Chloe Smith-McMannon
Chloe and her twin brother Chase were born to Marybeth Smith on Jan. 18th, 2000.
Marybeth, unable to take care of herself let alone two infants, gave the twins a rough start. It wasn't until they were almost 5 that the state finally stepped in and put them into foster care.
For around two years the two of them bounced around the foster system. None of the homes they stayed at were bad, per say, but those years solidified in the twins mind that they could only rely on each other. Everyone else would eventually leave, but there would always be one hand they could reach out to for support.
Right after their 7th birthday, Chloe and Chase went to stay with the McMannons. Before the first week was done, everyone in the house knew that they had finally found their family. Stacy and Jill are both extremely loving. They gave an overwhelming amount of kindness and support when Chloe came out to them as trans when she was 10, going out of their way and doing everything they possibly could to make sure their baby girl felt comfortable in her own skin.
The family lived in South Carolina for most of the twins' childhood, both getting to experience the idealistic small town charm. As they grew, while Chloe and Chase still held onto each other- they also learned how to reach out. Chase found his independence and a sense of adventure while Chloe found a friend group who loved her for who she was. For a long time, it seemed like the worst was behind them.
Until the end of sophomore year.
Chloe had been out to her two best friends, Katie and Jeanette, for about three years. Katie from the beginning was very supportive, and after a few bumps in the road due to ignorance Jeanette fully saw Chloe as a woman and supported her.
It wasn't until Jeanettes crush asked Chloe out that everything fell apart. That night, the guy got a text outing Chloe and by the next day everyone in town knew.
Jeanette started dating the crush and Chloe and Katie stopped talking- leaving her to face everything almost entirely alone. If her family hadn't been there for her, Chloe isn't sure that she would have survived it.
With time, the bullying and Chloe's mental health only got worse. It got to a point where they all agreed that the best course of action would be to move somewhere more supportive for a fresh start. Within the next few months, with the twins being homeschooled in the meantime, Stacy and Jill found new jobs and a house several states away.
Right as they started to settle in and get ready for their new school- Chase was offered the chance to go to Europe for a year long exchange program. Originally he had no plans of leaving, citing that he couldn't leave his sister after everything she had been through (and secretly terrified of actually going out into the world alone). Despite her own fears, Chloe gave him the push he needed to follow his dreams.
Without her brother there for the first time in her life, Chloe was sure that she was going to fall apart. That all changed when she met Autumn. One of the kindest, warmest, and most beautiful people Chloe knows, the two clicked instantly. It wasn't long before they became best friends and each others favorite person in the universe. Autumn is the first person Chloe comes out to at the new school, telling her on the boardwalk over ice cream. They both cried tears of joy.
While she adored Payton from the beginning, so happy to know someone as preppy and social as herself, it's not until she learned that the other girl was also adopted that the two started to get really close on a deeper level. They balance each other out well, Chloe able to keep Payton focused and down to Earth, while Payton knows how to get Chloe out of her head and back into the moment. Describing her as a friend almost feels wrong, because Payton is exactly the sister Chloe had always wanted.
Beckett made Chloe believe in falling in love again. After everything that had happened at her old school, she had accepted that no one would ever want her in that way once they knew all of her. He proved her wrong the day that they met. Before him, she had never been able to talk to someone so easily. When they broke up it wasn't because of a loss of feelings or a transgression on either side. They just agreed that they'd rather be best friends for life than exes.
Chloe and Mia are gossip SOULMATES. They get coffee at least once a week just to talk about everyone else. They did date for about a week, but that was mainly just to piss off Mia's family. Chloe originally tried to go Dutch every time they went out, but once she saw how Mia spends her money with the whole debutant ball, she makes the blonde pay every time.
Chloe was in love with Hannah. Hannah who is so beautiful and who immediately showed the same amount of drive to build something wonderful. Neither of them had enough spare time to see the other as much as they wanted, but both girls were willing to do whatever it took to stay with each other. Eventually their responsibilities outside of the relationship became too much- giving them two options. They would either break up or one of them would have to sacrifice part of who she was to stay together. Neither of them were willing to ask the other to do that, they wouldn't want to watch their girlfriend lose herself. Even though their romantic relationship ends, Hannah will always hold a special place in Chloe's heart. She still gets a warm feeling in her chest every time she looks at the stars. They remind her of the nights they would go stargazing together, fingers interlocked and the grass soft under their legs. Those moments mean more to Chloe than she ever could've imagined.
Chloe didn't expect to fall for Wes. From a rocky start, with Chloe barely trusting Wes enough to work with him, they only hung out because he was willing to help and because he and Autumn got back together pretty quickly after he joined the school. He started to call her 'Sunshine' ironically, but with time the meaning behind the nickname changed. Once they started spending time together, the two started to get closer quicker than anyone expected. They genuinely enjoy each other's company and find more in common with one another than either of them had anticipated. As she spends more time with Autumn and Wes, and Wes alone, he starts to become another one of her best friends. Everything was wonderful until she caught feelings for him.
She ignored her feelings for a long time, able to date other people and to ignore the butterflies in her stomach anytime he was close.
It wasn't until Ace that she finally felt herself starting to move on. She still had feelings for Wes, but feelings were starting to develop between her and Ace as well. And then her school won. And he betrayed her. After that, Chloe finally fell apart.
Having to watch his best friend lose herself, and then learning that she was starting to fall for Ace, made Wes start to reevaluate his feelings for his two favorite people.
Hearing about what happened, Chase ended his trip a few months early and flew home. Though there were a bit of adjusting pains, with Chloe having a much stronger support group than either of them were used to, he quickly became part of the group.
On the same day a month later, Wes and Autumn met up to have the same conversation. They still loved each other more than anything, but that love had changed.
Even after the breakup, it still took a while for Chloe and Wes to get together. Chloe needed time to learn to trust again, and Wes wasn't willing to pressure her at all. Still, with both of them single, they were more willing to toe the line of being in a relationship until Chloe was finally ready.
Halfway though the twins' senior year, Sarah and Jill got a call with...some news. Apparently the twins biological mother didn't only have two children. Three years before the twins were born, she had been in a toxic relationship with someone else that also resulted in pregnancy. The man pulled his life together, doing everything he could to give his baby girl the life she deserved, but Marybeth didn't. So in return for giving the baby her last name (Marybeth's only request), he takes the baby on his own and raises her.
Their sister, Isabella Smith, only found out about them the month before and had been searching like crazy to find them. They met up as soon as possible, and the family became a little bit bigger.
