Chapter 38

       "Guess what day it is?" Zayden asked, walking into the kitchen where the rest of us were already eating breakfast. 

       "Saturday?" Willow asked.

       "No," Zayden said.

       "Isn't it, though?" Echo asked.

       "Okay, yes, but that isn't what I meant," Zayden said. "Since you are all too clueless to understand, it is the day of the year that's all about me."

       "Isn't that everyday?" I asked, and Zayden slapped me upside the head, which made me glare at him. It was true. He thought the world revolved around him at times, and basically everyday was about him.

      "Zayden, don't slap your brother," Dad said. "Especially when he's right."

      Zayden huffed. "Okay, the day that is more about me than anyone else in this family."

      "Uh, hello, we're twins," I said. "It's not just your birthday."

      "Yes, but I was born first, and I claimed February tenth as my own," Zayden said. "It's not my fault you decided to be born right after me. You could have waited a few more hours until it was the eleventh."

      "Technically, Rhys wasn't born right after you," Willow said. "Didn't Mom and Dad say he was technically dead? If anything, this day is more about him than you."

      Zayden stared at Willow for a bit before looking at Mom and Dad. "Two things. I no longer want her as my sister, and I no longer want to be a twin."

      "Says the one who isn't compared to the other as much," I said before I started mocking people I heard all the time. "Hey, Rhys, you should dress more like your brother. Hey, Rhys, you're too quiet. Be more out going like your brother."

       "Ew, no, don't be more like your brother," Echo said.

       "Okay, I feel like my birthday has suddenly turned into Pick On Zayden Day," Zayden said.

       "What? I like Rhys for who he is," Echo said. "I don't want him to be more like someone else."

       "You could have done that without saying ew."

       Echo just shrugged as the door opened and closed. Kingsley then walked into the kitchen. "What's up, fam?" Kingsley said. "I am here to have breakfast with you all since it is my favourite cousin's birthday."

       "That better be cousins with the apostrophe after the s," Zayden said.

       "Sure, let's go with that," Kingsley said before sitting down at the other side of me.

       "So, it wasn't?" Zayden asked.

       "Nope," Kingsley said. "Come on, Rhys is like my best friend. Of course he's going to be my favourite cousin. My only favourite."

       "I have a secret of yours I'll tell."

       "Do it."

       Kingsley probably thought Zayden wouldn't do it, but he did anyway. "Kingsley used to have a thing with a Bennet," Zayden said. "Everett Bennet. Yeah, a guy."

      "And?" Dad asked. 

      "And?" Zayden repeated. "A Bennet. A guy."

      "Boo hoo, I'm a guy who was curious to see what it was like being with a guy," Kingsley said. "I have a girlfriend now, so leave me alone."

       "Yeah, and don't insult us Bennets," Echo said.

       Zayden looked at Echo with furrowed eyebrows. "Isn't your last name Proctor?"

       "Yes," Echo said. "But my mom's maiden name is Bennet. And you do know that I'm related to Evereet, right?"

       "What?" Kingsley asked. "Since when?"

       "Since we were born," Echo said. "He's my mom's aunt's son."

       "That's news to me," Kingsley said. "You know what else is news to me? Zayden seeing someone on Nonpareil."

      Zayden immediately glared at me. "Traitor."

      "It's not my fault," Rhys said. "He asked me who you were seeing and I couldn't lie because I'm a horrible liar."

       "Yeah, you just lied right there," Zayden said. "Did you tell him?"

       "No."

       "I hate you."

       "Wait," Dad said. "Zayden, please don't tell me it's the owner's daughter?"

       "I refuse to speak without a lawyer present."

       "Great," Dad muttered. "Now both of my sons are dating the children of the Prince's enemies."

       "Ooh, so who are the parents of Zayden's girlfriend?" Kingsley asked, resting his chin on his hands to look genuinely interested. "And you can't not tell me because I gave you the information of Zayden dating someone from Nonpareil."

       "Yeah, thanks for that," Zayden said sarcastically.

       "You're welcome," Kingsley said. "So...."

       Dad sighed. "It's just two people D.A.N.C.E never got along with. They're way too full of themselves and was always trying to start fights with us. It got very annoying, so break up with her."

      "Oh my gosh, you're hilarious," Zayden said. "Yeah, not happening. If it makes you feel anybody, she's always telling me how annoying and melodramatic her parents are. She's even thinking of changing dance studios because they're that annoying."

       "Oh, okay, good," Dad said.

       What were the odds that both Zayden and I were dating someone that were the children of a person my parents couldn't get along with? 

       Apparently very high odds.

       "Hey, you know what I just realized?" Echo asked me. "My grandma is always telling me stories of this one guy she dated in university, and his son was who my mom liked, and that's Kingsley's dad...."

      "Which dad?" Kingsley asked.

      Echo ignored him, which was a smart move. Kingsley made that joke all the time, and it was best to ignore it. "Which would mean that that guy is your grandpa."

      That got Dad to start laughing. "Oh, trust me, my dad never dated your grandma."

      "Yeah, I kind of figured she was lying," Echo said. "Mainly because my great-aunt would always tell me it was a complete lie. What really happened?"

      "My parents were dating then and your grandma had a huge crush on my dad," Dad said. "She was always slut-shaming my mom because she was pregnant with me, even thought my mom had only been with my dad. It's quite amusing, actually."

       "Gee, your family really is crazy," I said to Echo.

       "Yeah, tell me about it," Echo said. "They're all so obsessed with whoever they have a crush on. I'm just happy I turned out normal after being from two generations of pure craziness."

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Mina is Echo's grandma lol. cx

Zayden is lowkey me whenever it's my birthday. Jk, I'm Nolan and I get confused when my friend sends me a birthday message. cx

AND SPEAKING OF NOLAN, let's insert of gif of him because WHY NOT: (i have a lot of gifs after coming home and gifafying everything, and i miss posting gifs all the time so im psoting them everywhere. who cares which book it is?)

I'm so happy I stan him. <3 HE DESERVES TO BE STANNED.