Double the Trouble, Double the Love [Silvery_Lady]
 

When someone knocked on her office's door, Eleonor lifted her head a bit from the papers she was reading and her eyes shifted toward that same door.
-Come in.- she said, only to let out an exasperated sigh a second later, when she saw a couple of teachers dragging four boys inside the room, informing her about what had just happened.
That upleasant situation was even more annoying for her, since two of the "fighters" were her sons.

The Principal listened to the other adult words, before nodding at her, while standing up from her chair very slowly.
-Thanks, Miss Melinda. I can take care of this, return to your class.- she said, calmly but with a freezing cold voice, before looking at the small group of teens that were now standing in front of her, clearly worried about their imminent future.

Eleonor Blanchard had quite a reputation, at the Stonebridge High School; she was feared by the students and not only because she was the Principal, but also becase she was well known for being a really strict disciplinarian and because she used to deliver the longest and the most severe spankings ever, even in public, if needed.
So it was no surprise for her to notice how all the boys were suddenly so interested in their shoes, avoiding to look at her face.

Once the door closed behind the teachers, the woman cleared her throat in a threatening way, before starting with her inevitable reprimand.
-Well, boys... as you all know perfectly, this is not the first time that you visit this office for fighting and for causing troubles in the hallways.- she said, stepping around the desk and getting closer to them -And i must be honest, i'm fed up with this. Fighting will not be tolerated in this school, punching and pushing around other students is unacceptable and probably i've been to soft with you, the other times.- she continued -I've always left you off the hook with a scolding and a slap on the wrist, but this time i won't.-

At that point, she stopped right in front of them, folding arms over her chest and frowning.
-As a start, your parents will be informed, this time. I'll call them personally as soon as you'll walk out of here.- she announced to Colton and Jackson; she didn't feel the need to say that to other two teens, since she wa their only parent and she was already informed about their wrongdoings -On top of that, all of you will stay two hours after classes, in detention with Miss Melinda and i hope that writing lines for a couple of hours will teach you some patience and some respect.- was the conclusion.

She had went through her speech without losing her temper not even for a second, her voice always extremely calm, but it was clear that she was mad at them.
-If this should happen again in the future, i promise that you will all get a strapping in front of your classmates.- with that final threat, Eleonor seemed about to wrap up the matter -I hope that i'm making myself clear enough, kids. Now, Jackson and Colton, go back to class, scoot.- she ordered to the couple of bullies, before finally staring at her own sons -As for you two, you wait. I'm not done with you.-

The twins exchanged nervous glances as their mother spoke, knowing the icy tone all too well meant the group was in deep trouble... The bullies had no idea what they were in for if they pushed their luck. Looking at his feet as the lecture began, Matt was kicking himself internally for his part in their mother's anger. Eli saw his twin's tears already forming as the lecture continued, looking to the bullies who were too frozen in place to notice his brother's tears. Eli let out an internal sigh of relief as the bullies were sent away, only to have his own nerves on suddenly put on edge when they were alone with their mother who made it clear she wasn't nearly done with them. Matt was now already bordering breaking down in tears, prompting Eli to speak up softly for his twin's sake. "...Mom, I know you're mad we got into a fight, but it wasn't Matt's fault..." He tried to explain, but stopped himself and looked back down as the woman scolded them, knowing if he continued to speak before she asked what had happened that they'd be in more trouble for him trying to defend their actions.

The very moment the other two teens left the room, when Eli immediately started to talk, Eleonor lifted one hand toward him, showing his palm, in a silent but clear order: she wanted him to shut up.
-Did i give you permission to talk?- she asked, sternly, even if she was relaxing a bit.

The woman leaned against her desk, folding arms once more but in a less stiff way, letting out a little sigh.
She then noticed that her other son was already about to cry and frowned even more; a part of her felt the urge to hugh him and comfort him, but the other was forcing her to keep up her mask, at least for the moment, and to get to the bottom of that.

-Very well, now, first things first: are you hurt?- she asked them, before wenting on -Matt, look at me, the floor won't help you.- she instructed him -Eli, now tell me what happened, without adding useless details, my patience is running thin already. Why did you fight those boys?- she inquired.

