“Karla!” Sariah yelled over the swarming seas of students. Karla jumped at the sound of her name and quickly hid her book about Minecraft from her friend.
   
“Sariah”, she cried, fake enthusiasm in her voice. “How was your summer?”
   
Sariah giggled annoying Karly due to its high pitched nature. “My summer was A-MAZE-ING!” Karla winced again at the high-pitched nature and tried to tune out her friend as she went on about everything that happened in her summer. Soon, Karla was only half listening as they walked down the halls together.
   
Karla nearly fell to the ground when someone bumped into her. She turned to glare at him, but was shocked to see a pair of strikingly familiar blue eyes as well as the blonde hair and she couldn’t place why. Why was it so familiar?
   
“Hey!” Sariah yelled. “Watch where you’re going!”
   
The guy ignored Sariah and instead stared at Karla in shock. Karla couldn’t help but take a step back from how intense his shock was. It didn’t help that she was nervous about this guy. He seemed to have some sort of aura about him that wasn’t menacing, but… strangely familiar. She still couldn’t place why.
   
“Karla?” he whispered. “Karla Marie Brown?”
   
Karla sharply breathed in, and stared at him in even more shock. “How do you know my name?” she breathed out. However, before he could respond, a bunch of high-pitched squeals were heard.
   
“Karla, how was your summer?”
   
“Karla, did you finally get your license?”
   
“Karla, do you have a boyfriend yet?”
   
“Was that boy you were talking to your boyfriend?”
   
Karla barely heard these questions as her friends surrounded her. She was too distracted by how the boy knew her name. She tried to look around her friends to see the familiar boy. There was no sign of him. It was like he was never there. She sighed and followed her friends to the lunchroom, where they hung out until the bell rang.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   
Karla was in the bathroom during lunch, trying to escape from her friends gossip for a little while so she could sort out her thoughts. Who was that boy? Why did he look familiar? How did he know her, not to mention her name? 
   
All these questions circulated in her mind as she washed her hands. She paused for a moment as she looked in the mirror. She was shocked to see the boy staring back at her. No… that wasn’t it. It was her reflection in the mirror with the red and blue hair tips, but she knew that if her hair wasn’t dyed, she would have mistaken her reflection for the boy from earlier.
   
Turning off the water, she quickly dried her hands, though she wasn’t quite ready to go back to her friends. She exited the bathroom only to stop when she saw the boy from before standing across the hall, talking to someone.
   
She watches him for a bit before rolling her eyes in exasperation. What was it about this boy that made her so curious about him? She shakes her head and starts to walk down the hall to where she knew her friends were, but paused when her name was called.
   
“Karla!” 
   
Karla turned around and saw the boy whose face reflected her own walking towards her. However, when he got about three feet away from her, he jumped back with a pained expression. Karla’s eyes widened and she knew exactly what had happened. This hadn’t happened in a while. The last person she tried to explain it to was too afraid and left her.
   
Karla hesitantly pulled out a piece of paper and placed it on the floor. She walked away from it and waited for the boy to pick it up. He picked it up and read it quickly.
   
‘Follow me, but don’t get within three feet of me.’
   
He looked up and nodded at her. Karla quickly moved the halls, moving outside and going to a small clearing she had discovered a few weeks ago. She didn’t care if she missed class, all she wanted was to know who this boy was, and how he knew her.
   
Soon, she came to the hidden clearing just behind the school. She walked to the opposite edge of it and turned around. The boy stood in the entrance of the clearing, looking a little nervous.
   
“If you stay over there, you won’t get shocked again,'' she murmured. An expression of surprise crossed the boys face before his face went neutral and his eyes hardened.
   
“How did you know I was shocked?” he questioned, wary of her.
   
“Magic.” Karla rolled her eyes. “I’ve been cursed for fifteen years, I think I’d know what happens when someone gets too close to me. Anyway, I have some questions for you. Who are you, how do you know me, and why do you love me?”
   
The boy’s shocked expression returned and this time stayed as he searched Karla’s upset eyes for any sort of deceit.
   
“You don’t remember me?” he whispered.
   
“All I know is that your face is a complete mirror of my own, besides yours being more masculine.” Karla glared at him sharply. “Now… What. Is. Your. Name?” Karla’s patience was thinning and this boy was not helping.
   
“My name is Karlos Martin Brown”, he said. Karla’s heart skipped a beat, and the boy continued. “Your twin brother.”
   
“Karlos?” she whispered softly before glaring at him. “How do I know you’re not lying? How do I know you’re actually my twin brother?” Her voice caught in her throat at the end, and she had to swallow back tears.
   
“We were separated as toddlers, right after that sorcerer cursed you. You were left with Mother, because she was actually able to take care of you, unlike Father.”
   
