1. Chapter 1 (1/2)

it's three a.m. when she woke up, startled and sweating, listening to nora's easy

eathing from the bed beside her.

it's raining, she noticed. it's thundering, lightning is soon to follow, and she just had another nightmare.

she tried to convince herself the elemental noises induced her panic-driven sleep state, but the effort is fruitless. she knew the real issue; she knew it's guilt. her family had forgiven her, but she had yet to do so herself.

she sat up in bed and glanced over at her younger sister, moving her hair away from the back of her overheated neck and exhaling. her eyes travelled over the dark room, trying to toss the image of dark mayhem's jail cell out of her

ain. it was prominent, the lack of light aiding in her torment. a clap of thunder sounded and she jumped, body tensing. her mind was going a mile a minute, and she knew her worries wouldn't cease until she went and checked on the rest of her family.

she lifted her covers back and swung her legs around to the side of her bed, quietly padding toward the door. she paused

iefly to look at herself in the mirror—and, truly, she did know she was hallucinating, but she could have sworn her eyes glowed red for a moment. she quickly opened the door and ducked out of her bedroom, shutting it behind her soundlessly.

she was greeted by a dark corridor, doing nothing to help her already-deteriorating mental state. she took a deep

eath and slowly let it out as she opened the door directly across from her own bedroom. billy was in his bed, still

eathing, but her own twin was missing from the room. she knew that was nothing out of the ordinary; for as long as they'd been alive he was a night owl. even so, the knowledge didn't stop her heart from skipping a few beats.

the next room showed chloe on the floor, apparently having fallen asleep while playing with toys she'd

ought from home. she found herself wondering how many of them chloe had forgotten and teleported back to hiddenville for. the thought made her lips spread, heart slowing back down a bit.

the last door she opened revealed her father snoring, as well as her mother tucked underneath her husband's arm. the sight was relieving. now she just had to find her twin and then maybe—maybe—she'd be able to get back to sleep.

maybe.

the last door led to the bathroom, which she opened with caution. the lights were out and the space was vacant. onto the open kitchen and living room next.

her eyes instantly found him, tousled hair floating above the sofa. her mind calmed down, any worrisome possibilities leaving her. she looked onward, into the kitchen and behind the island, stopping on the slightly ajar cupboard. she walked over and fully opened it, almost immediately noticing what was missing; exactly what she always craved whenever she woke up with a headache. exactly what he always craved whenever he woke up with a headache.

the television was turned on, and only as she got closer did she realize there was a cartoon channel playing. either he was asleep or her footsteps were a lot quieter than she thought, because he didn't turn to face his sister and ask her to stop creeping around or attempt to act like he wasn't focusing on a cartoon show.

she stopped right behind the couch and wondered if maybe she really should just go back to sleep. the sane part of herself knew that would be practically impossible, and the longing part of her knew sitting down and eating oreos while watching cartoons was an experience she desperately wanted and needed at that moment.

"headache?" she asked semi-quietly, still causing her twin to startle despite her best efforts to sound soothing.

he lifted his previously-sliding-down-the-side-of-the-couch head up and narrowed his eyes at her, hands rubbing his exposed arms. "gosh, phoebe, next time show yourself before talking."

her mood was already improving a bit. she grinned at him and circled around the sofa, plopping herself down on the opposite side of the cookie package and tucking her knees into her chest. "well then next time wake me up when you decide to have oreos at three in the morning." he eyed her suspiciously, to which she tilted her head at him. "you know i love these just as much as you do."

he reluctantly nodded and then gritted his teeth at the action.

she stuck an arm out and stole an oreo. "so the headache," she tried again, chomping on the cookie. she pointed at his head. "what's up with it?"

he blinked a lengthy amount of time that was sure to have been him stalling, then answered, "it's really dumb, and if i say it you have to thundertwin swear not to repeat it. ever."

she smiled at that. talking through cookie, she spoke, "i thundertwin swear. spill." she looked around the vicinity and frowned. "no milk?"

he sighed and pointed an arm toward the kitchen, telekinetically opening the refrigerator door and hauling the carton of milk over to them. she smirked at his problem solving. turning the conversation back to himself, he began, "i'm kind of…worried about," and then he mumbled, "dr. colosso…"

she bit back a smile, but the sarcastic tone they always used around each other snuck through anyway. "you're worried about your bunny back home?"

he glared at her, looking much more tired all of a sudden. "he may be a supervillain turned into a rabbit, but he's still an animal; people always worry about them being home alone."

"uh-huh. sure." she snatched another cookie and glanced at the milk carton, letting out a sigh when she realized there were no glasses. throwing caution to the wind, she bit into the cookie and then cracked open the carton, drinking right from the spout. afterward, she set it back down and looked to her twin. she opened her mouth to speak again, but he cut her to the chase.

"why are you up?" his right arm rested on the back of the couch, and it was so blatantly obvious that he didn't wish to speak about his feelings anymore that she let him change the topic.

she locked eyes with him and lied, "couldn't sleep," proceeding to take another bite of her cookie.

he merely looked at her, leaning forward to grab an oreo himself. "aaaand you're lying."

she felt her eye

ows draw together. "why," how, "do you think," know, "i'm lying?" he might have bought her innocent act, if in the next second she didn't hallucinate him laying on the ground after she blasted him and took his atv, her eyes widening on their own accord.