They say the spotlight is the place to be, but those that say this were never there. That bright florescent spotlight is lit up by ridicule, jealousy and hatred. In saying that, many spend years trying to get it to shine on them and then the rest of their lives trying to turn it off.
That was my mission in life. Switch the light off Bella Swan.
My dad, Charlie, is the President of the United States of America. Big deal, huh? Not for my brother, Emmett, and I. To us, he's plain ol' dad and not the leader of an entire country and the free world. All our life, we have been in the wings as Charlie ran campaign after campaign and when he got to the top, the media were flustered to document the every move that we, the twin First Children of their beloved President, made.
At the start, it was a novelty, we were seventeen, in senior year and we thought it was the coolest thing to be the center of attention, to be the 'Swan Twins' and it certainly made us popular. But after months of this, and with finals and prom approaching at a rapid pace, the fun wore off. We began to see the fakeness in our 'friends' and we could never be alone enough to concentrate on our studies.
Charlie's oldest friend and assistant, Danni, was there for us as our mom for all intents and purposes for ours died when we were young. She hid us in her house on the weeks coming up to finals to study. This worked, but it wasn't a permanent solution. College was just around the corner and we couldn't hide in Danni's forever. So we sat down and devised a plan to allow for us to be free to attend college and not have the hassle of the media on our back.
"Stop fidgeting Emmett, it doesn't look good." I said loudly to my brother as I drove on the highway, noting our turn off was soon.
"Bella, I am wearing a cap that is literally scraping the hair and skin off my scalp, I need to scratch." He whined. I looked up at my brother, older by a mere 15 minute gap which he promptly reminds me of each day. Gone were his cheek-long, curly brown locks and doe eyes, and in place of these was a short blond wig and blue contacts.
This was the plan we had devised: wigs, contacts and change of last name. He lifted his hand up to scratch again and I expertly swatted it away. I had to admit the fuckers were itchy but no matter, we couldn't scratch. The caps were designed to keep the wigs on and to allow for movement but so far all they have done is made a grown 18-year old man cry in pain.
I looked in the rear-view mirror of my beloved '53 pickup and sighed, as I almost didn't recognize myself. The girl staring back had long straight blonde hair with bangs and blue contacts. Bangs were a thing that my, also brown, curly mane would never see as I could never cut it. They made me look completely different, which was a good thing given the current situation.
Finally we made it safely to our exit, I expertly turned off and we soon found our way at the Performing arts school in California, our home for the next four years, all going well with our plan.
I found a parking space close enough to the building our welcome pack instructed us to go to, and began the process of pulling in when, out of nowhere, a silver volvo zoomed past, taking said space.
Now I am usually the calm twin out of the two of us so I think I surprised even myself to realize, before I knew or thought of what I was doing, I was out of the car to tell the Volvo asshat what I really thought of.
As the car was put in park, an auburn headed man glided out of the driver seat, blissfully unaware the storm that was about to hit him.
"You asshole!" was my meticulous opening statement. "That is my spot! Get back in your car and move it."
"I'm… sorry?" the velvet-voiced, Adonis looking asswipe countered.
"You heard me. Move. Your. Car. I'm waiting" I was beginning to steam from the ears.
"You will be waiting a long time, I'm not moving. Don't you know who I am?" He scoffed in my direction. I was getting real pissed, real quick.
"Don't you know who I am? I'm Bella fucking S–"
"McCarthy, she's Bella McCarthy, and I'm her brother, Emmett." Before I realized what I almost did, Emmett came out of nowhere and to my rescue. He stood beside me, pinching my side with one hand and the other was outstretched to Mr Volvo in a silent truce.
"Glad that at least one of you have been civilized. I'm Edward, Edward Cullen. Good to meet you Emmett." Mr Vol - no - Mr Cullen responded warmly to the handshake. He turned to me, sporting a shit-eating grin, and awaited my sullen apology; well he'll be the one waiting a long time.
"Move your car assh-"
"Bella, I beg of you, play nice" Emmett pleaded.
"Please." The highest of nicety I was willing to go.
"Listen man, we have been driving for a long time, we came from Washington, we're tired, could you let us have this one please?" Emmett always saw the best in people and therefore was always kind. I on the other hand-
"No-can-do Emmett, now if you'll excuse me I have to go get my keys" Calmly and collected, Edward walked away into the orientation building, leaving a dumbfounded Emmett and I.
"Motherfu…" I trailed off, as his silhouette got smaller.
"My sentiments exactly Bells" Emmett steered me towards the passenger side of the cab, and then hopped in the driver side himself. With an eerie sense of relaxation, he took a look around and began to drive on. Just as we passed the Volvo, I felt a sudden jolt and looked out the window to see the backlight of the silver car shattered, where the pickup had hit.
"Emmett! Oh my god! That was stupid!" I screamed, utterly shocked yet elated that that just happened.
"Don't worry, there were no cameras or security, I checked." He said with a wink before driving off as if nothing had just taken place.
We eventually found a spot to park it, but it felt like it was closer to Washington than the orientation building. Emmett went in to get the keys and codes and I began to unpack the car. Soon enough we found ourselves heading towards the elevator door of our dorm building.
"So we're in apartment number 48, which is on the….. fourth floor. I'm in room D and you're in room C."
"Ok, sounds good." I said rather absentmindedly. I found myself thinking back to Mr. Volvo and all his pettiness.
"Oh and also, I shit unicorns." Was Emmett's childish check to make sure I was interactive in the conversation.
"Yeah, well I shit rainbows." Was my subtle 'I'm listening dweeb.' Emmett huffed in response, jiggling the keys as we closed in on the door.
"Home sweet home." Ever the optimist, Emmett opened the door of our apartment that would be home for the next four years. There were four others sharing the dorm as it was the biggest one and it looked like we were first to arrive.
The apartment was squared and open-spaced so the kitchen, dining room and living room were technically all the same room in the center. The six bedrooms were split three on each side with each having its own bathroom. Luckily, we nabbed an end room each, putting us across from each other. As we carried our bags and boxes, my neat-freak instincts kicked in and I had the sudden compulsion to unpack and tidy the room to how I wanted. Which was fun, as we weren't allowed to do so in the White House.
Before I knew it, an hour had gone by and my room was perfect. Emmett and I, spent from our unpacking, were lounging in the living room, rooting through our endless collection of DVD's when voices were heard outside the door.
"How the fuck did you lose the keys Alice? That was your one job." A female voice yelled.
"I told you I should have been in charge of them, but no one listens to Jasper." A male voice reasoned.
"Maybe we'll get lucky and our new roommates are there already so I do not have to sort through the bags here." A too-excited female voice, different to the first, said.
"Well let's find out." Said the sexiest voice I have ever laid my ears on which somehow sounded familiar but I couldn't place it. Not two seconds after this, there was a soft rasp on the door. Emmett, suddenly being the less brave half of our dynamic duo, instructed that I was to get the door. Bastard. He helped me along by pushing me off the couch and pointing me in the direction of the knock. I huffed and walked over. Adjusted my wig and opened the door.
Let it be said that I was not proud that, at 18 years, I had yet to develop a filtering system, but in my defense, even a person with a filter might have had the same reaction. You see, as I opened the door, I was not equipped to keep my thoughts to myself.
"Jesus fucking Christ." Was my most thought out response. I stood there, mouth agape, in the doorway staring at my new roommates, with whom I had just made an outstanding first impression to, and Mr Volvo himself.
Welcome, welcome, to my new story!
It was one that I toyed around with a few years ago but it never amounted to anything so here we are!
I hope you enjoy, please REVIEW and FAVOURITE so I can keep writing for you guys!
Adios :)