I awoke to sunlight streaming through cracked blinds, temporarily blinding me. Slowly, I sat up, attempting to shield my eyes. Glancing to my right, a I spotted a woman with golden curls and warm hazel eyes. A smile stretched across her lips and instantly, I flew off the bed and engulfed her in a hug.

Laughing and slightly off guard, she wrapped her own arms around me. "Good morning, Adalaide. How'd you sleep?"

I stepped away from her, a silly grin plastered to my face. "I slept great thanks to you, Melanie." I knew it seemed cheesy, but I instantly felt so welcomed by her. She was the mother a yearned for when my own couldn't act like one.

"I'm glad. Since it's a Sunday, you can just lounge around and relax. I just wanted to see how you were doing," she responded warmly.

My smile faltered as reality came crashing down, and I remembered all that had occurred in the mere span of twenty-four hours. My father's anger, my mother shipping me off, and finally, that this wasn't my house.

"Cheer up." She sighed, running a hand through her hair as she sat herself at the end of my bed. She patted the space next to her and like an obedient pup, I complied. Melanie then clasped her hands in her lap, an air of seriousness overtaking her. "I know what it's like."

Perplexed, I turned my head to look down at her. Not figuratively, of course, but literally, as she was shorter than me by about four inches. "What?"

She laughed, and the sweet melody echoed off the walls of the spacious room, the room I would now call my own. "What it's like to be rejected. Broken. To have a parent abandon you. Granted, my father left while my mother stayed with me." She gulped in a breath, her eyes shining. "My mother became an alcoholic, and it was like she wasn't even there.

"But I pressed through it. I had to tend to my younger sister and brother. I had to become the caretaker they needed but my parents refused to be." Her eyes held such raw emotion I nearly gasped. "I'm so sorry you have to go through this. No one deserves this. But I'll make sure you're a loved and treasured member of this family."

I sniffed, tears threatening to spill. For once, they were tears of joy and happiness. "Wow. I'm not sure what to say. Thank you so much. It means a lot."

Her smile crept back upon her face. "No problem."

"But, what about people at school or around the town? I mean, I've never been too social or hadpeople to like me." No one likes me. Even if I tried to fit in with the party crowd, they still hated me in the end.

"Fake it 'til you make it."

"Huh?" I responded, once again dumbfounded.

She laughed, a light but hearty one. "Have you ever heard of that saying? 'Fake it 'til you make it?'"

Slowly, I nodded, confused of how that pertained to my situation.

"That's the secret. Don't let people see that they have power over you. Get in with the populars, the nerds, or whoever. Just keep telling yourself and others you're happy until you are."

A lightbulb dinged in my brain, a brilliant idea formulating. It was almost like a light in the dark, a beckon of hope. If I could just fake it, even for a little while, I could finally be popular. I could have friends. I didn't have to be Adalaide, the frail, insecure, broken girl. Not anymore. This time, I'd succeed in popularity.

"Thanks again," I smiled, rising from the bed. I caught my reflection in the mirror across the room and cringed, noticing mascara under my eyes and my long hair a tangled mess. It reminded me of my worse days. "I better clean myself up."

"Alright," Melanie grinned, also pushing herself off my bed. "It's about one in the afternoon, and whenever you're ready, Vienna, Carson, and their other sister, Lydia, will take you to our favorite little cafe!" She clapped her hands together in excitement. Honestly, I didn't wish to meet the new sister, or be around that rude boy Carson. However, after everything Melanie had done for me, that was the least I could do to make her happy.

"It's that late?" I asked, astonished.

She nodded. "After your flight and everything you've been through, I thought I'd let you sleep."

"I'm a late sleeper either way," I lightly laughed.

"I'll leave you to get ready," she replied, laughter in her own voice.

I watched her exit my room, fuzzy slippers pressing against my fluffy carpet. Once the door closed, I began digging in my suitcases for my toiletries and a decent outfit. Quite honestly, anxiety rose within me, and I had difficulty quelling it. Then again, I had to remember 'fake it 'til you make it.' That would be my personal motto, the mantra that pushed me through each and every day.

After a while of harshly critiquing myself, my makeup was perfected and glamorized while my outfit screamed 'put together and cute, but not overdone'.

As I walked down the spiraling stairs, I spotted Vienna conversing with a slightly taller, but seemingly younger, girl. Her blonde hair slapped her back from her high ponytail and bold eyeliner took up most of her eyelids. Once she took sight of me she stretched her lips into a grin, redirecting Vienna's attention to me.

