CHAPTER THREE

After school, a bunch of them trailed off to the local shopping centre, chattering about their day as they walked around.

"You know I was thinking," Ash started to say, taking a delicate sip of her Soy Latte. "It would be awesome to start cheerleading in our school! Just like the way they do it in movies, don't you think?"

All three of the boys ignored her, too busy looking at some Facebook photos from the party that Catherine was showing them on her phone. Hannah just scrunched her eyebrows up a little, confused with her best friends random thought. "What do you mean?

"It would be soo cool! The two of us would defo be the team captains and we'd make up sexy routines and everyone would love us!" Ashlyn exclaimed, a twinkle in her eye as she twirled a perfect pirouette in the middle of Starbucks.

Finally paying attention to what they were talking about, Mohammad pushed a hand through his thick curls. "Everyone already loves you innit though, so what would be the point?"

Cameron grinned as he leaned forward to take a gulp of Hannah's white chocolate Frappuccino. He snorted, somehow managing to do so attractively. "Plus Hannah's way too clumsy to be a cheerleader!"

Hannah slapped her cousins arm at his remark about her clumsiness but silently agreed with him; Ashlyn already was the practically the leader of the school, what more did she need? She blushed as Cameron started to go into a detailed description of the time she fell out of the apple tree in his back garden when they were eight but was cut off by Gabriel sighing. Wrapping an arm around her, he chided his girlfriend. "Honeybee, you got to try to be more graceful you know? A true woman."

She opened her mouth to retort – a quote about misogyny she read on a Social Justice blog on Tumblr – but was interrupted by Mohammad. If there was one thing about him that stood out, it was definitely his ability to calm people down and stop arguments from occurring. A gift, as Cam always joked.

"Hang on a minute, who would we cheer for? We don't have those dudes in tights like on TV so...?" Mohammad asked, his thick eyebrows raised a little in confusion.

Cameron nodded enthusiastically in agreement, shoving the rest of his sandwich in his mouth. "Mhm, this aint America Ash," he managed to say, through mouthfuls of Prawn Mayo.

Hannah stifled a laugh at Catherine's face; she was obviously disgusted with his complete lack of manners but somehow he still attracted every girl within a five mile radius. How was that even possible?

Ashlyn stomped her stiletto clad foot on the ground daintily, her arms crossed. She wanted nothing more than to be crowned School Queen in their school's Winter Ball, a title all the women in her family had gotten. And being as popular as possible was the key to that. Cheerleading would help her; it would ensure all eyes were on her whilst preforming, a feeling she revelled in.

Before Ashlyn could start listing reasons why a school cheerleading club was a brilliant idea like they knew she was going to, Mohammad faced Hannah. "Didn't you only come along cuz you was gonna buy a present for someone?" he asked, his nose scrunched up in confusion.

Hannah slapped her forehead dramatically, wincing when it hurt more than she expected. "Yes! I need to get my aunt a birthday present, cheers for the reminder!" she exclaimed, glaring at Cameron when he sniggered at her. She muttered a quick 'see you later' to everyone and dragged her cousin by the arm, pulling him towards the lifts.

"C'mon you loser," she grumbled. He was too heavy to pull along to Paperchase but he walked so slowly, she tried all the same. Hannah wasn't the sort of person to keep a diary or adore stationary, but there was something about Paperchase that made her heart flutter. Maybe it was the adorable ways to make memories – wedding albums, baby cards, personalised letters – or maybe it was the fact that the shop always reminded her of Aunt Sara.

Growing up with her aunt as a mother figure meant she was subjected to piles and piles of pretty paper, stamps, embellishments and the like. Aunt Sara had a slight obsession with scrapbooking, an obsession that had practically taken over the house. On the days when she felt lost, Hannah would sit on the carpet and flick through the many completed scrapbooks, lightly tracing over the pictures of her and Cameron. It always grounded her. Maybe the reason it all meant so much to her was because of those pictures – they were proof of Hannah's existence.

Proof that she mattered.

Cameron wandered through the aisles aimlessly, occasionally picking up items to take a closer look. He had already decided on a present – a bracelet he knew his mum would love – and so was only here to help Hannah.

Before long, she had her hands full with potential present ideas but none of them seemed enough. Aunt Sara had literally done everything for her as a child, raising her in the way that her mother couldn't bare to and even now, she ensured the rent and her school fees were paid as well as regularly checked up on the two cousins. She'd done so much and Hannah just wanted to show her appreciation.

"What about this?" Cameron asked, brandishing something from behind him.

Her eyes opened wide as she caught sight of it and she quickly kissed his cheek, laughing as he shivered in disgust. "It's perfect!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together excitedly.

---

Soon Cameron ditched her to go talk to some random girls he knew that he had spotted lounging outside Subway. Hannah rolled her eyes at her cousin's playboy ways and went to find Ashlyn again. She was spending too much time with Cam recently; the high testosterone level was doing her head in. She definitely needed some girl bonding.

