Chapter 3:
Discovering that she and Kyson shared the exact same birthday left a bad feeling in Addison's stomach for the remainder of their English class. Their similarities in looks and their shared birthday had to be purely coincidental. Long lost twins being reunited was something of fiction, not real life.
However, she didn't have time at the end of the day to dwell on those thoughts and questions because she had cheer tryouts to run. But knowing she had things to do and actually being able to focus on them were two very different things. Addison had been feeling that there was a piece of her missing—especially after finding out that she wasn't a werewolf the feeling that something was missing only got worse. Could a twin be part of that? If a twin was a part of the equation, why would her parents have kept her and not a twin—Kyson? She would have loved to grow up with a sibling.
"Addy, are you okay? You look distracted," Bree noted when Addison got to the cheer lounge to set some of her things down.
"Yeah, I'm fine. A little distracted, but nothing I can't handle. We should go change," she said, grabbing her gym bag so the two could head to the locker room to put on different clothes for tryouts.
"Wasn't your hair shorter this morning?" Lacey asked a few minutes later as they got ready to head out of the locker room following changing for tryouts.
"And what was with you calling us 'asses' this morning?" Stacey questioned.
"I think you met Kyson."
"Who's Kyson? Your evil twin?" Lacey laughed.
"Not sure. But we have tryouts now, so let's see what you've got," Addison said, ushering Lacey and Stacey out of the locker room where the other cheer team hopefuls were waiting. "Hi everyone! I'm Addison and this is my co-captain, Bree. It's great to see so many people excited about joining the cheer team. So let's get tryouts going," she said.
~o~
Running tryouts offered Addison the perfect distraction from thinking about Kyson and the suggestion she'd made. It wasn't until Addison got out to her car following tryouts and was alone for the first time since talking to Kyson that those thoughts began to invade her mind again.
For even longer than she totally realized, and before the wolves showed up, Addison felt that there was a piece of her missing. Especially recently, she'd felt that something was missing in her life. She'd assumed she was just missing answers about who she was. If Kyson was her twin and not an identical doppelganger, it would mean her parents lied to her about something for sixteen years. And she didn't want to believe that.
To get the answer she wanted, Addison would have to wait until later that night. Her parents had some city council meeting going late, so Addison would be on her own for dinner. In the meantime, she sent a text to Zed to see how his tryouts had gone since they hadn't been able to see each other afterwards. He informed her that he'd made the team, and more details would follow the next day.
While she waited for her parents to return home for the night, Addison busied herself with getting started on the little bit of homework she'd been assigned after getting dinner for herself. When she heard her parents arrive home a few minutes apart from each other a couple hours later, Addison continued working on finishing the last bit of work she needed to do. She then headed downstairs where she found her parents, Dale and Missy, in the living room.
"Hey Mom, Dad?" Addison questioned, making her way over to them.
"Is something wrong?" Missy asked after Addison took a seat in the chair in the living room.
"This is going to sound weird, but it's something that got put into my mind at school today, and I guess I just wanted confirmation," Addison paused to take a deep breath before asking the burning question on her mind. "I don't have a twin, right?" she asked.
The air in the living room at the Wells house went from calm and relaxed to strained and tense in a matter of seconds. Dale and Missy turned to each other with expressions Addison couldn't quite read.
"What?" Addison asked, her voice a little strained because her parents were taking too long to reply. "Did I have a twin who died or something?" Addison questioned, despite knowing the question was insensitive if that was the case. She could apologize later if she upset her parents. She needed answers more than she needed to protect her parents' feelings.
"No," Dale began. "You didn't have a twin who died."
"Then what are we getting worked up for if it's nothing?" Another silence filled the room—a silence that seemed to last an eternity as Addison waited for her parents to answer her. The pit she'd felt in her stomach earlier that day returned while she waited for a reply. It was more clear than ever that her parents were keeping some sort of secret. Kyson's words about her adoptive parents returned to the forefront of Addison's mind. "Am I adopted?" Addison asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Addison, you will always be our daughter," Missy spoke, reaching towards Addison.
