Chapter I: New School

A young girl with raven black hair and piercing blue eyes stood before her vanity mirror, growing increasingly frustrated as she fumbled with her tresses. With a groan of irritation, she let her hands fall to her sides, staring at her reflection.

Today was a new day at a new school.

A mafia-exclusive school to be exact and here she was, attempting to look presentable. It took her a lot to convince her father to allow her twin brother and her to be separate, but that notion came with a loophole. She got separated from her twin brother, only to be enrolled in a Mafia school with her younger brother.

"What happened to your hair?"

Looking over her shoulder the girl caught sight of a tall man in a gray suit standing in her doorway, looking at her in amusement.

"Looks like a bird's nest," He chuckled, walking towards her.

"Ha-ha, very funny, dad," She grumbled in distaste, allowing her father to turn her towards the mirror as she handed him the hairbrush, his 6'3 stature dwarfing her 5'6 figure.

"Let me guess, Serafina," He brushed the tangles out of her hair. "You tried making a braid,"

"You know how horrible I am with those,"

Her father only laughed as he parted her hair in three and braided them with deft fingers before tying the end, tossing it over her shoulder to be at the front.

"Thanks," Serafina murmured, playing with the ends of her tresses.

"You're welcome," Her father placed a kiss atop her head. "Come on down, everyone is waiting for you,"

She nodded, watching him walk away in the mirror before she halted him by calling out to him.

"Hey, dad?" She turned to be facing him, her father standing in the doorway. "Do I look fine?"

"You look beautiful," He assured before heading out the door.

Serafina smiled to herself before pulling on her gladiator pumps and cardigan, picking up her backpack from the floor, and heading out of her room and down the stairs, towards the dining room where her mother, father, and two brothers were seated and eating.

"Morning," She called out, placing a kiss on her mother's cheek and ruffling her twin's hair in good nature as he grumbled something under his breath before she settled beside her younger brother.

"Are you two excited about your new school?" Their mother inquired with her infamous dimpled smile.

"Oh! I can't wait to get rid of her!" Her twin, Salvatore, jabbed his thumb in her direction.

"Really? Because last I remember, I was the one who insisted our schools be separated," she taunted, Marco chuckling beside her as Salvatore's blue eyes glared at her from across the table as Serafina stuck out her tongue to him.

"Salvatore, Serafina," Their mom reprimanded. "Be nice,"

Once the two had settled down, their parents sighed, shaking their heads at their children.

"You two don't need us coming along, do you?"

"They're 17, Rosa," Their father spoke up with a chuckle. "I'm sure they can manage just fine on their own. Get a taste of independence. For once."

"But, Arcangelo-"

"-No 'but', Rosalie. The bird has to leave the nest sooner or later, like Arsenio. And I'm sure in 2 years' time they would follow their brother's footsteps by not only leaving the nest but the forest as well,"

"Don't remind me," Rosalie grunted at the thought. "But they're not only my birdies, but they're also your's,"

"I should never have let you spend time with Alyna." Their father groaned. "This arguing back is all her doing."

"I'm not arguing. I'm just stating the facts here, Mr. Regnante."

"Are you seeing this?" Arcangelo gestured to his wife, not looking up from the newspaper he was reading. "This all your wife's doing. Corrupted my poor little and innocent spouse." Those words had Rosalie flush a deep red as she stared at her husband with an open mouth.

Looking up, the three of us noticed a man with dirty blonde hair and freckles leaning against the doorway, rolling his misty green eyes at the man's antics. Neither one of them having heard the man enter.

"She was your sister before she was my anything." Vincent chuckled as he high fived the three in greeting. "So technically speaking, it's your sister's fault, and not my ex-wife's."

"Okay!" Arcangelo intervened. "Vincent, we have work to do. Rosa, sweetheart, you had some errands to run. And you three, are late for school. So hurry it up."

Realizing that he was right, the twins hurried to finish their breakfasts as Salvatore was the first one out the door. Saying farewell to everyone before dashing out the door, followed by his guards. Serafina was less rushed as her school was comparatively closer than the one Salvatore choose, but the look of unease on Marco's expression reminded her that she wasn't the only one and he was getting late.

