Double The Surprise

It had been a year and they still didn't know what to do with themselves. All they could do was sit around staring at each other or lying in bed, curled up in each other's arms. Every time someone suggested they do something else they'd grab a nerf gun, shoot once, usually hitting their target then going back to sulking. It hurt too much for Ethan and Evan to do anything else. If Kurt had made them a batch of cookies they would burst into tears and binge on the cookies in memory of the ones they lost.

"Did you think your first kiss was going to be because you were trying to steal cookies?"

"When we were six, maybe," the girls laughed together as the spoke.

It had been one year since they had graduated, one year since they had lost the girls they loved. They had deferred going to university but the time to choose was coming around again; move on with life and go to university or stay in mourning. The choice however, was already made for them when their parents and all the others who rallied together to help them made it clear that going to university was the best choice.

Fall rolled around and they moved into their dorm at Yale as Business majors. They settled in quickly but not much changed in their behaviour, still spending most of their time huddled up or immersing themselves in study to try and forget.

Spring break was coming quickly but the twins still couldn't forget. They both decided that they 'needed' to move on or a find a way to relax before they break down again. So instead of the typical spring break plans, they decided to mix it up…a lot. They bought tickets for Australia and left before anyone could say goodbye. The next thing they knew they were in another country with a lot of possibilities.

Their first stop was Melbourne, wanting to start at the bottom of the country. They were trying to find their way to Flinders St Station when they suddenly were hurled to the ground in a tangle of limbs. They looked up to see two girls sitting in front of them, trying to figure out what just happened. One of the girls had short brown hair, and the other had longer brown hair. As they looked over them they noticed that that was probably one of the only differences between the two girls.

"Umm, 'scuse me, could you help us find our way to Flinders St Station?" Evan asked as they both held out a hand to help the girls up. "It seems we are quite lost."

A small grin appeared on the short haired girl, quickly spreading onto her sisters features as well as they accepted the help.

"Indeed we could be of help."

"In fact the station is just across the road there," one giggled as she pointed to the station.

"But if you wanted more help"

"We'd be more than willing to be your guides."

Cheshire grins spread across the boys' faces.

"Ethan, did you hear these beautiful talking flowers?"

"I did Evan, but we don't even know their names," Ethan finished, looking curiously over the girls.

"Oh, I'm Claire."

"And I'm Grace."

"And if it wouldn't be too rude, where exactly are you from?"

"We like knowing where each of our friends comes from," Grace clarified at the slightly amused faces of the boys.

"We're from New York," Ethan smiled brightly.

"And where exactly are you from? Do you live here?"

"Never been anywhere else," the girls replied in unison.

"Well we should change that."

"We're going to Queensland if you want to come"

"Our shout."

The girls' hearts felt warm at their gesture but they couldn't just go running off with boys they just met, could they?

Vocalising their thoughts Claire said, "But we've only just met you."

Ethan and Evan visibly deflated a little before Grace continued, "Although I don't think we could say no."

"Not to their handsome faces anyway."

"Besides, it's uni holidays and we could use the distraction."

Everyone smiled at the coming possibilities.

"Well we'd certainly love the company."

"And distractions are always welcome."

The girls looked at each other then back to the boys and nodded.

"We're in."

---

They spent a few days knowing the girls, travelling around Melbourne, seeing all the different parts of the city before they flew up to Queensland, the sunshine state. They spent a few days in Cairns swimming on the Great Barrier Reef then down to Fraser Island to swim with the dolphins and finally down to the Gold Coast to go to Dreamworld and maybe out to the hinterlands to see the mountains and explore caves. The boys were excited to go to an Australian theme park and the girls had never been to Queensland before, so it was going to be an experience for all of them.

"Where should we go first?" the boys asked as they went through the entrance to the park. The girls pulled out a map and scanned over it, "Oh can we go on the Tower of Terror?"

The boys grinned then nodded to the girls, Evan snatching the map as they pulled Grace and Claire towards the ride. As the waited in line they planned out some of the other rides they would go on. The line got closer but they were still had to wait about 5 minutes, so the girls thought it would be fun to figure out a few things.

"You boys afraid of heights?"

Cheshire grins spread across all four faces when the boys replied, "No. You?"

"Nope. Is there anything you're afraid of?" Claire asked, testing to see how much the boys trusted them.

Ethan and Evan's faces became blank, different emotions flashing momentarily behind their eyes as they considered the question.

"Only of losing each other and becoming alone in this world."

The girls regarded them with a sad, knowing smile, "we're the same," Grace said, looking over at Claire.

"But we don't have to worry about that for now."

The line moved forward and it was finally their turn to get on, both pairs clasped each other's hands before it took off, never wanting to let go.

