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Walking alongside each other, Mia and Bella head to their next class, which happens to be biology.

Mike trails after them as he continues mentioning his interest in seeing some action movie that he claims will be considered a classic in the future. It's not like Mia doesn't notice the subtle hints he's dropping of how much he wishes to suggest going together. Something she's not willing to do just to try and avoid drama with Jessica.

"Ms. Grey and Ms. Swan, welcome to Forks High School," Mr. Molina hands them their textbook and necessary materials, barely looking up from the class notes scattered throughout his desk.

Glancing towards the room, Mia notices Edward sitting in the middle row by himself. He's looking down at his notebook, his forehead creasing in concentration as his hand glides against the pages in a swift stroke. His bronze locks are a lighter shade from the minimal light reflecting from the windows, creating a golden color that matches the caramel in his eyes.

Like a siren's song luring sailors to the abyss of the sea, her presence is more than enough to draw him in. The amber hues in her eyes sparkle like stars in an empty night, the curvatures of her lips debate on offering a smile or remaining neutral. She tucks a lock of her chestnut hair behind her ear, revealing her earrings in the shape of lightning bolts. Her hands are gentle, like an angelic stroke brushing the corners of the faded textbook in her grasp.

"There's a seat next to Mike and one next to Edward," Mr. Molina turns towards the whiteboard, a sign for the class to get ready for the lesson to start.

Mike excitedly waves his hand in the air in hopes of getting Mia's attention. Only Bella thought it was for her, making her head towards the seat next to him. His smile fades ever so slightly as he continues peering in Mia's direction, watching how she heads to the empty spot next to Edward.

"And so we meet again," Edward tells her before she even gets a chance to sit down.

"Damn," she playfully rolls her eyes, sinking to her seat before plotting her elbows on the table. "How unfortunate, ghosty."

He laughs lightly, the sound of it resembling an orchestral melody. "So I finally figured out your name..." he trails off into a perfect silence, almost like he's pausing for dramatic effect. "Mia Grey."

Her name flows out perfectly, resembling a missing puzzle piece finding its way to its rightful place. His voice dances along the symmetry of the seven letters, forming a golden thread that alleviates the complexity of the labyrinth in her given legacy.

"Looks like someone did their homework." Clapping her hands lightly in more of a sarcastic way than celebratory, Mia tries moving past the whole him resembling a dead classmate thing. "Told you you'd learn it."

"You will separate and label the phases of mitosis," Mr. Molina begins instructing the lab, "The first partners who get it right are going to win the golden onion." Just as he holds it up to showcase, the entire class erupts into a fit of complaints.

Without thinking twice, Mia's already reaching for the microscope. Biology may not be her strong suit, but all those study sessions with Hermione helped her gain some insight on this particular subject. Even with all the magic courses, Hermione always made sure to learn more on muggle studies, forcing Mia to join her from believing in 'The more the merrier.'

Maybe it's Mia's competitive side or the fact that her rival's clone is sitting right next to her that makes this feel like the olden days. All she knows is that she can't lose this - it's the closest thing to the Golden Snitch - so she would definitely make sure of securing her success.

"We're winning this, so get your head in the game." Mia adjusts the magnification, lowering her eye close enough to the lens for a clearer sight.

Edward taps his fingers against the table, simply watching her switch between 40x to 100x. "Just let me do it," he wavers his hand at the microscope's handle, nearly holding it in his grasp when she harshly swerves the instrument away in a brisk motion.

"I can handle it," she snaps, her tone filled with annoyance. She takes a closer look at the slide, quickly recognizing the phase of this onion root cell. "This is definitely prophase."

"Hmm," he lazily hums, sounding doubtful of her response that earns him the deadliest of glares. "Let me check to make sure you're not messing it up."

She scoffs, offended at his lack of faith in her knowledge. If only she could tell him how she was at the top of her year back at Hogwarts, then maybe that would shut him up. "Are you seriously doubting my skills, Cullen?"

Edward shrugs, not giving a second thought to abruptly removing the microscope from her hand. "You told me to get my head in the game, so that's exactly what I'm doing."

She starts growing impatient as she swears he's taking his beloved time on purpose. The way he keeps switching the magnification every few seconds and adjusting the position of the slide on the stage is just a clear indication that he's doing it on purpose.

