Shades of Gray -- Ch. 8 is up.

So, for those of you who read my other stories, you know I'm one to postpone all the fun smutty stuff... and this story is my attempt to break away from that. So smut will be here pretty damn soon. Read, love, review, thanks!
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Seth was asleep in the backseat of the minivan when his sister’s high pitched shriek startled him awake. He bolted straight into a sitting position, his sunglasses sliding down the bridge of his nose until they were barely dangling on his ears. “Whuuzzat?” he muttered, looking around.

“We’re nearly there!” Maria shouted in his ear. She had turned in her chair to grin brightly at him. He yawned and pushed the glasses up onto the top of his head. “Look, Seth, we’re coming up on the welcome sign.”

Seth leaned over to study the sign as they passed it. It was dull, brick red, faded, and looked like it’d been there, untouched for years. “Somewhere?” he asked skeptically, and glared at the back of his father’s head. “You’re actually moving us to a place called Somewhere?”

“Kind of cute, isn’t it?” his mother, Amelia, said, reaching over to touch her husband’s shoulder. “Joseph and I found the perfect house.”

“Almost perfect.” Joseph corrected, and Amelia shrugged and nodded. “The yard is too big.”

”How can a yard be too big?” Maria asked. “Ruby will love it. Won’t you Ruby?” she wrapped her arms around the neck of the red and white husky sitting beside her, and the dog licked her face.

“It’s too big if I have to mow it.” Joseph told her.

“Nonsense. Isn’t that what we adopted a son for?” Amelia teased, and Seth stuck his tongue out at her.

Seth and Maria were blood siblings. They’d been orphaned when Seth was twelve, in a car accident that killed both their parents and put Seth in a coma for three weeks. They’d been driving to pick up Maria, who was ten at the time, from dance class. They’d planned on going out for Seth’s birthday afterwards.

Seth came out of the coma to find that Maria had already been placed in foster care, and the couple that had decided to take her had filed documents to get him as well. He was discharged from the hospital with twenty three stitches in his head, running from his left eyebrow into his hair behind his ear, a shattered knee (which they rebuilt out of plastic and pins), and a severe case of night terrors. Six months later, the adoption papers had gone through, and Seth and Maria Vasquez became Richardsons.

Now, six years later, Seth loved his new parents, although his dead parents were always what he thought of first when it came to things involving parents in general. He still thought of his mother when he woke in the middle of the night, screaming and fighting with the blankets. He missed her dearly, her smell and the soft, curly feel of her hair against his cheek when she’d kiss him good night. He looked so much like his father, his hair the same shade of chocolate shot through with gold highlights, his eyes the same vivid green and slanted slightly, his nose the same thin blade, that it was hard to look at himself in the mirror without that great, terrible crushing feeling in his chest making it hard to breathe. Maria looked like their mothers, and instead of hurting that always comforted him. She was blue eyed, with a sweet round face and tiny upturned nose, although her hair was more blond than their mother’s, almost white, and fell in huge ringlets instead of the almost frizzy curls their mother had.

Maria seemed to have adjusted well enough to her life with the Richardsons. She called them Mom and Dad, although Seth still couldn’t’ manage to make himself go that far. Joseph and Amelia seemed to understand this, and he was infinitely grateful to them for that alone. They were wonderful, giving people, and he knew how lucky him and his sister were.

Although, at the moment, he didn’t feel that lucky at all. “This town sucks.” He muttered, watching the downtown area slide by. It looked like every other downtown in every other tiny, bump in the road town they’d driven through since leaving Florida and heading north.

“Watch it, you.” Amelia warned, turning to look at him. “Keep up that attitude and I’ll reconsider the notion that you don’t need to find a job.”

Seth shut his mouth with a snap. He’d graduated in the spring, for the last five months he’d been doing a whole bunch of nothing, and he wanted it to stay that way for the rest of the year he was taking off before college.