“Meaning she’s never loved me”, Karla spoke before looking down to the ground, her voice growing sad. “I’ve tried to pretend she cares about me but… this stupid curse has allowed me to know who actually loveds me nad who doesn’t. I know my friend don’t, and I know Mother doesn’t but I still try to pretend they do care, because… I’m afraid to be alone.  And anyone who does love me is shocked when they get within three feet of me. I can’t have proper conversation with anyone who loves me without everyone overhearing. I hate it. I hate the fact that people get scared when they get shocked within three feet. I only have one friend that might actually be real, but he’s only an online friend and I’ll probably never meet him.”
   
Karlos chuckled nervously. “Yeah… about that… Is his username MartinTheMartian?”
   
Karla stared at him in shock. “No. No way. You have got to be kidding me.” Karlos chuckled nervously again as Karla stalks toward him, stopping about four feet away from him. “Are you telling me that I’ve been playing with my brother the entire time, and he never thought to tell me?!”
   
Karla was not happy. She was angry. How dare this kid come and tell her that not only was he her twin brother, but that they had been playing games together for over a year and he knew that but never told her? Why hadn’t he looked for her before?
   
“Karla…” Karlos whispered. “You’re crying.”
   
Karla reached up and felt her cheeks to find that they were indeed wet from tears. She choked back a sob, and fell to her knees. All of her life, for as long as she could remember, no one who loved her stuck around. Mainly because they couldn’t. They would get shocked whenever they got too close to her.
   
A grunt alerted her to something and she looked up. Karlos was walking towards her. Or at least trying to. His face was scrunched up in pain as he struggled forward.
   
“Karlos, what are you doing?” Karla exclaimed, her face filled with worry. He was only about two feet away from her now. “You could die from the shocking!”
   
“I don’t care!” he shouts. “I am not going to leave my sister alone when she is sad and in need of comforting!”
   
Karla’s heart skipped a beat as Karlos took several more shaky steps. She couldn’t believe he was doing this. Everything else was tuned out as she watched him almost fall. She was glad he didn’t fall and instead caught his balance, but she was still worried about him. Karlos continued forward, and Karla found herself speaking.
   
“Karlos stop!” she cried. “I can’t lose you again!”
   
“And I can’t let you be without someone who loves for the rest of your life!” Karlos argues. Karla’s eyes widened and she stood up, wanting to walk away, but finding that she was rooted to the spot. She started crying, and squeezed her eyes shut, hugging her arms to herself. However, when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, her eyes shot open. She saw nothing but a red shirt and realized that… Karlos was hugging. Karlos was hugging her! She hesitantly hugged him, gently at first, but when she realized he wasn’t leaving, and that he wasn’t getting shocked, she hugged him tightly. She started crying again, her body shaking from the sobs. Karlos’ grip tightened around her as he whispered comforting words. After a few minutes, Karla’s sobs stopped, and her grip loosened. Karlos pulled away mostly, but kept his hands on her shoulders as he looked into her eyes.
   
“Are you alright?” he asked. Karla nodded.
   
“I-I should b-be asking you th-that”, she said, her voice shaky. Karlos laughed quietly.
   
“I’m fine. I might be sore soon, but other than that, I’m fine.” He moved his hands off of her shoulders. “Especially since you’ll be able to live with Father and I now.”
   
“What do you mean? I can’t be near anyone that loves me”, Karla says.
   
Karlos chuckles. “Then what is this. I love you, and yet I am standing right next to you.”
   
Karla’s eyes widened as she realized what this meant. “Does this mean…” she trailed off, looking to her brother for confirmation.
   
“Yes”, he nodded. “The curse has been broken.” Karla stared at him in disbelief. She let out a soft laugh before cutting it off and looking once more at her brother for confirmation. He nodded again, and she couldn’t help but let out a loud cheer. She hugged her brother tightly.
   
“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Karla exclaimed, happy tears dripping from her eyes, a large smile on her face. She couldn’t believe it. Ever since she was three, she had been unable to be near anyone who loved her. Now, fifteen years later, her twin brother had broken the spell.
   
She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the bell ringing faintly in the distance. She grinned at her brother.
   
“Race ya!” she shouted as she took off. Karlos chuckled as he ran after her, only to pause when he saw someone he didn’t recognize talking to Karla. He smiled, guessing at what was going to happen.
   
Karla watched the guy in front her nervously as he rambled on. He was nervous about something too, judging by the way he was tense and held himself stiffly, and spoke quickly.
   
“-and I was just wondering if you would, I don’t know, like to go on a date with me?”
   
