Imposter

4

"Hey Cait, see you tomorrow!"

"Have a good day, Caitlin!"

"I'll call you, girlie!"

A chorus of cheerful farewells followed Ekat out of the school gates and she basked in the glory, feeling like she was the queen and she could do anything in the world. Practically floating onto the the bus and sliding in her usual seat beside Noah, she struggled to correct herself - Caitlin's seat, Caitlin's school, Caitlin's friends.

But no amount of coherent thought could stop the undeniable whisper in the back of her mind - they fell in love with me.

"Hey Caitlin, do you know if we have maths homework?" A girl from Caitlin's class strode towards her in a white coat with an apologetic grin.

"Nah I don't think so Emma," Ekat replied earnestly, because that was what Caitlin would've done in the situation. Honest and kindly.

"Thanks gal," Emma slid back into her own seat and Ekat turned to give her attention to the boy beside her. "Hi Noah, how were your classes?"

He cracked a smile and slid a most welcome arm around Caitlin's waist. "Wonderful, Cait. We blew up some stuff in chemistry." He shrugged and smirked. "But I don't care about chemistry, I care about my baby doll. More new friends?"

Ekat's heart melted just a bit more when he called her 'baby doll', so she grinned shyly. "I'm really so glad I did that online course thingy. There's a really nice girl in English who helped my with my assignment, she's gonna call me later to finish off the job."

"That's great Cait," Noah looked at her with genuine happiness and pride in his eyes, and Ekat couldn't help smile her most charming smile as the bus slid to a stop and she jumped out of her seat, pulling Noah with her to get off and get home.

As the bus slid away again, Noah kissed her cheek lightly. "I'm sorry I got you caught the other day, Cait."

Running a hand through Caitlin's now glossy hair, Ekat shook her head. "It's okay Noah, you couldn't have known. If anyone should've known, it was me. But it was a great day and I had an awesome time, so no harm done, really."

Visibly relaxing and pulling her into a tight hug, Noah retrieved his crooked grin. "Hey Cait, there's a party on Saturday at one of the guys' houses, you wanna come? You're parents won't be back until next week anyway, right?" He suddenly looked slightly awkward and shifted slightly. "But if you don't want to come, it's okay, I mean, I'll take care of you and you don't have to do anything you don't want to, but I really want you there."

Caitlin would've backed out, but Ekat's job was to increase the girl's popularity, so she nodded hesitantly. "Sounds cool, Noah. Can you pick me up?"

He kissed her lightly and smiled. "Of course."

It was naught but a short walk back home after that, and Ekat swung her bag as she walked, letting herself in and very determinedly not announcing her presence.

"Hi Caitlin," Ekat greeted brightly, instantly shifting back into her own form and sound proofing the doors.

The girl looked up from her phone and greeted Ekat slightly mutely and Ekat instantly picked it up.

"Hey what's wrong?" She asked worriedly, having an inkling of what was wrong - now that everything was cool, she wanted her life back and she missed her friends.

"Nothing," Caitlin muttered back, before changing course. "Actually yeah, I miss Noah."

Ekat stalked to the window and stared out into the street bitterly. "Hard watching another girl kiss him, isn't it?"

"I - excuse me?"  Caitlin sounded angry and very offended as she wheeled on Ekat. "What exactly to you mean by that?"

"You're the one watching me!" Ekat faced her, equally wound up but for all the different reasons. "You're the one monitoring my movements! If you haven't forgotten, I'm the one helping you out here and I'm the one who has to deal with your increasingly wonderful life without ever being able to forget that I'm just a replacement! So before you get all offended at that, think about what I'm doing for you!"

The two girls stood nose to nose in the middle of room, having their shouting match that no one could hear. Eventually, Caitlin was the first to back down.

"You're right. I'm sorry," she muttered. "But I want to do this myself starting Monday, and I'll fill in the form for you."

Noah.

Ekat blinked in shock and her eyes widened, not expecting to be finished quite so soon. I wanted to go to the beach again with him. I wanted to do more.

"You're still going to that party, don't worry," Caitlin offered, "but after that, I think I can hold my fort."

Ekat nodded determinedly. "Yes, alright. I know you can do it, Cait. You're the strongest girl I know. Just fix your wardrobe."

Even Caitlin had to smile at that. "Thanks Ekat. You're probably my first ever friend, you know right?"

"I'm proud to be that person," Ekat replied and gave Caitlin a hug. "Hey... I got to go for a bit alright? Just float around, I'll be back soon."

Noah.

The air outside was gradually growing chilly, but Ekat didn't mind the slightest, though she was only dressed in one of her own silvery long coats with boots over her shirt and leggings. Just wondering along the beach, thinking about visiting the sand dune that she had sat on with Noah the other day even though night was approaching, Ekat's eyes were almost tearing up when she saw the bus stop where she had held hands with Noah and boarded the short ride with him.

It would soon be over anyway, and she would be off to another life.

Someone else's life.

"Hey are you okay?"

A voice broke through Ekat's train of thought as she jumped in surprise as she saw Nathan of all people calling after her. She almost called him by name, before realising that he didn't know her.

"Yeah I'm fine," she muttered, brushing her silver hair out of her eyes, "just - just heading home."

"You sure?" He sounded concerned, but most people would be - lone girl heading down the streets at night. But Ekat wasn't like most girls.

"Yeah I'll be fine," Elat reassured him.

"I can give you a lift," Nathan offered sweetly, and Ekat had to laugh.

"No I'm sure, nice meeting you though." She extended a hand, though she wasn't sure why. "I'm Ekaterina."

"Nathan," his hand was calloused under hers. "Hey, you have a number?"

Ekat frowned. Was he asking her out?

Nate scratched his head. "I mean, if you don't want to, that fine, I just thought - "

Surprised by both his awkwardness and her willing hand reaching into her pocket for her paper with her number on it, Ekat nodded. "Sure why not? Long as you don't give it to any bad people," she teased.

"Oh I won't," Nathan assured her. "I'm a good guy."

By then, Ekat was already walking away. "Sure you are."