Almost Got It

"Hurry up!" Joe urged, almost hopping up and down with impatience.

"You're not helping," Bryan replied as he wiped a sheen of sweat from his face.

"You realize that we could all die?" Joe said.

"Gee, I didn't know that Joe!" Bryan said, laying the sarcasm on thick, "it's not like I can't see the timer. This isn't as easy as it looks."

Joe started pacing back and forth as Bryan continued to work, literally humming with anxiety.

"I've almost got it," Bryan mumbled more to himself than to Joe.

Joe stopped pacing to watch his friend intently, "ten seconds he warned."

Bryan could hear the beeping of the timer and held his breath as it read 3...2...1

He let out and explosive breath and let his head drop into his hands, frustrated with his failure. "I can't believe I have to start the level all over again," he moaned and picked up the controller

Simply Ask

"Time's getting short," Bryan taunted his brother, his tone almost sing-song in quality.

"Don't you think I know that!" Mark snarled back. His hands clenched and unclenched unconsciously as he paced back and forth in the room that they shared.

Bryan stood off to one side of the room and watched his twins restless pacing. "Seriously," he asked after a few minutes of the one man parade, "what is the big deal about this? It's not like it's the end of the world or anything."

"Easy for you to say," Mark muttered.

"What was that?" Bryan asked leaning forward.

"I said, that it's easy for you to say that. You've never had troubles with this sort of thing. It just comes easily for you," Mark said.

"Okay, seriously," Bryan said, "just go and ask her. I know you like her and she likes you, and the dance is in three days. And," Bryan stressed, "if you don't ask Katie now then somebody else might and then you lose out."

"You're right," Mark said and sat down on the edge of the bed, "but I just don't know what to say." He had heard all of the various girls around the school gushing about who had been asked and how and all the creativity that seemed to be an intrinsic part of the biggest dance of the year.

"How about, would you like to go to the dance with me?" Bryan suggested simply. He reclined on the bed with his hands crossed behind his head.

"I guess I should go and ask her then," Mark said.

"Now is as good a time as any," Bryan replied sagely and tossed his brother his cell phone.

Mark caught the phone and heard a quiet ringing coming from it followed by a faint, "hello?"

Mark raised the phone to his ear and swallowed hard, "Hi Katie, it's Mark...."

I'm Bryan

Bryan straitened his tie nervously as he tapped Amanda on the shoulder. The dance was in full swing and he had been watching her for a few minutes from across the room. He swallowed in awe as Amanda turned to face him. She was in a floor length burgundy gown, a simple flowing design that accented her figure perfectly; her hair was curled and twisted into a simple up-do that left a few tendrils framing her face.

Amanda smiled brightly as she turned and saw Mark standing behind her. "Mark!" she said with surprise, "you came."

Bryan nodded mutely, looking for all the world as if he wanted to run.

"I'm glad you came," Amanda said as she looked him up and down with appreciation. He was in a black suit with a emerald green tie. She thought it was cute how he looked nervous.

"Would," Bryan had to clear his throat, "would you care to dance?"

Amanda smiled up at him, "I would love to," she said as she took his hand.

Bryan pulled her close and fell into an easy circling pattern as a slow song came over the speakers. He noted that she smelled of lilacs.

They danced in silence, but Amanda didn't mind the silence. It was nice not to have the pressure of finding a topic of conversation, to just enjoy dancing and being close to someone.

The song was over before Bryan worked up the nerve to say what he had to tell her.

"Thank you for the dance," Amanda said as she smiled at him. AS she turned to walk back towards the music Bryan reached out and took her hand.

Amanda looked down at his hand wrapped around hers and back up at him, a question clearly expressed in her eyes.

"Can I talk to you?" Bryan asked quietly.

"Okay." Amanda said.

Bryan guided her through the crowds of people to the edge of the room where it was quieter. "Now that you can hear me," Bryan said with a half smile, "I have something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Amanda asked, her brow furrowing prettily in confusion.

Bryan drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm not Mark," he said quietly, "I'm Bryan."

Amanda frowned a little, "I thought you were Mark. Then Mark didn't come?" she asked, "He said he wasn't planning on it, but I thought when I saw you that he had decided to come after all," she finished.

Bryan blinked slowly, "No, Amanda. Mark is at home. I'm Bryan."

"Yes, you said that. Is Mark not feeling well? Did he send you to keep me company?" Amanda asked.

Bryan reached out and touched a tendril of hair, "Amanda, you never knew Mark," Bryan said. He watched as the information sunk in.

