Stand-in Novels & Stories

I can tell she's hesitant to give me any information. "Stacy." I give her my most reassuring smile. "Hi, Stacy, I'm Cassidy and this is,," I point to the obnoxious buffoon standing next to me, "Alex. We're having a little disagreement that needs to be settled. Would you mind weighing in on the matter?"

Adrian said without batting an eyelash. "Please don't take my child away from me, I'm her mother," Nikki pleaded and went on her knees in front of Adrian. "Nikki, stand up, don't do that," Nikki's husband instructed her. I sat and was looking at everyone, I was confused, I didn't know what to say and didn't know what to do. I wanted to hold my child in my hand, love and cherish her but she already knew my sister as her mother and knew me as her aunt.

Because she knew that if not today, then tomorrow she would have to face it all. Shame she cared no more and perception would not be her consideration. Julia gingerly stepped forward to where Stacy and Timothy were standing. Though she felt nothing, except the goosebumps all over her body because the eyes of people are stinging her skin. Stacey was given a mic by Carol, who was next to her, and the chief culpable eyes who alerted Stacey to Julia's presence. “Ladies and gentlemen, a big round of applause for my lovely sister Julia, who is the star of the event along with me and my fiancee,” Stacy shouted into the mic that echoed across the room.

I got up slowly and walked to the door. My hand was on the doorknob. I stopped. I knew that the moment I opened this door and went down those stairs, I would see them. I didn't have the courage for it. I couldn't bear to see his face when he looked at her. I couldn't bear to see how well they fit together. I didn't want to remind myself, again, that I was the stand-in. I still loved him. That was why this hurt so much. That was why I was such a coward.

From a young age, I've known I was born to be a substitute for my deceased sister, Leah. On my 6th birthday, my parents take me to the market to choose a cloak for cubs. I excitedly spend ages choosing, then point at a silver one. However, Mom's expression shifts drastically, and she grabs me by the ear and screams like a madwoman, "Who told you to choose silver? Leah's favorite color can only be red!" When Dad sees Mom act up, he roughly yanks me away. I fall to the ground, hitting my head, and blood streams down my face. From then on, I desperately try to become more like Leah. No matter what I choose, I only choose something in red, the color she loved most. But one day, I break the

I pressed my back flat against the cold marble pillar, squeezing my eyes shut for a second to calm the frantic pulsing in my throat. Four inches away from me, Stan stood frozen in the shadows. He was dressed in dark navy fabric that swallowed the faint moonlight filtering through the high atrium windows. His head was tilted slightly toward the vaulted ceiling, his jaw clamped shut so tightly the muscle in his cheek twitched beneath his skin.

"Step down from the stand. Come to the front." What… A quiet murmur echoed through the chorus members around me. Backup singers never stood in the front. The front of the stage belonged strictly to the lead performers. I swallowed the heavy lump in my throat. I squeezed my hands into tight fists to stop it from trembling, stepped off the stand, and walked down the center aisle and stopped a few feet away from his music stand, my arms folded behind my back. "What is your name," he demanded. "Meritt," I answered clearly.

After completing the quest, I returned to my original world and woke up from my coma. My children, who had grown up, stood before my hospital bed. My wife, Clara Anderson, hugged me tightly. My parents-in-law were crying in joy. Just as I prepared to log off from the system for good and choose to stay in my original world, a man who looked extremely similar to me walked in. My children, Jared Anderson and Julia Anderson, ran over to him and called him “Dad” lovingly. Everyone looked at me a little awkwardly. That man, Ted Smith, smiled tauntingly at me. I paused the system. “Let me reconsider this. Maybe I’ll stay in the system instead.”

“He’s exposing them.” Back on the walkway, an official finally approached. “You need to move along,” the man said, voice calm, rehearsed. Aiden met his eyes. “Why?” The official hesitated—just a fraction too long. There it was. The pause. The cost of standing was no longer theoretical. Aiden felt the bond pulse—steady, unwavering. “I’m not obstructing,” Aiden continued quietly. “I’m standing.” The official glanced around. Too many eyes now. Too much attention.

“I’m going to bed early.” Cain nodded, reopening the manual. She hesitated. “Don’t you have a post to stand or something?” “I do,” he said. “It’s called a sitting post.” Her eyes widened. “You are not staying in here to watch me sleep.” “Fine.” He stood and moved toward the door. “I’ll stand outside instead. By morning, everyone will know you’re under the King’s sentinel’s protection. Might want to come up with a good story for that.”