"I didn't know I was lonely 'till I saw your face,

I wanna get better!

I didn't know I was broken 'till I wanted to change,"

Paulina Sanchez had been worrying the entire train ride. She was probably getting horrible zits. Disoriented by the mere thought, she quickly pulled a compact out of her bag and studied her face, sighing in relief when she found not one pimple in sight.

But that didn't stop her anxiety.

Alright, Paulina, breathe in, breathe out, in, out, in, out...

She relaxed a little, settling back into her seat. Once more, she ran through the introduction she was supposed to give and the image she was supposed to paint herself as to her aunt's family. Frankly, she'd forgotten her daughter's -the bride's- name. Was it Sally? Sarah?

Samantha. Right.

Paulina was going to start fresh. This was her second chance. Nobody in Illinois knew about what had happened in Georgia, and nobody was going to. The old Paulina was gone. The new and improved Paulina was here to take her place, just in time for Sam's wedding.

The one that wore appropriate-length lacey pink dresses and wouldn't even think of bobbing her hair.

The one that knew her body was a thing to be guarded, and could plan a wedding without a hitch.

The one that had never even heard of speakeasies and cared more about her studies than boys.

But most importantly, the one that had no secrets.

Only bad girls kept secrets, and Paulina was no longer one of them.

Paulina Sanchez felt odd being treated with such respect. Sure, Paulina had more money than she could shake a stick at, but she had spent it on short dresses and cakey makeup, not sparkling glasses of white champagne and fancy limos.

"Almost there, ma'am."

Finally! Paulina thought. She smoothed down the delicate satin roses on her dress once more, checked her makeup to make sure it made her face glow, and tugged at the ends of her short hair like the simple gesture would make them grow. If only.

It only took a few moments for them to arrive at the Manson mansion, and Paulina whole-heartedly believed that the smell of her sweat was overpowering her perfume.

"Oh, Paulina! It's so wonderful to see you again!" Her aunt Pamela opened the door, grabbing her by the shoulders. "My, look at that. You've grown," she studied Paulina long enough that it was starting to make her feel uncomfortable. "Well, come in!" she ushered Paulina inside of the grand foyer, where the girl took the liberty to climb the steps, admiring the artwork on the walls.

"Original Monet, y'know," Pamela winked at her as she passed Paulina on the way up. "Samantha, darling, your cousin is here!" she called.

Paulina straightened herself up and put on a winning smile, only to come up the stairs and see a brooding teenage girl on the couch.

Does Sam have a younger sister that I forgot about? Paulina thought. She then realized that if Sam did, then she hadn't brought her a present. Perfect, another thing for her to worry about.

"Nice to meet you!" Paulina greeted her warmly nonetheless, sitting down next to her and waiting for the bride-to-be to bounce into the living room.

"I'm sorry, Samantha's been feeling sick today. I don't know what's gotten into her," Pamela sent her daughter a glare before walking into the kitchen. "You two chit-chat, I'll be back in just a minute."

"Sam?" Paulina couldn't help but spit her name out in disbelief. Had it really been that long since they'd seen each other?

"Yeah," the girl eyed her suspiciously, which made Paulina think she had blemished her face with worry. "Nice to see you again, Paulina," it was obvious that Sam wasn't very pleased.

Sam already disliked Paulina and she hadn't even been in her house for ten minutes.

This was going to be a very long month.

Sam Manson didn't dislike Paulina, per se. She was okay looking, with thick, dark hair that was almost to her shoulders (but not quite), large sparkling eyes, and a toned body. In short, she was the complete opposite of Sam, right down to the skin tone.

How were they related, again?

And not to mention she was absolutely glowing, with her perfect makeup and her perfect innocent look and she was just per-

Agh!

If this was what her wedding was riding on, Sam might as well do herself a favor and jump off a bridge now. Speaking of jumping, had Dash and Valerie gotten home okay last night? Had their parents noticed? Well, Val's father is practically nonexistant since he's always working, but Dash's parents are almost as bad as Sam's mother. Almost.

She ought'a pay them a visit. But her eyes drifted to the girl sitting next to her, with her hands folded in her lap, looking around at the walls. Sam decided it wasn't worth sitting with her.

"Um, I have to go upstairs," she informed Paulina. "But you can stay down here."

Did she feel bad? A little. But really, how was she supposed to entertain her cousin? They were totally different. She would die of shock if Paulina had ever even heard of a flapper.

Sam walked into her room and put on a swipe of lipstick before jumping out the window with a bit of difficulty. She wasn't one to pull stunts like this, but lately she'd been feeling a bit...restless. So she'd made quite a few midnight trips to Dash's house lately, when she couldn't sleep. Not that she slept with him, mind you. He was like a brother.

Sam figured she'd have about fifteen minutes before her mother came looking for her, which was just enough time to check in on her friends.

Valerie Grey had some mixed feeling towards her best friend. She loved her, no doubt. Sam was fun, pretty, clever, and just a little naive. And those were the exact reasons she envied her. Everyone liked Sam. Valerie was simply her shadow, the boring opening that everyone had to get through if they wanted to see the show they really came for. It got tiring. She wanted to be known as something other than Sam's best friend.

