A hero isn't born a heroine and growing up can be a bumpy road. In this instalment we go back a few years. Events unfold including but not limited to: A slightly more awake Sarah (although the benefits of that are debatable) And Hannah reluctantly goes to prom for a night he should never forget.

“oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god”
My feet ached from sprinting so hard across the pavement, hopefully if I can just get around this corner she won’t..
“Get back here you little snot!”
Well so much for that idea.
We have the same leg length, it’s so not fair she’s this fast!
“I SAID GET BACK HERE!”
I leaned into my sprint and pushed even harder.
Just a little more to go and I'm saf-

With a strangled yelp I flew forward and we collapsed in a tangle of limbs on Mr.Martial’s front lawn.
Sarah laughed and with little effort pinned my arms above my head.
She’s way too strong for a seventeen year old!
Like her legs, our arms are the same size but she can just put so much more into it.
It’s not human, it’s a conspiracy, how am I meant to fight off-
“Thought you could get away Han?” she hissed dangerously.

My breath came in sharp bursts, her sitting on my chest wasn't helping.
Damn her and her training.
“Don.. don’t call me that” I panted out.
Her evil grin got wider.
“Aww, does my little Hannah not like her name”
I growled at her as best I could between gasps for air.
“If you play nice, I’ll not say anything Han. Sisters look after each other, right?”
I wanted to yell at her
I wanted to rip into her
I wanted to buck her off me and punch her oh so smug face!
..but I can’t.. and I won’t.
It would only make it worse in the end.
“What do you want?” I managed to eke out, shifting underneath her to try and get her weight off my hip.
Either I've got something in my pocket I've forgotten about or I'm sitting on a sharp stick.
Sarah stared down at me, that malicious little spark in her eye twinkling away.
“I need a body double for prom. Luckily I have a little sister who can help”

Oh god..
“So tomorrow you’re gonna skip your little geek meeting, come home, get changed and we are going dress shopping!”

It gets worse..
“Of course you’re gonna need some new undies too. Don’t think I haven’t noticed your running low on makeup Han”

And worse..
Sarah eased off of me, her demand given, obviously safe in the knowledge she’d get her way.
I tried to sit up and managed it after a few moments struggle.
With a barking laugh Sarah gave me a hard shove in the chest back to the ground.
“You get up when I tell you to dork”
I flopped back to the ground with a sigh.
Today had been going so WELL too.
I should have guessed it wouldn't last.

==============

“Al, honey, can you be a bit more careful? You have grass stains on your shirt again”
I held back the urge to shot Sarah a nasty look.
It wouldn't do any good anyway.
“He’s a boy mum, you can’t expect him to stay clean and neat”
Mum tried not to show it but I know she agreed with Sarah.
Eventually she reached over and petted Sarah’s hair in approval.
“I suppose your right, sometimes I wish..” Mum trailed off, looking at the wall with far off eyes.
I didn't need to be a mind reader to know what she meant.
Neither did Sarah guessing by the malicious little grin she shot me.
She nodded her head toward mum’s vacant expression and raised an eyebrow.
‘H-a-n-n-a-h” she mouthed at me, her grin getting wider by the moment.
I froze up like a mouse in front of a snake.
She wouldn't tell. She CAN’T!
Sarah seemed to enjoy herself for a while.
Between mums continued hair patting and my fear, how could she not?

I managed to shake myself into action, somehow, when it looked like she would open her mouth again.
Well.. By ‘into action’, I mean I shot off upstairs to put as much distance between us as possible.

“Don’t run on the stairs!”
Looks like mum noticed I left at least.
Sometimes I wish I was an only child.. or emancipated.. or anything really.
But no.. I'm a twin. A twin with an evil spiteful blackmailing sister!

For almost a full heartbeat I managed to build up a head of steam.
Then it gutted out and reality came back in.
There’s nothing I could do to change things, yelling would just make things worse.
It’s not like she was always like this either..
I think I’ll just go lay down, at least she won’t come after me in my room.

============

“Morning Han”
I rolled away from her and pulled myself into a tighter ball.
It’s too early to put up with her crap.
“oh, don’t be grumpy. I got you a present”
I froze, tense and ready for the punchline.

It came quickly.
With a flourish Sarah laid a pair of pan.. well.. a pair of underwear, lets go with that, right on my bed.
They were pink, and lacy, and fussy with a ribbon or two on them.
I knew what she wanted.
She knew what she wanted.

I gave her a pleading glance but I might as well have not bothered.
“You can thank me now or thank me later downstairs with mum. You’re choice”
I took a deep gulp of air around the lump forming in my throat.
“Thanks Sarah. They’re pretty”
Sarah grinned her usual evil smirk and nodded in approval.
“Good girl, we’ll get you out of your tomboy phase in no time”
I didn't bother answering her.
It wouldn't make a difference.
I slowly moved my hand out from my cocoon of blankets and pulled the pan.. underwear in.
At least they aren't taunting me so much now.

Sarah gave another nod of approval and then skipped her way out of the room.
I'm sure she would call it a strut or some other needlessly adult definition for walking but to me it was a gleeful skip.
She got her way, as always.

==============

“You look like you had a fun night?”
I jumped and squeaked, unconsciously pulling the back of my shirt down further in defence.
John grinned at me, all teeth like a shark.
“Did you actually sleep at all?”
He glanced around us, he looked a bit like a meerkat doing it.
I had to suppress the urge to grin, he wouldn't appreciate the comparison after-all.
“I got some sleep but Sarah-“
John gave a deep lovelorn sigh at just the mention of her name.
I had to suppress yet another urge, this time to puke.
“-she was being mean to me again..” I finished, knowing he wasn't paying attention any more.
A slow, warm smile worked its way onto John’s face and then he finally shook himself out of whatever fantasy he’d dived into.
“wha?” he shot at me, his voice dipping into that awkward accent he got when he wasn't paying attention.
“Never mind, come on we’ve got to go. Maths, first today”
John watched me thoughtfully for a moment and then shrugged it off with a huge sigh.
He’s never been a fan of maths.
He claims it’s because it takes too long translating between the language differences in his head.
I think he’s talking out of his ass.
English is English, just because his mums from some forest in England he seems to think that makes him a Brit.
It doesn't, I've seen his passport.
Not even joint nationality, he’s just as American as me, or Sarah or.. I dunno, Apple pie and monster truck racing I guess?
You get what I mean.

“Wonder if Walker will let me copy you if I pretend I'm blind?”
I sighed deep and gave him a mild glare.
“You used that excuse last year, then complained to me when he gave you all your worksheets for the week in brail”
John frowned, his sharp nose crinkling in annoyance.
“oh yeah.. deaf then?”
I sighed again and just started walking.
I swear, if he would just put as much effort into his maths as he did into trying to dodge his maths..