Joseph turned the minivan onto a side road, which quickly turned into dirt. He turned three more times, and each time he did, there were fewer and fewer houses. Finally, they turned onto a street called Heaven. Seth snorted and folded his arms across his chest. The street was mostly a track of dirt through a patch of woods. He saw two house, one on either side of the street. The one of the left was cheerfully painted white with blue trim and shutters, and was two stories tall. It had a massive porch that ran two sides, and literally huge area behind it with a privacy fence. The house on the right was narrow, three stories, and looked well maintained but somehow gloomy. It was a pale, almost dirty gray, with darker gray shutters and trim, no porch at all, and a violently red door. The trees seemed to march right up and try to swallow the house whole. Most of them in the house’s yard were ancient, drooping willows, as opposed to the tall evergreens and numerous birch he’d seen so far. There was no car in the driveway.

“Creepy.” Maria remarked, and he nodded. “I’m glad we don’t have to live there.”

“We still have to live across from it.” Seth pointed out, and Maria glared at him. He patted the top of her head. “Don’t worry,” he said as they pulled into the driveway of the blue and white house. “I’m sure the people who live there are perfectly normal.”

They all piled out of the car, and Maria and Ruby immediately ran for the backyard. Seth helped his father take in the bags they’d packed for the drive. Joseph had already driven up with the movers and most of their belongings, so they hadn’t had much to do themselves, which Seth was grateful for.

Once inside, he had to admit the house was something special. The entire first floor was almost completely open, each room separated only by an archway that was wide enough for three people standing side by side to walk through. The walls were bright white, the floors all golden hardwood. The movers had already set up the furniture in the living room, dining room, and kitchen. There was a half bath down here as well, he knew. The entry hall was wide and opened into all three major rooms, and on each side had a staircase, one up and one down. His parents had taken the basement, which was fully finished, with their own full bath. That left three bedrooms upstairs, one of which had a connecting bathroom. He’d already claimed that one as his own, much to Maria’s displeasure. The extra bedroom was going to become Amelia’s studio, where she could paint in peace.

Seth went back outside to make sure everything had gotten unloaded from the minivan. He glanced across the street, and saw his neighbors for the first time.

They were pulling into the driveway just as he came down the front stairs. The car was a big black Cadillac, a classic, maybe as old as the fifties. The car stopped, and the engine shut off, and from the backseat two identical twins came out.

They were probably only five foot eight, maybe nine, up close. They had matching shaggy raven hair, the exact same pale, pointed faces, and both wore black dress pants and red tee shirts, with red sneakers. The effect was almost painful to look at, like being drunk and having your vision double. They stood on either side of the car, and at the exact same time, they turned and looked directly at Seth. They both tilted their heads, one to the left, the other to the right. Feeling like he was hallucinating or something, Seth waved a hello. It was only polite, after all.

Each one raised a hand in response, at the exact same time, but one used their left and the other their right.

The man who’d been driving got out of the car, and Seth thought he looked alarmingly like Dracula. He was tall and agonizingly thing, with swept back black hair. He had two little wings of bright white at either temple, and a narrow, pale face. He was dressed simply in black pants and a white button up. He turned to look at the boys, said something, and then looked up at Seth. He gave him a brisk nod and turned to go inside. The boys’ hands had lowered by this point.

Seth, feeling a little like he’d just walked into the Twilight Zone, went to the back of the van and double checked for bags. Ruby’s Frisbee was there, which he picked up, but after a thorough inspection, that was it. As he slammed the hatch door and turned, he realized the boys had come across the street and were standing behind him. He let out a startled yelp and dropped the Frisbee. It hit the ground and rolled away into the grass.

“Hello.” The boys said in unison.

“Uh, hi.” Seth looked from one to the other. They had dark, nearly black eyes, and up close he saw they weren’t as young as he’d expected. They were probably his age. He stood a little taller than him; last time he’d been measured, he was five eleven and a half. The boys were probably five eight, like he’d thought. “I’m Seth.” He held out his hand, wondering if they would both shake it at the same time.

The boy on his left went first. “Casey Gray.” He said, smiling. The left corner of his mouth went up a little more than the right, giving his smile mischievous, secret effect. His hand was smooth and warm in Seth’s. When he released it, the boy on his right took his turn. It felt like the exact same hand. “Cayden Gray.” He smiled too, the same tilted grin, only his was slightly higher on the right. “It’s nice to meet you.” They said together.

