Ordinary Day, What a Pain {OPEN}

[Aione Higurashi]

"Soriiiiiiiii!!!"

A shrill voice echoed in the halls as a young blond tackled into a rather unfortunate redhead. Said redhead yelped and fell, face first, into the white marble tiles. The blond girl giggled and squeezed the other person's neck in a death-grip. Her laugh caused the redhead to shudder. "Oh, Sori-kun, I've been looking for you everywhere!! Why didn't you wait for me after class? My sweet, swe--" suddenly the blond girl paused, noticing something about her captive, "Oh. Whoops. Sorry Higurash-san." The smashed redhead hissed. The blonde's face went bright pink as she dashed off the taller girl's back.

Ai stood up weakly, dusting off her jeans and plain white t-shirt. With a irritated sigh she looked at the short girl with a sharp glare. "Nina, big brother is a foot taller than me. And he doesn't even take Advanced Sociology." Nina looked at the floor. "Why do you always mistake me for him?"

"Um...maybe because...from the back...and your hair..."

"Are you wearing your contacts?" Nina went ever redder, shaking her head. Aione groaned. "Bakayaro. You need to wear those, or put on your glasses...or move to another town and leave me and Sori alone." Nina pouted her bright pink lips, crocidle tears starting in her eyes. She looked truly offended. Aione turned to look out the window, keeping her sly smirk to herself. "You're so cruel, Higurashi-san!" The short blond cried, taking of in the other direction, "No wonder nobody talks to you. You're a two-faced little demon...!!"

As she took off, rounding the corner into some classroom, Ai stared into a sakura tree barley a foot from the window. Sunlight beamed through the pink flowers, giving an orange-ish glow to the college campus. Deep, empty silver eyes watched as people went to and fro to their classes.

Two faced demon, huh? That's a new one. She chuckled. I like it. It works oh, so well.

[Serenity/Charoa Avarie]

Serenity gazed uncertainly up the hallway, looking quite a bit like some sort of spy breaking into the bad guys' hideout. Well, she certainly wasn't a spy, but she was breaking in somewhere.....sorta. Technically she was just skipping class to go see a boy, but that was beside the point. The point was that she had to be careful, because she'd probably be safer if she were breaking into some evil genius' lair. If Neechan find me in here, she'll kill me. ....Okay, maybe not kill me. But I'll be grounded for a year! She bit her lower lip at the thought, utterly dreading it. It wasn't just the fact that she was skipping class, though that was a big part of it. Her elder twin sister Charoa was very serious about her academics, whereas Serenity had never really been very concerned with it. No, the main thing was who she was here to see, a certain Zeke Suzushima. For some reason that she'd never be able to understand, her sister utterly despised him. Which is why she had to be so careful.

At first she didn't see anyone, whether they be sentry, professor, student. But then an ear splitting squeal broke through the relative silence and made her flinch just before she retreated into hiding. For several moments she listened to the exchange between the two girls, waiting for a period of silence to signal that they'd gone. When it came she peaked her head around the corner, only seeing the red haired girl. Looking her over, she suddenly tilted her head to the side. I know her from somewhere...

The feeling was there, that odd sense of nostalgia that comes when someones you once met says 'Hi' and you can remember everything about them but their name. That was the way she was feeling at the moment, though she wasn't too surprised that she couldn't remember, even she knew she was a bit of an airhead. Biting her lip again in indecision, she thought things over. On the one hand, this girl might turn her in, but on the other hand, she might not. Then there was the fact that she wasn't really sure where Zeke might be, and looking around for him would only get her caught. It was a dilemma alright.

Mulling it over a few moments, she sighed. There wasn't really alot of choice in the matter, she had to find him and get out again fast, before Charoa noticed her missing. So she stepped out into the hall, walking up to the much taller redhead and bowing politely. "Higurashi-san? Have you by any chance seen Suzushima-san about?" Behind her back she crossed her fingers as she waited for her to reply. Here's hoping..."

[Aione Higurashi]

Aione watched with boredom at the people several stories below. They were normal people, doing normal things in normal classes to get a normal education, with which they would get normal jobs and lead normal lives. All that normality suffocated Ai, and her brother. They’d been brought up in such a freaky f-ed up family that “normal” seemed to slide right off their backs. As time progressed and their home lives had gotten worse, both twins had taken rather different ways of coping. Sori did drugs, went to parties, and all around messed his head up to forget his problems. Aione, on the other hand, made a sport out of running away every time the opportunity presented itself. Since her fifteenth birthday, the younger of the ‘demon twins’ had escaped her parents around 47 times. That may sound impressive, but she barely made it out of the neighborhood most times, and the longest she’d gone without being found had been only ten months.

Her naivety was always her downfall.