=============

“Alistor, are you with us?”
I jolted up from my notes and shot Mr.Walker an apologetic look.
He huffed at me while the class tittered about me getting caught.
“Welcome back, if you would?” He stated, gesturing toward the board.
I gulped.
Standing up I pulled my shirt down nervously again, the walk from my desk to the board felt painfully long.
I was fully aware of what I had on under my clothes and that the slightest mistake from me could lead to humiliation of world ending proportions.
Damn Sarah!
I was hyper aware of everything around me, twitching at every mumbled word and suppressed laugh behind me, waiting for all hell to break lose.

“Good, not quite right, you rounded up instead of down but the equations right at least”
I sighed and started to make my way back to my desk.
Facing the class it was easier to calm down, just a glance could tell me no one was paying the least bit of attention to me.
I should have guessed, its Maths class after all.
By the time I got back into my seat my pulse was getting back on track.
John nudged me and I flinched.
He shot me a questioning look which I tried to wave off.
Eventually he nodded and turned back to Mr.Walker.
As the class droned on, I spent it trying not to space out in doom and gloom too much this time.
The last thing I need is another reason to stand up in front of the whole class today.

============

“Where’re you going?”
I paused mid-step, considering my options.

Who am I kidding, there is no options involved.
“I gotta skip tonight, chores got piled on at the last minute “
John gave me a look.
It was part accusing and part sympathetic.
I shrugged at him and he nodded.
“I’ll tell Mike, I'm sure he’ll make you catch up lunchtime or something” he offered
“Yeah, most likely. Wish I had a choice, be a lot easier”
John nodded wisely and settled on an encouraging smile for me.
“Message me when you get done okay?”
I smiled back half-heartedly.
I'm not going to be finished soon if Sarah gets her way… and she ALWAYS gets her way.

============

“Full moon Han?” Sarah asked with a giggle.
I jumped and spun around, my hands going down to cover my butt.
“Shut the door” I hissed at her quickly.
She rolled her eyes dramatically and pulled it shut behind her.
“There’s only us here, what’s got your panties in a twist?”
I grimaced and she grinned at me.
“Pun intended” she added needlessly.
“I meant shut the door with you on the other side” I growled at her.
Her grin dropped into a pout.
“That’s not very nice” her voice going sickly sweet which didn’t match her glaring eyes in the slightest.
“Look I..”
She waved me off into silence.
“There’s a skirt and top for you on my bed. You got your bra still?”
I flinched but eventually nodded to her.
“Okay, downstairs in 10 minutes? If we hurry we can get to the mall before the crowds get too big”
I hesitated slightly but in the end there was only one answer.
She smiled at my nod of acceptance and went off to plot someone else’s misfortune for a while.

============

“Stop fiddling with it. You look fine Han”
My hand spasm'ed and I pulled it quickly away from my.. From the skirts edge.
“Now, what do you say if we meet someone I know?”
I hunched my shoulders slightly and opened my mouth to respond.
Sarah slapped my arm without looking away from the road.
“Lady’s don’t slouch”
I flinched and tried to straighten up.
She nodded in approval.
“I'm your cousin, we’re shopping for..” I stalled, I really didn't want to say it.
“For..” she prompted with a sharp look.
“..For our prom dresses” I finished with resignation.
Sarah smiled and nodded again.

At least someone’s happy about this.

==============

“I don’t care if you don’t like it. It’s my prom night, you’re just the stand-in and they even have two of these which fit us off the rack. So lucky!”
It was blue, it could have been worse at least.. I guess.
I shot a glance at the pink frothy monstrosity two racks over from us and shuddered.
On the other hand, this dress expects cleavage I don’t have.
Hell, Sarah barely has enough to work it.
“You got your bank card on you?”
I blinked in surprise and turned to Sarah.
She waved towards the tills and my mouth dropped open.
“I'm not going to buy-“
She cut me off with a cold look.
“You are going to be such a nice brother” she hissed quietly to me “and buy my nice dress, which happens to be twice as expensive as we expected.”
I wavered in rage, my fists clenched and a denial on my tongue.
“Or-“ she added, staring directly into my eyes “-you can be a silly sister who has to walk home. I’m sure you will get some sympathy for it by the time you get home and mum answers the door.”
I almost cried right there.
This isn't fair, this isn't god damn fair!
“I might invite your little boyfriend over too. What was his name? Joe? He’s sure to-“
“Okay, okay I’ll buy the damn dress”
She grinned at me and offered both dresses for me to carry.

This is going to take a chunk out of my savings the size of a small African nation.
So much for getting my own car.
And upgrading my laptop.

“Now we just need to get some nice shoes and then some nice undies for such a special occasion and we’re done”

And anything else from the sound of it..

With one more heaving sigh I made my way over to the till’s to pay.
At least the sales-girl looks bored.
Shouldn't be any problems of her noticing my card’s in the name of ‘Alistor Cooper’ if I rush.

=============

“He has a thing for you”

I hissed at her and glared.
“Oh please, even you must have noticed”
He IS being kind of obvious about it.
I shuddered hard.
“Maybe he has a thing for twins” I tried.
Even to my ears it didn't sound convincing.
“Maybe he has a thing for your feet”
My head whipped around and I glared at Sarah.
She shrugged with a grin.
“If he did have a thing for feet, a shoe shop’s the best place he could work right?”
Reluctantly I saw the humour in it and snorted.
Sarah smiled openly, for the first time in ages I can see her smile without some kind of dark joy behind it.
It almost looks weird to see honestly.

“We have these in a size five. Are you sure you both want the same colour?”
Sarah nodded, I reluctantly nodded along with her.
He glanced between us.
I hope it was just my imagination, but I'm pretty sure he focused more on me then Sarah.
“I’ll be back with the boxes then. You don’t want to try them both on?”
Sarah smiled at him and I blushed.
“We’re sure. If they fit Hannah, they will fit me. We’re twins”
He blushed and sputtered to a nod before quickly walking off toward the back room.
“Maybe you had a point, looks like he has a thing for twins”
I glared at Sarah, my cheeks hot in embarrassment.
“Why are we getting these anyway? I can’t use these shoes” I asked, waving my hand out in annoyance.
“You can use them. You just need to practice more”
Her smile lit up at me in joy.
“No I can’t, I nearly broke my ankle!”
She bumped my leg with hers and smiled innocently.
“It was barely a stumble, ya big baby. They’re only three inch heels”
I growled low at her and she frowned.
“A little practice and you will be ready to go”
I growled again and turned away from her.
“When the hell am I going to get time to practice?”
She ticked her eyebrow up at me in amusement.
I could see it out the corner of my eye.
“There’s a few weeks before prom. I guess you can just get home from school and use them”
Her eyes were alight with fun at the idea of it.
“I’ll show you all the tricks. You’ll be a pro in no time!”
I turned to face her again and blinked owlishly.

