Love's Entrapment

By: Sokai

Disclaimer: I, Sokai, do not claim ownership to the workings of W.I.T.C.H. - I leave that honor up to Elisabetta Gnone. Nor do I own Das doppelte Lottchen ("The double Lottie"), or, as it was later renamed, Lottie and Lisa, written by Erich Kästner. However, I can and DO claim to own this story, its inspired ideas FROM each aforementioned creation, in addition to any featured original characters - Specifically, Alazne and Kalila.

Note: Here we are, the 'big reveal.' Enjoy (hopefully)!

This chapter was created/written in July 2016.

Chapter Five

Residing at Camp Ashokan For Girls had suddenly become an unexpected, uphill battle for both Kalila and Alazne, as the first three days having to be forcibly trapped together within their 'Isolation Cabin' had dragged on so slowly it felt as though time were somehow going backwards.

It honestly wouldn't have been so bad if either girl had yet been allowed any of their temporarily confiscated entertainment paraphernalia brought from home to fill the void; however, all which was left to do for the time being was either turn in early, or try to cope with the excruciatingly deafening silence.

Neither girl appeared yet willing to break her muteness with the other, indeed if it was even something which was wanted, and both sets of their new friends, at least for the time being, didn't seem too keen upon speaking with them on top of that, so their Isolation Cabin was certainly living up to its name, in both girls' opinion. . . .

It hadn't been for a lack of trying, however, getting Megan and Kristen to even look Alazne's way, or for Lindsay and Beth to at least offer a simple 'Hello' to Kalila once the pair had been able to see their apparently ex-friends during their shared activity periods the following day after their first, upon having received their punishment.

Both Kalila and Alazne had more or less expected both Kristen and Beth not to say much, if anything, to them, despite being the ones to have more so caused their current predicament, directly; however, it had honestly surprised the two of them when not even Megan nor Lindsay would make an effort, especially given their evidently laid back, and peacekeeping nature.

And although she generally enjoyed being the center of attention, having nearly all eyes, minus her friends, on Alazne once she'd arrived that following mid morning to her first activity, tennis, had made her regret not having honestly faked an injury or illness – Anything if she could have escaped the various, questioning looks, as the overall behavior and reception was such a far cry from the previous day.

Kalila, herself, had never craved being the unequivocal focus for people, in spite of her unconventional dressing habits and artistic talents, so it were honestly as though being trapped within an elevator with limited air supply the instant she'd arrived to her pottery activity.

It had gotten so bad, in fact, that through her anxiety filled distractions, the normally very careful, creative girl had added too much water to her clay and spun her pottery wheel so fast that half of her formerly in tact project had flung itself within both directions on either side of her, splattering the two, now greatly perturbed random girls next to her in the process. . . .

Still, despite the positively mortifying and dreadful time both strawberry blondes had had throughout all three activity periods, it was their meals which had truly demoralized their spirits all the more, particularly breakfast.

Molly Senior had not been kidding that all six girls would be constrained to do basically everything together for the first four weeks of their stay as part of their unanimous penalization, as either she, herself,f or one of her staff members had gone as far to dedicate a far corner of the rather spacious dining hall just for them, and made it clear to their fellow campers that no one but them were allowed there.

Three lonesome looking bistro tables aligned the wall and middle of the wooden floor of that area, all with displays perched atop each which read, "To Be Used For Isolation Cabin Offenders, ONLY," within big, bold letters.

If such an exhibit hadn't been enough to make any of them feel worse than they had, already, then having to sit, directly across their newfound foe within unbearable silence certainly finished the job. . . .

Perhaps neither Lindsay, nor Megan, at least, had been particularly as miffed at having one another as their dining companion for the next twenty-eight days straight, being that they were the ones merely trying to keep the peace among their separate friends the previous day, rather than get directly involved within the scuffle.

However, it was unanimously certain that Kristen and Beth, the two who had been the most violent and thus, again, technically most to blame, were positively loathing both their new seating, and living arrangement.

And as for Kalila, she could have practically bore a hole straight into her meagerly filled plate that morning as she firmly kept her gaze downcast, while Alazne had instead chosen to look every which way but at their shared table, and strategically placed the glaringly obnoxious sign of condemnation between them in order to provide even more space between them.

She had admittedly felt positively drained, both emotionally as well as physically, especially once lunchtime had rolled around, forcing her to immediately recall the previous day's events for the umpteenth time. And even though their extremely dejected dwellings continued to add to her misery, Alazne was actually looking forward to returning to her cabin, in order to try to get some rest during her free period following that meal.

Although she had only been putting on airs yesterday when she pretended not to be bothered by the suddenly brash Kalila's desire not to speak with her throughout the course of their dual imprisonment, it had truthfully left quite the bitter taste within her mouth, to the point of lying awake within the pitch darkness for majority of that first night.

Several times was Alazne certain she could hear Kalila crying once more in between the insufferable silence, just as she apparently had been during her shower yesterday afternoon, which only succeeded within making Alazne feel worse. And she honestly would have gotten up from her bed, trekked blindly across the room in order to attempt apologizing once more, had her problematic pride not continued to get in the way. . . .

Constantly throughout that first day, in fact, did Alazne desperately wish to make amends with everyone involved, to be frank, and actually did try to do so during the third day, at least where her former, new friends were concerned; however, the continued, negative vibes both girls kept throwing her way whenever they were all within the same vicinity was enough to make her lose any courage she might have managed to muster up.

It was definitely shaping out to be one of, if not the worst summer vacation she'd ever had, bar-none. . . .

By the time the end of that first week had at last arrived, each girl was an honest zombie, simply going through the motions while any and all animosity toward one another, and even their overall predicament completely evaporated. All any of them wished now was to simply be let out of the remaining three weeks, and to try to salvage what was left of their formerly enjoyable summer camp experience.

