Bleeding Hearts

one

To Kayleigh, for also helping me to choose a story (even though she chose a different one lol) and sharing my love of Glee. Plus she's an incredibly amazing person with even better writing skills. Also GREASE IS AN AMAZING MUSICAL AND YOU'RE PSYCHOTIC

ONE

I, Leah Oberlin am never one to be weak, instead choosing constant positivity over anything else.

But yet, as I stare back at my blotchy and red reflection I know that for the past few months my life has been anything but.

Each day during fourth period study hall I excuse myself to go to the bathroom for my scheduled cry. Here is where I let out all of the pain and misery that I'm forced to endure every time that I look at Ford Turner. Here is where I know I can be alone because the first floor bathrooms are considered disgusting and gross when really they're the exact same as the junior hallway bathroom, just a few floors lower. Here is where I'm not the positive Lea Oberlin, the girl with the undeniable voice and the innocent personality.

Here, I'm weak.

I release my final sob before gathering up as many paper towels as possible and soaking them in freezing cold water that I then dab my face with. Once the blotchiness has subsided, I go into my makeup kit and take out my daily facial moisturizer before deeply applying it to my face along with concealer. Then, I swipe on lip gloss, mascara, and white eyeshadow to complement my dark green blouse and light jeans that are rolled up at the cuff to show off my black booties. My dark brown hair is curled with locks from each side of my head pulled back into a small circle pinned with Bobby pins to add some type of attention getter there. I'm all about subtlety when it comes to hair.

When I'm happy with how I look, I briskly exit the bathroom and head back to study hall, just as the bell to end fourth period rings. I grab my stuff from study hall and plaster on a look of pure determination as I make a beeline for the lunch hall and the pizza line. I'm usually not one to fall for the lust of junk food but pizza always has been and always will be my weakness. My parents have enlisted into me the importance of health and eating right, so I try my best to eat salads for lunch but on days like these even I'll admit that a slice of veggie pizza and fries is way too tempting to pass up.

After I've bought my meal and a bottle of zero calorie lemon water, I leave the lunch room and head straight for the auditorium. Usually you're not allowed to eat in there or go in without a teacher but since I'm basically an honorary guest, I can do whatever the hell I want. The auditorium is my safe place though, so I'd never so much as dream of doing it any harm. I've been coming here to sing and express myself since the ninth grade, and now that I'm a junior in high school it's never felt more like home. The seats are all made out of comfortable red velvet that's fuzzy to the touch and there's up to 100 of them. The stage, though slightly worn from countless musicals, is as inviting as a basketball court to a shooter or a track to a distance runner.

For me, though, it's home.

Once the heels of my booties click-clack against the floor of the stage, I exhale in relief. I set my tray down on the brown piano before taking a seat on the cushioned stool and smiling to myself as I look down at the well-loved keys. My fingers delicately run along the keys, sending waves of sound erupting throughout the auditorium. Before I know it, the chords to Hopelessly Devoted are underneath my fingertips and the song is gently erupting from deep inside of my heart where it sits and eats away at me.

"Guess mine is not the first heart broken / My eyes are not the first to cry / I'm not the first to know / There's just no getting over you"

The song by Olivia Newton John is my all time favorite from Grease, but what Sandy felt cannot fully compare to what I feel.