Ian blew lightly on his coffee as he watched the sun's progress over the horizon, impressed by the sudden

change of colours. The dark midnight blue was slowly replaced by the angry red and the creamy orange tossed in all possible directions, and in his opinion, it was a pretty interesting image. Thinking quick, he reached for his phone and snapped a photo for his brother, thinking he'd like to see something that would cheer him up. He hadn't had sleep for fifteen hours, and to see the city lit up like that from the balcony of the place he was living in was quite comforting. It was a beautiful sight; though he knew he was going to be late for his first class, he leaned lazily back in his chair and put his phone away, staring at the dimly lit horizon which grew brighter as minutes passed. San Francisco was always beautiful in that time of the year; the wind was chilly, humid, and the sun, even if it shone with all it's power, it wasn't making him hide his eyes under a pair of sunglasses; it was wonderful to take a break from his own thoughts to sit and watch. It was almost six o'clock in the morning and he was too tired to do anything but try and not fall asleep, since the weather was basically pushing him to the edge of his own limits. But he had classes and although he was alright with skipping his first which was Maths, a subject he had never, ever loved he had to get up and go to the others. For now, he kept blowing over his coffee which wasn't as hot as before, but it still burned his fingers, and silently watched as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky, brandishing new light to brighten the grey atmosphere. Since he had first been on that balcony, he had fallen in love with the view and had visited as often as he could to see the few sparkles in the sky become flames and to see the shining cars travel fast on far-away streets only he, out of all people who had sneaked around the orphanage, could see without any clear effort. The whole city seemed like a concrete jungle, the humans being the strange herbivores yelling at each other and the cars being the roaring hunters which leapt and crushed the poor creatures under their rather round and strong paws. Strange enough, they never devoured the humans: the ground did, and from the ground rose high above small bugs which continued the circle of infesting people with diseases. His coffee was already cold when he took the first sip, yet it wasn't as he cared, again lost in the view. The wind ruffled his curly hair as he shifted his position to catch more of the horizon with his gaze and there was a soft crack and a flash of lightning, clearly minutes away from him; only then he realized the sun was growing lighter and that the clouds were surrounding the city and invading the sky quick enough to make Ian blink. Blink, nothing more than that, because nothing scared him enough to make him jump to his feet and run away.

Taking another drink from his not-so-tasty-anymore vital substance that rested into the Starbucks paper cup, his bloodshot eyes met the grey clouds, which didn't seem at all like the usual cotton bits floating through the sky as if they were carried by the wind no, they seemed dangerously low and heavy as they were carrying great amounts of rain. Ian wasn't surprised by the sudden weather change at all, but only deranged himself enough to take another sip of the coffee, completely ignoring the soft and freezing droplets falling onto him. The door behind the balcony swung inwards in the mansion and there were loud, clear steps behind him perhaps the person was hurrying to him, since the sounds were faster than when he walked. But of course, he knew who was running to him even before the door had swung open, since he had been the one who had called him to come upstairs to see the way the light fell across the city. Obviously, Ian didn't manage to figure out that it was bad that it was raining and that he shouldn't have called him in the middle of his Maths hour. He felt a kick to his chair which made him almost fall off and leaned forward, smacking it down on all of it's legs simultaneously as a thunder that struck far away. Turning half and giving up on his freezing cold coffee, he met the same eyes and the same ruffled hair he had: his identical reflection was staring down at him, frowning, and Ian stood up immediately, although he could barely keep his balance because of the exhaustion that overwhelmed him. Curiously enough, not only their curly hair was tangled the same way and spiked up even so slightly by the harsh wind, their eyes were even more unusual even for two identical twins like them: the left was of a bright hazel and the right of a light blue, shadowed by flecks of dark grey. Noticing that he couldn't keep himself straight, his brother clutched his arm and he half-walked half-dragged Ian back into the mansion. I got a picture for you, said Ian quickly after he managed to get into the house and added, I thought you'd like to see it. You're such an idiot. Everett's tone was harsh, but his eyes were soft and slightly amused. You missed 'Cardigan' yelling at me because I was three minutes late. It was pretty fun. It wasn't and you know it, Ev. There was a short pause and they grinned to each other, automatically making the same movements, but Ian broke the mirror effect by taking his phone out and opening the photo, throwing it at Everett, who caught it skilfully and looked down at it with raised eyebrows. Sunrise? Really? I like them, said Ian defensively, seeming slightly offended, yet the smile

