"Cat got your tongue?"

"How original." I snorted.

"Sorry, what was that?" He said clearly oblivious to his idiocy.

"How generous of you to offer help. We're actually a little lost and the map isn't of much help." I covered pretty well, glancing at the map, which really was no help.

Even though I knew my way around the school, three years is a very long time and a lot of classes aren't where they used to be and there are also a number of new classrooms here and there. It's not like I wouldn't have found my way around but if fun is literally knocking on my door, who am I to avoid it.

"Well, you're in luck today because your knight is here to your rescue." He said along with an attempted bow while the, kind of, identical guy behind him groaned running a hand through his hair muttering a 'not again' under his breath.

"I'm Dylan, by the way." He said finally extending his hand which I took looking at him.

It's really him, and he doesn't recognise me. He hasn't changed much, his voice is a little deeper but the tone, the cheeriness is still there. His hair is a slightly lighter brown now but he has the same brown eyes. He is also definitely a foot taller than the 5'1 scrawny teenager I knew 3 years ago. If I didn't already know him, I might have felt a little intimidated.

I was so lost that I almost didn't notice another guy coming forward offering his hand, repeating the action with Lexi.

"And I'm Cole." He says in a much calmer tone. "Unfortunately, this asshole's brother."

I have never felt so short in my life, because I'm really not, I'm 5'7 and that's pretty average, these guys are huge. Cole stood being around 6 feet with the same black curls as three years ago just a little longer, with a few strands covering his forehead. He had the same light brown eyes with glasses over them.

I couldn't help but secretly gape at how familiar their vibes are. Aside from the physical changes that came with puberty, they had the same vibe. Dylan still had the playful and mischievous vibe while Cole seemed calm and collected.

I couldn't help but notice a look that I couldn't read on Cole's face when we shook hands. I realised they're waiting for our names while I stand there like an idiot, forgetting my motive and surroundings for a second there. I sensed movement from the corner of my eyes when Lexi shifted, probably to introduce herself but I, not so subtly, cut her off.

"I'm asparagus" I said with a smile, not giving away that I said something that made literally no sense. Lexi gaped at me and the boys just looked confused. "And she's Brocolli." I said pointing at Lexi who muttered 'dumb bitch' shaking her head.

'That was so lame, they're gonna know you're lying. They'll know it's you and you can kiss your no-drama plan goodbye.' my conscience mocked.

"Unique names for such beautiful ladies." Dylan says with a smirk while I try not to gape. I can't believe that worked. He really hasn't changed, he's still a dumbass. I couldn't say the same for Cole though, the look on his face was clear suspicion but there was no sign of recognition, whatsoever.

"You look oddly familiar, have we met before?" Cole said squinting at me. I noticed how his eyes did not waver from mine, not even to Lexi, making it pretty clear that the suspicion was directed to me.

"I don't see how that's possible. We're new here, unless you're a creepy stalker who has been following me around." I say trying to lighten the mood.

The warning bell went off cutting off the weird conversation I just took part in. They took our schedules and turns out Dylan had math with Lexi and I. Cole went off towards his class waving a goodbye, and I noticed how his gaze lingered on me for a few extra seconds before he left, while Dylan led us to our class.

Classes as usual were boring as hell, Dylan sat by us through maths blabbering about the school and all the pranks he's played or he plans to play on different people.

I'm glad this isn't one of those schools where every new student is made to come forward and introduce themselves in front of the whole class, because that would've been a major drawback on my plan and I wasn't ready to take back the story of why Lexi and I had such horrendous names, that I told Dylan. Yeah so according to that, our moms only ate the vegetables they hated the most when they were pregnant with us, so they just decided that they named us after them when we were born.

I gotta admit, that is literally the dumbest shit I have ever come up with. I guess at this point, I was waiting to see the limit of nonsense Dylan can consider true. Lexi was on the verge of falling off the chair in shock when Dylan claimed how great of an idea that was and concluded that he would name one of his kids 'Pickle'. Yeah sorry, my future niece or nephew.

Dylan had the decency to offer us to show us to our next class which was different for both Lexi and I, so I just handed Lexi over to him while I went off to mine which earned me a glare from her.

Classes went on smoothly. People had no idea who I was and I'm not really surprised on that one. I hoped I wouldn't run into Alec all day because that meet would be a disaster. Knowing Alec, he would yell at the top of his voice to let everyone know that I'm his little sister and I, most definitely, can't let that happen.

In between classes, I started hearing Alec's name in conversations around the hallway about his sudden appearance which was sort of nerve wrecking because anyone who thought too deeply could figure out what I'm trying to hide. My identity.

I was headed to my last class before lunch which was forensic science.

I walked in to see someone waving at me from the back of the class. I squinted to see Cole motioning me to the seat next to him. I walked over and settled in the seat he saved for me.

It was then that I noticed another set of eyes on me. I looked to the other side of Cole and my eyes widened on their own accord, before I gathered myself and smiled but kept my eyes on her.

