𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓈𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝑜𝓊𝓁

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❝ 𝒴𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎'𝓈 𝓈𝓅𝓁𝒾𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝓌𝑜
𝐼 𝒻𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝒾𝓃 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒶 𝒽𝒶𝓁𝒻 𝑜𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊. ❞

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𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄 ✦ August Vance
𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 ✦ Carter, a name that once belonged to someone that is no longer here; a name that sends shivers down August's spine. So many people call him that, thinking he's him. Gus, a nickname given to him by Claire.

𝐆𝐎𝐃𝐋𝐘 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 ✦ Apollo
𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐃 ✦ At age 12 August witnessed Claire Vance fall off her horse and subsequently breaking her arm. Silent tears were streaming down her face as she tried her best to put on a brave face; pretending as if it didn't hurt, but he saw the bone peaking out - it was bad. It had to hurt. While help was on their way, Claire asked August to sing to her in hopes of soothing her thoughts. He has no idea how or why it happened, but suddenly Claire's arm was no longer broken. A couple of months later, soon after his 13th birthday, August got a new music teacher, a man by the name of Lester Papadopoulos. Several weeks later, Lester revealed August the truth: his real name was Apollo. He was a God (of many things). He also happened to be August's father.

𝐀𝐆𝐄 ✦ 20
𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 ✦ No one really knows August's true birth date, so the nuns at the orphanage he was left on decided to celebrate his birthday on the day he was found: August 3rd.
𝐙𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐂 ✦ Leo with Pisces tendencies.

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 ✦ Cis Male
𝐒𝐄𝐗𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 ✦ Bisexual

𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 ✦ Unknown, but he did spend the first seven years of his life in an orphanage in New York City.
𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 ✦ Technically a year round camper, but occasionally he will disappear for months time without a warning. Where he goes, no one knows (Boston)

𝐎𝐂𝐂𝐔𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ✦ Does he really have a job? Some say August has been dealing drugs to survive, that's why he wears that raggedy fur coat all the time: it's full of drugs! Others think he's living out as a struggling musician or starving artist or whatever people who wear leather pants unironically do these days. In truth, August could be considered a trust fund kid. His adoptive parents are filthy rich.

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August Vance is in possession of two different personalities: one that belongs to him and one that belongs to Carter Vance.

As Carter, August is sociable, easy-going and studious. He holds great respect for those older than him and has been taught great manners from a very young age. Money means absolutely nothing to him; being born with a silver spoon in his mouth has given Carter the privilege to think of cash as little paper things that allow him to move from place A to place B. His friends adore him - although he has yet to decide whether it's because of his charming personality or fat pockets. He throws the coolest parties; is never too shy to offer a warm welcome, even to a complete stranger and has the most amazing luck when it comes to ladies. He’s charming, he’s cool, he’s fun. He’s popular and arrogant.

Sometimes, when he gets in one of his moods, Carter tends to treat people like shit and they let him. Because of his name; because of his father; because of his money. Speaking of his father, Carter looks up to Emmett Vance greatly. If you ask him, Emmett is his idol in life; his greatest inspiration. When Carter grows up, he wants to be just like his father and considering how he too is a pompous, selfish, lying little prick, he’s more than just halfway there. All that’s left is for Carter to develop a drinking problem and constantly cheat on his wife (if he ever gets married that is).

Speaking of cheating and marriage and relationships, it is very important to know that first of all, Carter isn’t gay. Second of all his low self-esteem allows him to find the hottest girl in the place, shower her with drinks and if she refuses him, he degrades her until she no longer feels human. Everyone knows he can get quite… rowdy when drunk; aggressive and violent even. And if he breaks something (and he almost always does, glasses or laws it doesn’t really matter) his daddy and his American Express are always here to bail him out.