was still there. Since we're twins he said the last word harsher than the others we're supposed to like the same things. You should get some sleep, I heard you last night going out and I was sure you'd be here, said Everett, completely ignoring whatever his brother had told him, his eyebrows still raised. Ian decided to also ignore him and gazed longingly at the coffee forgotten on the table, yards away from him, sighing before turning to the door which lead back to the hall. He wasn't quite happy with the fact that he had to abandon his amazing adventure of the day sitting in the rain and humming but at least it was dryer inside the house and his brother's clothes were ruined, which was an even more amusing thought added to the fuzziness in his head. Giving up trying to talk with his brother, who seemed near yelling at him, he turned on his heels and walked back into the rain, followed by the other blue-eyed, who was muttering angrily under his breath. The once cold breeze was now freezing and Ian felt that he was shaking, yet the clothes were sticking to him as they were a second skin, making him forget about how his body moved. That was one of his traits, besides the fact that he never slept more than two or three hours a night: don't feel anything and you won't be sleepy at all. And obviously, it never worked, but he kept pushing himself to do it and when he thought he had managed to do it, he almost always failed. Fluffy white bits swirled downwards to the balcony, on and on and the wind was colder than it was supposed to in autumn; the snowflakes drew closer to him and even though his whole body tried to make him head back at the warmness inside, he was fascinated by such display the whole city showed. It shone and the snow shone with it and Ian knew that soon, the city was going to be underneath a thick layer of pure white cloud bits. It hadn't snowed for years, and the last mountains had melted away years before both of them had been born and to see it happen for the first time in their life was, for both Ian and Everett, something they wouldn't want to miss. Ian heard Everett halt at his side, breathless, and he turned slightly to look at his identical twin, a small grin on his face as he watched his shocked expression. Snowflakes were tangled in his curly hair, covering it and making it seem whitened by age; sure that he looked exactly like his brother, Ian gazed back at the city and at the snowflakes which melted away as he exhaled softly. Unusual for that weather, a lightning struck above, the two huddling closer instinctively, Everett scowling at himself for being scared, but Ian just laughed it away, finding it funny.

It's snowing. Ian rolled his eyes. Thank you, captain obvious, I couldn't manage to figure that out, he said sarcastically, barely paying attention to his brother as it was required by the now even larger bits of soft, yet ice cold cotton that fell from the sky and near them both. I really didn't figure that out. Everett frowned, but said nothing. Walking now alongside the edge of the large balcony, stepping quick and light, hands trailing on the metal fence, Ian halted and bent over slightly to gaze down at the ground. His curls brushed against his forehead as he did so and his brother mimicked him immediately, bent over right by his side, both of them grinning widely and staring at the running strangers which had finally stopped their yelling. It was a rather comforting image, to seek the people's stories as they were in a TV show and not in real life, to imagine, to think yes, even now, they couldn't resist their habit and imagined each person's life as they passed by or stopped to grab handfuls of snow and throw it at each other. It seems like fun, added Everett after a while and they straightened their backs, curiously gazing at each other. You look like an old man. Why, thank you, said Ian, carefully reaching back to brush his right hand against the fence and to take the snow. You need a haircut. And then, unexpected, he twisted and put his arm around his brother's neck, pulling him down, before skilfully slapping the fistful of snow in his face. Everett tried to yank away, but Ian's grip was too hard around his neck so he gave up, waiting until the snow melted on his face to glare up; he looked like a sickening wet puppy with huge, disapproving eyes there was, though, a smile that curled the corner of his lips upwards and that made Ian smirk back in response. Five points for me, he said and let go, shaking his cold hand. Just don't The snow hit him in the neck and he could feel it crawl underneath his clothes cold, making him wince and flinch at every movement. Breathing in mouthfuls of air, he turned around, gripped snow, and they began to throw it at each other, laughing or trying to make the other fall; Ian leapt to the side as a rather large snowball was thrown at him and made one himself, aiming for his brother's neck and Slipping on the soft ice formed underneath the snow, he felt for a second as if he was flying, before his back met the ground and he gasped, pain shooting through his neck and head in an instant. Stars glided in front of his eyes and he

closed them, breathing hard on his mouth and hearing Everett say his name; he didn't bother to answer, though, since he was lying on the cement floor and trying to see if he broke something or not. He was dramatic indeed, but at least it was better than getting up and falling face-first. Ian? asked Everett and Ian could hear him drop on his knees and he felt his hand on his head. You didn't break anything. I would have felt it. His tone was worried and he talked fast, but he didn't seem to freak out at the idea of his brother breaking his neck. Reassuring, said Ian, breathless and trying to lean on his elbows and slowly sit up, but giving up and resting back down on the floor with a grimace. I need a few seconds. Or minutes. Or hours. Laughing shakily, Everett rubbed his arms, trying to warm them up as Ian stared up at the sky, moving every finger and trying to see if he could feel anything bad. With 'no' being the answer, he pushed himself up with his arms, his brother standing up at the same time, and he was helped to regain his footing in a matter of seconds. Swaying lightly, his body numb, he made a few cautious steps again to the edge of the balcony and leaned against the fence. At least I didnt die, he joked more to himself, caught again by the sight of the white buildings and the grey sky. For now. Shouldn't we go inside? asked Everett, leaning in the same way against the fence. Cardigan might find us and then we won't be allowed to get in here. And would you listen to him? Not at all. Then I won't come in. But you can go if you're cold. Oh, shut up. Stopping their bickering, they moved slightly and turned to the door, which swung inwards again yet, as they saw nobody was there, they clutched again the fence and sighed simultaneously.