In The Game [tomdaya + au]

three;

Zendaya went into the bathroom and it dawned on her that she was holding her breath the entire time. She shook her head and cursed at herself, "What the fuck was I doing?" She whispered, looking at herself in the mirror.

Her reflection stared back at her and for some odd reason, Zendaya began to compare herself to the pretty girl that was attached to Tom's arm. She compared her honey coated curls to the girl's thick dark locks. She compared her face covered in thick glasses to the girl's clear bare face that held a confident smile.

Zendaya didn't like feeling less than anyone, she hated feeling inferior but she couldn't help it. She tried to stray away from comparing herself to other people who were completely different, she tried to stray away from the thoughts of insecurity and physical differences but sometimes it would dawn on her at the worst moments.

She kept staring at her reflection until her train of thought was cut off by someone entering the bathroom. Coincidentally, it was the girl who was with Tom.

She came into the bathroom, her intense smell of perfume filling the bathroom with a soft tropical scent as she used the sink next to Zendaya.

Zendaya pretended to be fixing her hair, tightening her pony tail and fixing her glasses to be set properly. The girl did the same, fluffing her hair and readjusting her bright cherry lipstick. Zendaya couldn't help but stare a bit. This girl looked so content with herself and Zendaya envied it a bit but she digress.

The girl turned her head to look at Zendaya before speaking, "Your hair is beautiful. I've always wanted curly hair," she gushed, smiling at Zendaya.

Zendaya's cheeks grew hot, "Oh, really? It's a pain sometimes but thank you."

"No problem. Yours is different though, it has such a calm and repetitive pattern, I love it." She continued, hand on her hips and twirling her hair with her other hand.

Zendaya was surprised at how nice this girl was, her looks completely contradict her attitude and Zendaya was a bit fond of it.

"Your name is Zendaya right? I think I have you in my AP U.S history class?" She questioned, it didn't even dawn on Zendaya that she had this girl in one of her classes but she wasn't familiar with her name.

"Oh with Ms. Pridgett? Yeah, I remember you now. I never quite got your name though." Zendaya responded, trying to act collective and casual to the best of her abilities and luckily it was working.

"I'm Kenna but you can call me Ken. Kenna makes me feel so proper and old," she chuckled and Zendaya nodded.

"Well I'll see you around, we should talk more in Pridgett's class!" Kenna beamed before leaving the bathroom and Zendaya agreed.

Zendaya luckily made it back to class in time and was able to avoid Tom but she realized she'd be seeing him again in class. She walked through the door of Mrs. Deacon's room and managed to get through the other kids filing in, their backpacks slightly hitting Zendaya but she ignored it.

She grabbed her assistant badge from the counter and was beginning to walk to her back office but once again, someone caught her attention.

Tom was staring at her, directly in her eyes without even hiding it. A soft smile on his face as she was heading to her office but he disconnected the eye contact the moment his friend sat beside him. Zendaya quickly went into the office and shut the door with a soft slam, making her regret her awkward behaviors.