"Should we follow you like 'lost puppies' or do you want us to be stationed outside?" Serafina's guard, Sean, asked with a teasing smile.

"For heaven's sake. Please stay outside." She groaned. "Because of you two showing off your guns, I can't make friends!"

"Hey, we're the good guys here." The other man, Alberto, defended in mock offense.

"Please. You two work for the Mafia. And you're the good guys? Irony at its finest, don't you think?" Serafina taunted with a scoff as her younger brother laughed beside her.

The remainder drive resumed on in silence, soon halting in front of a large red-bricked building that looked like it had been standing for a few years with its slightly old look, but otherwise, it seemed relatively new. Stepping out of the car, Serafina gave a quick wave to my guards, who told her to just text them if need be.

Hoisting her bag over her shoulder, she glanced towards Marco who offered his signature lopsided grin.

"Don't worry, you'll do great. Plus everyone here is very nice." He assured since they would be parting ways. Nodding to his words Serafina took a calming breath and walked inside.

The hallways were crowded with teenagers of all ages and sizes. Looking around her, she found that no one was paying her any mind as she found her way to the reception. Greeting the lady seated behind the desk;  introduced herself as Serafina, the woman taking out a folder with her schedule, locker number, and key. Handing it over, she took the direction from her before venturing out to find her first class

Placing all the unneeded books into the locker, she closed it shut before making her way inside the classroom, being part of the few students that loitered around.

No soon had she taken a seat, her phone buzzed to life in her sweater's pocket. Taking it out she read the concerned message of Alberto, who was inquiring if everything was alright and if they had to knock out a few teeth from a guy who was messing with her. It had Serafina laugh out loud before she clamped a hand over her mouth, uncertainly glancing around to see if anyone was watching her. Her tense shoulders relaxed since everyone was busy with their own things. Exhaling, she typed back a response, assuring him that everything was alright and that nothing has happened since her first class hadn't even begun.

Slowly, more and more students trickled in and took a seat, the one next to her was still vacant. She didn't mind since she was busying trying to assure her mother hen that everything was fine and that her class is starting soon. The bell-ringing had Serafina jump in alert and place a hand against her chest, feeling the heart beating in overdrive.

The sound of someone' chuckling beside her redirected her attention to the guy watching her with an amused smile.

"Hi." He spoke in a deep voice, Serafina looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze. "I'm Paolo."

"Serafina," She spoke uncertainly, shaking his outstretched hand.

He was relatively cute, with light brown hair and hazel eyes, and an angular face. He seemed harmless enough and didn't make Serafina feel on edge.

"You're new here, right?" Paolo asked quietly as the teacher spoke in the front.

"Yeah, my first day here,"

"Cool." He nodded. "May I show you around and stuff?"

"Show me around?" She inquired with an amused smile and a raised eyebrow. Was he flirting?

"And stuff." He added with a cheeky grin. Of course, "and stuff".

"Sure."

"Cool." He nodded before turning back to the board.

The class went on with him cracking jokes under his breath as Serafina tried hard not to laugh at him. He was actually quite funny and she began to like him. Once the class finished, they compared their schedules and realized they had most of the classes together beside a few. Paolo showed her around, telling her that he had been in this school for a while and knew everyone in here.

He greeted everyone he passed and a lot of them asked him about her. She even noticed a few girls look at her with a glare as she just raised an eyebrow in their direction or ignored them while listening to Paolo give a tour around the campus.

He was right beside her through most of the classes they had together and walked her to the next class before heading off for his own. She had photography while he had a business class.

Serafina had a lunch break after this class and found herself making quite a few friends, especially in photography. A petite girl sat next to her and shared a lot of common interests. Stepping out of the class with a laugh, Serafina was surprised to find Paolo standing outside and waiting.

"Hey, Serafina. Sorry, gotta leave you hanging." Mia apologized. "But my boyfriend is waiting for me there."

"Oh! Sure. Totally alright," She assured. "And besides, Paolo seems to want to give me company."

Mia laughed at that, as she waved farewell before making her way down the hall. Serafina walked over to an enthusiastically grinning Paolo before inquiring about her class. She informed him that she enjoyed it and found the school to be nice and that the people very sweet too. He was glad to hear that as his smile broadened.