If this otherwise nightmare had to continue, which it did, at least Kalila, in particular, no longer had to worry about any future drama cropping up once more amongst her friends and Alazne's.

She was especially relieved and thankful to hear that Beth no longer harbored any ill will toward the other brunette, the one named Kristen, even having admitted guilt and apologizing to the remaining five girls over essentially being the one to have placed them all within the situation they found themselves.

". . . . It was honestly none of my business what you and your si – I mean, Alazne were getting up to with each other, especially since I'd just met you both, you know? But I . . . I guess I just don't like it whenever I see my friends getting messed with, so I just reacted before thinking," the stout girl, finally, sheepishly explained in between their newest set of faculty chosen activities that Saturday afternoon, her cherub cheeks growing flush within embarrassment. ". . . . Apparently, Kristen is pretty much the same way as me, so that's why she ended up doing what she did. After we both finally set aside our differences and apologized to each other yesterday, it turned out we actually have a lot more in common than we thought, go figure. So . . . I guess having to be stuck as roommates, activity partners, and eating buddies for the next three weeks isn't going to be as bad as we originally both thought! And from the sound of things, neither Lindsay nor that Megan girl ever had any beef between themselves, so at least they're also set with having to get through . . . um. . . ."

Beth trailed off a bit, biting down onto her rosy lip a moment as she was clearly hesitant to voice her newest train of thought.

". . . . But, a-anyway . . . that's what's been going on with the rest of us. . . . How have things been for you and . . . what do I call her? Your clone? Your – Y-You know what? Doesn't matter, seriously. How has it been, really, because even though we've only known you for a week, Lindsay and I have been able to notice a change within you," she stated within concern, looking away from the continually quiet girl a moment in order to resume gazing at the peaceful, vast lake laid out before them.

Both girls were sat, bare feet dangling leisurely within the cooling water, upon the edge of one of the camp's docks as their chosen place to spend their brief break, and where they could be relatively alone in order for Beth to properly apologize without any distractions.

Kalila looked back at the other girl within surprise, hazel eyes threatening to tear up for the umpteenth time that week as she immediately thought of her own experience during the course of their punishment.

Even though everything seemed to be squared away between them all, with the shy artist even catching both Beth and Lindsay appearing to share a rather humorous conversation with her roommate earlier that very same day, Alazne still would not utter a direct word to her.

To be fair, it was Kalila's own fault that she was receiving the ongoing silent treatment, as she had made it clear within no uncertain terms, and uncharacteristic brass that Kalila more or less wanted nothing to do with Alazne . . . except, looking back now, that wasn't true.

In fact, all she'd ever wanted was to immediately settle their differences and either go about their way, or perhaps become friends, much in the way it appeared Lindsay and Beth had managed to do, before things had escalated as they had.

Kalila wasn't even entirely sure why it bothered her so much that Alazne acted as though she were a ghost, at least, outside of their now shared activities, when she would lay on the getting along and friendly nature thick as she had promised she'd do, within the hopes of being released from their punishment early due to good behavior.

Perhaps it was simply because being ignored in general always hurt, or because Kalila was forced to endure the fake, brief moments of sincerity in between.

Or, the more likely reason, as she was slowly beginning to realize as that first week trudged on, that how Alazne actually felt about Kalila quite honestly mattered to her . . . and, worst of all, she didn't even understand why.

Maybe it did have to do with the fact that both girls truly did look every bit alike, as more and more fellow campers would now continue to remark within passing - And although she wasn't honestly sure about Alazne, Kalila, at least, no longer said much, if anything, to dissuade anyone who would come up to her in order to say so.

Given that she had nothing else to do for those premiere few days inside her Isolation Cabin but inconspicuously watch her doppelganger, Kalila had admittedly done so to the point of sheer obsession and fascination, and in doing so, actually began to gradually appreciate the pair's powerfully mimicking physicality.

A tiny smile slowly began to form as Kalila then remembered how pleasantly surprised she was the other morning during breakfast, when she had discreetly observed that the both of them apparently preferred to put chocolate spread above peanut butter, jelly, or cream cheese upon every piece of toast or bagel they'd both eaten throughout that week.

They even seemed to share the generally unconscious urge to lightly tug upon their left ear whenever within deep concentration, as well . . . at least, that was what Kalila assumed was Alazne's reason for doing so, much to her surprise, while appearing heavily engrossed within one of her books two evenings ago.

Kalila was fairly sure that she would discover that the two had even more in common with one another, just as Beth evidently had with her former 'enemy,' Kristen . . . if only Alazne would grant them the opportunity. . . .

". . . . You two still aren't speaking to each other, are you?" Kalila suddenly heard Beth guess correctly with a lightly raised eyebrow, nodding within sympathetic understanding. "It must be making living together absolute torture. . . . At least, that's how it initially felt for me and Kristen, anyway."

Kalila let out a deep, slow exhale as she nodded at this, her continued out of sorts emotions effortlessly getting the better of her as she then revealed what was within her heart before she could stop herself.

". . . . Yeah, it has been, Beth. But see, the thing is . . . it's technically all my fault, because I told Alazne directly on our first night together that I didn't want to talk to her, and that we should just keep to ourselves as much as possible until our punishment is up," she began to explain with another sigh, before continuing. "I don't even know why I said any of that, especially since I usually try to find common ground with a person above anything else back home. . . . But I guess I said it because I was just so tired, so hurt and dazed from the overall event, you know? And I was . . . afraid of being made fun of again. . . . But, now . . . all I'd really like to do now is just make amends and . . . maybe not be friends afterward, as I'm sure that wouldn't be something Alazne would ever want, but . . . it'd be nice, anyway."

". . . . Wow. This is really bothering you, huh? Guess your 'sister from another mister' means more to you than you thought – Or at least what she thinks of you, that is," Beth observed with a light crinkling of her nose as she then appeared to be within deep thought. "Well . . . hmm. . . . While I can't say much about why Alazne's opinion of you is a super big deal, I do know that giving a gift couldn't hurt to break the ice. Just, you know, don't make it all obvious or anything if you do decide to give her one, or else you'll probably just dig yourself into an even deeper hole for sure."

