Ashlynn Madison Richardson was in a hurry, as she jogged along the sidewalk, trying to get to work on time. At fourteen, she was expected to help hold down the fort, even though her parents were quite rich and able to afford food for her and her siblings. She was shy, though sometimes outgoing, and a very hard worker. She had to be. If she didn’t work hard, she’d have to suffer the consequences of her parents’ wrath, which meant the chance of getting kicked out.

Now, her parents weren’t cruel people, as they loved all their children very much. But, they were very strict, especially with Ashlynn, who was their favourite child. They wanted what was best for her, but sometimes, they cared too much about what others would think and never even considered her feelings. This was the result of her having three older brothers, two younger brothers, and a twin sister.

Ashlynn ran into the Subway restaurant where she worked, completely out of breath.

“About time you got here, Ash,” Alexia, her twin sister, and best friend, said. “Marcus was about to have a fit because his favourite person wasn’t here.”

“Slept in…” Ashlynn said between gulps of air.

Alexia laughed. “I thought it was my job to sleep in.”

Ashlynn straightened herself, and looked at her sister. “It is. Somebody turned my alarm off, after they got up this morning.”

Alexia smirked, then turned to serve a customer. She’d known if she’d turned Ashlynn’s alarm clock off, her sister wouldn’t get up in time for work. She hadn’t done it to be cruel - she was just a jokester who loved to pull pranks on people. Besides, she knew her sister would get her back for it later.

Ashlynn got herself ready, then stood behind the counter next to Alexia, helping to serve the customers that wandered in wanting a sub or slice of pizza and a drink. “You think Daddy will be mad if he knows I was late?”

“Nah,” Alexia answered, shaking her head. “We can say it was me who was late. Daddy won’t care so much then. He knows I like to dawdle on the way here.”

Both sisters laughed slightly as the next customer came in. When they looked up, they were surprised to see a young man, who didn’t look any older than sixteen, standing there watching them. The young man was about six foot one, had light brown hair, and green eyes. But what surprised the sisters the most, was that his clothes were torn and looked old, as the pants he wore, were more like flood pants on him. Also, his shirt was far too small, and majorly falling apart.

The young man remained silent as he came up to the counter, and eyed the menus. He then spoke, surprising the girls with his sweet southern voice.

“I’ll have a turkey sub with cheese, lettuce, and pickles, please,” he said. They didn’t know it, but he had scraped and saved forever just to be able to afford this sub, that he had loved so much when he was little.

Alexia nudged Ashlynn, who was standing there gaping at him. “Serve him!” She hissed, then smiled at him. “Ignore my twin. She’s just a little shell-shocked.”

The young man laughed softly. “I see you remember the old Ninja Turtle cartoons.”

That was all, that was needed to be said, to get Alexia going. “Oh my God! Yes!” She said, excited that someone else remembered them. “Those were the absolute best! I mean, the new ones now are cool too, but Shredder is just NOT the same anymore. I used to have this HUGE crush on him, even though he was only a cartoon character.”

“April wasn’t that bad,” he stated softly.

“April? Eew!” Alexia exclaimed. “I HATED her with a passion! Now, Raphael and Leonardo! Oh my God! They were Awesome!”

He smiled at Ashlynn, then looked back to Alexia. “I like Donatello, the introverted one. He was cool, and smart, and kept to himself.”

“Yeah. Donnie was cool too,” Alexia agreed. “And Mikey. Michaelangelo is so funny!”

Ashlynn listened to the two of them talk, while she worked on getting the sub he had requested made. She wouldn’t admit it to her sister, but she thought he looked kind of cute, despite his rugged appearance.

“By the way, I’m Alexia. And this is my sister Ashlynn,” Alexia introduced. “As I said earlier, we’re twins. I’m older by a minute, and like to remind her of that as often as I can.”

“You may be older, but you sure don’t act it,” Ashlynn piped up.

The young man looked over at Ashlynn, amazed she could actually speak. “So, you do talk?”

Ashlynn blushed slightly. “Yeah.”

“Haha! You’re blushing!” Alexia declared, stating the obvious. “Lil’ Ash has a crush! Aww!”

“Alexia! Stuff it!” Ashlynn snapped.

“Ooh. Touchie!” Alexia cried.

“I’m Clay,” the young man told them, while looking at Ashlynn.

Alexia watched the exchange between Clay and her sister quietly. She could tell by the way they looked at one another, that there was an attraction there. She just hoped their parents didn’t find out, as they’d have a fit.

“So…where do you go to school?” Alexia asked finally, breaking the awkward silence.

“Um…I don’t,” Clay answered sheepishly. “I…um…haven’t been since third grade.”

“What? Why not?” Alexia demanded.

