Stacey Williams had always loved Axel Teller.
But he had paid her no mind. She wanted more than the meaningless flings they had. She wanted her love to be returned. She wanted to be loved back.
She did everything to get his a...
Stacey sat on her bed, staring at the door of her wardrobe.
School had finished and she had come home to her mother and father sitting at the dining table, waiting for her. It was too bad that Stacey wasn't able to know what they were going to say before they did.
It almost seemed surreal when they told her that they were breaking up.
But the more surreal part was the glares they kept sending each other and all of it was giving Stacey a headache. She knew that her mom had cheated which in a way gave her dad a right to be angry at her but the two of them looked deadly.
Stacey slowly lowered herself back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She made patterns in the ceiling just like she used to do at Axel's house when they finished having sex. She would stare up at the top of the room and make random pictures in her head.
Stacey wondered if maybe things would have been different for her if she never met Axel.
If she never fell in love with Axel.
If she never accepted to go to his house that day.
Would she have turned into this stranger she now looked at in the mirror? Would her parents have become distant not only to herself but to each other? Would they be getting a divorce? Would she have met Scottie?
What would she be if she had never gone to Axel's house?
Who would she be?
And Stacey knew the answer right away.
Better.
***
"Well you look down," Scottie said as Stacey fixed her makeup in the bathroom mirror.
A girl drying her hands looked at Scottie, eyes wide. He gave her a wave and she scurried out the room like her ass was suddenly on fire.
"I am down," Stacey said, realizing that no matter how much makeup she slapped on, the bags under her eyes would show through anyway.
"Why's that?" he asked.
Stacey put her makeup back in her handbag and looked at herself, seeing past the layers of makeup to see the completely depressed and helpless girl in front of her.
"What do you think of me?" Stacey asked.
"This again?" Scottie frowned.
"No," Stacey said, catching his eye in the mirror. "Really. What do you think of me? When you look at me...what do you see?"
Scottie sighed. "A girl."
Stacey shut her bag and turned around, shoving past him. "Well if you're not going to help-"
"Fine, fine!" Scottie grabbed her shoulders, steering her back so they were standing in front of each other. "I, I see a girl who..."
Scottie stopped and looked into Stacey's eyes, gulping. "I see a girl who I don't think realizes how amazing she is."
Stacey blinked. "What?"
"When I see you, I see an amazing girl who's hiding behind a short skirt and a thick layer of makeup."
"I'm not," Scottie said, feeling almost desperate. "I'm not joking about this. When I see you...I see such a lost girl that it's heart-breaking."
"Stop-"
"And she's so heart-broken that I don't think she's realized what she's become," Scottie continued.
"Scottie-"
"I don't think she notices just how beautiful she is."
"This isn't funny!"
"And I don't think she understands how strong she really is. How strong she's always been."
"Stop!"
"And I don't think she'll ever be able to accept how brilliant she really is."
Stacey's eyes were filled with tears as she stared at Scottie.
"Why would you say that?" she asked, shaking her head. "What did you gain from saying all that?"
"Not everyone has to have something to gain, Stacey," Scottie said. "I just said the truth-"
"Jesus, Scottie, stop!" Stacey put her hand over her mouth, trying not to blink so the tears wouldn't fall. "Since when did you start thinking like that?"
"Since I met you."
"Scottie," Stacey said. "I don't want to be your pity vote."
"You aren't." he said. "I took you on that date because you were...you."
I noticed you because you were...you.
Axel's voice ran through Stacey's mind and she stumbled back, looking away. "What's so great about being me, huh? Why do you guys seem to like me for being me? Am I naturally slutty enough for all of you? Am I just that damn good at being a whore? Do I look so easy that it's now classified as a part of my personality? Huh, Scottie? Can you answer that? Can one fucking person tell me why the hell it's so good to be Stacey Williams? Because you know what, it's not as good as everyone seems to think!"
Stacey shoved past Scottie and out of the girl's bathroom.
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