Kalila thought about this a moment, before slowly shaking her head.

". . . . Well, no . . . I mean, y-yes, I probably would make things worse if I did go about it all the wrong way, Beth. But I honestly wouldn't know what to give Alazne even if I wanted to . . . which, I guess, I kind of do," she admitted sheepishly with a small blush, carefully rising to her feet and beginning to leave the docks, with Beth following suit as the end of their break had arrived. "But . . . I did see you and Lindsay talking to her before, so . . . maybe you might have learned a few key things about her which could help me out, right?"

Beth paused a moment, although mainly in order to properly dry her feet before putting her sneakers back on.

"Well, one thing I can say for certain is that although you two look alike, you two are vastly different when it comes to personality, hands down," she stated with a light smirk before beginning to lace up her shoes, while Kalila blindly stuffed her still very moist feet into her own pair within anticipation. "Basically it's like this: You're pretty shy, Alazne's not. Like, at all. Um . . . what else. . . . Alazne's all about the sporty-oriented activities and whatnot, and you're, well, really not. You apparently enjoy marching to the beat of your own drum, what with your honestly unique fashion sense, I will now admit. And Alazne seems to be pretty content with keeping things simple, like just regular shorts and a t-shirt, kinda like Lindsay, you know? You know, typical tomboy junk."

". . . . And that's . . . it?" Kalila asked with a raised eyebrow, her mind struggling to string together any useful gift ideas through the honestly generic description her friend provided about her doppelganger.

Beth lightly frowned and pursed her lips together as she stood back up, more so within further thought rather than offense.

"Well me and Lindsay have only had like a handful of conversations with her so far, so you gotta cut me some slack here. But, hey. If you're this worried about how to bury the hatchet, you could always try the one gift which is absolutely sure to worm your way into Alazne's heart," she revealed with a confident smile and nod, as Kalila's eyes widened with hope.

"Really? What's that?"

"Candy! Duh. You show me one kid who'd turn down free candy – All weird, scary situations or health issues excluded, that is – and I'll show you a crazy person."

Perhaps Mother Nature knew something Kalila didn't, and it was a sign of even more bad things to come, but the sudden shift within weather, from formerly sunny and peaceful, to raining cats and dogs did little to encourage her to follow through with her newfound plan.

Well, Beth's, mostly, but it was one she fully had intended upon going through with . . . that is, until the abrupt arrival of tremendously dark clouds the moment she had made her way out of the commissary area after lunch and bought Alazne a gigantic cookies and cream flavored white chocolate bar as her chosen, peace offering gift.

The only thoughts running through her mind in that moment, as she and her fellow campers barely made it back to their cabins before the violent downpour of rain let loose from the heavens, was that clearly wishing to make amends with Alazne was the absolutely worst idea the otherwise innovative girl had ever had.

Now there they both were, nearly two hours later, still confined to their cabin as the rain continued to stream down with a vengeance, effectively canceling afternoon activities as a result.

While Alazne remained on 'her side' of the cabin, slumped lazily against the wall and sat on her bed as she quietly played yet another, makeshift singles game of Ludo, Kalila continued to split her attention between sneaking glances the other girl's way, and carefully decorating her area of the room with a few new sketches she'd done since arriving to camp.

The task itself was already a bit tricky to accomplish without the added distraction, given Kalila had, a bit foolishly, chosen to keep the window next to her bed open a jar for majority of the ongoing rainstorm, primarily due to her continually rattled nerves making her become rather hot, physically.

What normally should have taken her no more than a few minutes to carry through, it was now becoming doubly that as a result of the howling wind which would blow through the window and against her improvised collage on and off.

Ugh . . . I should probably just quit while I'm . . . more or less ahead and shut my window, before the rain gets in any more and completely ruins my drawings, Kalila thought with an exasperated sigh, feeling a bit embarrassed as she could now feel Alazne's eyes unexpectedly upon her and began to watch the other girl shift toward the offending framework.

Kalila felt her face growing even more blistery, even with the cooling onslaught of incoming rain droplets, as she began to tug at her open window, lightly at first, before yanking with all of her might as it suddenly refused to seal itself closed.

Of course this would happen! Why not? she thought in between unflattering grunts, while hopelessly continuing to pull at her window. Because her eyes were currently squeezed shut as a result of her straining, Kalila did not see when Alazne surprisingly leaped off of her bed and quickly closed the distance between them from across the vast cabin in order to help . . . but she heard her. W-Wait . . . is that. . . .?

"U-Ugh! I-It . . . won't . . . budge!" Alazne cried in between her own noises, as Kalila's eyes immediately snapped open within astonishment. "H-Here . . . we . . . go!"

With one final yank on Kalila's part, and a rather firm push on Alazne's, the curiously meddlesome window at last shut tightly closed, although not before having left half of the cabin, as well as Kalila's formerly neat hair within disarray.

Truth be told, however, none of that presently mattered to her, as she was too busy focusing on the fact that Alazne was actually . . . smiling at her.

Perhaps it was more likely because she undoubtedly looked rather silly, thanks to the rain having splattered various bits of her own hair against her face, but Kalila didn't really care. She was just so relieved to finally be directly acknowledged by the other girl positively, and not simply during their shared activities.

Nervously clearing her throat, Kalila slowly returned the small gesture as she blindly reached up with both hands in order to smooth down a few stray strands of her moist, and now matted down hair.

". . . . T-Thanks," she said, voice barely above a whisper as she meticulously watched her clone's next move, silently praying she did not simply move back to her side of the cabin and resume ignoring her for all eternity.

Thankfully, however, it appeared as though Kalila's luck was at last beginning to change, as not only did Alazne stay right where she was, half perched upon her slightly damp bed, but actually responded back in kind . . . with a surprisingly timid facial expression of her own.

