Cobwebs hung off of unlit torches like sheer curtains. Two gold caskets with strange, Celtic engravings laid on a raised platform. The glorified tomb was filled with various golden trinkets stashed carelessly in mountainous piles. Holes, just large enough to fit a small casket, were carved into the length of the tomb's ten story stone walls. The only light came from the moon, which looked like a small white dot from the place Luna Goodwin was standing. She stood knee deep, in murky water. And though she frantically tried to move out from the disgusting moat, her feet remained rooted in place. She was trapped by her own mind, forced to watch as the scene unfolded. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a group of people slip from an unknown corridor and stand beside the tombs. They were shadows under the limited light of the night sky, their faces were darkened and voices hushed.

There were five of them, Luna concluded, but she couldn't tell whether they were girls or boys, old or young, short or tall. Two of the shadows separated from the crowd and trudged through the most.. A high pitched whine came from one of the shadows, Luna empathized with that person, she too was whining about being forced to stand in the chilled water. Beside the obvious dirt, she had no idea what was hiding by her feet. Maybe bones or rats, all the nasty things that would be found in a tomb. The two strangers managed climbed up the stairs to the platform and stood in front of the caskets. A brief moment of hesitation passed between the two, before they reached out and opened the tomb. Luna didn't understand what had come upon her but her stomach had twisted into knots, and her fingers began to quake. Something bad was going to happen, if they opened those tombs. She tried to move her feet and run to them, but her feet were yet again stuck. Luna did the only thing that she could, she screamed.

And then, she woke up.

When Luna's eyes shot open, the first thing they saw was the deformed face of a greatly aged woman. A startled cry escaped her lips as she jumped out of her bed and onto the floor. All she could think about, were the shadowy people and golden tombs. Her mind took another minute and a half to realize that she was back in the world of the living. The lined face did not belong to a corpse, but to a heavy set, elderly woman who was staring at Luna as if she had three heads. The woman was, Deena, Celeste Goodwin had hired her as a housekeeper six years ago. Deena was living off of an expiring visa and the hope to find love at sixty-five when Celeste found her. It was safe to say that she had yet to find love but now that she had a job, the U.S. Government was no longer threatening to send her back to the small village of Krasnov in Ukraine.

"Oh Deena you scared me," Luna released a sigh of relief.

Deena pursed her lips, she had a few colorful words in mind for Luna but instead, settled for. "I scared you? No. You scared me! I came to work on time, like always, expecting you to be in school when I hear big scream. I thought someone had killed you. That mess would have taken forever to clean."

Luna blanched. For six years, Deena had worked for her mother and after six years, Luna realized that Deena hated doing her job more than anything else. She always came to work late, and when she did come on time, she would spend a good hour watching romantic sitcoms. Celeste and Luna rarely made any messes but when they did, Deena would spend fifteen minutes complaining about said mess before even thinking about cleaning it up. Luna really didn't understand why her mother kept her around, Deena had as much charm as mosquito. And she sucked her mother's bank account dry, like one too. But Celeste still insisted they needed the help.

"I just had a nightmare," Luna stood to her feet and wrapped her arms around her naked torso. She usually felt uncomfortable in Deena's presence but even more so that morning, since she was only in her matching Victoria secret bra and panties.

The elder woman, however, was not phased by Luna's state of dress but by her nightmare. Luna was a dreamless sleeper, as far as Deena knew. She knew that development would be a vital piece of information for Celeste to know but didn't voice her concerns to Luna. Instead she rose to her feet and said, "A nightmare? Hmmm. You should get dressed you're late for school." Leaving that news to settle, Deena wobbled out of Luna's room and slammed the door shut.

"Shit!" Luna checked her clock, not once, not twice but three times to make sure that the little numbers were correct.

Somehow, she had slept through her alarm and now she was twenty minutes late to school. Her head was spinning. She could not be late. She was never late. There was a specific Luna lived by to keep her life in order. And at the top of her list, rule number two, was never be late. She ran to her closet, grabbing the first shirt and pair jeans she could get her hands on. After getting dress and nearly ripping her shirt in half like the hulk, she slipped on a pair of ballet flats and raced out the door. The sound of a ticking clock rang in her ears as she sprinted out of the house. Her hands could not move fast enough, as she dug through the bottom of her book bag to find her keys. She found a quarter, a piece of gum, three pencils and a crushed dollar bill before the keys. But when she finally did find them, she wasted no time throwing her Aston Martin in reverse and speeding out of the driveway.

