My name was Ashlyn Daniels, and I was no ordinary teenage girl. I was one of two - my twin brother, Alex, was always by my side. From the moment we were born, we were inseparable. The depth of our bond surpassed even our parents' expectations. 

On the outside, where I bloomed as an individual instead of half of a whole, I was ordinary. I had long, straight blonde hair and vivid, flashing blue eyes that matched my brother's perfectly. My dress was always either floral and pretty or dark and gothic, usually with fandoms involved somehow. I was arguably obsessed with Supernatural, Harry Potter, Sherlock, the musical Rent, and the musical Hamilton. The music department and English department at school were my favourite places to be; I played piano better than most, and although not as good as many, I could also sing, and I loved to write and while I didn't truly believe it, it was said that I was a very good writer. I often participated in musicals, concerts, choir, and English or writing competitions at my small town school. 

One thing that set me apart from others, other than being a twin, was that I had many siblings. My father, Harper, and mother, Noelle, had always wanted a large family, or 'kingdom', as Harper called it. I had four brothers - Alex, Harley, Luke, and Ashton - and three sisters - Rose, Evelyn, and Sofia. Although I was very close to my other siblings, as well, (I was the first person that Ashton told when he realised he was gay) my bond with Alex had always been something special. That's why, when I realised that he had been paying his own price, a price that few others in the family could even imagine, I was the one who was there for him.

"Jacklyn Maria Sanchez!" My head jerked up at the angry voice a few feet away. It was one of my best friends, Jackie's, brother, Ryder. He was five feet and nine inches of pure muscle, and his black hair and flashing green eyes, similar to Jackie's, complimented the look. Jackie's fire-red hair whipped in the wind from the open high school doors as she turned to look at her older sibling.

"Yes, dear brother?" she asked innocently, pasting on a well-crafted smile.

"Don't give me that," he growled. "I know you ditched third period, Jacklyn. Come on. We need to have a chat."

Jackie sighed. "Guess I have to go, guys. Love you, see you tomorrow!" My other best friend, Isabella, hugged Jackie. I was quick to follow suit.

"I should get going, too," Isabella said, brushing a strand of her shoulder-length, wavy blonde hair behind her ear, her sparkling blue eyes situated on mine.

"Okay, love you, Issy, and see you tomorrow." I bid her goodbye and hoisted my bag higher onto my shoulder. I cast my gaze around the hall, looking for Alex, who usually drove me home from school, as my sisters were involved in a lot of extracurricular activities and the remainder of my brothers were on the basketball team.

I found him in the alcove next to the principal's office, staring at his phone in complete silence. There wasn't even a hint of a smile on his blank, expressionless face. His dark brown hair fell into the blue eyes that were identical to my own, entirely obscuring them from my view. He was wearing a large, gray, oversized hoodie, black Vans, and simple blue jeans.

"Alex?" I asked, walking over to him. His head jerked up from what he had been staring at on his phone, but he didn't greet me with a wide smile like I was expecting him to.

"Hey, Ash," he said, without a trace of emotion in his voice. "Ready to go?"

"Can we stay for basketball practice?" I asked on impulse.

"Sure," he responded. "Come on." We walked towards the gym, the sound of our respective Vans hitting the linoleum floor echoing in the long corridors of the empty school. I couldn't help but to observe Alex closely as he walked, seemingly lost in thought. Something was different.

Something was wrong.

I heard the telltale signs of the basketball team before I saw them. The coach, Mr. K, or Liam, as he allowed us to call him by his first name, was correcting the boys' strategies from the far end of the gym floor.

"Your favourite little sister is here!" I called as I strutted into the gymnasium ceremoniously.

"Hey, Ash!" Tyler, the captain of the team and Luke's best friend, called. I waved to him and then waved to the rest of the basketball team, which included the rest of my brothers and many other guys that I had quickly became friends with after Luke, Harley, and Ashton had been added to the team.

"I'm not sure if I'd say favourite," Harley said overdramatically. I rolled my eyes.

"You love me and you know it," I said, smiling smugly.

"Unfortunately," Luke and Ashton groaned in perfect sync with each other.

"Are you here to watch our awesomeness?" Xavier asked, twirling a basketball on his index finger, a flawless smirk etched onto his face.

"Or is she here to watch my awesomeness?" Max countered, performing a spin in mid-air.

"Show-off," I muttered. Max put his hand over his heart in a show of mock hurt.

"Dude, you literally can't be offended by that," Carter said from behind him, rolling his eyes.

"Because you're proud of being a show-off," Daniel finished from beside him.

"That's because he's just immodest," Erin added, his black hair matted with sweat from practicing.

I looked over to the far corner, where Landon was shooting baskets by himself and not contributing to the conversation, which was unusual, and raised an eyebrow at Liam, who shrugged his shoulders and mouthed 'trust circle in a minute'.

I smiled at this. The basketball team had been my friends for as long as I could remember, ever since my brothers had joined the team. There was Tyler, the 'leader' of the team, who had blonde hair and blue eyes, Xavier, who had pure black hair and equally startling blue eyes, Xavier's older brother, Max, who was a blonde with striking green eyes, Daniel, who was a dirty blonde with eyes that were an odd combination of brown and green, Daniel's best friend, Carter, who had shaggy brown hair and brown eyes, Erin, who had black hair and chocolate brown eyes, Coach Liam, who had brown hair and deep brown eyes, and, of course, Landon, who liked to pretend he could handle everything on his own and had dark brown hair, dark brown eyes and a lot of problems.

The trust circle was something invented by Liam soon after the team was created. It went like this: Everyone sat in a circle and told the team something going on in their personal, academic, or home life. It was like a 'safe zone'. Whatever anyone said in the trust circle stayed in the trust circle. It was a way for everyone to talk about their problems with people who cared and wouldn't judge them for it. It was immensely helpful, especially to Landon, who looked like he needed it that day. In that strange way, the basketball team was more like a family than most families I had ever seen. Though I was more than exposed to it at home, the camaraderie and love between them was incredibly refreshing, and being a part of it made me feel like I had a second family.

Alex stood off to the side, still with that same apathetic look on his face, even through my exchange with the guys, which usually at least turned the corners of his mouth up. He clutched the too-long sleeves of his hoodie, looking down at the floor, obviously counting on everyone else to be too enthralled with each other to notice him and his state. I was about to walk over and attempt to talk to him when Liam blew his whistle to get everyone's attention.