--Seven years before Day One // At the Elmore Junior High School cafeteria--

 

Rachel exited the lunch line, her lunch tray in her hands, moving towards her usual spot. Her spot was, of course, the one where all her friends gathered for daily chatter, venting, and a bit of gossip. She walked over to the bench at the table, her friends suddenly hushing up upon seeing Rachel. Rachel sat down, feeling alienated and a little angry as her friends looked at her in silence. She sighed. 

 

"Yeah. My stupid kid brother made me invite all his dumb friends. Is that why none of you showed up?" 

 

One girl to Rachel's side snickered, prompting Rachel to peer over, a scowl on her face. 

 

"What's so funny!?"

 

The girl looked back, still giggling. 

 

"I heard that you kissed one of the boys there... And he was a ten year old! You big pedo dweeb!"

 

Rachel's angry look turned to shock. She blushed and lowered her face in shame as the rest of the girls laughed out loud. 

 

"Sh- shut up... I'm not a pedo..."

 

The girl right next to her looked at her. 

 

"Oh, don't be sad... We'll find you a real boyfriend... at the elementary school!" 

 

The girls continued to laugh while Rachel stood up and went to a different table. She sat at the end of the table, by herself. The others didn't give chase, more likely out of spite than respect. Rachel ate her now lukewarm lunch food, depressed. 

 

I'm.... not a pedo. Am I? No, I'm not. That kiss I gave Darwin was just a one-time thing. I'm not some creepy old guy in a raincoat. I like boys my age... But Darwin handled it so well, and he was so excited, too! It was my first kiss as much as his... No, no. It was a friendly kiss on the cheek and nothing else. I'm not a pedo. 

 

She kept eating, thinking about and unable to shake off being called... a paedophile. 

 

 

--Present day // Day Two--

 

 

Today, Tobias woke up feeling ill. Ill in a manner that even he was at a loss to describe. An ugly, wretched feeling of dread hit him when he realized something. 

 

His sister never left his bed. And neither of them had clothes on since last night. 

 

He turned around slowly, his heart racing. 

 

"R...Rachel?"

 

"Hi, Tobias."

 

Tobias let out a quiet, scared whimper - although he would have screamed if it wasn't the early morning. Then, he spoke in a hushed tone of voice, afraid that their parents would hear them if they were any louder. 

 

"H- how long have you been awake?"

 

"About, eh, I'd say... Ten minutes? Don't worry, I didn't do anything while you were asleep."

 

Tobias wasn't convinced, but he let it slide out of fear. Rachel wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly, making Tobias feel gross. 

 

"Tobias, I'm... sorry."

 

"Sorry? For what?"

 

"I said a few... bad words yesterday. I tried to rush our love, and went past what you were ready for... I'm really sorry. I was just so excited to finally express my real feelings for you."

 

Tobias was confused. She wasn't apologizing for being creepy and touching him inappropriately, but for saying some bad words? 

 

"But... Yesterday, you... You touched me in my private spots..."

 

"I know, Toby. But boys and girls touch each other that way because they really, really, really love each other."

 

She stared into his eyes, Tobias feeling like running away and curling up in a ball at the same time. 

 

"I really, really, really love you, Tobias. And I know you love me, too. So we can touch each other those special ways, right?"

 

Tobias stammered, unsure of what to say. He loved Rachel, but only in the family way, and he certainly didn't like being touched. 

 

"N... No, I don't want you to touch me like that-"

 

"Tobias, don't you love me?"

 

"But I still love you, Rach."

 

"If you did, you would be okay with touching our special spots. That's how adults-"

 

"I don't care if that's how adults say they love each other, we're not adults."

 

"I know, but I want to have an adult relationship with you."

 

"Why?"

 

"Because..."

 

She rubbed his back, nuzzling her head on his cheek. 

 

"You're the only one in my life, Tobias. Only you matter to me. Only you really pay attention to me. And I think only you can... really... love me."

 

She started to cry, her hands in a grip around his sides as if her life depended on them.  

 

"Ever since that party we had a few years ago, everyone I knew rejected me, mocked me, bullied me, or acted like I had dropped off the face of the planet... Except for you."

