckled and shook her head, pretending to zip her mouth shut and throwing away the, um... zipper..? Jason smiled big. Though she covered that, inside the churning began; soon, they'd be heading back home and she may see him, and would have to face him.
The two piled back into Jason's car and headed home. More conversation occurred, but while Izzy attempted to listen, her insides were all twisted and tangled. Soon, she'd be back home with the one boy, the one person in the whole world she wanted to be with and he didn't seem to want her anymore.
Arriving home during sunset, Jason took the construction haul to the garage while Izzy crept upstairs. Tay seemed to be in his room, door closed of course. Izzy thought about how this all echoed the night before Valentine's Day. Back then, Izzy's tummy was turning, she was nervous about seeing Tay, but this was all lifeless, vicious black versions of everything. This was the evil twin of February 13th. Izzy walked up to his door, felt like puking, and ducked into her own room, closing the door.
Hours upon hours wasted, laying in bed, on the verge of crying the entire time. Izzy felt she had the same tears stuck in her eyes, ready to come out. They felt cold in the air-conditioned room. She squeezed her eyelids shut, making the tears fall out across her face. Now she looked like she was crying, she thought. She looked at the time: almost bedtime. Maybe like an hour or so. She glanced over at her door. Beyond that door, she thought, was Tay's door. She could go talk to him right now. She had the urge like a beast in her heart, but her body just wanted to be dead. She couldn't move. Oh, why couldn't she move?
Somehow, she wasn't sure, Izzy ended up outside Tay's door. Did she imagine it? Was she dreaming right now? No, no, she remembered walking through her door just now. God, everything was so messed up. She stared at the door. You're not trying to reconnect with this door, she thought, you want the boy behind the door.
"Yes. That's what I want." Did she say that out-loud? Soon, their was a presence. Closer. The door swung open and Tay stood there, blank face.
"What do you want?" He said. He's talking to you! Talk back! TALK BACK!
"Tay, I'm sorry."
“Just leave me the… the…”
"Wha…what?”
“Get away from me!” he shouted, pushing the door closed. But Izzy shoved her foot in the way.
"Tay, why?!" She cried, tears forming fast. Tay's face went sour, refusing to look at her.
"Because!"
"Tay! Do you hate me?!" He continued to push the door.
"Iz-zeeeeah!"
"Do you, Tay?!" Izzy was nearly in hysterics, her breath didn't want to catch up to her. It wanted her to die. Tay was still looking down.
"Fucking leave me alone!" Tay yelled, giving the door one big shove, scraping Izzy's foot across the carpet and slamming the door. Silence. Ringing echo in the hall. Darkness. Whining. Pain. Sobs. Wet face. Weeping. Izzy stood in place, shocked and shaking. Her mouth hung open and she was crying. She broke down, crumpling into a sobbing ball outside Tay's door. What if Mommy or Daddy saw her? How could she explain why she was crying?
It didn't matter. The world had ended. Everything was dead. What would be the point. Izzy had the world in her paws and she crushed it. She gave up the love she felt for her brother for the fear of being found out. Whether or not they could have been caught and separated, that love should have penetrated time and space. It wouldn't have mattered, wouldn't have mattered.
Chapter 5
Who Says I Should Let A Wild One Go Free?
"So, why did you guys break up?" Jules asked. Now that they were away from any crowds in the playground, Jules had sensed Izzy wanted to talk more about her situation with Tay.
"Why? Well..." Izzy started. She wanted to tell Jules why, but it was difficult. Why was it so hard? She had already told her what happened last night. She was so sure Tay hated her, but... but maybe he was just angry... right?
"We broke up cus... well, I broke us up cus I was afraid of what Mum was saying, about incest not having a future." Izzy said, unable to look directly at Jules. There was silence then between them, the background noise filling the void, creating an almost impenetrable wall that Izzy felt might prevent any ease to further the conversation. But soon the kangaroo girl looked at her with a solemn expression. The two moved to a bench behind a tree that, while it wasn't completely hidden, it wasn't near any crowded areas. They sat in silence for a bit, watching the other kids.
"But you love him, right?" Jules asked. Izzy turned her body away, arms crossed. She thought about the question; of course she loved him, more than anything.
"Yeah... of course..." she mustered.
"Then be with him, regardless of what happens." This was the most serious Izzy had ever seen Jules.
"But... but being together runs the risk of being split apart or hurting Mum and Dad. If that happened, even aside our relationship being torn apart..." she started, halted by tears suddenly forming. Her vision became blurry. She looked up at Jules, "...he's still my brother..." Izzy's voice broke and her lips trembled. Jules looked at her friend in a warm sympathetic manner, putting an arm around the dingo girl, who held her face in her paws.
"At times..." Izzy sniffled, "...at times, I've considered just trying to forget that we... had anything..." The two sat in more silence.
"Well... how would your mum and dad react to you boinking your brother?" Well, up until then, it was serious. Izzy turned slowly to Jules, face red. A smile crept onto her.
"Jules! God!" Izzy said, a single chuckle giving such sweet relief as it was not a sob. Jules laughed and held her friend close.
"Well? How would they react?" She asked again.
"Mum and Dad... they, um... they already suspected it and they grilled us and we lied... so..."
"But they love you, right? So, if the truth came from you two and you said sorry for lying, how would that go?" Jules asked. Izzy didn't know how to respond.
"I... I really don't know..."
"Well..." Jules said, smiling big and hugging tight, "I don’t think you should give him up. Don’t ever give him up. He’s, heh, he’s quite a catch.” Izzy looked at Jules with a weird face.
“You said he’s too stupid even for you.” she said. Jules’ face looked blank then she smiled.
“Well, he’s, um… he’s cute, huh?” she said. Izzy smirked and they hugged again. The first bell rang and they girls made their way back to class. Izzy felt lighter upon walking on her feet again. A newfound enthusiasm coursed through her body. What was this feeling? It actually felt… helpful.
“Okay, class, we’re going to divide up into teams for the ‘I Have… Who Has…?’ activity for the natural geography portion of Social Studies.” Mrs. Johnson said, standing up from her desk and passing out enveloped packets. “Everyone divide up into the sets of four around you, starting… here…” The class began to move about and shuffle desks and chairs around, forming pods of four desks each.
Izzy watched the class move around with nervous anticipation. She knew who was around her desk: Jules, Scooter and… Tay. She looked at Tay, who looked at her and moved his desk. He moved it away from the group. She called to him.
“Tay, that’s not what Mrs.-”
“I don’t care!”
“Tay, you-”
“Mrs. Johnson! Izzy’s getting in my way!” Tay called out. Mrs. Johnson made her way over to them.
“Taylor, what are you talking about? She’s over there, you’re over here.” she said. Tay looked up at her then slowly turned to his sister. The look on his face. That look. It almost hurt Izzy, but she knew he was just angry.
“She’s getting her butt near me!” Tay said, scowling. Izzy assumed her regular sister pose, paws on hips, and scowling back.
“I’m not even near you, Tay!” she said. Two can play at this game!
“Taylor, Isabelle, Julie and Lyle, you guys group up and get along, alright?” Mrs. Johnson said, smiling big. Izzy nodded up at her and turned to her brother as their teacher walked off.
“You don’t have to be such a right butt, Tay.” Izzy said. Tay just shrugged and dragged his desk over to the cluster Izzy, Jules and Scooter had made with their desks. “Let’s just do the activity, okay?” Tay huffed, crossing his arms.
“Okay, now that we’re in teams, we’re going to get started.” Mrs. Johnson grabbed her own packet and started writing the title of the activity on the board. “We’ve done this kind of thing in math, but really you can do it with any other subject.” There were a few giggles in the class, one in particular was louder than the others. “Mr. Retto, do you have something to say?” Mrs. Johnson said, looking over at Cotter, who was chuckling.
“Yeah, Ma’am, so we can ‘do it’ with other subjects?” the otter boy said, giggling along with the class. Mrs. Johnson gave him an annoyed look and continued.
“No more talk like that, Cotter.” she said, then returning her attention to the whole class. “So, now, in the packets you’ve gotten at your tables each contain a series of cards. Each student gets a card with an answer to one question and a new question for the next person. You start with the person whose card reads ‘START’. That person reads his question: “Who has…a piece of land that is surrounded by water on 3 sides?”. The person with the card that says ‘peninsula’ says, “I have peninsula. Who has…the continent that is also the name of a country?”. The person with ‘Australia’ would respond by reading her card, and so on.” Izzy looked up to see Mrs. Johnson reading from a paper. Guess she didn’t do this very often with her classes, Izzy thought.
The class went about doing their activities and Izzy turned to her group. She had to spend the next hour or so doing this activity with Jules, Scooter and Tay. Izzy smiled at them all.
"Guess we should get started." She said as Jules opened the packet and took the cards out. She passed them out according to the paper in the packet then took out a notebook and started writing.
"D-do we get to read them first, o-or...?" Scooter said looking at his stack.
"No, we start when whoever has the START card goes first." Izzy explained. "Who has the START card?"
"I gots it." Tay said, not looking at his sister.
"You 'have' it, Tay." Izzy corrected. Tay looked at her.
"You bet I do! Girls shouldn't play games." He said. Izzy looked angered and they stared at each other for a bit. This boy, Izzy thought, this boy, Tay, I used to love looking at him and kissing him and I will have him again.
"...girls... shouldn't... play... games..." Jules repeated slowly while writing in the notebook.
"What, Jules?" Izzy asked. Jules looked up.
"What?" The kangaroo asked.
"Are you writing this all down?" Izzy asked, watching Jules writing the conversation down any chance she got. She nodded in a half-distracted way, smiling. Izzy rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Tay, you go first." Tay's expression changed to one of confusion.
"Huh?" He said.
"You have the START card; you read your question first." Izzy said hearing the immediate scribbling of the girl next to her writing. Tay lowered his ears in annoyance and flipped his card over. He looked at it for a good while before finally speaking.
"'Who has... a flat shelf landmass created by... eros... erosion?" He said, stumbling only once. Izzy felt a rush of pride for her brother, a warm feeling. She wanted to smile, but knew better. Everyone shuffled through their cards, Jules finishing her writing then going through her stack. Before Izzy could find it, Scooter spoke up.
"M-mesa." He said, holding up his card. Izzy smiled.
"Very good, Scooter! Now read your question." Izzy said. Jules wrote.
"Who h-has... the opposite of a v-valley?" The skunkbunny said. Cards shuffled. Jules wrote then shuffled. Izzy found she had the answer.
"Mountain. Who has... the large long-term result of a river?" The dingo girl said. Cards shuffled. Jules wrote. Suddenly, a slew of cards were thrown down on the table, scattering everywhere. Everyone looked up to see Tay standing looking down at his sister. His face was so sour. Izzy felt heartbreak looking at it. I'm sorry, Tay. I'm really sorry. "Tay, what're you doing?"
"Canyon. Who has hurt her brother and is a big butt faced asshole girl that doesn't care?" He said. The table was silent. Jules went immediately to writing.
"...big... butt... faced... as-"
"Jules, don't write that!" Izzy said to Jules, turning to Tay. "Tay, sit down now! You're crazy!"
"No, you are, girl! I knew girls were big trouble!"
"Don't call me 'girl!' I have a name!"
"Yeah! And it's 'Bitch!'" Tay spewed. The table was silent again and both twins stared at each other. The only noise was Jules muttering
"...it's... bitch..."