"What?" Addison asked, pulling her hand away from her mom and jumping up. She moved so she stood behind the chair to put space between her and her parents while using the back of the chair for support. "Am I adopted?" she repeated, her voice low, slow, and even.
"Yes," Dale confirmed gently. "But that doesn't change anything. You were only a few days old when we adopted you."
"You always have been and always will be our daughter," Missy added.
"You lied to me for sixteen years!" Addison exclaimed. "How could you?" she questioned, tears suddenly filling her eyes. "You forced me to wear a wig and be perfect when your life isn't even really my life!"
"Addison, please. Let's talk," Dale suggested.
"No," Addison replied. "I don't want to talk or even see you," she continued as a few tears slipped off her cheeks and onto the chair. "Leave me alone," she said, turning and running out of the room.
After leaving her parents, Addison raced back up to her room, slamming the door shut to make a point about how angry she was with her parents. Nothing could change the brokenness she felt in those moments. So, she threw herself onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow.
Of course Kyson was right. How could the two of them have the exact same hair, facial features, and birthday and not be identical twins. Finding out she was adopted was one answer for some of the questions Addison had, but it raised thousands more. Since she and Kyson had to be twins, how had they been adopted by different families? Where were their birth parents? Did Kyson's parents know anything? Did Addison's? However, she was too upset to even think of having a conversation with her parents to get answers.
How had the adoption agency separated her and Kyson? Maybe it was simply the fact that Addison knew nothing about adoption, but wouldn't twins be kept together? Weren't there things in place to keep siblings together in foster care? Addison was fairly certain she'd seen things about couples adopting siblings so they weren't separated.
Once she'd run out of tears, Addison found solace in the fact that Kyson knew she was adopted. Hopefully that meant she'd have more answers. Maybe they'd even be able to find documented proof that they were twins.
For the remainder of the night, Addison was more than happy to ignore her parents. After being lied to for so long, she felt utterly betrayed and had no idea how to face her parents. If Addison talked to them, she was sure her words would have been filled with anger and resentment. Despite them spending years keeping the truth from her, that wasn't the type of attitude she wanted to have when talking to them.
When she'd had the chance to calm down a little from her initial anger, Addison was glad she'd already completed all her homework and that she didn't need to worry about it any more that night. Instead, the only thing she needed to do before bed was get a few things ready for school the following morning. She had the lights in her room turned off and the door locked before her parents would be going to sleep.
CHCHCH
The following morning, when she headed down to breakfast, Addison found her parents seated at the small table between their kitchen and living room sharing a grapefruit. Without saying anything to her parents, Addison made her way to the kitchen to get herself a bowl of cereal.
"Addison," Dale began. "Can you join us for breakfast so we can talk?"
Addison was silent as she got the bowl of cereal ready. "Not really in the talking mood," she answered, returning the milk to the fridge. "I'm going to eat in my room and I'll see you after school," she replied, taking the bowl with her as she left the room.
A short while later, Addison was on her way to school without saying anything more to her parents. Eventually, she might come to terms with not knowing the truth for so long, but the pain and hurt was too fresh that morning.
While walking to her locker, Addison scanned the halls for Kyson. Though she hadn't seen her until literally running into her the previous day, that didn't mean she wouldn't spot Kyson while actually looking for her. Thoughts of finding Kyson momentarily left Addison's mind when she spotted Zed waiting for her at her locker. A smile formed on her lips for the first time since leaving school the day before.
"Good morning, Gorgeous," Zed greeted Addison, stepping aside to let her get to her locker. "How'd tryouts go yesterday?"
"Morning," Addison greeted, pausing to open her locker before replying to Zed's question. "Tryouts went well. How'd everyone else look at your tryouts, Mr. Starting-Fullback?" she questioned, her voice sing-song like it had been when she expected him to become the student body president.
"Great. The defense looks better than last year, especially with Wyatt and Wynter joining the team."
"Awesome. It'd be great to have a championship winning football team."
"Especially on top of having a championship winning cheer team."
"Hopefully," Addison replied, a sigh escaping past her lips. Part of the reason she'd gotten into cheer was because she thought it was in her blood. If her parents weren't her biological parents, then cheer wasn't really in her blood. She'd fallen in love with it regardless, but it wasn't part of her family.