The adult kept staring at them, waiting for their explanation before deciding how to react.
Depending on the reason of the fight, she could decide to give them a good smacking or to let them go and they all were aware of that. Their mother was a fair woman, even if really strict at the same time.
-Come on, i'm listening.-

Eli clamped his mouth shut upon seeing his mother hold her palm up to silence him, questioning if she had given him permission to talk. The teen looked down again, but looked back up to Matt as she asked if they were hurt. He knew his twin had a few bad bruises. Matt even had been hit in the eye, so he was trying not to let her see it.

Hearing their mother's tone lessen in anger, Eli gestured for Matt to tell her what happened. As he was trying desperately not to shed tears, the teen froze when instructed to look at her, his hands shaking a bit as he looked up, a slightly black eye hiding behind his hair as he lost his emotional control and choked back a sob, rubbing the tears away but still trying to hide the black eye that Colton had left him with. "I-I'm s-sorry mom..." he muttered as tears reformed, this time too quickly for him to hide. "T-they ... they've picked on us since they started coming here... A-and hearing Colton call you a raging bitch... I j-just lost it..." He admitted as Eli nodded, placing his hand on his shoulder. "We both lost it, mom... They can call us whatever they want, but...They always pick a fight with Matt by using you, insulting your name however they can." Eli added, his own eyes starting to water. "I snapped when Colton sucker-punched Matt as his friend tried to swing at me... But... I-I'm sorry I lost control... It's just... We don't care what they say about us. Bringing you into it is a different story..." He shrunk down a bit, looking up with tears in his eyes as well now. "We're sorry..." He said meekly, Matt already starting to try choking back his tears as tears of his own formed in Eli's eyes.

Once she realized that the main reason why Matt was looking down was trying to stop her from notice his eye, Eleonor immediately took a couple of steps toward him, stretching out a hand to gently, but firmly, grab his chin, forcing him to look up.
-Let me take a look at that.- she said, using her other hand to move aside his hair, uncovering the slightly bruised eye that he was trying to hide -...you need an ice pack, we are going to the infirmary in a minute.- she then announced.

Now in her voice could be heard not only anger, but also concern.
She was their mother, after all, and she was constantly worried about them, no matter how old they were now.

Still, the woman allowed them to talk and to explain why they had got involved in the quarrel, listening to their words very attentively, forcing herself not to put on a grimace of rage when she finally discovered the truth.
Instead, she tried to keep her composure.
-...boys, you don't have to fight to protect me, okay?- she started to say, now with a much softer voice, letting out a sigh -I mean, i'm proud of you for standing up for me, don't get me wrong. You are very brave and i love you so much, but you must understand that it's not worth it.- at that point, Eleonor simply grabbed Matt by his shoulders and she pulled him closer, giving him a tight hug, right when he started to cry, landing a kiss on his head.
A second later, she opened up one arm toward Eli, invinting him to join them, since he had started to cry too, suddenly.
-Come over here, you.- she called him.

The adult kept them in her arms for a minute, while they were both weeping and apologizing for what they had done; she was feeling trapped between her love and her duty, like most times.
She knew that she must punish them for fighting, but at the same time all she wanted was to kick the bullies out of her school for making them cry like that...it was a complicated situation.

Tears continued to freely fall down both of the twin's faces, more-so with Matt as he felt his face being lifted and examined by his mother as he grimaced a bit when she saw the black eye he had because of the bully that had hit him, a nervous saddened look in his eyes as he feared her reaction to the injury. He started to break down as she continued on to say he didn't have to fight to protect her, and that she was proud of him and loved them, as he knew she was still going to punish them... The teen practically clung to his mother, burying his face into her shoulder even though he had to lean down a bit to do so. Eli looked a bit awkward, but was still in tears as well. Seeing the opened arm for comfort and her call him to her and Matt, he sighed shakily, but hugged onto her as well, tears becoming more visible and audible as the twins felt her strong arms wrapped around them. Matt choked back a sob, worried beyond measure that she was upset with him. "I-I'm s-sorry mom... P-please don't b-be m-mad!" He half-begged, tears continuing to flow from his eyes as his grip around her tightened slightly. Eli looked to Matt, feeling sympathy for him, as Matt always got more upset and broken up inside than he did when they disappointed her. Eli would just get quieter when he was upset, and by how silent he was now, he was truly upset as well.

