A/N: I've been wanting to write this for so, so long, so I decided to finally do it. This story takes place in Minnesota, pre-BTR.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Chapter One
"Jenny, I don't wanna go!" her fraternal twin sister, Cassadee Tinkler, cried. Jenny dragged her sister through the hallway of her house. "Please! Why don't you just go by yourself? Wouldn't I just make it worse?"
"In most cases, yes," Jenny admitted, almost tripping over Cassadee's flailing limbs. "But today, I need you. I told everyone how you were transferring to Thornton on Monday, and they wanted you to come." Cassadee rolled her eyes and sighed, causing her long bangs to fly into the air. Jenny waited for her to make her decision, pretty much holding her up by a leg.
"Fine," Cassadee grumbled. "I'll come." Jenny squealed and dropped her sister in the process. Cassadee rubbed her newly sore cranium and scowled. Jenny was forcing her to come to a party thrown by someone named Kendall Knight, one of Thornton High's notoriously popular hockey players. He had three best friends who were also on the hockey team, and they were all constantly together. Jenny was desperate to become part of their little group of buddies, and apparently, this could only be accomplished if Cassadee tagged along.
Jenny told Cassadee to go change into the out fit that was hanging on a hanger in their bathroom. She did as she was told and stepped into the bathroom. It didn't make sense how the girls were the same age of sixteen, somehow, Jenny took the role of the superior when their dad wasn't around (and when he was).
"I'm guessing Rena picked this out," Cassadee said, holding the hanger to her collarbone. Rena was the woman their dad was dating. Cassadee didn't hate her, but she was kind of weird. But she made up for that with her better-than-average fashion sense.
"She did," Jenny said, chewing on a lock of her blond hair absentmindedly. "Maybe I should take her to Kendall's next party." Cassadee emerged wearing cargo pants and a flimsy yellow blouse. Underneath, she was wearing a swimsuit. Yeah, that's right. Kendall had an in-ground pool in his backyard.
"Great, let's go," Jenny said, grabbing Cassadee's arm. They slipped on identical wedge sandals and went out the door. Cassadee suggested they take their bikes, but Jenny said they'd look ridiculous. It would, quote-unquote, "kill their cuteness". Cassadee tugged her Adidas watch as they walked. She hated having to transfer to Thornton, where she had no friends. The sisters used to go to different schools because of their different interests, but Dillert High, Cassadee's old school, was closing this year. Her parents decided to get a head start and transfer her now. She started tomorrow, when the weekend ended. At least it was October so she was still in the first trimester.
"Make sure you don't embarrass me," Jenny said, stumbling over a crack in the sidewalk. Kendall's house was only a few blocks away from their own, but the sidewalks there seemed much more walk-worthy.
"Me? Embarrass you?" Cassadee asked. She chuckled noisily as her sister bent down to retie her straps. "This is Jenny Tinkler, the biggest klutz in the whole universe, talking. As if." They arrived at the gate of the Knight home shortly. It was funny how different their house was from the Tinkler's. While the Knights had an intercom system, they had a broken doorbell.
The intercom crackled and a voice asked for their last names. Jenny gave it, and the golden gate unlocked itself. Jenny pushed it open and confidently sauntered in. Cassadee trudged behind her, stomping down the daisies in the front. A woman with dark hair at the front door smiled gently. She looked nicer than the mother Cassadee had imagined. The only thing that would make her seem more sweet was if she were holding a basket of homemade cookies.
"Hey girls," she said. Everyone is out back. Just circle around." Sure enough, their was a gigantic gaggle of partying teenagers in the back. Cassadee grasped her sister's arm and pulled her down a little. She was suddenly nervous.
"Please don't leave me," she whispered into Jenny's clip on earrings.
"I won't," she snapped, pulling away. "Don't be such a freak, Cass. What is with you?" A small group of girls waved and called for Jenny. They were all wearing tiny bikinis and way too much makeup. Jenny shrieked along with them and started to take off.
"I thought you were staying with me!" Cassadee whined, grabbing her at the last second. Jenny shrugged.
"Tough luck kid," she said. "See ya later." And then Cassadee was alone. She slipped on a pair of sunglasses and took out her MP3 player, trying her best to look busy.
Kendall Knight watched one of his best friends, Carlos Pena, jump into his pool. Logan, another friend, was holding a stopwatch. They were trying to figure out how long he could stay under water. A few seconds later, Carlos came up gasping for air.
"That was like, five seconds," Kendall said. "Can't you stay down there any longer?" Carlos pulled off his helmet and shook out his hair.
"It's not my fault I don't have Aqauman powers," he pouted. "I'd like to see you try."
"Eeyeah…no thanks," Kendall replied. Jenny Tinkler and a bunch of her friends walked over to Logan and him. They looked excited and nervous, as always.
"Hey Kendall," Jenny said. Kendall waved to her awkwardly. Jenny was nice, but the way she was constantly smiling like Cheshire Cat kind of freaked him. Logan acknowledged the girls and raised his can of Mountain Dew to his lips. Carlos hoisted himself out of the pool. He emptied the water from his helmet and strapped it back on.