"U-um... T-tay-"
"What?!" Tay shouted down at Scooter, who flinched.
"Um... I-I have 'canyon.'" Scooter started. "Why ya c-calling Izzy a b-"
"Because she is!" Tay said, sitting down in a huff. "I bet she even..." Tay started to tear up, "...I bet she even threw away the turtle I gave her..." Hearing this, Izzy's heart sank lower than ever. The turtle, the little green flocked turtle. She couldn't even remember where she had put it. Wow, she thought, she WAS as terrible as Tay was saying.
More silence at the table.
"You guys doing okay over here?" Mrs. Johnson asked kindly to the group. Izzy and Jules smiled up at her.
"We're doing good, thank you!" Izzy said watching Mrs. Johnson smile and walk off.
"That's it. We're splitting up into Boys vs Girls!" Tay said, gathering his cards back up.
"Tay, that's not how this activity works." Izzy said.
"It is now! I'm in control of it!" Tay growled.
"Tay, listen, this is crazy! Calm down! We can talk about this!" Izzy pleaded with the unmoving dingo boy. Izzy could see Scooter sitting uncomfortably next to Tay, confused on what was happening. Izzy felt sorry for Scooter and him being in the dark over what was going on. Izzy felt heartbreak all over again.
But then, something happened. Something about looking at Jules dutifully writing down the conversation made the dingo girl say to herself 'No, I will not do this. I've cried plenty already. This is all stupid and Tay, I will win you back. I'm NOT letting you go.'
"Scooter..." she said, turning to the scared skunkbunny, "...Tay and I were dating and we recently broke up, but please don't tell anyone." Scooter’s eyes got huge, as did everyone else's in the group. Tay stared at her.
"How many people do ya wanna know about that?!" Tay said. Izzy shrugged.
"It wasn't really fair to keep Scooter in the dark like that, so..." Izzy said. Tay huffed into his seat again, crossing his arms. Izzy smiled deviously and grabbed Scooter’s card stack from his frozen paws, finding the 'canyon' card and placing it on top. "Scooter, read your question." Scooter looked at her weird and took the card into his paw.
"Canyon. Who has... the largest b-body of water?"
"Ocean." Jules said, quickly writing the last thing then grabbing her cards. "Who has... oh wow..." Jules said, smiling. The group leaned in.
"What?" Izzy asked. Jules smiled.
"Who has a piece of land that is surrounded by water on 3 sides?"
"Just like the example, heh. Wonder why they used it as an example if everyone would then know the answer." Izzy said, feeling the vibes of the table begin to shift.
"I dunno. It's kinda dumb." Jules said. The table kind of laughed. Izzy was feeling better. She looked across at her brother pouting as she heard Scooter having peninsula and continuing the activity. She looked at Tay with adoration and she felt like anything Tay was doing was kind of cute, all over again. A strong sense of hope overcame Izzy as words ran through her head.
'I will not let you go, Tay.'
Chapter 6
Waiting Makes Me Love You Even More
The walk home was as awkward as it had been the past few days, though Izzy was beginning to feel it like an aching sore rather than a fresh wound. The only words exchanged were between Izzy and her friends, but when they split off to go their separate ways, it came down to dead silence. Still, she thought, there was new spring in my step!
God, Izzy just wanted to grab his tail, maybe throw herself on him, collapse right into the grass in the front yard. She giggled at the thought and saw Tay’s ears perk, but stop halfway and lower. Izzy smiled; did he forget for a split second that he was mad at me? Izzy went back to her crazy idea; nah, that was a Jules-like thing to do to a boy.
Inside, Tay went upstairs like usual, closing his door. Izzy sauntered in and flopped down on the couch, hearing Mom in the kitchen.
“G’day, Isabelle. How was school?” Brenda said, smiling from across the bar. Izzy smiled and laid her head to the side like she was tired.
“Good. We got put in a team activity together.” She wasn’t really tired; the only exhaustion was in her head from thinking up ideas to stick that adorable dingo boy back to her side. Izzy chuckled. “It was pretty funny.”
“Oh, yeah? I bet. Was it just you and your brother?”
“Nah, it was us plus Jules and Scooter.” Izzy’s eyes wandered to the TV.
“Oh, I’m sure that was quite a laugh then.” Brenda chuckled. What was today? God, was it really only Tuesday? Izzy felt like it’d been forever since she last was with Tay. Last time they kissed felt like lifetimes ago!
“Yeah, but Tay was being weird, of course.” She said, still turned to the TV and smiling thinking about him.
“Well, now, be nice about your brother.”
“I know, Mom, but you know how he is.” Izzy said, head turned to back to the kitchen to see Brenda smirk at her, shaking her head.
“Oh, yeah, don’t make any plans for tomorrow night, remember.” Brenda started up. Tomorrow night, tomorrow night…
“Erm… why again?” Izzy squeaked unsure. Brenda twisted around, putting her paw on her hip.
“Isabelle, come on.” Brenda said in a disappointed tone. Izzy flailed her paws about in defense.
“I’m sorry, I honestly don’t remember!”
“Home movie night.” Brenda said, turning back to her work. Oh yeah, Izzy thought, looking back at the TV. “It was your idea.”
“I suggested that?”
“Yeah. I wanted to start some kinda family movie night tradition thing and you said it sounded like I meant ‘Home movie night,’ so I asked you if-”
“-if I’d like to watch Home movies in a home movie night kinda thing, yeah yeah…” Izzy said, standing up, walking to the bar and leaning on it, listening to her mom make agreement sounds. “Seems kinda like YOU came up with the idea.” she said. Brenda turned to her daughter. “I just agreed with it, cus, well, it IS a great idea.” Izzy turned to the side and chuckled. “You know how much I love family!” Izzy’s inside shivered at the strength of how much she loved at least ONE member of said family. Brenda turned fully around and smiled, leaning both paws on the counter.
“Yeah, you’re right once again, Isabelle. Joke’s on me.” Both smiled and laughed. Brenda turned back around. “Of course YOU didn’t come up with such a great idea; of course it was me.” Izzy put on a sour face and Brenda turned slightly, smiling. Izzy smirked and rested down on her two paws.
“Right, Mawwwm.” she said, feeling warm. She DID love her family, even without the Tay thing. And aside from Tay, Mom and Dad were her favorite people ever. Izzy smiled, forcing her face to rise and she dropped her arms on the counter. She sighed and looked around, just NOT wanting to go upstairs.
“You kids hungry?” Brenda said. Oh, she was preparing something… edible, Izzy’s nose told her.
“Heh, I thought you were doing the dishes.” Izzy said, chuckling. Was that a nervous chuckle? Wait, what’s to be nervous about? Boy, she thought, Tay really fucked me up. Every fiber of Izzy’s being had to work overtime to keep her from actually slapping a paw over her mouth for that thought. Hilarious. Brenda chuckled and Izzy’s blood went cold. Did she say any of that out loud?! “Wh-whatcha laughing about?”
“Just laughing at what you said.” Brenda said without missing a beat. What did she say?!
“Heh, what did I say?” Izzy asked, managing to not sound nerve wracked. Brenda turned with a weird smile.
“So, I’ve been doing the quietest dishes ever. You dork.” OH! That! Hah! Izzy felt a flash of sweat across her body cool off. Mum was laughing at what she said about the dishes, heh, okay cool. Izzy chuckled. Boy, she thought, no need to be so sensitive and nervous; no one knows anything. A tiny shiver: Scooter knew. That’s right, she told Scooter about her and Tay. Wow, did she really do that?
“Yeah,” Izzy said, “I think we could eat something.”
Darkness.
Cold.
Hot.
Where was Izzy?
All she knew is that she was exploring a house.
It didn't look likes hers, yet... she felt like she knew it.
A brightly lit house, tall trees and thick bush out the windows.
She walked into the living room and she felt water on the carpet.
Without looking, she remembered something.
She felt cool air on her suddenly wet body.
Now she was in a swimsuit, dripping.
She remembered it was the house in Australia.
Uncle Roland and Aunt Sherry’s house.
Australia.
She looked outside and now she was naked, still wet.
Then she was talking like she was in the middle of a conversation.
She looked to find her parents there, talking like it was normal.
She almost wanted to ask why they didn’t think it was weird she was naked, but before she could, the sky outside turned dark and there was a rumble.
A loud rumble.
She was suddenly alone and the darkness outside was creeping into the house through the windows.
She ran outside the front door, where it was still day.
She thought maybe if she ran around to the back, the darkness would be gone.
She turned the corner.
She was stuck.
Mud.
The darkness.
The darkness found her and was chasing her.
She could barely move.
She saw Tay near the jacuzzi.
He was dressed normal and she was still naked.
She was trying to get to him, but couldn’t.
She finally reaches the water, but it was cold.
It was a pool, but not one she recognized.
Tay wasn’t there.
She fell into the pool and couldn’t get out, but didn’t drown.
She wanted to cry, wondering where Tay was.
The darkness was closing in.
Izzy woke up suddenly, seeing her own bedroom in the dim peach light of her night light. A sense of terror in her room, Izzy didn’t want to get out of bed. She needed to pee so bad though. She was also still freaked out a little by the nightmare. Was it a nightmare? She shook her head some. No, no that wasn’t real. Need to get up, need to get up.
As Izzy got out of bed to locate the door, something kept repeating in the back of her head:
if she only hadn't waited to find tay... the darkness wouldn’t have come….
Izzy shook her head; it was just a dream. She opened the door. Total, absolute, pitch-black darkness. So much darkness, the dim peach light from her room pierced into the hall, creeping along the floor and landing straight onto the opposite wall. The hallway light is off again! Ugh!
Spooked and needing to pee REAL bad, Izzy wished she had someone to walk with her down there. She wished she had her boyfriend. She wished she had her brother. She wished she had Tay. God, she thought, now I REALLY need him. She wanted to chuckle, but the darkness from her dream stared her RIGHT in the face and she danced a little from needing to pee so bad. A tear maybe wanted to come out, maybe more. She admitted to herself: YES, I’m still scared of the dark!
She looked over at Tay’s door, soft peach glow grazing the… whatever he had on his door. She bit the bullet, opening her door as much as possible to spread the dim light better, and knocked on his door; she didn’t even REALLY expect an answer. Almost immediately, the door opened and, in the new darkness beyond the door, she heard his voice, even though in reality it could have just been a whisper.
“yeah, what’s up?” Yeah, it was a whisper, but still… that voice, his voice. Don’t melt now, you’ll pee yourself! She chuckled nervously and waved. Why wave? What the heck, Izzy?
“yeah, um… the hall light is off again. could you, uh… walk with me to the loo, please?” Tay looked at her, squinting at the, uh… dim peach light? He sighed angerly and shrugged.
“okay, fine.” Tay said, opening his door more and walking out, shirtless and in boxers only. God, how many times did she see him like this while they were going out? Heh…
“thank you so much.” she said.
“yeah, yeah… ya big…” Tay yawned, “…big baby…” Really? He was gonna do that? Somehow, this really got to the dingo girl, on top of her needing to pee so bad, she might pee herself. Ugh…
The twins walked silently down the hall to the bathroom. As soon as Izzy’s night vision registered the bathroom doorframe, she slapped the wall with the light switch and ran to the toilet, sitting and peeing immediately. As she sat and relieved herself, tension started falling away and she found herself looking at the shower curtain, afraid to look. Though she couldn’t see him directly doing this, she sensed his form by the door, his light tan fur contrasting between the warm walls and pitch black hallway. He was ‘standing guard’ by the door. Wow, she thought, he’s still doing what he did when we were little kids.