 

"Wha... What are you say-... How does that lead to...?"

 

Tobias both knew and didn't know how to respond to her. But Rachel had answers for him. 

 

"I'm saying, since then, no one's been as nice to me and as accepting of me as you have. Discounting the occasional sibling rivalry, heheh. And it's only natural for me to really, truly love you after all the love and affection you've shown to me... The adorable, charming little slice of heaven that you are, Toby!" 

 

Tears streamed down her face while she held Tobias tight, squeezing him hard. 

 

"All I want is to be with you, and if I mean nothing to everyone else, then everyone else is nothing to me." 

 

Tobias pushed away from Rachel, panting hard. She was shocked at first, but smiled while she wiped off some of her tears. 

 

"Sorry about that. Guess I was getting overexcited again. My bad, Toby." 

 

Tobias had gotten out of bed due to his sister squeezing the breath out of him. He put his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. Rachel got out of bed as well, putting her clothes back on. 

 

"Anyways... I can't believe we actually slept together. That was awesome. Let's do it again tonight." 

 

Tobias felt the same cold terror from yesterday. His eyes widened in anxious panic. 

 

"Please, please no. Please no, Rachel."

 

"Tobias?"

 

Rachel started to look sad again. 

 

"I know you care about me, Tobias. I know you love me. Unless I'm wrong about that, and you don't."

 

"I do, but-"

 

"You don't, right? You think I'm a mistake, right?"

 

"No, Rachel, I don't-"

 

"Because there's a place for the world's mistakes, and if you think I'm a mistake, then I have no one left, Tobias... I'll go there and everyone will forget about me..."

 

Rachel grabbed her frightened brother's hand. 

 

"...Even you."

 

Tobias' knees wobbled. He loved his sister. He didn't she was a mistake or anything. And he absolutely didn't want to forget about her - although he did want to forget about the entirety of yesterday. 

 

"I... That's not true, Rach..."

 

"What isn't? That you care about me?"

 

"No, no! I do care about you. I do love you."

 

"You say that, but how can I be sure?"

 

Tobias felt defeated. 

 

"Because I... I'll let you sleep with me tonight..."

 

"You will?"

 

"And you can..."

 

He breathed in through his nose and out his mouth. 

 

"You can even... touch... me... But just once! Please?"

 

"Oh, thank you, Toby!"

 

She hugged him with the biggest smile she ever had on her face. Tobias cracked a small smile, despite that not reflecting at all what he felt inside. 

 

--At midday--

 

Tobias was on the living room couch, replaying yesterday and last night in his head. The touching especially. And those bad words she used... Were they 'dick' and 'pussy'? And that weird one - 'fuck'? Why were those bad words, and why was she saying them? How did she know them? All he knew was, he didn't want to 'see her pussy'. He wanted the normal Rachel back. 

 

What happened to her? Did she just go crazy last month? 

 

He slouched, seeing his mom come downstairs. She looked cheery, heading into the kitchen before glancing at her son. 

 

"Oh - Tobias! Your sister's doing your laundry, mind giving her a hand?"

 

"Uh- uh, sure thing, mom!"

 

He got up and gave a smile to his mother as he passed, keeping up the facade that nothing was wrong. In the laundry room was Rachel, working on the laundry pile in his room from yesterday, as well as her laundry. She looked over at him, in a tank top and shorts. 

 

"Oh, hey, Toby! Did mom want you to help me?"

 

"Uh... Yeah... I didn't want to, but..."

 

"Don't worry. It's really easy when you get the hang of it. I'll help you! We'll get done in a snap."

 

"Okay..."

 

"Cheer up, little dude. I'll show you."

 

She crouched next to him, finding and grabbing a used pair of his undies from the pile. 

 

"These, mister, are your undies!"

 

She put them in front of his face, Tobias getting a whiff before coughing it out. 

 

"Gross, that's - *cough* that's rank..."

 

"Because somebody hasn't showered in a week or two!"

 

She took the undies away, allowing Tobias to catch his breath. He coughed again before seeing her - something he wished he didn't do. She was holding his undies up to her face, her nose right where his... private parts would be. She took a deep, deep breath, then exhaled sharply. 

