4,793 words
w: swear words, not that angsty, y/n's life is lowkey based on mine, shitty writing
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Prim and proper. Those two words were always used by your teachers and classmates to describe you, if people asked. Respectful and calm were the words your family used. You had nothing against it, though. It was nice that people thought of you that way. For years, you were dubbed as the 'nice one' in the family. You were the obedient child and you did what everyone said. Since you were born until you grew up, you always matched everyone's expectations and everyone expected that of you all the time. You had high grades, never talked back, always listened, knew when to shut your mouth, etc.
Every move you made was watched and you never decided for yourself and if you did, everyone would sort of manipulate you so that you could change your decision into something they like. Outfits that you wore are always checked and sometimes, they'd prepare it for you so that you wouldn't have the chance to choose. Dark colors were never allowed, so your closet looked like a pastel dream. Your hair was never dyed and as much as you want to, you knew that they'd never approve. That's how your life is and you never broke away from that because you wanted people to like you.
Lately, you were feeling tired. You were tired of being the 'nice one'. You wanted to bend the rules a bit, but you feared that if you broke a rule, everyone would be disappointed and they'd guilt trip you. You didn't need that on your conscience. They wanted you to be independent, but they also want you to still need them all the time. You didn't know what to do because you tried to be independent once and they called the police, claiming that you were missing. That was your first and last time to go to the convenience store on your own.
You and Sam were paired up for a project and you were looking forward to it. His twin, Harry, was a friend of yours. However, you never really got to know Sam and you never went to Harry's house because your family wouldn't allow it. According to them, Harry was a boy who had a hidden agenda towards you which wasn't true at all. But because you were nice, you followed their rules. Thankfully, Harry understood. So you hung out at school instead.
You liked having Harry as a friend. He was calm and collected. He was also organized and if your parents took the time to get to know him, they'd like him because he was just like you. There were differences, but the same, in a way.
Since your parents never allowed you to go to someone else's house, all projects were done at your house. Harry accompanied Sam so that they could go home together. After all, Sam has never been to your place and he didn't know how to go home from there. You were in the home office with Sam and Harry as you discussed the project.
"What brand did you guys get?" Harry asked, before grabbing a crisp and eating it.
"We got Clear." You sighed and sat on the floor next to the Holland boys. Your project was difficult. The teacher will assign a brand and you and your partner should make a storyboard for the commercial and a poster. You had about a month to do it.
"I hate this. My mind is blank." Sam muttered. He took a sip of water from his water bottle as the three of you sat quietly.
You thought about it for a while before saying, "Their slogan is 'nothing to hide', so I guess we could show in our storyboard person A being so shy and then person B comes along and gives them Clear. Then person A becomes confident because-"
"After using Clear, they've got nothing to hide." Sam finished your sentence and you nodded. "That could work." He shrugged. You looked at Harry and he said, "Don't look at me. It's your project. Mine and my partner's brand is Head & Shoulders and they have a totally different slogan. Plus, we have a storyboard idea already."