"Come on, lets go!" Vienna laughed, already skipping towards the door. "We have a tight schedule today."

Confused, I followed her, nearly rolling my eyes at a sulking Carson.

"Aren't we going out to eat a a cafe?"

The other girl, assumed to be Lydia, scoffed, readjusting the strap of her Gucci bag on her shoulder. "Please. It's Sunday."

"She doesn't know what that means," Vienna defends me. "She's not from here. And no attitude because I will tell Mom little girl."

I could see Lydia tense, hands balling into fists. "Um, listen here you nose ring wearing slut-"

"Vienna, no fighting. I already have a headache," Carson complained, bringing a hand up to massage his temples.

Annoyance boiling, I followed them out to a vehicle, this one different then Vienna's. It was a white Mercedes gleaming in the sunlight.

"Aw, I like Vienna's car," I joked, attempting to break the tension while biting into my lip.

Lydia huffed and swung open the driver's door. "She'll get us all killed in that contraption, with no roof to shield us or to protect my hair."

"You're only 15. You can't even drive!" Vienna protested, nostrils flaring as she walked to my side.

"Not according to U.S law," she laughed, flapping her hand as Carson rounded the car and joined her in the passenger seat. That resolved the issue of shotgun, though I'm not sure it would have been an issue in the first place.

"This is Richbrooke," Lydia continued in a nonchalant manner. "Daddy has money and knows the right people. Plus, I'm a very safe driver."

Vienna rolled her eyes and settled herself in the back seat, followed by me. I felt perplexed at Lydia's attitude, or the fact that the two sisters didn't seem to get along very well. Plus, she was too young to drive! I was 16 and I barely had my learner's permit, meaning I still had to drive with an adult.

"Buckle up," Vienna grumbled, snapping her seatbelt into place with way more force than needed.

I complied, barely pressing the buckle into place before Lydia slammed the car into reverse, speeding out of the driveway so fast I nearly got whiplash.

When Vienna drove, it felt exhilarating, almost like I was a free-flying bird. When Lydia drove, it felt like a five-year-old child was attempting to drive a toy car while having no idea what fluid motion felt like.

Every bump felt magnified and the car jerked to stops, even at random times. The girl even stopped in the middle of the road just to reapply her lipgloss.

Carson grumbled along with his twin, but he never verbalized his annoyance. I simply bit my tongue, not wanting to get in the middle of things. My opinion was never valued anyways.

Finally, after a terrifying ride of clenching my hands and trying to block out horribly loud music, Lydia parked in front of a decent sized mall. As we exited the vehicle, I realized she parked across two different spaces in a quite crowded parking lot.

"Lyd," Carson spoke calmly. "You accidentally-"

Lydia flashed him a pout and glare, causing him to shut his mouth. Then, with them in front and Vienna and I behind, we walked through huge double doors.

For what seemed like the millionth time, confusion flooded through me. Sweet perfume invaded my senses as I glanced around at the teenage girls looking through racks and stacks of clothing. They weren't very calm about it either.

"This doesn't look like a cafe," I started. Maybe it was in the mall?

"Sunday is party day," Vienna explained. "Since Lydia got us grounded," she started, her voice raising, but Lydia didn't hear her," we needed an excuse. So, we need to get ready."

"Oh." Suddenly, I felt sick to my stomach. I used to love parties, drinking to the point of passing out. It was my escape from the brutal world, from the depression that started spiraling within me. Of course, I was caught, by someone I thought was my friend. They called the police, and then my mom started to resent me more. So did everyone else. They only liked me when I was drunk.

Vienna nudged me in the side. I realized we were standing in front of a rack of various sparkling dresses, Vienna clutching a short red one. It matched the red at the end of her hair, I noticed.

"You okay?" She asked tentatively. "I know you just got here and I'm sorry you got dragged into this, but Lydia-"

I nodded. "I'm fine. It's alright, just do your thing." I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. "That dress would suit you, by the way."

She smiled. "Thanks. You know, I think you're pretty cool, Ada."

I laughed. "I'm really not, but thank you. "

"So, do you want to come? If not, we could find-"

"No," I cut her off once again, internally battling myself. "I want to go. Meet the people, you know." I had to remember that past or no past, it was my mission to finally fit in.

"Then get looking for a dress. It's on me!"

----

I finally updated! Thanks for much for the support! Almost 600 reads with 3 chapters posted? That's so crazy!

Thoughts? Comment! Vote! Help me edit!

-Sarah