Gender is a prison and I chewed through the bars

Wilfion Varo Jenkins. Jock extraordinaire. Yes I'm Brody and Kaia's sibling be freaking jealous.

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase : During (The Event)

[kaiajenkins]

“It’s okay.” Kaia had the urge to hug Brody but she wasn’t sure she could handle the contact right now. Her skin was still buzzing after the jump scare. “You didn’t know and I didn’t want to…worry you.”

She never minded being the barrier between them and the harder parts of life. That’s what a big sister was supposed to do. She derived a lot of self worth from doing a decent job at that. Even if Wilfion was currently struggling.

They weren’t actually ready to talk, but they were talking. Kaia waited for Wilfion to finish. “I wanted to know if we’d been robbed in the process. That’s a reasonable thing to be concerned about.” She followed Wilfion’s gaze to the kitchen. “Different how? I’m not in cross-country, explain the nuance to me. Please.”

[brodyyjenkins]

Brody moved to stand near Wilf, needing the comfort of their closeness. Kaia didn’t want to worry them but that wasn’t possible now.

“I bet a ton of shit is being looted right now,” they agreed, grateful that their house had been left alone. “Should we be like… barricading ourselves in here?” Brody didn’t know what was an over reaction anymore. Kaia didn’t want them to leave but should they be making sure nobody got in? Were their locks enough?

“Yeah, what do you mean Wilf?” Brody turned to look out the window, frowning at the trees. They saw shapes in the darkness, their brain trying to fill in the gaps. Brody shouldn’t have left Wilf to walk alone, they should have been together. It would have been safer and maybe Brody would have been going slow enough to notice all this shit.

[wilfionjenkins]

Wilfion shivered in spite of themselves. "We've got a lotta nice stuff but it's like not that nice, you know? I feel like they'd go after people who've pissed them off or have a lot of cool stuff. Like I feel like that witch girl who lives in the woods is screwed. And Claude's cousin. Maybe like the Alessi hangers on." They scratched their neck, eyes to the ground. "Those are Purge rules, you know?" They really weren't supposed to have seen that, but Yuli had made a good case for its ethical value. And coolness. "Crap. We gotta text Claude. She's got nice stuff."

"I dunno." Wilfion said, shrugging. They were regretting bringing the forest thing up, because it was just too hard to explain. But they also knew "dunno" wasn't really going to get them off the hook in their family. They were supposed to 'stay curious' and stuff. So they took a deep breath and tried. "You know that episode of Doctor Who with the statues? It's like that."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase : During (The Event)

[kaiajenkins]

Kaia rubbed at her temples. She hadn’t expected Wilfion to struggle with this as much as they were. “Pump the brakes. Double checking doesn’t hurt anything.” They had hours until daylight. They weren’t going anywhere.

But if they needed space, Kaia would give it. She waited for Brody to get back with a report. “Thank you. Can you check your room to see if your stuff is still the same?” She was avoiding checking her own. Her brain was screaming at her that there was more going on, but she couldn’t figure out what she was missing.

Her fingers itched to text Dante and drink up his thoughts. There would be something calming in that. Her siblings wouldn’t respect that, though, and she needed to be the adult here. “Why don’t you make yourself a snack,” she suggested to Wilf. She grabbed a cold water from the fridge and took a few sips. Was it too soon to make an inventory of things? “When you’re ready to talk, I’m here.”

[brodyyjenkins]

Wilf’s tantrum was bothering Brody a lot more than it normally would. They rolled their eyes, turning to walk to their room next. “Do I have to do everything myself?” They said, loud enough for both of them to hear. Brody would actually help though, unlike their twin who was getting babied in the other room.

When they got to their room they stayed in the doorway, flicking the light on but not going in. It wasn’t like a person was missing from this space, but seeing their parent’s room like that had not felt good.

Brody had tidied everything before they’d left for the camping trip. They had wanted to just do it when they got back. But when their mom had seen all the clothes Brody had thrown around the room when trying to decide on outfits, she had made them do it right then. It was all exactly as they’d left it. All that was missing were the things Brody had packed into the bag.

They walked back to the kitchen. “All how I left it,” Brody confirmed. “I’m sorry I scared you. I didn’t know things were fucked up.”

@wilfionjenkins

[wilfionjenkins]

It hurt to double check when it made Wilfion feel like they weren't helping, but they also had decided to not help so that worked out, didn't it?

