I'm Not Daria
Exactly like me?

"That's weird"

"Very weird. Hopefully, there will be no more twins. I'm sick of you like this. Once everything is under control, I'll find Daria."

"Is that necessary? I'm on the whole news. Even if Daria did not follow the latest news, she would definitely hear it from someone, especially if the news was about her."

Luna seemed to think about it. "Now we don't know where he is, it's very possible"

"And before that happens, shouldn't he just disappear?"

"No. At least not yet. Even if she heard it, she would contact me first. I don't think she'd want to go back when she accidentally became the hot topic of the moment"

I let out a breath. "What do I tell my parents?"

"They'll be angry. If you keep confining yourself in the room, they might get mad at you because you're a coward and it's not like Daria"

I considered his words, I immediately approached them before lunch.

....

"Are you okay?" Mrs Daralyn asked.

That's not what I expected of them. I'm pretty sure they'll attack me.

"I'm fine." I managed to say it. My eyes turned to Mr. David who looked just as worried.

"Why were you crying last night?"

I thought quickly about making a lie.

"I was just fighting with my friends. Nothing serious." At least that's half the real thing.

"Darling, I want you to express it well. I want you to look good in front of everyone. I know you don't really care what people think about you, but do it."

Ms. Daralyn looked me in the eye "Mom doesn't want anyone else to vilify my mother's daughter. It hurts, when they say hurtful things about you."

"I'm sorry," I said, lowering my gaze as it was hard to look into her eyes for long as she looked at me like that.

"Don't apologize. We just hope you stop doing things like that. We know you're a good man Daria, but you don't have to put on a face that you're not. Show the real you to the world and I'm sure they'll like the real side of you."

I really didn't know how to answer, so I just nodded, not even knowing exactly what kind of person Daria was.

Our interaction was short-lived, I felt his disappointment in me. They are not my parents, but I still feel guilty for disappointing them.

The rest of the day I spent in my room, consciously avoiding going out of the house. Devan came to talk but I didn't want to, for fear that my secret would be exposed. She was immediately kicked out of my room door by Luna who decided to stay here for a few days.

I suspect Anna is behind her decision, maybe he was thinking of running away which sounds very tempting at the moment with my phone constantly exploding with notifications from people I don't know and overnight events that are constantly playing out my mind.

My parents have not yet given an official statement on the matter and it looks like it is making things worse because it means the rumors will spread quickly.

Although Luna had warned, I still opposed her and reopened the page where I found new articles about how my parents were embarrassed and decided not to admit me. There are a few more about my relationship with Devan. Apparently there was a nosy person who caught us kissing at the party and was eager to get attention from it

But I didn't plan to run away unless Luna told me to and of course I wouldn't leave without Anna.

I really wasn't sure how long we stayed here, so I picked up a bag and put all my stuff in it like my old phone, the dress I was wearing that day, the shoes, and everything else, my accessories and wallet. I wanted to be prepared for whatever might happen and that included running away in a hurry.

I told Anna not to do the same and she told Luna who thought I was overreacting.she would not understand because she was not in my position.

It might be true that I was overdoing it, but I wouldn't be comfortable with this kind of attention. In school and even in college, I was unpopular, so I had ten times that all that charged at me suddenly rendered me incapable of handling things.

After dinner, I couldn't avoid Devan even though I was trying. He was at my door before I got there

"Daria, what's wrong? Why are you avoiding me again? What are you doing?"

I didn't answer. I was wrong to avoid it like that without explanation, but I couldn't help it. If I was in front of him, I might cry.

However, I forced myself to remain calm, my days here were limited. Won't waste it anymore, especially if I can spend time with Devan. Maybe I'll be very sorry when I get out of here. I would curse myself every time I thought about how precious it was to spend time lamenting myself, when I could have done that later.

So, I gave her a bright smile. "I'm sorry, I'm just embarrassed by last night's events."

He sighed and unexpectedly pulled me into a hug. "It's okay. You don't have to pretend to be okay.I know you might be scared and not used to this. You can talk to me".

His words gave me the comfort I needed, but I withdrew. Surprisingly, he said things that he shouldn't have said to Daria. He's not used to this??. He wouldn't be afraid, so I tried to sound unconcerned about this.

"What are you talking about?" I scoffed. "I've done this a lot, I'm not afraid and I'm used to it."

"Is the article about us dating bothering you?"

"No"

She didn't know what else to say to make me feel comfortable, so I decided to make things easier for both of us

"Get in before Luna drives you out again." I grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.

He walked behind me and closed the door behind him. I led her to the bed and we sat next to each other

I wanted to say that I love her, but that might complicate things. I won't be able to say it again if I don't gather courage now.

I reminded myself once again of how I would regret not telling her later. Telling him now might not be a good idea but it certainly won't be regretted later on.

I clasped his hand and he paid his full attention to me. "Devan," I began to notice her expression, nervous to know her reaction to my words "I love you"

His face showed nothing and he did not react for a few seconds.it was not very good at reading people just by looking at their faces so I felt nervous.

"I think it's too early to say it. We just started dating, but I wanted to tell you because this is the truth and I'm sure of it. That's the only truth I can tell you." I knew that my words confused her, but I didn't care, I had to tell her.

If he is confused, he does not show it. A small smile fell on his lips. "You love me?"

"Yes, I love you." I might be raising her ego, but I need to tell her, my feelings for her are really sincere. If I had to tell him that I love him even a dozen times. I'm willing to do that.

"I love you too." Those words were like a sweet happiness after a stressful day. I was happy to hear those words from his mouth that were addressed to me

"Devan, would you still love me if I were a different person? Like having a completely different personality but I still look like myself?"

"You are the opposite of you I knew two years ago. If you were still the same as two years ago, I wouldn't have fallen in love with you."

It didn't give me much of an answer except that Daria wasn't her type. I was confused as to whether the way I acted was more like Daria or more like myself. I made everyone fooled and thought that I was the real Daria and her attitude changed a little.

"What if I was someone else? What if I look like myself but not Daria? For example I look like someone and I just pretended to be him for some reason and lied to everyone about my identity, how?"

I was venturing into dangerous waters and just wished I knew when to stop before going in too deep to return.

"That depends. Why don't you trust me enough to tell me the truth?"

It took me a while to put the sentence together.

"Hmmm. Some people don't want me to reveal the truth because they don't believe how you're going to react to it and they think you're going to expose my disguise, but I know you enough to know that you'll understand"

"True, I always understand you. I just want to know, when you pretend to be someone you're not, are you doing a good job of imitating that person's personality completely?"

It was a question that I myself did not know the answer to, but I knew myself quite well, most of my actions were just me being myself. "Not really, I'm just being myself."

"Then you may not love the person you are impersonating, but the real you"

That answer left my stomach filled with butterflies. "And what if I'm not as special as the person I'm playing?"

I promised myself that this was the last thing I would ask him about this matter.

"It doesn't matter, I love you. We won't carry material when we die, so I won't limit myself to such expectations when I can get something far more valuable than that - like the love of my life, although it sounds cheap".

Devan is not a hypocrite and he will not behave differently when the time comes for him to know the truth.

He didn't ask me about the origin of my question which felt a little strange. It's not usually that people ask as specific questions as I ask that makes me wonder if he already knows something.

I curled up near her and fell asleep in her arms. I was able to sleep well thanks to Devan beside me.

....

After breakfast, I just relax in my room, trying to do anything but think about things when there is a knock at the door.

Amara came in, looking agitated.

"Some one's waiting for you in the living room".

I sat down to hear his words. "Rome, what's wrong?"

She hesitates "She looks exactly like you"