Will be the Best Years of My Life

Ch 4: Let Me be You Tether

When they hit sixth grade he and Silas were separated again. As much as Daniel hated it, Silas was the one that seemed to really be struggling with the change. They had the same lunch and on the days Silas wasn’t in the principal’s office for some reason or another, they would spend the whole of it together. There was talk about moving him up a grade like they had done with Connor. Silas didn’t want that, but it didn’t seem like anyone was listening to him when he brought it up. More of their lunch periods were taken up by Silas either crying out of frustration or sitting in an infuriated silence. So when Silas didn’t show up for lunch Daniel sent a text like he always did.

Daniel: R U ok?

He wasn’t expecting an immediate reply’ especially if Silas was getting lectured again, but when he still hadn’t heard anything by the end of his science class he was beginning to genuinely worry. So he sent another one. The best case scenario was that he simply hadn’t seen it. The worst, he supposed, was that Silas’s phone had been confiscated again.

Daniel: Silas? Silas: Had some issues so I’m @ home Silas: You can come over later if you want Daniel: of course <3 see you after school Silas: See you then <3

The messages didn’t do much in the way of making him feel better. It could have been that Silas’s behavior had finally gotten him suspended. Just as easily though, he could have called his dad to come pick him up. As it was he had his phone, so Daniel could check in again if his worry kept eating at him. At the end of the day he got on Silas’s bus. The driver was used to seeing him by this point so he didn’t need to bring a note with him anymore. When he, Cole, and Connor stepped through the door Silas was on the couch playing games with cartoons playing in the background. He looked at Daniel for a moment and then began to pack up his things. They were going to be hanging out in his room today. “Pajama day huh?” He said lightly as he and Silas got situated on the bed. “Something like that.” Was Silas’s half hearted reply as he made himself comfortable pressed up against him, “How was school?”

“Pretty boring, like usual.” He shrugged the shoulder that Silas wasn’t using as a pillow, “How was your day?” Silas was quiet for a long enough period of time that Daniel thought he might have fallen asleep and then he let out a sigh that sounded more defeated than anything else, “Tiring. Dad had to come and rescue me from being bumped up a grade.” “They’re still on about that?” He said with a groan, “They know it won’t work right?” “They do now.” Silas replied with a laugh that was as dry as it was amused, “I’ve never seen someone look so scared of my dad. The good news is that I should be getting moved into your class soon.” “That’s great.” He smiled. “You know, I did think about it, right?” He said quietly, “Moving up a grade.” “Why didn’t you?” He asked carefully. “I looked at Connor, and how he’s always reaching back for Markus, and I realized that wasn’t what I wanted.” He tightened his hold on Daniel just slightly, “I’m happy to stay behind because it means I get to stay here with you.” Daniel felt another smile curl at his lips, “I’m glad you chose to stay then, I would have been lonely without you.” Silas took his hand and intertwined their fingers, “Attached at the hip, remember?”

He squeezed Silas’s hand as he replied, “Attached at the hip.” Daniel hoped they would stay like this for a while. He was content to be Silas’s tether, to ground him when he needed it. Silas was the same for him whenever he needed it. They were close, and Daniel didn’t want that to ever change. Especially on the bad days.

Will be the Best Years of My Life

Ch 3: I'll Stay Behind to Stay with You

Middle school came with his teachers trying to get him to go the way of Connor. They figured bumping him up a grade would help with his ADHD; that having a challenge to pit his boundless energy against would calm him down. They didn’t listen when he told them it wouldn’t work. That if they just put him in Daniel’s class he would be fine. The school didn’t believe him on that either and decided to go over his head and call his dad. So the next Monday found him in his guidance counsellor’s office with his dad. Understandably, when he’d first gotten the call his dad assumed Silas had gotten himself into trouble again. Silas watched with some amusement as his dad got gradually more annoyed as his guidance counsellor talked at him. “That isn’t going to work.” His dad said bluntly and cut the counsellor off, “Just because their twins doesn’t mean Silas has the same needs as Connor. If you shove him into a new class he’s only going to disrupt more because he’s going to be on his own in a new environment.” The counsellor tried to pipe up again, but withered under his dad’s glare, “Did you even bother asking Silas what he needed or did you ignore him because he’s a child?”

