*Disclaimer. Mature topics will be contained in the story below such as suicide, misdemeanors, and questionable activity. The following story is a tad strange as it is based on a story I wrote a while ago. Tell me what you think in the reviews below.

Chapter One: Have I Seen You Before?

Written by: Nneoma Mgboji

Gwen's POV -

I glared at my reflection in the mirror, hating the way how my midnight blue hair rested on my shoulders and how my pale complexion could put vampires to shame.

I despised how people could look so perfect all the time, but act like they have no idea how the rest of the world idolizes them. With a flick of the hair, they could have anyone twisted around their finger.

Secretly, I've craved that sort of attention for the longest time. I longed to be one of those pretty girls who the boy's fought over. I've thought about this for a while, but now it is time to put my plan into action.

I am originally from the states, but my mom got an incredible job offer and we moved here. To Toronto, Canada. Where I know no one.

But most importantly, no one knows me.

In front of me sat a can of To Spray Or Not To Spray fake tanner, blond hair dye, and blond extensions.

Today's the day.

Today's the day I become a different person.

I quickly got to work, tanning my skin just enough so it looks like I actually go outside, dying my dark hair, and adding the extensions.

After 4 hours (and quite a few mistakes) I finished my look. I looked in the mirror again but instead of smiling, I scowled.

I looked like a kid that got into her mom's makeup cabinet and just smeared everything on my face.

Feeling tears well up in my eyes, I was ready to wave the white flag. I'm always going to be that weird goth girl. It's never going to change.

Sighing, I got up and walked out of my room into the kitchen.

Grabbing a bag of tortilla chips from the pantry, my little brother Kyle waddled into the room.

I instinctively reached down to give him a hug but instead of a warm embrace, Kyle began screaming bloody murder.

"STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER! MOMMY! HELP!"

Mom rounded the corner in record-breaking speed, grabbing the sobbing Kyle and pulling him close. In her hand, she held a neon-green baseball bat courtesy of Kyle's Little Tyke's baseball team.

When she saw me, she dropped the bat and rushed over to me. "Gwendolyn, what on earth happened to you?"

Kyle (now noticing that I am not a stranger but his beloved sister) runs over to me, tugging on my dark purple sweatshirt.

"Weny?" He said, looking up at me with his dark brown eyes. "Is it weally you?"

Ignoring him, I turn to my mom who has worry all over her face. "Gwen, what's going on?"

I looked down. "I wanted to turn over a new leaf this year."

"Oh, sweetie. Turning over a new leaf does not mean changing who you are. You don't have to look like those girls in California or Florida.

You are beautiful just the way you are, Gwendolyn. And I don't want you to pull this sort of stunt again, especially now that you are attending boarding school."

I nodded sheepishly, still too embarrassed to meet her steely gaze. "Now, come along. We'll have to be quick, it's almost time for Kyle's appointment."

My head snapped up, puzzled. "What do you mean? Where are we going?" Mom, busying herself with Kyle, rolled her eyes.

"To fix you up, of course. I can't have any daughter of mine looking like a rodeo clown."

We arrived at the mall and made a beeline for the tanning salon. After a lot of convincing on my mom's end, she was able to convince the worker to remove my spray tan.

But, when Kyle had to go to the bathroom, I paid the worker extra to spray tan me again. I was not about to lose all my hard work. This time she chose a color which wasn't that off from my skin tone, but still showed that I go outside.

Next, we headed towards the hair place. They dyed my hair back to its normal black and blue, but I secretly bought a foot-long jet black wig and a wig cap. I paid and stuffed it into my backpack, making a mental note to put it in my suitcase later.

Just as we were heading back to my mom's car, Mom's phone began to ring. "Hello?" She asked.

"Yes, Dr. Khan, we will get there as soon as possible." She hung up and shot me an apologetic look.

"Gwen, I'm sorry but we've got to go. Kyle's appointment is starting in 10 minutes. I won't have enough time to drop you off at home."

She handed me a couple of 20 dollar bills from her purse. "Buy something nice, and I'll come back and pick you up. Keep your cell on."

And with that, she left me alone.

With this money, I could finish up my plan and my mom would never suspect a thing! After all, I am going to school tomorrow and won't be back 'till Autumn.

Making sure that my mom had left, I ducked into the bathroom and tied my hair up. Then I put on my wig cap and my wig, making sure to secure it enough.

Believe it or not, I have worn wigs before. I did quite a bit of cosplay in middle school.

Once I was certain that my wigs looked good, I did a once over in the mirror. I kind of liked it. It made me feel dangerously pretty.

I strolled all the way to the beauty parlor, feeling slightly out of place with all the other blondes and brunettes around me.

I paused to look at a tube of blue gloss and a blonde girl about my age bumped into me. I feel to the floor, bringing the entire tray of lipsticks along with me.

"Ahh!"

In a matter of seconds, the floor was littered with unopened tubes and boxes. The sales clerk glared at me while the blonde helped me up.

"Ohmigosh! Are you okay?" Concern filled her olive green eyes. "I am so clumsy sometimes, I am so sorry. Are you sure you're okay? I can get you some ice?"

I stared up at her in confusion. She's so nice. Finally, I snapped out of my daze and managed to find my voice.

"I'm fine, really." I brushed my self off and gave her a smile. "Thank god, I don't know what I'd do if you weren't. I'm Bridgette by the way."

