Mrs. Abi steps into the classroom, followed by a tall and slender boy. His bright green eyes bore into my mind. He smiles and waves. I feel an overwhelming sense of calm wash over me.

What is this?

There’s nothing special about him. Raven-black hair, arsenic-green eyes, freckles sprinkled across his face. Although he /is/ dressed as if it is winter. It’s breezy outside but not too cold.

If there’s nothing special, why does he stick out? Why am I drawn to him?

“Hi! I, um… I’m Axel. What’s your name?”

I look at the voice with a start. I feel my face heat up. Why is he next to me- When did he get here- That calmness is quickly replaced by an tense feeling in my stomach. I just stare at him.

“Ooookay… That’s not slightly unnerving…” Axel mumbles. “Can you hear me? Are you mute? Deaf? I know ASL!”

He demonstrates by saying, “My name is that one car part.”

“Sorry! I- just- Don’t talk to me,” I blurt out.

“Hhh… What?”

“I said don’t talk to me!”

Wait.

No.

That’s not what I meant!

I plant my face in my palms. I’m so stupid. I didn’t mean that. Now I’ve messed up.

“Hey, uh… I know you said not to talk to you, but… you look kinda… I don’t know, sad?” Axel says.

“Stop. No! I li- No! Wait-” I stutter. My face heats up again.

“Hey, by the way, what's your name? I asked but you just kinda... zoned out.”

“Ibi…” I mumble.

Oh, cool! That’s, like, Danish, right? Are you from Denmark?”

I nod.

“Can you speak Danish?”

I nod.

“Can you demonstrate?”

I nod again. “Kan du forstå mig?”

Axel just smiles at me. I don’t think he can.

“Godt. Jeg hader dig. Du får mig til at føle mig forfædelig. Du får mig til at føle mig godt tilpas. Du får mig til at føle mig anspændt. Og jeg hader dig for det,” I whisper.

“Cool! Can you teach me?”

“No.”

My twin brother Ian walks around me in circles as we make our way home. He sings, “Ibi and Axel sittin’ in a tree…” over and over. To make matters worse, he even invited Axel to walk home with us. He lives in the same neighborhood.

“Ian, would you shut up?” I ask. “We’re in high school. Not second grade.”

“Nope! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

“Røvhul!”

“You two are humorous,” Axel says.

“Yeah, we are.” Ian leans into my ear. “Ibi and Axel-“

“Fanden dig, Ian!” I yell.

“I’m going to assume you’re cussing him out?” Axel asks.

We walk in silence. We’re in a line next to each other, Axel on the left, Ian in the middle, and me on the right. Ian walks to my right and pushes me closer to Axel.

Axel smiles at me. My cheeks heat up. Ian whips out his phone and takes a picture of me. I look at the picture and contemplate punching him.

“Wow, Ibi. Axel’s tall and probably strong. If you were in danger, he could save you!” Ian teases.

“Oh no, I’m actually very fragile! I bet you or Ibi could break my arm if you wanted. I probably can’t even pick either of you up.” Axel laughs.

“Why don’t you give it a try?” Ian takes my backpack off, taking off an extra five pounds. Alone, I only weigh ninety pounds.

I don’t think he was going to try to carry me, but I push Axel away anyway. I hear him gasp in pain as he falls to the ground. I hate you, Axel. You make me feel awful. You make me feel good. You make me feel tense. And I hate you for it.

“Ibi, you dumbass!” Ian yells at me. “Look what you did!”

“No, no! I-I’m fine!” Axel says quickly. He stands to his feet with minor difficulty.

“I-I didn’t mean to! It’s just-“ …I don’t know what it is.

This is Ian’s fault. He heard what I said earlier today when he shouldn’t have. He invited Axel to walk home with us. It’s his fault.

“Ian, this wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t been listening to our conversation earlier!” I yell.

“Yeah, that one-ended conversation. This kid only speaks English, stupid. It’s not like he could’ve said anything back,” Ian says.

“Hey, what /did/ you say earlier?” Axel asks.

“She said she loves y-“

“Hold kæft før jeg knækker din hals, din lille tæve,” I snap.

“Loves-“ Axel stares at me.

“No! Nonononono! Ian just… misheard me!” I say quickly. “Ian, dit lille lort.”

Ian smiles at me. “Too bad home’s not another three blocks away, hm? Well, back to singing! Ibi and Axel…”

I just ignore him. He’s not worth my time. Neither is Axel. Axel isn’t worth anything to me. Nothing. I hate him. Hate him, hate him, hate him.

“Hey, Axel, do me a favor and take my baby sister with you so she gets off my ass,” Ian says.

“I-“

“Ian, I’m not your baby /anything./ Stop referring to me as if we aren’t twins,” I say flatly. “And besides, I’m not the one who needs to get off your ass. /You/ need to get off of /mine./“

“You’re no fun. Hey, let’s take a detour!” my brother suggests.

“The last time you did that, you came home at one in the morning reeking of pot. So no.”

“But a detour sounds fun!” Axel says.

“I will break both your weedy necks.”

“That… That doesn’t sound so fun…”

I see Ian beckon Axel over to him. He whispers something in his ear. It can’t be important. It’s probably about that “detour.”

But Axel’s eyes widen. He stares at me.

“Y-You… love… me..?” His voice becomes quieter with each word. I feel my face turn bright red.

“Y-Ye- No! I-“

Axel stares at me.

“I-I don’t- I do! No!”

/I hate you./