“Ah, well,” He scrambled, “We just thought this would be a better fit for him.” “Than what exactly?” His dad pressed. “He asked to be switched into the same schedule block as Daniel Pealeson.” He explained, “We didn’t think placing him in a class with someone he had history with was a good idea.” “So let me get this straight.” His dad leaned to his full sitting height before he continued, “And correct me if I’m wrong; but instead of putting him in class with the one person known to keep him focused, you want to pull him away from his peers and into a classroom full of strangers?” “Well when you put it that way-” “Do you have any idea how ADHD actually works?” His dad continued, “Routine and familiarity work best to keep these kinds of things to minimum. If you put him in Daniel’s schedule block things will go better. If you don’t believe me you can ask his elementary school teachers. They found this out on accident.” “Alright.” His counsellor said after a long silence, “We’ll make the change as soon as we can.” His counsellor clearly didn’t expect his dad to be as well informed as he was; he was out of his depth and he knew it.

They were dismissed after that and Silas smiled as his dad ruffled his hair on the way out. It was nice to know that even when no one else would, his dad would always be there to make sure the right thing got done. It was tiring to always be ignored and talked over just because he’s a kid. “Sorry you had to get called in just to tell them the same things I have been for weeks.” He said when they got into the hall. His dad just shrugged, “It’s not a problem Sixer, that’s what Dad’s do.” He pulled Silas against his side in a tight half hug, “Sorry it had to come to me being called in just so you could be heard.” “Its just so frustrating.” His voiced wobbled with tears. He always hated that his first response when he felt anything in excess was to cry. He was angry, “I’m the one dealing with this. They should believed me when I say I know how to make it better child or not!” “Shh Six, I know” He pulled Silas into a full hug and ran his hand through his hair to soothe him, “Let’s go home for today, and you can try again tomorrow.” “Okay.” He sniffled, “I don’t think I can concentrate like this.”

Silas was in a relatively low mood after that. He just wanted to be heard and listened to by the adults around him. Why was that so hard? They listened to his twin, so why not him? Was it because Connor’s Autism showed more than his ADHD? If he had a meltdown would they listen to him then? “Hey, come back to me Silas.” His dad’s gentle voice pulled him out of his head and he realized he was crying again. “Sorry,” He mumbled as he wiped his eyes. “Want to talk about it?” His dad prodded gently. Silas heaved out a wet sigh as they pulled into the driveway, “I just don’t get it. They will listen to Connor when he needs special requirements, but whenever I need help they ignore me. Why?” His dad was quiet for a long moment and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he looked for his words. “You and Connor present differently. His Autism comes through more than his ADHD so the school tends so see him as a small child, like he can’t function properly without his accommodations. Your ADHD comes through more, and that’s been reduced to you simply having too much energy instead of what you actually deal with. They think that if they can make you tired you’ll behave in the way they want.” He paused, “It’s not so much that they see Connor and don’t see you; but more that they see you in two very different lights.”

Silas sighed again, “Why can’t they just listen to us? It can’t be that hard.” “Because they’ve gotten it in their heads that they know what’s best, even when they very clearly don’t.” His dad replied with a level of exasperation that Silas felt down to his bones, “Take today to try and decompress okay? And if you want you can invite Daniel over after school. Alright?” He gave slow nod, “Okay.” They got out after that and went inside. Silas changed back into his pajamas and climbed back into bed. He pulled out his phone to message Daniel, but his exhaustion pulled him under before he could get that far. When he woke up a few hours later his dad had left to go back to work. So Silas more or less had run of the house. Any other day he would have seen this as an opportunity to cause trouble. Instead he dug in the fridge for his leftovers and put on cartoons. He didn’t really want to be a person today. The morning had been draining and he was still feeling sour about it. He checked his phone and found a couple of messages from Daniel.

Danny: R U ok? Danny: Silas? Sixty: Had some issued so I’m @ home. Sixty: You can come over later if you want Danny: Of course <3 see you after school Sixty: See you then <3

He smiled slightly as he picked through his food. Talking to Daniel always made him feel better. Daniel didn’t always understand what he was going through, but he always tried his best to be supportive. Silas always appreciated it. When it became clear that he actually wasn’t hungry despite not eating anything all day, he put his food back in the fridge and went back to watching cartoons. Eventually he went to grab his Switch so he had something to keep his hands busy. That was how Daniel found him when he came in through the front door with Connor and Cole. They shared a look and Silas grabbed his things so they could head back to his room. He didn’t have the energy to deal with everyone today. “Pajama day huh?” Daniel asked lightly as they settled on his bed. “Something like that.” He replied as he leaned his head on Daniel’s shoulder, “How was school?” “Pretty boring, like usual.” He said and shrugged his free shoulder, “How was your day?” Silas huffed, “Tiring. Dad had to come in and rescue me from being bumped up a grade.”