"You're not Mark," she said as she took a step back.

"Look, I can explain," Bryan pleaded.

"Then please do so," Amanda said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Bryan took a breath and related the whole story. All the times that he and his twin had switched places. The mix up with Jason, and how as time went on he felt more and more like he couldn't tell her, that she would think that he had been purposely lying to her.

Amanda took in the whole story, listened intently to all he had to say. "So you are Bryan," she said at last.

Bryan nodded, "yes. I'm Bryan." He waited anxiously for her next words, watched as she thought through everything, saw in her eyes as she reached the end of her musings.

"So you can do more than 'dance a little.'" she said as her mouth twitched up into a grin.

Bryan let out a breath of air he didn't know he was holding and smiled widely, "Yeah. I can do more than 'dance a little'," he echoed as he pulled her onto the dance floor.

Tell Her The Truth

"What's been eating you lately?" Mark asked as he flopped down next to his brother on the bed.

"Do you know Amanda?" Bryan asked.

"Which one? There are quite a few Amandas at school," Mark said rolling his eyes. He was sure it was just another of his brothers crushes. It would go away in about two weeks.

"Amanda Hollingworth."

"Oh." Mark was taken aback a little. Amanda Hollingworth was not Bryan's typical girl. Mark reviewed in his mind what he knew of her. Pretty, studious, a little on the quiet side but very nice.

"I don't know her well," Mark said at last, "mostly in passing. What makes you mention her?"

"Because she thinks I'm you," Bryan said as he sat up.

Mark puzzled over this for a moment, "why would she think that you are me? Not that people don't get us confused all the time, but how did you two meet and why would she think you're me?"

"Remember that Dance Committee that you were supposed to be on?"

"Yeah. I vaguely remember that. What has that got to do with it?"

"Well Jason grabbed me one day after school thinking I was you and dragged me off to the meeting. I wasn't really paying attention and I ended up on the music committee with Amanda. She thinks I'm you."

"I don't see how this is a problem. Just tell her that you're Bryan. I don't know her all that well anyway."

"What if she thinks I've been lying to her on purpose, having a laugh at her expense."

"And what if she doesn't?" Mark asked, "what if she realizes that it was a mistake and let's it go."

"Then how would you account for me not telling her before that I was really Bryan?"

Mark was silent for a moment. After a few seconds of thought he said, "look, do you like her?"

Bryan gave him his 'are you that dim' look.

"Then tell her the truth," Mark said. "You can't build any sort of relationship without trust. You have to trust that she will see the situation for what it is, and she will have to trust that you had no intention of deceiving her."

"You're right," Bryan said as he jumped off the bed and walked out of the room.

"Of course I'm right," Mark said to the empty room.

Not When It Matters

"So are you going to the dance with anyone?" Amanda asked as Bryan stood to go an hour later. She bit her lip a little nervously as she walked with him down the hall towards the front door.

"Bryan glanced at her quickly, trying to gauge how he should answer. "I hadn't really planned on it," he said. This much was true. He hadn't really planned on going with anyone.

"I'm sorry you won't be there," she said as she opened the door.

"Look Amanda..." Bryan said as he turned to look at her as he stepped out the front door.

"Hm?"

Bryan sighed, "Nothing. I'll see you tomorrow at school."

"Good night Mark," Amanda said to his retreating figure.

************************

Bryan sighed as he closed the front door of his own home and leaned against it.

"What's with you?" Mark asked as he paused in the entry, a sandwich in one hand.

"Sometimes I wish I was you," Bryan said quietly as he bumped his head against the door in frustration.

Mark looked at his brother funny, "You practically are me sometimes," he said.

"Not when it matters," Bryan said as he stepped away from the door.

A Little

Bryan paused before answering her question. She thought he was Mark, and Mark was known for one personality, while he himself was known for having one completely different. Did she know Mark? Know how Mark would respond? Did she prefer his quiet spoken brother or would she like his own more open demeanor? Would she even know the difference? He wanted to tell her that he was actually Bryan, but didn't know if she would think that he had been deceiving her on purpose instead of it just being a mistake.

Bryan bit his lip as he continued to hesitate, trying to gauge how he should reply.

Amanda cocked her head to one side as she waited for Mark's answer. He seemed a little lost in thought, so she let him think.

She had heard that his brother danced, and was very good, but she didn't know if Mark also danced. She didn't know what to think of the twins as a unit. Not much was generally known about them.

"Mark?" she said as she touched him gently on the shoulder.

Bryan blinked and focused on Amanda's face, "I dance a little," he said at last.

