The Downside of Popularity

Prologue

Alina
✿—————✿

This was all new to me.

I know I'd wished to become a part of the popular circle this year, but I hadn't bargained for any of these side servings: constant plotting, dirt-scavenging, backbiting, blackmailing, and instigating. It was becoming more and more stressful to cope with as the days progressed.

Who would have thought, that any of this craziness would have erupted because of me? Not me, because I'd never imagined that a time would come when two very popular guys would walk into my life, make a confused mess out of my feelings, and tumble my world upside down.

No... it seemed too much like fantasizing over movies and books.

But now I guess I understood why Tessa's personality changed so much when she met Hardin. He unlocked the versions of herself that she'd unconsciously sealed, parts she thought didn't exist. Just like this popularity transition did to me, unravelling deeper versions of my personality. Stupid, meaner, and power-hungry versions of me.

But I was certain of one thing. If I was given a time travel device and sent back to when it all started, I wouldn't change a lot of things. Because despite how much I despised who I'd become—a shadow of who I once was— or missed my old self, I secretly enjoyed this new version of me.

Unfortunately, one question nagged my mind and made me twist and turn with heavy eyes for many nights.

It was a question about which versions were the real me. It seemed like somewhere along the line, amidst all the chaos that came with all this popularity and attention I was receiving, I'd forgotten to differentiate between the two and couldn't tell who I really was.

Terrible, I know. And I guess it was too bad searching for my true identity wasn't the only downside to my newly found status quo.

Staring at the computer sitting in front of me and shutting my eyes tightly like that would erase everything on this website from existence, I swallowed a rising lump in my throat.

In the history of human existence, was there anything worse than climbing up a mountain and falling?

Falling right when you're so close to the very top.

Was there anything that could be compared to this feeling of despair when you see yourself falling from grace after all the hard work you've put into reaching the top?

I'd leave you to answer that.