Page 150 of Drama Queen

“Fuck. What kind of object?”

“Who are you?”

“Never mind that, what kind of object?”

“Something the person wouldn’t take off. A ring, a piece of jewellery.”

“Any chance it could be a fabric item?”

“Well yeah, I suppose. What is this all about, who the hell are you?”

There’s a rustle of fabric then the light is flicked on. My eyes are deceiving me. I swear they are. Right in front of me is….

“Gabriella?”

“Thank fuck!” She runs her hand through her hair and then bends over, picking up a handmade friendship bracelet off the floor. “April gave this to me the day she took me in, I never thought it could be used against me. Bitch is going to cop it big time for this.”

“Bitch? Who?” I frown, turning back to the door. I wrench it open and look down the hall to where I last saw Gabriella. She’s still there, talking to someone I’ve seen around but never spoken to. “If you’re the real Gabriella, then who the fuck is that?” I point to the girl I thought was her.

“Apparently her name is Melody. I’m guessing that’s Parker’s ex.”

“She’s a dead girl if he finds out what she’s doing….” I trail off, realising just how bad this is. Not only has she been pretending to be Gabriella for a few days, but she’s been cosying up to all of us. She even tried kissing me when I woke up with her in my arms. “I think I need a bleach bath. I feel violated.”

“Please don’t tell me you fucked her thinking she was me. That’s seriously creepy.”

“What? Why would you even suggest that?”

“You said you feel violated.”

“I only meant she’s been sleeping in my bed. I’ve been… Hugging her.” I mumble the last part, hoping Gabriella doesn’t hear me properly.

“You were… You know what never mind. I don’t even want to know. Let’s just help pull the wool off the other’s eyes and then we can get some payback. Was she ever able to tell you two apart?”

“No, she wasn’t. Payback sounds good though. What did you have in mind?”

“You’ll see.” The way she winks at me sends my mind into the gutter. I need to focus though; I’ve got a lot to make up for and considering how I feel about the real Gabriella… I’ve got a lot to prove as well.

Seeing Double

PARKER

Gabriella’s been acting weird.She keeps running off and every time I shout at her about it, she goes all meek and girly. She even apologized. It’s not like her at all. I can’t put my finger on why, but I feel like I’m being played. She kissed me last night before going into Jamie’s room. Then she kissed me this morning and told me she doesn’t want him. She only wants me.

I just don’t understand how she can sleep with him but want me. It just doesn’t make any sense. The more I thought on it, the more it seemed as though she wasn’t herself. Something was definitely wrong and I have no idea what it could possibly be.

My thoughts are so confused that as I wander through the halls after classes, I almost run over someone. I turn my head to mumble an apology only to stop dead in my tracks. “Melody?” Her face looks like Melody’s but there’s something off, almost like there’s two faces one over the other. For a split second as I blink, I see both Melody’s face and Gabriella’s. My breath gets caught in my throat as I shake my head, trying to clear the confusion.

“I guess that answers that question then.” The voice that comes out of the girl’s mouth isn’t quite right either. I frown, paying closer attention and right before my eyes the images of both Gabriella and Melody flicker. Gabriella’s face emerges and holds steady.

“What the fuck?” I snap just as a second Gabriella emerges from the girl’s bathroom across the hall. On impulse I grab the “real” Gabriella by the wrist and tug her into the classroom beside us, keeping my back to the window on the door so no one can see inside.

“How… What the fuck?” I ask again, trying not to shout.

“Long story short, I’m Gabriella, that bitch Melody has been pretending to be me.”

I nod. “Actually, that explains a lot.” I cock my head and study her carefully. “Come here.” I don’t give her the chance to refuse. I tug her into my arms and breathe deeply into her hair. My entire body calms instantly. This is just what I needed. To hold her close, know that she’s okay. “You’re not leaving my sight ever again. How long?” I growl realising that things have been off for a few days now.

“Almost three days. I wasn’t sure what was going on at first, then when I figured it out, I tried to speak to someone only they kept calling me Melody. It wasn’t until Jamie told me that the power had to be contained in something that I wouldn’t normally take off, that’s when I realised exactly what was going on.”

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