𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐲

ONE

——— IF THERE WERE THREE THINGS Hayden Burke hated more than anything in the entire world it would be biology, ladybugs, and her last name. That cursed word that just stuck with her ever since birth. The stupid name that basically shaped the entire person she was supposed to be. The name Burke, and it was definitely at the very top of her hate list.

She's hated it ever since she'd come to realise what it really meant to be a Burke. The absolute pleasure she was given to have everybody, and literally everybody, know her since before she could even walk. It meant having eyes linger on her whenever she was out in public. It meant having to follow a strict set of unwritten rules that could just ruin her entirely if she didn't follow them— which often didn't sound so bad in her head. At least she could just get it out there that she most definitely wasn't like her brothers and people could learn to lower their expectations.

However, she couldn't forget to add that one casualty that happened to be packaged with her name like everything else. The casualty she hated the most. The casualty in which nobody ever, ever dared to treat Hayden Burke like a normal human being.

It was always those shortcuts and privileges people would give her because she was a Burke— she didn't mind those— but the moment someone would speak to her with the sole reason of getting her parents autographs or her brothers numbers, her blood boiled.

There was nothing worse than being Hayden Burke, Grayson's little sister. Hayden Burke, Elizabeth and Marcus Burke's daughter. Hayden Burke.

There was so much emphasis on the word Burke that she just loathed it so much. What was the reason for it? There wasn't a doubt she had that people cared more about her name than they did her.

After all, it's been like that since before the day she was born.

They didn't care about her. They couldn't care less about her. They cared about her name. They cared about her parents. They cared about her brothers. But they didn't care about her, and as much as she's grown accustomed to living under the enduring shadows of her family, she couldn't help but feel hostile to that fact too.

—

"We have arrived at our destination kiddos," Grayson Burke stated when he pulled into the Eden Hall parking lot, sending his ever so charming grin back at his sister through his car mirror.

The eyes were already on them, despite the tinted windows and the way Hayden Burke basically hid behind the passenger seat where her twin brother sat. He, on the other hand, couldn't help but eat up ever single gaze he had caught, his egotistical persona growing by the minute.

"Unfortunately..." Hayden grumbled, sinking more into the leather seating. She had her arms crossed over her chest as she side-glanced out her windows, seeing the people whisper and stare at the luxurious vehicle only someone with rich parents could possibly have. She rolled her eyes.

"Yo Den," Emeroy, her twin, began as he turned to face her from his seat, a placid smirk on his face. The girl didn't reply, just waited for him to speak as he looked at her and her pouting face. "I've got tryouts after school so don't wait up"

Hayden stared at him, shaking her head lightly as she played off his words with a careless shrug. "Okay," she brushed off, "I wasn't going to anyway."

Which was 100% true. She would've probably just ended up walking home with her two best friends who she was so grateful would be attending the same high school as her. If they hadn't, she would've probably found a way to throw herself off the top of the building by the time fourth period came around.

Emeroy rolled his eyes. "Alright whatever," he waved off, "don't be looking for me when I'm the freshman who makes varsity this year."

"I won't be," she sneered. Denny couldn't care less about him and making varsity, which was basically inevitable considering who they were. Eden Hall wasn't going to put Emeroy Burke on Junior Varsity and have the Marcus Burke legacy put to shame— they had done the same with Grayson after all.