The sound of a familiar voice broke Ai’s attention on the window. She turned to face Serenity, a girl she only knew from her face and her darker sister. Since they both were the younger of a set of very different twins, Ai had felt a bit of kinship towards the shorter girl, but she soon found Serenity to be a bit to ditzy for her taste. The one thing the two really had in common was Zeke Suzushima, Ai’s old neighbor and Serenity’s crush and possible boyfriend. A long time ago, when Aione Higurashi was a good little girl, her social-climber father tried to betroth the two at a young age, but Zeke’s father wouldn’t hear of it. Thank God for sane rich people.

With a curt bow, the redhead greeted her classmate. She wasn’t surprised to hear Zeke’s name from Serenity. The two were normally hand-in-hand between classes. Ai shrugged, “Sorry Avarie-san. I haven’t seen Zeke since this morning,” she didn’t bother using an honorific with a friend like ‘Blondie’. "I think he might have gone to see Yosuke-chan today…I heard their Okaa-san is in one of her ‘moods’.”

Another reason Ai and Zeke related: freaky, f-ed up families. At least his was only on one side.

[Serenity/Charoa Avarie]

A weak smile immediately placed itself upon her face as she shook her head. "I've told you that you can just call me Serenity, Higurashi-san. You are my elder afterall" Yes, she now remembered the other, recognizing her as Zeke's neighbor and Sorii's sister. She had a sneaking suspicion that her sister had a bit of a crush on Sorii. But anywho, her head dropped a bit, though the smile remained. Her hopes of finding Zeke were dashed, which meant that she'd end up alone for the day. Ah well, wouldn't be the first time.

She bit her lip at that last bit, deep concern swirling all through her big brown eyes. All too well did she know what Zeke's mother was like, the woman absolutely loathed her. There was no reason that she could see for it, afterall she'd always tried to be as nice and polite as she could...but maybe that was the reason. Serenity was by nature a happy-go-lucky young girl, one who was rarely troubled by concerns and always saw the spotlight at the other end of the corridor. From what she'd seen though, Zeke's mother was the exact opposite. The woman seemed to thrive on misery, and so was utterly repulsed by someone like Serenity. She didn't like that, especially since it would make realizing her dreams so much harder.

Fidgeting with the hem of her uniform, she wondered what she could do next. She couldn't very well go back to class, that'd get her caught for sure. Going to see Zeke was out of the question as well, she didn't want to stir his mother up any more than she already was. There was always Ai, but she didn't want to bother her. Besides, she always got the feeling that Aione didn't like her, probably for some of the same reasons that Zeke's mother didn't. Her sister was a different story of course everyone liked Charoa, she was just so much smarter and prettier and better in every way than her twin was, at least as far as Serenity saw things.

With a sigh, she resolved that there was really no other alternative. It helped that she was concerned for Ai, being able to easily tell that there was something bothering her. That was really the only positive thing she could see about herself, the fact that she could tell when there was something wrong with someone else. Her sister didn't have it, at least as far as she knew, and so she thought it made her unique. She tilted her head a bit, concern showing on her face as she looked at the taller girl. "Is there something the matter Higurashi-san?"

[Aione Higurashi]

The smile on Ai's face flickered, but it was more of withholding a chuckle. She thought Serenity was alright and all, but dropping the honorific off her name was a bit of a stretch. For a second, the taller girl decided on what she would call her underclassmen. Her eyes glowed playfully. "Sure, Serenity. And you can call me Aione. 'Higurashi-san' makes me sound like my brother, or something..." Ai's smile softened, "So is '-chan' the right word for you? Serenity-chan?"

The worry on Serenity's face was clear. The upperclassmen sighed, pulling at her sleeve absently as she glanced out the window again. Nobody liked hearing about problems with the other students. This was a prestigious school, and everyone was expected to lead perfect lives while keeping their skeletons in the closet. But for some students who's problems were a little more out-there (Zeke and his mother, Ai and her family), keeping secrets secret was near impossible. And Kami-sama knows Suzushima-teme* is hard to shove in a closet.

Ai jumped a bit as the shorter girl spoke. I need to stop getting lost in thought. The redheaded young adult frowned, returning her gaze to Serenity. This was one of the reasons she never really hung out with her: she was insightful. And being insightful meant she could see through both of Ai's facades...the teacher's pet side and the demon side that Nina always got the worst of. But, hey, what was she going to do?

She gave Serenity a weak grin. "Nothing's really wrong. Nothing out of the ordinary, anyway. Do I look depressed or something?"

