Meant to Be

Starting Junior year at a new school, in a new town, with new everything can be brutal. But after what I've been through, it's harsher. Yet here I am, standing in front of Silver Creek High School in Steamboat, Colorado.

Starting a new school is a lot easier when you have a human shield. Enter Grayson, my twin brother. He's a natural at meeting people, a skill he likely developed by talking enough for both of us—honestly, it's mostly annoying. It also could be because he's friendly and most girls swoon over his looks, though personally, I don't think he's all that. He has the typical blond hair, blue eyes, and athletic build. While I'm similar to him with the same features, I prefer reading and science, and I'm definitely the smarter twin. I also wear glasses, unlike him, since he's too vain to give up his contacts.

We stepped through the front doors, and like clockwork, every girl in the vicinity seemed to have her eyes glued to him. I might as well have been wearing an invisibility cloak. I tell myself I'm used to it, but it still finds a way to get under my skin. Grayson just kept cruising toward the main office, acting completely oblivious to the trail of drooling girls he was leaving behind.

As we passed the common area, something shifted. I caught a boy leaning against the wall, watching us approach. It was strange—he wasn't looking at Grayson's natural athlete strut. He was looking at me.

His gaze didn't waver, and I think Grayson might have noticed because he suddenly kicked his pace into high gear (a/n help idk what to change this to, but i don't like it). Before I could process why a stranger was actually noticing the invisible twin, we had reached the main office.

The moment we stepped inside, the atmosphere shifted from academic to high school drama. A girl around our age—likely the office TA—practically glided toward my brother. She didn't just greet him; she started flirting with enough intensity to make me want to look for the nearest exit.

Her hair was a deep, dark brown, and she had long, flowy eyelashes that nearly shaded her piercing green eyes. I would rather not stick around for the heavy flirting, so I slowly drifted away to the counter to collect mine and Grayson's schedules.

While I waited, I caught snippets of their conversation. Natalie. Grayson had already called her by her first name, explaining he needed to grab his things. The name hit me like a physical blow. It reminded me of a close friend I'd had before everything changed, and we were forced to leave our old life behind. After the move, our friendship had withered; neither of us was equipped to handle the strain of the distance. She wasn't the only one who had drifted away from the person I used to be—or the place I used to call home.

I took the schedules from the kind office lady and headed back to my brother.

“Hey,” I said, sliding his paper toward him.

Natalie shot me a look so sour I could almost taste it. I knew exactly what she was thinking: Who the hell are you? I ignored the hostility, but my brother—bless him—was completely oblivious to the fact that she was currently burning a hole in my head with her gaze.

“Natalie, this is my twin sister, Sadie,” he said, resting a hand on my shoulder.

The transformation was instant and almost comical. Her face shifted from a sneer to a mask of sweet, wide-eyed innocence in a heartbeat.

“Oh… Hi! I'm Natalie! It's so nice to meet you, Sadie.”

“Uhm, hi,” I managed, offering a weak, skeptical smile.

She didn't even wait for a real response before snatching the schedule from Grayson's hand.

“Oh, look!” she squealed in a voice so high it was practically obnoxious. “We have three classes together! Too bad we don't have all seven.” She pouts at him, her eyes fluttering.

It's pretty annoying, honestly. My older sister thought it would be a great idea for Grayson and me to have identical schedules, which meant I'd be stuck with Natalie for those three classes, too.

Luckily, as if answering my silent prayer for an escape, the bell rang. It was time for class to start for everyone but us. Since we were new, two tour guides were assigned to show us the ropes- one for Grayson and one for me. I'd heard the guides were friendly, but after my run in with Natalie, my expectations were pretty low. Their names were Madilynn Ford and Kai Daniels.

When they walked into the office, they greeted us with bright, warm smiles. They looked like "good students" - or at least, they played the part well. Kai had light hair and was on the shorter side; he was cute, but he looked more like a college student than a high school junior. The girl, Madilynn, was striking. She had blond hair that fell to the middle of her back, bright blue eyes, and perfectly applied blush and glossy lips.

I felt my usual wall of suspicion go up, but it crumbled almost immediately. Instead of flirting with Grayson or staring at him like he was a prize, Madilynn marched right up to me and grabbed my hands.

“It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Madilynn. You’re Sadie, right?” she asked, her energy infectious.

“Yeah, nice to meet you too,” I said.

“Oh, and this is Kai,” Madilynn added.

I raised my hand and gave a subtle wave. Madilynn immediately noticed my brother, who was busy checking her out with his typical "new girl" curiosity.

“I have a boyfriend,” she stated blandly.

Kai didn't miss a beat, stepping forward with a grin. “And I am said boyfriend.”

The rest of the tour flew by, and I found myself becoming fast friends with them. They even promised to introduce us to their group at lunch. But as we turned into the final hallway, the good mood hit a snag: we ran into Natalie, and this time she wasn't alone.

Madilynn stopped in her tracks, her face shifting into a look of pure annoyance. “Skipping class again, are we?”

Natalie flicked her gaze toward Madilynn and me, then landed on the boys standing behind us. “My business isn't yours, okay? What I do is my own concern.” Then, her face transformed as she beamed a bright, fake smile at my brother. “Grayson, why are you hanging out with these losers?”

Finally, the penny dropped. Grayson actually caught on that she didn't like Madilynn, Kai, or—most importantly—me. The edge in his voice when he spoke made me flinch.

“That ‘loser’ is my sister, and these are my friends,” he snarled. “Maybe we shouldn’t talk anymore.”

”Whatever,” Natalie huffed, rolling her eyes as she stomped away with her entourage.

I looked at Madilynn, and we both burst out laughing at the sheer drama of it all. We continued down the hallway until we rounded a corner and bumped into another group of boys. Madilynn’s laughter died instantly, replaced by a sigh of motherly frustration.

One of the boys looked up, caught the look on her face, and immediately smacked his friend’s chest, pointing in our direction.

A/N This chapter is not complete I am still editing