Mia clenches her jaw, her endurance hanging by a thread that grows with every irritating minute of his pace. She curls her fingers around her pen, tapping it incessantly against her worksheet until slamming it down in irritation. "We don't have all day."

He looks up from the instrument, jotting down the answer on his worksheet with a teasing smile. "This is definitely prophase," he throws her own words back at her, not giving her a chance to respond when he's already placing the second slide onto the stage.

If she wasn't fully irritated back then, she's a million times more now. He seems to enjoy this, almost like it's bringing him joy seeing her all frustrated and hanging on the last bit of patience.

Edward peers through the lens, ignoring the sound of her rapid heartbeat that gives out the intense level of irritation he's brought. If this were anyone else, he would've tried playing the nice card and let them take over the assignment if they pleased, but annoying her and taking control of the situation feels quite rewarding. Almost like vexing her is something he thoroughly enjoys.

"Anaphase," he states, his handwriting resembling the notes of a complicated ballad. Slowly, but surely, delicately placing its cursive letters into a perfect string.

Mia didn't want to admit just how much this little interaction was reminding her of him. Even if she's not a hundred percent certain of why their resemblance is uncanny, the way he finds ways to annoy her, up to that damned smile, and teasing beam in his eyes, just reminds her so much of the boastful Hufflepuff.

And that makes everything worse.

Sighing deeply, she reaches for the microscope at the same time he was about to move it further just to spite her. Only their hands accidentally touch, sending shivers to run down her spine at the chilling sense of his graze.

Out of reflex, Edward moves his hand away. He expects her to have some sort of reaction, maybe gasp or mention how cold he is, but she says nothing. Simply remaining quiet and pretending as if nothing happened. He tries searching her mind one more time for her thoughts, thinking he wasn't focusing enough earlier or maybe everyone's minds were increasingly louder for whatever reason. Like adjusting a radio antenna, he drowns out everyone's voices, simply searching for that melodic voice he's managed to memorize in their short moment of interacting.

Only the more he focuses, the more he comes to terms that she's the only person to be immune to his ability. Not knowing what's running through her mind infuriates him, sends him down on a spiral frenzy he's afraid of never escaping. He's become used to the noise that silence had become a dream meant for oblivion. Why couldn't he know what she was thinking? Why was he failing at this simple task? How can-

"Earth to Cullen?" Waving her hand in front of his face, his entranced gaze was broken in a matter of seconds. She had successfully labeled the next phase of the cell, making her feel quite proud of herself for managing to regain control of the instrument without his interference. "It's metaphase. You might want to write it down instead of dozing off."

Unamused expression and brows spiraling into a perfect scowl, he ignores the apparent teasing in her voice. Simply writing down the answer without choosing to doubt the efficiency of her skills.

This doesn't go unnoticed by Mia, who's already expecting him to interject and attempt to steal the instrument back. She rests her chin on her hands, impatiently tapping her foot louder by the second just to try and annoy him. Something definitely happened and she wonders why the sudden change in attitude when they were perfectly fine. Well, maybe fine isn't the right word to describe this whole interaction. Regardless of it, she's certain this had to do with their hands accidentally touching. What she doesn't understand is why such an insignificant thing would bring this down.

"So..." she trails off, eyes wandering to the front and down to her worksheet, "You're giving me the silent treatment now?"

Edward shakes his head, not sparing her a glance as he simply stares right ahead. "Just staying out of your way. Isn't that what you wanted, Grey?"

She scoffs, a sneer laugh escaping her lips as she tilts her head in his direction. There's nothing humorous about this, but something about that last sentence feels quite ironic considering that just his presence - and resembling her dead contender - contradicts with staying out of her way. Not even in Forks can she escape him because it just had to be her misfortune to find an exact replica on the one place she moved to.

"What?" he questions, his eyes becoming filled with curiosity.

"Nothing, it's just that..." she pauses, now getting a closer look into that vibrant gaze holding a mountain of hidden answers. Despite their unnatural color, they still hold his essence. His kindness, his welcoming and gentle spirit that also had a stubborn and infuriating tone to it. Staring at him is hurtful, almost impossible yet also incredibly relieving because if she's right in thinking there's a slight chance he survived, this move would not have been wasted. "You remind me of someone, and you saying that feels... strange."