Do You Dance?

Bryan sat on the floor; his knees pulled up to his chest, and his back pressed into a comfortable looking bed, eyes closed as he let the music swirl around him. It had a good driving beat, something that you could dance to.

"Are we just going to make CD mixes and switch out CDs or are we going to take requests?" a soft voice said from above him.

"I think it would be fun to take requests," Bryan said as he opened his eyes and craned his head around to see the girl that was lying on the bed above him. They had met at Amanda's house a few times since the committee meeting to listen to music and try to settle on what should be played at the dance.

"Well at any rate, we should have slow songs that everyone can dance to, but also songs that encourage people to have a little fun," Amanda said as she sat up. She looked over at Bryan, "Do you dance Mark?"

Sub-Committee

Bryan sat in the uncomfortable desk in the spare room that the committee had appropriated for the afternoon. The room was dim and Bryan rubbed his nose to keep from sneezing on the chalk dust.

Gathered in the room was an assortment of students; some clearly not sure why they were there, but merely accompanying friends, others with pads of paper for taking notes and others that seemed to just be staring off into space.

Bryan shifted to a slightly more comfortable position as one of the girls cleared her throat for attention; Amanda, Bryan thought her name was. He looked up at her as she began to detail various sub-committees; those in charge of music, decorating, and advertising. Bryan let his mind wander as she spoke on and on.

"Mark, what would you like to help with?"

Bryan was pulled out of his wool gathering abruptly at the sound of his brothers name.

"What was that?" Bryan asked as he raised his head from where it was resting on his fist.

"I said, what you you like to help with?"

"Uhh..." Bryan stalled, "I don't know, anything I guess."

"Okay, then you'll help me with the music," Amanda smiled brightly at him.

Bryan noticed for the first time that she had pretty green eyes. "Okay," he said and smiled at her.

No Excuses

"Hey Mark!"

Bryan's head came up at the sound of his twins name. Nobody ever got them straight all the time, even their own family could get it wrong; and it probably didn't help that both of them would answer to the others name as readily as their own. It had been a game when they were younger; now it was habit.

Josh jogged up to Bryan a little out of breath, "Hey, we have a meeting. Did you forget?"

Bryan put on a vapid look, "I guess I did. What was the meeting about again?" he asked. He knew that he could imitate his brother almost perfectly, and did so now out of twisted curiosity to see how long it would take Josh to catch on that he wasn't Mark.

"Hello? How can you forget prom planning?" Josh asked as he pulled Bryan to his feet, "let's go, we'll be late as it is."

Bryan felt a rush of horror as he remembered that his brother had volunteered to help plan the prom.

"Uh..." Bryan stammered out, "I know you had your heart set on me coming, but I just remembered that I have some important homework that is due tomorrow that I had forgotten to do; so I should really go do that," Bryan said as he tried to sidle away from Josh.

"Oh no you don't," Josh said firmly as he latched onto Bryan's arm, "you talked me into this and now you are going to come with me. No excuses."

Bryan didn't have a chance top protest or explain before he was being dragged off to a planning committee.

Normal as We Get

"What is that?" David asked as he rounded the corner into the dining room in the team's house. He could hear beeps, whistles, clangs, and explosions coming from the living room.

Steve and Joe were in the kitchen making dinner and talking quietly while mark was at the table processing some paperwork from a recent mission. Mark looked up quickly, "cartoons, Sir," he said, "Bugs Bunny cartoons," at his commanders confused look.

"Why are there cartoons on and why is it so loud?" he asked. He could hear Bryan's laughter coming from the couch in front of the small television set that they seldom used.

"Bryan's been in a pretty rotten mood all day and cartoons are one of the few ways to snap him out of it fairly quickly. It's been that way ever since we were young; when he has a problem he can't or wont deal with or he is in a foul mood, the slapstick comedy of cartoons always helps," Mark explained, "And judging from the laughter, he seems to be almost normal again." Mark paused and grinned, "well, at least as normal as any of us ever get."

Gonna Kill Him

An irritated growl issued from the nest of blankets on the bed when Bryan flipped on the lights in the room that he shared with his twin. The blankets shifted slightly, curling tighter into itself as another hiss of displeasure came from Mark's general direction.

"Hey, you okay?" Bryan asked casually, knowing the answer before his brother spoke.

"Go away," Mark's muffled voice came from the bed, clipped and tense.

"You know, there are better ways to deal with a bad mood," Bryan said flippantly as he poked the pile of blankest that enshrouded Mark.