(*Suzushima-teme is Zeke's mother... =w=)

[Serenity/Charoa Avarie]

A bit of a blush crept onto her cheeks as the older girl spoke, something she could feel but dearly hoped the other wouldn't notice. Unlike her sister, Serenity was very easily embarrassed. She just couldn't take everything and remain impassive like Charoa could, it was one of many things she envied her sister for. A weak smile crept onto her face, still hoping that the blush couldn't be seen. "I-if you like, A-aione-san." She fidgeted nervously a bit more, wondering how she might steer the conversation in a less embarrassing direction. Fortunately she recalled something that she'd heard her sister say, immediately grasping it like it was a lifeline. "U-um. Nee-san would like to know if Higurashi-sama would like to study with her, if he's not too busy that is. So, um, I think she'd really appreciate it if you could ask him." And maybe she'll help me with my homework She doubted she was that lucky though, her big sister always insisted that she do it on her own. After all, she said she couldn't be a moron all her life could she?

Like the others in their odd little social web, her family was not without its flaws. Her parents quite clearly favored her elders over her, and made no pretenses of keeping the knowledge a secret. Charoa saw this favoritism and received it willingly, often having little to nothing to do with her younger twin. Her big brother Gabriel was always kind to her, but now that he'd moved out on his own she rarely saw him anymore. Her mother refused to allow her to date or bring friends over, even though she'd never had anything resembling a boyfriend and friends were few and far between. But she knew that, someday, things get better and they could all live happily...right?

She smiled reassuringly back at Aione as she spoke, knowing that she didn't like to talk about things, especially to her. "No, it just seems like something's bothering you is all, and I was wondering if there were some way I might be able to help." The smile brightened her every feature, hopefully making her look sincere. One thing that could be said about Serenity Avarie, she was always eager to help where and when she could. It was a well known and often exploited fact amongst the student body that one need only ask in order to receive her aid. That just the way she was, far too nice for her own good.

[Aione Higurashi]

As soon as the mention of Serenity's sister, Charoa, came up, Aione's face noticably dropped. It wasn't that the youngers Higurashi twin didn't like Char, the girl shared her dry sense of humor and the two often hung out...it was the tensey tiny fact that Charoa had a thing for her older brother Sori that bothered the hell out of her. EVERY girl in school found Sori attractive, and Ai could understand the appeal: sorta-wealthy, dark and serious, and hella handsome, Sori was the 'lonely prince' type of every school they went to. But it still bothered his little sister.

Probably because they all asked HER to ask him out for them?

And there was also a tensey-wensey fact that Motoko Higurashi, Ai's little sister barley into middle school, had the biggest crush on Charoa in the history of girl-crushes.

"I'll ask Sori when I see him later, okay Serenity-chan? Just tell Char to be patient." As if she ever would be. The taller redhead gave Serenity the smile she and Sori were so popular for before once again being questioned about what had her down. It wasn't anything new, so, what the heck. She opened up for once. "I guess I'm just a bit lonely, you know? Sori's graduating earlier than me, Okaa-san is trying to marry me off again..."

There was one big probelm there.

"...and all this crud with Tou-san's buisness failing..."

Problemo duos.

"...I guess I just have too much on my plate for a colledge student." Ai smiled wearily, leaning against the glass. Opening up took a lot out of her.

That's why I don't do it so often.

[Serenity/Charoa Avarie]

She nodded, even though she didn't mean it. "Alright, thank you so very much. I'll be sure to tell neesan." Like hell she would. There was no way she'd ever tell her big sister something like that, it was just asking for trouble. She probably wouldn't even tell her that she'd asked Aione to ask Sori out, her sister would be mad about that as well. That was the thing with Charoa, she wanted everything, but she wanted to get it herself. Her sister didn't like anyone giving her aid, something the the younger twin was completely unable to understand. But then she understood very little about her perfect elder sibling so she never dwelt on it much.

Aione began telling her what was wrong, and she nodded in mute response. She knew what it was like to be alone. Serenity was even more alone than Aione was, at least she had Sori and the younger siblings to keep her company. She on the other hand only had Zeke, and the way things were with their parents she didn't know how much longer she'd even have him. Still she smiled encouragingly at the girl, seeming as if there was no one in all the world happier than she. She wouldn't trouble her with her problems, she wouldn't care anyway. No one ever did.

Listening to the rest of her problems, she leaned against the windowsill and stared out across the campus, quiet so that she wouldn't disturb the other. Subconsciously she muttered. "You don't love him..." Instantly she blinked, surprised at her boldness and doing her best to pretend like she hadn't said anything. So she plastered her best smile on and stared up at Aione sweetly. "You know, if neesan and Higurashi-sama were to marry, then your parents wouldn't have to worry about money anymore, I'm sure mine would be happy to help. They really like Higurashi-sama afterall." Convenient a coverup as it might be it was the truth, her parents really did adore. him, he was everything they expected their daughters to marry. But to tell the truth? He really wasn't Serenity's type.

