could be fate

Chapter 3

The second day of school wasn't bad at all for Vivian, she received less scowls from people as she walked down the corridors, a lot of them didn't even mind her, it was as if they'd forgotten all about her and her resemblance to Isabelle.

She was glad that she was finally invisible to many but that only came in handy when she wanted to avoid all the attention, when it came to her social life, not so much. Not that Vivian cared about the social pyramid but she'd prefer having someone to share lunch with and not sit alone with the company of five empty chairs.

Vivian recalled how much she used to look forward to lunch at her old school, mainly because she'd get to spend an hour with her favorite people in the school. Lunch was always laughs, debates and gossip. It was funny how her life had took a complete turn since he left.

A small yelp left Vivian's throat when a face appeared in her view. It was Jaxson, he sat on the empty chair from across hers', he didn't say a word, he just sat there carrying his face in one hand as he stared at her. She felt uncomfortable.

When Vivian was stalking her doppelganger's f*******: page, she noticed the two: Isabelle and Jaxson were always together. It didn't take a genius to figure out they were in love, it was spelled in their gazes, their smiles, the way that their bodies lean towards each other's. Vivian found herself clicking on Jaxson's name and stalking his page instead. Jaxson James was her age, he obviously came from money, she could tell by the expensive clothes, cars and the vacations. Vivian recalled seeing him in the newspaper a while back, he had changed a lot.

Jaxson squinted his ice blue eyes at her, something about his eyes felt very familiar to Vivian. He sighed defeatedly, "when are you going to drop this act?"

"What act?" Vivian asked innocently.

He shook his head, "I don't get why you are doing this." He sighed deeply, chewing on the corner of his bottom lip, then he frowned, the two lines alien on his charming face, "are you in trouble?" It was a theory he tested.

"Leave the poor girl alone JJ." A familiar voice sounded from behind Jaxson, Caily appearing with her lunch tray. She dropped down on the empty chair next to Jaxson.

Jaxson spared Vivian one last glance before leaving the table, disappearing into the crowd.

Vivian stared at his retreating figure until she couldn't see him anymore then she returned her attention to Caily. "He'll come to accept it in no time." Caily assured her.

Vivian nodded hoping it were true, partly because these interactions we're making her uncomfortable but mostly because seeing Jaxson like that broke her heart, it was her after all bringing back all this pain into his life. She felt the need to apologize for having the same face as his dead girlfriend.

Caily munched on her cheese burger completely ignoring Vivian's gaze. When Vivian first saw Caily, she thought she was one of those girls who were mean and watched what they ate.

Caily dropped her burger into the disposable plate and sighed, she chewed and waited to swallow, "you see, Belle was JJ's first love," she paused, throwing a piece of chips into her mouth she clarified, "only love if I must say." Vivian nodded, understanding it was going to take him a while to accept.

She had so many questions about Belle, what was she like, how did she disappear. But she didn't think this was the right time to ask.

~

Vivian came from a family of great minds, both her mother and father came from families of Doctors, her mother was an nurse anesthetist and her father was a midwife, her sister was studying biomedical engineering at a prestige College. They were all geniuses. And it wasn't any different for Vivian. For as long as she can remember, she never had problems with academic education, always coming top of her class. At a young age, she participated in every Science Olympiad ever held in the country, her team always coming up first- except this one time.

Vivian never had to struggle with school, never really having to study, but she did anyways, because she enjoyed it.

Vivian held the mug cup dearly in her hands, breathing in the rich aroma of chocolate, she took a sip of her white raspberry hot chocolate, letting the beverage dance in her mouth for a brief moment before swallowing. She had given herself a mission, to try every beverage on the menu. She tapped her pen on the table, studying the chemistry equation she had to balance. She pursed her lips as she thought.

Her exercise book disappeared from her sight, she raised her eyes to see who took it, Shawn was standing at arm's reach, holding her exercise book, he closed it, reading her information on the cover, dropping the exercise book he said, "you go to THPSS?" It sounded rather a complaint than a question. He invited himself to join her at the table.

Vivian found herself inquiring more about him, "how about you?"

Shawn chuckled smugly, "I dropped out of secondary school two years ago."

"Oh." It was the only sound that managed to come out of Vivian, at the corner of her eye, Vivian could see Mia getting ready to leave, so she put away her notes and exercise books and said goodbye to Shawn.

~

Vivian was finishing with unpacking her things, she came across a picture of her family. They were at the beach, her dad encircled his arm around her mom's waist and the other around Mia's, Vivian was sitting on the sand in front of them, legs crisscrossed. The smiles on their faces were priceless.

Korbyn had always made parenting easy for Josie. Korbyn's world revolved around his wife and two daughters, he'd do anything for them. He was the family's pillar, everyone's go to person when they were facing difficulties, he made sure to make life easier for his queens, he made them feel seen, loved, adored. There was nothing more they'd ask for.

He always had the answers. And he always knew the right words to say. He offered all the solutions. And he carried your burden like it were his. No one could begin to comprehend where it went wrong.

It is always the strongest ones, they say.