Look at him, Izzy. He’s probably not looking at you; he’s pretty angry with you, remember? At least you can get glimpses of him. You need glimpses. Izzy fought with herself in the span of probably a few seconds, forcing herself to edge her eyes toward her beloved brother. God, if she could just look at him… As Izzy could hear her ‘business’ finishing, she finally went for broke and looked directly at him. She caught his eyes and he caught hers. For a moment that felt painfully short, the two former lovers stared at each other and it was enough to send Izzy’s heart rate break through the ceiling. He wasn’t scowling. He wasn’t frowning. He just stared. Those. Beautiful. Eyes.
Finally, after the wonderful moment passed and Tay broke the stare, Izzy finished up and flushed. She walked right up to the sink and washed her paws, shoulders touching Tay’s and she honestly expected some kind of retraction; there was none. She took in his warmth as much as he might have been taking in hers. God, this is the most contact she’s had with him since…
Leaving the bathroom, Tay went on ahead. Izzy flipped the hallway light, but was still greeted by darkness. It was burnt out! Ugh! She looked and couldn’t see Tay anymore! Izzy switched off the bathroom light and ran to catch up to her brother, trying hard to balance between being quiet and everlasting terror around her. The only light, she felt, was right in front of her and, despite the moments they just had, it was still out of her reach.
Catching up, Izzy put her paw on Tay’s shoulder by instinct. Did she JUST do that?! Oh, wow… Both twins stopped; this was a moment and it was happening. Tay didn’t shrug it off either! The girl felt electricity surge through her. God, how she wanted to spin him around and kiss him! She watched his ears; they twitched some, but finally, he shrugged her paw off and when he reached his door, Tay slipped in and closed the door. Wow, Izzy thought, now safely in the dim peach light, how fast electricity can sting you.
As Izzy slid back into her bed, she reflected on what just happened. Was she still dreaming? Had she accidentally peed in her bed in real life? As she drifted off to sleep, she was sure she wasn’t dreaming anymore and Tay was still angry at her, and not her boyfriend anymore. Her tired mind came back around to those words she woke with:
if she only hadn't waited to find tay... the darkness wouldn’t have come….
As the little girl slept, she had better visions, more hopeful ones. They put a fresh spin on what the nightmare had left, as the themes of waiting had turned bright and positive and determined:
all this waiting… makes me love you even more…
Chapter 7
I Want To Reach Out And Pull You To Me
'Wednesday,' the young dingo thought, 'school, friends, Tay..' Izzy's thoughts directed to the campus she was currently walking up to. For some reason, she found herself smiling. Actually, Izzy knew exactly why she was so happy recently. Well, not happy, really, but hopeful, yes. Very hopeful.
The season of winter seemed to begin to wane just a tad; maybe it was related to the thawing of the cold space between her and her brother, she felt. She glanced over at him, smiling. He was so cute still. God, to kiss him again. She wanted to roll up and throw her arms around him, disregarding his backpack. Maybe she'd kiss him, whisper something naughty into his ear, feel him shiver under her, giggle, run away, wait a few minutes, repeat, hear him whine about it.
The very idea of this drove the already hot dingo girl wild, but after about 5 or 6 repetitions of the scenarios, a new element would suddenly appear, this time coming in the form of Tay reaching out and grasping at her paw, not letting go. She'd whip back around, eyes meeting, 'let's have at it.' he'd say, bringing her in for a kiss. Then flashing to images of Tay fucking her. Oh, those faces he'd make when he was slamming into her, the faces when he was close, even when he was cumming... God, the face when he's first putting it in... and... thrusting forward...
All day at school, in fact, Izzy kept thinking about making love with Tay again. Maybe even just kissing was enough. Sitting in class was hard to do. 'Gotta focus on school; gotta focus on school.' The little girl kept repeating mantras in her head about focus and school work. 'Yeah,' the occasional devious voice would say, 'focus on his cock and make work of him.'
"Miss McIntosh, do you have anything to add?" Was that Mrs. Johnson? Izzy asked herself. She looked up. Everyone was staring at her, even Tay. What had happened?
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Johnson, no, I don't." Izzy said, flashing a big smile. This seemed to satisfy the teacher, who went on about her class. Izzy went back to her thoughts. What was that? Had she said something unintentionally? Well, she thought, of course it was unintentional, otherwise she wouldn't have done it, whatever it was. She turned to Jules, who smirked at her. Watching Mrs. Johnson clear across the room, Izzy spoke aside to Jules. "what did i do?" Jules, who had been looking at Izzy with her face on her palm, smiled big and readjusted, looking ready to laugh. The two girls leaned in.
"you, hehehe..." the kangaroo girl devolved into a short giggle.
"i what?!"
"you moaned." Jules said, giggling. Izzy went red. She what?!
"i did?"
"yup!"
"hehe..." Izzy chuckled nervously, whipping back into position as Mrs. Johnson came back around, unbroken in her lecture. Good, she didn't see, however... Izzy moaned and Jules heard it and, oh god, entire CLASS heard it! Tay heard it! God, he was looking right at her alongside the class! She was thinking intensely sexual thoughts; it HAD to have been a sexual moan! Tay'd heard those many times before! She went red more, she was sure. Tay knew it was a sexual moan. Tay, that was a moan for you, y'know! Well... that look Tay gave her... he did seem to find it a bit funny... was he lightening up?
"want me ta get you guys back together?" Jules whispered. Izzy smiled.
"well, i don't think he wants to be with me anymore." Izzy said, hoping she didn't truly believe what she was saying. Jules scoffed.
"whatever. i saw how he looked at you when he gave you the turtle necklace." Jules said. Izzy's heart skipped; the turtle necklace! She had just about forgotten! "he loves hitting that." Jules said, snapping the dingo back to the present.
"loves hitting what?" She asked. "he never hit me while we were going out." Jules chuckled under her breath.
"he loves you, iz. you'll get him back." She said.
At home, the twins went their separate ways, as usual. Tay headed upstairs and... wait.... Izzy watched her brother as he did... not head directly upstairs, but instead sat down and turned the TV on. What was he doing? Izzy wondered. Well, broken up or not, she was still his sister. She walked up next to Tay, arms crossed.
"What?" He asked in a terse voice.
"You know what; Mum said no TV after school." Izzy said, almost able to ignore the pressure in her body. Tay swatted at his sister lazily.
"Meh, Mum's not home." He said.
"What do ya mean?" Izzy asked, loosening her armfold.
"There's a note in the kitchen; she's out for groceries." Tay said. Izzy whipped her head to the kitchen, maybe catching a glimpse of what might be a new note on the fridge, maybe not. "She's going to that new huge store. That, uh, Ouch-Han store or whatever."
"Owchan, Tay." Izzy corrected, her eyes landing on Tay's crotch. Why, eyes, why? Tay flipped his paw at her. "I still think it's supposed to be pronounced something like 'ocean,' but-"
"Shut up and go away already..." Tay interjected. Izzy stood there, the darkness she'd been staving off that reminded her between the world that was Tay and Izzy that she was the villain in the drama dropping back onto her shoulders. She felt like, ooo, she could just punch him in the face... or something! Izzy scowled at her x-boyfriend, stepping between him and the TV. "What the heck, sis?! Move your butt!" Tay shouted, making a physical threat to toss the remote at her. 'Punch him, Izzy!' The girl thought to herself, 'Punch him hard!' Tay finally locked angry eyes with his sister and scowled himself. "What the hell do ya want?!"
"Let me suck your damn dick, Tay!" No way in hell did that just come out of Izzy's mouth, which was currently being covered by her two paws. The kids stayed there, staring, unsure what just happened. Izzy ran upstairs, her mind racing. 'Oh my god oh my god! No way did that just happen! No way did I just say that to him oh my god!" She felt like she had just been nearly hit by a truck in traffic, but... her fast-beating heart seemed to tell her that it was an amazing feeling. Izzy rounded the corner at the top and hurled herself toward her door at the end of the hallway, slamming the door and locking it.
Would he try to follow?! Would he actually take her up in the offer?! Oh, god, she felt, no no no no... Why was she thinking no? Didn't she want Tay back? Yeah, but, no, well... Izzy felt so screwed up... and hot... She had worked herself up so much during school... she felt like she might explode... or possibly do something else stupid. Her backpack slid off easy, but wow it felt light. After rushing from Tay downstairs, she felt powerful, what was that? God, the pressure...
Izzy took her uniform off and stood there in her bedroom, white undershirt and panties, socks. She hadn't even turned her light on; the golden sun rays peeking through her window and hitting the soft peach walls. Her paw wandered to where she wanted Tay, her panties, and oh, boy.... she sure was wet down there. Oh, if only Tay were still her boyfriend, her lover. Izzy was very sure Tay was horny as well. She needed to get rid of this feeling; she did, after all, have some homework to do, but concentration seemed so out of reach at the moment.
"I could rub myself." She said softly out-loud. Why did she say it out-loud? 'Because saying it out-loud makes things more real. ' she thought. If she made herself orgasm, it would get the naughty feelings out of her system for now, right? As Izzy made sure the door was closed and locked, she thought about the last time she had an orgasm: it was that morning... that beautiful Saturday morning... the last time they had sex... It was in Tay's bed and it was a strong one, too.
The little girl crawled nervously onto her bed. Why was she nervous? She was alone, no one was there. Nothing to be embarrassed about, she thought. She laid her head back on her pillow and there she lay for a good few minutes, taking in all sounds and such from the birds outside, thinking about Tay and what she was gonna try to do. She spread her legs, staring at the ceiling, their ceiling. She didn't want to look down; why? It was just her little girl parts. Her wawa. Her pussy.
Tay's dick had been there many times, she thought, more times than her own paw, other than times when she used the loo. Izzy reached down and felt the soft mound of her sex through the fabric, dry up top, but down between her legs it became a damp heat. She could feel her breathing increase and her pussy clench as she brought fabric through touching down near the top. Oh, god, the top part...
Izzy ran her finger up and down the folds, between the heated division, like wandering about it's contents or the effect of 'playing with the inside parts.' A sudden rush of naughty hit her and she imagined being a boy, exploring girls parts for the first time. 'Oh,' she thought, 'that's easy. First, he'd do this...' Izzy thought, proceeding to poke at the folds gently, mmmmmmaybe a bit clumsily; after all, it would be this 'boy's' first time touching a vagina.
'Then,' she thought, closing her eyes and smiling, 'he might do... thus...' Izzy's paw clasped and pinched the folds together, marveling at it's consistency. She pulled on them and let them snap back, which tended to cause a stimulation on her clit that sent shivers. 'Ooo, this boy is good hehe...' Izzy bit her lip, moving her fingers toward the fold division again, rubbing up and down, up and down... 'oooo, this boy wouldn't know to do that... ahhh... would he?' She thought, centering her forefinger directly over the clit and moving around in a circle. Oh, god.... oh god...
'The boy...' she thought, breaths sharpening, '...could be Tay...' Izzy felt a gentle moan escape her. Yes... yes, Tay has a loving touch like this, ahh... Izzy looked down to see the silhouette of her paw circling against the sunlight reflecting off the wall. God... I'm rubbing myself, she felt, I'm masturbating... Suddenly, all the thoughts of Tay she'd been building up all day flooded her head, causing a surge of good feeling to rush through Izzy's young body.
