A Place Where We Belong

Chapter 3: I Want To Meet Him

"A promise, is a promise!" Jay slammed her hands on Kouichi's desk and glared at him after the bell rang for lunch to start.

"Yeah, I know, I know," he sighed. "Just let me grab my lunch, please."

Jay moaned in annoyance.

They walked in silence for five minutes before reaching their desired destination. At random times, Jay would unconsciously touch her back pocket, while Kouichi did the same thing shortly after. It was a habit they formed for always putting their drumsticks in their back pocket. Kouichi pulled a stick out and started to twirl it around his fingers, every so often, tossing it in the air like a baton.

They finally got to a music room that they always spend their free time in. Various instruments could be found in there such as: a set of drums, a piano, a couple acoustic guitars, some tambourines, and bongos. A few microphones could be found in an unused practice room in the back of the room.

Jay walked in and moved to one side of the room, leaning on the window sill with the suns rays outlining her figure. Kouichi stood in the middle of the room and admired her figure for a few moments.

Her skin was smooth and dusted with a light tan. She had beautiful almond colored eyes that made you want to take them and put them on display in a museum. Her light, chocolate brown hair was in the style of a short bob. She had a baggy, black shirt, a sleeve lazily hanging off of her right shoulder. The bottom of the plain shirt also covered most of her short shorts, but not to the point where you couldn't see her shorts at all.

"Start talking!" Jay growled, leaning on the window seal.

Kouichi scratched the back of his neck and looked around. He moved to the piano bench and sat down, resting his elbows on the piano behind him. After a minute, he spoke:

"Jay," Kouichi started. "I have a brother."

She stared at her best friend for several moments, not quite sure if she was hearing the words that he spoke correctly.

"Jay?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, I think I'm deaf. I need to find my hearing aids," she joked, looking around the room.

Kouichi chuckled and replied, "Jay, I'm serious!"

"Oh you are? Oh, nah man. I thought we were playin' games!" she said sarcastically.

Kouichi sighed before Jay spoke up again.

"Is that it?"

Kouichi nodded. "Basically, yeah."

"So, why is that such a big deal, man?" she asked as Kouichi slowly rubbed his palms together. "Did he run away, or something? I mean, that's more common than you think."

"No, he didn't run away."

"Is he older? Oh, is he a criminal? Dude, that'd be sick to have a criminal as a brother! Oh, how old is he? Man, I'd date him in a heartbeat!" Jay said, and this time, she was actually being serious.

"He's 12," Kouichi quietly answered.

"Awe, so he's your half sib-"

"Twin."

"What?" Jay asked confused.

"Jay, he's my twin!" Kouichi shouted, with tears forming at his bottom eyelid.

He looked away, covering his mouth. He had never raised his voice at her before. He leaned his elbows on his knees and stared at a small pebble on the floor.

"Oh," Jay whispered sympathetically.

She didn't know how to help Kouichi in this situation. She had an older sister that was 24 and a newlywed, but she still saw her quite a bit. Yeah, Jay was a girl, but she didn't fit in the stereotypical girl category. She's not the best when it comes to nurturing others, or herself, for that matter. She was the type of person that pushed down her emotions and "forgot" about them. If she needed to let her emotions go, then she would sit down at the set of drums she has in her room. She'd pound on them for hours until she forgot what a broken heart felt like.

Jay walked over to the piano and lifted the lid. She sat next to Kouichi on the bench with her legs on either side and lifted his chin so he was looking at her. His tears were slowly running from his eyes, almost like they were deciding if they wanted to stay, or leave.

"Kouichi," Jay said, softly. She looked deep into his eyes, almost as if she was searching for a lost memory. "How does all this make you feel?"

After a few seconds, Kouichi turned to the piano keys and, without knowing how to play the piano correctly, tapped a few notes. He went down the scale, making sure he hit every single key. Once he got closer to the bottom of the scale, he went up hitting the higher notes. This time missing quite a few keys in the middle. Once he got to the middle of the piano, his tapping got quicker and harder.

Jay could feel his emotions being played from the keys and knew exactly why Kouichi was upset. She felt his fear, his anger, his sadness, his loneliness, and even his darkness. She looked up at Kouichi's face and noticed that his tears had made a decision; they decided to fall. She watched as he pounded the keys with his fist.

"Jay," Kouichi sobbed. "I have a twin brother!"

She placed her hand on Kouichi's shoulder and stayed there, letting him cry through the rest of lunch.

_____________________________________

"I want to meet him," Jay had told Kouichi in their last class of the day.

Yeah, Kouichi had just cried 2 hours ago, but when Jay wanted something, she pushed until she got it. She doesn't care about what the other person might feel, even if the person was her childhood friend.

"What? Ok, then you can come over after practice."

"No! I'll text Adam saying we'll be a little late, but I'm definitely meeting your brother, gosh that sounds weird, right after school!"

"But-"

"No 'buts!' Unless, you want me to go to your house right now?"

"You'll be skipping school!"

Jay stared into Kouichi's eyes and responded, "Is this a face that looks like it cares?"

"Fine." Kouichi sighed and texted his brother.

I'll be coming home right after school cause there's someone I want you to meet. I hope that's ok. Actually, you don't have a choice, sorry; she's being too pushy... I'll see you in a few hours. :D

"Happy?" Kouichi asked, after showing Jay his text.

"Yes, actually, I am. By the way, I'm not that pushy."

"Really?" he asked, raising his eyebrow, "Yeah, and you're not sarcastic either."

"Shut up." Jay giggled, and flicked her friends forehead.

Once again, thank my Discount Tire friend for the awesome drawing! Show your appreciation by commenting and liking the chapter! She's also the one that is editing the chapters, so thank her in the comments for that, too!