Sensing my worry Sarah’s smile dropped and she shot me a warning look.
“That’s not fair, I-“
She cut me off with a raised finger.
“I don’t care if it’s fair. I'm not having you show me up at prom. So you will do it or else”
I waved my mouth a few times.
Ready to deny her.
Ready to argue.
Ready to do SOMETHING.
Nothing came out.
She would get her way. As she always did.
What’s the point of even trying to fight her?

===============

“Left foot, right foot, swing your hip and turn, and flip your hair, giggle and blow a kiss”
I mechanically followed her commands.
The fight, what little of it there was to begin with, was gone from me.
“For god sake Han, smile. It’s a dance not a funeral”
I plastered a painfully fake smile on my face.
Sarah still didn't look pleased.
I knocked it down a few levels and tried again.
She nodded approvingly and moved on.
“Now you’re stable and you can strut like a pro, we just need to work on dancing next”
“huh?” I managed weakly. My eyes going wide.
Me? Dancing?.. I would assume dancing with a guy..
“Sarah I can’t-“ I tried with more force than I expected.
She didn't let me finish.
“You can! I can, we’re twins, you can. That’s how it works. It’s just for a few hours and then you’re free”
My shoulders slumped for all of five seconds.
With a glare Sarah smacked me on the shoulder and I tightened back up again.

“Why do you even need me anyway, he’s your date!”
Sarah looked at me like I was a particularly slow toddler.
“Prom or not, I'm not missing Jenny’s party. Mum would kill me if I cut prom to go to another party, especially one run by Jenny”
Damn right she would! Jenny’s bad news.
Worse, she’s got a reputation and a criminal record.
“I can’t miss Jenny’s party, I can’t cut prom and I can’t be in two places at once. Luckily I have a handy clone laying around spare”
I couldn't meet her eyes for that one.
That hurt.

“I don’t think you should go to Jenny’s party.”
Sarah looked at me incredulously, slowly her mouth pulled back in a nasty snarl.
“If I wanted the opinion of a defective knockoff, I would talk to those Barbie dolls Uncle Joe got us from china”
I drew away from her as if I’d been burned.
Sarah almost looked surprised at her own words but I didn't bother trying to argue, I just left.
Fast as my heels would take me I was up the stairs, into my room and slamming the door tight.

With a sob I crashed out on my bed, heels and skirt ignored in favour of just letting it out.
Sarah never used to be like this.
She’s getting worse too.
It’s not fair.
Why does she have to be like this!

Sarah didn't come up to check on me.
I half expected her to come storming in, demanding I get back to practice.
Eventually I calmed down enough to get changed.
I stashed the folded up dress I’d borrowed from Sarah in my wardrobe along with the heels for prom and went back to bed.
I couldn't be bothered with it any more.
I just wanted sleep and for this day to end.

=================

We didn't talk for almost a week after that blow up.
I still practised.
Sarah wouldn't let me off of that.
For the first few days she seemed to feel guilty.
She kept shooting me sideways glances as I went through the movements.
Eventually she must have resolved her issues though because by Friday she was back to snapping at me and, if possible, in even more of a foul mood then she usually has been lately.

“Hand on my shoulder and follow. Try not to walk around like a moose on stilts this time”
I didn't acknowledge her, just kept my head down and followed instruction.
That seemed to set her off less at least.

“Head up, smile for your date. You don’t need to like him, just last through the dance and forget him”
I pulled my head up and put on a smile.
Not meeting her eyes though.

She seemed to build up to tell me off for that too but eventually she let it go with a breath and just swayed us to the music.
I was thankful for that at least.

====================

“His names Dan. He likes soccer and swimming. He’s going to be nervous so just be agreeable and he won’t push you too much. When you think you've been visible enough that people will remember you. Tell him you’re ready to leave and come straight home. Make some noise so mum knows you’re in.”
I twitched violently and stared at her in shock.
“Mum can’t see me! She’ll be able to tell.”
Sarah snorted and gave me a mild glare.,
“Oh please, mums not been able to tell us apart when we’re like this since we were four.”
Reluctantly I backed down and nodded.
Mum was pretty bad at it even when I wasn't wearing Sarah’s clothes.

One time we spent a whole morning baking cookies and she didn't notice.
It wasn't until Sarah came stomping in covered in mud and bruise’s that mum realised her mistake.
And then she blamed me for it.. because.. I dunno.. why not, right?!

“Okay, I'm off. If anything goes wrong I’ll call you. Escape plan is you hide somewhere, I’ll come back and dive in to take your place until it’s all over”
I gulped and nodded.
Sarah checked me over one more time.
She fiddled with my hair a bit and fluffed the long skirt of my dress a bit more so that its thigh slit provided a bit more modesty.
“You.. We look good. Two seconds, I need to get a photo”
I opened my mouth to argue but gave up.
What’s the point?
By now she has more photos of me then I could hope to count from over the years.
One more isn't going to make a difference.

Sarah came back with her camera and posed me.
Putting the camera on the mantel piece she hit the delay and came back to pose with me.
The shutter went off.
I let out a breath and turned to her.
Then it went off again.
I swung around in surprise and it got me one more time, with a flash right in the face.

By the time I blinked the flash out of my eyes, Sarah had gotten her camera and slipped it in her purse.
“I’ll come in through the back. Probably pretty late. Stay in my room tonight. I’ll sleep in yours and we can swap before mum gets up in the morning”
I looked at her uncertainly but nodded along.

She gave me a surprisingly warm smile and hugged me.
“Look after yourself Han. Thanks for this. I’ll see you later”
She pulled away and walked out to her car.
I stood there gaping in surprise.
For just a moment, the evil monster disappeared and my sister had shined through.
I almost cried in relief that she was still in there somewhere.
I didn't cry..I can’t fix this makeup that well.

===============

“Mum, really..”
Mum patted my head, just like she always does to Sarah and smiled at me.
“You only get one Senior Prom Sare”
I held back a grimace.
Sarah is not a name that should be shortened.
Especially not to Sare, it rhymes with Care.. Something I doubt Sarah would do the way she’s been lately.

“Plus you two are just so cute together”
I didn't hold back a grimace this time.
At least the doofus agreed with me.
Dan looked very close to calling this whole thing off, he kept watching mums camera like it was a dangerous weapon or something.

Finally after a bit of fuss we managed to get all of mum’s wanted pictures done and get out the door to Dan’s worryingly rusty Car.
The drive to school was, in a word, awkward.
Just as we were pulling in Dan turned to me and smiled weakly.
“So..”
I swallowed my nerves and smiled back weakly.
“So..” I echo’d
We shifted slightly.
I fidgeted with my dress and sighed.
He finally coughed uncomfortably and tired again.
“This is a lot harder than I thought it would be”
“..That’s what she said” I mumbled in a quiet tone, only for my ears.
Dan’s eyes went big and his lip twitched.
After a few seconds he couldn't hold it any more and cracked up laughing.
I held out a little longer but it didn't work.
I ended up laughing too.
What can I say? His laugh was infectious.