“Uh, yea, same here.” He put his hands in his back pockets. The boys stood there for a moment, as if waiting for something, but before Seth could think of something to say, they turned at the same time and walked back across the street. Seth watched them, surprised and a little offended by their abrupt departure. He watched them go into the house, then bent and retrieved the Frisbee.

He went into the backyard, where Ruby was chasing Maria around, barking and yapping madly. He whistled, getting her attention, and showed her the Frisbee. The dog went nuts, bounding over and running tiny circles around Seth’s legs until he threw it. Then she was off, a blur of red and white, and Maria came over to stand beside Seth.

“I was wondering where that was.” Maria said, watching Ruby miss the Frisbee by inches as it hit the grass and skidded. “Is it nice inside?”

“Yea, what I saw. Haven’t been upstairs yet.” Maria slipped her arm around his waist, pressing her head against his arm until he lifted it and put it around her shoulders. “You’ll be okay.” He told her.

“I know. I’m just worried.” She admitted. “Things changing makes me nervous.” He knew what she meant.

“Come on, let’s go in. I’ll help you unpack.” He pulled her towards the backdoor.

“No way, I don’t want you rooting through my stuff.” She pushed away from him and ran up the stairs to the door. He chased her, but she was faster, and the door slammed in his face before he get inside. He heard the lock slide into place and swore under his breath.

“Ruby!” he called, and the dog trotted over, the Frisbee in her mouth, her tail wagging. “Come on, stupid.” He said affectionately, and went around to the front door.
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Seth collapsed onto his unmade bed with a sigh. His back ached, and he was sweaty. Joseph had worked him ragged, unpacking things and putting things away, and he hadn’t even gotten started on his own stuff. It was after dinner, almost ten at night. Maria had already fallen asleep, and Joseph and Amelia were in the basement, watching a movie. He figured he’d just wait until tomorrow to start his own stuff. He’d promised to walk Maria to school the next morning; she was already registered and had her books. Joseph had to start his new job tomorrow, too. He’d been transferred here to lead the new homicide division of the county police. Amelia would be in her studio, setting up all day, so Seth knew he’d have plenty of time to unpack.

He decided that he needed a shower before sleeping, though, so he dragged himself off the bed and into his bathroom. There wasn’t a bath tub, which he didn’t care about, but the shower was one of those awesome glass wall jobs, big enough that it had two shower heads, one on either side. It looked great. He stripped quickly and climbed in, blasting the water as hot as he could stand.

After his shower, he brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and put on a pair of boxers, which was all he ever bothered to sleep in. Unfortunately the shower had woken him up enough to make sleep difficult for now, so he decided to set up his computer.

The movers had put his desk up against the window that faced the street, which was the only place it could logically go. The only other socket in the room was near the alcove for his bed. He found the box marked ‘computer’ and opened it.

As he was plugging everything in, he noticed movement through the window, which didn’t have any blinds installed on it yet. He leaned over the desk, squinting.

The twins were standing in the middle of their front yard. Frowning, he leaned so far that his forehead resting against the window, to get a better look at what they were doing. After a few moments, he realized they weren’t doing anything at all. It looked like they were just standing there, talking. They were facing each other, maybe five feet apart, their hands in their pockets and their heads tilted up at the sky.

Seth shook his head and went back to setting up his computer. “Weirdos.” He muttered, pushing the twins to the back of his mind. He booted up the computer, listening to the soft hum of its inner workings.

He set up the wireless access, which his father had gotten hooked up when he’d been up here the week before. He checked him email, reading and replying to the messages his friends from back home had sent them.

A thought struck him as he was sending the last email. It came from out of nowhere, but considering the situation outside, he guessed it wasn’t too weird that it popped up. He’d read something before, about twins like Casey and Cayden, something about the left and right thing…

He looked it up, and sure enough his suspicion was real. There was such a thing as mirror twins, identical twins who come from the same egg but split later than normal. They run a high risk of being conjoined, he read, and they exhibit mirrored qualities from one another; one will be left handed and the other right, cowlicks tend to be on opposite sides, even dental problems tend to mirror in these types of twins.