". . . . You're welcome," Alazne replied with a slight nod and tuck of her head, before the two girls merely gazed at one another within, for once, relatively comfortable silence. It was only for a few moments, but within them did it honestly feel as though they each were looking upon the other for the very first time . . . and within renewed perspective.

. . . . Maybe I should try and give Alazne her gift now, before she decides to shut me out again, Kalila thought as she gently bit down onto her lip, just as Alazne suddenly let out a gasp of alarm and looked over her shoulder.

"Oh, man! Your stuff! Looks like the rain really did a number on your drawings. . . . You probably shouldn't have kept your window open so long – Or, you know, not at all, given that it is chucking it down out there," she remarked, softly at first, before apparently regaining her confidence as she jumped off of Kalila's bed and began to carefully pick up a few of the girl's slightly wet artwork from off of the cabin floor.

Kalila could only stare after her within continued amazement, momentarily unable to recall how to speak as her brain struggled to register that yes, Alazne was continuing to freely carry on within an honest conversation with her, and yes, she was also willing to help her clean up her belongings.

". . . . Do you think any of them are permanently ruined? I hope not since . . . since these are actually really good. . . ."

Say something! Speak, stupid! Kalila mentally scolded herself, turning around to watch Alazne honestly admiring her artistic talent, before she suddenly began to frown and shook her head, as though having then remembered something.

Sure enough. . . .

". . . . L-Listen, Kalila. I know that you said you didn't want us talking to each other while we're forced to live together, and . . . I guess we can go back to doing that after we clean everything up, but I -"

"- N-No! I mean, yes, we can clean up my mess, but I-I'd . . . kind of like to clean up my other mess first," Kalila interrupted, startling not only Alazne but honestly herself, as she was thankfully able to find her voice again.

Alazne's eyebrows raised within confusion at this.

"Your . . . 'other mess?' What other mess?"

Kalila had to will herself to maintain eye contact with her mirror image, as she slowly climbed off of her bed and nodded.

". . . . What you just mentioned . . . about us not speaking to each other. I . . . I never wanted that, to be honest, Alazne, but . . . I guess I was just really hurt by you at the time . . . you know, because you'd made fun of me by calling me 'Frankenstein. . . .' I suppose I was just scared you were going to do it again, or say something worse that I just . . . shut you down, and out, before you could get the chance to," she finally revealed, a massive weight being lifted off of her shoulders as both Alazne's and her face instantly grew bright red within dual abashment.

Alazne, meanwhile, could no longer hold her gaze with the original girl and nearly turned away from her altogether, her overall shame was that great.

True, she'd been wanting to have this very conversation that entire week with the other girl, and had even gone as far as asking advice from her thankfully returned friends, Kristen and Megan, before finally settling upon simply leaving her a letter of apology somewhere within the cabin for Kalila to find . . . as lame and cowardly as that would have been.

However, now that the opportunity was finally here, right in front of her, and with everything at last out within the open, Alazne didn't know how to carry on, especially not now hearing absolute confirmation that she truly had indeed wounded the other girl's feelings, just as she'd suspected. . . .

But there's no backing down, now, Alazne. If Kalila's willing to talk, or evidently always was, then so can you, the tomboy momentarily thought, as she forced herself to look back at the anxiously awaiting girl.

"I-I . . . I'm really, really, really sorry, Kalila . . . seriously, I am," Alazne finally apologized with a low exhale, unconsciously beginning to cling a bit too tightly to Kalila's random sketches still within her hands. "I don't even know why I said what I did – Both times, first with the whole idiotic Frankenstein insult, and then later when I told you it didn't matter to me if we never spoke again. Well, no . . . I-I guess I do know, now, anyway. . . . I've kinda had a lot of time to think it all over in my head, you see, heh heh. . . . A-Anyway . . . I just didn't like everyone immediately drawing the conclusion that you and I were somehow related just because we . . . we look alike. It freaked me out, you know? It'd freak anyone out, honestly! I mean, it's not every day you meet a complete stranger, who just so happens to be your spitting image, right? A-And . . . after that, I guess I got a bit hurt, myself, when you told me you didn't want to talk to me, because I was actually about to apologize to you for everything then and there. . . . It's my stupid pride! My mom loves to tell me all the time that I gotta learn to better control it – Although she's one to talk!"

Kalila couldn't help but immediately begin laughing at this news as Alazne at last finished with her honest rambling, which caused the tomboy to gently frown as a result.

". . . . What's so funny?"

"N-Nothing, nothing! Not you, anyway! It's just . . . It's just funny to hear how we could have saved ourselves a world of stress, drama, and worry for the past week if we'd have only been honest with one another from the start! . . . . O-Oh! My drawings!" Kalila stated in between giggles, Alazne beginning to follow suit, before then noticing her ironclad hold upon her relatively intact artwork.

Alazne jumped within alarm and nearly cursed as she finally realized her mistake, quickly releasing her grip upon Kalila's now crinkled sketches, and promptly placed them gingerly onto her bed, albeit too late.

"O-Oh, sh –! I'm so sorry! Well now they are ruined, aren't they? I didn't mean to do that, like some sort of last 'I'm-gonna-attack-you-because-you-could-pass-as-my-twin thing or whatever," she said with a sheepish grin as Kalila sat down onto the floor before her bunk in order to properly assess the damage.

"No, I know you didn't, Alazne. These were only quick sketches, anyway, so nothing terribly important. But . . . thank you for caring – O-Oh! And for the earlier compliment . . . um, you know, about thinking I have talent," Kalila remarked softly as her natural shyness returned. "I'll just redo them later, and . . . maybe one for you, as well, if you want. . . ."

God! Why didn't I think of that sooner? I could have just drawn her something as my apology gift! the strawberry blonde mused as a sort of afterthought with a small shake of her head and light smile, as she watched with delight as Alazne's eyes began to sparkle with honest intrigue.