He gently smiles, already knowing this person must have been important based on the adoration laced in her expression. "He must have been someone special then."

She shrugs, "He was a pain in the ass."

Maybe not special then, he thinks.

Gathering the slides neatly with each other, she slides the microscope to the middle and tries dismissing this all too familiar scenario. With their slight bickering, it almost makes her feel like nothing went wrong, as if that summer day never occurred and it had all been a nightmare.

Maybe it's the nostalgia, or her high suspicions of this coincidental encounter, but at this moment, Mia decides to attempt to get some answers. Now turning to face him again, she inches herself just a little closer before saying, "So I heard you were homeschooled."

Edward furrows his brows at her statement, realizing she must have learned all about him and his family thanks to her new circle of friends. Unsure why she's mentioning such a non relevant part, he simply nods in assertion. "I was. For three years-"

"Why the sudden need to start regular school? Seems strange starting in junior year with a little left until university." Mia narrows her eyes, studying his movements to try and figure out the smallest bit of a possible lie.

However, he doesn't seem to mind her question. From always being the person trying to get a sentence out of people, it feels strange yet oddly right to be the person on the other side. "My brothers and sisters were rarely home, so it was just me with my parents. Wouldn't you want to leave the house to try to have some fun?"

Mia pauses, her tongue pokes at her cheek as she continues staring at him as if he were some kind of suspect. His answer sounds reasonable, like a valid one that she would also make if he were in his situation, but considering that Jessica told her he and his family keep to themselves, his whole 'having fun' rationale doesn't make sense.

"And excluding yourself from everyone is having fun?" She could tell her remark disguised as a question caught him off guard. His shoulders seem to have tensed and his gaze darkened at the apparent pick on his social cues.

Grinding his jaw, he wills himself to make eye contact. He wishes to tell her that if only she heard what everyone was thinking, then she wouldn't be judging his choice of solitude. "And be friends with that sort of crowd? I'd rather be alone with just my family."

Mia understands where he's coming from. She might not have any siblings, but she does have Harry, who she considers her brother, and she would much rather surround herself with him than anyone else that dared shit on their name for the most ridiculous reasons.

"I get it," she agrees, not wanting to press further on the topic. "I'm new here and I've noticed some things. Especially in those supposed close knit groups."

A puzzled look becomes apparent in his expression. He only ever comments on everyone to his siblings, and even they seem to believe he's being too hard on them. Well, Rosalie is surprisingly the only one on his side, so at least he's not alone in this belief. But having someone other than his sister not bothered by his commentary on the rest of the school's folk, feels comforting and like a breath of fresh air.

"And what have you noticed?" he questions, now fully curious on what she's noted.

Mia looks beyond the window in a pensive state, watching the raindrops drizzle down the glass as she recollects on her time at lunch where she noticed Jessica glaring at her, Bella, and sometimes Angela with pure irritation when she believed no one was watching. That's when it made it as clear as day that Jess may not have her supposed friends' best interest at heart.

"Let's just say, those who might be considered friends, are certainly not," she says in a low voice, her eyes darting over to the table where Jessica is seated at with Lauren.

Edward nods understandingly, already having become aware of the Stanley girl since her thoughts are louder than anyone's, which makes it harder to ignore. "Then how come you sat with her during lunch?"

There's a slight pause. She narrows her eyes, a faint smile making its way to the crevices of her lips at the thought that he had noticed her as well. To be fair, it's not like she wasn't quite discreet in her staring, so that might have been a contributing factor. All she knows is that if he noticed her, then he definitely must have felt her peering eyes even when he was focusing on his conversation with his family.

"Not just with her. There were others, like Mike and Bella," she retorts, a slight pause taking over before saying, "Nice to see you noticed me around that sort of crowd."

With her throwing his words back at him, he can't help but smile at such an action that is clearly a pick at his earlier one. "It's hard not to notice someone like you. Even when being around that sort of crowd."

Mia freezes for a mere moment, his words constantly repeating in her head as she wonders what could he possibly mean by that. Someone like her? Is that meant to be a compliment or maybe some kind of insult? It certainly can't be the smallest attempt of flirting because why would someone like Edward Cullen, who apparently has rejected many, be flirting with her? It's ridiculous to think otherwise, such an appalling belief that she has no other option than to move past it.