Eleonor hold them close for a little while, allowing them to vent off some of the frustration and pain that they were felling, comforting them like only a parent can.
But when Matt spoke again, she sighed in response.

-I'm not mad at you.- she said, because that was the most important thing that they need to know, at that moment -But you both know that i can't let you go without punishing you, at least a little. I'm the Principal of this school, not just your mom, and to fight on the school premises is not allowed. I have rules to enforce, kids.- she continued, now slowly pushing them back a little, so she could look at their faces -So, like i said before, you two are getting detention too, because you deserve it. I don't want you to use your fists to solve problems and we already had this conversation in the past, am i right?-

The woman put on a little smile at that point, despite the situation.
-But you will only get lines to write.- she added -While them, well... i'll have a little talk with Miss Melinda about their punishment, in a minute.- was the conclusion.
Clearly she was saying that the two bullie would receive an extra punishment for calling her that way and for starting the fight, even if he couldn't say that too explicitly.

So, after waiting a couple of minutes more, to allow them to stop crying and to wipe their faces a bit, their mother went to open the door.
-Eli, you go back to class now.- she instructed the calmer twin -Matt, you will come with me so we can take care of that eye, then you will go back to your lessons too.-

Long story short, Eleonor led Matt to the infirmary to apply an ice pack on his face, before sending him back to his student's duty.
Then she stopped by Miss Melinda's class to instruct her about the boys' detention, telling her that she wanted both Colton and Jackson to get a fifteen minutes long spanking before starting with their lines, for disrespecting the Principal.
She also addded that she was free to pick any implement for the smacking, if she wanted to.

Matt looked at his mother sadly, wiping his face with his sleeve and wincing slightly as his hand brushed against his bruised eye. "Y-you f-forgive us t-then?" He asked meekly, tears still in the corners of his eyes. Eli frowned a bit as their mother told them she had to punish them at least a little, worried about how Matt would handle that. He noticed his twin's eyes go downcast when their mother stated they deserved detention because she didn't want them using violence to solve the problems, adding on that they'd had this conversation in the past. She wasn't wrong... He looked surprised when she said they'd only get lines to write and the bullies would get more, in a way. Eli nodded as he was told to go back to class. "Okay..." he muttered in a tone that hid some sadness he still felt, heading for his classroom. It was the last class, so the boys didn't have to hide their sadness for long, but Eli knew it would be difficult for Matt to contain his emotions.

After getting ice from the infirmary, Matt was sent back to his own class, although he heard a few snickers from the bullies in the back of the room as he went to his seat and the teacher continued the lesson. After class let out, the bullies, still unaware of their fated punishment awaiting them bumped his shoulder as they left to head for detention. The teen didn't really care what they did at this point and went to meet up with Eli, arriving at the detention hall as the bullies were smirking at them. "What's wrong? Did you charity cases upset your mommy?" Colton smirked, expecting Matthew to rage so he could get a punch in for making him have to stay after school. Matt ignored him and sat in the front beside Eli. Melinda wasn't in the room yet, but she had heard the boy mock the twins, walking in as Jackson threw a rubber eraser, catching it before it hit Eli in the back of the head, giving the twins an approving nod, before looking to the bullies sternly. "That's enough!" She snapped, both bullies shrinking back as they hadn't expected her to be their detention watch. "Elijah, Matthew, start writing." She said sternly as she dropped two notebooks on their desk. "I want that notebook full by the end of detention. You will write 'Violence is not an acceptable reaction.' until I say otherwise. And in addition, Elijah, you will give me a paragraph of the rules I have in my class for taking your training outside of sparring. You know better..."

The twins nodded silently, Eli feeling a bit more upset again to see his favorite teacher disappointed in him. The number one rule she had in the martial arts classes she ran was not to use their taught training outside of the gym.She heard the boys snickering in the back, Jackson and Colton, and her eyes narrowed at them. "You two. Up front. NOW. I have a different punishment for the both of you in mind." The two once snickering prideful bullies shrunk back as she folded her arms over her chest and glared at them. "Do I need to repeat myself? Come here. NOW!" Eli winced as he sensed the anger in her voice, but continued writing, not wanting to be on the receiving end of any extra punishment. Matt glanced up a bit as the bullies passed him, Colton sneering at him: "What are YOU looking at, freak?"