I couldn't help it, before me sat Mia Miller, who used to be my best friend, after you-know-who. Puberty sure hit her gracefully. She was beautiful even as a kid but she sat in front of me and beautiful is an understatement. Her green eyes sparkled as she returned my smile with a genuine one of her own.

"Hi, I'm Mia." She says showing her pearly whites which I noticed did not have braces. Yes, we were the nerdy kids with braces and thick-rimmed glasses, who liked to be quite and keep to themselves.

"I'm-" my breath hitched as I stopped myself as I was almost about to expose myself which earned a frown from Cole. "Asparagus" I said regaining my composure.

That earned a laugh from Mia. "So I've heard. I don't know why this idiot thought you'd tell me your real name." She said pointing at Cole.

I glanced at Cole who sighed as his plan failed. Cole wasn't an idiot. He obviously knew I wasn't revealing my real name and that there was something suspicious about me.

I wasn't freaking out about that though. Suspicion is good, recognition isn't.

Before we could converse any further, the teacher entered and started with the lesson immediately.

'Well hello to you too old man, who probably owns like 11 cats.'

I couldn't help but feel slightly overwhelmed by being in the middle of people who have known me almost all my life, and they don't recognise me at all.

Not gonna lie I was having fun with the whole hidden identity thing but I was dreading meeting all of the ex-friends. I knew this would happen, I'm just not ready to meet one person specifically and fate has been on my side on that one till now. Maybe we won't have any classes together at all and I'd avoid meeting him in school for the remaining 2 years of school.

One could hope.

The bell rang indicating the end of this period and the teacher just put down the marker, grabbed his bag and left the class, in the middle of writing a sentence.

Is this what midlife crisis looks like? I thought shaking my head.

I was almost out of the class on my way towards Lexi's class before we headed to the cafeteria together, when I was grabbed by my wrist, which I was about to snatch away from her grasp, out of reflex, but remembered that I'm in school and was being dragged by none other than Mia towards the cafeteria.

"The cafeteria is this way asparagus. Come on, I'll introduce you to the others, that's gonna be fun." She says dragging me behind her.

"But L- uh Brocolli-" I stumbled with my words when Cole motioned towards his phone.

"Dylan has a class around hers, he'll bring her to our table, don't worry." I nodded, seeing no point in arguing and let myself be dragged across the hall like a ragdoll, literally.

I wasn't nervous, but I wasn't exactly prepared to come face to face with my whole childhood, one that I left behind.

I didn't realise we reached the cafeteria until there was a sudden change in the chatter around us. Unlike the loud and abnoxious hallways, the cafeteria's noise was hushed. The fact that everyone was staring at me made it obvious that they were gossipping about the new girl.

I didn't mind them much and followed Mia as she walked with her head down, obviously affected by the stares.

We stopped at a table that I recognised as the same one we used to sit at back when we were, well, younger.

'Huh, some things really don't change. Can't say the same about myself.'

At this point, I'm pretty sure my conscience loves mocking me.

"Hey guys, meet asparagus." Mia said moving aside, giving me a clear view of the table.

I notice that Lexi was already at the table between Dylan and another guy, I didn't know and beside the new guy sat a very familiar Perri. I noticed how one person of the group was missing but I brushed that thought aside as soon as it came.

"I see you've already met Brocolli here." Cole says chuckling as he continues to introduce everyone

"So you've met Dylan, that's Perri," she smiles and waves at me.

"Hey, new girl and no, I refuse to call you something I find so gross." She says shaking her head making her beautiful blonde hair bounce.

"That's Logan, Perri's boyfriend." Cole continues, and I think I sensed distaste in his voice when he said Logan's name but it was gone before I could put a finger on it.

"Hey" Logan waved offering me a welcoming smile which I returned.

"Are you guys sure you're okay with us being here, I mean, I'd hate to intrude and-" I was cut off by Mia yet again, pulling me down on the chair beside hers.

'Well I guess that's a thing now.'

"Don't be silly. The fact that we have, not one, but two, not-so-bitchy new girls at our school is literally all everyone's talking about. Well they're talking about the new girl part, I added the not bitchy part because they obviously don't know you. Now that I think about it, I don't really know you either, you're not a bitch right?" She finishes rambling and takes a deep breath looking at me like she forgot to breath for a minute there.

"First off, please breathe. Secondly, I like to think that I'm not a bitch, at least most of the time. And the fact that you don't know me... Well, we'll get to that too." I say looking around as they chuckle.

They're still the warm, welcoming group of people I left behind.

"Would you quit that Cole, you look constipated." Dylan said, rather loudly, might I add, cutting his attention off of me.

"I wasn't- ugh this is so frustrating. I swear I'm not crazy, I know you." He said with a frustrated sigh pointing at me with a pleading look, probably expecting me to reveal myself as batman or something.

'Well you're definitely not crazy buddy.'

I laugh shaking my head while everyone gets on the roast-Cole wagon.