They partially stomped into the kitchen and went for an orange. The room was generally undisturbed. They eyed a Scream-esque kitchen knife just in case they needed it (for what they had no idea but they were prepared) and tried to not jump when Kaia walked in.

As they peeled the fruit in a steady swirl, they rolled their eyes at their sister. "What's there to talk about? We're stuck here. We don't know what's going on. It's like they evacuated or something, which begs the question why we're still here. Got dropped off here in fact. I don't think the clues are in the state of our bedrooms." They peered out the kitchen window and into the woods again. "Something's wrong out there. With the trees." They weren't sure really, but some part of them needed to say it, if only so the thought would stop rattling around their brain. They ran the trails every day, and it didn't match.

@kaiajenkins

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase : During (The Event)

[kaiajenkins]

Kaia rolled her eyes as Brody congratulated themself. The fact that they could maintain some levity in this situation. She didn’t want to worry them too much. That was her job. She knew more about the world around them than they did. Sometimes, she felt like she was almost a bit too cynical about the whole thing but it kept her feeling safe and in control.

“It’s not a blackout. The cell towers are jammed for some numbers and not others. I don’t want to worry anyone but it pays off to be on guard. Remember that.” She made a quick text and sent it to Wilfion. A ding answered back. “See? That shit doesn’t happen when I call mom or your dad or mine. It just doesn’t connect.” It had been a hypothesis but one she’d been willing to bet on.

“People aren’t in their houses. I don’t know where they are, but I know that we keep each other safe. We can’t rely on anyone else to do it for us.” Dante was the probable exception here but she knew how the twins could feel about him at times. She didn’t blame them, she simply didn’t agree.

Kaia’s hand shot out, trying to stop Wilfion. She wasn’t fast enough. “We aren’t leaving this house yet.” She turned to Brody, “Go check our parents room and see if it looks like this was a deliberate trip or not.” Being the one in charge wasn’t the most comfortable position for her, she liked to defer to their mother. “Wilf, check your room and see if anything’s been tampered with. We make sure the house is safe first. Then we’ll call the neighbors. We aren’t going out to check on anyone until daylight.”

[brodyyjenkins]

Brody wanted Kaia to stop talking. The more she said the colder they felt. Their hands started to shake.

“Okay,” Brody replied, their voice barely above a whisper. They turned and headed for the room their twin had just come from, taking a second to breathe. When they felt the tiniest bit steadier, they turned the light on and went to the wardrobe. It didn’t look like any of their clothes were gone, not more than usual. Their suitcases were tucked away on the shelf up high. Why weren’t they here right now?

They continued their search, heading into their bathroom next. Their toothbrushes were still in their holders. All the stuff they’d normally pack into makeup and toiletry bags was still in all of their places. What if they’d had to leave quickly? For an emergency or something?

Brody went back into their room, spotting their parents reading glasses on their night stands. Their mom’s phone charger was still plugged into the wall. The iPad. They would have taken all of this stuff if they planned to leave.

They went back to the doorway, leaning against it for support. “I don’t think it was deliberate Kai,” Brody said. “If they left they did it really quickly. All of their stuff is still here.”

@wilfionjenkins

[wilfionjenkins]

Wilfion stopped short as Kaia's words finally hit them. "Oh. Okay." They hadn't thought of that. They were embarrassed that they hadn't thought of that. Wilf generally had a bad habit of not noticing things until it was too late. Their full attention tend to be dedicated to the court or the witness or whatever thing they were trying to compete at. They generally thought of it as the small stuff because it got overwhelming otherwise. Like now. They didn't like mysteries, and they didn't like being reminded that bad stuff could happen to people they cared about. Still, they crossed their arms more out of shame than any kind of distance or resentment. They wanted to be better. They really did.

But they quickly switched back to baby sibling mode as Kaia sent their twin into their parents' room. "I said all their stuff was here. I said that." They were helping. Did they not get credit for helping?

Not that they, like, needed credit for it. It just would have been nice. And it would have not made them want to scream into a pillow.

They turned and headed back toward the living room in search of one. "Whatever."

@kaiajenkins

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase : During (The Event)

[kaiajenkins]

Kaia nearly jumped out of her skin. Her watch dinged, letting her know that her heart rate was too high for her level of activity. She pushed dismiss hard in place of whacking Brody. It wasn’t worth potential grounding. “At least you’re still here.”

