Usually, no one could bring me down. I was usually a very upbeat person who tried to stay positive, even when life threw obstacles in my way. But in senior year, that seemed to change as Carter and Blair left me hurting in a way I had never thought I could hurt.

I usually didn't overthink much, but for some reason my mind was clouded with thoughts of Blair and Carter. Blair's words of how she didn't want us to return to how we were really hurt. They hurt more than I would ever have expected them to, and it didn't help that the guy I liked didn't seem to care about me. So sulking in English class as I watched Carter sit next to Blair, I decided to vent to Tori.

"It's funny how the two people who hurt me sit next to each other," I said to Tori, huffing. "It's like they want me to suffer even more."

"Blair and Carter?" Tori asked.

"Yeah, I hate them both."

That was a complete lie. If I hated them, I wouldn't be able to care less about them. But since I did care, I was left drowning in thoughts of them.

"Blair too? Why her?" Tori asked, her eyebrows raising.

"I asked her if we could try to be close again and she said no," I said, feeling my heart break once more at the thought. "Screw her."

"Damn." Tori scoffed. "Honestly, just forget about both of them. There's no need to waste your time on people like them."

If only it was that simple, I thought. The thing I hated about myself was that I got attached easily. I didn't know why, but there were a few people I truly cared about and those people had the ability to make me do unimaginable things. That was Blair and Carter, which left me admitting the truth.

"I can't just forget about them," I confessed. "It's not the simple."

"It can be that simple," Tori shot back, catching me off guard. "You just overcomplicate everything."

"What..."

"Seriously Claire, you're too emotional. Just stop chasing after the both of them. It's just depressing."

Tori's words were harsh and I found myself shutting up. Looking away, I couldn't believe she said that. She didn't understand, but then I remembered how no one in my clique understood. They were all carefree and they never got attached. I had put up an act to join them, but the truth was I was nothing like them. I cared about everything much more than them.

*****

I fell on top of my bed, feeling exhausted. After my talk with Tori, I felt like I was sick of people. I was sick of my crush, sick of my sister, and sick of my friends. Everyone seemed to let me down and all I wanted to do was disappear. I wanted to forget about everything and I groaned. Sometimes being able to feel everything so strongly sucked.

Suddenly, I heard a knock on my door. Thinking it was my parents, I sat up and pretended everything was okay by smiling. But, that smile fell when I saw that it was Blair at the door.

My eyes widened because I would never have expected Blair to approach me. That had never happened in years and staring at her, stunned, I wondered what she wanted. She looked excited, which left me confused.

"Hey," I said, not knowing what else to say.

"I want to help you win Carter's heart," Blair blurted out, surprising me.

I stared at her, wondering if she was losing her mind. The day before she told me to get out of her room and now she was offering her help. It was so random.

"Why?" I asked, frowning as I wondered what happened.

"I... I just think you should be with Carter," Blair said, shrugging. "Your really like him and I have a plan."

"Really?" My eyes widened and I found myself growing hopeful. "What is it?"

"Well, Carter likes me and I'm guessing he's hasn't been willing to talk to you because of that." I nodded at the truth. "So, how about we switch places so you can talk to him more? I think it's unfair that you can't get close to him because of his feelings for me, so maybe if you and I switch places you can get close to him."

Her plan left me stunned. Never had I once thought of doing that. Even though we were identical twins, I never thought of switching places with Blair. Her idea was interesting, but for some reason I wasn't crazy about it. Probably because I wasn't sure how it would help me.

"I mean that sounds cool, but I don't get how it'll help me," I said, frowning. "He'll think I'm you, so it's not me he'll fall for."

"I mean, that's true," Blair said, looking up thoughtfully. "But let's be honest, right now it's your best option. I don't mean to be rude, but Carter hasn't been giving you much attention because of me, so this will really help."

It was true. Carter had his eyes set on Blair and he didn't care about anyone else. I had felt hopeless because of that, but with Blair's plan I found myself wondering if her crazy idea would work.

"So, you're saying I'll pretend to be you and you'll pretend to be me sometimes, so I can get closer to Carter?" I asked, wanting to know what I was geting myself into.

"Yes, I know it's kind of crazy and I can't promise you it'll work," Blair said, her eyes softening. "But hey, let's try it and see where it takes us."

I couldn't argue with that. After everything I had tried, I was willing to try Blair's plan. If it gave me a chance to at least talk to Carter, it would be worth it.

"Okay, why not," I said, leaving Blair smiling. "I'm excited."

"Sounds great," Blair said.

It was nice to see Blair looking excited. I hadn't seen her look so happy in a while and I wondered what had changed. What made her want to talk to me, I wondered. But knowing Blair didn't like it when people pried into her life, I decided to not ask.

"We'll plan things out on the weekend," Blair said, getting ready to leave my room. "We have to make sure it's believable."

"Okay," I said quickly, wanting Blair to stay for some reason. "Wait."

Blair paused and I found myself flushing. I didn't want her to leave yet. A part of me wanted us to hang out, but I remembered Blair's words and decided not to ask. But, I did have another question I couldn't hold back.

"Does this mean we can... bond?" I asked. "I know you said we can't make things work between us, but..."

I found myself lost for words, which never happened to me. My face felt warmer at that and I stared at Blair who stared back at me. She seemed torn.

But to my delight, she said, "We'll see."

It wasn't much of a response, but it left me smiling. After her rejection the day before, I was willing to take anything. If it meant that I could fix what I had wrecked, I would happily agree to having a chance at being close to my sister again.

"Sounds great," I said honestly, grinning.

Blair smiled back, leaving my hopeful, and then left. I flopped down on my bed, feeling happier than I had felt in a while. Thinking about the upcoming future, I grinned to myself and thought about how maybe, everything will be going right.