So, this is a fic that is best described as a soap opera! I'm really channeling those early 2000s team dramas here: One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, The O.C.. This is a story of too much everything, where the characters are considerably less than their best selves, but the drama is in every word.
That being said, here are some general content warnings for the fic, although I will put specific ones at the beginning of each chapter. This fic will deal with: teenagers in mature situations, such as sex, tobacco, and (occasional) marijuana use (no hard drugs will be discussed in this fic!), and some infidelity.
Don't forget that you can find me on tumblr: we - are - all - of - legend - now and that my ao3 account is wearealloflegendnow (even though I haven't posted there yet)!
~TLL~
Jake stared at the closet doors in front of him, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information in front of him; photographs, newspaper clippings, and webpage printouts. His eyes felt like ping pong balls as he tried to find something to fixate on. Finally, his gaze shifted to his girlfriend, who was biting her lip and playing with her short blonde hair, as though she was afraid of his reaction.
"How long have you been putting … this … together?"
This was the only word that Jake could come up with. Calling it a conspiracy board was rude because it was not a conspiracy. At the middle of it all was the photo of a real infant; a child who had been stolen just two days after birth.
"I didn't find out about her until I turned fourteen," Lily said, tears in her big blue eyes. "I have a twin! And I only know because I was looking through old photos! I've been doing this in secret since then."
The fact that he was staring at four years of work overwhelmed Jake. The fact that he had been dating Lily for a year and this was the first that he'd heard anything of it also shocked him. Lily was not the type to have secrets, of any nature. She wore her heart on her sleeve and her facial expressions gave her away on everything – which was the reason that Jake had found out about his surprise birthday party. Lily couldn't keep anything in – good or bad.
"Mom and Dad don't like to talk about it but I want to believe that she's still out there! I've read anything and everything on infant abductions and there's not a lot of reasons that someone would take her from the hospital like that! Some, I don't want to think about and I know that's why my parents don't want to talk about her but I think there's a good chance that someone took her to raise her and she's out there, living a good life with no idea!" Lily shook her head and rubbed her face, her whole body trembling.
"Come here."
She sat in his lap and Jake held her tightly. Lily wasn't prone to outbursts like that. Although she often said things she shouldn't, leading her cheeks to go a pretty shade of pink and for her to hide her head in her hands, she didn't tend to say a lot of things at once. She was shy like that and so Jake knew that she needed him now. And not just to hold her but to say something and reassure her. Jake just didn't know what to say. Would anyone? Had anyone ever been faced with this?
"Thank you for telling me," Jake said, feeling more uncomfortable and awkward with every word he said. "I'm glad you trust me and I'll be here for you. Whatever you need. I promise."
Lily threw her arms around him. "I'm meeting with the original detective on Monday. Will you come with me?"
"Yes," Jake said. He kissed her temple. "Like I said, whatever you need."
"Thank you," Lily murmured and then she looked away from him to stare at the baby photo of her twin sister.
As if Jake could look anywhere else either.