"Y-Yeah? That'd be pretty cool of you to do, Kalila, thanks . . . especially considering you and I hated each other up until twenty seconds ago – Well, maybe not hated, but you get it," she responded with a growing smirk, hesitating only for a moment, before readily planting herself onto the floor next to the reserved girl. ". . . . I've honestly never been that big on art, like the kind stuck inside museums and such . . . but I've been, well, secretly watching you on and off this past week – And your drawings – and I gotta say that they really are impressive. . . . Did anyone teach you, or is it sort of a natural thing?"

Kalila blinked within dual embarrassment and surprise at this.

"W-Wait, what? You were . . . secretly watching me? But I was secretly watching you! I-I mean, not like a stalker or anything, but, well . . . living here with you in all this silence was honestly torture, and I was trying to figure out a way to break the ice between us without . . . you know, making things worse. Turns out, all we needed was a little rain . . . a-and some of my artwork, evidently," she jested lightly, her face growing red once more at yet another confession, as both she and Alazne shared another laugh together. "A-Anyway, and as for my . . . talent . . . I guess it's a 'natural thing,' like you said, although my āyí – E-Er, my auntie has given me a few random lessons here and there to help improve certain areas of my craft. She and I paint and draw like crazy back home, and create all kinds of new designs for clothing and things, well, whenever she's not busy traveling all over the world for her painting inspiration, or promoting the next issue of her comic book series, that is. . . ."

Alazne raised an eyebrow within interest and slowly grinned.

"No way!You have a super famous aunt, too? So do I! Yeah! My aunt Irma – Well, she's not actually my bio-aunt or anything, but she and my mom have been best friends for like, centuries in 'old people years,' so she's honestly family at this point," she prattled on within growing excitement over the realization that both she and her undeniable look alike had more in common than she ever originally hoped to believe. "She's actually a pretty popular actor and model, you know! And she was all too eager to bring me to camp, herself, mostly so that the girls here would ask a million and one questions once they saw me getting out of her limousine. Boy, was she ever right! It's mostly died down now, but some are still asking how I know her, and if I'm famous, myself. . . ."

Kalila lightly frowned a moment within deep thought, before immediately nodding as she, too, then recalled the very beginning of their first day at camp.

"Oh! That was you? Me, Lindsay, and Beth were there when you pulled up the path that day! We were wondering who the heck would be coming to summer camp, of all places, within such a fancy vehicle," she giggled at the memory, both girls unconsciously moving closer together as they continued carrying on.

"Ugh, I know, right? But hey, what can you do? Honestly it was thanks to Aunt Irma that I was able to come to camp at all, since she helped further convince my mom that it'd be nice for me to do something else for summer vacation besides going to California to my grandparents' beach house, like we've always done for as long as I can remember," Alazne smirked with an eye roll, before suddenly scrambling to her feet and heading to the camp issued belongings chest in front of her bunk on the other side of the cabin. "Actually, I think I brought a picture of Grandma Susan and Grandpa Dean's beach house – Or, my aunt probably did, seeing as she'd made absolutely sure I just had to have this really fancy photo album and stationery to take along with me so I like, don't forget any of them or whatever. Like I could – My family's too nuts. Well . . . maybe not so much my mom, but a-anyway! Here we go!"

Although she was honestly thoroughly enjoying herself, finally getting the long awaited opportunity to get to know her 'twin' cabin mate, Kalila curiously began to feel quite uneasy as the moments passed, and the more that particular conversation progressed . . . but why?

"Hey . . . you okay?"

Kalila hadn't realized, but a worried scowl had replaced the previously jovial expression she'd possessed just seconds before, and as Alazne returned with the large, golden and white laced decorated picture album cradled within her otherwise small arms, she nearly dropped it onto the floor in favor of having to properly tend to the possibly now ailing girl.

"W-What? Oh, sorry, Alazne! I'm fine! I just . . . felt a little chilly," she replied, mostly to herself as she honestly was beginning to feel an icy sting creep over her entire body, as a long shiver simultaneously ran down her spine.

Nodding within understanding, Alazne quietly placed her album onto the floor before heading to the bathroom, evidently to retrieve a random towel from one of the racks inside, and handed it to Kalila upon her return.

"Here. You never did get to properly dry your face after all that earlier commotion," she stated with a sympathetic smile, before carefully sitting back down next to a now very much appreciative Kalila. "Now . . . lemme see . . . here we go! See? This is my grandparents' beach house! I know it doesn't look all that much from the outside, but you should check out the inside! I think they kinda wanted it to be fancy enough to hold my interests or whatever, but still be home-y enough for them as old folks, you know? A-Anyway! This is our backyard area, with our patio and . . . pool . . . and I think this was . . . yeah! Three summers ago during a neighborhood barbecue Aunt Irma was throwing for the Fourth of July! That's her, front and center with the dorky looking guy kissing her on the cheek. He's my uncle, Martin. And then, here's -"

"- Who . . . Who's that?" Alazne suddenly heard Kalila meekly interrupt at her side as she was jubilantly narrating through her apparently charmed life. She then blinked a moment before following the shy preteen's almost spellbinding gaze past the tall, lightly muscular, glasses wearing blonde and his quite cheerful, apparently famous brunette of a wife, to the random redhead within the background.

Alazne lightly exhaled and rolled her hazel eyes within amusement, as she further recalled the memory.

"Huh? Oh, that's my mom. Yeah, I was the one taking most of the pictures you see from the barbecue, and I was busy going around taking random snapshots of everyone. But seeing as she usually tends to be like, three steps ahead of me for everything, my mom saw me coming and quickly turned away from the camera – And just because she thinks she 'always looks bloated in every shot!' That's why she has that random, awkward 'pose' there, hiding her face with her hair . . . which, man do I seriously get my long hair from her or what," she explained with a chuckle and tender gaze, her eyes twinkling a bit as she clearly was becoming rather nostalgic for home once more.