School had already been in session for thirty minutes, by the time she was coasting down the freeway. Though the speedometer was pushing almost a hundred miles per hour, she knew she still wouldn't arrive at campus for another ten minutes. There, waiting for her at the school gate would be the infamous pink slip of imperfection. That little piece of paper would be the destruction of a six year reputation. She knew she was being a bit dramatic as a single tear slid down her cheek. It was only one tardy- a mere blemish on her record. But in Luna's mind even the smallest of imperfections would set off the balance of her world. Ever since the incident with Mrs. Haverstock, she knew her way of life was being threatened. She never did anything out of the ordinary and now, suddenly she could hear stray voices in her head and feel emotions that didn't belong to her. There was obviously a reasonable explanation for the oddities that were occurring but she had yet to learn what that explanation was. So in the meantime, she pretended like nothing was happening. If she heard a voice, she'd ignore it. If she felt a stray emotion, she'd ignore it.

Being late was not something she could ignore, though. And that stupid dream, or vision, was the cause. Luna wanted nothing more to forget about the creepy tomb and shadowy people but her mind betrayed her by playing the image over and over again until it was burned into the back of her brain. Dreams usually had meanings, right? Whatever a person dreamt about usually correlated with unknown thought or feeling that was nagging at them. Luna could think of many fears that belonged in a tomb but she didn't see how any of them were significant. A groan fell from her lips as the pain in her temples flared once more. This was agony, she thought. She no longer felt safe with her own thoughts and feelings because she didn't know which ones were hers. And yes, she knew perfectly well how crazy that seemed. Her mind was a traitor.

As expected, by the time she reached the school the gates were closed. The gatekeeper, a greasy looking creep, gave her a wicked smirk before proudly handing Luna a pink slip and opening the gates. Bile touched the edge of her tongue, as she stuffed the slip into her bookbag and parked her car. Her usual spot was taken by some low life who owned a red dodge rover, so Luna parked at the back of the lot with all of the juniors. She couldn't help but scoff at the beat up pile of junk as she passed. It did not deserve her spot.

New Brooks High School had never before looked so daunting. As she approached the school, Luna couldn't help but see the place she formerly thought of as a kingdom, as a prison with it's faded brick walls and high tech security system. A sickening feeling twisted in her gut as she bounded up the stairs and threw open the door. It was like her body knew something bad was going to happen before her mind. In between classes, the halls were always overflowing with teenagers- the noise and smell alone could make a person dread school but Luna, personally, hated it when everyone else was in class and the halls were completely deserted. She felt like a girl in a horror movie as she made her way down the narrow halls. It was so quiet, she thought. Too quiet for a place filled with a thousand kids.

Once she reached her locker, Luna quickly stuffed her bookbag into the small compartment and pulled out her needed books. She also made sure to grab her phone, the screen periodically flashed on as new messages flooded her inbox. Almost half of them came from Jane and Will. The last message she received was from Will, who was basically threatening to skip school to see if she was okay. Normally, Luna would find the idea of skipping school, for whatever reason, to be obscene but she couldn't deny how appealing it sounded to her. A day with schedule, where she could breathe freely without the crushing weight of the world upon her chest. Out of the corner of her eye, Luna could see the two rusted bye doors that led to freedom. The doors were only ten steps away, how convenient. And yet, she slammed locker door shut and turned from the doors resolutely. Freedom was a forbidden fruit she just couldn't taste yet.

"Luna!" Flinching, Luna looked ahead to where Jane was standing at the end of the hall.

Jane ran over to her best friend, well, she ran as fast as her pastel pink heels and black pencil skirt would allow her. It had been two days since the two had seen each other and though Jane was ecstatic to speak to her best friend, Luna wanted nothing more for Jane to disappear. She still remembered how Jane had stared at her as if she had three heads and was speaking in Klingon. In that moment, Luna Goodwin- the golden girl, Miss Perfect, the almighty Queen of New Brooks- was a freak. And though Jane tried to debunk Luna's haughty accusations, it was clear the girl still had reservations. She thought it was strange that Luna knew all about an accident that had yet to exist. And she couldn't get Luna's haunted stare and stilted words out of her head, "What's happening to me?" Jane knew her place. She knew how things worked if you wanted to exist in Luna's world. Don't ask questions, just do. Smile and nod. Be a pleasant looking backdrop and fight the urge to ever want to become more. Luna never actually told Jane that she had to act that way, but they were unspoken rules. That's the way Luna Goodwin worked, she was kind and pleasant. An all around great girl, nothing at all like the stereotypical popular girls from movies. She didn't seek people out to be mean  nor did she treat her friends as if they were lap dogs. She was fine as long as everything worked in her favor. But God help the world if something ever did go awry, they would definitely need it.