For a few more minutes she stared out the window, watching the people come and go. She found herself thinking of Zeke, and what it would mean to lose him. Sure she'd be horribly sad for a long time, but things would go back to being the way they were. No friends, no one to talk to, just her. Not a very enviable prospect. Something about it reminded her of Aione's own troubles, and against her better judgment she found herself turning towards the other girl, staring at her seriously. "Is there anyone that you do like Aione-san?" Since when was i so bold...? She felt that she'd end up regretting this, one way or another.

[Aione Higurashi]

With a sharp head turn, Ai gave Serenity a surprised (but not cold) stare. She never really spoke her own opinion. In fact, Ai never even thought the girl could say something that Charoa hadn’t said earlier. She was like a parrot, or another giggling, pretty, air-headed girl in her classes. But now she spoke the truth and, for probably the first time since she’d come to this school, Aione decided to speak her mind…especially when the idea of Char and Sori marrying came up. A low, dangerous hiss escaped the usually composed girl’s lips. “No, I don’t love him. I don’t even like the guy. He’s pretentious and stuck-up like all other rich men…besides Zeke, of course.”

Aione’s face twisted into an icy sneer. “As for their marriage…I’m sure they wouldn’t have a problem with it. But Sori’s not one to be tied down easily…” Just like his little sister.

After an uncomfortable silence, the redhead blinked and her dark face faded. A soft pink blush came to her face at the next bold question from the smaller girl. Maybe this is Charoa pretending to be Serenity…yeah, that has to be it…but Char doesn’t call Sori ‘sama’. The blush refused to back down, even when Ai pressed her warmed cheek against the cool glass. Well, you opened up this much… “There…isn’t anyone I like. Anyone that’s available.” She whispered into the glass, just loud enough for Serenity but not for any of the other students to hear. “But Okaa-san wouldn’t care if I did have someone. It doesn’t matter.”

My opinion never matters.

[Serenity/Charoa Avarie]

As soon as she heard that hiss the girl flinched as though she'd been physically struck. The sneer that followed immediately after it only served to aid the full destruction of the small amount of self-confidence she had built up by making it this far without being ridiculed. I should have known better than to say anything....

Aione was right in thinking that Serenity's opinion often mirrored that of her elder twin, but she was completely wrong about the reason, just like everyone else. Everyone, even Charoa, thought that Serenity mimicked her sister because she was too stupid to think for herself. In reality she only did it because she knew how much everyone loved her sister, so she thought that if she acted more like her then maybe they might start to like her a little bit too. So far it hadn't worked.

When Aione spoke next, Serenity began piecing things together. It didn't surprise her that it all fit together so well, even though she was unknowingly putting the pieces together completely wrong. No one that's available..huh.... She of course had no idea who the taller girl was referring to, but to her self-cynical mind she thought she did. it made sense to her that when she finally found some way to be happy, that someone else needed it as well. If she'd been her sister then she would have never even considered giving up anything for anyone else; but being who she was, she never even considered not doing it. If it would make Aione happy, even though the other girl didn't really even like her, then she'd give him up for her.

Her voice was small, the girl still not having the confidence to really speak up. She kept her face lowered as well, afraid to look up at the other girl for fear that she'd get mad at her again. "If....if there's someone that you want to be with then I...I'll help you...." She clenched the hem of her uniform tightly and waited for Aione to start yelling at her.

[Aione Higurashi]

For a moment in her minor embarrassment mixed with icy rage, Aione glanced over at Serenity. She'd frightened the girl, as was expected. Serenity didn't have much confidence to begin with. Most of the students joked that Serenity and Char had been born one girl split into two bodies: Charoa had all the brains, confidence, and what one could call 'experience'...while poor Serenity was the soft-spoken shadow of her big sister. Ai knew there was probably a stronger girl hiding under that weak (and incredibly adorable) shell of hers, but it was hidden very, very well.

Something about twins always sparked that joke. Another example was Sori was the refined brawn and Aione was the demonic brains. Silly students and stupid superstitions.

Again Serenity's words to Ai by surprise, and she showed it this time with a raised eyebrow and a few blinks. The guy she liked? Why would that interest Serenity? Sure it would be great gossip. 'Guess Higurashi-san's big secret crush' would be a game any girl in the school would want to play. Anyone but Serenity. It just wasn't like the more innocent of the Avarie sisters to spread nasty rumors. Not like her at all.

That signature smile played on Ai's face yet again, looking faker and faker all the time. "Well, thank you for your offer, Serenity-chan, but I don't think you could really help me. Not to be rude, but I don't think it would interest you or Ze--"

She paused. Something snapped into place.

"...you think...I like...Zeke...?"

Thank the Gods Serenity was wrong by a long-shot.