Alazne was about to gently stroke said photograph within furthered sentiment when Kalila suddenly beat her to it before either girl truly realized what was happening. Kalila's own similarly colored eyes began to sparkle the longer she stared, as well, at the red haired woman's back.

"What's . . . the matter?" Alazne asked within honest concern, tilting her strawberry blonde colored head as she watched Kalila suddenly appear to snap out of her unexpected trance.

"O-Oh, uh, nothing . . . I just . . . think it's really neat how apparently close you are with your mom, that's all," she weakly explained, before rising to her feet and sat onto her bed with her knees pulled in toward her chest.

Feeling as though there was far more to the story than meets the eye, Alazne did not wish to press the matter any further, at least for now, as she simply shrugged, closed the album and rose to her own feet. Hesitating a moment, she then gingerly picked up Kalila's comforter and awkwardly wrapped it around her shoulders.

". . . . Uh . . . there. F-For the chill," Alazne stated with a crooked smile, uncomfortably rubbing her own forearm within further affect. She then promptly turned around and returned to her own bunk bed, desperate to reopen the physical distance between them in order to get over the sudden shift within former pleasantries.

Ugh . . . great. Everything was going just fine, and then I had to ruin it with my . . . whatever that was, Kalila silently lamented, looking over at Alazne within the corner of her eye, who now was slouched against the wall on her bed once more, with her photo album resting upon her lap, and multicolored ludo board off to one side. O-Oh, wait! That's it!

Suddenly remembering her momentarily forgotten gift for the other girl, Kalila nearly catapulted out of her covers and off of the bed as she blindly dug underneath her pillow with a large grin, causing Alazne to look on with a mixture of both confusion, and amusement.

"O-Ooo . . . kay? Got bed bugs?"

Kalila let out a light chortle as she shook her head before turning around to face the other girl, both of her arms draped behind her back as she approached.

"Nuh uh . . . well, I hope not. A-Anyway, I actually got this for you earlier after lunch and on my way back to the cabin. . . . I-It was, or i-it is meant to be a peace offering," she explained with a slight incline of her head, before handing over the large bar of white chocolate to her now taken aback mirror image.

"O-Oh . . . for me? I, uh . . . um . . . thank you, Kal," Alazne said with a growing, touched smile as she gently took the creamy treat from the other girl, who then blinked within surprise at the apparent nickname. Catching the expression, Alazne quickly added, "Well, hey. Kalila's a nice name and all – Much better than mine, for sure – But it's also kind of a mouthful. So, I thought, why not 'Kal?' That way we'll be 'Kal and Al!' May as well make our looking like twins official by having similarly sounding nicknames, right?"

"'Kal . . . and Al. . . .' Honestly? I like it. . . . Lindsay has started calling me simply 'K,' though, and my dad sometimes calls me 'Kali,' but . . . this kinda fits better, I think. Like . . . like we're super best friends or something. . . . E-Er, I mean -"

"- You worry too much, you know that? It's totally cool . . . Kal! And who knows? By the time camp's over, if you stick with me, we'll be like two peas in a pod!" Alazne interrupted with an understanding giggle, eagerly patting on an empty space on her bed in order for the quirky girl to take a seat next to her. "Good choice on the chocolate, by the way: I lovvvve cookies and cream! Only way I'll ever eat white chocolate, to be honest. . . ."

Kalila briefly watched the happy tomboy eagerly bite into her sugary delicacy, before politely handing her a piece.

"Wow, really? Me, too! My dad's the same way, as well, with the two of us honestly pigging out on it sometimes, especially during our backyard camp outs we'll have here and there whenever it's warm enough," she revealed with a thoughtful smile, taking a much smaller bite out of her own piece, by comparison to Alazne having unceremoniously shoved hers into her mouth next to her.

That was twice Kalila had referenced her father, and twice Alazne's breath had caught within her throat and insides churned, however unbeknownst to her clone.

You've only just made amends with this girl, Al! Do not start feeling petty and jealous of her just because she's obviously close to her dad, and has one . . . and you don't, the tall preteen thought sourly as she slowly swallowed the remainder of her chocolate, it suddenly tasting quite acridly as a result.

"S-So, um . . . so I guess you and your dad are pretty close then, huh? Is he the . . . best friend kind of parent, where you can tell them anything . . . or the 'Sorry, sweetie, but I'll talk to you later!' sort of busy types? I hate that," Alazne remarked as she willed herself to move past her now thankfully fleeting moments of envy, and genuinely inquired about her newest friend's home life.

Kalila blushed softly at this and smiled, shifting her body over a bit so that she could properly face her roommate before responding.

"Um . . . well, both? That is, my dad and I are pretty close, and he does make time for me . . . but then there are times when he does get pretty busy with his work. He's a Doctor of Philosophy within Military History, you see, so he's generally rather swamped with his lectures, researching, or writing yet another book about the vast subject – Which I personally enjoy reading a lot, myself. . . . Overall, though, he really is just the greatest dad," Kalila disclosed with a warm, reflective simper, her heart momentarily hurting as she, too, began to miss her own home and loved ones back within Maine. "A-Anyway . . . what about you, Alaz – I mean, Al, sorry. Are you close with your dad?"

She knew it was probably coming.

Naturally, given the pair were currently asking one another about their families, after all.

Still.

Hearing the question being asked outright, especially after hearing such glowing praise about Kalila's own father made it feel as though Alazne had been struck a hard blow to the stomach. . . .

. . . . Just tell the truth, Al . . . well, everything you know about your own 'Dad Situation,' anyway. It's not like it's your fault you don't know anything about him, after all, or like Kalila will judge you for it, the small, rational part of her brain managed to reassure Alazne before she took a deep breath, stretched, and did her best to appear unshaken.