"Where have you been? Will was this close to skipping school to find you but I stopped him," Jane pinched her fingers together to show just how close Will was to leaving.

"I'm only twenty minutes late, Jane." Luna spoke in a superior tone, as if she was speaking to a child.

The shock, Jane was feeling transpired onto her face as her jaw went slack. She could not believe her ears. Luna was the very person who taught her that to be late was the first way to fail a day and every day was important in order to succeed in life. It was an endless cycle of putting effort into the smallest things to make their life, that much better. There was a time, in the ninth grade, when Jane got the flu. She was spewing chunks and blowing up toilets but Luna had told her that staying in bed and letting the virus settle was defeatist. Her exact words were, "A little fever never killed anyone but being late means you'll fail school and if you fail school you won't get a job and if you don't get a job you won't be able to get food and then you most certainly will die from starvation." The logic in that statement was skewed but nonetheless Jane went to school, on time.

"Only twenty minutes? What the hell Luna do you actually hear yourself right now."

Luna bit her lip. Yes, she heard herself and it hurt her to say as much as it hurt Jane to hear. But she couldn't let Jane know that- like always she had to remain cool and composed. Like an unbreakable shard of glass.

"Let's not talk about this right now, Janey. I really have to get to class." Luna tried to step around Jane but she was blocked.

"No. We're going to talk about this now. Something's  wrong, I don't know what but we've always told each other everything. Like the time I told all about my parents divorce or when you told me that you were falling in love with Will. We've never kept things from each other, Luna, so why start now?"

But Luna hadn't just started to keep things from Jane. She had been keeping things from her since the very beginning of their friendship. Since their very first conversation, even. Jane had been new to New Brooks in middle school and she was instantly infatuated with the idea of Luna Goodwin. She wanted to know everything about her, and so the usually shy girl, threw her inhibitions to the wind and sat next to her English class. It was an eyebrow raising gesture but Luna didn't seem to care. She took everything in stride, asking the new girl the customary questions and commenting here and there when they found that they had something in common. In the midst of that conversation Jane had spoken about the struggle of being an only child and Luna, though she couldn't technically empathize, agreed nonetheless. Jane went on the next several years of the friendship completely ignorant to Luna's twin's existence. It was just one of many secrets that Luna kept from Jane, the list could really go on forever.

"Jane, I really have no idea what's gotten into today but move! I have to go to class."

"Did someone hurt you? Are you sick? I mean really, I'm struggling to come with any explanation as to why you're acting so weird," Jane ranted.

"I am fine- well I was fine- but now if I can't get to class, then I might have a problem."

The annoying shrill of the bell sounded, and like clockwork, the doors to the classrooms flew open as a myriad of students fled to the halls. Letting out a sigh, Luna managed to slip past Jane and walk into the flowing crowd. A relieved smile flitted onto her face as she saw tufts of Will's golden hair peaking out of the crowd. Worming through the small gaps between people, Luna managed to reach Will's side. She threaded her much smaller fingers through his, which came as a shock to Will. Not knowing who was holding his hand at first, Will tried to unlock his fingers but then he caught a sight of the most beautiful sparkling blue eyes and relaxed. That relaxation, however, only lasted for a few seconds until he saw the torrent stream of tears wallowing in her eyes. They both stopped, staring seamlessly at each other before Luna yanked on his arm and pulled him into a nearby janitor's closet.

"God dammit Luna! Are you okay? I was worried sick," All of his previous anxiety rushed back to his head as he stared at her.

Luna was most certainly not okay. Even a blind man would be able to tell from the half hysterical sniffles that were spewing from her mouth. She was so confused and scared. Luna told Will that how absolutely terrified she was, that her own mind seemed to be betraying her but she did so without revealing any details. Which, left Will feeling even more panicked and confused.

"Lu you aren't making any sense! What's this about voices and visions? Let me feel your forehead you probably have the flu."

Batting Will's hand away from her face, Luna forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down. She knew how absolutely crazy she sounded but there was no way she could possibly explain the whole mess to Will without breaking out into hysterics. It was just so damn confusing!

"I don't have the flu, Will! I'm losing my mind. I'm going crazy!"

"Yes. You keep saying so but why?"

Please, Lu, don't cry. Luna heard the soft timber of Will's voice within her mind. A horrified gasp escaped her lips, as she stared up at him. As if a floodgate had opened she could feel an overwhelming amount of anxiety and worry wash over her in waves. Though she was certainly anxious and worried, Luna had the distinct feeling that those emotions did not belong solely to her. They came from her wonderful boyfriend who was worried sick over the potential destruction of her mental state.

"There is no way I could explain it without sounding crazy."

