There were certain advantages to being invisible... the most obvious being that no one sees you. There was a certain comfort in that— in not being seen, or judged.

This was mostly true for Emily Fitch who for most of her life was content being the perpetual shadow of her twin sister, Katie. It gave her the freedom to observe things, see things without being noticed. There was however one person in particular who caught her eye. Tall, silky blonde hair, curves in the right places, the perfect icy blue eyes...

'Fuck!' Emily thinks as a rush of panic overtakes her system: Naomi had caught her again. 'Shit shit shit.'

She looks away swiftly, averting her eyes back to her locker, feeling completely and utterly stupid. It's the third time this week that their eyes have met. Once, may be considered an accident, twice coincidence, but thrice in a fucking week spoke serial stalker potential in Emily's book.

She couldn't help it though, how can she possibly marvel at those lovely pale blue eyes without, well… looking at them?

Emily decided to make sense of things by looking at the situation more rationally: Naomi Campbell was bright, beautiful, and talented. And then there was her: Emily Fitch, the bland and less interesting version of her twin Katie— the last person anyone would pay even the slightest attention to in Roundview.

"Right." She mumbles to herself, she intended to walk away but a nagging voice in her head kept her rooted to the spot and urged her to make sure, because really there was no harm in that is there?

She looks up to see Naomi looking at her. Those pale blue eyes seemingly transfixed for some reason. Emily meant to steal just a small glance, but looking turned into staring, and lingered for a while before she realized that Naomi's mouth was about to curl into a beautiful... smile? Was Naomi actually smiling at her?

"Ow!" sudden pain surges through Emily's left shoulder as a random tosser came running out of nowhere and hit her hard with a binder.

"Sorry," he said hurriedly, not even waiting for any kind of acknowledgment.

Hot pain seared through her skin, and she couldn't help but wish that he would fall over and break a leg or even both on his way to class.

"Are you alright Emily?" JJ asked as he approached her, a look of concern growing in his eyes.

"Yeah I'm fi—"

"Fuck... he... I think he cut you... you're bleeding."

"What?"

"Your arm," he points, "blood."

"Shit." She muttered. The binder tore through her blouse, which produced a tiny cut that bled through the fabric.

When all the commotion had subsided, Emily's eyes swept across the room, Naomi had gone, and she was back to being invisible again.

The bathroom was empty save for Emily. Staring at herself in the mirror, she surveys the damage done to her arm; she reaches out slowly to touch the gash on her freshly scraped skin and instantly regrets her decision as she winces from the pain.

"Christ." Emily hears someone mutter from behind her. She whips her head around to see Naomi standing mere inches away from her. Emily feels her pulse quicken, and her senses heighten.

"That wanker was fucking careless." The blonde continued as she walked closer to Emily, seemingly oblivious to the surprised look on Emily's face. The faint smell of vanilla filled the air... Naomi smelled like vanilla, Emily notes.

"Yeah... yeah he was." was all Emily could manage. Suddenly Naomi's confidence wavers as she mistakes Emily's nervousness for lack of recognition.

"Uh sorry, I... I'm Naomi we have—"

"Politics together." Emily finished for her, looking amused.

"And English, and History." Naomi added with a small smile, her cheeks noticeably flushed though Emily couldn't think of a reason why they would be.

"I know."

They smile at each other for a while and Emily could have sworn Naomi was about to say something else when she hears JJ calling from her from outside. "Emily, we're going to be late."

"I— I have to go." She says reluctantly.

"See you 'round Emily."

Everything afterwards felt like a haze for Emily. She thinks it was probably a fluke— Naomi talking to her. A one time thing that will never happen again... ever.

She kept replaying the moment over and over in her mind, each time there was the same overwhelming feeling that her heart was about to burst.

Maybe the universe was being kind to her today or something... maybe.

Earlier today Katie had gotten into a fight with her current boyfriend, Matt, who was obviously evil, if not for his blinding good looks and angelic smile.

Today he had unceremoniously kicked her out of the car half way across town. JJ had been nice enough to offer to help Emily pick her up, and though Katie could be a complete cow sometimes, Emily knew she was very grateful for the trouble they went through to get her home safely.

When they found her, Katie was sitting by the sidewalk, sobbing, mascara running and short of breath from all the crying.

"You're going to leave him right?" Emily asked, as she helped her sister up to her feet.

Silence; then an imperceptible nod.

"Let's go home."

"Guess who's in charge of this year's play?" the question came out of nowhere.

"What?" Emily asks distractedly. The first ten minutes of the car ride were spent in silence and now Emily was far too distracted with what happened earlier to focus on anything JJ was saying.

"The school play Emily..." he repeated but all she could do was continue to stare. It takes a beat before finally he supplies, "Ef... Effy's directing it."

"Well that was unexpected." Emily says, "Effy Stonem back so soon."

"Suicide girl?" Katie asked sounding every bit as surprised as her sister. She shifted uncomfortably in the back seat waiting for an answer. JJ and Emily simply give her a disgusted look.

"What? Just trying to help your conversation along." she says, as she crosses her arms defensively. Emily could tell it was taking just about all of Katie's energy not to hurl any kind of insult at them.

"Yeah her." JJ replied weakly. Jay liked Effy, they shared a few classes together and he had the biggest crush on when they first began college.

Emily didn't believe that Effy was to blame for what happened. It certainly wasn't the girl's fault that her boyfriend was murdered... wasn't her fault that because of all the chaos in her life, she kind of wanted to escape reality... just run away.

"They're holding auditions next week." JJ's words snapped Emily out of her thoughts. Something clicked inside her; she realized that this was her chance not to be invisible anymore... she was tempted in fact.

The question was: would she actually go through with it?

Thoughts? Please review :)