When the party is over and he finally finds himself alone and behind closed doors, August removes the mask he’s been forced to wear and allows his true self to swim out to the surface. In reality, August is nothing like the man Emmett Vance envisioned his son to be. August Vance is sweet and soft-spoken. He cares about people not because he needs something for them, but because he truly wants to know whether those closest to him (and even strangers sometimes) are alright. Unlike Carter, August knows exactly when to stop talking – as a matter of fact, he rarely talks as it is. Terrifyingly observant, he can read people like a book. He doesn’t make assumptions about others; he knows exactly how they are.

Those who don’t know him well, would easily describe August as strange, intense and mysterious – completely erasing the part of him that at times is capable of being light, funny and easy-going. But he can’t be bothered by it. As a matter of fact, most days August can’t be bothered about plenty of things! His life is already a tangled mess and between the fake life he’s been living and having a literal Greek God as a father, August would rather choose to be left alone in his own bubble of peace, quiet and Claire Vance. Speaking of Claire Vance – she might as well be the reason why he’s become the hopeless romantic he is today. Affectionate, tender and loving – that’s the person August becomes when surrounded by the people he loves. Especially if that person is Claire. Because of her, August’s so full of love, sometimes he feels his chest might explode.

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On a warm August afternoon, twenty-one years ago, a woman who went by the name of Sister Michael encountered something quite strange. Stumbling upon small babies in baskets on the front steps of the local church, unfortunately, wasn’t a rare sight. Finding a small baby wrapped around a fur coat was.

Before finding him a home with a foster family whose ties were very close with the church, she and the rest of the sisters named him August in honor of the month they’d found him and each year on that very date – August third – they celebrated the little baby’s birthday. In his new home, August was welcomed with open arms. He was beloved among his new foster siblings as well as parents. His foster parents, John and Claudia claimed he was a blessing from God: a particularly quiet baby and later child who almost never cried, complained or threw tantrums. Sure, his dyslexia and ADHD were the reason why August never did well in school as the rest of his foster siblings, but he was a good kid: he kept to himself most times; enjoyed music and taking long walks with Sister Michael - the woman who'd found him all those years ago.

One day, several months shy from his eighth birthday, August and Sister Michael embarked on one of their many adventures across the city. They’d eaten pretzels and greasy pizza. Sister Michael had bought August an ice cream, before letting him go make new friends while she finished her sudoku puzzle on a near by bench. August made new friends alright, but they wanted to play frisbee and when he wasn’t able to catch it, they’d made him go find and get it.

August found the hot pink frisbee near the feet of a strange woman. She was beautiful, with silky blonde hair and stunning blue eyes, but there was a glazed look in the irises that reminded August of the sky above. She had called him Carter and claimed he was her son. August tried to run away but the woman took him by the hand. Luckily Sister Michael made it just in time. And so, did the woman’s husband.

A week later, just when August was putting the events of that dreaded day behind him, the same man stopped by his foster home. He introduced himself as Emmett Vance and shared a story so heartbreaking, it had everyone left in tears – including Sister Michael and she’s always been a rather tough egg to crack. Emmett said August looked so much like his deceased son Carter that upon first glance, he too for a moment thought he was seeing the child he once thought he’d lost.

The Vances adopted August very soon after. On the way to his new home, Emmett had told August that his wife, Isadora, is very frail. Her mental health has always been a bit unstable (Emmett’s words, not August’s) and after their son had died, she had gone into a full-blown frenzy (once again, Emmett’s words). What Emmett asked for August to do was so strange it rarely even happened in the movies: he wanted August to pretend to be their dead son. Apparently, no one in the Vance family knew about Carter’s death, little alone that he had disappeared prior being found in a ditch somewhere in Nigeria. August knew he didn’t have any choice, so he said yes, thinking it would be fun.

But it wasn’t fun. Everything that now August owned was Carter’s. His clothes, his room, his toys. Even the toothbrush was the same. Emmett told August how to behave; molding him into what he thought was the image of the perfect son. “An heir of a great company.” Emmett had said. Everyone called him Carter. Gave him gifts and took him to places that Carter would’ve liked. Everyone treated him the same way they’ve treated Carter when he was alive.