"Is something wrong?" Zed asked.
"Yes and no," Addison replied. "There's someone I was hoping to find before classes start."
"Who?"
"Kyson. She's new and I sit next to her in English."
"Hmm. What does she look like? I'll help you find her," Zed offered.
"Well, she, um, she actually looks like me," Addison answered, her voice somewhat unsure.
"You?"
Addison nodded. "I'm not sure I can talk about everything without crying, but I'm pretty sure we're identical twins."
"Okay," Zed replied, his voice also reflecting a somewhat unsure tone. "Let's find Kyson," he continued, more sure of himself. As they began their search, Addison recalled running into Kyson the day before and where it happened, hoping that Kyson might be somewhere in that area. "I think I see her," Zed spoke, spotting a head of white hair down the hall and near the collision point from the day before.
"Hey Kyson," Addison called out a moment later when she and Zed got closer to where Kyson stood.
"Addison, hey," Kyson replied, turning at the sound of her name.
"I'll leave you two to talk," Zed spoke. "See you later, Gorgeous," he added, placing a kiss on Addison's cheek before retreating back down the hall.
"Why does your boyfriend, and so many other people, have green hair?" Kyson questioned as she watched Zed go down the hall.
"Same reason we have white hair," Addison replied. "It's a genetic thing."
"Now I have more questions than answers."
"You and me both."
"What?"
Addison took a deep breath to prepare herself for her next words. "Last night, I talked to my parents and found out that I am adopted."
"Please tell me you're kidding."
"No."
"That's fucking messed up. They kept that from you for over sixteen years?" Addison simply nodded in reply. "Okay, so now the fact that we're adopted sort of makes sense for us being identical, but my dad said if I had a twin, they would have adopted both of us."
"Could something have gotten mixed up when we were babies so we didn't end up together when we should have?" Addison questioned rhetorically.
Kyson shrugged in response. "Oh," she spoke suddenly. "These two chicks who thought throwing insults about my hair was a good idea yesterday said something about tryouts thinking I was you," Kyson recalled. "What'd you try out for and did you make the team?"
"I actually didn't try out. I ran tryouts."
"Interesting. What for?"
"Cheer," Addison replied. "Our football team wasn't that great until last year, and the cheer team was always really good and did well in competition. We've got that pep/cheer rally this afternoon. It used to be just for cheer, but this year it's for fall sports in general."
"Right. Condensed schedule today. Kind of weird for the second day of school," Kyson noted as the 1-minute warning bell went off. "Guess I'll see you in English, Sis," she continued.
"Sis?" Addison questioned.
"Well, yeah. Neither of us may know who our biological parents are, but given everything we know, if you're not my sister, I'll eat my effing shoe. So, see you in English, Sis," Kyson called as the two went their separate ways for class.
CHCHCH
Though she still wasn't exactly sure what to make of everything, Addison was beginning to warm up to the idea of her and Kyson being sisters. Kyson may not have understood all of Addison's situation, but she was someone who could at least partially understand it more than anyone else; and Kyson was someone she could talk to about it. Her initial awareness of the situation and not having to explain too much about it helped keep Addison from breaking down in tears.
For the shortened classes that morning, everything carried out the way it was meant to. By the time English rolled around, Addison was glad to get to her class with Kyson. It may not have mattered in the grand scope of things, but it was comforting to have someone who knew the truth about everything. And, truth be told, Addison's nerves about being the one mostly in charge of everything during the pep rally had begun to get the best of her. However, for some reason, once Kyson took her seat beside Addison, the worry faded some.
"Hey Sis," Kyson greeted.
"Are you going to call me 'Sis' from now on? We don't even know for sure," Addison spoke, though a small smile played at her lips.
"Like I said, I'm sure we are. And now, I have sixteen years of not having a sibling to make up for it all. Oh, you know what? We could do one of those DNA test things to see if we are related. That could prove it."
"Maybe the adoption agency has answers," Addison suggested.
"My dad said last night that it was a closed adoption on our end," Kyson explained. "Would you want to talk to your parents and see if they have answers?"
