Moving in with Shauna was never the plan.

In fact, if someone had told you a year ago that you’d be standing in a dorm room with her of all people, unpacking boxes and trying to make awkward conversations, you probably would have laughed in their face.

Shauna Shipman has been in your life for as long as you can remember: Your twin sister’s, Jackie’s, best friend, always hovering outside your orbit but never quite close enough.

She was never your friend, never your anything.

There’d always been that unspoken rule between the three of you; an invisible line neither of you was meant to cross. She was Jackie’s best friend, and you were Jackie’s twin. That was the dynamic, how it had always been. If she was over at your house, she was there for Jackie. If you passed her in the halls, it was usually because you were both on your way to find Jackie. The two of you had never really needed to interact beyond that

Now, you’re both at Brown. Jackie is miles away at Rutgers, living an entirely separate life, and the buffer that kept the two of you apart is gone. It’s just you & Shauna, existing in the same space, thrown together by nothing more than sheer coincidence. And without Jackie there, without the carefully drawn lines of your high school years keeping you in check, it is up to you how to form this relationship from scratch.

Shauna glances up from her suitcase, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “So,” she says. “This is weird, right?”

Perching on the edge of your bed, you chuckle. “Extremely.”

She nods, considering that, then offers a tentative smile. “Guess we should, I don’t know…actually get to know each other?”

It’s strange, the idea of learning who Shauna is outside of Jackie & the familiar halls of WHS. For the first time, Shauna Shipman isn’t just Jackie’s best friend. She’s your roommate.