She looks back at the window, noticing the rain has profusely gotten worse over the course of a few minutes. Having to hear her mother complain about the constant clouds and rainy atmosphere, only serves as a contrast considering this is her ideal weather. If any, this is the one and only thing Mia loves about this move.

Edward notices the way her eyes flicker in admiration at the overcast tones. She has the smallest hint of a smile and her thoughts appear to be elsewhere. Almost as if she's remembering some kind of memory that brings more joy to her lively essence. "Seems moving here might have been a good thing for you," he quips after a few minutes of silence.

She glances back at him, "What do you mean?"

"You're probably one of the only people who stare at the rain as if it were some kind of masterpiece," he states, "Either you're thinking about something else or you're actually a fan of this crazy weather."

He's right in both things. She was thinking of home and all the similarities this small town has to her grand city. Sure they may not be identical, but the rain, it's one of the qualities that helps ease the upsetting nature of having been practically forced to escape the one place she felt like she belonged. And all for what? All to be safe when it's selfish considering everyone she loves is endangering themselves by staying and being forced into trying to ignore it.

"It's both," she finally says, "The rain feels like home. There's a certain beauty to it. One that can't be explained and it just... gives me peace."

"So you're quite lucky to have moved to the wettest place in the continental U.S."

Something switches in Mia at that instant. Maybe it's reality finally hitting her like a cold slap on the face as she officially takes in everything that's happened since this morning. She didn't expect to find an exact replica of the boy she used to constantly compete and surprisingly have fun with. She thought moving here would give her some kind of normalcy, some form of peace that would become her haven and make everything better, but this, this interaction isn't making anything better.

It's making it worse.

All of this is wrong. Especially interacting with this person who may or may not be him. Mia wishes she could just ignore this encounter, to try and come up with some logical explanation, but given her far from ordinary life, she knows better than to ignore this. Even if the truth is not what she expects or is anything less than what she wanted, she needs to learn the reasoning behind this.

"It's not luck," Mia's voice comes out lower than intended. "If anything, it feels like the complete opposite."

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"It's complicated." Not that she was lying about it because how can she just casually mention that he's a carbon copy of her late friend? Well, friend might not be the right word to describe their relationship, but it's better than just calling him anything else.

A sly smirk covers his features, "I'm sure I can keep up."

She laughs dryly, "I'm not sure you would."

Before he could respond, Mr. Molina resumes the class and gathers everyone's worksheets. Despite the earlier complaints on the golden onion being the grand prize, there's anticipation and excitement in the air as to who won.

After a few minutes of grading, it was revealed that Mia and Edward were the winners. It took everything for her not to jump in excitement. Sure it's an insignificant thing to be ecstatic about, but the rush of energy she gets when winning is more than gratifying, it's incredible. Almost like the feeling you get before a roller coaster drops or when catching the biggest wave and successfully surfing it with ease.

Edward can practically see the joy emitting from her. Her smile illuminates the entire room, if not, the entire school and the rest of the world. Her eyes are sparkling like the longing sun, reflecting the golden tinge of a refreshing mimosa. She's vibrant, truly encapsulating in every sense that brings a comfort to settle in.

Mia shifts her body in his direction and holds her palms out for a high five. She can see his reluctance that only makes her much more determined to get him to join, "Come on. Don't leave me hanging."

He playfully rolls his eyes, but decides to give in and gently bumps his palms against hers. She doesn't even give a reaction to his icy hands, not even some form of gasp or alert in her eyes. She's just... calm, almost like she doesn't mind or seem to think much of it.

Mr. Molina walks over and hands her the golden onion. She eagerly removes it from his hands and observes it in close detail as if she's studying one of Van Gogh's exhibits. That's when the bell rings and off the class goes, leaving the two of them behind as they gather their belongings.

"Want to flip a coin and see who takes it?" she suggests, even though she has no intention of letting him have it.

"I'll be kind and let you take it. It seems to mean much more to you."

"Appreciate that, ghosty," Mia places her satchel over her shoulder and adjusts the leather strap before walking away. She smiles to herself when sensing his eyes following her all the way to the door, "It's not polite to stare, Cullen."