"I'm not ready to do that yet."
"Fair enough," Kyson agreed as the bell rang and Mr. Sheppard stood at the front of the classroom. The class passed quickly, and before long, everyone was packing their things away to head to lunch.
At the end of class, Addison began quickly packing her things away, eager to get to lunch to see Zed and her other friends. While packing her things, Addison noticed that Kyson seemed to be taking longer than needed. "Are you coming?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" Kyson asked, slowly sliding her notebook into her backpack.
"It's lunch," Addison replied as the two began out of the classroom.
"Yeah. Your point?"
"I met with Bree yesterday for a little while during lunch to talk about plans for tryouts, but when we got back to the cafeteria, I don't remember seeing you."
"I didn't eat in the cafeteria. I've never really been a people person. More of a loner, so I ate by myself."
"Would you want to join me and my friends for lunch? If it's something your comfortable with."
"Really? You mean that?"
"Of course, Sis," Addison replied, giving Kyson a playful nudge.
"All right," Kyson agreed. A few minutes later, the pair entered the cafeteria together. While Kyson looked around to observe everyone, Addison scanned the crowd to make sure everyone was at their usual lunch table.
"This way," Addison said, leading the way through the cafeteria. "Hey everyone. This is Kyson," she explained when the two made it to the table. Addison claimed the open chair next to Zed while Kyson took the next one over.
"Wow, Zed. When you said she looked exactly like Addison, I thought you were pulling our legs," Wyatt spoke.
"I have a name," Kyson replied, shooting a daring look in Wyatt's direction.
"I'm sorry. Kyson, right?"
"Yeah."
"I'm Wyatt," he replied.
"Then I don't have to just call you boy with fangs."
"Right."
"Anyway," Addison spoke. "Everyone, meet Kyson. Kyson, this is everyone."
"I'm Willa. You'll have to forgive my brother for speaking without thinking."
Kyson let out a short laugh and the rest of the introductions were soon made. "Addison," a voice broke through the chatter of the entire cafeteria. A few people looked up, but quickly ignored Bucky and his declarative voice.
"Hey, Cuz," Addison greeted Bucky as he made it over to the table.
"I wanted to check everything for the cheer rall—" Bucky cut himself off as he finally noticed Kyson. "Um, Cuz, did you clone yourself or something?"
"Yes Bucky," I figured out cloning technology," Addison replied.
Although everything else in the cafeteria moved forward, Bucky remained rooted to the ground and frozen except for his eyes as they kept shifting between Addison and Kyson.
"I think he's broken," Kyson commented.
"Who are you?" Bucky finally asked.
"Kyson, but I'm pretty sure you had a question for Addison," she said, turning to her lunch and effectively cutting herself out of the conversation.
"Right," Bucky said, shaking his head to refocus himself. "Are you ready for the cheer rally?" he asked, turning back to Addison.
While looking away from Bucky, Addison rolled her eyes, then took a deep breath turned to face him as she offered her reply. "It's for all fall sports, Bucky. Cheer isn't the only thing going on this fall."
"Okay, fine. Then the routine is all set?"
"It is," Addison confirmed.
With a nod in reply, Bucky headed back towards the table he had with some of his friends.
For most of the lunch period, the conversation at the table returned to normal things like classes. However, Kyson's sudden appearance brought on some questions. "Are we not going to talk anymore about how Kyson and Addison are identical," Wynter questioned when the nine finished eating.
Kyson pursed her lips and met Addison's eyes, unsure whether or not she was ready to explain everything about her discovery from the night before. Silently, she tried to ask Addison if she was ready to explain. Somehow understanding each other without saying anything, Kyson explained. "We realized with the English activity yesterday that we share the same birthday, and obviously we look exactly the same, so we think we might be twins who were somehow separated at birth."
"Wow," Zed spoke, breaking the silence that filled the air around their table.
"And I'm adopted," Addison added.
"What?" Bree asked.
"Addy, are you okay?" Zed asked, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I guess," Addison shrugged.