The ice wasn't broken, not fully, but it was enough that we could act like humans now.
Dan seemed in awe of the idea that I’d made a dirty joke.
Poor innocent guy.
If he only knew the kind of things that go on in the girls bathrooms.
I almost had a mini-breakdown the first time I found out.
I ended up hiding in the stall for almost half an hour just to be sure they were gone.
It turns out, Tracy Mullins has the mouth of a sailor and either a LOT of experience in things she shouldn't have or a very active imagination, by the way.

Eventually he came around the car, opened my door and helped me out.
Quite the gentleman.

Now that we were past the painful stage of awkwardness I allowed myself to relax.
Sarah’s training kicked in and I moved toward the school with graceful steps.
Before we reached the main gates I’d hooked my arm around his and rested my head on his shoulder slightly.
He seemed happy.
He’d started spouting information, at a slightly frantic pace, but at least he was open and talking.
I nodded along and looked appropriately interested when he explained his three brothers or how water polo is a majorly under-appreciated sport in USA history.

We worked our way past the eagle eyes of the teachers with little fuss.
There was some mess behind us when a guy I vaguely recognise from gym class tried to come in dateless and wearing a truly awe inspiring suit that looked like it was made of glow in the dark vinyl.
Dan turned to me without a word and we both snorted in amusement.
The ice broke a little more, which pleased me for some reason.

Getting our official photos done was a hassle.
I survived quite well.
By the time it was our turn me and Dan were subtly mocking some of the more worrying couples around us.
He seemed to take great pleasure in pointing out other soccer players to me and whispering details I’m sure they didn't consider ‘for public consumption’ in my ear.
I let him do it. It was nice to relax for once.
Me and Sarah used to have this kind of fun.
We had our own language and everything.. Then she changed.

I shook my depressive thoughts away and smiled at Dan.
He smiled back and drew me closer to himself.
“wanna dance?”
I looked out over the people currently here.
Listened to the nice slow music for a moment and then nodded.
What the hell. I didn't do all that training for nothing.

We got out on the dance floor.
Only a few of the long term couples were already dancing, however badly, around us.
The night is young after all.

Dan smiled at me warmly and tucked a loose hair behind my ear.
I shuddered and tried to play it off as a good thing for him.
I think he bought it.
“Do you know how to dance?” he asked me quietly, putting his mouth closer to my ear.
I pulled back a little and offered him a challenging eyebrow.
“Do you?”
He blushed and looked pretty embarrassed to admit that, in fact, he did.
I couldn't resist a smile for him.
“Prove it” I finished, my eyebrow twitching up to emphasis the challenge.
He caught my eye and drew himself upright.
We moved into classic waltzing positions.
His hand may have slipped a bit low on my hip for a moment but I didn't hold it against him.
He’s been nice so far and he did correct himself quickly enough.
We made eye contact and he smirked.
Without warning he kicked off and I almost wanted to thank Sarah for her horrible training because without it I would have started this dance taking one step and going flat on my face.

==============

I collapsed into a spare seat with a happy laugh and Dan followed closely.
We settled together, both a bit out of breath and rosy cheeked but personally I was warm and happy.
Dan was a GOOD dancer.
I worked out just how good, about the first time he spun me out and pulled me back in for a dip.
That’s about the same point we developed a small audience.
Apparently it was easier to watch us then it was to face dancing with each other for some of these awkward new prom night couples.

“I’ll grab us some drinks”
Dan smiled at me and I smiled back.
By the time I lost sight of him in the crowd I was feeling a bit calmer.
I’d certainly not expected him to be so talented.
You would think Sarah would have mentioned that in her little biography of him?
Speaking of Sarah.
I reached into my purse, which felt weird to acknowledge in itself, and pulled out my phone.
For a second my blood ran cold.
Right on my screen, clear as day, sent no less than 5 minutes ago from a number I didn't recognise was a text message.
“SOS Sarah”

I didn't think.
In seconds I was on my feet, eyes scanning for my target.
As luck would have it he was approaching me.
When he was within speaking distance I struck.
“Dan, this is going to get confusing but can we get out of here? I have a family emergency”
His smile dropped and he looked at me with worry.
The drinks in his hand tipped slightly, seemingly forgotten.
I offered him a tense, worried smile.
“I’ll explain outside. I'm really sorry. It’s not you just.. Just come on..”
With one hand I took my new cup from him and downed the contents, fruit punch it turns out, with the other I took his now free wrist and dragged him behind me.

We got some odd looks as I marched toward Dan’s rust bucket, dragging its owner behind me, my skirt swinging with each tense step.
We finally reached the car and Dan fumbled with his keys.
In the end he took a page out of my book and downed his punch cup with a grimace before chucking it away and opening the doors.
I hopped in, surprisingly not catching my dress anywhere, although it may be a bit messed up because I don’t remember the split seam going quite that high and wide before.
It wasn't important though.
What was important was Sarah.

Yes, she’s been a bitch lately.
Yes, I've thought many times over the last few months how much I wished she didn't exist.
Yes, I at least partly hate her.
Even now while I'm panicking…
But she’s my SISTER.
She’s my TWIN.
She’s mine and she needs help!

“You know where Jenny Dooley lives?”
Dan’s eyes went wide and reluctantly he nodded.
I gave him a thoughtful glance.
Maybe he’s not so innocent after all.
He must have read my mind because he blanched and tried to wave me off as if I was accusing him of something.

“Okay, truth time.”
Dan stopped pantomiming a wave to watch me curiously.
“I'm not Sarah.”
Dan’s mouth dropped open in silent surprise.
“I'm not getting into it. It’s unfair I know, and its complicated as all hell but basically..”
I hesitated.
“Basically, Sarah wanted to have a prom experience AND go to some party Jenny is hosting.”
Dan’s eyes got a little wider and he nodded, obviously curious now.
“In comes her handy clone.. Hi, I'm Hannah”
I stuck out my hand for him to shake.
He stared at me incredulously for a moment before a smile made it out and he let off a small laugh.
He grasped my hand and flipped it, kissing the back of my hand in one smooth motion.
Now it was my turn to stare.
“I wondered when Sarah suddenly developed a sense of humour”
I blinked once, twice, then smiled back at him.
“Okay… okay so, I just got a message from Sarah. She’s in trouble”
His eyes lost their humour in seconds.
“I've got no details but the fact she had to use someone else’s phone to reach me is.. Worrying”
He nodded once and turned back in his seat.
“Strap in, we’ll go find her”
I held in a gasp and eventually smiled at him instead.
“This could be dangerous, if you can get me to the party I can find my way on from there.. If you want?”
Dan revved his engine and shot me a surprised look.
“As if, Sarah’s my friend”
I snorted at that and he shrugged.
“Well, as much of a friend as Sarah ever is to someone”
That sounded more like it.
“Okay, just don’t say I didn't warn you”
He nodded seriously then turned back to the wheel.
He gunned the engine and we pealed out of the car park, most likely leaving nice long tire marks behind us.
I felt myself slammed back into my seat from the acceleration.
The speed helped me focus on something other than my worry for Sarah.