". . . . Yeah, well, about that . . . I don't actually have a dad, Kal. I-I mean, I obviously had one once upon a time, I guess, but . . . my folks split up years ago when I was a baby, I think . . . or, maybe even before that, or were never even married, who knows? My mom doesn't talk about him, and never wants to if I try, myself, so . . . yeah," Alazne started off strong and with a light smile, before quickly losing steam and her shoulders drooped within renewed distress over the matter.

Thankfully, at least, her assumption that Kalila would not have been one to think little of her had apparently been correct, as she merely smiled back at her look alike with an almost sort of . . . knowing glance, as though she could somehow possibly relate.

Well that can't be, though, since she clearly has her fantastic, does-actually-exist dad, Alazne mused for a moment, before quickly choosing to change the subject, which Kalila appeared content within allowing her to do so.

"So! Um . . . how old are you, anyway? I'm twelve, myself! Of the three of us – I mean, my other two friends and I - Kristen's the oldest, but only by a few months, while Megan's a nearly a full year younger than us both," she stated with a nod and grin, before popping another piece of white chocolate into her mouth, her appetite clearly returning.

Kalila giggled at the nonchalant display before responding and following suit, although again through a far more demure gesture by comparison.

"I'm twelve, too! But I'll finally be thirteen pretty soon, though, on February nineteenth," Kalila revealed in between chewing and laughter at her friend's carefree eating habits, before immediately going into panic mode the moment Alazne suddenly began to choke upon the rest of her chocolate. "O-Oh, God! Al! Are you all right? Of course you're not! Hang on! I know the Heimlich maneuver! Both my auntie and dad taught me!"

"I-I'm . . . I-I'm f-fine! I'm . . . ugh . . . need water, b-but . . . I'm fine, Kal! It's just that . . . you said your birthday is on February nineteenth when . . . that's my birthday, too," Alazne stated shakily in between fits of coughing and roughly beating her palm against her chest as she stood up, with a still partially worried, although far more stunned Kalila doing the same.

"Wait . . . your birthday is the same as mine? How weird is that?" she remarked with widened eyes, just as the rainstorm was finally beginning to let up.

How weird is that, really? First . . . we both look identical . . . then we share the same birthday . . . a-and . . . she also apparently seems to only have one parent, just like I do. . . . I wonder if. . . . Kalila's rapidly forming thoughts were then broken up at the sound of Alazne suddenly cheering with joy and abruptly rushing past her to head outside.

"All right! It's stopped raining – Finally! I wonder if I have enough time to make a quick snack run at Commissary to restock before we gotta head to dinner! Wanna come with, Kal?" the tall tomboy asked within invitation and grin as she stood within the moist, open doorway to their slowly becoming not-so-lonesome Isolation Cabin.

Kalila simply stood in place a moment longer, brows now completely furrowed within further thought as her mind slowly began to piece together what her heart apparently seemed rather confident about as the moments ticked on, as it practically beat out of her chest with growing excitement.

. . . . I could be completely wrong about all of this . . . and if I am, I'll only succeed within managing to make Alazne hate my guts all over again, but . . . here goes nothing! she silently reflected with a tiny nod to herself, before taking a step toward the patiently awaiting girl before her.

". . . . Al . . . can I . . . tell you something? It might sound completely random at first, but I hope you'll try to stay with me," Kalila started with another nod, smiling softly at the now perplexed looking Alazne, who slowly began to remove herself from the still open doorway to their cabin.

"Uhh . . . sure? We still have about . . . ten minutes or so before they'd start summoning us for dinner, anyway, so let her rip!" she responded as she blindly kicked the cabin door closed, before moving back onto Kalila's bed.

Feeling her entire body beginning to quiver with intermingling exhilaration and fright, Kalila nonetheless bravely began what she knew was going to be a rather long winded, and emotionally raw train of thought. . . .

"O-Okay, thanks. . . . Um . . . okay, sooo, you know how we met and everyone thought we were related because we look so much alike? O-Oh, duh, of course you do! Ugh! Lemme start over. . . . W-When you told me about your dad, and how you don't even know who he is, and how your mom won't even talk to you about him . . . believe it or not, I can wholeheartedly understand how you feel, Al . . . except about my mom," she revealed, a bit shakily and voice barely above a whisper all over again, before finding the strength to continue. "I-It's why I got so . . . bothered, I guess, when you were going on about your beach house and taking photos of your mom. When I saw her picture, o-or her hair, at least, it just . . . I don't know. Made something inside of me click . . . because as much as I try not to think about it back home, I really do miss her . . . a-and I wonder if she even thinks of me, or misses me, too, wherever she is. . . . And it doesn't honestly help that, just like your mom, my dad doesn't really care to talk much about my mom. I gave up trying years ago, though, and even asking my auntie, as well . . . although she did help me out in one, really great way. . . ."

". . . . H-How's . . . How's that?" was all Alazne could manage to muster, as by now her own body was becoming greatly affected by the unexpected events unfolding before her.

Kalila smiled softly.

"Well . . . there used to be a picture of her on my dad's desk within his office several years ago, and I'd sneak in there all the time to look at it once my auntie let me know it was in fact my mom. I guess I just became too careless over time, though, because when I went back one day to look at it again it was gone. . . . But my auntie surprised me the next day by giving me the same photograph to keep for myself. I don't know if it's my dad's or just another copy, but neither my auntie nor I have ever let him know I have it, nor does it ever leave my side if I can help it," she explained with a small nod, more so to herself, before mysteriously walking over to the camp storage chest in front of her own bed and carefully opened it.

Alazne, watching her meticulously, swallowed quite hard as she asked the question she was slowly beginning to feel as though she somehow already knew the answer to.

"O-Okay . . . but . . . what does your mom have to do with my dad?"

Kalila was now half submerged within her massive trunk as she carelessly began to fling random objects out of the way in order to retrieve what was her most treasured possession.