"oh, god, tay..." the dingo girl moaned under her breath. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster. She looked back down again, lifting her finger. Gotta get outta my panties, Izzy thought. She brought up her working paw up to her face and sniffed, taking in a sweet musty smell that reminded her of whenever she used the loo before washing her paws. Maybe even a few times she kissed Tay after he was down there.
Izzy giggled, quickly shucking off her panties and spreading wide on her bed. She shot her paw down again and found her clit, the rush of making such contact hitting the girl sharply as she continued making circles. Oh god oh god oh my god... Izzy’s mind drifted from the smell, smelling like after using the loo, to last night, the looks she caught Tay giving her as she used the loo... Ohhhh god... what if when she had finished peeing then wiped it clean of pee... oh, then Tay walked over and, ahh... he dropped down before her, oh god... then he spread her legs and-
"Nnngaahhh!" Izzy cried, slapping a paw over her mouth. Her whole body shook, from her circles and her imminent orgasm. Her working paw formed awkwardly like a capital T and her body stuck in a weird twingey position. Her mind raced. What if Tay had licked her pussy last night after she used the loo? What if he licked her pussy and, ohhh god.... he looked up at her with that look as he was eating her! Oh my god! Oh my god!
"Ahhhh ahhhh ahhh!" Izzy cried out, muffled by her paw, which was twisted and bobbing about as the little girl's orgasm approached. 'Oh god, I'm gonna cum! It's right there! I'm cumming!' Izzy screamed in her head as the heat and pressure rose from her toes and centered around her clit and pussy, her hips ached, her body shook. As the climax spilled over, Izzy squeaked and squealed, trying hard to not scream out loud as the orgasm tore through her. Her hips bucked uncontrollably and she tried to remain in her flat position, but couldn't help riding the convulsions. Her legs needed to close. She felt her tail hole rhythmically contract as well as her vagina. Legs closing. Her paw motions had to slow down as the orgasm slowed down as well. Her breathing was heavy; her heartbeat, insane. Oh god... it was a strong one...
Finally, Izzy was able to relax her entire body. She just laid there, unable to move, except for heavy, heavy breathing. Her working finger stuck between the told of her folds, which were now pressed together, the rest of her paw resting on her tummy. She felt sweaty and her mouth didn't want to close. She pulled her paw away and sniffed it. "God, I love you, Tay..." she managed, between breaths.
Chapter 8
Trying To Catch Your Heart Is Like Trying To Catch A Star
Izzy awoke suddenly. Had she been asleep? It was darker outside than she remembered, maybe... she wasn't sure. She was still wearing her glasses. She turned to the clock: she slept for about 2 hours.
Izzy sat up and felt how naked the rest of her was. That's right, she was masturbating. She sniffed her paw. She finished, too. A smile appeared. She masturbated to Tay fantasies, her favorite kind.
Why'd she wake up though? She heard a car door close. Mum's home, she thought. Izzy scrambled to get up and dressed. She shucked off her undershirt and looked for something more playful. Ahh, long-sleeve white shirt under a light green T-shirt, and her black skirt.
"Kids!" Izzy heard Brenda call, just as she adjusted her skirt. Izzy flew out the door, but stopped short. She looked back at the bed. She sniffed her paw. It still has a distinct musk of girl parts. She walked up to the bed: a wet spot!
Oh, no! She thought, wondering what to do. It was only the size of a quarter, but still, it was there. Maybe she could say it was a drink... yeah, and the cold wet outside got on the bed. Izzy smirked and shrugged. 'It'll dry soon anyway.' She thought, leaving the room.
On her way to the loo, she stopped short. The door was closed and she figured it was Tay. Okay, she'll just use the downstairs loo.
"Kids! C'mon!" Brenda called again, less patient this time. Izzy's ears perked quickly and she went down the stairs. Rounding the corner, she remembered how familiar this was to something recent. She saw Brenda bring some bags in and set them on the kitchen table. That's right, it was just like Valentine's Day after her and Tay had that quick sex as the parents got home with groceries... wait a minute...
"Mom, I thought you already bought groceries, like, a few days ago. And it was a lot." Izzy said, realizing the bags may not have all contained food.
"No, sweetie, I just bought some things. I'll show you later, but for now, help me get them inside." Brenda said, smiling and hip-hugging her daughter. Izzy received the hug, holding the 'stinky' paw behind her back. Gotta get it washed! Brenda headed toward the door. "C'mon, love, help me."
"Okay, Mum, I just gotta-"
"Isabelle, c'mon, now, I gotta get dinner started."
"Oh, okay." Izzy said, following her mom out to the car. Her stinky paw could wait.
"Where's your brother?"
"Upstairs loo."
"Ahh, well, if you see him, tell 'im to come help. I'm gonna go ahead and get dinner started."
"Want me ta just bring everything in and set it in the kitchen?"
"Yes, love." Brenda said, heading inside.
"Mummy, wouldn't it all be in your way?" Izzy said, motioning around her with big gestures.
"Hmm, yeah. Just put everything by the couch then."
"Okay!" Izzy said, grabbing a bundle of bags, aware of her stinky right paw, which she kept eyeing. She even caught a whiff of it as she headed inside. How embarrassing!
"Taylor, go help your sister bring in bags." Brenda said, somewhere beyond Izzy's encumbered view.
"Yes, ma'am." Tay responded. Izzy swallowed. Tay was here. Izzy walked to the couch and gently dropped off her load. She caught a tan tail as it exited the garage door. Izzy's heart fluttered; she hadn't seen him since she got off to him. Don't blush now! Don't blush!
Izzy walked to the car and there was Tay. He turned to her with a few bags, looking neutral. Izzy fumbled with her feet and didn't know what to do with her paws. She smiled.
"Hey, Tay."
"Hey, sis." Tay said, turning to the car and grabbing more bags, taking them inside. Izzy reveled. He called her 'sis,' like he used to. It wasn't mean or hurt, it was just a simple 'sis,' just like it used to be. Though this wasn't a step toward winning him back, it was a step back to a friendship, which now felt like a victory. Izzy took the last of the bags inside and closed the car.
"Didn'tcha already get groceries, Mom?" Tay said. Brenda exhaled, but seemed to stop herself and she instead smiled at her son.
"No, this is just stuff I bought."
"Just stuff you bought?" Tay said, settling into a bar seat, looking over the counter towards the first bags brought in.
"Yeah, honey, there's some stuff for you and Isabelle in there." Brenda said, still not looking at her son. Tay's ears perked as he eyed the bags, slipping from the seat and creeping toward them. He looked back at his sister and smiled. Izzy smiled back, heart filled with joy. That was such a brotherly look! She thought. Tay watched his mother turn her back and he jumped right at a bag, peering inside.
"Fuck yeah!" Tay shouted, apparently finding something exciting in a bag. Brenda shot him a glare.
"TAYLOR!" She shouted. Tay looked up at her, ears up, paw in bag. "What did you say?!" Tay remained quiet. The staring contest lasted a few more seconds before Tay took off running, snagging the bag and throwing its contents across the kitchen and living room as he ran away. No, he didn't snag it; he just flew away with his paw still in the bag. "Taylor- ugh..." Brenda said, face in paws of exasperation.
"Wow." Izzy said, unsure if she should laugh or not. She picked the things up and placed them on the table. She did indeed see things obviously meant for her and Tay, but was too busy considering the hilarious scene that just happened to bother right then.
"Bah... looks like he got away with something..." Brenda said, sifting through the stuff, "...and it wasn't even something meant for him." Brenda shifted her weight to one side and looked right at Izzy. "He took some dish soap." Izzy couldn't help it; she burst out laughing. Brenda went back to her dinner making, smiling. "Isabelle, honey, would you go find your brother and bring back the soap?" Brenda said, chuckling finally. Both mother and daughter laughed heartily.
Izzy set about looking for where Tay rushed to. The door to the garage opened and Jason walked in. "Hey, princess." Izzy hugged him.
"Hi, Daddy! Welcome home!" She said, smiling big. "Sorry, I gotta find Tay; he, haahah, he just took some dish soap somewhere." Izzy giggled. Jason quizzically looked at her.
"What?"
"It's a bit of a funny story." Brenda said, rounding the corner to hug and kiss her husband. Izzy watched her beloved parents and reveled in the fantasy of someday being with Tay that way. Oh, she thought, that would be wonderful.
"Okay, well, we can tell all funny stories tonight, it's family movie night, isn't it?" Jason said, going in for another kiss. Brenda stopped him with two fingers to his lips.
"That's not tonight." She said, causing Jason's joy to turn to 'oh, crap.'
"It...it's not?" He said. Izzy was sure he gulped. Izzy watched her mother's face for any sign that she was kidding. Brenda shook her head, turning away. Ahh, Izzy noted, there it was.
"Ooo, Daddy forgot something again!" Izzy taunted. As Jason worried behind her, scratching his head nervously, Izzy watched Brenda try to stifle laughs. The dingo woman turned slightly, smirking at her daughter, who smiled knowingly. Jason began to shrink back behind Izzy when Brenda finally laughed and turned to him.
"Get ready for dinner, honey. " she said, turning to the kitchen.
"Ah hehe hehe... so... so, it IS tonight then?" Jason said, nervously laughing. Brenda looked at him.
"Yes, yes, I was just having a laugh at ya."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Well... what about the- are you sure it's tonight?" Jason said again. Brenda whipped around and stared at him.
"Yes! It's tonight! Now stop being a butt and make yourself at home!" She shouted as Jason and Izzy shared a laugh. Izzy watched Jason go upstairs and Izzy remembered her task: find Tay and retrieve the dish soap.
She figured he might have ran upstairs to hide; she DID think she heard the racket of someone running up the stairs after all, but they were too busy laughing to really notice. She shrugged; made sense.
Leaving the sounds of Mummy's cooking behind, Izzy followed her father. He was a good amount ahead of her and Izzy wondered if Tay might jump out from somewhere to try scaring him, but there was nothing as Jason walked down to the parents' room. Izzy looked down at Tay's door. Lights seemed to be out. Maybe he piled things at the base of the door to make it look dark. He had done that before several times.
Ugh, Izzy thought, why's Tay gotta be so weird? Izzy reflected on how natural that felt. Heh... just like brother and sister. Before she could head to their rooms, Izzy heard a noise behind her and saw the bathroom light on behind a closed door. Oh.
"Tay, you in there?" Izzy said, knocking.
"No." A voice from inside.
"You're not in there?" Izzy asked.
"No, I...ah crap..." Tay said. Izzy giggled and when the door opened, she smiled. "What?"
"I'm here for the soap." She said. Tay's look could best be described as 'what's this girl talking to me for?' Or 'which one of us just passed gas?' Izzy giggled again, smiling at her former lover. Tay ducked in and gave Izzy the soap, untouched. Izzy grabbed it. "Thanks, Tay. Don't be so weird." She said.
"Don't you be weird."
"I'm not weird at all. I'm not the one flinging stuff all over the floor and running away." The two giggled a bit. Izzy looked at Tay, who smiled. Izzy looked at the soap, trying to not blush. Tay took it from her.
"Nah, sis, I'll give it back to Mom and say sorry." He said.
