A/N: NEW STORY! :) Cover is thanks to BabyBird2 it's beautiful and I love it

*Four years pre story*

     I trudged through the beach that served as the backyard of my childhood home, the weird feeling of sand between my toes oddly comforting. I wouldn't be able to go to many beaches where I was going; the chilly state of Vermont. I knew I'd be home to visit every once in a while, but I planned for my summers to stay there in Vermont - I needed to get away from the crazy California life for a little while.

I felt the sand sink as I walked towards the ocean, and pretty soon I was at the point where the water met the sand to create a gooey like substance. I plopped on the dry sand, stretching my legs before bringing them up and resting my head on my knees. The sound of the waves crashed against the shore and calmed my nerves, since I'd take my first plane ride tomorrow to an unfamiliar part of the country. I was ready to get away, though, and I knew the change of scenery would do me some good. My stomach clenched at the thought of starting over; would I make any friends? Would I miss home? I'd never been very far out of the state, and it was always with a friend or family member, never alone.

"Whatcha doing, cheese puff?" The annoying voice of my twin brothers best friend called, coming to take a seat next to me. I glanced at the person I hated the most, Luka Sanchez, and rolled my eyes at the nickname before turning my gaze back to the pacific ocean. Luka and I had never gotten along even though he'd swooped in to steal my twin more than sixteen years ago. They'd been friends since diaper days, and yet always seemed to follow me and my friends around like we were the biggest attraction in all of San Fransisco. I hated the nickname he'd doomed me with since we were children and he'd never even given me the reason, but I chalked it up to being about my weight - I'd always struggled with it and I was always chubbier than the other girls.

"Chloe," I corrected for the millionth time, side glancing him once more. His green eyes held mischief, as they always did growing up and his dark brown, almost black hair was shaggy like he'd just gotten out of bed. He had a mess of curls that the girls at our high school always fell for, and he was a big time player, along with my brother. Luka had tanned skin to show off his Mexican heritage, but he'd been born and raised in California like my siblings and I. In fact, he'd been raised right next door to us for the entirety of his and Chris' friendship, which only furthered my annoyance for his existence.

"I'm gonna miss you," he told me sincerely and I had to push the shock of his words to the back of my mind. He was just saying that, he really liked to mess with me and that included bringing up the crush I'd had on him once upon a time; I'd never live it down. When we were kids, I had the tiniest crush on him but it faded as soon as I realized he was Luka and I was Chloe and all he ever did was annoy me. "Why do you have to go so far for college? Why can't you go to state college with all of us?"

I shrugged, running a hand through my knotty blonde hair - it never liked to work with me, so it was always frizzy and unkempt. I looked to the horizon, noting the way the sun set and how the sky went from the light blue it was to the rays of pink and red. "I need a change, and Castleton is a good school."

"Giana and Zoey are going to college here too though," Luka pointed out and I repressed the urge to once again roll my eyes. He was bringing up my two best friends to make me feel guilty, which I wouldn't. Going away for college was something I'd wanted to do since I entered high school and was pushed to the bottom of the social ladder. My glasses made people think I was a nerd, my weight was a token for people to make fun of me, and Chris, my brother, and Luka were always too busy to stand up for me. I didn't want to go to college with a bunch of people that made me feel like the gum on the bottom of their shoe, and a lot of the kids at our school were aiming for the state college. "Stay here."

"No thanks," I murmured, running a hand through the sand and letting it fall through my fingers. I repeated the action a couple more times before Luka grabbed my hand in his, squeezing it gently and I turned to glare at him. "Let me go."

"I really will miss you, cheese puff."

"No you won't," I snapped, pulling myself up and brushing the sand off my pants. "You're only saying that because you want me to get some sort of false hope that maybe you and my brother give a shit about me."

"You know your brother loves you," he retorted, standing up and brushing himself off. "And I-"

"Chlo Bo!"

I smiled at the nickname, turning to the person who did actually care about me. Owen Peterson, my brothers other best friend, scooped me in a bear hug and I laughed lightly as I returned it. Owen was my brothers only friend I could get along with, and I really did like him; it was a childhood crush turned more and I would miss him a lot. He was the only person who treated me like a human being and not just Christopher Russell's little sister; besides my two best friends, of course. I'd already said my goodbye's to them, though.

Owen was completely and utterly attractive, from his wavy blonde hair to his chocolatey brown eyes. He was buff, but not obnoxiously, and he had big hands that fit perfectly in mine. I had always longed to be his girlfriend but I knew he didn't return my feelings and I'd grown used to that, so I accepted our friendship. He was my friend as well as Chris' and never made me feel differently.

"Hey Owe Bo," I greeted as he put me down, resisting the urge to sigh in content as he ran a hand through my hair. That was our thing; he loved playing with my hair, and Luka liked bothering me and playing with my hands.

"I'm gonna miss you," Owen murmured, frowning before turning to Luka. His hands were still on my waist and my cheeks reddened at the contact. Luka was eyeing his arms warily before snapping up to meet Owen's gaze. "Hey Luke."

"Hey Wen," Luka greeted shortly, glancing at me before looking back at Owen. "I was just saying goodbye to cheese puff."

Owen frowned at the nickname we'd all gotten used to, before nodding and plastering on a wide smile. "I wanted to say bye to her too, I'll miss her a lot."

"Guys!" Chris called from our back door, his hands up in the air. "What the hell? Our squad is losing without two of our star players!"

Owen pulled me into another tight hug, murmuring his goodbyes in my hair before leaning down and placing a chaste kiss to my cheek. I blushed beet red, smiling up at him as he bid adieu. "I'll miss you a lot, Chlo Bo."

