trash star - punznap

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car after car stops on the side of the road, dropping off a sea of joyous students. the girls wear high heels and fancy dresses in all kinds of colors, from bright pink to deep, velvety red. many of them have their nicest necklaces and earrings on, as if this is the most important night of their lives.

they step out together with their dates, who are just as well-dressed. neatly ironed shirts, expensive suits, napkins, roses.. everything is perfect. nick hates it.

he doesn't fit in, as usual. he feels like the black sheep of the herd. his posture is bad, his hair is messy, and his clothes don't look nearly as good as the other boys'. he doesn't look nearly as good as the other boys.

having to stand alone on the sidelines and watch everyone arrive doesn't exactly boost his confidence either. it feels like people are staring at him from left and right, judging him for simply existing. he wants sadie to pull up and save him, but most of all he'd like to go home. go home and lay down in bed and cry.

only seconds later he hears wild cheering from the nearby intersection. an old bmw convertible turns onto the street, pulling over and stopping in front of the gymnasium. nick doesn't recognize the driver, but in the passenger seat sits a girl with long, jet black hair and colorful bracelets on her wrists. it's almost as if she could hear nick's silent cries for help. he lets out a sigh of relief.

"nick!"

she sees him right away. he waves to her, awkwardly smiling to try and mask his anxiety. as soon as she's gotten out of the car she starts running towards him at an impressive speed, considering the fact that she's in heels.

unlike most of the other girls who are wearing full-length dresses, sadie is rocking a shorter one. it's a dark shade of blue, matching the color of her glittery eyeshadow.

she's absolutely stunning. nick opens his arms for her, and she dives right in.

"hi sadie," he chuckles, "couldn't leave the bracelets at home, huh?"

"of course not! they're my babies."

she smells like flowers and sweet perfume, even sweeter than usual. her hair is soft, and oh, how nick wishes he could just fall in love with her. but deep inside he knows it's impossible. he was born this way, whether he likes it or not. all he can do is accept it.

"you're shaking," she points out.

"w-what?" he stutters, pulling away from the hug, "no i'm not."

sadie gives him a worried look.

"are you okay?"

he fiddles with the sleeves of his dress shirt, the sleeves that are too long because his stupid arms are so short.

"i don't know.."

"look, jenny is parking the car right now, and when she comes back we can go inside and just hang out, blend in with the crowd, okay? i know you haven't met her before but she's really cool, you guys will get along instantly."

nick bites his lip, unable to meet her gaze. he feels so guilty for dragging sadie down like this. she just wanted to have fun, and here he is, holding her up outside the entrance like a scared little kid.

he glances at the couples walking in, listens to the chatter and the music. how is he gonna last longer than a minute in there? it's so loud, it's too loud. the whole place is crowded with people that he hates, and people that hate him.

"fuck, i shouldn't have made you go when you didn't want to," sadie sighs, "i'm sorry."

"hey, i-it's not your fault, i just.."