Melinda grasped Colton by the ear at that point, dragging him over to the desk and seating herself gracefully on the edge before she pulled him over her knee, pinning him in place with her other leg. "I warned you. I was only going to give you and your associate here the fifteen minute spanking I'm happy I'll be able to deliver, but that little stunt earned you a harsher sting, boy." The woman opened one of the desk drawers and pulled a heavy paddle out, setting it on the desk where Colton saw it and his eyes went wide. Proceeding to yank his jeans down and not even hesitating in following with the boxers coming down, she raised her hand back and landed a sound, echoing: WHACK! One of many to come. She looked up to Jackson and pointed to the seat up front. "You sit there and don't move a muscle. You're up after Mr. Smartmouth, here." She warned. "Try to run and I'll send you to the office and you'll get MUCH worse, believe me."

"Hey! OW! STOP IT, YOU WITCH!" Colton yelled, kicking back to no avail as she had his legs locked in place and was far stronger than him. After a few more insults from the boy and seeing Jackson try to make a run for it, the woman had put up with enough. "Alright, you two have gotten on my LAST nerve. You clearly need more than I've been given permission to deal to you." She scolded, fierce anger in her voice and eyes. Looking to the twins, specifically Eli, she said in both a stern warning voice and calm tone for their moods seeming down, she didn't want to add to it. "Can I trust you two not to leave here until I return?" She asked calmly as she dragged both of the bullies to the door by their ears. "Eli?"

"Y-yes, ma'am..." Eli replied, Matt simply nodding in agreement as he continued to write the lines over and over in the notebook, a few tears staining the pages. "Good. I will be back in a bit." She sighed, returning her attention to the defiant boys trying to free themselves from her strong grasp. "Alright, you two. Come with me. I believe you'll be more apologetic answering to the principal herself..." She grumbled as she dragged them off to the office. Eli glanced over to his twin who seemed almost hypnotized by his sadness, looking broken up over their actions. "Matt, you know mom forgives you -- us, right? She clearly defended us in this situation... Miss Melinda is not a woman you want to anger. I've learned that myself, unfortunately. Try to cheer up a bit... She's not mad at us and she'll be happier if we do as she's told and all will be forgotten by the time we head home..." The usually quieter twin sighed, patting his brother on the shoulder affectionately. Matt smiled a little, prompting a relieved sigh from Eli. "Thanks, big bro..." He replied. No-one would know it by the way they acted, but Eli was the older twin by two minutes. Eli smirked a bit in response. "What a difference two minutes makes..." he mused, before the two went back to their silent writing, finishing up as the detention bell went off. Eli had done more than just the lines and paragraph to try to make amends with Miss Melinda. He wrote a personal apology to her in addition, expressing his regret in upsetting her, and his thanks for her support. The boys waited for their mother to come get them since they hadn't seen Melinda since she left with the bullies. "I don't even want to imagine what those two are going through. Even if they deserve it..." Matt sighed, finally speaking without tears, since detention was over and they were allowed to talk until their parent came to tell them otherwise. "When mom's mad, she's MAD. And I can't imagine your teacher not going through with punishing them, too. And from how ticked off they both were, Colton and Jackson won't be sitting right for a day or two..."

"Yeah...I get what you mean. Hopefully the guys'll leave us alone from now on, though... I can't stand what they say about her... Or about me... err... us..." Eli slipped up in his response, getting a suspicious look from his twin in reaction. "N-nevermind, forget I said--"

"Spill it, bro. What have they said about you? Since when do we keep secrets?" Matt replied flatly. "Are they calling you out again because you like both guys and girls? Honestly... You need to stand up for yourself more... I guess we'll have to be logically verbal instead of physical, though. Unless we want to tick mom off again. And I really don't want that..." Matt continued. "You really should tell mom what they call you..."


"N-no! Mom can't know that they've called me those things! You swore not to tell! You CAN'T tell! She'll freak out if she knows about my..." Eli went quiet, but Matt shook his head, neither twin noticing Melinda had re-entered the room with the bullies who were now in hysterics and pointed them to the corner, both bullies with their cherry red butts out as they stood with their noses to the corner. "If anyone other than them or you know my 'preference', I'd ... I .... I don't know what I'd do..."