 

"Not that I mind," she seductively growled. She tossed the pair into the washer, but only after taking another sniff of the ripe stench emitting from them. Tobias was freaked out, going into fight or flight mode. 

 

"Uh, Rach, I gotta... go use the bathroom!"

 

"Heheh, you always say that when you have to do chores. And don't look so scared, that was just a little bit of flirting!"

 

Tobias knew what flirting was - and what she did definitely wasn't flirting. He fast walked out of the room, putting a poker face on and heading up the stairs. His mom peeked out from the kitchen. 

 

"Honey? Aren't you gonna help your sister?"

 

"Oh, I'm, uh, just gonna go have a shower."

 

"You sure? It looks like she's almost done with the laundry. Your shower would probably have five minutes worth of hot water." 

 

"Then, uh..."

 

He came back down, poker face wearing down. 

 

"I'll stay down here."

 

Jackie looked concerned. 

 

"Sweetheart, are you okay?"

 

"Yeah, yeah, just tired." 

 

"You can come talk to me if anything's come up. You sure you're ok, Toby?"

 

"I'm ok, mom. Really."

 

He smiled at her before heading into the living room and turning on the TV. His mother went in the kitchen to get a lunch ready while he stared, dead-eyed, at the TV, not really thinking about what was on. He was back to where he was earlier, reliving yesterday's events like they had happened minutes ago. 

 

--That night--

 

Tobias stood outside the door to his bedroom. He never took a shower. In fact, the day was as uneventful as it got... past the midday, at least. But all day he dreaded coming back up just for Rachel to walk in and do those things to him all over again. 

 

I can't go back now, he thought. And I can't sleep comfortably on the couch. But I don't wanna go back in there and-

 

"Hi, Toby."

 

The whisper in his ear almost made him jump. Rachel was looming over him, wearing the same tank top and shorts from earlier in the day. 

 

"I see you're ready. You can go in first. It's your room..."

 

She pecked Tobias on the cheek, making him anxiously sweat. He took a deep breath in. 

 

"Okay, Rach..."

 

He opened the door to his room, going to sit on his bed while Rachel followed him in, shutting the door behind her. She sat with him on his bed, grabbing his arm. Tobias inhaled sharply. 

 

Please don't touch me, he thought. Please, please don't touch me! 

 

Rachel playfully smiled at Tobias. 

 

"Okay, I touched you just once."

 

Tobias closed his eyes, waiting to feel his sister's hand reach into his phasewear and touch his private parts... But that didn't happen. Instead, Rachel let go of his arm and laid on the bed, seductively staring at him. 

 

"You ready for bed, Toby? I know I am." 

 

She winked at him, putting a hand on his blanket. 

 

"I'm waiting..."

 

Feeling like he had no other choice, Tobias laid with Rachel while she pulled the blanket over them. She hugged him again, kissing him on the lips for several seconds. Tobias closed his eyes again, his mind going haywire with how stressed he was. He could feel it - she was going to touch him again. She stopped kissing him, smiling at him while holding him in her arms. 

 

"G'night, Toby."

 

She closed her eyes and snuggled up with him. Tobias was as confused as he was scared. 

 

"...You're not gonna... touch me?"

 

Rachel giggled, rubbing Tobias' back, sending a chill down it. 

 

"You did say to touch you only once, right? Besides, like I said this morning, I don't wanna rush our relationship. I've still got a lot to teach you... my sweet little boyfriend."

 

She kissed him once more before her body relaxed. Tobias, however, was in no position to relax. Whether she touched him tonight or not, she still touched him last night. She was still really creepy to him earlier in the day. And he knew that it wouldn't stop any time soon, as he knew behavior like what his sister did escalates more often than not. 

 

He wanted so badly to run into his parent's room and tell them everything... But what if they didn't believe him? What if they thought he was making it up to make his sister look bad? Or worse... What if Rachel was right, and she would go to a place where mistakes go to be forgotten? He didn't want to do that to his own sister. Not to mention how happy she was when she was with him, happier than she had ever been throughout the month... 

 

Looking back at his sister as she began to doze off, he settled himself down as best as he could, knowingly sharing a bed with her in a way that transcended family ties. 

 

Rachel... Why? What happened to you?