A/N: For those of you who read The Twisted Mirror, this is the prequel! For those of you who didn't, read it! But you can read this story first if you want, it doesn't really matter much. So now you get to see what Jessica Prentice and Alana Jersey and Matt Johnson were like in high school! Have fun and thanks for reading! And review please!

1

Everyone has a defining moment in his or her life, that one moment that changes everything forever. Mine came when I was only three. It seems so long ago as I look back on it from my current age of 18, after so much has changed. Back then, I used to use my given name of Julianne. Back then, I had no true home. My dad's business kept moving us around every 6 months or so. My mom finally insisted that they keep us in one place or that my dad would find a new job. They decided to move us to Pennsylvania and keep us there. We bought a house in a small town called Hunter and prepared for our final move.
We had always lived in the south. I had been born in New Mexico and had lived there, in Louisiana, in Georgia, in Texas, and, most recently, in Florida. We moved up to Pennsylvania in December. We got off the plane when we were miles away from the little town, and I fell asleep during the long car ride. Finally, I felt my older brother shake me awake. "Julianne! We're here! Look!"
I opened my sleepy eyes and looked out at the town of Hunter, Pennsylvania. Everything was covered in snow. I had never seen snow up close before. It was amazing. All of the houses and shops were lined with little white Christmas lights. It looked like a scene from a Christmas movie. I was enthralled. It was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen.
We had taken a nighttime flight to save money, and it was about six in the morning when we arrived. The sun was just barely peeking over the roofs of the houses, shedding a pale pink light on the snowy surroundings.
The town was tiny, so it didn't take long to find our house. We arrived in our driveway, which someone had shoveled for us. I got out of the car and immediately started freezing. When we were in Florida, we hadn't considered how cold northern Pennsylvania was in December. My jacket was thin, and Jason, my brother, had left his on the plane. To make things worse, my disorganized mother had misplaced the house keys. I sat down in the snow and shivered. Jason began to play. He made snowballs and launched them into the air, one after another.
"I bet you I can hit that tree branch," he told me.
"I'm cold," I told him.
"Watch this." He launched a snowball at the indicated branch, but he missed. The snowball struck a window on our new neighbor's house. We watched in horror as someone opened the window.
"You're in big trouble," I said.
A girl stuck her head out the window. "What was that for?"
"I'm sorry!" Jason called.
"Are you our new neighbors? That is so neat! I'll be down in a second. Are you cold? You look cold. Ooh, there's a little girl, too. Just let me get my coat and boots and snowpants and." She continued on and on. I looked up at her in awe. She was gorgeous. She looked like a princess up in a tower. She had long, gorgeous black hair. Her pink silk pajamas looked like something a princess would wear. Her smile was as warm and cheery as her voice. After a little while, she closed her window and retreated into her room. A few minutes later, she burst out her front door, followed by her mother.
"Are you mad about the snowball?" Jason asked.
"Do I look like I'm mad?" the girl asked cheerily.
"No."
"You lose!" she cried. She scooped up a snowball and launched it at Jason, knocking the wind out of him momentarily. She charged at him and tackled him into the snow, sitting on him in victory. "I'm Jessica Prentice. I'm six years old and I'm as tough as any stupid boy!"
"I'm Jason Logrunner," Jason grunted. "I'm six, too."
"Jessica," Jessica's mother said gently, handing her a small winter coat.
"Sorry, Mommy," Jessica said, taking the coat and getting off Jason. She came over to me. "I thought I'd give you one of my old coats because you don't have your own. I'm Jessica." She handed me the coat and I struggled to put it on. I was still watching her in awe. "What's your name?"
I couldn't answer. What was my name? Good question. I shrugged and began to cry.
Jessica gave me a look of pity. "It's okay." She helped me into my coat as best as she could. "We'll give you a new name. How about, um. Sprout! Yeah, that's it!"
"Her name is Julianne," Jason told Jessica.
"She can have a nickname."
"Sprout," I said to myself, trying out my new name. "It's better than Julianne."
Jessica's mom went over to my parents. "If you'd like to come over to our house to warm up, you're welcome to. I'm Evelyn Prentice, and it seems our kids have already become friends."
"That's good," Daddy told her. "We'll come over."
"I'll whip up some hot chocolate and breakfast."
"Thank you for giving Julianne that coat. We're from Florida. We had no idea."
"It's fine. Jessica grew out of it. You can keep it. I'd give Jason a coat, but Jessica is still wearing that size, and most of her things are pink and fluffy, anyway. I'll bring the kids inside so they can thaw out."
Daddy took her hands and smiled. "Thank you so very much."

From that day on, my life was different. Jessica was like a sister to me. She let me tag along with her and her friends. Her relationship with Jason changed many times; first they were friends, then they had to avoid each other for fear of cooties, then they ignored each other's existence, and they finally began flirting and getting friendly again. I'd follow Jessica in whatever she did. Her friends were my friends. Jamie and Lavi loved me. Alana scorned me and gave me nasty looks, but she was jealous of what I had with Jessica.
Years passed. We were no longer always in school together, but she still meant the world to me. I'd sit with my window open at night, listening to her singing to herself, watching her dance around in a fantasy of fame. She had talent like no other, and I was already her biggest fan.
It began to hurt, though. It was a small town in which everyone knew Jessica and her capabilities. The town was mostly behind Jessica, their perfect star. However, there were a few jealous people, and most of them, instead of saying their opinions to Jessica's face, would hurt me instead. They taunted me for being obsessed, and even questioned my sexual orientation. But I didn't feel that way about Jessica. I wasn't in love with her. At least, I didn't think so.
What did it matter? I was sitting in my room the night before freshman year started. Finally, Jessica and I would be in the same school again. I watched for her through my window, but she was downstairs. Jamie came by to see her. Jamie left. Jessica entered her room and went to sleep without a song, without anything. I went to sleep, too, and dreamed about tomorrow.

A/N: well. I hope you liked it. Wasn't Jessica adorable as a little girl? *hugs 6 year old Jessica* well you just wait and meet 18 year old Jessica *laughs evilly* she's not so cute. Thanks for reading. Review please!