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

Julie's POV

Nestled in Ashley's arms on the couch, Julie watched Danielle frown at the cookbook on the kitchen counter like it personally offended her. Despite following every step, she was still failing miserably, Julie couldn't help but sigh in contentment.

When did it start?

Yup it started then.....

Five Years Ago

"I like girls" Danielle said like it was the most ordinary thing to reveal a few minutes to the New year.

Julie blinked, her gaze darting between Danielle and Ashley "Huh?"

"I like gir-" Danielle tried to say again but was cut off by an overexcited Jules.

"Yeah, I heard you the first time" Julie said as she looked at her best friend who just came out to her with bulging eyes.

"Ash did you hear that? Did you? Did you? Did you?" She asked fervently as she bounced up from the bed and looked towards the girl with glasses.

"Yes I did, but didn't you suspect it already? Why act surprised?" The curly haired girl said with a done look and pushed her glasses up.

Eyeing them suspiciously with her hands on her waist Jules said "Gurl, what you talking about? It's one thing to suspect but it's another thing to find out...and why're you both acting chill about it"

Feeling a headache coming, Ash rubbed her forehead "Jules you are bisexual, I'm lesbian, one last person coming out should not make that much of a difference"

Julie shrugged and said "Hugh I guess you're right"

"So are you like lesbian? Bisexu-" Jules started to ask curiously but got cut off.

"Don't know" Danielle replied honestly.

"You said you like girls" Jules said as she flipped her hair towards Danielle and asked incredulously "What do you mean you don't know?"

"Yeah, I do like girls"

"Oh..oh,oh,oh I think I know what this is about" Julie said looking like she just discovered a huge secret.

Ashley looked at her with horror seeing the excitement on her face "Don't start assuming things Jules...you can't just be-"

"Danielle has someone she likes! Right?" Julie asked as she looked at Danielle expectantly.

"Yes" Danielle said again with the straightest face possible.

Julie wiped her imaginary tears and stretched her hand to pat Danielle's head "Awn, you're all grown up, you're even liking girls"

Ashley looked at Jules, rolled her eyes at her and asked expectantly "Who do you like? Agnes?"

"What? No...I don't like her, she's weird" Danielle said with disgust on her face.

Julie snickered and teased "Oh but she's cute"

"I do not like her"

"Then who do you like...I mean apart from Agnes the only people you ever interact with is me and Jules." Ash said, then with mock surprise and her hands on her chest she stated "Oh no don't tell me you've fallen for me and Jules"

Julie laughed and said "Oh don't be gross"

"..........That was gross?" Danielle tilted her head and asked, her braids swaying with the movement of her head.

"Huh? Watcha mean? Who do you like?" Ashley asked looking at Danielle in the eye.

"I like you" Danielle deadpanned.

Silence.

There was no sound in the room now apart from the sound coming out of Jules phone "One and two go left and right, one and two go left and right..."

Ashley pursed her lips and shifted a little to turn off the phone.

Silence again.

Taking a deep sigh and looking at her two friends, Jules started to move towards the door"Urrrh...okay this is awkward, I don't like awkward. Can som-"

"And you too"

Julie froze mid-step and slowly turned around to look at Danielle "Huh?"

"I like you too"Danielle looked from Jules to Ashley and said "I like both of you...Is that considered gross?"

"Oh come on, no it's not, that's not it, we like you too, scratch that we love you, after all we're friends" Julie said seemingly confused and started to move towards the bed".

"You don't understand" Danielle insisted "Daniel said I just had to tell you that I liked you and you'd figure it out".

"Figure what out?" Ashley asked

"That I liked you both" Danielle frowned and repeated, her beautiful face looking at the both of them like they were stupid.

Just then a knock sounded.

"Girls it's time for the countdown" Ashlyn, Ashley's elder sister said and continued "Mom said y'all can't miss it"

"Okay we're on our way" Ashley replied for her friends.

"Urrh we'll discuss this later... you're acting weird" Ashley said as she sent a look to Danielle.

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

It was the New years, and the girls were celebrating it with Ashley's family as they've always done since childhood...

It was the New years, and they could hear the sound of fireworks and the chatter of people.

Despite not saying anything, they all knew at that moment that something had changed.

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

It was the New years, and Danielle thought it was best to confess to her friends that she liked them-not as friends but as something more. Except she is always keeping a straight face and one can't tell if she's joking or not.

And looking up to her twin brother for relationship advice might not have been the best decision she's ever made.

*********

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

Danielle's POV

"3,2,1, Happy New Year!!!" the whole family erupted in cheers and I could hear indistinct voices but I wasn't really focused on that right now.

I looked to my side and saw Julie fussing with Ashlyn at one corner of the room. They were messing with the Christmas tree. Why was that still there? Oh yeah we just celebrated Christmas.

I then looked across the dining table where I was sitting. I frowned. Ashley was avoiding me... Well not avoiding but she wouldn't look me in the eye.

What did she mean by I was being weird? I was just being honest.