"Nothing will help as much as sleep and your absence from this room," Mark said, poking his head out of the covers and glaring at his brother.

"Okay, chill bro. I'm outta here," he tweaked Mark's ear and then scooted through the door just as the shoe that Mark threw hit the wall where he had been standing.

Mark huddled back into the blankets and pulled them over his head, the warmth and darkness beginning to work their magic.

He sat bolt upright in bed as a shattering beat started pounding through the house. Every muscle tensed and his fists began to clench and unclench.

"I'm gonna kill him."

Dance of Death

Bryan beckoned the pretty lady towards him, his smile seductive and full of the promise of adventure. His eyes glittered with something mysterious and his hips moved sinuously in time to the music.

Bryan pulled her close as she stepped towards him, their bodies moving in synchronization, his lips brushing her neck as they twined together.

"Let's get out of here," Bryan whispered in her ear, his voice low and husky.

The woman smiled and took his hand to lead him outside.

She was smiling up to the point when he neatly slid a knife between her ribs.

Mission accomplished.

Bets

"I bet you won't do it," Bryan shouted as he nudged Mark in the side. They stood in the middle of a crowded club; music pounding and bodies bumping in time to the beat.

"I bet you I will," Mark shot back, clearly embarrassed. Massive amounts of people had always made him uncomfortable.

Bryan snorted, "yeah right. You have never taken the initiative and I doubt that you'll start now."

"I can do it," Mark said with determination.

"Then prove it. Get out there, pick a girl and dance with her. I'll even give you bonus points if you kiss her," Bryan leered at his brother. With one backward glance and a smirk Bryan disappeared into the crowd of gyrating bodies.

Mark stood for a few moments looking around, jostled by the surrounding people. Mark cracked his knuckles and shook his hands out as he let his eyes fall closed, waiting for the beat to become a part of him. It started in his chest, the throbbing of the bass that echoed his heart beat; felt it in the marrow of his bones, his feet and body beginning to move to the beat.

Mark opened his eyes and they met a pair of pretty brown eyes in the crowd. He smiled shyly as he moved towards her at her encouraging smile. He held out one hand in invitation and felt a cool hand slide into his in response.

Mark tugged her close and began to move to the music; the girl following his lead as she glanced up at him through thick eyelashes.

"I'm Mark," Mark shouted over the music.

"My friends call me Mishi," The girl shouted back.

"It's nice to meet you Mishi," Mark smiled at her as a new song came over the speakers and the fell into step again.

Night Out

Bryan's feet were twitching as soon as he got out of the car. He couldn't hear the music yet, but he could feel the vibrations in the cement beneath his feet, could feel it echoing in his body, thumping in time to his heartbeat.

The doormen smiled and waved him through as he approached the door, bypassing all the people still waiting in line. Bryan stepped from the dark night into a twilight; strobe lights only partly illuminated the large room that was filled to almost overflowing with people. A heavy beat was rocking through the room, he could feel it in the core of his bones. Bryan let his eyes slide closed as he nodded his head to the beat; felt his body begin to move, rocking in time to the music.

Bryan's eyes snapped open and he flowed onto the dance floor, moving with perfect precision between all the other dancers, his body moving sinuously. He paused now and then to dance with a not so pretty girl, spinning her around the floor before returning her to where they started. He smiled slyly and kissed their hands before slipping away into the crowds.

Bryan found himself near one of the platforms that people used to display their dancing skills. He grinned as he jumped up on the small stage and whipped off his shirt. He was dimly aware of the cheers that met this action as he showed off his tightly muscled core and sharply defined arms, but most of his mind was lost in the music. Bryan let his eyes close again and let his body move to the beat, not paying attention to how he looked or what he did.

After he was finished dancing Bryan jumped down from the stage only to find his shirt gone. He looked briefly around, then shrugged and walked towards the door.

"Hey Bryan, loose your shirt again?" John as he waved a couple more people through the doors.

Bryan shrugged again, "Guess I did," he said and grinned before dancing out into the night.

No More Drama

"I hereby resolve to not get involved with anyone this year!" Bryan exclaimed, his eyes bright from the sugar coursing through his system.

Mark snorted quietly into his own cup of Pepsi, "Yeah right Bry," he said as he turned to survey the room. It was crowded, bodies packed into the small space, the badly hung crepe not hiding the fact that it was a smelly old gym at a small school.

"I mean it!" Bryan said loudly, "I am through with girls, They are nothing but trouble, and drama, and enormous pests."