". . . . Don't . . . you realize what's happening, Al? I-I mean, think about it! I only have a father . . . and you only have a mother! A-And . . . you've never even met your dad, while I've never even met my mom! Not to mention the fact that we. . . both look exactly alike, and have the same exact birthday! Y-Yes!Found you!" she half exclaimed into her trunk and half at her now extremely nervous roommate, before suddenly popping back into view with what appeared to be a slightly dented and faded, medium sized colored pencil tin clutched firmly against her chest.

Alazne could only stare with burning hot intensity, her throat positively parched by that point, as the other girl placed the tin onto her bed and nervously opened it.

If she hadn't already previously listened to the lead up to this specific moment, Alazne would have honestly assumed her artistic friend was merely going to show off her latest set of creative tools and nothing more, as inside the tin were an orderly, multicolored row of perfectly sharpened pencils of now varying sizes due to obvious, and habitual use.

However, underneath them was what appeared to be a perfectly concealed and flipped over photograph, the white backside the only thing anyone who might go snooping around would initially see upon first glance. . . .

Alazne merely waited for Kalila to lift it up and reveal to her the face of the girl's long lost mother, but was quite surprised when she instead heard her say, ". . . . I want you to pick it up."

Suddenly it were as though Alazne was getting ready for one of her sporting competitions, the sheer adrenaline rush and swirling emotions of momentary doubt threatening to take over at any moment.

What if this was all a huge misunderstanding? What if what Kalila clearly believed was happening truly wasn't, and Alazne even dared to secretly get her hopes up for nothing?

But then, again . . . what if she was right? And Alazne turned over that photograph, saw whom she strongly felt she was about to see, and it turned out that the two girls were . . . were. . . .

Before Alazne lost her nerve completely, she promptly reached down to snatch up the other girl's previously private picture, and whirled it around to see. . . .

". . . . Mom!" she cried out within utter shock in spite of herself, tears immediately beginning to form for both girls, as Alazne continued to gaze, now with profoundly blurred eyes, at the unmistakable image of her own mother . . . their mother.

It wasn't a picture Alazne readily recognized, however, it appearing to have been candidly taken (with major props to the photographer for having managed to do so, she had to admit) and possibly even before either girl was born, as Alazne's mother looked as though she might have been within her very late teens to early twenties.

Her brilliantly resilient, flaming red hair was also a bit shorter, as well, at least by comparison to how she kept it today, only just managing to reach past her shoulders, and appeared a bit slicked.

She was sat upon the ground, adorned within a casual, orange turtleneck and dark blue jeans, with her legs crossed underneath her body . . . perhaps at some random park? None of that particularly mattered to Alazne, anyway, as what did was just how relaxed and . . . happy her mother looked, the way her head was slightly tilted to one side and mouth open, clearly mid sentence, as she appeared to be carrying on what looked like a truly interesting conversation. . . .

But, with whom?

As though having read her thoughts, Kalila, in between her own sobs of joy managed to reveal, ". . . . A-Auntie said that another f-friend of theirs had taken this p-picture of her . . . while she was talking to my . . . o-our dad. . . . She said it was always a special picture to him, because he said he firmly believes that that was the day he finally realized he'd fallen in love with her. . . ."

Suddenly the bell to rally all campers to their next scheduled meal rang through the atmosphere, the sun beginning to peek out more and more, as the sounds of excited and relieved chatter could slowly begin to be heard wafting into the air.

". . . . T-That's the dinner bell," Kalila gently reminded the still very emotional Alazne, who then slowly shook her head as she sheepishly wiped away several stray tears from her now completely reddened face.

"I-I'm not . . . so hungry anymore," she whispered, now holding onto her mother's never before seen photograph with her other hand for dear life. "I-I just . . . I don't know . . . what to say. . . . I mean, y-you . . . a-and I are . . . a-are. . . ."

". . . . Twin Sisters," Kalila managed to finish for her newly discovered sibling, the two of them smiling shyly in between ongoing and loud, wet sobs and hiccups.

Before she could stop herself, although she was fairly certain she wouldn't wish to, regardless, Alazne, her mother's picture still in hand, let out an excited squeal before tightly wrapping her fairly strong arms around Kalila, who immediately mimicked the other girl's affection.

Neither was honestly sure what this unexpected uncovering meant for their future, or how it would effect both parents once they later learned of this, themselves, but there was one thing both girls now knew within their hearts for absolutely certain: Now that they finally found one another, they were never going to be apart ever again. . . .

- End of Chapter Five

(A.N. Yayyyy, finished. =) Again, did a little mix n match with both movies, dialogue/scene inspiration wise, although it was mostly the remake, revealing Will's picture at the end was more inspired by the original, when Sharon showed Susan their mother's photograph, blah blah. LoL

No worries, I will make sure both twins 'make absolutely certain' that Caleb is also both their daddy, ya know, just in case Will has some s'plainin' to do... j/k =)

As for the actual picture description, itself, *Points to the story's cover image *. Decided that since I'm using that image of Will as my chosen cover, why not use it as the twins' so called 'picture' of their future mommy – Which Taranee was so 'kind enough' to take, yes LoL.

Also decided to give Caleb a PhD within Military History for...well, obvious reasons, given his original background back in Metamoor. Figured if he's gonna stick around on Earth, which clearly, he did, he may as well use what he was/is good at and make a living off of it, right? At least Kalila's his biggest fan. =)

Buttttt...yep! I know, again, this story's not terribly interesting a lot of you, most likely for the whole starting focus upon fan characters versus canon like I mentioned before, but that's partly why I've been trying to 'fast forward' through the twins meeting/understanding the whole situation as best I can, without stripping them too much. Or else...y'know, then no one would REALLY care for either one of them once they switch places and start wreaking havoc upon Caleb and Will's lives. =p

Anyway! Hope that those of you who DID read, did enjoy, and please to be reviewing, if you wouldn't mind! Mwa!)