I stood up and went to meet Daniel at the balcony. It was snowing lightly now. Leaning on the railing he looked over his shoulder and smiled "Hey"

I took a deep sigh and leaned against the wall "Hey"

Raising his eyebrows and with a smirk he said "I see you told them already"

Feigning surprise I raised my eyebrows "How'd you know?"

We had been trained from a very young age to always pay attention to our surroundings. How could he not have noticed?

Scoffing he said "Well Ashley's losing her shit and Julie's fake smile ain't fooling me"

I smiled "Well I guess you're right, Ashley's not looking at me and Julie..." I paused "Julie's talking to Ashlyn... that's annoying." At this point I was frowning.

Without letting him to give me a reply I asked "Do you think they're doing it on purpose?"

Looking at me like I'd lost it, he inquired "What exactly are they doing on purpose? You're the one that confessed to them without prior notice"

I looked at him feeling betrayed "You told me that would work."

He laughed "Well it didn't."

"Someone's eavesdropping"he said again with a smile.

I sighed "I know"

Taking a moment to think about our conversation I muttered to myself "I mean...I did all you asked me to. Why're they so clueless?"

Daniel looked at me tiredly "Honestly Danielle, you're overthinking it... it's probably not that bad" he paused "Wait a minute...it's not even been up to 3 hours yet!!!" he exclaimed and looked at me exasperatedly "Stop panicking."

Running my hands through my braids and bringing myself to stand up against the wall, I started pacing a little - something I do when I'm anxious - which doesn't happen a lot of time.

"I have to panic, I NEED to panic. Daniel they treat me like a kid. Jules patted my head. She PATTED my head. I ain't no dawg. And why would they ask me if I like Agnes? That bitch's ugly as fuck."

Daniel rolled his eyes at me "Language."

I shrugged "Yeah, yeah, whatever. But seriously, I've had a crush on them since like forever. And then they turned out to be NOT STRAIGHT and -"

"Okay, okay, okay enough." Daniel interrupted.

"Rude" I complained.

"Look just...calm down. I mean, you're losing your shit too at this point. One of you has to be sane to hold this conversation."

I palmed my face and asked him worriedly "Do you think they'll understand?"

"I know they will Danielle. You're my twin, and the only time you ever panic is when it has something to do with them. I know you'll do fine... You always do fine." He assured me and patted my shoulders.

Looking at him with gratitude I smiled "Thank you, really. This meant a lot."

He grinned mischievously and spread his arms "Hug?"

I made a disgusted face "Don't push your luck. And don't ever tell anyone this happened."

He rolled his eyes and scoffed then said under his breath "And she's back to being a bitch."

I glared at him "What did you say?"

He raised his arms up in defense "I didn't say shit."

We both nestled on the railing and looked across the street. It was bustling with kids and there was neon lights everywhere.

After some moments of silence Daniel inquired "Have you called them yet?"

I frowned, my complexion turning dark...a side of me I never want my friends to ever see.

"No."

Looking worried Daniel said "You should."

I huffed stubbornly "I don't wanna."

He smiled at me and taunted "You know...you act like a spoiled kid sometimes."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do, just overcome your fears and call them."

"Says the guy that can't even confess to a girl."

He looked at me confused "Watcha mean?"

I huffed hauntingly "I know you like Ashlyn."

His eyes widens "How'd you know that?"

I rolled my eyes "I notice things."

"Dang that's creepy." he said rubbing his shoulders with his palms.

I just shrugged it off "Whatever."

We stood outside for some time and just listened to the wind and watched the children playing in the snow. Daniel left at some point and I took a few minutes to put my thoughts together.

I took a deep sigh and proceeded to go inside the house.

In the living room, Ash was nowhere to be found and Jules... Well she was watching TV.

Weird... I've never seen her do that before.

I took a step forward and called out to her "Hey Jules."

She stiffened and looked at me robotically with a smile that looked like a cry for help "Hey Danielle, what's up with you"she said and I could she her visibly cringe at her own words.

"You okay?" I asked worriedly.

"Oh I'm good, I'm totally fine." She said with that fake smile still plastered on her face.

"Uh, no you're not. You've been acting all off since earlier when I came to get you. Now that I think of it, Ashley's also been acting weird." Ashlyn looked up from her phone and continued "Is everything okay between you girls?"

Looking shocked Jules stuttered "W- we're fine." She then cleared her throat "Uhm, I need to...go to the bathroom, Yes! The bathroom." She said and scurried away.

Ashley cocked her eyebrows "She didn't need to tell me but, Okay?" Then went back to her phone.

I stood in the middle of the room thinking... why's she like that?

Jules is never the one to act out like that unless she feels terribly guilty about something.

Now the question is

What did she do so wrong?

******

What do y'all think she did?

Adios

Ashley💜

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

Julie's POV

I scurried away from Danielle and ran up the stairs to Ashley's room. I locked the door and placed a hand over my chest heaving a sigh of relief. It lasted all of two seconds.

"Jules everything okay?"

"Oh shit! You scared me Ash" I whined, complaining.