Melinda suddenly coughed, attracting the twin brothers' attention, prompting Eli to jump in his seat slightly. "Are those notebooks full as I instructed? And did you write me that paragraph, Eli?" She asked calmly, noticing Eli had left his notebook open to the last page which was his apology to her. Arching an eyebrow, she took the notebook from him and read the letter, her eyes softening as she looked back down at the nervous teen, lightly thumping his head affectionately. "Apology accepted, squirt." She said in a warmer voice, before her eyes went stern again. "Now what's this about something your mother can't know about?"

Eli dropped his head onto the desk in frustration. "I c-can't...." He started to tear up, but Miss Melinda stood her ground. "You're going to have to tell me before I let you leave. Now spill it. What are you keeping from her?"

Eli remained silent, so Matt placed his hand on his brother's shoulder, looking up to the teacher he knew Eli favored as his favorite teacher, and alongside their mother and him, his favorite person in the school. "It's okay, bro... You trust her, right...?" Eli nodded silently. "And you trust mom, don't you?" He asked, Eli nodding silently again. "And I KNOW you trust me. So out with it. It's not a big deal... No-one that you trust, no-one that loves you will disown you for how you feel..." Neither of the brothers noticed their mother in the doorway, but Miss Melinda did, as she went up and showed Eli's additional formal apology to her with a smile, before her smile faded and she gestured to the twins and Matt trying to get Eli to talk about something she couldn't get out of him, hoping their mother could get to the bottom of the issue. Before their mother could speak to announce her presence, Eli blurted out his secret without noticing she was there. "It's not easy to be attracted to girls AND guys, Matt! How do you think people would react if they find out I'm bi?! My friends would FLEE from me! And don't give me that crap that if they're my REAL friends they'd stay by my side! I'm fully aware of that!" he half-yelled. "W-what if mom freaks out?! I can't stand the idea of losing her!" He now had blurted out his secret, unknowingly in front of his mother.

After giving a call to the parents of the two bullies, Eleonor had hoped to relax the last hour of classes and the two hours she had to wait for her sons to finish their detention, but clearly life did not agree with her on that matter.

When she had seen Miss Melinda arriving into her office with the couple of kids, asking an harder punishment for them due to their terrible behaviour, she had rolled her eyes, but then she had decided to trust the teacher's instinct about that and she had proceeded to give them a good paddling herself, right there, bent over her desk, in front of the other woman.
After all, they had earned that themselves.

Lately that day, when it was finally almost time to go home, the woman had collected her purse and her coat, before heading toward the class where Matt and Eli were facing their chastisement, ready to go away with them and to leave that awful day behind.

She had planned a nice surprise for the kids, since the next day was their birthday and it was also the anniversary of the day she had officially signed the adoption papers, so she just wanted to go home, take a shower, change into some nice clothes and then go to the reastaurant where she had booked a table for three.

What she had not planned, was the emotional "confession" she suddenly heard coming from inside the classroom, straight out of his son's mouth.
Her hand stopped on the doorknob for a moment, and she widened her eyes, biting her her tongue and forcing herself not to run in there and hug him; so that was the reason of his recent stress? The reason why those bullies were always after him?
Eleonor had to think quickly and to decide what to do even quicker.

So, just a couple of seconds later, the woman put on her brightest smile and she simply walked in, pretending to have just arrived on the scene.
-Well, boys... ready to go?- she asked them, exchanging a glance with the other adult, silently letting her know that from that moment it was her problem and the sha had heard everything.

Then she looked down at Elijah.
-Sweetie, what's wrong? Are you two sill crying about the scolding i gave you before?- she asked, not letting them understand that she had heard the conversation, for now -Come on, pick up your stuff, i have a surprise for you, tonight. Everything will look better, in a while.- she tried to cheer them up -What about putting on some fancy clothes and have dinner at the best italian restaurant in town?- she said, winking at them.

Meanwhile, despite her cheer attitude, inside her mind there were hundred of questions spinning around, and she was desperately trying to decide how to deal with the news she had just discovered.

Still, very slowly, a plan was starting to form, among all that mess...