My head throbs with every heartbeat as I sit between the Harris twins, feeling like a mouse trapped between two cats. The fluorescent lights of the chemistry lab buzz overhead, making my post-collision headache even worse.
Lab safety has never felt so dangerous.
After Professor Harmon's outburst, the twins actually listened and took seats on either side of me. Now I'm sandwiched between them, trying to focus on school work while hyperaware of their every movement. Rose's thigh keeps brushing against mine, while Lilly's eyes dart to my notebook every few minutes, supposedly checking my work.
"Your handwriting is atrocious," Lilly whispers, leaning close enough that I catch a whiff of her shampoo. "But your calculations are correct."
"Thanks?" I manage, striving not to stare at her like the lovesick idiot I am.
Rose doesn't even pretend to be subtle. Every time I look up from my notebook, she's already watching me, that same predatory smile playing at her lips. It's like she's memorizing my face for some future ritual.
"Alright, class," Professor Harmon calls out, clapping her hands together. "Time to break into groups of three for the next part of the experiment. Choose your partners."
Before I can even blink, Rose's hand clamps down on my arm like a vise.
"You're with us," she declares, not a question but a statement of fact.
"Obviously," Lilly adds, already gathering her materials.
I feel overwhelmed. Three years of high school fantasizing about these two, and now they're fighting to make me their lab partner?
"Uh, sure," I stammer, attempting to sound casual and failing spectacularly. "That works for me."
We move to an empty lab bench, and I'm painfully aware of every eye in the room following us. Several girls shoot daggers at the twins with their eyes.
'The vibe in this place is so odd.'
As we set up our equipment, Lilly suddenly turns to me, her usual composure slipping.
"Seth, I wanted to say sorry about earlier," she murmurs, eyes downcast. "I didn't mean to... You know."
Rose snorts. "We didn't mean to come on strong," she says with an evil smile that suggests the exact opposite. "We're just worried about you."
"The car was going slow," Lilly adds, her fingers brushing mine as she takes a beaker from my hand, "but you hit your head very hard."
"I'm fine, I think," I say, rubbing the back of my head. The world isn't spinning anymore, so that's a plus.
Rose taps a nail against the lab bench. "So... we never got to talk much in high school, huh? You were always such an ice king."
"What?" I blink at her, genuinely confused. Ice king? Me? I think back to all those years watching them from afar, too intimidated to approach. I never talked to them because they were in the cool clique. I was just part of the chill crowd.
"No, I never meant to come off as unfriendly," I add hastily when I see their expressions.
Lilly measures out a precise amount of solution, her movements methodical. "Well, you must have had it tough with all the dogs always hitting on you. Every time I looked over, one of our classmates was fawning over you." She glances up, green eyes curious. "But you seem surprisingly easy to talk to?"
I nearly drop the test tube I'm holding. "I have literally no idea what you're talking about. No one ever asked me out in high school."
The twins exchange a look I can't decipher. It's like they're having an entire conversation without words. Rose's eyebrows lift, Lilly's lips purse, and somehow they've communicated paragraphs.
"Hmm," Rose says finally, tilting her head. "You don't seem to hate us, though?"
"Hate you? Why would I hate you?" The question genuinely baffles me.
Rose rolls her eyes dramatically. "Because most guys are just stuck-up snobs. They won't give any woman a chance unless she's rich."
"I don't know about most men," Lilly says thoughtfully, "but the ones we tend to meet certainly act superior."
While I'm still processing all their bizarre words, Rose leans in close. Her lips brush against my ear as she whispers, "Speaking of reactions... did you really get hard just because I touched you earlier?"
Her warm breath sends a shiver down my spine, and my body betrays me instantly. Blood sprints to my crotch again.
Lilly notices Rose's proximity and shoots her an annoyed look, but there's undeniable curiosity in her eyes, too. Her gaze drifts downward, and her eyes widen slightly.
"Oh my," she whispers, "again?"
I want to crawl under the lab bench and die. My face runs redder than a used tampon.
"Look," I stammer, trying to salvage what little dignity I have left, "it's not weird to get like this if a hot girl touches you... or whispers in your ear. It's basic biology."
Rose's smile widens. She leans in again and deliberately blows a soft stream of air into my ear. "You're into this?" she purrs.
I nearly choke on air. My heart's hammering so hard I'm pretty sure they can hear it over the bubbling chemicals.
Lilly's eyes suddenly change, pupils expanding as she leans closer. "You think we're hot?" she asks, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.
Everything in me screams to backpedal. To laugh it off. To say something, anything, that won't make me look like the creep I actually am. These are the Harris twins. They're way out of my league. This has to be some elaborate prank.
But something stops me. Maybe it's the concussion talking, or maybe it's just that I'm tired of hiding. If this is my one shot, I can't waste it.
"Yeah," I say, my voice steadier than I feel. "I think you two are the most attractive women I've ever seen in my life."
My mouth keeps moving before my brain can stop it. "Since sophomore year of high school, I've been completely head over heels for both of you."
The words hang in the air between us like a chemical reaction about to explode. My confidence evaporates instantly, replaced by sheer panic. My chest tightens, and I'm pretty sure I'm about to have a heart attack right here in Chem Lab.
The twins just stare at me, completely stunned. Rose's mouth actually hangs open, and Lilly's eyes are wider than I've ever seen them.
"You've liked us since sophomore year?" Lilly finally asks, her voice barely audible.
"Both of us?" Rose adds, sounding equally shocked.
I nod, feeling like I might throw up. "Yeah. Sorry if that's weird."
"But you never talked to us," Lilly says, her brow furrowing. "Not once."
"I just..." I swallow hard. "It's really difficult to talk to someone when you have feelings for them. Especially when there are two of you and you're both so..." I gesture vaguely at their general existence, unable to find words that won't dig my grave deeper.
Rose's eyes light up with dangerous interest. "So what you're saying is," she leans in, voice dropping to a husky whisper, "you'd be willing to fuck us both?"
"What?" I choke again, nearly knocking over a beaker of blue liquid.
"Rose!" Lilly hisses, her face flushing crimson.
Rose rolls her eyes dramatically. "Oh, shut up, Lilly. Don't act like you don't want it too. I'm not losing my virginity to some prostitute like Rebecca did. That's so pathetic."
I'm pretty sure my brain has short-circuited. Did she just say virginity? My mouth opens and closes without sound.
"You're going to make him hate us," Lilly mutters, though her eyes keep darting to my face with something that looks suspiciously like hope.
"I could never hate you two," I blurt out before I can stop myself. The sincerity in my voice surprises even me, and I sigh, embarrassed by my own earnestness.
Rose's predatory smile returns full force. "Then it's settled. After class, you're coming home with us."
My mind races. I have two more classes today, Statistics at 11:30 and English Lit at 2. But who the hell cares about college education when the literal women of my dreams are inviting me to their place?
"Okay," I say, not even trying to sound casual anymore.
Lilly's eyes widen slightly. "Are you sure?" she asks, a hint of pink coloring her cheeks. Despite her apparent concern, there's no mistaking the excitement in her voice.
"Yeah, absolutely," I nod, probably too enthusiastically.
'What the fuck is going on?'