Everly's nascent good mood evaporated faster than a puddle in the desert. Her sincere smile, moments ago so genuine, froze, then twisted into something chillingly predatory. Her eyes, now narrowed to slits, fixed on the man opposite her, a silent promise of pain. Family or not, she suddenly harbored an overwhelming desire to pinch his lips, pull them taut, and knot them together like a bad balloon animal, just to shut him up.
The young man, caught in her sudden, intense glare, actually shivered. He blinked, clearly bewildered.
Why did this seemingly fragile, gentle girl suddenly look like a Bengal tiger sizing up its next meal?
He glared back, pointing a finger at Everly, his voice rising in indignation.
"How dare you look at me like that! What, are you going to hit me? Someone violent and foul-mouthed like you doesn't deserve to be my sister!"
Zack's gentle demeanor vanished, replaced by a flash of genuine anger. His voice boomed, cutting through the tension.
"Sylas, enough! She is your real sister! Your twin! With that attitude and those words, of course she'd be angry—you're being utterly disrespectful!"
"....??"
Everly's brain stuttered.
"...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Her mind rebooted, then crashed.
"Brother?! Twin?! I'm twins with this peacock with the annoying face that looks like it wants to be slapped?!"
Everly's voice shot up an octave, a mix of disbelief and horror. She had mentally braced herself for some form of familial connection with the handsome, infuriating man, but twins? That was a plot twist she hadn't even considered. She'd always envied the seemingly idyllic bond of twins she'd seen in movies and books – the closeness, the telepathic understanding. Now, faced with the reality of a twin so profoundly annoying he made her want to commit aggravated assault, she was beginning to suspect the whole "twin bond" thing was a wildly overhyped myth.
Sylas shot up from the sofa, a storm brewing on his face, and stomped towards Everly, who was still processing the bombshell of their twinhood with a truly complicated expression.
"Who are you calling a peacock, huh?! And my face is annoying, you want to slap it?! Please. Your face is so offensively ugly, I want to punch it!"
Everly felt a vein throb ominously in her temple. Her anger, already simmering, now boiled over. She sprang to her feet, marching directly at her infuriating twin. They met in the middle, nose-to-nose, eyes locked in a fierce, unblinking stare. It was only then, in such close proximity, that Everly truly noticed it: Sylas's face was a solid 70% match for her own. Her thick, librarian-esque glasses had always made her eyes seem smaller, creating a deceptive difference, but now... the resemblance was undeniable.
She snorted, then, with a surprising burst of audacity, grabbed Sylas's chin between her thumb and forefinger.
"You called me ugly? Our faces are practically identical, you dolt! Does that mean you're insulting your own face? You think you're ugly, but you have to drag me down with you? Sorry, buddy, I've always considered myself quite beautiful. Not like some insecure, squawking peacock such as yourself."
Sylas's face flushed a furious crimson. He snatched her wrist, yanking her hand away from his chin as if it were a venomous snake.
"Identical?! We have absolutely no resemblance! I can't believe our family somehow spawned such a failed, ugly specimen like you!"
Zack, his initial anger at Sylas's harsh words warring with a rising panic, watched the unfolding spectacle. The twins, who in any sane universe should be embracing tearfully at their first reunion, were instead locked in a furious standoff, poised for fisticuffs. He was already half out of his seat, ready to intervene, especially when Everly's hand shot up, poised to strike, and Sylas reciprocated by grabbing her shirt collar.
Just as Zack prepared to intervene, his eyes landed on June. The woman, who moments ago had been weeping tears of pure joy over Everly finding her family, was now serenely sipping osmanthus tea, a beatific smile gracing her lips as she watched the impending catfight.
"Not only do their faces look alike," June mused, her voice a soft hum of contentment, "but their traits and temperaments too. They truly are identical twins! I didn't expect them to get along so well right away, talking with such enthusiasm."
Suddenly, the gears in Zack's perpetually angry brain ground to a halt, then spun wildly in reverse. The furious spat before him transformed, in his mind's eye, into a scene from a cheesy coming-of-age movie: two young men, brawling on a beach, only to end up battered but bonded, sharing a tearful, manly embrace as the sun dipped below the horizon. He settled back into his seat, taking a thoughtful sip of his own tea.
"Director Wu is absolutely right," he declared, a sage nod accompanying his words. "They're clearly cultivating their relationship. I'm sure any moment now, they'll be hugging and weeping, overjoyed at their long-awaited reunion. Hohoho..."
"Hohoho..."
June echoed, a conspiratorial twinkle in her eye. The two middle-aged adults chuckled in unison, their shared "hohoho's" creating an absurdly cozy tea-party atmosphere amidst the twins' escalating animosity.
".....???"
The brewing storm between Everly and Sylas evaporated instantly, replaced by a shared, stunned silence. The "hohoho's" from the tea-sipping duo had a peculiar way of puncturing their rage. Everly's hand, poised for impact, dropped to her side as if deflated, and Sylas's grip on her collar loosened, then vanished. Internally, a synchronized shriek echoed in both their minds:
Someone actually understands Mother June/Uncle Zack's utterly unhinged thought process?!
They stood petrified for a moment, then, with a shared, horrified glance, shuddered. The mental image of a tearful, 'bonding' hug was apparently enough to unite them in disgust. With a silent, telepathic agreement, they both took a step back.
Even in retreat, Sylas couldn't resist a final, petty flourish. He dramatically produced a pristine handkerchief from his pocket and meticulously wiped his fingers, as if Everly's shirt collar had been coated in toxic waste. Everly's foot twitched, a primal urge to kick him surging through her, but before she could act, Sylas spun on his heel, fixing Zack with a steely glare.
"Uncle, we've wasted enough time on... this. Let's go."
Zack, still idly swirling his tea, furrowed a brow. "But we still have so much to explain to Everly. About your parents, her birth, and—"
"We can explain everything later, Uncle!" Sylas cut him off, his voice sharp with impatience.
Zack sighed, his gaze softening considerably as he turned to Everly, a stark contrast to the exasperated glare he'd just given Sylas.
"Everly... we want to take you home. Everyone, including your parents and your other siblings, is waiting for you there."