He stood up, leaning forward to see if they were still outside. Sure enough they were, but they’d turned just as Seth had looked out the window. They saw him. For some strange reason Seth decided to go outside. He didn’t know why, but he wanted to talk to them.

He dressed quickly and slipped downstairs, careful not to make too much noise. After dark the tiniest sound would send Ruby into a frenzy, and he didn’t want to risk waking Maria up.

The twins gave him that strange, secret smile as he approached them, and in unison they said, “Good evening, Seth.” Seth almost shuddered; it was creepy that they talked together.

“Hi.” Now that they were face to face, he had no idea what to say. He said the first thing that came to mind. “What are you doing out here?”

The boys looked at each other, doing that head tilt thing they had earlier. Then they turned their attention to Seth again. “Watching.” One of them said, and the other added, “There’s shooting stars tonight.”

Seth looked up, and sure enough, a pale streak of light flashed across the sky. It was beautiful against the swirls and patterns of stars. He’d never seen so many before; he’d always lived in the city. Now, seeing them without the lights blocking them out, it was amazing.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” one of the twins asked him. “We like to come out here a lot at night.” The other said. “It’s nice that there’s more to look at now, too.” The first remarked, and they both laughed. It was a strange noise, almost hoarse, and the way the two sounds overlapped and became one was disturbing.

Seth studied them, confused about that last comment. “What’s new to look at?” he asked, and they laughed again, giving each other knowing looks.

“New neighbors.” One of them explained. “We like new people.” The other said.

“I can’t tell which one of you is which.” Seth admitted, and they grinned. “Help me out a little here.”

They both held up their hands, wrists out. The one on the left had a circle with a star in the middle tattooed on his left wrist. The one on the right had a circle with a crescent moon tattooed on his right wrist. “Casey as the star.” The one on the right said. “Cayden has the moon.” The one on the left said.

Seth pointed to the boy on the left. “You’re Casey.” He nodded. Seth pointed to the boy on the right. “You’re Cayden.” He nodded. “Okay. I’ll try to remember that.” He probably wouldn’t, he knew, but he was also beginning to see that Casey was the left twin, and Cayden was the right twin. “You two are strange.” He blurted out, and immediately flushed. He hadn’t meant to say it.

“We get that a lot.” They both said, and laughed again. “We think you’re interesting.” Casey said. “Very interesting.” Cayden agreed.

“Uh, thanks.” Seth said vaguely. “It’s late. I’ll talk to you later.” He almost turned and went inside, but another thought struck him. “How old are you two?” he asked.

“Nineteen.” They replied, smiling.

“Okay.” He’d asked because he was curious if they were still in school or not. They looked younger than they were. He turned and headed into the house. On the porch, though, he turned and looked back.

They were standing with their backs to him, looking up at the sky again. He saw that they were holding hands, and frowned. He hurried into the house.
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“Have a good day.” Seth told Maria, and leaned over to kiss her cheek. She hugged him and then ran up the front stairs and into the building. He watched the kids filing in for a while, before turning and heading back home.

The walk to the high school wasn’t that long, maybe twenty minutes at most. They’d been fine on the way there, but as he walked home, Seth began to realize he was probably lost. He stopped at a four way crossing, all of them dirt roads, and no street signs in sight. Sighing, he picked west without thinking about it. As he walked, he thought about all of the work that had to be done at the house. He hadn’t realized how much stuff he really had until it was all in boxes in the middle of an empty room. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn’t even notice one of the twins until he spoke.

“Hello, Seth.”

He jumped, startled, and looked around.

“Up here.”

He looked up, and directly above him he saw two legs that ended in bright red sneakers, about ten feet above his head. The boy leaned forward, balancing on the tree branch he was perched on, and smiled at Seth. He waved with his left hand, and Seth saw the star.

“Hi Casey.” Seth said, somewhat annoyed that he’d been surprised like that. “Where’s your other half?”

Casey laughed. “In the woods.” He said, and gestured at the line of trees. He jumped from the branch, landing lightly, and straightened up. “Are you busy?”