"I'll miss you more, Owe Bo," I murmured honestly, watching as he made his way back to my brother. I looked over to Luka, offering him a small smile and pulling him into a hug. He was tense at first upon the contact, but recovered quickly and wrapped his arms around my waist. He laid his head in the crook of my neck, breathing deeply before I pulled away. "I'll miss you too, Cheez It."

A genuine smile lit his face at the old nickname, and he chuckled. "You haven't called me that in years."

When we were four, Luka had an odd obsession with Cheez It's and would always have a pack of them in his hand. One time when I wasn't allowed to have any more snacks he offered me some, and then he made it a habit to bring an extra pack for me every time he came over. From that point on I called him Cheez It, and since he'd always called me cheese puff it just kind of fit, but I stopped calling him the nickname in high school when being the player of high school trumped hanging out with me.

"Figured one more time, for old times sake," I informed him, and he smiled once more before giving me one more hug. Though I wasn't expecting it, I hugged him back before Chris called him to the house once more.

"I'll miss you cheese puff," he told me, taking my hand and playing with my index finger. "Don't forget me, okay?"

I snorted, shaking my head and letting a small laugh escape my lips. "I couldn't if I tried, Luka."

I watched as he made his way back up towards my house to meet my brother and Owen, glancing back every so often over his shoulder. When they got to the door, the three of them turned and waved at me before disappearing behind the sliding glass door. I felt a sense of longing as I stared at the three story building that served as my childhood home all these years; I'd miss it. My parents had decided to list it for sale when they realized the youngest of their children, Chris and I, would not be there anymore.

My older brother, Cyrus and my older sister Clara shared an apartment about an hour away, and were both in college. Chris decided he was going to get a place with Owen and Luka and split the rent, since they were all going to the same college. Chris told me I was more than welcome to come stay with them if I found Vermont didn't fit my style, but I knew I wouldn't. I was much too excited to get away.

My best friends, Gia and Zoey, were choosing to live with their parents for the time being while they went to college. They were next door neighbors all throughout high school and had chosen to attend the community college in town before transferring to the same university as the guys; it was cheaper, and unlike the three bozos currently playing video games in my parents foyer, they didn't have academic scholarships, since they'd never been the brightest bulbs in the bunch. Their words, not mine, of course. I was the only one in our group of six going out of town for college, much less going out of state, and everyone was taking it pretty hard except for me.

Gia and Zoey weren't subjected to bullying in high school, like I was. They were the popular cheerleaders in high school, hot as can be and had all the guys falling off their feet at the chance to even go on a date with one of the two of them. Zoey had very obvious Spanish roots by her naturally sun-kissed skin and her long dark brown hair always fell perfectly down her back in soft waves. Her dark brown eyes had specks of gold in them and I'd always bee envious of their depth.

Gia, the complete opposite of Zoey, had blonde hair similar to mine but it was brighter, softer and much more vibrant. It was naturally straight and she never had to do much to it to get it to look perfect. She had blue, almost grey eyes that always had a spark of happiness in them whereas mine were a dull blue. They were both model thin without even trying and had the best fashion in our high school. They were the two every girl in our high school wanted to be or be friends with, and they weren't even rude to anyone; they were just Gia and Zoey, the two nicest and most popular girls in school.

And then there was me; plain Chloe Russell with the twin brother who was popular. People knew of my existence because of my friend group, but Gia and Zoey's attempts to up my social status fell on deaf ears to the peers we grew up with. I was noticeably chubbier than them with no thigh gap and I had an extra size on them in the clothing department. My blonde hair was naturally wavy yet always frizzy and annoying, and my dull blue eyes never had the captivity that my best friends' eyes possessed. I didn't even know why they were my friends, if I'm being honest. We were polar opposites.

I'd met them around the time Chris met Owen; when Chris, Luka and I were around five. Chris met Owen while the three of us - often referred to as the three musketeers back then - were kicking around a soccer ball at the neighborhood park. Owen's family had just moved in down the street from us and he was out with his mom at the park. I kicked the ball and as Chris and Luka went running for it they bumped right into Owen, and thus they became the new three musketeers.

I was pretty upset about it as a kid, until I had my first day of kindergarten and met Gia and Zoey while the three of us were hiding from our parents in the playground. We had a good laugh about it and later on shared our finger paints, and we were best friends from then on.

Growing up, they were two of the most athletic girls I'd ever met. They were always running around with the boys, tossing a football together or playing tag, and I was never into any of that. Just to help out my cause, when we entered high school, Gia went on to be a cheerleader - captain, of course - and Zoey was captain of the volleyball team. The boys were all popular and played a couple different sports throughout the different seasons; soccer, baseball, football, basketball - between the three of them they covered a lot of different sports. And the icing on the cake was that the three of them excelled academically without even trying; they were the top of our class, Luka was valedictorian and Owen and Chris tied for salutatorian. Owen gave the speech, seeing as Chris was more focused on the girls in the front row of the graduating class. The girls fell at their feet all throughout high school, and if they weren't trying to get with Chris, Owen or Luka, they were trying to befriend Gia and Zoey.

The five of them were the popular crowd. That left me, the antisocial bookworm with two friends to sink to the bottom of the social ladder because I was hardly athletic and nothing about school excited me except leaving. I'd tag along with them in school, of course, but I'd always stay to the back of the crowd; I hated attention but I wasn't about to lose my friends because I didn't want to do the mundane task of walking with them in the halls. It's not like anyone noticed me anyway, since I stuck to my sweatshirts and sweatpants like they were going out of style.

I was determined to change my attitude towards life, at least for the most part, in college though. This was my chance to give myself a different reputation and I knew I had to take opportunity by the reigns and run with them; after all, it'd be a while before I'd be back in town. I needed to make new friends in my new one.