"Hold on," Eliza spoke. "Your parents decided it wasn't important to tell you you're adopted for sixteen years?" Addison nodded. "And on top of that, they had you wear a wig for fifteen years to be 'Seabrook perfect'?" Eliza paused for another beat as Addison nodded. "That—" Eliza began, but cut herself off.
"Are you okay to lead the pep rally?" Bree asked. "If you're not, we can figure something else out," she replied, her voice taking on a soft, gentle, and caring tone.
"I'm okay. Or, as okay as I can be."
"A wig?" Kyson questioned, brows scrunching together in confusion.
"Yeah. I can tell you about it later," Addison replied.
Kyson nodded and the conversation again drifted to more typical things high schoolers talked about. They also ended up talking about Seabrook's unique history and why there were so many people in Seabrook who had hair colors that weren't usually natural.
"Well, this was an interesting lunch," Kyson spoke as the period ended. "But thanks for letting me join you. And sorry for getting at you a little at first, Wyatt."
"No worries. I deserved the reminder."
"Good luck with the pep rally, Sis. I'll be cheering for you. But not that loud because it seems like cheer is kind of your thing," Kyson said, offering a smile to Addison before heading out of the cafeteria and towards her locker.
CHCHCH
A short while later, Addison stood in front of the whole school in the middle of the gym. It was somewhat nerve wracking, but her eyes landed on Kyson, and her friends who weren't involved in fall sports, and she felt herself relax a little.
"Hi everyone," Addison greeted the school. "Many of you may already know me, but I'm Addison Wells, one of the captains of our school's cheer team. In years past, this pep rally has been specifically for the cheer team. But it's not the only sport that takes place in the fall, and the other teams deserve some recognition as well. I'd like to welcome the captains of the cross country, football, volleyball, and soccer teams to join me here as well," Addison said, motioning for the few to join her from where they stood with their teams. "Zed?" Addison questioned when he joined her.
"Oh yeah. Did I forget to mention that I'm team captain?" he teased.
"That's awesome," Addison said as the two shared a quick hug. However, suddenly remembering that they were in front of the whole school, Addison continued explaining what was happening that afternoon. The captain or captains of each of the teams said a little about the upcoming season and welcomed the rest of their team down for short introductions. Once all the teams had their chance to shine, the mic was handed back to Addison.
~o~
As was usual, the cheer team had a routine prepared. While they performed, a man who wasn't part of the school staff stood in the shadows. From his somewhat hidden place, he couldn't get a good look at the members of the student body in the stands. However, half of his job in going to Seabrook High was made easy thanks to Addison's position on the cheer team. Now he just needed to find the time to talk to her.
~o~
"Thank you Addison, Bree, and the rest of the cheer team for that spectacular performance," Principal Lee said, making her way to the middle of the gym at the conclusion of the routine. Principal Lee had a few more words to say before dismissing everyone. Though it wasn't quite the end of the school day, everyone was free to either study, go home, or wait for after school activities to begin. It didn't really matter as long as they weren't destructive.
"You really look like you're in your element with cheer," Kyson commented, making her way to Addison at the conclusion of the pep rally.
"You think so?"
"Absolutely. Also, my ride doesn't get here until school's actually done, so would it be okay if we hung out for a little while?"
"Totally. Maybe we can see if we can find any answers about us online. I'll just change and meet you by the cheer lounge?"
"Yeah. Sounds good," Kyson agreed.
Addison gave a smile before heading in the direction of the locker rooms. She may have had countless questions about who she was, but at least she had Kyson and her friends on her side.
A/N: Sometimes, there are a lot of things that influence the way I write things. There's actually a lot of shows and movies that offered inspiration for things in this story. The show Mako Mermaids actually has a situation similar to Addison's where a character finds out as an teen that they're adopted, so that gave some inspiration to Addison's reaction.
The high school I went to had Spirit Week in September and again in January and it usually included a little about the season of sports, so I thought I'd evolve the Cheer Rally into something similar.
Who was the person standing in the shadows? Find out next chapter. ;) Which I should hopefully be able to publish soon because I have it typed up and then had a brain fart and edited that chapter instead of this one first.
Thanks for reading,
-CrazyHayniac