“They’re still on about that?” Daniel groaned, “They know it won’t work right?” “They do now.” Silas laughed, “I’ve never seen someone look so scared of my dad. The good news is I should be getting moved to your class soon.” “That’s great.” He grinned at Silas. “You know I did think about it right?” He said eventually, “Moving up a grade.” “Why didn’t you?” He asked. “I looked at Connor and how he’s always reaching back for Markus, and I realized that wasn’t what I wanted.” Silas explained, “I’m happy to stay behind because that means I get to stay here with you.” He was met with a bright smile, “I’m glad you chose to stay then. It would have been lonely with out you.” He took one of Daniel’s hands in his and intertwined their fingers, “Attached at the hip remember?” He squeezed Silas’s hand in return, “Attached at the hip.” He echoed. Silas smiled, he was happy to stay behind if it meant he could stay like this.

Will be the Best Years of My Life

Ch 2: A Friend of his Own

Daniel watched the others a lot. He tagged along with Simon because he didn’t like to be alone, but none of Simon’s friends were his. He knew they were at least okay with him because North hadn’t been too mean to him yet. Markus was the first of them to try and get to know Daniel outside of Simon and it had been strange. He and Simon were identical twins, more people seemed to focus on how much they were alike. Markus had been the first one to try and pinpoint the differences. Daniel hadn’t been sure if he had liked it. If he wasn’t at least a little bit like Simon, wouldn’t the group want to be rid of him? That had been when Daniel had realized he didn’t have any of his own friends. He was sort of liked by Simon’s friends, but he had no one to turn to on the days he didn’t want to be Simon’s shadow. On those days he was on his own because no one else understood what it was like to be a twin except the one person he didn’t want to see. It was lonely, he decided, to be an exact copy of someone else. To have to share everything either because people couldn’t be bothered to tell you apart or because outside of your twin you didn’t have anyone else who understood.

So Daniel watched them. He wanted to know what it was that made Simon so likeable. He also watched the rest of the group to see what it was like not to have someone you were expected to be just like. That was how he thought his summer was going to go, just watching, trying to learn something. Then, another family moved into the house down by the park and there was another set of twins in the neighborhood. Connor and Silas were strange. They were identical twins, just like he and Simon, but that seemed to be where their similarities stopped. Connor was quiet and didn’t seem to do anything without thinking about it at least a little. Silas was loud and didn’t seem to think about anything he did. He was reckless. Daniel loved it. Silas didn’t try to mirror Connor at all. They were easy to tell apart because Silas always had some kind of scrape or bruise from whatever thing he had tried. So Daniel took to watching him instead and Silas didn’t seem to mind the audience. For all of his loud and reckless, Silas also seemed good at understanding what Daniel was feeling. Apparently he got compared to Connor a lot because his twin was quieter and better behaved. That didn’t change it seemed even if you behaved differently than your twin. People always seemed to want you to be the same person. They both hated it.

It was the first time Daniel had something of his own. A friend that was just his to have. Sure, North seemed to like him too, but Daniel didn’t have to share him with Simon because Simon had Cole. They spent all of the summer together, and Daniel was pretty upset when Silas was put into the other fourth grade class. He finally had his own friend and the school stole him. What if he made other friends? Or decided he didn’t like him anymore, what was Daniel supposed to do then? He didn’t have to worry for long though. Before the year was even half over Silas had caused enough trouble in his own class to warrant getting moved into Daniel’s. He even got to take Simon’s old seat right next to him. There was nothing to worry about anymore now that Silas was with him again. They were attached at the hip, whatever that meant. It sounded like it would be a hassle, but if it was with Silas he didn’t think he would mind it too much. Silas had been thinking about it a lot too it seemed. He brought it up when they were on the swings recovering from a particularly rough game of tag. They were holding hands like they always did to keep their swings together and all Silas had to do to get his attention was squeeze his hand a little.

“Do you think we could do it?” Silas asked with that same lilt to his voice that always lead to trouble, “Be attached at the hip?” “Maybe.” He responded as he thought about it. Being that close to Silas didn’t seem like a bad idea. “I don’t think we would be able to do it forever though.” He explained, “We could try tying our legs together. Like they do for the three leg race on the last day of school.” Silas took a moment to think about it before he nodded, “That could work. What should we use to tie up our legs?” Daniel moved to stop his swing and Silas mimicked him so he wouldn’t fall, “Do you think your Dad would give us something to use if we asked?” Silas shrugged, “Maybe.” He let go of Daniel’s hand and stretched, “We could always ask him when he gets back since you’re staying the night.” So was everyone else, but Daniel didn’t want to focus on that. “Alright.” he pressed, “How long do you want to stay attached for?” That got him another shrug from Silas, “Until it gets annoying I guess.” It was probably the most thought out of Silas’s plans. That wasn’t saying a whole lot, but it meant that they probably wouldn’t be getting into as much trouble as usual.