She looked up from what she was writing, took her headphones off and said  "Sorry." Then continued, looking at me in the eyes and then asked "So is everything okay?"

I couldn't look at her and stuttered guiltily "What c- could have p- po- possibly happened?"

Ashley opened her mouth wide and said "OMG, Julie. For the life of me, you only ever stutter when you do something wrong." Then continued "What did you do wrong?"

"Nothing!" I yelled flustered and took off to the bathroom. Even then I could hear Ashley cackling behind the door.

"Jules,"she singsonged "What did you do.

"Oh shut up" I yelled and started biting at my fingers.

I heard someone knocking on the room door and Ash went to open it. The door then closed once more. I couldn't hear anything else apart from that.

Just when I was dying of curiosity and was about to open the door to check, I heard Danielle's voice "Where's Jules?"

I couldn't hear shit but I was pretty sure Ash had given me away. "Fuck this shit's frustrating."

So, yeah. What did i do?

Well, I didn't mean to. Like I just needed some air, and then I heard Danielle discussing with Daniel. I swear I wanted to leave, I was just curious.

I stopped.Great now I'm talking to myself.

That's not even the problem, the problem is... Gosh this is embarrassing.

I'm scared of Danielle, like she's intimidating as fuck. I know I'm older than her but she's tall, and she's got that build, and her eyes. Gosh her eyes I can't survive that.

If she asks me, I'm definitely spilling. But I don't wanna spill, she would be so disappointed.

Why do I care if she's disappointed?

Ugh I don't know. Oh Jules what have you done? What did you do? What did  you -

A knocking sound startled me out of my thoughts "Jules everything alright in there?"

"Yeah I'll be out in a minute... just doing things... that people usually do."

"You sound like you did something wrong." I could hear Danielle say from behind the door.

"I didn't do shit." I yelled defensively.

"Hmmn just take your time." She said softly.

Okay, I was feeling guilty before. But this is guilty upgraded to the next level. Why is she so understanding?

"Okay thanks." I said and looked at myself in the mirror then told myself chastisingly. "Okay we'll go outside and we'll not... we'll DEFINITELY not look at Danielle in the eye, because if we do so. We're Fucked."

I then took a few deep breaths to calm myself down and opened the door just a little to take a peek.

Seated on the edge of the bed was Danielle.

Ugh, just my luck.

I exchanged glances with Ashley and immediately turned my face away to avoid her gaze.

"Why're you avoiding me?" Danielle asked referring to me.

"I'm not" I said in a small voice. Ugh why're you so pathetic? She's literally your junior.

But my thoughts were interrupted when she said "Then look at me"

"I'on wanna" I said feeling extremely guilty.

She stood up from the bed and walked towards me slowly.

Ashley sensed the atmosphere wasn't quite right and tried to help "Danielle what's up?"

"Nothing but Jules is lying to me"Danielle stated and pouted a little. She did not stop working towards me. I started fidgeting with my fingers. The urge to bite them was there but if I did that, they'd know I was lying to them.

Perks of having friends that know all about you.

Danielle stopped in front of me and lowered herself to my level "What're you hiding?"

I shook my head, looking at the pink cartoon slippers she was putting on. That looked cute.

Heh! So unlike her. Black and pink-

I was pulled out of my reverie when she pinched my chin and forced me to look up at her. She then tilted her head and asked me again "What're you hiding?"

Why'd she tilt her head like that? Aaaaah! Why'd she look at me like that? Why's she so cute.

I closed my eyes. I don't wanna say. I mustn't say -

Crack

"I DIDN'T MEAN IT! I SWEAR I JUST WANTED TO GET SOME AIR! I DIDN'T MEAN TO EAVESDROP" I blurted out.

Silence.

More silence.

Then "Oh" Danielle stated

"You heard?" She asked with a blank face.

Yep, she's definitely going to hate me now.  "I know -"

"Urh, I'm going to give you guys some space, I'll be downstairs if you need me" Ashley interrupted and picked her headphones to leave.

"Stay" Danielle said.

Ashley used her index fingers to adjust her glasses and pulled her curls behind her ear. "Nah I think you guys need to talk alone."

And with that she left.

As soon as the door closed, I tried to escape but Danielle pulled me back "What did you hear?"

My eyes widened and I started to panic "Look I support you both, really. I won't interfere... You can do anything, I just -" At this point I was just babbling incoherent nonsense.

Danielle pinched her nose, her beautiful face wearing a frown, and ran her hands through her braids which she was wearing down today.

"So you're telling me you heard our conversation and this is still what you can say?"

"I mean..." I raised my eyebrows "You're not annoyed?"

"Were you always this clueless?" Danielle asked me and looked at me as if I were stupid.

"Hey that's mean, I already said I'd help you pursue Ash, why're you still-"

"Gosh I can't anymore" Danielle stated as she turned to leave the room.

I stood in the middle of the room looking confused and muttered to myself "I already said I'd help her, why's she still mad?"

I shrugged and flopped unto the bed and sighed happily...

"Haah! One disaster avoided!"

******

Adios

Ashley💜