Perfect Strangers

A Fiesta

Faye smiles as she looks at herself in her pretty party dress, her hair into loose curls, and with only a bit of makeup on. She was so looking forward to the party, being full of excitement. It was a rare occasion that she was allowed to go out at all but it was even more rare that she's allowed to meet with friends... actual friends. She hadn't had much friends before, especially not friends like the dance squad.

"Fluff?" H asks, slowly opening the door. "Wow, look at you my little pop princess! You look beautiful - like the beautiful pop star you are." he smiles, hugging her tightly. "Ready you go out?"

"Yay!" Faye says happily. "Uh, H, can- can I ask you something? But promise not to laugh."

Worried about what she would say, H nods and allows Faye to take a seat next to him. The young blonde slowly cuddled closer to him, which surprised him as she rarely cuddled with anyone. At the beginning of her relationship with Travis, Faye often cuddled close to her boyfriend as they laid on the couch - but he simply shouted at her, saying she should stay away from him because he doesn't want to cuddle with someone as... stupid as her. But with his 'clients' he was cuddling a lot, leaving Faye wondering what she's done wrong and why no one likes her. "Go ahead, Fluffy." H says. 

"You- you'll watch me, won't you? So no one can be mean to me. Promise." Faye requests in a small voice. H felt heartbroken by how sad Faye's voice was, she looked so fragile. 

"Of course, Fluffy. If you feel uncomfortable or upset, let me know. Then we'll go home or I'll personally tell off whoever upset you - okay, sweetie? But you'll have an amazing time. The dance squad is lovely - even Lisa, she might be a bit rude at times but it's just her way of dealing with the dance school issues."

Faye wasn't so sure of that yet. Obviously the dance crew's nice - and yes, also Lisa who hadn't been that friendly to her yet - but Faye has so many trust issues, thanks to her boyfriend. She'd thought he's the man she wants to get married to and have a future with, she thought he loves her just as she loves him - but she had to realise that he only loved the advantages she has. Money and fame. But there were no feelings... yet she knew she had to keep playing along because if she'd try to break up with him, he'd hurt her. And ruin her career. It didn't matter anyways, she already was broken - so it didn't matter if he kept destryoing the tiny bit of trust she still has in him.

But as soon as she's with the dance crew, a feeling of happiness surrounds her. Ever since Faye had meet them, this feeling had been present. The same happiness she'd felt in her childhood, when dreaming of being a pop star or actress or dancer, dreaming of an amazing future with a loving partner by her side as well as her family and amazing friends. The thoughts always made her happy. She would love to feel this happiness again but now everything in her life was related to worry and anxiety. But the dance crew helps her - the crew and Claire who's become such a good friend to her, in such a short space of time.

"Fluffy, I'm so happy to see you." Claire smiles. "You lok beyond stunning - hey, we need to go shopping together so you can give me a bunch of advice on where to get such pretty dresses!"

No 'Look at this arrogant brat in her expensive dresses', no 'She looks like she wears a bin bag', no 'Can't you wear anything pretty?' - all these words were things Travis had said, but none of the dance crew even thought about saying that.

"How lovely to see you!" Giovanni approves. He plans to hug Faye but the young blonde hastily makes a step back. "You don't like hugging?"

"No, I mean, I- uh, I fell over in rehearsals. I'm a bit bruised." Faye laughs. "But I'm able to dance, okay? I won't say no to dancing!"

Glad that his intentions hadn't upset her - though Giovanni couldn't stop thinking about why Faye had looked so scared at the almost-hug. Okay she said she's got bruises from rehearsals but... that was no reason to look scared. Giovanni had heard about this sort of behaviour - it often was a sign for abuse. A look at the young girl made him sad when he saw the lack of confidence and how shaky she seemed at times. Does her boyfriend abuse her?, he asks himself, not even daring to think further.