They walked to the cafeteria, talking about mundane matters as he led them over to a table with his close friends.

As they approached Serafina noticed that she had seen these people either in her classes or walking around the hall.

"Hey, Paolo?" One of the guys called out. "Who's the cutie next to you?"

His comment had Serafina's cheeks adorn a light shade of pink as I introduced myself, all of them introducing themselves in turn. Settling between Paolo and another girl, named Bella, they all got or know each other better while eating. Halfway through, Serafina felt like she was being watched and looked up to see Fransisco staring at her with curiosity.

"What?" She asked him as he gave a sheepish smile in response.

"Sorry." He apologized. "Paolo, don't you think she looks a lot like your best friend?"

"I noticed that too." Bella and a few others chimed in confirmation. "She looks almost like him. Just like a cuter and girly version."

"I'm sorry? Who?"

"Paolo has this best friend." Piero, the guys who called me cute, started. "He doesn't study here, but we've met."

"Okay." She nodded for them to continue.

"The thing is, you look a lot like him." Fransisco completed. "And the resemblance is uncanny."

"Oh." Serafina nodded in understanding. "Who is his best friend? Maybe I've seen him or something."

"His name is Salvatore," Paolo informed slightly hesitant. "Salvatore Regnante."

Instantly she began coughing in shock, Bella patting her back,

"Please don't freak out! Yes, he's a Regnante but he is a great guy!" Paolo exclaimed in panic as he thought I was choking about the fact that his best friend was in the Mafia. "He is really sweet and caring and he isn't bad! Please don't freak out!"

Leaning back in her seat, Serafina calmed herself before scrolling through her phone with a scowl. Finding a picture of Salvatore before shoving the screen in front of Paolo's face.

"Him?" She snapped a little too harshly as Paolo winced before his eyes widened at the picture. Serafina shifted the phone around the table as everyone looked down at it in shock,

"So...you know him?" Piero asked slowly, hesitant.

"I've known him my entire life." She grumbled in distaste, pushing her food away, having lost her appetite.

"You've known him your entire life?" Paolo asked softly, looking at her with a crease between his brows. "H-how?"

"He's my godforsaken twin brother." She grumbled, hating how they were Salvatore's friends.

"Your-what?!" The entire population of the table exclaimed.

"My twin brother," Serafina grumbled. "32 minutes and 24 seconds older than me and yes, we are fraternal twins." She narrated the answer to the general questions people tend to ask when they see the twins.

Not wanting to sit around anymore, Serafina grabbed her bag and walked out of the cafeteria.

She didn't know where she was going but knew she needed to walk away for a bit. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her wrist as she whirled around and pulled it out of the grasp, glaring at the person, before calming down seeing as it was Paolo, with concern shining in his eyes

"Hey, you okay?" He asked gently.

"Peachy," She spat. "Just peachy,"

"What's the matter?" He ran his hands up and down her arm in comfort. "You can tell me."

"This is the very reason I wanted to go into separate schools than Salvatore." Serafina relented dejectedly. "The fact that our friends just end up being the same, pisses me off to no extent because they always happen to be his friend before me. He's always the better one with socializing."

Paolo's chuckled and ruffled her hair, the exact same way Salvatore does when she says something stupid.

"Serafina," Paolo chuckled. "We can still be your friends. And Salvatore doesn't study with us here. We aren't going to ditch you or something."

"No...It's just....everywhere I go, my twin's shadow is following me." She tried to explain. "Like at home it's the same, and I thought that in school it would be different, but apparently, Salvatore is everywhere."

Paolo laughed and wrapped her in a teddy bear hug before pulling away.

"I'm an only child and trust me when I tell you that it would be awesome to have had a sibling to look after. No matter how annoying or conceited they might seem. Having a sibling is a blessing in itself."

"And I think it's cute how you two have similar taste in people. Safe and secure," Paolo grinned as Serafina couldn't help but smile at his way of putting things. "So I think you should take it as a compliment that your and Salvatore's friends are the same because I have never met anyone with a better character judgment than your brother."

"There are always two ways of looking at things." Paolo continued. "The good way or the bad way,"

"You should look at things in a good way more often, Serafina. A smile suits you more than a scowl."