"Okay! I'm sure she'll like that!" Izzy said. Tay walked to the stairs and as he turned he sniffed the soap and his paw that touched the soap. He seemed to be affected by it. It was then that Izzy remembered that she never got to wash her paw! The stinky paw! The paw that smelled like her..! "Tay, lemme see that! I gotta wash my paws before dinner!" Tay turned and was blushing and maybe had a tent in his pants!
"Uh... okay..." he said, handing it over and heading downstairs. Izzy's heart raced. Tay smelled her pussy! Izzy turned and went to the bathroom, finally washing her paws, BOTH of them. God, she thought, that just happened. It was so hard to try to tell Tay she still loved him and that she wanted to be with him again, but it was so hard. But still, she was hopeful.
But, gosh, it was hard. It seemed at times like she was trying to do something nearly impossible. Was it like catching something rare? Like catching a star? Izzy felt magical and special, like she could do anything if she just DID it! It'll happen soon, she thought, I'll MAKE it happen!
Chapter 9
Waiting For A Star To Fall
"So, which one goes in first?" Tay asked, holding a bundle of burned DVDs in each paw.
"Find the earliest ones." Brenda directed. "They should be marked- Taylor, no, the stack over ther- Taylor..." she stammered, pointing at a stack behind Tay, who was looking everywhere, but exactly where the stack was. "Taylor, turned your body."
"Like this?" Tay asked, turning his whole body except his head. Brenda growled and Izzy laughed alongside her father.
"No! Taylo- I'll do it..." Brenda said, getting up and sifting through the stacks. "There's a compilation one I put together of me and Jason as kids, well, first it's Jason then it's me then it's us after we met. Something like that." Tay stood there still as if awaiting instruction. "You can go sit, love." Brenda said softly to her son, rustling his hair first. He chuckled and sat down next to where she would be sitting.
Izzy was cuddled up with Jason on the sofa. Everyone had plates of food and just casually ate. Izzy watched Tay and couldn't stop smiling; he was so cute when he ate. It was almost like he saw food as a challenger and he always won the fight, but sometimes not before there was a squabble. Brenda found the right disc and put it in, firing back to the sofa on Jason's other side.
"Got the right one?" Jason asked, throwing his arm around his wife's shoulders.
"Sure do. It's from our earliest Christmases." Brenda said, brushing hair from her face and eyeing the appropriate remotes in her possession, clicking one. "Isabelle, hit the lights." Izzy moved her plate to the side table, popped up some from her cross-legged position to hit the light switch and settle back down beside her father. Her bare feet gliding along the carpet as she was glad to have changed into footless pajamas. Coming back to the sofa, she found her warm spot next to Jason and smiled.
"Is this the one where you've got tar all on yer head?" Tay asked, gnawing through a piece of felled steak. The DVD started up. Izzy could remember one video of little Brenda having weird hair.
"Nah," Brenda started, grabbing her plate, "it's not tar; it's a bad haircut." Right as she mentioned it, 5 year old Brenda Irwin appeared on the screen, wearing pajamas and looking tired, her dark hair all swooped up on one side of her head and a distinct line of cut hair along the edge, staring just past the camera. The kids and Jason laughed as Brenda was glad to be in the dark because it hid her blushing.
"Yeah, that's right! Mommy cut her hair and Grandma didn't let her fix it ta teach her a lesson!" Izzy said, giggling. Brenda laughed as well, ending with something sounding like 'oh my god...' Tay was too busy laughing to even say anything.
"The steak lost!" He cried, pointing, gaining looks from everyone.
"What, love?" Brenda chuckled. Tay looked lost, but continued chewing. Izzy was torn between Tay's antics and cute little Brenda having weird hair.
"Um... so, Grandma made ya wear your weird hair?" Tay asked, sinking back into his seat. Brenda laughed, looking at the TV again.
"Yeah, Mum didn't play around." Brenda said. "If you did something, you had to live with it."
"Hey, so, if ya set your clothes on fire-"
"-she'd make you wear them in public until the day was over." Brenda said, seeming to satisfy Tay's curiosity.
In the video, they watched little Brenda get excited and jump up and down with another boy, maybe a few years older than her, both shouting about Santa Claus.
"Hey, that's Uncle Neville, innit?" Tay asked.
"No, I think that's Joseph actually." Brenda said. They watched as little Brenda got attackled from behind by a much older boy, who turned out to be a young Uncle Terence.
"Uncle Terence!" Tay shouted.
"Yep!" Brenda said. Izzy thought about how he was easily Uncle Terence; looked just like him! He was Brenda’s eldest brother and had gone up to live in America years before the twins were even born. "Remember, kids, we may be visiting him and Sheryl this summer." Oh yeah, Izzy thought, that was this upcoming July, wasn't it? A good old American Fourth of July celebration. Izzy smiled, thinking of warm evenings, and her cousins, Shelly and Luke, who were much older, but still played with the twins whenever they visited.
The video flipped to another, more dull bluish view.
"What's this now?" Tay said. A little dingo boy, about 4 years old, sleeping, blonde hair all frizzed out around his big head on a blue pillow. "Dad! That's you!" Tay cried. They all watched the camera sneak up on the little guy.
"Oh, honey, you're so adorable!" Brenda swooned.
"That's the ugliest kid I've ever seen." Jason said, hiding his feelings behind a blank expression. Brenda smacked his arm.
"Oh, c'mon, stop being stupid. You're precious." She said.
"Ugh... all that hair... and, oh, yeah... those..." Jason said, just as the camera landed near little Jason and his huge glasses were in full view. Jason turned to his daughter. "Princess, am I cute there or not?" Izzy giggled and snuggled up to him again.
"I think you're the cutest little thing ever, Daddy!" Izzy said, high-pitched voice followed by giggles. Brenda laughed.
"Taylor?" Jason said, turning his head. Tay was laughing. "Taylor, what do you thi-"
"Haha! That kid's stupid!" Tay shouted between gusts of fake laughter. "Dumb glasses!" Everyone looked at him, smirking. Tay noticed, then looked at Izzy, who was the only one wearing glasses. She shot him a dirty look. "Oh, heh, sorry, Izzy..." Tay squeaked. He looked back at the TV. Izzy looked at his crotch. Why was she looking there?!
"Jason... Jason..." the voice behind the camera in the video said gently. Izzy instantly recognized it as Grandma Jenelle, Daddy's mum. The little dingo opened his eyes slowly. Grandma laughed. "Hey, I have a surprise for you and your sister." Little Jason smiled, grabbed his glasses and out them on, asking over and over what the surprise was. Grandma leads him and little Maggie to a window, where they start jumping up and down and screaming about snow.
"Are you guys saying 'snow?'" Izzy asked.
"Yep." Jason started, "It was apparently very dry that season, and we hadn't seen much snow. In fact, we rarely ever saw it. It was very exciting." The twins' father reminisced while his onscreen younger self quickly dressed in shabby thrown-together winter wear. Izzy assumed it looked shabby because Grandma Jenelle wanted their normal winter clothes to withstand the cold wet of snow.
The family watched little Jason and Maggie play around in what could best be described as a sort of slushy white winter wonderland, or maybe it was a summer wonderland, but they couldn't seem happier. At one point, red-faced Maggie walked up to the camera and lamented that they couldn't have snow for Christmas. Snowy Christmases didn't happen in Australia, as Izzy already knew. Winter was hot down under and summer was the cold season.
Video cut to a bunch of kids milling around a poorly-lit video with an orange wash over it. Some of the kids were sitting at a large oak-colored wooden table and some were walking around acting like idiots. They all wore cone hats and Izzy could make out one blonde, bespectacled boy in particular. It was Jason, older now, at what appeared to be a birthday party. According to the candles on the awkwardly colored cake, it was his 8th.
"Ahh, Jason's 8th birthday." Brenda said, ending in a chuckle. Indeed, the video had a date in the corner: 7-29-91. But Izzy wondered why her mother chuckled. She saw Grandpa John talking to some of her great-aunts and great-uncles she hadn't actually seen in a while and, admittedly, forgot the names of. There was little Uncle Geoffrey, probably 3-4 tugging absent-mindedly at Grandpa John's pants. As the camera turned away, she could see John begin to look down at him. Now, Jason and Maggie were in the focus again, Jason looking bashful at all the attention and Maggie, about 6, up in her chair, looking excitedly over her big brother's cake, which Izzy still couldn't make out what it was. Soon, Geoffrey joined them, little paws reaching up and pulling himself up enough to watch aside Jason.
"Where's Aunt Sherry?" Tay asked.
"Mum's holding her, I think. She was just born earlier that year." Jason answered, just as the camera passed across someone holding a small cub. It wasn't Grandma Jenelle and it wasn't Sherry.
"Who's filming?" Izzy asked.
"Not sure." Jason said. Before they could figure it out, the video cut to Jason, Maggie and Geoffrey blowing out birthday candles among celebration from everyone else. "Yeah, Maggie and I were pretty close as kids." The clip ended awkwardly and flipped to another birthday party, a whole slew of new kids and adults and dining room and table and... cake.
"Daddy, what WAS your birthday cake just then?" Izzy asked. Jason shook his head.
"I don't remember. Honey," he said, turning his head to Brenda, but keeping his eyes on the screen, "why such an awkward cut just then?" Izzy could see it was one of Mum's birthdays as a kid. The date was 2-17-94. So, she thought, Mommy was-
"It's not my fault; the original video ended weird right then. I think one of your aunts grabbed the camera for that bit." Brenda said, defending her editing of the tape.
"Aunt Beth?"
"Haha, maybe." Brenda chuckled some more, Jason joining in.
"Crazy Aunt Beth." He said. Izzy watched the dark-haired dingo girl get attention and hugs and near-tackles from her three older brothers. She looked at the date again.
'...Mommy was turning 8.' Izzy thought. There were lots of little girls at the party while plenty of Izzy's uncles had their friends over, standing around like awkward preteens. One of her uncles, Joseph, looked about 9, her age. He even resembled Tay. Izzy smirked. He was handsome as well.
The video continued throughout some of the cake eating. This cake was very clear: it was large and purple and strongly resembled something Izzy had seen before. It was some old kids thing, something way before her time. She almost had it out, right at the tip of her tongue when Jason laughed out loud.
"Ahh, your Barney cake!" He shouted.
"Oh, shush, you!" Brenda said, smiling bashfully. Jason leaned forward, pointing.
"No, honey, check it out! You're turning 8 here, aren'tcha?" Jason asked. Brenda gave him a dirty look, trimmed with a reluctant smirk.
"So?"
"So, wasn't that a bit old for Barney?"
"Hey, 8 years old wasn't too old! Heck, I had just been 7! 7 isn't too old either!"
"For something meant for, like, kindergartners, sure!" Jason followed, receiving smacks in the arm from his embarrassed wife.
"'Barney,' Mom?" Tay asked. Izzy was impressed he even knew such a vintage thing.
"Look, I was a Barney fan for... a while..." Brenda explained.
"A while... right, til you were in 7th grade." Jason said. Brenda crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at him. He threw an arm around her and hugged tight. "Nah, you know I'm playing. I thought it was cute." Brenda allowed the hug and maybe she even snuggled back. Soon, the video was showing a much older Jason, early teens maybe; no date on this clip.
"Wow, Dad, you were a tall kid." Tay said, beginning to laugh. Indeed it seemed that way.
"Yeah, you skipped lotsa video, didn'tcha Mom?" Izzy chimed in.
