Along Came Ari (boyxboy; Open Novella Contest 2019)(Complete)✅

Chapter 1

For the third time in a week, I spotted a stream of clothes fall steadily out the second story window of the house across the street. The window belonged to my best friend, John, and the culprit throwing his clothes was no doubt his twin brother, Danny. All week, from my own second story window, I watched John run outside, collect his scattered clothes, and return inside.

The Collins boys, meaning the twins and their older brother, Andy, moved into that house when they were only a bunch of toddlers. Their younger sister came along a few months later, about the time I showed up in the neighborhood, right before kindergarten. Despite all of our trials and tribulations and butting heads, John and I have been more or less best friends since.

Danny recently returned from I don't know where and since then the warring brothers had been at it. John never told me what he did to warrant Danny throwing his clothes out the window. Although John claimed he was innocent, I doubted that was the case.

Back when we were in elementary school, all playing football, Danny and John were always at each other. Danny was bigger than John back then and they'd tackle each other even when they weren't meant to be tackling. And then, during tackling drills, they'd always choose to tackle each other. Danny always won.

But how things changed over the years. Danny stopped playing football many years ago and I was sure John was much bigger than him now.

This last time John didn't emerge from the house. Instead, I saw a dark-haired teen boy, wearing a black hoodie with no shoes and socks run through the snow to collect the clothes. Even from this distance, I noticed a purple hue to his hair, hair that flopped over his face and ears. I wondered what he looked like up close.

As if to sense my stares, the boy shot me the middle finger. I decided to close my blinds so I didn't look like a creepy peeping Tom.

"Hey, you in there?" a familiar voice asked behind my door. While I was busy staring at the boy I presumed to be Danny, I hadn't noticed John walk across the street to my house. Getting off my bed, I opened my door to let in my best friend. "Can you believe what that punk did again?"

"Uh...throw your clothes out the window?" I replied.

"Yeah, third time this week," he said. "He's washing them this time. He just better not bleach them or I'll kill him."

"What'd you do to him, anyway?" I asked.

"What do you mean what I'd do to him? Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Yeah, right," I said doubtfully. He was always doing something to someone, but only in fun. He wasn't mean-spirited like some of his friends. Deep down, John and Danny really loved each other, that's partly why they always chose to tackle each other during tackling drills back in elementary school.

As twins, though, they looked nothing alike, definitely not identical. I always thought Danny was the cuter brother although I'd never say that out loud or admit it to anyone but myself; I was straight until proven otherwise.

In fact, John and Danny couldn't have been more different. John was Mr. Athletic—strong, built, tall, a perfect all-round athlete while Danny, from what I could see, was on the skinny side, dark and emo, the kid who always wore black. I could barely believe he once played football.

"Okay okay, so I reversed his doorknob of his room so the lock was on the outside," John confessed. "So I locked him in his room."

I had to admit that was kind of funny.

"And why'd you do that?" I asked.

"Because he deflated the tires to my bike," he replied.

"And why did he deflate your tires?" I asked.