Twin Flames

Atop Kaster Mountain, only a fifteen-minute walk from a private tram station stood a giant ski lodge owned by the White family. Working their way up a well-defined pathway was a massive group of freshly graduated teenagers, all with overnight bags slung over their shoulders. As the building came into view, gasps and awes of surprise were shared among the group, and even Kenny Clark had to let out a long exhale of surprise; the building was nothing like what he remembered from two years ago. Its spruce walls seemed to stretch upright to the sky, dozens of windows let the interior lights shine out, and an occasional puff of smoke could be seen escaping through the few chimney tops.

Moving into the lodge, the group wouldn't be here for more than a day. In fact, they wouldn't be here for anything other than the night. It was the weekend after graduation, and the group of twenty-plus teens was set to meet up for a party in the city of Dartwin. It was to stretch far into the night, and when all was said in done, Brian White would host the crew at his family's ski lodge nearby to save them a grueling drive home or a good few bucks at a nearby hotel. The only downside at all was the simple fact that the building was not set to hold over twenty people, so everyone was either bunking or sleeping on a couch or chair. With a mixture of jocks, cheerleaders, partiers, and the classic nerds in the bunch, Brian couldn't help himself and decided that the few who got lucky enough to get one of the few bedrooms had to be up to random chance.

Holding a raffle as soon as they got inside, the master bedroom went to Nicole Moore and her best friend, Anna Ross. The first queen-sized bedroom went to Mindy Long and, to her chagrin, Kennedy Thomas, the biggest bitch in school. The two single beds were dished out to Juliet Clark and Brian White, while the final guest room, hosting the other Queen-sized bed, went to Kenny and Kennedy's twin sister, Claire. It was certainly an unexpected mix, but all the winners of the raffle didn't dare complain, not wanting to risk the chance they lost their bed in the trade for a couch or lounge chair. So, while the majority went to find their campout spots in the lodge, the group of eight headed to the second floor to unpack their overnight bags.

Heading through the heavy wooden door on the left, Kenny and Claire found themselves standing before a cozy, inviting bedroom. The lights gave off a warm orange glow; a heavenly-looking bed sat against the far wall in the center, and a few dressers lined either wall, along with a love seat positioned in front of a television. Claire dropped her bad and rushed in with a giddy smile, swinging herself through a door midway down the leftmost wall. Kenny followed a few steps behind, but as he set his bag down on the edge of the bed, he heard Claire let out a small squeal, "Oh my God, we have a private bathroom!? Ahhhh, this is so nice! Look at the bath and the fucking sinks! Oh my God, Kenny, this is so perfect! I don't care! When we get back, I'm taking a nice bubble bath!" Kenny couldn't help but grin at the blonde girl, unconsciously having a moment of comparison to her twin.

Identical down to the eyelash, both Claire and Kennedy were on the short side, with long luscious blonde hair and warm brown eyes. Their bodies were equally fit and toned, with small perky breasts and tight killer asses. Just by looking, it'd be hard to pick one twin out, but those who knew the pair knew very clearly that Claire was as sweet as pie, not a mean bone in her body, and had a habit of working her way around the jocks in school. Kennedy, on the other hand...was nothing like her twin sister. To many, she was the picture of innocence just by her sweet smile, but ones like Kenny knew all too well that it was all a clever game to her. She knew how to use words to cut deep or spin a yarn and fabricate whatever story she needed to come out on top. It was fair to say not everyone was happy even to see her tonight, and as mean as it was to think, Kenny understood why Kennedy was the only cheerleader who hadn't even had a date her senior year.

Pushing the thoughts to the side, Kenny instead focused on his much more friendly roommate. "Heh, yeah, Brian's family don't usually settle for anything but the best," Kenny unzipped his bag, pulling out his stack of folded clothes and bringing them over to the nearest dresser. Claire came swinging back into the bedroom, gliding across the floor without a care in the world, and returning to her bags.

"This is going to be the best party ever and the best night ever!" Claire all but sang as she followed Kenny's lead, starting to unpack, "Even Kenzie can't get too grumpy up here; it's impossible!"

"Here's hoping," Kenny softly agreed, and he cocked his head, looking out the door and across the hall. The moment he heard Mindy was the one stuck with Kennedy, he was worried. It wasn't a secret to him how Kennedy's true personality came out when she was around people outside her crowd. More than once, Mindy relayed a few stories of insults tossed her way by the girl. He hoped that, at the very least, the only time Mindy would have to see her was seconds before falling asleep.