The two girls wandered around the shops, backs straight, flaunting their posh private school uniform. They chattered amongst themselves about school, about people, about the future and everything in between. These moments with Ash was what kept Hannah hanging onto the friendship so tightly; knowing that somewhere inside the self-absorbed teenager Ashlyn had become was her best friend, the girl who had welcomed her lost little self with open arms when they were nothing more than children.

After stopping to sit on a bench to reapply her already glowing foundation, Ashlyn's face lit up as she caught sight of a shop they were nearby. Hannah groaned when she realised what it was. "Do we have to?" she complained, glaring at the brightly lit store, knowing perfectly well that she didn't have much of a choice. The shop was named Jazz, one of the most expensive and well known clothing shops in all of Europe. Classy and cute: Ashlyns favourite combination. Its pastel exterior made Hannah wince as her best friend dragged her towards it.

It also happened to be her mothers shop.

The silence inside it made her feel like a bull in a china shop. She was uncomfortable from the very first step she took inside, as though she was being scrutinised. She knew she looked almost perfect at all times, not a hair was out of a place and her makeup was flawless and yet here, she always felt dirty.

All the beautiful clothes were daintily draped on shiny mannequins, the sparkling jewellery perched on glass displays, reflecting light all across the store. She counted the amount of people in the shop as Ashlyn looked through the racks, not even pausing to look at the outrageous price tags. Seven. Seven people in one of the most popular, best-selling stores in the country at peak time when the shops were all packed to the brim with people. What was it with ridiculously posh shops being practically empty all the time?

"May I help you?" a voice asked snootily from behind her. Hannah braced herself for what she knew would come and turned around with a false smile.

"No thanks," she chirped, ignoring the slightly raised eyebrows. "I'm just looking with my friend."

She gestured towards Ash, for once hoping that her friend would drag her away to ask for her opinion on the teal blue blouse she was inspecting. But it was in vain, Ash was far too busy looking for her size to notice her telepathic call for help and Hannah was left standing with a sales assistant scrutinising her from beneath the faux lashes.

It was only when the red haired woman called over another sales assistant to gape at her, did Hannah turn around towards them again.

"May I help you?" she asked, imitating her snooty tone.

The braver of the two opened her perfectly lipsticked mouth – that was definitely MAC's rebel lippie – and asked the question she knew was coming. "Has anyone ever mentioned how much you look like Jasmine Adem?"

Deciding to have some fun with them, Hannah put on her most confused expression and fiddled with her school tie. "Who's that?" she asked innocently, resisting the urge to chuckle at how ridiculous the two of them looked as they gaped in horror.

"Who's that? What? Oh my God, only the greatest fashion designer the world has ever seen!" one spluttered out, seemingly outraged that she hadn't known. The other wasn't as kind – she almost snarled as she pointed to the huge poster behind the till.

Hannah had avoided looking at the photograph up until now, trying not to wince as she inspected it carefully. It was true she looked a lot like her mother but they had their differences too. Hannah's skin was much lighter first of all – Jasmines was a rich brown colour whereas her daughters was a muted, pale beige and just lacking of the glow so clearly captured by the photographer. Hannah's hair was also limper and straighter, a deep black that contrasted with her tawny skin heavily. It was their eyes that were most different though; although they were the exact same upturned almond shape, Hannah's were a warm copper colour. She was bright eyed and cheery, something her mother could only master when in front of cameras.

"I don't really see a similarity," she murmured confidently, snorting when the sales assistant commented how Jasmine could pass as her mother. "And I'm sure I've heard her emphasise how much she's never wanted kids on TV, right?"

The first sales assistant pursed her lips thoughtfully and agreed with her. "You're right, there is no way she would have any children, we would all know about it." She said children as though it were a dirty swear word instead of a bundle of happiness like they should be.

Ashlyn had sauntered back over to Hannah enough to hear the last part of the conversation, her manicured fingers carefully holding up three dresses on hangers. As she beckoned Hannah with her towards the changing room, she quickly looked around to ensure they were alone before asking her a question on her mind.

"Why don't you just tell everyone Hannah?"

Hannah sighed softly; she knew this was coming. Keeping an indifferent smirk on her face – copying Cameron's usual facial expression – she answered the way she always had, her words sounding somewhat forced.

"It would ruin her reputation, nobody is supposed to know she's my mum."

Ash raised an arched eyebrow as she tried on the gold bodycon dress she was holding. "But you shouldn't hide it. Think of how many people would look up to you, what they'd do and say! You'd be famous!"

Hannah's mouth twitched into a small smile as she watched her best friend with something close to both annoyance and affection. Trust Ash to care more about other people's opinions than anything else. "Everyone already does look up to us in school so who cares."

Before her friend could retort, she gave her opinion on the clothes, effectively distracting her for the rest of the day.