---

At lunch they all sat down in the shade near one of the food shacks, happily sharing three chicken and chips combo meals.

"So what's your life story?" Grace asked as they sipped from her drink.

"We mean, we've told you a lot about ourselves and our country. But we haven't heard much about you two."

Both of the blondes' faces dropped as they started to think about it and their expression became clouded with sadness. The girls instantly worried they'd said something wrong but took a boy each in their arms and comforted them.

"Hey. Don't worry; you don't have to tell us."

"We were just curious; we didn't want to upset you."

"Please don't hate us."

Ethan and Evan immediately looked up, tears rimming under their eyes but soft smiles forming on their lips as they pulled away to look into the eyes of the girls holding them.

"We could never hate you, especially since you've been so nice to us."

"And you are beautiful talking flowers, just like Brianna and Brielle."

Evan hid his face in Grace's shoulder as Ethan looked at both of the girls.

"They were just like you two, only they had perfectly straight hair. Evan's still trying to get over their death, as am I. But I have you two talking flowers with me and I would not want to compare you to them or ask you to fill their shoes. You've helped me realise that to love and honour their memory we need to let go of the images we're still clinging to. You are two beautiful talking flowers that deserve your own memories and not to be forced into those of someone else." Ethan took a deep breath and sighed. "I hope you can forgive us for putting that on you, even if it was only in our minds, we shouldn't have done that."

Grace just held Evan tighter as she listened to his brother. Claire looked deep into Ethan's eyes and he quickly looked away. Claire hooked a finger under his chin and pulled his attention back to her.

"It's ok Ethan. We understand that what you are going through is tough. And we forgive you as long as you don't try to put us in their shoes again," Ethan sighed and looked away, "but that doesn't mean you have to forget them around us, it's ok that we remind you of them and we'd never try to stop you from loving them."

The girls just sat there silently and comforted the boys as they finished their lunch. Evan suddenly had a bright idea, he skulled his drink and pulled on Ethan's arm heading towards a ride. The girls just rolled their eyes and followed as the boys headed towards the Wipeout.

"Are you trying to lose your lunch?" Claire asked, curiously watching the bouncing pair in front of her.

"Maybe. But if one of us loses it the other gets to pick a punishment for the other, or a reward for themselves. It's been a tradition of ours since we were young," Evan stated enthusiastically.

"And what if you both lose your lunch?" Grace asked incredulously.

"Well, we've never had that happen but I guess you two can pick what happens."

Grace and Claire had identical grins as the moved into the line, waiting for the boys to follow. When they finally got on, the girls could hear both the boys' stomachs churn from being so full and when they looked up at the boys there were two nervous faces to match the sound. The ride started slowly tilting to one side after it finally rose to its full height, twisting and flipping the passengers who were safely harnessed in. The girls raised their hands in the air, laughing at the boys who were starting to look a little queasy. The look of sheer relief on the blondes' faces once the ride had stopped made the brunette girls fall into fits of laughter.

The girls guided them off the ride carefully and over to the bathrooms and waited for them to come out. Both girls raised a questioning eyebrow as they walked out, curious to know who won. The boys simply bowed to the girls and said, "Your wish is our command." Twin smirks appeared but soon disappeared as the girls had to help the boys over to a shady area to rest.

"So what will it be?" Evan asked humbly.

"Is it going to be cruel?" Ethan followed, hoping he would get a negative answer.

The girls just smiled as they shook their heads.

"We want you to surprise us with a reward." They sat back in their seats smugly, watching the boys brows burrow in confusion, thinking about what they should do. They slowly got up and grabbed the girls' hands, pulling them towards another ride.

The end of the day soon came and the boys still hadn't given the girls their surprise, they just walked happily towards the exit, hand in hand. As they reached the shops near the exit the boys quickly rushed inside to buy something and came back quickly, and leaned in to the girls and kissed them lightly on the lips, then switched and kissed the other girl, pulling away to stand in front of them.

"Surprise," Ethan said shyly.

"We know this isn't the best surprise and we know that after tonight you have to go back to Melbourne but we were also wondering if you would like to be our girlfriends," Evan said, his voice slightly shaky.

The girls just gaped at them a little, slightly speechless.

"We know we're supposed to go back to America, but we thought since we found such precious gems here that we couldn't just leave you behind."

"We can always study over here if needed, and we'd love to see more of this country with you."

Ethan and Evan both got down on their knees.

"So please would you do us the honour of being our girlfriends?"

They pulled out candy rings that they bought from the store and help the girls' hands in theirs, waiting for a signal that they could put them on. The girls just nodded once and pulled the boys up into tight hugs, not wanting to let go.

"This is probably actually the best surprise we could've dreamed of," Claire said into Evan's shoulder.