"Well you have to try!" It can't possibly sound any more crazy than what is going on now, Will thought.

"But it is crazier!"

Will froze. He blinked once, then twice and then a third time, hoping that his ears had deceived him. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that Luna was responding to a statement he thought  of in his mind. But Will did no better, at least he thought so, and immediately dispelled that notion.

"What did you say?" He asked, feeling confident that somehow he had just misheard her.

"Will," Luna took a deep breath and instantly regretted is as the sterile smell of cleaning supplies infiltrated her system, "the truth is much crazier than what little information I am telling you know. I- I need you to think of something, think long and hard about it.

What? What is she going on about?

"Lu, I'm really confused here."

"Yeah," Luna tried to blink the tears out of her eyes, "I got that from the, what? What is she going on about?"

"H-how?"

Once again, Will was hoping that he had just misheard her and she wasn't really reciting his thoughts but he knew that wasn't true. They were all alone, in the dark janitor's closet nothing else could be heard except the heat radiator that was gently humming above their heads.

"Did you just-"

Luna didn't let him finish. "Unfortunately."

"But that's not possible!"

Mind reading was purely fictional in Will's mind. He was a man of science, much like the grandfather he was named after- William James Burrow- who had worked for NASA until he died of a heart attack at the age of 63. Will was eight at the time of his death but even in those young and hazy years, Will distinctly remembered being taught to always believe in facts. Facts were the one reliable thing in his life- well facts and Luna. And Luna also shared a similar viewpoint when it came to fact over fiction. Together, the two of them were able to figure out that the Easter bunny, Santa Claus and Tooth fairy weren't real. They also discovered at the age of five that neither were mermaids or Bigfoot. The one true mystery that remained unsolved, was the case of Luna's twin. Nobody could explain her. She was simply a freak of nature- at least, that's what Luna claimed.

"Believe me, I know that! I keep telling myself that and yet things like this keep happening!"

Will knew that mind reading wasn't humanly possible but staring into the frightened eyes of the girl he loved, the very girl who had been his shoulder to cry on and hand to hold, he couldn't dispute the fact that she was telling the truth. Luna could read his mind, that was a fact. How, was a completely other story. A few minutes passed and neither one of them were completely ready to continue with the conversation but Will had the strong impression that there was something else that Luna was keeping from him.

"It's not just the whole mind thingy," Luna couldn't bring herself to actual say the word mind reader. "At my house, when the ice sculpture fell..."

"You saw it happen," Will finished her statement, remembering the haunted look that seized hold of her face as she went slack in his arms. And then, in the midst of his pleas for her to snap out of it, she had miraculously regained consciously and bolted down the stairs- only to stop his mother from being crashed from a large crescent moon sculpted from ice.

"And I can feel your emotions. I know they're not mine because you're feeling slightly awed at the moment and I- well I just went to scream repeatedly hitting my head with a pillow." Luna was trembling now, she fisted her quivering hands and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"God dammit, Lu."

Luna expected for Will to push her or call her a freak, instead he pulled her into his arms and started planting fevered kisses on her forehead. His lips gradually made their way down the length of her nose, pecked the tip twice and then hovered above her parted lips. Luna allowed herself to relax in his embrace. Her fingers gripped the fabric of his button down shirt, knuckles brushing against his defined abs. The intoxicating scent of lemons and spice somehow managed to overwhelm the scent of Clorox and bleach. For a brief moment, Luna managed to forget all about her strange abilities and the fact that they were currently hiding in a dark and cramped janitor's closet. All that mattered was Will, as long as he was with her, she would be okay.

"Everything is going to be fine," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "We'll talk to your mom and figure this out. And then everything will be alright."

Their lips met once more, this time the pecks were not merely polite but passionate. Will clung to Luna tightly, taking deep gulps of airs each time they broke apart, almost like he was trying to breathe in her essence. Luna nudged her leg between his and nipped at his bottom lip, a feeling of euphoria sparked - causing her blood to turn to molten lava in her vines. The two were so caught up in the moment, they did not hear the bell ring, nor did they hear the clatter that arose when Luna's hip knocked over a mop. It was only when the door swung open, revealing a blinding white light and two disapproving stares, did they break apart.

"I knew I heard something!" The familiar shrill of Mr. Wilkes voice met Luna's ears.

Blood rushed to her cheeks, as she cupped her hands over her eyes. Standing beside Mr. Wilkes was none other than Mr. Anderson- the principle. And by the glare he was giving the two, he was none too pleased about their recent activities.

"Mr. Anderson please I can explain-" Will tried to use the diplomatic voice he reserved only for debate club but the principle was not buying it.