Seth thought about it, then shook his head. The twins were creepy, but he really didn’t want to unpack. Casey smiled that slanted smile and gestured for Seth to follow. He turned and walked into the trees. After a minute, Seth followed.

They found Cayden knee deep in a stream, his pant legs rolled up and a huge bullfrog in his hands. He waved at Seth with his right hand and climbed out of the stream. “It’s nice to see you again, Seth.” He greeted, smiling. The bullfrog croaked, and he absently bent and dropped it into the grass, where it promptly hopped away.

There was a foot bridge over the stream, with no railing, and Casey went over and sat on it, pulling off his sneakers. Seth looked around. The stream passed through a clearing here, surrounded by huge oaks and willow trees. He saw that in one tree across the stream was an old but seemingly well taken care of tree house. He asked the twins who had built it, and who used it, and they both shrugged at the same time.

“It’s been there for years.” Casey told him. “We see younger kids in there sometimes.” Cayden added, sitting down beside his twin. Seth walked over, his hands in his pockets and sat down as well.

“What are you two doing out here?” he asked.

“We like it.” Casey said with a shrug. “It’s quiet.” Cayden put in. “Cayden’s studying to be a herpetologist next year.” Casey told Seth. “Reptiles and amphibians.” Cayden explained.

Seth nodded. “And what about you, Casey?” he asked.

Casey shook his head. “I don’t intend to ever had a job.” He said with a grin. “He just wants to sponge off me.” Cayden told Seth.

“Do you have a girlfriend back in Florida?” Casey asked.

“How did you know I’m from Florida?” Seth asked.

“Our father told us.” Cayden said. “He met your father last week.” Casey added.

“Your dad’s a cop?”

“County coroner.” Cayden told him.

“Great.” That figured. Creepy house, creepy kids, and a creepy job. “I did have a girlfriend. Emily. We broke up when I left.”

“That’s sad.” They said together.

“What about you two? Are you ever away from each other long enough to have girlfriends?” he knew that probably sounded rude, but the twins smiled, so he didn’t apologize.

“We both have separate jobs.” Casey explained. “But we aren’t interested in having girlfriends.” Cayden told him. They both laughed, and Seth had a moment to ponder that. His first thought was so incredibly wrong that it almost made him sick, and he quickly pushed it away. The idea that the two of them might not need girlfriends simply because they had each other was just too much to consider, so he made himself stop thinking about it.

He realized that one of them had asked him something, and he looked over. He thought it had been Casey. “I’m sorry? I zoned out for a moment.”

“He asked if you were enjoying your new house.” Cayden asked.

“Oh, yea, it’s nice.” Seth checked his watch. “I should probably get back. I have to finish unpacking.” Start was more like it, but whatever. He stood up, and after a moment so did the twins. Like usual, it was almost perfect unison, aside from the fact that they each put a different foot up first.

“We’ll walk with you.” They said together. Seth was secretly grateful. This way, he’d get home without getting lost.

The twins were silent on the way back, and didn’t even speak when they parted between the houses. Seth watched them disappear through the red door. Then he went in and up to his room.

He was halfway through his third box when Amelia came in to check on him. Seth told her about the twins, and she agreed that they sounded odd. “But the strange ones are usually the best art heart.” Amelia told him, and smiled. “It’s nice that you’re already making friends.” She kissed his cheek, told him lunch would be ready at one, and left the room.

He walked over to the window facing the street and looked at the twins’ house. The car was gone, which meant their father was at work. As he studied the house, he saw that the very top floor had only one window, and it was the only window not covered by heavy curtains. In fact, the window was wide open, and the scene inside made Seth’s stomach lurch.

The room appeared to be a bedroom. The twins were in there, hands buried in each other’s hair, mouths locked together. Seth tried to make himself back away from the window, avert his gaze, but there was something so disturbingly surreal about the whole thing that he couldn’t even make himself blink. The twins broke off their kiss, and one of them slid down to kneel between the other’s feet.

Seth spun around, his back to the window, his heart pounding. He realized with a sick, dawning horror that he had a raging hard on.