Wilfion wasn’t too far behind. Okay, if the twins were around and their parents weren’t that wasn’t the end of the world. It was shady but not something they couldn’t handle.

“You both good,” she asked after taking a minute to compose herself. Brody’s joke aside, this situation was a bit stranger than they were used to. The quiet and the lack of lights made her nervous. It was too close to mob justice for her.

She tried her phone one more time. Still nothing. “I don’t know what’s going on, but we need some sort of plan to keep ourselves safe.” She wanted Dante’s input but she didn’t like the idea of wandering around outside right now. “And no going anywhere until we’ve laid out what to do if shit goes down.”

[brodyyjenkins]

“Sorrysorrysorry,” Brody said, stumbling back to get out of reach of their siblings just in case they decided on immediate vengeance. Brody was still laughing though. “Ohhh. That was a good one.”

“Yeah why?” Brody asked. Kaia was still being weird. It was starting to make them nervous. “I didn’t want to go on the trip that badly. It’s no big deal.”

“Safe?” They looked between their twin and sister. Being in the dark wasn’t helping them feel any better, so they reached over and flicked the light switch on the wall. Seeing Kaia’s face in the light did not help at all. Something was really, really off. “What shit is going down? What’s going on?” It was only then that they realised the screaming had not brought their parents out of their room. They couldn’t even hear their dad snoring, and that shit was loud. “Where’s mom?”

@wilfionjenkins

"Yeah." Wilfion echoed. "What shit is going down? It was just a blackout, right?" They swallowed, looking at the lightswitch. "Or not. Or it was." They reached the same conclusion as Brody about three seconds after Brody did.

One of the benefits of being the baby in the family was taking initiative with way less consequences. Wilfion marched down the hallway, ready to answer their twin's question for themselves. "Mom? Dad?" They knocked on the door once before turning the handle then walked in to find... nothing. Her parents' clothes were in the closet. Their mom's iPad was still by her bed. Their dad's usual media slide of tabletop books was undisturbed. He never left it that way when they went out of town. He got self conscious about it.

Wilf turned slowly back toward the doorway to look at their siblings. "They're gone. How're they gone?"

"Should we check next door? We should check next door." All potential promises to Kaia forgotten, they stepped forward to move past her.

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase : During (The Event)

There was a time when the most stressful thing the students of West Ham High had to worry about was cabin assignments. All the usual tension and panic, the negotiations of who would give up which bunk for which hookup, it seems so small now. They boarded five buses in the late afternoon. Kissed / Hugged / Ignored their parents goodbye. Headed for the Smoky Mountains. Darkness descended, and sleep carried them away.

They woke to a lurch in the road, a curve taken a bit too fast. A grumble about a rock slide on the route. They all needed to go home. They disembarked. The buses sped away. Far too fast.

Far too fast. 

The kids looked around. No parents. No siblings. No other living souls. No connection with the outside world. 

What to do, what to do? Cry, search, fiddle while West Ham burns? For the first time, it’s up to them. And who knows if the sun will come. 

So press play, and go. 

[kaiajenkins]

Kaia woke with a start. She pulled her airpods out, Kehlani’s voice going to a whisper as she looked around the bus. It was mostly empty, a few stragglers milling around and talking to each other. According to her watch, they shouldn’t be stopping for another few hours. What was the hold up?

As she stashed her airpods in their engraved case, she caught a glimpse of an all too familiar sign. They were back where they started. That didn’t…she shook her head…no, she was trippin’. The sleep was still clouding her thoughts.

But stepping off the bus left her face to face with reality. They were back home. She called her mom. Nothing. She called her step-dad. Nothing. She called her dad, even though he didn’t live in West Ham. Nothing.

A sliver of fear raced down her spine, but she tried to think logically. If something had happened, she needed to be at home. Wherever her family was, they’d come back. It would help if she could find the twins. Her eyes darted around but it was too hard too tell. Too many people milling aimlessly about trying to figure out if they should panic or not.

She powerwalked home. Her key fit easily into the lock. She breathed in the calming scents her mom sprayed in the entry way every morning. This was still home, whether her parents were out or not. Even if her parents were rarely out of the house this late.

She heard the scuff of footsteps farther down the hall. It was cliche as hell and she was stupid for doing it, but instinct took over and she called out, “Hello? Who’s there?”