"Hey Jen," Carlos greeted. "What's up?" He always stood a few feet away from the girl because she was dangerously clumsy. She was so uncoordinated, it was sad. It actually brought him to tears. "Are you ready the pep rally for our game on Tuesday?" Jenny beamed. He remembered!
"Of course," Jenny said, "Being the president of the Student Council, I'm always ready to show some team spirit. It's such a shame I didn't make the cut for the cheerleading team. They need me."
"They sure do," Logan lied. Jenny couldn't do a cartwheel without colliding into someone.
"Where's James?" Ella, a female athlete, asked.
"I think he's flirting with the chicks from the dance team," Logan laughed, "The only group of girls who aren't obsessed with him. He still has no idea I told them that he has herpes." The girls tittered softly.
"I'm gonna go get something to drink," Kendall said, excusing himself from the awkward conversation. He raced away and knocked down a girl standing by the punch bowl. She hadn't noticed him coming her way.
"Shit," she muttered, rubbing the grass off of her knees. She hoped that Woolite could get the emerald colored stains out.
"I'm so sorry," Kendall apologized. Cassadee peered up at the golden haired god standing in front of her. He had pretty hazel eyes and a dimple in each cheek. His soggy swim trunks hung loosely from his narrow hips, just begging for someone to pull them down. His thick, unkempt eyebrows scrunched together as he tried to figure out who she was. "Um, are you okay?"
"Yeah," Cassadee said. "But I don't think my MP3 player is." Cassadee glared at the broken screen of the device. Kendall pushed his bangs back and put one hand on his hip.
"I might be able to get that fixed," Kendall murmured. "Who are you again?"
"I'm Jenny Tinkler's sister," Cassadee explained quickly. "I'm pretty sure she said I was coming as her plus one"—
"Wait!" Kendall interrupted. "You're the twin? You barely look alike!" Cassadee sighed. Everyone told them this because it was true. Jenny was a curvy blonde with big blue eyes. She got excited or worked up about everything and obsessed over boys constantly. Cassadee was a little shorter, with a thin, petite frame. She sported a dark shoulder length bob with three streaks of blonde zipping through her bangs and her eyes were dark and dull. Cassadee preferred a laid back lifestyle, in which there was no partying.
"We're fraternal twins," Cassadee explained. "As in, we no look alike." Kendall narrowed his eyes, and Cassadee was worried that she'd insulted this guy's intelligence, but then he laughed good-naturedly. Honestly, he seemed pretty nice. Cassadee was quick to judge people.
"Sorry," Kendall said, "Your name is Cassadee, right? I'm Kendall Knight." Cassadee's mouth dropped open and she shook the hand he offered. Jenny was going to kill her when they got home. Like, literally murder.
"Oh!" Cassadee exclaimed. "I, um…you have a really nice pool." Cassadee mentally slapped herself. This was so not helping Jenny's popularity status. Kendall laughed again. It wasn't mean or taunting. It was friendly.
"You don't really know until you try it out," Kendall said. Cassadee tried not to stare at Kendall's abs (Someone brought the six-pack to the barbecue!) but she didn't want to meet his gaze.
"Uh, no," she answered. "Nothing is messing up my hair." She grinned as Kendall chuckled again. "But seriously, the blond dye will wash out."
"So are you excited for Thornton?" Kendall asked. Jenny had obviously given everyone the deets about her sister coming to the high school. Cassadee was surprised Kendall was even still talking to her. He obviously had tons of friends. The party was packed.
"Not really," Cassadee said. "No offense. But it's not like I know anyone that goes to your school. Well, except for Jenny, but between you and me, she's not all that interesting." Kendall smirked and his cute dimples came back for an encore.
"Well, you know me now. And I could introduce you to some cute guys," Kendall suggested, poking her arm teasingly. "I bet they'd love you."
"I'm not really interested in men right now," Cassadee said, looking around his backyard. Kendall smiled faded and he became awkward all of a sudden. Cassadee was oblivious to this.
"I could introduce you to some cute girls," Kendall rephrased. Cassadee scratched her head, trying to decipher what he'd said. When she understood, her eyes widened to golf-ball size and her cheeks started to burn.
"What? Oh God, that's not what I meant," Cassadee said, shaking her head. "You've got it all wrong. I just meant that I don't really feel like talking to anyone right now. I mean, it…" Cassadee tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and sighed. She really needed to work on her speaking skills. Cassadee summoned up all of her courage and gave him a full, simple statement.
"I like talking to you," she wheezed. "I just wanna talk to you for now." The corners of Kendall's lips turned up and he picked up his glass of punch. He tipped his head back and sipped slowly, leaving Cassadee in suspense.
"That's a relief," Kendall finally admitted, "Because I like talking to you, too, Cassadee."
A/N: What'd you think? Leave a review and thanks for reading :)