Dylan was in the middle of telling everyone about his plan to name his kid Pickle when I heard the sound of heels clicking, getting louder every second. Now, I wouldn't have heard it if the cafeteria had the regular noise, but the cafeteria had went back to the hushed tone, that it was when I entered with Mia before.

"Hello girls, welcome to Greenfield high." Said a squeaky voice who was obviously trying really hard to be nice.

I turn to the side, only to come face to fake-chest with the one and only Jennie Margo. To keep it short, I never liked her much, I mean I don't see why someone would like their bullies anyway.

"I see you've acquainted with the lowly crowd, let me introduce you guys to the better ones, including myself, I'm Jen." She said- squeaked extended her clawed hands, just kidding, they were normal hands but she had nails that were so pointy, it was concerning how she got anything done.

I almost groan at how cliche my first day at the school is turning out.

'Just go with it, you can go at least one day without any drama.'

I shook her hand and muttered a hi with my oh-so-cool name followed by Lexi doing the same.

"You don't need to do anymore of this social service, guys, come on, we sit over there." She said probably pointing at a table.

I didn't look up because she was already testing my patience. She hasn't changed at all, except for growing even meaner.

I noticed how no one at the table interrupted her. They were just letting her say whatever she wants. I glanced up slightly to look at Mia looking down picking at the sandwich she got from home. That reminds me, I didn't get anything to eat. My frown deepened at the thought.

"I don't think that would be necessary. We're just fine, here. They asked us to join them first, anyway." Lexi spoke up, putting on a fake smile, mirroring Jen's. She was clearly annoyed by Jen's mere existence too.

"Really? You'd rather sit with these losers?" She scoffed making me close my eyes.

'Deep breaths. She'll go away if you just ignore her.'

"Did you showcase yourself as the almighty group of the school to them?" She laughed, turning her attention to Mia who was sitting to closest to her.

'Count sheeps, that'll help.'

"Let me tell you exactly who they are," She sassed, probably turning to Lexi because I, for sure, wasn't looking at her.

'One sheep. Two sheep.'

"These are the losers of the school,"

'Three sheep.'

"Who clearly have no fashion sense, or standards, for that matter." My eyes opened on their own accord when I sensed movement.

'Four sheep.'

She laughs leaning in towards Mia placing a cla- hand on her shoulder.

"And you better not forget your place, loser-"

'Fiv- oh fuck this'

"Get your hand off her"

Everyone turned to look at me in surprise. I had enough of this bitch.

"What?" She asked, unsure and taken aback that someone actually stood up to her.

"Are you deaf?" I say, standing from my seat with a blank face. "Get your hand off her"

She recoiled crossing her arms and scoffed. "Are you actually defending these losers? Trust me, whatever lies they've fed you will get you nowhere, honey. They're at the bottom of the food chain, but you've got potential, I'll give you another chance to think over." She says, having the audacity to look concerned.

"Potential to what? Become a bully? No thanks." I scoffed crossing my arms, which surprised her further.

"Excuse me!? Do you know who you're talking to?" She screeched, clearly aggrevated. "I could destroy the rest of your school life."

I faked a shiver "Ooh I'm so scared. What are you gonna do? Ask daddy to hire a lawyer for a better comeback? Cuz trust me you need it."

The whole cafeteria erupted into laughter while Jen's face started turning red.

"You- you-" her weak attempts to insult me made everyone laugh harder, when I noticed her taking a violent rout and raise her leg, probably to kick me on my shin.

Real mature.

But I, having amazing reflexes, simply moved to the side which resulted her other foot to slip, due to momentum, and she fell on her butt.

There was a series of 'ooohhs' in the cafeteria, including myself.

"That's gotta hurt." I muttered under my breath not feeling the slightest bit bad about it.

Jen was fuming at this point as she quickly gathered herself and stood up. She opened her mouth to probably destroy the thread of respect she had left, when the cafeteria doors opened and she turned her attention sideways to screech instead.

"Babyyyyy" she ran to, probably her boyfriend, who entered. "Look at what this bitch did to me." She continued while I turned towards Mia and the others while they looked at me with smiles and offered fist bumps which I gladly returned.

'I'm a good human'

"For the last time, stop calling me that." Complained a deep voice, clearly annoyed.

Does anyone even like this bitch?

I turned as I heard footsteps approach our table, only for all the breath to be knocked out of my lungs.

I couldn't even try to hide the shiver that went down my spine when his eyes landed on me, and he stopped in his tracks, a good 5 feet away from me.

After, what felt like an eternity, but was about 20 seconds, I composed myself and directed my attention to the nagging she-clown, who was pointing at me accusingly.

When I knew all the attention was on me, I smirked and took the opportunity to be a bitch myself. I noticed Lexi standing next to me probably sensing a change in my demeanor.

"How rude of me, I totally forgot to introduce myself." I smiled, a very fake smile and looked at Ryder in the eye.

Blue to grey

Ice to storm

"I'm as-" I started.

"Miles..."

'Well, fuck'