================

We pulled up at a big farm house on the outskirts of town.
Lights and music were pouring out of a large barn nearby.
As we pulled up the long drive to the car strewn house front I stiffened in my seat.
Something wasn't right.
Something was very, very not right.
My stomach twisted up so hard I took a gasping breath in.
Dan pulled to a stop and looked at me with concern.

I took some shuddering breaths and cupped my hand to my stomach.
“I'm okay. Just.. S..something’s not right”
Dan watched me cautiously before looking out at the farm and nodding.
“There’s no people”
I pulled my head up and whipped around.
He’s right.
That’s not why my stomach suddenly decided to eat itself, but..
I snapped my door open and paced toward the barn.
After only a few steps I growled aloud and in a very ungraceful hopping wobble managed to kick both of my heels off, one at a time.
Unhindered I managed to reach a near full sprint before Dan had gotten past the front of his car.
He called out to me but I wasn't listening.
My gut instinct, the part of it that wasn't busy tearing itself to pieces at least, was screaming at me to get into the barn NOW.

I blew through the open barn doors and stalled to a halt.
The place was a mess.
Not a barn mess.
Not a party gone wrong mess.
A real mess. A fight mess.
I shakily stepped further into the barn, eyeing every dark corner with worry.
This didn't feel right.

There was a loud crash behind me and.. Well.. I screamed.. And fell on my ass.
I was gearing up for a second nice big scream when a thick hand clamped around my mouth.
Someone, I could assume it was the hands owner, growled at me in warning.
I did what anyone else would do.
I went stiff and wouldn't move a muscle.

There was some kind of commotion outside, a fair bit of yelling and some thumps then silence.
The hand’s owner grunted at something, possibly behind me and without warning there was pain at the back of my head.
The world went dark.

=============

I woke up to something that will scar me for life.
My head hurt, throbbing hard, my eyes wouldn't focus properly for a moment.
When I finally did get them to focus I came face to face with what I can only guess was an overweight Hollywood style 80s biker with a spotty rat-like face.
He wasn't helping his cause by having his pudgy face scrunched up, taking a huge enthusiastic sniff of my dangling leg!
I screamed, shot backward, regretting it moments later when my head hit metal and the world shook.
Well, better to say that the world rocked.
Not that I noticed, I was too busy using my once dangling leg to try and kick the ratty little biker gang reject in his spotty little face!
He screamed almost as loud as I had and drew away from me with a cat like hiss.

We both settled into a slightly stunned silence.
His dark little eyes were shooting everywhere, only occasionally settling on me.
My head throbbed and as I came more into the conscious world details filtered in.
Like the fact I was sitting in an honest to god CAGE.
Judging by the rocking motion of it, a cage hanging in the air.

Rat man seemed to gather himself back together a bit.
He started tentatively sniffing in my direction again.
“HEY!”
He let out a shrill scream and scarpered off around the corner.
I tried to settle down back in.. back in.. my cage..

Only I could get knocked out and wake up in an overgrown bird cage.
An overgrown bird cage hanging in a place that looks like someone tried to make an industrial warehouse look spooky!
The walls are all dark and look like solid stone.
The floors look like cold stone tiles.
The lighting is flickering as if provided by some unseen candle.
I can even hear the faint sound of a continuous drip.

It would all be very scary.
If it wasn't completely cliché and very obviously fake!
Don’t get me wrong, I'm no expert, but the top corner of the ‘solid stone’ walls is damp and peeling slightly.
I'm pretty sure I've seen this style of faux-tiles going cheap at our local hardware store.
The unseen candle light source is flickering in a set pattern like one of those novelty fake candle bulbs.
For a place with such a heavy drip going on constantly, it’s surprisingly dry.
In fact, it’s surprisingly warm in here too.
If you want to make a place look like an old spooky castle dungeon, don’t leave the heating on!

I allowed myself a minute or so to sulk over the fact that I got captured by a bunch of posers.
Then it finally settled in that I had, in fact, been captured.
And Sarah was still missing, now presumed captured.
And I don’t know what happened to Dan.
And I don’t know what they plan to do with me now.
I held it together long enough to sink to the bottom of the cage and pull my knees up to my chest.
Then I had a long, chest hurting, cry over it all.

============

A while later, it may have been minutes, it may have been hours, I don’t know.
I finally pulled myself together.
No doubt I’d wiped my makeup into a mess at this point.
I can see stains of mascara on my arm.

Carefully I got to my feet.
The care didn't help much, the cage rocked from side to side no matter how much I tried keep it steady.
The chain holding the cage looked pretty thick and sturdy, all the way up to the wooden beam.. um..
Correction, to the metal beam above me painted with a wood effect.
Still, can’t hurt to try right?
Taking hold of the bars around me I hiked my legs up in a jump and slammed them down hard on the cage’s base plate.
Shock went straight up my legs, vibrating my teeth.
That didn't stop me though.
Four more attempts and I felt like I was making a difference.
The cage seemed a little shakier as it swung around at least.

I took a breather. Let my teeth get used to my head again.
Then went for another few stomps.
It didn't help, no kidding myself, I'm not making a difference.
“AARH!”
With one last frustrated roar I stomped down as hard as possible.
The cage bounced, rebounding upwards.
For a moment it was weightless and then it came back down, gravity bringing me with it.
I landed in a pile at the base of the cage.
Seconds later there was the sound of tearing metal.
I managed a yelp of surprise before the cage chain ripped off at its base.
The cage crashed to the fake-slate flooring below with an almighty bang and rolled a few times until it caught on the side of a nearby table leg.
I wasn't quite so lucky, I was scrambled around like an egg in a blender.
“oww”
It didn't help the pain but weirdly, it made me feel better to voice something.

============

I may have passed out,
There was a definite period of time where my eyes were closed.

I jerked awake and regretted it moments later.
My head hurt more than ever.
Heavy footfalls coming closer made me flinch.
I slowly flipped onto my back and stared up.. and up..
Wow he’s tall.
Like.. Basketball player put on a stretching machine tall.. but bulkier..
Big guy, grunted at me.
Without any sign of effort he lifted me up.. well.. he lifted the cage up at least.
I kinda came along for the ride without a choice.