She stuck out her hand. Hesitantly, I shook it.

"Gwen."

She grinned. "That's such a pretty name." My cheeks colored. "Thanks."

"Hey, I haven't seen you around here before." Here it comes.

"That's because I just moved here not long ago. I'm from California." Bridgette frowned. "Aren't Californian's supposed to be-"

"Tan?" I interrupted, causing her to smile sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm the exception to that rule. I don't go outside much, but that's all going to change this year."

"What do you mean?"

Internally, I rolled my eyes. This girl talks a lot. "Well, I'm attending Wawanakwa Boarding School-"

"You are? OMG, I am too!" Then, she started squealing. "Aren't you so excited? I've been quaking ever since my letter came into the mail."

"Oh. Well, it was really just a heat of the moment decision. I'm not really a fan of prestigious, preppy schools."

Just then a gorgeous brunette walked up to Bridgette, immediately enveloping her in a hug. "Bridge, how was your summer? It feels like we haven't seen each other in years!"

"I know right! And man, talk about a glow up! You look so good!" Just then the brunette noticed me. I could feel her judge me as her eyes roamed my outfit and hair.

"Oh, who's your new friend Bridge?" I squirmed under her hash stare. "This is Gwen! We met like 5 minutes ago, she just moved here from California."

Almost immediately, her face softened and she stuck out her hand for me to shake. What is with these people and handshakes.

I reluctantly shook her hand as she introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Courtney. It's nice to meet you, Gwen."

I forced a smile at her, but it came out more like a grimace because Courtney instantly looked concerned.

"And get this! Gwen's going to WBS too!" Bridgette said happily. Courtney arched an eyebrow. "Really? Is she coming to your place tonight?"

I sucked in a breath. "Your place?"

Bridgette smiled. "Oh yeah! I'm having a little 'get-together' with a couple of our friends from WBS. You should totally come! It'd be great for you to get to know people."

Inside, I wasn't sure if I should go. Usually, I'd like to watch Netflix and eat pizza on the last day of summer. But if I'm not going to take risks, then what is the point of this experiment?

"Sure. That'd be really fun." Bridgette beamed at this, but Courtney was too busy texting to even look up.

"Let me just give you my digits." She entered her number into my phone and Courtney eventually did the same.

"Oh no!" Courtney screamed as soon as she looked back at her phone. "What's wrong?" Bridgette asked, peeking over Courtney's shoulder to look at her phone.

Then she started cracking up. "It's not funny!" She protested, ears and nose flushing. "What happened?" I asked.

Courtney rolled her eyes, a frown etched deeply on her delicate features. "This neanderthal, Duncan, crashed my car the other day while trying to do some stupid stunt on his motorcycle. Instead of paying me to fix the damages, my parents made him be my 'chauffeur' for the week while they get it repaired."

"So…, what's the problem?"

Bridgette, now clutching her stomach, broke into a fit of giggles. "The only 'car' Duncan has is a motorcycle!"

"It's not funny!" Courtney whined again, even stamping her foot a little.

"Princess!" Someone shouted.

Courtney groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Speak of the devil." A teen came over with a bright green mohawk and more piercings than I could count. To be honest, he looked pretty hot.

The guy, I assumed was Duncan, wrapped his arms around Courtney who in response threw them off her. "Hey, Malibu. Still sunburnt?"

"Still in juvie?" Bridgette retorted, laughing. "Touche. Who's Pasty?" I blinked, realizing that he was talking about me.

"It's Gwen." He just smirked in return. "As you can see, doll, I don't do names. But, I'm Duncan." I nodded.

"Well, Princess. I need to jet, so let's roll." Courtney scoffed. "Ok,1. It's COURTNEY. And 2. I am so not riding anywhere on that death trap of yours."

"I'm sorry that my bike isn't up to your standards Your Highness, but you're gonna have to suck it up so we can get going. I'm not about to pay 50 grand for a stupid car."

And at that, Duncan lifted Courtney up in the air and draped her across his shoulders. As Courtney protested, Duncan left saying his goodbyes before exiting the mall.

"I got to go to Gwen, but I hope to see you at my place later!" I nodded and smiled as she left the store, leaving me all alone.

I shopped for a while, buying armfuls of what I hope are trendy clothes and makeup. Then I hit up the food court, getting a large slushie and a corndog.

As I was chowing down, my cell began to buzz in my back pocket. I wiped my hands and answered it.

"Hey sweetie, where are you?" It's my mom! I quickly pull off my wig and wig cap and stuff them into my backpack.

"Just in the food court." There was a pause and I could hear Kyle's snoring. "Okay, I see you. I'll be right there."

I hung up and turned around, seeing my mom carrying Kyle. Rushing over to her, I took Kyle from her, cradling him in my arms.

"I'm really gonna miss this little guy when I go away," I said, feeling a pang of guilt for being so eager to leave my family.

"So will we." My mom said, already tearing up. "Mom! Don't cry!" My mom laughs, wiping her eyes. "Let's get out of here."

In the car, I told my mom about Bridgette's party and she was beyond ecstatic. She allowed me to stay out until eleven and gave me some extra cash.

That night, I told my mom that I planned on walking to Bridgette's house and she agreed. While walking, I put on my wig and makeup.

I eventually made it to her front porch and took a deep breath. You got this Gwen. Then I knocked.

Knock, knock, knock.