Chapter Six: Nuclear
1384 Words
He stood stiffly, tray in hand, eyes locked on Aris. His voice was tight, almost pleading. “Aris, can we talk? Please.”
Mimi’s eyes went wide. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me—”
But before Aris could answer, Tobe appeared.
He set his tray down beside Aris and leaned back casually in his seat, but his stare at Gabe was anything but casual. “She’s eating.”
Gabe’s jaw tightened. “I just need a minute.”
“You’ve had plenty of minutes,” Tobe said evenly. “You wasted them.”
The tension was suffocating. Students had gone silent, all eyes on the standoff.
Aris pressed her palms to her forehead. “God, will everyone stop?” Her voice shook, louder than she meant it to. “Just—stop!”
Mimi put a hand on her shoulder. Axel shifted uncomfortably, watching Gabe like he was deciding whether to intervene.
Gabe’s voice cracked as he tried again. “Aris, I’m sorry. About yesterday. I never should’ve grabbed you—”
Tobe stood. Not fast, not dramatic. Just steady, deliberate. And somehow that was scarier than yelling.
“You touch her again,” he said, low and clear, “and it won’t be words next time.”
The cafeteria erupted in whispers, gasps.
Aris pushed back from the table, her chair screeching like a warning. “Enough. Both of you. Just… enough.”
She grabbed her tray, stormed past them, and left the cafeteria.
For a moment, no one moved. Then Mimi muttered under her breath, “Yeah. Nuclear.”
The bell shrieked, dragging everyone from the chaos of lunch into the monotony of fourth period. Books shuffled, voices echoed in the hallway, and still the storm followed the twins.
Akari didn’t wait for Aris. She hadn’t waited since that morning. Her steps were quick, purposeful, like if she kept moving she could outrun the ache hollowing her chest. When Mimi caught up, she nearly snapped—but Mimi’s hand on her wrist was gentle, grounding.
“Akari.” Mimi’s voice softened, stripped of its usual playful edge. “Come with me.”
Akari’s lips parted to argue, but Mimi tugged her into an empty alcove near the stairwell, away from the stream of students. Akari crossed her arms, shoulders curling inward.
“What do you want, Mimi?” she asked, voice brittle.
Mimi studied her face—the puffiness around her eyes, the way her lips trembled like she was holding back another wave of tears. This wasn’t the Akari she knew. Not the patient, loyal girl who always smiled at Gabe like he was the sun itself.
“Talk to me,” Mimi said simply.
Akari barked out a humorless laugh. “You already know, don’t you? Everyone knows now.”
Mimi didn’t flinch. “I want to hear it from you.”
Akari’s nails dug into her arms. “He doesn’t love me. He never did. He loves her. My sister. My twin.” Her throat constricted, words sharp but cracking. “Do you know what it feels like to realize you were invisible the whole time? That everything I thought was special—every smile, every word—it was just… me fooling myself?”
Mimi’s chest ached. She reached for Akari’s hand, but Akari pulled away.
“Akari, you’re not invisible,” Mimi said firmly. “Not to me. Not to Axel. Not to anyone who actually matters.”
Akari shook her head. “That’s not the point. I—” Her voice cracked. “I loved him, Mimi. And he chose her without even saying a word.”
The stairwell echoed with the sound of her ragged breathing. Mimi swallowed hard, pulling her into a hug before Akari could resist. For a second, Akari went rigid—but then her walls crumbled, and she sagged against Mimi’s shoulder, silent sobs shaking her frame.
Mimi rubbed her back. “He doesn’t deserve you. And if he can’t see that, screw him. Let him chase Aris all he wants—she won’t let him in. She’s not built like that. But you… you’ll find someone who actually chooses you, Akari.”
Akari buried her face deeper into Mimi’s shoulder, but her whisper still escaped. “She already has Tobe.”
Mimi stilled. She hadn’t expected that.
Akari pulled back, wiping her face with her sleeve, eyes swollen but defiant. “That’s what hurts most. She has him. She doesn’t even want Gabe, but she has Tobe. And me? I have no one.”
Mimi’s stomach twisted. She wanted to argue, to tell Akari she wasn’t alone—but the words stuck. Because in that moment, Akari’s loneliness was undeniable.
Meanwhile, Aris sat in the back row of biology, chin propped on her palm, staring blankly at the diagrams on the board. The teacher’s voice was a dull drone in the background. She should have been taking notes, but her pen barely moved.
All she could think about was Akari’s face. The betrayal in her eyes. The way her voice cracked when she’d said You stole him from me.
Aris clenched her fist around the pen until the plastic creaked. She hadn’t stolen anything. She hadn’t wanted Gabe. And yet… guilt gnawed at her. Because part of her knew Akari wasn’t entirely wrong. Gabe did look at her differently. And she had never pushed him away hard enough.
The door creaked open. Late as usual, Gabe slid inside, offering the teacher a half-hearted excuse before heading straight for the seat behind Aris.
Her shoulders stiffened.
He leaned forward, voice low. “Aris. Please. Just let me explain.”
Aris kept her eyes on the board. “Don’t.”
“Aris, I didn’t mean to grab you like that yesterday. I just—”
“Didn’t mean to?” she hissed under her breath, still not turning. “You left a bruise.”
He froze. The words hit harder than he expected.
Aris finally looked over her shoulder, eyes blazing. “You think an apology makes that go away? You humiliated my sister. You humiliated me. And now half the school knows you’re a liar who doesn’t even know what he wants.”
Gabe’s chest tightened. He opened his mouth, but another voice cut in.
“Problem here?”
Tobe.
He stood in the doorway, late slip in hand, gaze zeroed in on Gabe. The room went quiet.
Aris exhaled shakily, sinking lower into her seat.
“No problem,” Gabe muttered, leaning back. But his glare followed Tobe as he crossed the room and slid into the empty seat beside Aris like he belonged there.
The teacher resumed the lecture, but the tension in the back of the room was thick enough to choke on.
Gabe stared at the back of Aris’s head, frustration gnawing at his ribs. He was losing her. He’d already lost Akari. And now Tobe—smug, steady, infuriating Tobe—was there, guarding her like a shield.
His reputation, once untouchable, was crumbling. He could feel the stares, the whispers. Gabe Knight—the boy everyone admired—reduced to a fool chasing one twin while breaking the other’s heart.
And the worst part? He knew they weren’t wrong.
In history class, Mimi slid into the seat beside Axel, dropping her notebook with a sigh.
“She’s wrecked,” Mimi whispered, glancing around to make sure Akari hadn’t followed. “Totally wrecked. I’ve never seen her like this.”
Axel scratched the back of his neck. “Aris looks the same way. It’s like watching two magnets flipped the wrong way—pushing each other apart no matter how much you want them to snap back together.”
Mimi groaned. “And Gabe’s making everything worse. He won’t stop hovering.”
Axel’s jaw tightened. “Maybe Tobe should let him have it.”
Mimi arched a brow. “You mean fight him?”
“Not yet.” Axel’s gaze flicked to where Gabe sat across the room, staring at his desk with uncharacteristic gloom. “But he’s unraveling. Everyone can see it. It’s only a matter of time before he snaps.”
Mimi leaned her chin on her hand. “And when he does?”
Axel didn’t answer. His silence said enough.
- Writer