Big guy did something to the cage door.
In the time it took me to get upright again he had it open.
With another grunt he waved me out.
I’ll be honest. I almost decided to stay.
Cages can get surprisingly homely when you’re faced with the alternative.
Apparently he didn't agree.
A meaty fist roughly the size of my head reached in and pulled me out of the cage.
I might as well have been made of paper for the effort it took him.

He didn't say anything, just turned and walked off, partly leading, partly dragging me out of the ‘dungeon’ area.
I was kind of surprised when the dungeon entrance led to a well-lit corridor.
Very clean, very white, very post-modern art feeling.
The Corridor didn't impress Big guy at least.
He just carried on walking along, dragging me in his wake.

Eventually we reached the end of the corridor, he pulled me toward the last door on the right.
Without any pre-amble he opened the door with one meaty fist and pushed me through with the other.

I froze.
They froze.
None of us wanted to make a sound.
I'm not sure why they were staring at me. My makeup must be horrendous or something.
I was staring at them because it looked like I just got sent to the sultan’s harem.

“Sarah?” A weak voice asked, breaking the silent stare off.
A blonde girl, in mostly see-through pyjamas, stepped closer to me with caution.
I squinted at her, in the rooms low light it was hard to make out, but beyond the rather thick makeup and fearful expression I think she may be a girl from Sarah’s math class.
I vaguely.. um.. Beth?..Be.. Definitely a B name.
“Sarah!” The blonde girl called out in joy.
She rushed to give me a hug and I flinched back.
As she got within arm’s reach her eyes went wide.
“oh god, Sarah. What the hell did they do to you? Your all beat up.”
I weighed the option of telling her I wasn't Sarah against the possible benefits.
In the end I landed on just leaving it for now.
“Come on, we’ll get you changed. They don’t like it if you’re not.. um.. Presentable?”
My eyebrow popped up incredulously.
The blonde girl gave me an embarrassed shrug and gestured around at everyone else.
She had a fair point.
I kind of stuck out like a sore thumb in my dirty torn prom dress with them all in mostly see-though pyjamas with a fair amount of gold strapped on.
I swear, Sarah can never find out about this.. ever!
“yeah.. okay..”
She gently took my arm and moved me toward a partition at the back of the room.
When I came to a stop behind the partition containing a toilet, a sink, a makeup counter and a chair with what I guessed would be my clothes on it I sighed deep.
Sarah.. in fact, everyone.. no one can ever find out about this!

============

One of the girls I didn't recognise sat behind me playing with my hair.
Another one was in the process of painting my nails.
The blonde girl was hovering about, covering most of my exposed skin with a cream of some kind that covered my bruises pretty well.

From what I could gather, Sarah had been here earlier.
Then some guy came to take her away.
It’s been happening semi-regularly that someone gets taken all night long.
As far as they were concerned I, or rather ‘Sarah’ was the first one to come back from being taken.
They tried to push me for what happened while ‘I’ was away.
I covered pretty well by just mutely shaking my head at them. They seemed to get the message.

While not calm, I managed to reach a state at least approaching calm while the girls worked around me keeping themselves busy.
Most of them had finished with me and moved off to do other things when the door opened up with a heavy bang.
Instantly the room was flooded with noise from outside and a tall man, a lot thinner and spindly then the big guy from before, stepped in.
He glanced around the room and sneered at the girls, his curled mouth flashing a hint of quite large canine teeth.
“Bring me the mage child.”
In almost perfect unison every girl in the room turned to each other with the same blank look of confusion.
The spindly guy hissed in annoyance, a lot like the little rat man had at me earlier.
He drew himself up to his full height and took a deep sniff of the air.
…. Uh oh..

The girls pealed back towards the walls as he swept his way in on silent feet.
Every so often he would approach one girl in particular and sniff her specifically before moving on.
When he approached the girl who painted my nails earlier, after previously focusing on my hair stylist I got an idea where this was going.
Crazy person sniffing people? Sounds like something I would end up involved in.
It’s been that sort of day really..

Finally he came to rest before me.
I had a strange urge to stand up and bow to him but I forced it down with little effort.
Just for the sake of it I pushed myself deeper into the pillows I’d been resting on and offered him a smile.
In the blink of an eye he was invading my personal space.
I had flashbacks of Rat man when the spindly creeper sniffed at me.
The creeper gave a shudder I can only attribute to joy from the look on his face and pulled back from me.
“Take her. The mage child is for the master”
I didn't actually put up a fight when the big guy from earlier lumbered his way into the room and picked me up.
I was in a kind of stunned mental stall.
Mage child?.. Master?.. her..
.. well okay, I can understand the her part at least.
But.. hardcore Dungeons and Dragons fans maybe?
Why would I be a mage child?
The sniffing thing maybe?
I'm pretty sure I didn't have that bad of a sweat built up after all.
Whatever the case, I could settle on one factor as the big guy swept me up over his shoulder in an awkward fireman’s carry, I did NOT want to find out what kinda freak these guys called ‘master’!

===========

We took a fair few turns along equally blank hallways.
I didn't have much to see aside from big guys lower back and the spindly creeper following behind us.
I entertained myself trying to work out his name.
He looked like a Reginald to me.
Very stiff upper lip.
Pompous with just a side offering of smugness.
Yep, definitely a Reginald, not a Reggie.
Big guy on the other hand? He could be a Reggie, most likely a Darren though.
He had the face to be a Darren from what I remember.

My mindless wanderings cut short when we pulled up abruptly.
With a slight shifting from my perspective Darren (as I have now dubbed him) moved us in to a room and I gaped back at the huge wooden doors he must have shifted to get us in there.
Those looked like real wooden doors.
Glancing down I found what seemed to be real, uneven, stone flooring.
Back up again, real stone walls too from the looks of it.
And the whole room was rather chilly compared to the last few rooms I’d been in as well.

On some unspoken command Darren dropped my see-through pyjama wearing, belly-dancer looking, self onto the cold stone floor.
Definitely a real stone floor this time.
“Leave us” A high, accented, nasally voice commanded.
I couldn't resist looking up and ended up almost choking on my tongue holding back a laugh.

Darren and spind.. Reginald!
Darren and Reginald must have gone back out the doors because behind me I could hear the eerie groan of those massive wooden doors closing shut with a thud.

So here I am.
Just me and… I'm going to call him Vlad.
Trust me, it’s appropriate.

The nasally tones of Vlad rolled across the room sounding surprisingly smooth despite his pitch.
“You are an inter-vest-in-k one, no?”
I held it.
Oh god did I hold it in.
Then the bastard had the utter gall to swish his thick knee length black cape with its stupid red inner lining about himself for dramatic effect!
I cracked.
From my flat out position on the floor, feeling the stones cold bite at me through my flimsy harem girl outfit I cracked hard.
I was near tears laughing, banging my fist on the floor.
“V-at are you findin-k v-unny?”

I couldn't look at him.
If I look at him it’s gonna set me off again.
Oh god, he’s a.. he’s a..
..a walking cliché!