"I think I've seen all that I need to. You two in my office."

Stunned, neither Luna or Will moved. There had never been a time before where they had been in trouble. Hell, Luna couldn't even remember the last time someone dared to glare at her. Whether it be teacher or student. And Mr. Anderson had never treated them like any other student, he asked about their personal lives and sometimes invited them into the teacher's lounge for coffee. He was a stocky man, with a large furry mustache and bulging gut. The kind of man that would like Santa Claus in a couple of years into his retirement- jolly and considerate. Not at all like the glowering man who stood before them.

"Now!" He yelled, causing both Luna and Will to jump to action.

---------------

Sitting in Mr. Anderson's office with their hands folded neatly in their laps and eyes focused on different corners of the room- both Will and Luna were meticulously trying to dissect the situation that they were in. Will was the first to notice that Mr. Anderson's office hadn't changed since they last visited but it seemed different and colder. Perhaps that was because the last time Mr. Anderson and Will had a chat it was on the much brighter terms of Will's soccer scholarship or maybe it was because the secretary Ms. Greene had just cranked up the air conditioning. Either way, the situation was different and Mr. Anderson was not happy about that. The man must have been as shocked as they were, because after they reached his office he did nothing but stare at the two. It took at least five minutes for the older man to purge the image of the two making out from his mind and then another two minutes to think of something to say.

"Now, I hate to do this but there is a school protocol that I must follow..." He began.

Luna's bottom lip was being torn to shreds by her teeth as her knee bounced anxiously. She knew what was coming, she had read the student handbook multiple times in the past. Ten times, if she remembered correctly and it clearly stated that public shows of affection were not allowed, any infraction would result in a detention. And though detention might seem cool after watching the breakfast club, the regular crowd that hung out there after school was anything but cool. They were New Brooks's lowest bottom feeders. The kids that dressed in all black and smoked anything possible. If being late was a nightmare come true, detention was her own personal hell.

"Mr. Anderson please!" Luna jumped to her feet. Seeing the shocked expressions from both her boyfriend and their principle, she decided to use a softer tone. "Please, we promise to never let something that happen again. It was totally inappropriate but our first infraction. Please just, let us leave. Please."

Mr. Anderson stared at her blankly, his mouth slightly ajar as he listened to the gentle thrall of Luna's voice. The man was blissfully unaware of the magic sizzling in the air, changing his perceptions of life. All he knew, was that he needed to let Miss Goodwin and Mr. Haverstock go. Afterall, it was only their first infraction. Like Luna had said, it would never happen again. Stuck in his trance, his eyes never blinking, Mr. Anderson gestured to the door.

In a monotonous voice he said, "It was totally inappropriate but your first infraction. You may leave."

"Uh, Mr. Anderson?" Will asked.

His face contorted with confusion as he stared at their principal who seemed to be doing his own horrifying rendition of the mannequin challenge. Glancing up at Luna, Will saw that she was in a similar state of confusion, her lips pursed and brows furrowed. She tried to wave her fingers in front of his face but still, Mr. Anderson did not blink. Only seconds ago the man was prepared to send them detention now, he seemed complacent with going along with Luna's pleas. Even though Will was practically a genius it didn't take someone very smart to realize something was wrong. And he had a hunch it had something to do with Luna's newly discovered abilities.

Standing to his feet, Will grabbed Luna's arm by the elbow and pulled her out of the office. Ms. Greene, the secretary, was too busy gossiping on the phone with her friend to notice them as they snuck into the hallway. Luna's face was still twisted with confusion, she had no clue what had just transpired but Will did and he had a feeling this would only be the beginning.

"Lu you need to go see your mom right away," Will led her to the front doors.

Digging the heels of flats into the linoleum floors, Luna tried to get Will to slow down, but his strength vastly outweighed hers.

"Will stop!" She barked, "Stop. What happened in there."

Will didn't look at her as his hand clamped around the doorknob. Sucking in a deep breath, he pushed open the door and said, "You did Lu. Whatever happened back there, you did."

**Chapter six has actually been quite the work in process because it's the longest chapter and also the lat chapter before Luna and Twyla come face to face. In the next chapter, not only will the twins come face to face but we will also be meeting Celeste for the first time since the prologue. Please tell me what you thought of this chapter and how Will handled the truth, I think he did pretty well but considering how much he cares about her it isn't too shocking. Also, please tell me your predictions about what will happen during the family reunions. Some of you guys are pretty spot on predictors, I think you'll definitely like how the book plays out in that case.

Thank you guys for the support! I know some of you may be on the rocks about this book now but I appreciate you giving it a chance so early out.
XOXO,
Ro.**