"Yeah, this is the shorter vid, I guess. I made one that rushed closer to your father and I getting together. Call it my 'fan edit.'" Brenda giggled. The awkward teen on screen was getting dressed for what appeared to be his first day of high school. "He's starting high school here. Australian high school starts around year 7, so it's only about 5 years missing." The awkward blonde boy in glasses looked like he didn't want to be filmed. Then the video ended and everyone laughed.
"What the heck, Mom?! Why such a short clip?" Izzy giggled.
"Cus it's really a pointless video Jenelle made, but I added it cus your father is just so adorable." Brenda said. Jason just turned red. Next video, Brenda, looking so small and slim and with very long dark hair in front of a high school in uniform with several of her friends goofing around. It was a bit hard to understand what with the high-pitched voices and some thick accents. Growing up mostly in the Unites States, the twins were only used to hearing their native accent from their parents only, so it was still something they were too used to, despite their own accents, but those were a bit weak and thin.
Video cut again. This time, Brenda seemed to anticipate what came next. The video showed teenagers in someone's house. Izzy felt she may have visited the house before in Australia some time, but wasn't sure whose it was. Izzy recognized Mom and some friends from before, but one of them was clearly Aunt Maggie. Also, in the background, Izzy could see another familiar face milling around with Brenda’s brothers. He was blonde and had glasses.
"Hey! Dad's back there!" Tay shouted.
"Yep! This was when we moved in right down the road from the McIntoshes. I had made friends with Maggie while your father and Geoffrey hung out with my brothers." Brenda explained with nostalgic fervor on her face. "We were like all you kids now; such good friends, we were like one big happy extended family of that neighborhood."
"Yeah, except one, um, tiny thing..." Jason said in embarrassment.
"Whassat, Dad?" Tay asked, and before anything else was said, Izzy remembered what had happened.
"We hadn't met yet, Jason and I. I mean, we knew each other existed. I knew Jason, thought he was cute, of course, but he..." the two parents shared an most reluctantly bashful glance, "...he actually didn't have a crush on me; he had a crush on Judy, one of my best friends." Okay, so Izzy didn't remember THAT; it was the OTHER thing she was thinking of.
"What about the coffee thing?" Izzy said. Jason laughed out loud. Just as this exchange happened, the video cut to Brenda rushing inside to clean a large, brown stain off her shirt, followed by Judy. Grandma Irwin asked what happened. Judy laughed and said something about "Jason spilled coffee on her." Jason laughed, though red in the face, and Brenda jabbed her elbow at him. The clip ended and everyone laughed.
"And that totally awkward incident is how I met your father, how we TRULY met." Brenda said. Next clip was after some party. Jason and Brenda appeared to be a couple, tiredly addressing the camera and their 'future children. '
"Wow, you put this in there?" Jason asked confused.
"Why? Should I not have?" Brenda asked. "Is there anything inappropriate in there?" Jason shrugged.
"Eh, I don't think so, just odd, that's all." Jason said. Izzy's ears perked. Her young, on-screen parents said the usual stuff you'd imagine people to say to their 'future kids.' Nothing you wouldn't hear from anyone else.
"Heh, these kids have no idea they've got twins coming." Brenda said, reaching over to stroke her son's hair. Jason hugged Izzy, who felt warm and complete. Except, no, she wasn't complete. She hadn't been in a few days, and she knew exactly why.
The video cut again. It opened to the inside of a chapel. There were many well-dressed people and everyone was happy and having a good time. 'Mum and Dad's wedding.' Izzy thought. The feeling of watching her parents getting married filled the young dingo with a mix of happiness and sadness. She knew how happy and wonderful their lives would become. And eventually, they would have twins. And those twins would grow up together and eventually have sex and fall in love and..! No wonder she stared at his crotch! The video ended on the default DVD menu. Brenda shot to her feet.
"That's the end of disc 1! Next up, the twins arrive!" She said, sifting through stacks of discs.
"Oh, yeah! The twins arrive! " Tay started. "Who're the twins?"
"That's us, dork." Izzy said, smiling. Tay stuck his tongue out at her.
"Now, kids, be nice. Don't want you two fighting on a family night, ya know." Brenda talked without looking away from her task. Maybe there were a lot more discs to her family movie collection than it seemed. Or maybe she just couldn't find the next disc. "Ugh, where's disc two?" Jason got up to assist.
"What's disc two then?" He asked. Brenda gave him a look.
"What do ya think?" She said. Jason silently shrugged.
"'The twins arrive!' didn't clue you in?" She said.
"Oh! That's right!" Jason said, clapping his paws together. "Well, what's disc 3?" Brenda lifted up an encumbered paw to read one label.
"Our first days in America." She said. Jason sat back down.
"Let's just start there." He said, Brenda putting the disc in with no further discussion, "We can watch 'em all outta order!" Brenda sat down, gave him a smirk and pressed play. Izzy's tummy turned a little and the video cut to the twins, Tay and Izzy, 4 years old, waving at the camera sitting in airplane seats.
"You two excited? We're nearly there!" Brenda's voice said behind the camera. The two little dingo faces looked brightly up at their mother, smiles from one, confusion from the other.
"Yup! I can't wait ta see Sugna and meet some new friends!" Little Izzy said.
"I, uh..." little Tay started, "...I don't want no loo suckin' ME down outta the airplane!" He shouted.
"What?" Brenda said.
"You know, their loos in America are wrong!" Tay shouted.
"Now, sweetie, don't shout on the airp-"
"All wrong! All wrong! I bet Amer-... Americans don't even POTTYPISS right!" The furious little dingo was annoying his mother holding the camera, but entertaining everyone watching the video.
"Taylor, we- ugh, we don't yell such things in public, okay?" Brenda's annoyed voice was ever still the same, Izzy noted. The camera moved from an angered Tay to a smirking, head-shaking Izzy. At some point, the video cut to the airport and Tay running off by himself. Then there was video of JUST after they had met Becky.
"Oooo! We just met Becky, huh?" Izzy shouted in excitement. Brenda chuckled.
"Yeah, this was just after Tay ran off by himself to use the loo then ran away from it when he flushed."
"Yeah! Then he ran into Becky, who was heading outta town with her mom!" Izzy remembered.
"Yup!" Brenda said. They watched the video go through clips of the family settling into their new home in Sugna, some weird little video of Tay falling asleep, video of neighbors coming over for dinners, Tay setting "deadly santa traps" around the house. Izzy recalled that a few of these things left some permanent marks which she was sure Mom still hadn't found. The infamous moment of Tay crying over 2014 being 'killed' played, along with video of Scooter and Becky sleepovers, backyard snowball fights, time playing around in and out of the tree house. Izzy was very happy, seeing herself being happy and surrounded by people she loved who loved her just the same. The videos seemed to warm with the weather of that year, 2015. The kids on screen began playing outside more with thinner and thinner clothes, finally ditching jackets and hats altogether. Maybe it was a sign, Izzy felt, a sign that she was warming back up to Tay. She smiled at this thought. Yes, she reminded herself, she would express herself to Tay. Very soon. Very-
The next video cut in.
-very-
A familiar scene.
-soon-
Scooter was there; Becky, too. They looked dressed up, play clothes. Becky looked official or something, almost all white and tall. Tay stood there before her, sharp looking. Where was little Izzy? What was this video?
"Oh, boy! I found this little gem and threw it in!" Brenda started. A sour tingling started in the back of Izzy's throat. No, she thought, it can't be... this video... THAT video! She felt like Brenda may have been leaning forward to see her daughter’s reaction to what she called 'an embarrassing, but adorable video.' Brace yourself, Isabelle... she told herself, just as the camera panned up a line of empty chairs to find young Izzy, dressed up in white, long trail of white cloth behind her.
Marching.
Marching.
Marching.
Izzy couldn't believe it; she remembered this, but she forgot it was ever filmed. Here it was, Mom had found it.
The play wedding.
Izzy acted embarrassed, but only to cover the tears that wanted so badly to pour forth. Her heart fluttered and she felt like sobbing. Oh, god, there she was, on screen, marrying her Tay. The two kids met up and the play ceremony began. Izzy tuned out and focused all her energy on not crying. How weird would that look, to be crying over a video of her play-marrying her brother? Keep it together, keep it together. KEEP IT TOGETHER!!!
She looked around the edges of the TV. Anything else to occupy her mind. But it was already occupied. Occupied with thoughts of marching down that aisle, meeting up with Tay and marrying him, being with him forever, friends and family surrounding them, so much happiness. Tay dancing with her, everyone watching. She spins and stops, pointing to Tay and announcing "This is my husband. My forever love." There went one tear.
Oh, no, wipe it, wipe it! Izzy couldn't stop. She watched the kids on screen, faces full of hope and joy, hold paws and pretend to put rings on. Oh god oh god oh god... She looked at her on-screen boyfriend. A sob escaped. Thinking quickly, Izzy coughed and turned it into a delightful chuckle. No one noticed. Good. Swallowing, she tried to contain it. God, oh god... They pretended to kiss. Oh, god... oh, gawww-haww-hawwd... More tears. A flow. Oh, god, she was crying.
"You okay, honey?" Brenda asked. All Izzy could muster was a thumbs up, but her mother didn't seem to notice. "Isabelle, you alright?"
"Yeah, I gave a thumbs up!" Izzy said, surprising herself with how not-crying it sounded. She knew, just knew that when they all went to bed at the end of the night, she would be crying her eyes out. The thought of how much she was gonna cry and how much she wanted to cry was tearing at her foundations. The wedding ended, the twins danced onscreen, laughing, moving onto something else, next video. Izzy wasn't even aware of what played next. She glanced over across the couch at her brother in the darkness and found him, somber, looking right at her.
Chapter 10
Carry Your Heart Into My Arms
Izzy sat in class, watching the clock tick to the end of school. She knew she shouldn't be watching it--that seemed to make it go slower. No, she thought, gotta distract myself. She had an important mission.
Thursday. That's today. This was the day Izzy had decided to let Tay know everything. Let him know how she felt, that just maybe she didn't care what happened, that she needed to be with him. Not much had happened so far--Izzy felt she was wasting time. Couldn't tell him and get all lovey-dovey here at school, right? She knew that if they came together again, there would be tears and kisses. At home, she thought, yeah, we'll be alone then. Izzy sat antsy in her chair and began to reflect on the past 24 hours.
After watching "the play wedding" movie night continued, ending on videos of the twins from near Christmas just last winter. Izzy remembered watching herself, thinking 'those two kids have no idea what's in store for them.' She would have laughed if it wasn't for the severe choked up feeling she had.
The wedding video had taken a lot out of the little dingo girl and she was glad the night ended when it did. Tay had passed out and got most of the attention. Meanwhile, Izzy managed to slip upstairs to her room. Upon entering, she hadn't even gotten the door fully closed when the tears came. She stumbled in, closed and locked the door, a huge heaving sob welling up big and fast in her chest like a balloon, filling her with breath she would very soon be shakingly sobbing out. She fell to her bed and cried hard.
She cried and cried. Why couldn't they just BE together?! Izzy tried hard to keep her sobs to a low level, but at one point, just as she was falling asleep, there was a knock on the door. Startled, Izzy got up and opened the door, shutting the lights off first, bringing the entire lighting task down to her night light. It was Brenda, who appeared worried.
"Yeah, Mom?" Izzy asked.
