Kiss Gone Wrong

02-If Only I Had Known

When I got home, Nathan was sitting at the kitchen island, strumming his guitar as he read chords from the internet. "Hey Nate." I greeted and ruffled his hair. He pulled his headphones off. "Hi Lee. How was it?" He asked. "School? The usual. Where's Lynn?" I asked. "In her room. Beware, she's got a new boyfriend this week and she wants him to meet you." Nathan's tone held a warning. I chuckled. I brought out the orange juice from the fridge and poured us both a glass. "So what song are you working on this week?" I sat beside him and looked at the laptop screen. "Well, Claire wants to learn how to play A-Team by Ed Sheeran. I'm just simplifying the chords for her." Nathan said. "Cool." I nodded my approval.

Claire, our step-sister, had the voice of an angel. However, when it came to hand-eye coordination for instruments, she struggled. Nathan had offered to teach her how to play the guitar a few months ago. She was very passionate about the hobby and her dedication to learning the instrument was awe-inspiring. We heard footsteps coming down the steps and Lynn came into the front door hallway, followed by some guy. "Come on Kim! You're overreacting!" He said, annoyed. My eyebrows furrowed and Nathan also turned to face the hallway. "No I am not. You cheated on me. And my name is Lynn. NOT Kim. Get out, we're done." Lynn said coldly. The guy stumbled out of the door and Lynn slammed the door shut after him. She sighed and came into the kitchen. "Hi Lee." She said tiredly. "Hey Lynn." I said and hugged her.

"That was the guy you wanted me to meet?" I asked, sipping my juice. "Not anymore. He turned out to be such a douche-bag." Lynn said as she ran her fingers through her shoulder-length hair. Nathan snorted and Lynn shot him a look. "What are you laughing at?" She asked as she flicked his nose. "You date these guys without knowing them and then moan when they turn out to be idiots. What sort of logic is that?" Nathan asked as he rubbed his nose. "Shut up Nate." Lynn said and accidentally pushed my bag off the chair. Lisa's envelope, which had been hurriedly stuffed into my bag's side pocket fell out. "Ooh, what's this?" Lynn asked. "An invitation to Lisa's one year anniversary party." I said as I began to clear the mess. "Lisa who?" Nathan asked. "Oh you know, short chick. Very squeaky voice, braided hair." Lynn described her vaguely. "Oh, that girl." Nathan said and went back to his guitar, although he didn't put on his earphones.

"Have a dress for it?" Lynn asked. "I was thinking of wearing that burgundy dress that I wore for your birthday last year." I said half-heartedly. "Ugh, no way. I have this new piece mom got me last week. You can have it." Lynn said off-handedly. "Seriously? Like to keep?" I asked. Lynn and I were almost the same size, so we often borrowed clothes from each other. I was only a little taller than her. One of us giving a dress away to the other was rare. "Yeah. The dress is loose on my body. You have more curves than me. It should look good on you." Lynn said. "Awesome." I grinned. The three of us fell silent. The only sound in the room was of Nathan plucking his guitar, filling the air with the dulcet tones of Ed Sheeran. I took a moment to think about my siblings.

Amongst the twins, Nathan was older by five minutes. I was the baby of the family. Despite that, Lynn was spoilt the most. Nathan is an extremely polite guy, following the rules and always looking out for everyone's happiness. He is soft-spoken and sometimes, a push-over. Growing up, I always felt like he was the type of guy who would always be friend-zoned but he wouldn't mind. Like I said, a bit of a push-over. A welcome mat people take for granted.

I had been there for him when he had his first break up ever. It had been three years ago, the time dad left us. He had been with that girl for over a year and he had been very serious about it before she crushed him. Despite that, he never broke down or gave up. He stayed strong for our family's sake. He took the blows for everyone. I had begun to think he was invincible until the night it was just me and him. I had asked him why his girlfriend stopped coming over, and he had told me everything. He had shed a few tears, but that only convinced me that my brother was really a good guy.

Jocelyn never intended to be a serial dater as she grew up. She kept her distance from relationships until twelfth grade. That's when everyone began noticing her. From there, it was never going back. By the time she turned eighteen, she had had three serious boyfriends and about ten not-serious ones. She found all her relationships draining, so with our help, she cut down. She reached a point where she didn't have a boyfriend for seven months. The guy who just got kicked out, was the first boyfriend she had had in months. I was rather proud of her. Apart from that, she had inherited our mother's artistic talents with the paintbrush. Lynn was an amazing artist. If you handed her a blank canvas and colours, she could zone out completely.

Nathan's phone rang, pausing my flow of thoughts. "Oh! Is it Emma?" I asked excitedly. The smile on Nathan's face answered my question. He gently placed his guitar against the foot of the table and headed to the living room to take the call. Lynn and I hid behind the kitchen door and eavesdropped. We could hear him laughing all the way upto the kitchen. "Friday at eight?" I heard him ask. "Yeah, sure. See you then." Nathan said and Lynn raised her eyebrows at me. Wowie, she mouthed and I stifled a giggle. We heard Nathan heading back and ran to our seats. "I'm taking Emma out on a date Friday night! Or she's taking me." He said and we both cheered for him. "Oh man, I gotta go make reservations." He ran his fingers through his hair nervously and left the kitchen.

I looked at Lynn. "Shouldn't Emma be making the reservations?" I asked her. "She asked me to do it as a favour!" Nathan screamed from upstairs. Lynn shrugged. "Well, Nate's busy. How about I help you get ready fro tonight?" Lynn asked. "Let's go!" I said. I had no idea that the dress was going to be the death of me.