OWNED BY THE BULLY

AVERY

“No! For the umpteenth time, Avery, you can’t pretend to be me.”

My ever-patient, annoyingly perfect twin groaned as she flipped her book open again, pretending it could shield her from me. She had that infuriating habit of making the simplest “no” feel like some unbreakable law. But one thing about me? It’s hard to shut me out. Especially when I already have my sights set on something I want. And right now, that something was the Blackwell Heights Annual Conservatory Showcase.

“C’mon, Emery… It's only one night. One. Night. I swear I won’t ask for another favor ever again,” I said, leaning closer but Emery just rolled her eyes so hard I was sure they were going to get stuck.

“No,” she said flatly, deadpan, without sparing me a glance.

I let out a sigh, flopping onto her bed as though the very act of lying there might bend her will. “Em, it’s not like I’m asking for your kidney or to crash a wedding. Just a stupid showcase. One night.

Where I get to see Elliot Vale play. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this? Since forever.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line. “Avery… you can’t just walk into my life and expect—”

“I want this,” I cut her off, sitting up on my elbows, staring her straight in the eyes. “I want it so bad it hurts. One night. That’s all I’m asking. You know how much this matters to me. Elliot Vale.

Tomorrow night. At your high school. And I can’t miss it.”

Her book snapped shut, a tiny sound that felt like a gavel. “No.”

I stared at her for a long beat. Okay. Fine. Maybe words weren’t enough. Maybe I needed a weapon. Something she couldn’t resist. Something shiny and perfect and impossible to say no to.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a neatly tucked ticket. My movie ticket. The one I had been counting on for weeks. I was supposed to be seeing it tomorrow night, sitting in the dark, popcorn in lap, ignoring the world. But then…Elliot Vale.

The thought of him performing live at Blackwell Heights- my twin’s high school which also happened to be my old school, though technically, I’d stopped going after grade 10 made every plan I had crumble instantly.

I flicked the ticket toward her like a card in a magic trick

Her eyes widened. “Oh hell… you have this? I wanted to go so badly, but I couldn’t get it!” Her hands reached for it, but I pulled it back just out of reach, grinning.

“Not so fast. You’re going to let me be you tomorrow. That’s the deal.”

She groaned, burying her face in her hands. “ I don’t trust you. The last time you pretended to be me, it was… a disaster. I ended up on Whitmore’s radar, and his annoying girlfriend. Don’t even get me started. They bullied me for weeks. I’ve been laying low, trying not to attract attention”

I leaned forward, softening my tone, trying to sound as serious as possible. “I promise, Emery. I’ll lay low. I’ll follow your routines, your little rules, your perfect twin habits. No one will ever know it’s not you. I won’t cause trouble. I just… need this. Please.”

“Alright, fine” She said,resignedly

Emery and I were identical. So identical that no one could tell us apart at a glance. Same long, curly chestnut hair, same stormy gray eyes, same height, same body type…literally mirror images. The only visible difference? A tiny freckle just below my right eye, so small you’d have to be centimeters away to notice. But the biggest difference…one that everyone, even strangers, somehow picked up on was our personality.

Emery was perfect. Easygoing. Brilliant. Polite to a fault. Sharp, responsible, the kind of person who could charm a boardroom, ace every test without studying, and make everyone in the room feel like they mattered. Our parents adored her,she was the golden child, the one groomed to take over the Voss enterprises. She was graceful, composed, confident in a way that made it impossible to compete with her… even for me.

And me? I was the opposite. I was the prodigy, sure, but the kind that caused chaos wherever I went. I left school in tenth grade to enroll in a music academy, chasing the one thing that had always made me feel alive.

Music.

My passion

My sanctuary

My world.

Predictably, our parents hated it. Hated me for it, really. They were so disappointed they nearly disowned me. In their eyes, I was the mistake, the rebellious child who threatened the carefully polished image of the Voss legacy. The only people who gave me any attention were Emery and our little brother-Jace, five years old and blissfully oblivious to all of the family politics.

Over the years, I’d learned to grow around their distance, to survive it, to thrive in spite of it. But maybe, just maybe, a tiny part of them still hoped I’d eventually give up my “fantasy” of being a musician and step back into the life they had planned for me.

Blackwell Heights Annual Conservatory Showcase mattered so much. And only students of Blackwell Heights were allowed to attend. Which meant there was only one way in.

Tomorrow, I have to be my twin sister.

“I love you so much, Emery. You know that,” I said softly, leaning over to press a quick kiss to her cheek.

She groaned, swatting my hand away like she always did, but I smiled anyway. I loved us. I loved how she supported me, understood me, how she was always there to comfort me whenever our parents pulled their usual cold, disappointed silence. When the world felt like it was pushing me out, Emery was the one who made space for me.

“Remember,” she said, fixing me with a serious look, “stay clear of Asher Whitlock and Madeline.”

“I will,” I promised. And this time, I actually meant it.

Still, as much as I loved Emery, I hated how soft she was. Hated how people mistook her kindness for weakness. Especially Madeline. That girl had been a long-time bully,sharp-tongued, cruel, relentless. She’d bullied Emery even when I was still in school, but back then, I was always there.

I stepped in. Defended her. Made sure Madeline knew there were limits.

But after I left? Madeline got bolder. Meaner. And last year,when I pretended to be Emery for the music conservatory showcase, I’d slipped out of Emery’s gentle demeanor for a second and let my own temper fly. I nearly punched Madeline right there. Ever since, she had been extra…extra cruel and extra relentless.

I wished there was something I could do. God knows I’d tried. Every attempt was shut down by Emery. Like the time I’d offered to completely humiliate Madeline,publicly, creatively, destructively. Emery had looked at me flatly and said no. Said she’d endure it. Said it was their final year and she just wanted to survive.

And Asher Whitlock? I had absolutely no clue who he was. I’d never met him, but Emery had filled me in…some transfer student who’d joined them in eleventh grade. Apparently rich, spoiled, a jock with too much money and too much audacity…exactly the kind of guy who thought other students existed purely for his entertainment.

Whoever he was, I prayed I wouldn’t cross paths with him. Or Madeline.

Tomorrow, I’d peel off Avery Ross like an old skin and step fully into Emery Ross’s life. But for Elliot Vale? For the chance to see him perform live, to exist in the same space as my idol?

Yeah. It was worth it. Every single risk