“Alexia! Leave him alone!” Ashlynn snapped. “There is no rule here, saying he has to tell us his life story!”

“Okay. Yeesh!” Alexia said. “Just trying to look out for my baby sister, and get the low down on this hottie.”

Ashlynn rolled her eyes. “Obviously, my sister’s not afraid to speak her mind.”

“Hell no!” Alexia put in, as she began to mop the floor. “I call it like it is when I can. Not very often am I shy. That’s Ash’s job – to be shy, I mean.”

Clay laughed again, and shook his head, then looked at Ashlynn. “She always this talkative?”

“Oh, yeah,” Ashlynn nodded. “You should hear her when she gets in her full Ninja Turtle or Backstreet Boys mode.”

“Hey!” Alexia exclaimed. “You’re no better, Mrs. Nick Carter!”

“Shut-up, Mrs. McLean!” Ashlynn retorted, then gave Clay a sheepish look. “Sorry. We get caught up sometimes.”

“Hey, be glad you have a sister to joke around with,” Clay said softly. “I’m an only child.”

“Well, you want a bunch of siblings?” Alexia asked, standing up. “’Cause you can have our four brothers. They’re pain-in-the-asses.”

“Alexia! Quit it! You’re just mad ‘cause Daddy wouldn’t let us go on tour with Kevin!” Ashlynn verified.

“On tour?” Clay repeated.

“Oh. Whoops. Did we forget to mention our older brothers are way older than us, and that the one right before us is a Backstreet Boy?” Alexia said sarcastically. She then turned and looked at Ashlynn. “And I don’t see why we can’t go! So what if I didn’t get all A’s! Nobody’s perfect in this damn world! Yeesh!”

“

Attitude!” Ashlynn reminded her. “You know Marcus will get mad.”

“Marcus don’t even own the place! He’s just A.J.’s security guard, and here with us, ‘cause he’s the only one who can stand us!”

“Ahem!” Someone said, clearing their throat loudly. “Ladies, I do believe your brother is on the phone, and wanting to know what all the yelling is about.”

Both girls turned to look at Marcus. “Which brother?”

“Which one do you think would care to call during work hours?” Marcus asked.

“KEVIN!” Alexia shrieked, dropping the mop and making a mad dash for the phone.

Ashlynn laughed, then finished wrapping up Clay’s sub. “Don’t mind her, like I said. She’s our brother’s shadow, and follows him everywhere if she can.”

Clay nodded. “I see.” He looked over at Alexia, who was on the phone talking a mile a minute, wistfully.

“Hey, you okay?” Ashlynn asked him softly.

“Wha?” Clay said, snapping out of his trance.

“Are you okay?” Ashlynn repeated.

“Yeah. Sorry. Was wishing I’d a brother to talk too,” Clay admitted.

“Well, like Alexia said, you’re welcome to have one of ours,” Ashlynn smiled. “Well, anyone, but Kevin. Alexia would come after you with a butcher knife if you took him.”

Clay smirked. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah,” Ashlynn nodded. “He’s the only one who understands us. Her especially.”

“Um…Can I get a chocolate chunk cookie with that?” Clay asked nervously, hoping he’d have enough money.

“Sure!” Ashlynn chirped. She put everything he wanted in a bag, and rang it up. “That comes to $6.45.”

“Um…” Clay said, counting his money. He was relieved to see he had just enough. “Here…” He handed her the money, and watched as she put it in the cash register.

“Would you like a drink or anything?” Ashlynn asked.

“Ah…No thanks,” Clay replied, though he was incredibly thirsty.

“You like Dr. Pepper?” Ashlynn wanted to know.

“Ye-ah…” Clay trailed off.

Ashlynn reached into the Coke fridge behind her and pulled out a Dr. Pepper, handing it to him. “Here. It’s on the house. Consider it a reward, for putting up with my sister.” She smiled brightly at him.

Clay returned her smile. “Thanks,” he said. “It’s much appreciated.” He paused a moment, then spoke again. “Um…will you be here tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Ashlynn said. “We work here everyday, now that school’s out and summer’s about to start.”

“So…See you tomorrow?”

“I’ll be here,” Ashlynn smiled.

“Alright. And tell your sister I said good-bye,” Clay told her.

“I will.” Ashlynn waved good-bye to him, then turned and looked at Marcus. “Not a word!”

Marcus holds his hands up in front of him, as if defending himself. “I didn’t say a word. And I won’t say a word to anyone. You ought to know that by now Ashlynn.”

“ASH!” Alexia called. “KEVIN WANTS TO TALK TO YOU! PRONTO!”

Ashlynn rolled her eyes, then went and took the phone from her sister, who went back to mopping the floors.