Ace Merrill

Beautiful

Lili walked into the house and walked straight up to the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror and saw her mom's eyes, her mom's necklace and her mom's hair...Lili and her mom shared the same short haircut and she didn't know if she wanted to keep it knowing it would only remind her of the memories of her mom's death. She suddenly scattered through drawers looking, searching, for the hair cutting scissors. Lili had found them beside the electric razor and the hair care products her mom had in the bottom drawer beside the sink. She took the scissors, held them and looked down at them to make sure she 100% wanted to do this. She did, she wanted it for her - this was something in that moment she thought would stop her troubles. Scarcely, Lili cut off a chunk of her hair, and another and then another followed until she was left with hair shorter than she'd ever had it. They say hair has memories, well those memories were something Lili wanted to get rid of.

She looked down into the sink below her and just stood in shock of what she'd done, all the hair she had was gone... The girl looked back in the mirror and ran her fingers through her hair - What would people think? What would her mom think if she were still here? And, Ace, what would he say...?

She took herself off to her mom's bedroom, took her shoes off and simply lay down. That night she fell asleep in the click of a finger and all the emotions of loosing her mom came to her in the morning when she woke up and remembered exactly what the last night looked like.

Knock Knock.

Someone was at the door at 9:45am, Must have been the postman with a parcel or something, he can wait, she thought.

Knock Knock.

The same knock. Lili got out of bed and made her way downstairs, she looked out the peep hole to make sure it wasn't Wes like last time and to her surprise it wasn't, it was Ace, and Eyeball but he was at the end of the front garden. Lili didn't know what to say or if she should even open the door to him because of what she'd done to her hair. She didn't want to know the reaction of his or the cobras. What she felt she needed yesterday was holding her back and she didn't know how long this feeling would hold her back for.

"Lili! Lili c'mon I know you're in there." He knocked again.

"Just go Ace.. Please go." She had a tinge of pleading in her voice.

"Hey just let the guy in!" Eyeball had made his way to the door, " He's been awake since you guys left abruptly last night."

Clearly Ace hadn't told the cobras why they left so abrupt and early, Lili appreciated that.

"Come on Sugar, please." For Ace Merrill this was practically begging.

She unlocked the front door and the latch above the door handle; prepared herself for the mystery reaction that was to come.

Ace didn't even look and he walked in to the living room hoping she'd follow, he just wanted to make sure she was okay. Eyeball on the other hand observed Lili and noticed the change in haircut - he wanted to mention it but didn't want to pry but his face didn't say what he was thinking. His confused face rubbed of as a disgusted face to Lili, that's what she saw. She saw an old friend looking at her in disgust. She again wrapped her arms around her waist worriedly and walked away from Eyeball and went upstairs to her room, she didn't want to know the reaction of Ace if that was Eyeball's.

"Hey where's she going?" Ace walked into the hallway after waiting impatiently.

"Dude, did you notice her hair?" Eyeball says a bit shocked.

"No what happened with her hair?" He asked but before Eyeball could respond, Ace had already made his way to Lili's room, her door open and she was just sat on the edge of her bed.

She didn't look up at him, she realised now how embarrassed she felt for having short hair, she may as well have shaved it she thought. While Lili was thinking about how embarrassed she felt, Ace just wanted to know how to help her. Ace wasn't even thinking about what other people may say to her at this moment, he just wanted to help her through the death of her mom. He walked to the edge of the bed and stood ahead of her and he pulls her into his stomach area for a hug, she wraps her arms around his waist and he looks down at her.

"It's okay, it's all gonna be okay." He comforted, he then knelt on one knee and held her hands.

"But what about work, what people are going to say, I don't know what I was thinking!" She almost starts crying but no tears can even come out.

"For what it's worth I think you look beautiful." He brushes through her hair with his fingers, " You were beautiful yesterday, beautiful 3 years ago and you'll be beautiful years to come Sugar."

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