"Honey, we could hear you in our room." Brenda said, sending shivers down Izzy's back. "Are you okay?" Think quick, Izzy thought, racking her brain for a good excuse why she would be crying so hard after a fun filled night with the family.
"Yeah, I'm fine." the dingo girl said. The door opened and Brenda was just barely visible through the darkness past the shaded and peachy white doorframe. She had a clear look of concern. Izzy smiled back up at her mother.
"Isabelle, honey," Brenda began, slipping into the room and beginning to close the door, "were you crying, love?" She had on her red robe which covered her usual pink-toned nightgown. Everything about her was motherly. She put out her paw and sat gently on the bed prompting Izzy to sit up. She felt her eyes wet still; maybe they weren't visible!
"No, I--"
"You were; your eyes are wet." Crap, Izzy thought. She giggled.
"N-no, I was just... those home movies," this'll work, Izzy thought, "...seeing everyone so happy and how far we've come... it just made me feel so good, I..." a choke came along; maybe she was actually choked up by the love of her friends and family. Brenda smiled and hugged her daughter.
"Aww, Isabelle, sweetie, it's okay. Believe me, there were several times tonight I felt a lump in my throat as well." she said, sighing. "But that's what happens when we are happy; sometimes, it's just too much for us. The joy kinda attacks us and we reflect on just what we have and how lucky we are." Izzy looked up at her mother with a half smile. Don't let those tears flow, she said to herself, you've gotta get to sleep!
"And they come out as crying?" Izzy asked.
"And they come out as crying." Brenda answered. She kissed the little girl's forehead and hugged her again, standing up. "Well, I'm glad you're okay, love."
"Sorry I worried you, Mum." Izzy said, still not feeling all that happy--she knew why.
"Goodnight, Isabelle. I love you."
"Night night, Mom. I love you back."
Walking to school that morning, the twins barely looked at each other. Well, for all Izzy knew, Tay could have been sneaking glances. The school day dragged on as Izzy contemplated telling Tay she wanted to be together and to just DO IT! Force yourself into a conversation with him, Izzy, DO IT!
She encountered friends and acquaintances during the day. Once in class, Jules almost jumped on her.
"So, still want me ta get you two back together?" Jules said.
"No, I think I can do it." Izzy responded. Jules smiled, as if she hadn't already been smiling. As Jules turned, a thought picked at Izzy's brain. "Wait, 'still?' Jules, I never agreed-"
"Ahh, yeah, ya did."
"No, I didn't. That was all you and your idea. I never said yes."
"Well, things are already in motion, so..." Jules trailed off. Izzy seized up, grabbing Jules' arm.
"What do you mean?!"
"Eh, I mean... don't worry about what I mean." Jules said, not looking at her friend and waving her away.
"Jules-"
"Okay, good morning, class!" Mrs. Johnson said, startling a few sleepy classmates, who went very quiet fast. Izzy shut up; she knew better than to talk in class. But still, she itched--what DID Jules mean by 'things in motion?!' Izzy's tummy turned.
And it continued to turn, all day. She slowly had begun thinking that she shouldn't tell Tay at school, no, that would be kinda dumb. It would be emotional enough without other people around wondering why the McIntosh twins were crying, hugging, kissing, who-knows-what-else. No, it had to be at home, alone.
Even if Mum or Dad were home, they still had their rooms. Their rooms. Izzy's heart fluttered--it'd been a while since she thought of anything as 'theirs' and it made her very happy. And motivated. Whatever Jules may have 'in motion' Izzy had to beat it. She HAD to be first to tell Tay, not anything else! Izzy side-glanced at her friend. Thanks, Jules, she thought, but I got this.
At lunch, Becky started to notice. She didn't smile--she only kept looking the dingo girl over, various looks of concern on her gray face.
"Izzy, are you okay?" Becky blatantly asked. They just sat down after grabbing trays. Both Izzy and Jules reacted the same way, sitting across from the raccoon.
"Whadduyamean?" Jules asked.
"Jules, I didn't say Jules. I said Izzy." Becky said. Izzy swallowed hard. Once again, Izzy felt terrible not telling her best friend. How could she keep something like this from her best friend ever?
"Are ya sure?" Jules asked, glancing off to somewhere, itching her ear.
"Yes, I'm sure!" Becky retorted. "Izzy, you've been seeming... are you sick?" Becky's look was killing Izzy's uplifted mood. Jules already knew; Izzy always felt that if it was okay enough for Jules to know something, it would be easy for Becky to know. Now Izzy remembered she had TWO things weighing down on her; two things that she had on her little 'to do list.' Izzy smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Last night was kinda emotional." Izzy said, seeing everyone else begin to eat and drink. "We watched family home movies and it reminded me of my great friends and family." Eat, Izzy, eat and drink; it's less weird that way.
"Okay. Sorry, you know I worry about my friends." Becky said, a hint of smiles finally beginning.
"I love you, too, Becks." Jules said, twitching Becky's attention towards the kangaroo girl.
"You, too, Jules, geez." Becky said, beginning to eat. "And don't call me 'Becks.'" Izzy smiled at this little exchange. Friends, she thought, how wonderful. She reached over to her drink just as something caught her eye--it was Tay.
"Ah, crap, Iz!" Jules cried, jumping back in her seat. Izzy looked around, Becky was reacting, too. Izzy shook free of her thoughts--what happened?
"Wh-what?" Izzy said, seeing her drink suddenly all over the table, gushed out from it's container. "Oh, no! I'm sorry!" she said, panicked.
"A bit too happy, I'd say." Becky muttered, magicking the drink back to it's origin. Izzy smiled, blushing.
"Hey, um, raccoon girl." Jules said, still standing, arms out and a dark spot on her lap. Becky giggled and finally waved at her--the spot disappeared.
"Sorry, Jules." Becky said between giggles. Jules sat back down.
"Don't call me 'Jules.'" she said. Becky shot her a confused look.
"What? We've always called you that."
"Well, if you're gonna be a buttface, I thought I'd join in, see what the big deal is." Jules said, tongue sticking out more than it should have. Becky just stared and began eating. Izzy smiled, inside and out. Her friends were great, but... was she a great friend to Becky? She wasn't being honest. Sure, the family home movies choked her up a bit, but nothing compared to her separation from Tay; that was the killer. 'One thing at a time,' Izzy thought, 'one thing at a time...'
'Two minutes left.' Izzy thought, staring back at the clock. She knew she shouldn't be clock-watching, but oooo, she couldn't help it. She began to get nervous all over again. That was less than 120 seconds until school was out! Then the walk from school. Then Scooter leaves. Then the walk to our street. Then Jules leaves. Then the walk to our house. Then Becky leaves. Then we're inside our house. Then we're upstairs. Then we're in one of our rooms! Then... then...
There was now about 60 seconds left. One minute. Izzy's tummy turned and turned. She felt like this was gonna be the bravest thing she'd ever done. Why was it so brave? They had a relationship already! It's not like he was a boy she had a crush on or anything; they'd already had sex! Was it because now there was such a strange, awkward and painful wall she put up by breaking them up in the first place? 30 seconds.
Izzy's mind wandered. How accurate was this clock? Classmates all around her began to shuffle around, preparing to leave. It was accurate enough, she felt. 15. She looked over at Tay, who had his head down on his paws and yawned a few times. 10. You'll be mine again, Tay. 5. I love you.
The school bell rang and like a firework finale, everyone shot up and the room exploded into noise and scuffling of chairs. Like usual, Izzy continued to sit, waiting for the majority of the crowd to leave before her, because it wasn't her game to contest with crowds. She looked at Tay--he was gone already. Tay didn't seem to care about crowds and tore through them, even when he had nothing to get back home to. Izzy's tummy twisted. She finally stood up. Here we go.
"Bye, Scooter!"
"See ya tomorrow!"
The kids waved their skunkbunny friend as he made his way to his house.
"jules... jules..." Izzy whispered. Jules merged her walking towards her dingo friend.
"what?"
"what's already in motion?"
"oh, you'll see."
"jules, c'mon... don't ruin things for me!" Izzy said under her breath. Jules smiled and winked.
"don't worry, iz." She sauntered off to her house. Izzy hadn't even realized they were that far yet. It was only Becky, Tay and herself. That meant home was very close. She looked at Becky, who seemed too tired to do anything other than nap at home. Tay, on the other paw, seemed bothered. Very bothered. Hoping Becky didn't notice, Izzy began to wonder if whatever Jules had planned involved Tay's current mood. He looked so sad. Was it last night? He did look at Izzy with that expression of loss. She was sure he still loved her, but... gosh, why was this all so complicated?
"See you guys tomorrow." Becky said, heading off to her house. Oh, gosh, Izzy thought, and her heart felt a skip or two. We're here. Be ready. She looked at her lone companion. Tay. Her one and only. Her twin. Her brother. TELL HIM! KISS HIM! SOMETHING!
The house seemed to glide up under the twins as they automatically made the walk they'd made for years now. They went up to the garage side door. Tay grabbed his key, looking down at it. Izzy panicked, but noticed wetness glistening in his eyes. Was he crying? He looked halfway between sad and angry. Oh, god, Izzy thought... what was happening?
Tay opened the door and, still looking down, allowed Izzy past, like a reluctant gentleman. The door closed in the garage darkness. Izzy's nose filled with vague gasoline and tire smells. Her eyes attempted to adjust to the sudden darkness. She could see the sharp light coming from under the door leading to the house. The twins shuffled over the cold concrete toward it. As Izzy touched the handle, she heard a noise behind her. It sounded like... a sob.
Door open, Izzy pushed into the house and the familiar sight of the living room spilled out to her, but she was overcome with concern; Tay was crying. Rushing inside, Izzy turned around to find her brother, Tay, slouched over and sobbing, barely able to close the door. Panic rushed into the young dingo girl's heart. What was happening?
"Tay?" she said gently, trying to hold back her concern. "What's wrong?" Tay immediately shot her a look, a severely emotionally charged look; he looked like he wanted to hit her, like they were in the middle of a huge fight and he wanted to strike her. There was also a severe sadness in his eyes, like a lost puppy or abandoned child. The two stared for what felt like a minute before Tay lunged at his sister. Izzy braced for impact; She winced, expecting to meet her brother's anger-fueled fist across her mouth.
Instead, she was met with soft, wet lips.
Chapter 11
That's Where You Belong
It was a strong hold, Izzy thought. Her eyes were closed tight. Paws clasped, lips crashed. They were kissing. Almost right away, the tears started. Izzy hadn't fully grasped what was happening, but she somehow knew. This feeling, yes. It was wonderful. Oh my god... The kiss broke.
"Tay, it's okay! It's okay!"
"Izz-zeee-hee-heeeaaahhh!" Tay cried. Izzy couldn't help it--she, too, was sobbing. It was so automatic. "I love youu-hoo-hooo!" Izzy's eyes went wide, breaking the embrace and staring at her brother.
"R-really?" Izzy squeaked. Tay nodded. There went the tears. "Tay-yeee-yeeee!" She gasped desperately, "Ahahaaaaaa...." another gasp, "I luuhh-haaaa-huuuv youu-hooo!" She could barely speak, standing there in the living room, crying her eyes out with her brother. The two embraced again and kissed hungrily. Tears and saliva mixing in a savage display.
"I love you! I love you so much, Izzeeeeeaaahh!" Tay cried.
"Tay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorreeee!"
"I'm sorry, tooooo!" The kids continued to sob in each others arms, unwilling to ever let go. Izzy's grip on her brother tightened with every second.