Daniel had expected being attached to Silas to be a little more difficult and annoying than it was. Silas was right handed so they could both do stuff without too many problems. The stairs were a bit of an obstacle, but trying to play videogames is where they wound up drawing the line. They both played games cross-legged with the controller in their lap, and that wasn’t something they could do like this, and they had tried for a while. Silas looked down at the patterned tie and sighed, “What do you think?” He asked as he looked back up at Daniel, “Time to be done for real this time?” Daniel didn’t really want it to be over, but it would probably only get more annoying when they tried to sleep since Silas couldn’t stay still, “Yeah.” He replied as he reached down to untie the knot, “It was a lot of fun though.” They got back to their game once they were untied. As much as he had liked being attached to Silas, he liked this a little better. They could both do the things they wanted to without any awkward maneuvering. More importantly they could hold hands again. That was always what reassured Daniel the most, knowing that his friend was still there. He hoped that never changed. He didn’t know what he would do without Silas.

Will be the Best Years of My Life

Ch1: Attached at the Hip is a Good Place to Start

A majority of Silas’s classmates found him to be annoying. He was too talkative, but they thought Connor and Cole were strange because they didn’t talk enough. There didn’t seem to be a way to appease their teachers either. Silas’s social behavior was seen as disruptive, and his brothers’ lack of social behavior was seen as concerning. Silas wound up getting moved into the same class as Daniel, North, and Markus which was fun. He and Daniel were sat beside one another and they passed notes pretty often despite getting in trouble almost every time. Daniel was the only other twin he knew, so they talked about that a lot. Daniel was also very caring and checked in on him a lot. He and Simon were both like that so it was nice to know Simon would be looking after his brothers. The day he and Simon had been swapped classes North and Daniel had buried him in a hug. When they had pulled apart North also punched him in the shoulder as punishment for getting Simon taken away. Silas found himself able to concentrate a little better in this class since he had someone he could talk to if things got boring. North had another group of friends she spent time with so a lot of the time it wound up just being him and Daniel hanging out after school. They would work on homework in the living room with the others, and then depending on what kind of day it was, they would either go into Silas’s room and play videogames or go outside to play.

It was nice to have a friend that was just his. Daniel tagged along with Simon, but a lot like Silas, he didn’t fit in very well with the group at large. So instead, they spent most of their time together. Attached at the hip as his dad had said. Silas didn’t think that was possible, and had said as much, but he liked the idea of getting to be with Daniel all the time. “Do you think we could do it?” He asked without prompting while they were taking a break on the swings. They were holding hands just like they always did to try and keep their swings moving together, “Be attached at the hip?” “Maybe.” Daniel said pensively, “I don’t think it would be able to stay forever though. We could try tying our legs together. Like they do for the three leg races on the last day of the school.” “That could work.” He agreed, “What should we use to tie up our legs?” “Do you think your dad would give us something to use if we asked?” Daniel asked as he stopped his swing and Silas did the same. “Maybe.” Silas shrugged, “We could always ask him when he gets back since  you’re staying the night.” “Alright.” Daniel nodded, “How long do you want to stay attached for?”

Silas shrugged, “Until it gets annoying I guess.” Being tied together was fun. Daniel was left handed, so doing things wasn’t too much of an issue. They didn’t have many problems until they settled in to play videogames again. They both liked to sit cross legged, and as it turned out, you couldn’t do that when you were tied to your best friend. Silas looked down at the patterned neck tie around their ankles and frowned. “What do you think?” Silas asked as he looked at Daniel, “Time to be done for real?” “Yeah.” Daniel agreed as he reached down to untie the knot, “It was a lot of fun though.” Once they were free they sat as close together on the floor as they could and got back to their game. Being attached at the him was pretty great if he was honest, but they could do more if they just held hands, and that was what Silas wanted. He loved being friends with Daniel and he hoped it wouldn’t ever changed. Silas felt the best by his side.

Will be the Best Years of My Life

Ch1: Attached at the Hip is a Good Place to Start

Ch2: A Friend of His Own

Ch 3: I'll Stay Behind to Stay with You

Ch 4: Let Me be Your Tether