C H A P T E R   O N E 

I wake up to the sound of the shower running. 

autumn

I dash out of bed even though I know I'm too late; I get there just in time to hear the audible click of the lock as Autumn shuts me out. 

"What the hell! I told you I wanted to shower first! Autumn!" My fists pound against the bathroom door, and I hear her laugh over the sound of the shower. 

"You know what they say, sister. Early bird gets the worm!" She cackles again, and my blood boils. 

Autumn's and my bedroom are the only two upstairs, on opposite ends of the hallway. In the middle and straight across the stairs is our bathroom. With my door open, I only have to glance to my left to catch my alarm clock. It's 7:15 - forty-five minutes before our first day of senior year officially starts and fifteen minutes after the time I'd set my alarm to last night. 

She'd sabotaged me. Autumn had turned it off, but I already knew that. Yet, there's no point in arguing with her now. I just want revenge. 

I crouch down low to the ground and plant my hands on the dark wood, right in front of the bathroom door. 

Unlike Autumn, I've never had an issue getting the results I want. The frost comes almost readily, as though it's in every pore, even vein. It comes with a rage, and for a moment, I almost lose myself in it. 

Yet, my problem is getting the results I want in the exact way I want them. My problem is control. I intended to slick the floor only a little, a coating of ice that will end in Autumn biting it. But what comes is a three-inch thick ice shelf. It spreads, racing into the bathroom and crawling up the door frame. I'm surprised, and it takes a bit of concentration to stop myself while I'm ahead. 

Mom's going to kill me. 

But when I hear Autumn step out of the shower only to face-plant on the frosted floor, I know it's totally going to be worth it. 

"Noah!" She yelps, and the outrage in her voice has me wheezing. "You bitch!" 

"Takes one to know one!" I call through the door. 

She whips it open suddenly, and I take a step back. On Autumn's face is a smug smirk, which confuses me. We study each other for a second. 

She's still holding the door by the knob, her other hand clutching the ends of her towel to her chest. Another towel, though smaller, is wrapped around her head. 

I stand in the hall in my sleep shorts and tank, my robe layered over. I decide to make the first move. 

"Are you going to stand there all day? You know school starts in less than an hour." I roll my eyes, trying to barge past her. 

Autumn's still smirking, but she lets go of the door to walk gingerly out of the bathroom. "Well aren't you right. . . " There's cheeky lilt to her voice, and it makes me suspicious. Still, I actually do have to shower if either of us plan on getting to school on time. 

I reach for the knob to shut the door in her face. I do it without thinking, and when my hand touches the brass, I know immediately why Autumn's being so cocky. The pain comes instantly. She's heated the knob past boiling, and I swear my skin sizzles upon contact. I let go, stifling a shriek and shoving the door away simultaneously. The door's still open wide enough for Autumn to see me, though, and she throws her head back to laugh as I shelter my scorched hand. 

I'd be stupid to let her watch my pain, so I use a foot to slam the door closed the rest of the way, but the damage's already been done. 

Round one goes to Autumn. 

"Are you girls done fighting?" Mom says when I come down at 7:50. 

I grit my teeth. Of course, she was downstairs, dressed and ready at 7:45. She's sitting at the kitchen island chewing on jellied toast, and I notice she's blow-dried and curled her long russet hair, and she's wearing the outfit she'd meticulously planned and laid out the night before. 

She turns to shoot me an innocent look. "Are you going to stand there all day, Noah?" Autumn's mocking me, and it's obvious. 

Well, at least it is to me, because Mom only looks up from where she's pouring coffee into her thermos to shoot me a questioning look. She never really catches on to our backhanded comments, and she only knows Autumn and I are arguing when there's yelling involved. 

Still, it's not like I can blame her. As a doctor, Mom's beyond busy, and it's hard enough for her to take care of all her patients while taking care of Autumn and me too, so I think it's okay if she skips out on our drama. 

"Jacklyn, are you going to grab something to eat? You two have to go in a bit if you're going to make it on time, and you know how your sister gets about the first day." 

I flinch when Mom calls me by my middle name, but head to the counter to grab a banana anyways. 

Autumn flips her hair before pushing her plate away. "Don't worry, Mom. I'll just leave her if she's going to make us late." 

"Jaidyn!" Mom snaps, shooting her a sharp look, but I just roll my eyes and head out to the car. 

"Looks like you're the one that's going to make us late," I call over my shoulder. 

"Bye, Mommy!" Autumn rushes to kiss her goodbye before running after me, snatching the keys out of my grip in the process. 

I let her go; I never wanted to drive in the first place.

It happened the summer between seventh and eighth grade - when everyone really, truly decided that I wasn't as "cool" as Autumn. They only really needed one of us anyways. 

Back then, Autumn and I were as similar as twins could be. It was before Autumn dyed her hair a light russet from our normal dark auburn and before I cut my hair short and got bangs. 

It was before we really hit puberty and everything got a whole lot worse for me and a whole lot easier for Autumn. 

I don't know what came first: me or the frost. I don't know if I would've turned out the way I am now anyways, or if the ice made me this way. I don't know if I'll ever find out. 

For as long as I can remember though, Mom has always tried to keep me calm. She's tried to keep me away from the world and the world away from me, because when I got too excited or too angry or too sad or too much of anything at all, I lashed out. 

I couldn't help it, almost as much as I can't help it now: when my emotions flare, so does the frost. But before that summer, it wasn't that bad. Before that summer, it took a lot to rile me up. 

But just like that, everything changed. When Autumn and I woke up to find that our bodies had reached the next stage in our development, I was different. I was more of everything, emotional and unpredictable. For a good three months, I was on house-arrest. 

And while I suffered, fighting against everything within to keep the frost hidden, Autumn flourished. She'd become more confident and out-going, and I guess that came from greater control over the heat. She was blooming out in the world, and as her light grew, mine dimmed. 

When we went back to school, the difference was glaringly obvious. My every action was centered around the frost. I couldn't let anybody see. I couldn't let anybody know. I had to hide it away. I had to hide myself away. 

It was all or nothing, and so I caved. 

For Autumn, it was different. She could come and go as she pleased. Give and take where she wanted. 

We were both freaks, but I'd gotten the short end of the stick. 

And it wasn't her fault. 

It wasn't their fault. 

Because let's be honest. . . 

I didn't like me either. 

n o t e : 

hi! 

the first chapter of Before I Melt is over! 

i'm not really sure how long each chapter will be, but they might be a bit shorter than those in 101WTSAL. also, bear with me when it comes to present-tense first person narrative; i'm used to past-tense third person but i think present & first lets us get closer to the action/main character. 

also, remember these chapters are unedited. keep that in mind and don't be shy about helping me edit/catching mistakes. 

don't forget to vote and comment! tell me what you think so far and what you hope to see in the future. 

see you soon, 

- gift.