[brodyyjenkins]

Brody and Wilfion’s bus had been the first to arrive back in town. The twins had tried to call their parents to come pick them up, but when they didn’t answer they both assumed they were sleeping and began the walk to their house.

Brody’s back had already been sore from sitting on the bus for so long, but it was ten times worse after carrying their bag and skateboard all the way home. They’d officially learned their lesson. No more overpacking. Having seven slightly varying pairs of white sneakers for a camping trip wasn’t worth it for stabbing pain and muscle spasms. Even if they did look really fucking cool.

When they got home the house was dark and still. Something about it seemed a little off, but they didn’t usually stay up this late to know what. After abandoning their stuff in their room, they headed to the kitchen to get a snack. The lights were still off. Less chance of getting in trouble for raiding the fridge.

Hello? Who’s there? Brody straightened, turning towards the door. It was definitely Kaia being weird. And even though they knew this could end in their death, Brody could not resist an opportunity for a jump scare.

They snuck back towards the doorway that connected the entry and the kitchen, keeping to the walls so Kaia wouldn’t see them. Then when they were close enough, they jumped out at her, grabbing her shoulders and screaming as loud as they could before dissolving in a puddle of giggles.

@wilfionjenkins

[wilfionjenkins]

They really didn't need to talk about it. Wilfion nodded to Brody as they dropped their board and headed toward home faster than Wilfion could manage on their own two feet. Not unless they felt like sprinting with their bag. Which they sometimes did, but not now. Instead, they picked their way through the confused crowd, saying hello to teammates, chuckling to themself as Claudia trolled the rest of the bus then disappeared into the dark with her Edward Gorey illustration of a cousin. There was going to be drama the next day. They were sure of it.

Wilf took their time turning down the empty streets as the other walkers fell away until they arrived at the Varo Jenkins family home. A charming colonial surrounded by elder trees, Wilf somehow still expected the rush of relief and excitement they tended to feel when they returned home from a run. Instead they just felt a vague sense of unease, like waiting for the first pitch to be thrown. A need for something to happen just so they could do something too.

They stood at the edge of the stone fence that surrounded their small front yard, listening to the woods behind the house. The world was eerily still, the wind completely absent. The moonless night turned the silhouettes of the trees into prison bars. "Stupid." Wilf muttered to themself. Claudia was making them see things that weren't there. Stories didn't happen in real life. That's why they were stories.

Then they heard an ear splitting scream from the house. Then another. "Bro? Kaia?" They sprinted up the front steps and crashed through the door (luckily unlocked). "What..." They trailed off as they found their twin giggling as their sister wheezed. "Seriously? I'm gonna break something, and Mom'll blame you."

@kaiajenkins

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Name: Wilfion Varo Jenkins Face Claim: Amandla Stenberg Played By: Lil Birthday: December 25th Family: Brody Varo Jenkins (Older Twin Sister - Amandla Stenberg), Kaia Jenkins (Older Half-Sister - Ryan Destiny) Naomie Jenkins (Mother - Gabrielle Union), Hugo Varo (Father - James Roday Rodriguez), Harold Winter (Kaia’s Father - Dulé Hill), Friends: Brody (if your twin isn’t your best friend what’re you doing), Claudia, Yuli, Bren, Nico, Nora, Wes Romance(s): Secret (aside from her siblings because it is obvious) crush on Adrian, queer but generally unsure about the rest (experimental makeouts with Nell but no further) Hobbies/Clubs/Social Circle: Basketball, Cheerleading, Mock Trial, Debate (really any extracurricular Kaia or Brody does, they want to do it). First AFAB member of the baseball team (catcher). Jock through and through.

A less than charitable person might call Brody and Wilfion an experiment. Gender neutrally raised twins! What an easy study. But Wilfion and their sibling have always defied expectations, overachieving the way their older sister and mother taught them. That doesn’t mean they’re without mischief, though. Wilfion revels in their youngest child status, unapologetically courting chaos as much as a Jenkins is allowed (which is not that much, but they try. At least their hair is colorful.) The Event has effectively left Wilfion without a future, but they’re not too bothered by it. Their twin and their beloved big sister still need help, and it allows them to avoid the growing darkness in their mind and the impending medication shortage that’s about to make it much, much worse. It’s a high stress situation, but oddly nothing they haven’t experienced before. They’re well versed in faking it until they make it… even if they’re not sure they ever made it at all.

Follow Wilfion here!