“I v-ant to z-uck your blood. Bleh!” I near shouted at him in glee.
My throat tightened and without any control I broke up laughing again.

Vlad just watched me.
I think he was confused, his pale eyebrows were scrunched up at least.
I couldn't be sure though, to get a solid look at him I would have to.. Actually look at him.. Which would likely set my whole laughing cycle off again.
Eventually he hit his limit of patience I guess.
He glided over to a rope hanging from the ceiling and gave it a slow tug.

The huge doors opened up and someone came in slowly.
“Move her to a z-eat and call Heinrich. I v-ill sample z-e newest batch”
Someone, possibly Darren.. or Darren’s twin, how the hell should I know?
He was big either way, and he scooped me up off the floor.
With surprisingly gentle movements he eased me into a thick posh looking, high backed chair.
His big meaty fists moved around me draping some material as he went.
With a zip and several metal clinks I found myself pinned to the chair tightly.

Okay.. Suddenly the funny side is getting less funny.

I tested my arms for leverage but they were held tight by the leather-like straps around me.
With a gulp I looked up into the face of ‘Vlad’ and it was also now a bit less amusing and a bit more intimidating..
He must have seen the fear in my eyes because he smiled at me, baring large canines which seemed to shape his face into a sharper, more frightening profile.
“St-eel v-unny, no?”
I gulped and tried to offer him some kind of brave front.
As it is I think I managed a shaky smile at best.
“Good, you o-nderstand now, yes?”
I silently nodded.
“You’re a v..vam..”
He nodded indulgently at me.
“That’s stupid vam.. They don’t exist!”
He looked affronted suddenly.
He drew back, his hand resting over his heart and his mouth open in overstated pain.
Apparently our Vlad has a bit of an over-dramatic streak.
Big surprise.

My retort died on my lips when the huge doors groaned once more and in came a mismatched crew of men in mostly white outfits.
I say mostly white because a few of them had the odd splash of red on them at random.
As they proceeded in they dragged several girls along with them.
All in recognisable harem outfits.
All of them chained together with thick iron manacles.
A few of them I vaguely knew from school.
One of them got my sole attention though.

She was pale like the others, looked pretty shaken up.
Her hair was resting limply across her shoulders and she stared out with blank unseeing eyes.
“SARAH!” I shouted without a thought.
All the girls in the line flinched, most staring back at me in confusion.
Finally Sarah twitched and turned her eyes blearily on me.
“H..” Her voice was weak and very faint “Hannah?”
I tried to pull out of the chairs restraints viciously but it was no use.
I had to sit there and watch as my mouthy blackmailing bitch of a sister burst into tears.
She crumpled into great heaving sobs and stared out at me.
I watched with my heart breaking as she silently mouthed pleading “no’s” at me, as if begging me to not really be sitting there.

My rage went cold in my chest.
Slowly, mechanically I turned away from her to face Vlad.
“Okay, I'm game.. What do you want Vlad?”
The vam.. the cliché, yeah that’s better.
The cliché hissed at me, his big pointy teeth glistening with spittle.
In gliding strides he came closer and fixed me with an angry stare.
“You v-ill do as I command mage child or I v-ill k-eell them all, yes?”
Bastard
I stared into his wide bloodshot eyes.
He’s serious.
Oh god he’s really serious.
Delusions and cliché stupidity aside he’s actually serious!
I tried to restrain it but it was no use, I gulped loudly which made him smile.

What can I do? What should I do?
What.. what.. what would Sarah do?
It only took a moment for me to realise the real answer.
Sarah would get her own way. Like she always does.
Sadly the only skills she taught me that might help in this situation are well..
.. I guess.. When it’s your only plan and all..
..Seduction..?
..I'm so going to regret this..

“What would you ask of me.. Master?” I asked, dropping my voice into a huskier tone of invitation.
Vlad blinked in surprise.
The girl’s chained across from me blinked in surprise too.
Sarah’s Jaw dropped.
… She’s never going to let me live this down is she?

===========

Vlad recovered first.
His mouth pulled up into an indulgent smile which may have suited him if he didn’t have a huge fang sticking out over his lip.
I didn't have a clue what else I could do while restrained.
In the end I fell back onto Sarah’s training, flipping my hair with a head flick and offering him a pouty smile back.

“Heinrich, you’re ser-wi-ces will not be needed h-after o-ll.”
One of the white coat wearing men drew back, almost on the edge of protesting.
He had the most red on his coat and a thin moustache that made him look like you wouldn't trust him near children.
I assume he was Heinrich.
That assumption got a bit of solid ground when he gave a strange formal bow to Vlad in response.
The white coat guys started marching themselves and the girls back out of the room.
I caught Sarah’s eye for a moment.
She looked desperate, whatever they were walking back to must be truly bad for her to look that terrified.
“Master” I croaked out.
Everyone in the room paused watching me.
“Please keep them here..”
Vlad scrunched his eyebrows in confusion again.
Carefully I leaned as far forward as the bindings would allow and flipped my hair again.
I cocked my own eyebrow at him and lowered my voice back into my husky tone.
“..I like an audience, master”

You could have heard a pin drop.
I didn't dare look away from Vlad but I'm pretty sure Sarah was dying of shock.
He looked shell shocked.
I pouted at him and twitched my shoulders in a fake shudder.
“Whatever you want with me..” I trailed off, making it into an invitation.
Slowly Vlad’s mouth came up into a truly dark smile.
“..Anything.. Dancing?”
His eyebrow twitched up.
“Warmth” I shifted slightly in the chair.
Vlad’s other eyebrow rose to join its partner.
I dropped my voice down to just above a whisper and hissed out the next one as if I was enjoying just the sound of it.
“Sex?”
Vlad’s face twitched and his tongue rolled out to lick his lips.
I didn't need to fake a shudder, although the smile I had for him.. that was fake.
“Blood” I finished to the near silent room.
Vlad practically drooled at that one.
Slowly, I would call it sensuously but that’s hard to pull off while tied to a chair, I sank back into the chair and pressed into it hard.
“..I'm an exhibitionist master. I want them to watch..”
I flicked my head momentarily in their direction and flashed my own dark smirk.
“..Who knows, they might learn something”
The girls took in a sharp breath as a whole.
I could feel their eyes on me but didn't look at them.
Vlad was the important one.

Vlad wiggled his finger in my direction.
His smile ratcheted up with amusement.
“You are an inter-vest-in-k one mage child”
I almost cringed but tried to make it into a coy look instead.
“Master..” I coo’d at him.
Vlad slowly glided toward me.