She didn't have anyone to voice her troubles too either, because her father was barely home and her mother didn't pay her any attention. Anyone she befriended at school was through Sam, and Dash was in love with her. It made Valerie's blood boil to watch them flirt. Not because she was in love with Dash (well, maybe), but would it be so bad if he chose to flirt with Val? After all, what did Sam have that she didn't?

Oh, that's right. Elliot. Every girl's dream. If Sam's natural charm didn't appeal to you, her ability to snag someone so desireable sure would. Dash knew that, too. He knew Sam was engaged. So why did he bother? Valerie was clueless. Just once, she wanted someone to like her.

The brunette's thoughts were interrupted with a sharp knock at her door, followed by "open up, I don't have much time!" She knew the voice all too well.

"Sam?" Valerie opened the door to reveal said best friend, slightly out of breath but still beautiful. As always.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," she stepped inside, walking to the living room and plopping down like it was her own house.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Val questioned before following her and sitting across from her.

"Because...y'know..." she laughed. "We were all pretty much blackout drunk last night. I still have a headache." Sam whined.

Valerie chuckled. "Duh, bonehead. It's called a hangover. Besides, I'm used to it. Don't worry," she smiled.

See? Even if Valerie tried to hate Sam, she couldn't. She was so genuine and she really did care about her friends.

"Oh, and I gotta tell ya. My cousin's here," When she was met with a blank stare, Sam elaborated. "Y'know, my 'wedding planner'."

"Oh." Val nodded. A good chunk of their Friday night had been spent speculating on what said cousin would be like. "What's so bad 'bout her?" her friend raised an eyebrow.

"She's a total copy of my witchy mom!" Sam cried. "Total do-gooder. She's too pretty and her makeup is too pink."

"Oh, you poor thing," Valerie replied sarcastically.

"I'm serious. I can't stand her."

"Guess I'll have to meet her then. Name?"

"Paulina. It even sounds like- wait!" Sam's eyes widened in panic. Her tone changed so suddenly that Valerie jumped.

"What?!"

"Shit, I've gotta get home! My mom's gonna kill me," Sam groaned, already halfway out the door.

Valerie didn't bother following her. She laughed slightly. "Good luck with Miss Goody-Two-Shoes!"

Paulina Sanchez wanted to die. She'd already made a bad impression on the person she was supposed to become friends. To be fair though, Sam had been colder than anticipated. But Paulina didn't really have a choice than to kiss up to the little brat, did she? Even if she'd abruptly gotten up without an excuse.

"Where did Sammy run off to?" Pamela entered the living room, a slight edge to her voice.

Paulina straightened up and put on a smile. "She claimed she wasn't feeling well," she lied. "She went to lie down."

Pamela frowned.

"It's no problem though, really!" Paulina reassured her. "I understand," the last thing she wanted was to stir up trouble in their family and make Sam hate her even more.

"I can't believe she would do that! She usually has very nice manners," Pamela said, walking over to her niece and offering her some soda. "Anyway, how was your trip?" she sat on the couch next to her and crossed her legs.

"It was fine, thank you." Paulina smiled politely and took a sip of her drink. Time to see if she could get on at least one person's good side.

"Good to hear. Illinois must be so dreary compared to Georgia." Pamela let out a dainty laugh.

The drearier, the better. Paulina thought to herself. "Oh no, I like it here."

After a minute of uncomfortable silence, she decided to move to a topic they both wanted to talk about. "Have you started preparing for Sam's wedding?"

Pamela's eyes lit up. "Of course! These things take months, y'know," she said that as if Paulina had never heard of a wedding.

"They do," she bit back a sarcastic reply and nodded. "What exactly will you need my help on?"

"Oh, basic things. Catering, decorations, general host duties. I also figured you'll help me design the dresses since you're more acquainted with Sam's taste, being the same age."

Paulina's eyes widened, especially at the fact that Pamela considered her at the same level as her daughter. As if. She knew Sam's type. She probably complained all the time to her rich privileged friends about how horrid her rich privileged life was. In other words, she couldn't appreciate anything. "Hopefully."

Just then, someone came pounding down the steps.

"I'm here!" Sam appeared at the bottom of the steps, looking slightly disheveled.

"Samantha! I can't believe you left our guest alone! That is certainly not how I raised you. I'm quite disappointed," Pamela scolded.

"Sorry, Mom," Sam replied in a tone that implied that she wasn't sorry at all. She sat down next to Pamela, but the woman elbowed her subtly.

"Go sit with Paulina!" she hissed. Paulina wasn't sure if she was meant to hear that or not.

Sam sighed slightly but obeyed, going to sit on the couch with Paulina and deliberately leaving a gap between them.

However, Paulina didn't notice this as she eyed her cousin's slightly pink cheeks and uneven breathing, as if she'd just been sprinting.

Maybe she's not as bland as I thought she was...

OHMYGOSH! i have totally forgotten about FF i'm so sorry guys ;-; if anyone actually remembers this story ill prob die of shock, haha. tbh i just got busy with other stuff, y'know? anyway i'll probably only continue this story for now and maybe start a little one-shot collection about the ghosts. ack sorry, you readers couldn't care less haha. anyway, leave a review so I don't forget to update again! c; but really, i wanna know what you guys thought. i mainly just revised this chap, but does it still flow with the first two chapters? heads up, the next chapter we'll visit the Green Mill again and more importantly, Ember.

-Maira