At that moment, a little light went off in Kenny's head, "Hey Claire, I just realized something," The blonde girl turned to him with a chirping hum, "I mean, I'm your roommate, and Mindy is Kennedy's roommate, do you just want to switch? That way, you can be with your sister for the night?"

"Aw, thank you!" Claire widely smiled back, and Kenny returned it as he grabbed his clothes again, about to head back to his bag with them, "But no thanks." Kenny stopped in his tracks, giving the cheerleader a double take,

"Huh? Did you just say no?" Kenny tilted his head,

Claire giggled, "Yeah, dummy; the whole point of picking the roommates was to let it be random and fair. If I switched with Mindy, then Julie would probably want to switch with Nicole or something, and then everyone would be upset!" Claire continued to unpack with glee, "Besides, Kenzie could use a new friend. And well, you're super nice, and since Mindy's your best friend, she must be super nice."

"U-Uh...yeah, you know, Mindy's cool. Though I don't know if, uh, Kennedy would really get along with her all that well..." Claire looked back with a confused pout, "You know, just because of how different they are!" He swiftly added with a nervous half-smile,

Claire let out a murmuring laugh, "Oh, that's what everyone thinks about Kenzie; but once they spend some real time with her, they learn how fun she can be..." The blonde tilted her head, thinking for a moment, "Or, well, they will figure that out once someone finally gives her that chance. Anyway, it's whatever," She tossed a hand, "I'm happy to share the night with you. It's been such a drag since I broke up with Henry."

Once again, Kenny couldn't help but do a double take on the cheerleader. He had scarcely talked to her in the past; the only few times he could even think of were years ago when she briefly dated JJ. Now she was suddenly happy to share a room with him and info dumping about her break-ups with him? He wasn't sure what to make of that. "Oh? Uh, that sucks, Claire; sorry to hear it."

"It's okay; I mean, high school is over now, right? Henry and I are both going to college next year; it's not like we could have stayed together." Claire stated matter-of-factly,

"Oh damn, you guys ended up going to different schools, huh?" Kenny sympathetically replied,

"No?" Claire blankly shook his head, "We're both going to BMU," Kenny's eyes squinted in confusion, "But that's like, college, you know? I can't go to college while dating my high school boyfriend."

Kenny brought a hand up and scratched the top of his head, "You can't?"

"No way," Claire sullenly replied, her voice turning painfully sad, "It really sucked having to break up with Henry, but I didn't have a choice,"

"But you -- I don't -- Why, though? Why didn't you have a choice?" Kenny was nearly in awe as he tried to understand the inner workings of the blonde girl's mind. Whatever was so clearly apparent in her head was absolutely soaring over his.

"Oh, come on, Kenny, you know why," Claire huffed in some irritation, "If we stayed dating until college, then when we started, what would happen if we met someone new that we liked? I mean, there are close to a thousand people who attend BMU; Henry and I would totally find someone else who we liked,"

Kenny's face was twisted in confusion, and his head was hurting, "So you two didn't like each other all that much, then?"

Claire all but gasped, "Of course we did! Henry was like my second-longest boyfriend ever!"

"But you broke up with him because you assumed you'd meet other people?" Claire nodded, "So you broke up with someone you already liked because you might like someone else. That's basically what you're saying?"

"Ummmmm," Claire thoughtfully hummed, "Yeah, pretty much,"

"I..." Kenny stared back at Claire in bewilderment, "I don't even know what to say to that..."

Claire giggled, "You're funny. I think you're like the only unpopular guy I liked hanging around when I was with JJ," Claire warmly told the teen and then returned to her bag, "Too bad you didn't play for the team; it would have been fun to spend more time together. Maybe at BMU, though, hmm?"

Kenny's brow jumped; was that...flirting? He gave his head a short shake, "Uh, yeah, maybe..."

"Cool," Kenny watched as Claire made her way around, seeming to continue to dance to her own little tune as she went, "We're gonna have fun being roommates, I can totally tell. Come on, let's get going; the party awaits!"

"Uh, yeah, Claire...sure," Kenny reluctantly agreed, letting the conversation finally end while he attempted to gather his confused thoughts. Claire Thomas was certainly...something else.