Everyone but Claire.

Claire Vance, the spoiled bratty daughter. Carter’s twin sister. She used to kick August in the knee and throw tantrums when Emmett would kindly ask her to refer to August as Carter when in public. She would purposely get August in trouble and make him so angry; he’d have to scream into his pillow at night. And then, one day, after a rather taxing horse-riding session, twelve-year-old Claire decided to ride her horse into the stables instead of leading it. Something had happened; she had fallen and broken her arm. August had been near-by. When she called after him, he thought she was going to blame him for her fall, but all she did was ask him to call for help and stay with her until it came.
“Can you sing to me?” She’d asked him, her freckled face stained with tears. “When you’re in your room you sing all the time. You have such a nice voice, please August, sing to me.” So, he did and it was the first time August realized just how beautiful Claire really is.

Help came very soon after and they were stunned to find out that all Claire did was sprain her wrist. She tried arguing with them – claiming her arm had been broken, “I saw the bone and all!” She said, but the medics assured her that it was just a simple sprain. The pain she endured must’ve made her think her injury was worse. But August was there. He saw the bone peaking out. He also saw it slowly retracting back to its place and he had no idea what had caused such phenomena.

If August thought that was weird than he certainly did not see the following happening anytime soon. Ms. Rochester, his (or better said Carter’s) piano teacher unexpectedly fell pregnant and a replacement was sought out immediately. The man in question was stupidly handsome, a bit pompous and most importantly, August’s biological father. Lester Papadopoulos, better known as Apollo among non-mortals, the Greek God of sun, light, healing, disease, plague, music, art, poetry, archery, reason, knowledge, truth and prophecy had revealed himself to be August’s long-lost father.

When asked about the whereabouts about his mother, Apollo told August the grim truth: she had died several years after his birth from a severe drug overdose. A small-town girl, she had wanted to become a famous singer one day, but she was down on her luck, more than once and suffered many tragedies and let downs. Apollo had fallen in love with her after hearing her sing in a dingy bar in Downtown Brooklyn. Their affair was short lasting, but passionate, “It gave us you, didn’t it?” Before leaving, Apollo had gifted her a gorgeous fur coat that will shield her from New York City’s cruel winters. The very same coat she had wrapped August in before leaving him on the front steps of the orphanage.

Then, Apollo took the liberty to introduce himself to Emmett Vance – asking for permission to have August spend his summers with him on the ranch he owned in Texas. Emmett had reluctantly agreed. The ranch in question wasn’t a ranch. It was a camp in which children (who may or may not have been related to August in one way or another) had attended each summer or for longer periods of time. No one in the camp knew where August came from or went back to. No one knew that once the summer is over, he’d return to a life where he pretends to be the dead son of a rich Boston philanthropist.

One summer, after being going for far too long, he found Claire sitting on the edge of Carter’s bed, waiting for him. “I missed you.” She said. “I wish you’d called me.” August wished he could explain his true whereabouts but he couldn’t. He hated being away from her, as much as he hated lying to her. They shared their first kiss that night. A couple of months later August will realize just how madly in love with her he is and how he’d be dead if someone were to find out about them.

And they did find out – more specifically it was Isadora who had found them entangled in Claire’s sheets. The sight had her hospitalized again and Emmett hit August so hard, he heard his jaw pop. From that day onward Claire and August were no longer allowed to be alone in the same room together. They weren’t allowed to speak, little alone glance or accidentally touch one another. Claire has a new boyfriend now – a Harvard graduate who doesn’t deserve her and August spends his nights poisoning his lungs and thinking about her lips.

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𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐋 ✦ Cristiano Palmerini
𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 ✦ Chloe Sinclair, Freja Daud, Theodore James
𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄 ✦

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