Mark looked his twin in the eye, "Bryan, if I know you at all, which I do, then you will fall for the next girl that you kiss. The only way to keep your resolution is to not kiss anyone. And I don't think that you can do that."

"Sure I can."

Mark shook his head, "You mean you won't kiss anyone tonight on the stroke of midnight?"

"Nope."

"Well, I guess we will see in about ten minutes if you can keep your promise. I bet you ten bucks that you can't keep from kissing anyone."

"Your on Bro."

3...

2...

1...

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"

...."I knew you couldn't do it."

Exactly the Same

I don't know how the two of you did it!" Mrs. Marsh said in exasperation. "Both of you got the exact same score, and the exact questions wrong, but you were both sitting on opposite ends of the room. How did you do it?"

Mark and Bryan looked at each other and then back at their calculus teacher, "well, we are twins," Bryan said, but swallowed the rest of his statement when she shot his a glare.

"Mrs. Marsh," Mark spoke up softly, "the most simple answer is that we study together, so what one of us know, the other also knows. We drill and drill, if we didn't get it right it's because we didn't study that hard enough. Simple as that," Mark finished just as softly as he had started.

Mrs. Marsh looked from Bryan's smiling face to Mark's quietly composed face, shrugged and shooed them out the door.

So Different and So the Same

Mark and Bryan sat around the tree in their small apartment, completely disregarding what little furniture there was in the room. The tree was a little one that they had cut from the local forest plot. They figured that no one would miss a two foot sapling. The tree was strung about with strands of popcorn and construction paper chains, a single candle acted as the star on the top of the tree. Only two presents sat under the tree.

Both of the twins were bright eyed with anticipation as they handed each other their gifts, one wrapped in blue and one in green.

"Ready?" Bryan asked.

"Ready."

"GO!"

The twins tore into the simple paper quickly, pulling out the gift from the one that knew him best.

A brief look of confusion passed over each of their faces before they broke out in loud gales of laughter. Each of them held up an identical Ipods.

Wasn't Thinking

"I'm sorry man. I don't know what else to say," Bryan stammered out an apology to his brother. He watched warily from where Mark couldn't reach him, watched the emotions play across his face; shock, disbelief, anger.

Mark stood in the doorway to their room, he could still hear the echo of the door slamming downstairs as Shandra left the house, probably for the last time.

"I guess I just wasn't thinking," Bryan said after an awkward pause.

"That's always been your problem Bryan," Mark said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "You never think. You never stop to consider what may or may not happen, who you might hurt or how your actions might be taken in the wrong way. Did it ever occur to you that what you do affects other people?"

Bryan swallowed his shame, he knew that he shouldn't have, and it's not like it's his fault that Marks girlfriend can't tell them apart, it had just happened.

"Mark, I'm sorry, it just happened. I looked up and smiled at her, and suddenly she was kissing me, and my brain just stopped," Bryan said quietly, "I hope the two of you can work it out. Tell her I'm sorry will you?"

Mark looked at his twin, his almost perfect mirror image in everything, "No, I don't think that I will; and I doubt that this can be fixed," he said. Turning on his heel, Mark left the room, slamming the door behind him.

"I'm sorry," Bryan said again to the empty space.

Requiem

Bryan's eyebrows knitted in confusion at the sounds coming from the living room. It was three in the morning and Bryan had needed a glass of water. It sounded like low humming, a sad song. Eventually the tune resolved itself into words, sung ponderously, as if recalling a memory, or trying to forget one.

Byran was even more confused when he recognized almost instantly his commanders voice. He took a quick peek around the doorway and saw David at his desk, looking at the photo that they had found earlier that night.

Bryan listened as he hung back out of sight in the dining room. Bryan felt tears welling in his eyes as he listened to the heartbreak in his leaders voice, and had to wipe at his face. Bryan eased back from the door as David fell silent; he could hear the muffled tears from his friend, and walked, cat-silent back to his own room.

Bryan had a hard time falling asleep again that night.

It Better Be

"Come on Mark, I said I was sorry didn't I?" Bryan asked.

Mark shot him another glare and turned his back on his twin.

Bryan reached out and pulled Mark around to face him, "I said I'm sorry. Can't you accept that?"

Mark narrowed his eyes at his brother, "I just don't know how you could have done that to me Bryan," he said.

"I'll make it up to you," Bryan promised, "just stop being mad at me."

"Alright," Mark said, "but it better be the same."

"It will, believe me, it will," Bryan said as he broke into a grin and started to hurry away.

"I still can't believe you ate all my cookies!" Mark hollered after his brother.