Quickly, he averts his gaze and meets her halfway out. He runs a hand through his hair nervously as the ghost of a smile curves upwards on his sculpted lips. "Pssh, I wasn't staring," he tries denying as he walks alongside her to her locker.

With a massive amount of sarcasm, she places her textbooks inside and says, "Yeah, sure. You would've turned me into stone with how heavy your stare was."

"You know what?" he reaches for the golden onion and firmly holds it as he tucks it behind him. "I'm keeping the onion since I did most of the work."

Mia's mouth is slightly agape as her eyes widen in disbelief at the complete lie. Without even thinking, she tries reaching for the vegetable, struggling to grab it when he holds it up in the air knowing she won't be able to reach.

"Give it now, Cedric-" she stops herself when realizing the mistake she just made. She could only hope he didn't notice and chooses not to question her about it.

Edward slowly lowers the onion when seeing her expression diminish. He's certain it has to do with the person he reminds her of and considering she called him by his name, it's not hard to realize all the memories of this person must be rushing back.

"Cedric? Is that who I remind you of?"

Mia is silent for what feels like an eternity. Now would be a great time to try and figure out if there's some possible connection between them, but why does she feel afraid? Many say the truth will set you free, and in some cases it does, but on other occasions, it only entangles you in its web of consequences.

She figures there's no use in trying to sugarcoat anything. If there's a chance Edward is him, then wasting time not figuring it out won't be of much use. "You're identical to him, which is annoying if I'm being honest..." she trails off into a momentary pause, ignoring the stares of the others as they walk past them. "And the thing is, you looking exactly like he did makes everything worse because now I'm questioning if he's somehow alive or maybe you're just some long lost twin or doppelganger."

Her words are rushed, nearly tumbling against each other that makes it hard to understand, but Edward understands everything she said. He wishes to offer comforting words, to try to offer some explanation to this, but he's just as confused as she is. There's nothing he can do or say because all he believes is that this is simply a coincidence, just pure luck that he managed to resemble someone to an exactitude.

She stares attentively at him and studies his movements, his eyes, just everything. She hopes that she's able to catch him in some kind of lie, but she's surprised that he's just as confused as her. He doesn't seem to have the answers she was seeking for, which just frustrates her even more on having to remain in the dark.

"Were you honestly homeschooled? Or were you lying?" She questions much more determined and less afraid.

He wishes to ease her doubts, but he's unable to because that would mean revealing his secret. Being homeschooled had been a lie made by Carlisle since Edward was having trouble controlling his thirst.

All this time, he's been receiving help from Carlisle. He's been constantly forced to attend small events just to try and train himself to restriction. It wasn't easy, but eventually, he regained his control and was finally able to be around larger masses. The fear of hurting someone would always remain, but he could trust himself to a greater extent now, which is why he decided attending school with his family seemed proper now.

How can he explain this to her? There's no solution to this dilemma, because regardless of his words, there wouldn't be clarification as to why he looks like her friend. He can't offer her the needed solace without disclosing his secret.

"I'm sorry about him, and I wish I could give you the answers you need but..." he trails off, trying to find some solution to this, "Maybe you're right in believing I'm some doppelganger. Who knows? Stranger things have happened."

Mia feels a wave of disappointment when realizing he's not him. Even if her heart is telling her to dig deeper, all the signs point to a reasonable explanation. Considering there are lots of supernatural creatures, what's to say he doesn't fall into the category? Especially with the unusual characteristics that revolve around his unnatural eye color, extremely pale and cold skin, and the fact that the Cullens all appear to have been sculpted to perfection.

Trying to switch the topic of conversation, Mia takes advantage of his distraction and abruptly takes the golden onion from his hands. "I believe this is mine," she teasingly says, earning a smile from him as he shakes his head in disbelief.

"This isn't over," he teases as she walks away.

Waving the onion in the air with her back facing him, she hollers, "It definitely is!"

Once reaching the parking lot, she tries ignoring her disillusioned spirit on not getting some type of closure, and worse, learning that Edward Cullen is not Cedric Diggory.

Author's Note

Hope you guys liked the chapter!
So what do we think?

Is Edward really Cedric or is it just a coincidence? Let me know your theories!

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