Karla blinked in surprise before racking her memory for a name for this guy. “I’m sorry, what was your name again?”
   
The guys face flushed and he stumbled for his words. “Uh, oh, sorry.” he mumbled. “I’m, uhm. Sorry. I’m Skyler. Wutworth. Skyler Wutworth.”
   
Karla laughed and stuck out her hand. “I’m Karla.” The guy hesitantly took her hand and shook it. It was at this point that Karla looked back at her brother, who smiled at her and nodded. She smiled back at him, and looked at Skyler. “I’d love to go on a date with you.”
   
“Really?!” Skyler’s voice cracked with excitement, causing Karla to laugh as Skyler’s flushed with embarrassment.
   
“Yes, really,'' she smiled softly. Pulling out her phone, she quickly typed in Skyler’s name before holding it out for him to put in his phone number. He does so quickly, and hands the phone back to Karla. She smiled and save the contact.
   
“I’ll send you a text later so we can discuss the details of the date,'' she said with a smile. Skyler nodded, and almost ran away, but managed to keep it to a fast walk. Karla watched and smiled softly at the loud cheer she heard as long as she could no longer see Skyler.
   
“So… what was that about?”
   
Karla jumped and turned to look at her brother, who had snuck up behind her. She turned to look and rolled her eyes at the teasing look on his face. She knew he already knew what was going on, he was just taking this moment to tease her, as any brother should. She tried to shove him away, and he laughed boisterously.
   
“But, seriously, who was that? Do I have someone on my hit list already?”
   
“You don’t have to worry about him”, Karla answered as she rolled her eyes. “He just asked me on a date.”
   
“Yep, he’s on my hit list.”
   
Karla laughed unbelievingly, but a single glance at her twins face told her he was serious. Skyer was now on Karlos’ hit list.
   
She sighed. “Well, you’ll be the first to meet him. I suspect he’ll be on Dad’s hit list more than he is on yours.”
   
Karlos laughed before going serious. “Speaking of Dad, you wanna come over after school to talk to him?”
   
“Is that even a question? Of course I wanna talk to him, not to mention see him!”
   
Karlos laughed loudly. “Alright, see ya after school!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   
“You ready to see Dad?” Karlos asked as he walked next to Karla. Karla remained silent, not entirely sure how she felt about seeing the father she had missed for the last fifteen years.
   
“I’m nervous,'' she finally said as they stood in front of the house. Karlos chuckled and grabbed her hand in a comforting way. Together, they walked forward and entered the house.
   
“Da-ad”, Karlos called. “I brought someone for you to meet!”
   
“Is it a girlfriend?” A voice came from upstairs. Loud footsteps were heard from upstairs, and soon a man appeared. Karlos was almost a complete replica of him, and Karla knew this was her father. She watched as her father studied her, and it was obvious that he didn’t recognize her. It didn’t surprise her, seeing as he hadn’t seen her in fifteen years.
   
“Dad, this is Karla”, Karlos said as he gestured to his twin sister.
   
“Aw, you found a girlfriend with the same name as your sister”,  their father cooed. Karla bit back a giggle as Karlos sighed.
   
“Dad, she isn’t my girlfriend”, Karlos stated. “Why would I date my own twin?”
   
“I don’t know, why would- wait did you say twin?”
   
This time Karla giggled, drawing her father’s attention back to her.
   
“Karla?” her father whispered.
   
“Hi, Dad”, Karla answered, a small smile on her face. Her father took a step forward, before pausing. Karla knew he was worried about the curse. 
   
“It’s okay, Dad”, Karla whispered. “Karlos broke the curse.” Tears started dripping own her face as she spoke, and that was all it took for her father to bolt to her and hug her tightly, as if afraid that if he let her go, she would disappear. Karla hugged him tightly as well, tears streaking down both their faces. Eventually, Karlos was dragged into the hug too and they stayed that way for a long time. After that, their father shot them question after question, asking about Karla’s life, and how she was treated, and then he asked questions about how they broke the curse. Karla had just finished explaining the last bit of what happened when Karlos added something.
   
“Oh, and Karla’s already got a boyfriend too.”
   
“What?!! Who is he?! Who do I need to kill?! Who do I need to protect my baby girl from?!” Karla’s father leaped up, father mode activated.
   
Karla sighed. “Okay, first of all, he’s not my boyfriend, we’re just going on a date. And Dad, I’m eighteen and a senior. I’m a legal adult now, you don’t have to worry about me.”
   
“I will always worry about you,'' her father promised. “And any boys that like you have to go through me first.”
   
Karlos was watching them bicker in amusement and in the end started downright laughing as they continued to playfully argue. Eventually his sister and father broke down in laughter too.
   
It was good to be together as a family again.