"I'm so sorry I took forever! I'm sorry I did this to us! I just wanna be with you, Tay!"
"Me, too! I want you, Izzy!" More kisses and hugs. Things inside Izzy began to settle. She could feel all doubts and sadness begin to melt away. She felt so happy, never wanting to part Tay ever again, always wanting to be with him. The negative feelings were giving way to something warm. Something hot and heated and melty and oh my... Some strong need. Then she thought about where they were. Get it together, girl, you're at home. In the living room. Izzy kisses Tay and pushed away a little, looking around.
"I don't know if Mum's home or not, but we should go upstairs." she said, heading to the stairs, pulling her newly re-acquired boyfriend by the paw. The kids stampeded up the stairs, down the hall.
"M-my room? Or yours?" Tay asked. As they approached the doors, Izzy let out another sob. This was certainly a sob of joy. She felt so warm, so happy. She thought of the last time she was warm and happy. She smiled and headed directly for Tay's room.
Falling inside, the door was closed and locked. Backpacks were dropped and the two turned quickly to face one another. Kissing and holding and paws everywhere. A few sobs would escape either kid, both certainly feeling intense release of pent up need and worry and sadness.
Izzy pushed Tay onto the bed and crawled onto him. God, his smell, his paws holding me, Izzy thought. I missed this so much. So so much. She straddled her legs across his body and leaned in for kisses and hugs. Paws were everywhere again, touching and caressing vigorously. Izzy felt like it was their first time making out all over again. She felt more energized than after their first date. This was more intense than Valentine's Day.
“I love you forever, Tay!” Izzy breathed as she kissed her brother's neck.
"I can't live without you, Izzy!" Tay cried, shivering from the intense tickling his sister's lips did to his neck.
"Me neither! I'm so sorry what I did!" Izzy repeated, kissing Tay's throat and top of his chest. She wanted to have him. She wanted to consume him. She wanted him inside her. Izzy sat up and ran her paws down Tay's chest and past his belly. She reached his uniform pants and quickly undid them, ripping the flaps from each other and reaching into the white undies. Izzy's paws came crashing down on Tay's already hard and slick penis, throbbing. Tay was ready, too. Izzy chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Tay asked, between finally drying his eyes and annoyance. Izzy looked down at her brother with hunger, annoyance and biting her lip.
"You're so ready down here." she said, leaning back to allow her hips to roll. She lifted herself up some and pushed her panties aside under her skirt. Her fingers met a very wet mess. This was one of the wettest she'd ever been. She slathered her wet onto Tay's dick and grabbed the member, aiming it toward her heart. Izzy rolled forward, allowing the tip of Tay's dick to graze her throbbing clit. She gasped and breathed hard, feeling Tay enter her as she settled back down onto him. The twins sat still and relaxed, letting the sensation of each other fill their essence. A sob escaped the dingo girl. Then another. She thought of their real first time in their little room in Australia.
"Nng... why ya cryin', Izzy?" Tay said, looking cute up at his sister, who wiped her eyes and chuckled happily.
"I'm just so happy." Izzy said, rocking her hips. Oh, god... this feeling... Tay sliding around inside her, in, out, in, out. Izzy couldn't stop staring down at her lover, their eyes locked. She adored him so much. "I'm sorry if I laugh or cry during this," Izzy said, wiping her eyes again, "it's been so hard without you... and I feel so bad..."
"No, Izzy, I'm sorry for being such a butt." Tay said, grabbing Izzy's hips and helping to thrust up into her. Izzy caressed his chest.
"Never again, Tay." she cooed.
"Never." Tay repeated, reaching up and grabbing Izzy's immature chest through her school uniform. The two fully clothed kids fucked hard and fast, Tay seeming to go further and further, like he was making up for all the missed time with his sister.
"Oh, god, Tay... this feels so good..." Izzy breathed, her chest full of life and her hips aching. She bounced herself on Tay's cock, feeling it poke at her insides and her tummy.
"Nnguh, y-yeah... ughh..." Tay grunted loudly, looking like he was exhausting himself, thrusting hard up into his sister.
"Tay, slow down some; don't overdo it." Izzy said in a worried manner.
"But I wanna fuck you, Izzy." Tay whined.
"I know you do, but don't tire yourself, love." Izzy said, feeling her tummy getting warm. The two fucked at a regular pace, eyes barely leaving each other, as if the other would disappear if they looked away. But Izzy could feel orgasm approaching already. No wonder, she thought, it's been such a long time. And that one time she rubbed herself only did so much. "Oh... oh god..."
"Gonna cum, Izzy?" Tay asked between breaths. Izzy nodded, holding herself steady on Tay as she fucked herself.
"Oh, oh oh god... Oh, god!" Izzy could feel her tummy and toes warming up, a swelling feeling of pleasure tickling her body, rising up and centering on her clit. Her wawa was twitching. "Oh god, I'm cumming..." Izzy squeaked as her whole body clenched. Tay thrusted into his sister, moving his paws from her hips and interlocking his fingers with hers, staring into her eyes. She looked back at him, wincing as she climaxed.
"I love you, Izzy." Tay said, just as Izzy felt herself squirting on his crotch.
"Oh, god, ahhhh ahhhh... nnggahhhhh...." Izzy cried, a release so powerful, she felt like she was gliding into a field of soft flowers. Izzy's body trembled and Tay kept the rhythm, watching his sister have a massive orgasm on top of him. Tay whined.
"Gonna cum! Gonna cum!" Tay shouted, clenching Izzy's fingers hard. She looked down at him, rocking her hips as best she could watching her brother have his first orgasm in a while, inside her. Tay shivered, trembled and shook, shuddering up against his sibling as he shot wave after wave of thick cum deep into her. Izzy could feel it like a cup of warm water was spilled inside her. Her belly felt warm. She smiled and her eyes watered.
The twins both came down from their respective orgasms, breathing hard and staring at each other. Nothing was said as Izzy slid off her brother and laid next to him, breathing hard, but still clasping a paw. She felt like she'd never let go of this paw and the look in Tay's eyes seemed to tell her he felt the same.
"Heh, we're still dressed." Tay chuckled. Izzy laughed, wiping her forehead.
"Hehe, yeah... it was so... intense..." she said between gasps of air.
"Yeah... felt so good... wow..." Tay said, looking up at the ceiling. Izzy was in ecstasy, laying their with her one and only, her lover Tay. She smiled, stilled teary-eyed a bit, and finally looked up at the ceiling with him. She thought about when they looked up at her ceiling back when and it contrasted. She had Tay again. She was much happier.
She looked over at Tay again and brought their joined paws to her mouth. She kissed his paw, then kissed his fingers. Tay looked at Izzy and rolled over, throwing the other arm around her and bringing her close. They kissed and just looked at each other. Izzy became aware of her askew glasses.
"i love you." He whispered, kissing her gently and adjusting her glasses for her. Izzy's heart fluttered and her legs shook. The two just laid their, hugging and not letting go. 'In my arms.' Izzy thought, 'This is where you belong.'
Tay kissed her neck and, finally breaking the joint paws, massaged Izzy's chest over her shirt. Izzy shivered. She held Tay's face and kissed madly, throwing a leg up over his side. Tay lifted his leg which spread Izzy's legs. Cool air rushed in and over her mess of a vagina, wet with squirt and boy cum, liquids running down the front and back of her leg.
Suddenly, a finger. So familiar it's shape. Tay fingered Izzy, which made her cry out suddenly as he vigorously touched her entire private area. So sensitive, she did what she could to resist stopping him. It was so intense!
"Oh, god, Tay! Nnngaahh!!" She screamed. Hearing her sounds bounce off the walls, Izzy became fearful. Was Mom home? Not that she could tell. But still, it nagged her. She reluctantly moves Tay's paw away. "Hold... hold on, Tay..."
"What'd I do?" Tay asked immediately, watching Izzy inch herself off the bed.
"Nothing, sweetie. Just gotta see if Mum..." Izzy stood on her feet and nearly fell over. Her body hadn't felt so free, so frail, so freshly-fucked. Izzy hobbled to the door and opened it, listening intently. She heard nothing. She went for broke. "Maaawm?" she called out. Nothing. "Maaawm! Are you home?" Nothing. Izzy closed the door, and turned, smiling at her lover, who laid across the bed, wet, sopping cum-covered dick flopped out of the top of his undies, dark spots all over his crotch. You have him again, she thought, don't screw it up again.
Izzy nodded and jumped back into the bed with Tay, clinging to him. The kissing began again and Tay's paw found itself planted directly on her pussy again, fingering and sliding all over her labia.
"You're so wet!" Tay said in amazement. Izzy giggled and kissed him. Tay spread open her legs, which she obliged to keep open.
"Yep. Let's do it really hard!" Izzy felt herself saying, blushing right away. Tay's eyes widened and he smiled big.
"Okay!" Tay pulled on his wet dick, trying to enter Izzy from the sideways position they were in, but Izzy stopped him.
"No, Tay, like this, remember?" Izzy said as she got up on her paws and knees, holding her butt up in the air.
"Okay, so where do I go?" Tay said, sitting up and looking at his sister like she was a broken-down car. Izzy laughed.
"Tay, c'mon, don'tcha remember? We did it like this the second time after our first date." Izzy said, butt wiggling. Tay scrunched his eyebrows.
"So, I put my butt up ta yours?"
"Tay, come on, get up behind me and go in from behind!"
"And put it in your butt?"
Izzy's eyes said 'hell no.'
"Tay, come on, okay?" Izzy said, watching Tay crawl behind her. She felt Tay lift her skirt and rub her butt, making her breath harder. He slid down her panties, revealing her preteen dingo butt and tail, wagging excitedly in the air. Izzy felt him spread her cheeks open, allowing more cool air to rush in and attack her sensitive spots. Now, Izzy was completely exposed down there, ready for Tay to enter. She got down on her elbows and tried to look behind to watch him. She couldn't see much, so she just looked around his room, realizing she hadn't seen the inside of this room since they brok- EEEE!!! Izzy gasped and held a paw over her mouth as Tay slid right into her slick vagina. "Oh, Tay, god... yes..."
"Nnngahh... it feels so good..." Said, beginning his thrusts. Not long into the sex, Tay was banging hard against his sister. Both kids cried out as they felt each other deeper than in a long while. Izzy laid there, taking every hit her brother slammed into her. She felt her tummy getting poked as well as her next orgasm right around the corner. Her toes tingled and her tummy got warm. She was gonna cum. Her cup was tipping already.
"Tay, I'm gonna cum, I'm gonna cum!" Izzy screamed, feeling her tail hole contract and liquid leak out and down her legs, along with the powerful 'second-orgasm' waves of pleasure. Tay's voice got higher as Izzy's pussy pulsated on his dick.
"Izzy, Izzy, I'm gonna cum again!"
"Cum in me, Tay!"
"I'm gonna cum! I'm gonna cum!"
"Yes! Yes! Cum in me, Tay!" Izzy screamed, noticing how the bed was not only squeaking, but banging up against the wall, harder and harder as Tay fucked her.
But there was something wrong about the scene. Something off. Something horrible. Something that caused Izzy a horrified realization that coincided with Tay squeaking out "I'm cumming!"
Someone, who wasn't a kangaroo, was standing right there, jaw dropped, watching the whole thing.
TO BE CONTINUED",
"pools_count": 13,
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