He came to a rest with his legs at my knees and bent down low.
His breath was disgustingly warm on my face.
“I know v-hat you are doin-k, mage child”
He moved forward again and captured my lips with his.
The sharp edge of his pointed canines was awkward and annoying.
I struggled against him but he seemed to enjoy my resistance.
He let go of me at last and smiled.
I turned my head and tried to spit my mouth clean a little.
“V-or z-em you v-ould allow dis?” he hissed at me.
His eyes were tight, judging me.
“For them I would allow this and more.. Master”

Vlad slowly pulled back into an upright position.
“You are brave mage child. V-oolish but brave”

He hissed suddenly, dew up with dark ominous eyes and bared his fang-like teeth at me.
I had a moment to realise what he intended before it was too late.
He swooped down on me and sunk his sharp canines into my neck.
I felt the pain with a gasp.
The feeling of blood pouring from the wounds he inflicted almost made me pass out.
The fact that the sick bastard was lapping up that blood, licking it from my neck.
I convulsed, not a shudder but something much more visceral, it felt like I was going into the first stages of shock.

=========

It happened all at once.
One moment I had Vlad at my neck lapping away.
There was a loud bang from the doorway behind.
I felt a pressure in my chest and there was a flash of bright light.
Blinking my eyes furiously to clear them I gasped in shock.
Vlad was across the room, crumpled in a pile on the floor, jerking like he was having a fit.
From behind me I could hear a lot of commotion.
Bangs, grunts, shouts cut short and a few female screams.

Things eventually calmed down and all I could hear was panting with a few strangled sobs.
A guy stepped into my line of sight.
He was tall, but not the scary Darren kind of tall.
His short brown hair had just a touch of grey in it and his face held a worried frown that showed his few wrinkles in stark contrast.
He approached me gently.
My eyes caught on his stab proof vest, down his chest past a shield shaped bit of metal that looked like a police badge reading U.S.M.P.A and down to the pistol strapped to his thigh.
I gasped out when he pushed a ball of cloth to my neck, I’d guess to stop the bleeding.
My eyes found his.
He had a look of regret about him.
“Sorry we’re late, we got word about the party a while ago but it’s taken us until now to find the hideout”
His rough five o'clock shadow caught my attention and I blearily watched as his jaw tightened.
“We’ll get you all home miss. Don’t worry, the others have been detained and your friends are safe”
I let out a sigh and allowed tears to leak out at last.
My neck hurt.

“They were vam..vamp..”
The man placed a gentle finger to my lips and shushed me.
“They were a group of fanatics. Cultists. Nothing more”
My mouth gaped and I tried to argue the point.
“B..but..they..he..”
The man shook his head slowly and gave me gentle smile.
“Just men, cultists. Nothing more”
I sputtered out into silence and he nodded.
“Don’t worry. When you wake up this will all just be one very bad dream”
My eyes went wide and he looked almost apologetic.

===========

I jerked up in bed, panting, my heart hammering away.
Fight or flight kicked in and I threw myself out of bed, rolled across the floor and pulled into the far corner.
My eyes shot around looking for danger and found nothing.

There was a gentle knock on my bedroom door.
I didn't answer it, just watched it in fear.
Slowly the door opened and Sarah’s face popped in.
She looked a mess, as if she’d been crying.
Her eyes were red and puffy and her makeup was a mess.

Carefully, her eyes locked on me and with her hands up as if I was a scared animal, she came closer.
Finally she got within reach of me and knelt down.
She offered me a pained smile and pulled me into a hug.
I went stiff, not sure what was going on but not willing to push her away.
“Al.. oh Al, I'm so sorry.”
My throat went tight.
“Can you ever forgive me? I've been such a.. I'm sorry..”
Slowly I moved my arms around her and fisted my hands in her shirt.
“It wasn't.. I..” she sniffed loudly in my ear.
“I didn't mean to get so bad with you.. I just.. I wanted a sister and I had you and your so..”
She sniffed even louder and let out a single sob.
“You.. I.. I can’t..”
She broke and cried, clinging to me tightly.
I cried too.

She was back.
I don’t know what happened.
Vaguely it felt like I should.
As if something big was missing, connected to my nightmare maybe.. but even the nightmare was blurry now.
Either way I didn't care.
This was Sarah.
My Sarah again.
Not that evil.. not like she’d been lately.
I clung on tighter to her shirt and buried my head in her chest.

Everything would be okay now.
I could feel it.

==========

“What on earth did you do?”
I blinked at John in confusion.
He waved around us in general.
My eyes drifted around the room and, as a whole, a large majority of girls shuffled or looked away from me quickly.
John raised an eyebrow and smirked at me.
“Did you hold an orgy at your place with half the school this weekend and not tell me about it?”
My mouth dropped open and somewhere to my left I heard some eavesdropper snort out a laugh and start choking on something.
I glared at him and he grinned back at me with pride.
“Screw you”
His grin went sharp at that one.
“No, you didn't, that’s why I'm complaining”
I flushed red and tried to kill him with my eyes.
My face got redder still when a few more people got caught eavesdropping by their surprised laughs.
“Oh calm down, ya wuss. It’s just a joke”
I clenched my fist and shot him another glare of warning.
He was going to answer but stopped short.
I eyed him curiously for a second then went stiff instead when someone draped their arms around my neck from behind.
“Morning Al. See you after maths, save me a seat?”
Sarah hugged me tight for a moment before waltzing off with a backwards wave.
“Bye Al, Bye Joe”
I squirmed awkwardly under John’s wide eyed stare.
He looked from me to Sarah and back a few times.
He was so shocked he didn't even get all glassy eyed over her for once.

With a cautious crawl he came in and invaded my personal space.
His eyes flew around in search of danger.
His voice came out in an awed whisper.
“Seriously, what the hell did you DO?”
I pulled away from him and growled.
“I don’t KNOW okay?”
John huffed loudly and gave me a sceptical eye.
“Fine, be like that.. Come on Walker won’t wait for us”
I crossed my arms and gave a huff of my own but in the end got up to follow him.
I really don’t know what’s going on!
My neck twitched slightly.
I brought a hand up to the tender spot there.
It felt like I should know why but.. It just wasn't there.
This is so unfair!

===========
===========

Eventually I found out what happened.
Between Sarah, the U.S.M.P.A and.. Well.. HER..
By the time I found out, I couldn't really bring myself to care.
But at the time, it annoyed me for.. About a week?
The nurse looked at me weirdly when she called me and half the older girls from school in to get treated for a school wide spate of anaemia too.
Then the fuss died down a bit and I got on with my life.

Sarah didn't revert to her bad ways.
If anything she became a bit too nice for a while.
I think it was guilt or something.
It was nice to have her back though.
She stopped calling me Hannah which was weird but better than having her throw it in my face every five minutes.
She managed a whole month before she needed another ‘favour’ which I found impressive.
She actually showed gratitude for it afterwards too.

Mum started giving me weird looks, especially when Sarah was around.
.. In fact this one time well.. That’s another story isn't it?