ugly duckling

coolest guy around and the stupid pretty boy

you were huffing by the time you caught up to the boys who were lined up along a wall, facing you, and the 4 bullies in front of them whose backs were facing you.

'zacks goons...' you identify fairly quickly from their voices alone, the three don't notice you but the girl hanging with them does quickly as she points at you

"Whose that?" she asks between clicks of gum between her gum and teeth, she pushes her long locks over her shoulder to reveal more of her bosom

the group turns to face you making you flinch at the attention, wishing you'd let the clerk just steal your crappy card as they each look at you with varying amounts of confusion. "huh?" one of them grunts as he glares at you

'They're not as tough as Zack but...' you curl into your subconscious as you take in their heavy and tough exteriors, squealing as they don't seem to take your appearance in lightly 'They can still beat my ass...!' you cry

"I..." you gulp shakily, wishing to just disappear forever when the boys perk at your trembling tone "I just want my stuff back..." you mumble, looking off to the side.

'what's wrong with me' you whine tearfully inside your head, withering and rolling in distress. 'any other day and I'd have run away before they could notice me! It's weird, attention like this will kill me one day!'

the biggest one of the boys grins cheekily, turning to face you "Wait a minute..." he chuckles darkly, taking in your somber expression again "You-you're the chick who sits next to Zack, arent you?" he teases

I'm gonna vomit...' you blech internally, pursing your lips when you respond"I- I guess...". you don't know when but the skinny one is at your side instantly, throwing a heavy arm over your shoulder, bringing you in closer. you feel like crying when the smell of cigarettes comes from his hot breath.

"oh come on! I knew I recognized you! What's your name again...?" he tries to come off as unthreatening but only serves to irritate you more as he calls out a bunch of incorrect names.

"It's (name)!" Jiho whispers tearfully making you look up at him angrily

'this kid!'

"(name)! right! Since you are so close to Zack why don't you sit for a while" the skinny one says, now leading you closer to the 3 other friends of his despite your stuttering protest. you stand awkwardly with the two bigger friends of his who look down at you with equal amounts of interest and amusement.

'seeing me squirm must give them an ego boost...' you think sadly, watching as Jiho starts fighting the clerk after being promised to be left alone if he wins in a loser battle.

you watch in disappointment and distaste at the 4 people standing next to you yell profanities at the boys, watching 2 people hurting each other couldn't be this entertaining, could it? no, you decided biting back a yelp when Jiho hit the poor store attendant particularly, snapping your eyes closed

you bit back a sigh when the blonde girl hugged your arm nudging your shoulder with her head as she shivered "It's too cold~ let me in" You try to recall when Mira had touched the same shoulder earlier to comfort yourself since this girl was mean and smelt of booze. it was all making you feel ill, and the situation started to feel like one big joke.

the swearing, smoking, and violence were making you dizzy forcing you to lean against the girl in return, giving her some of your warmth 'Dad? it's me again...' You begin to reminisce on your life up to this point, every good, bad, and embarrassing memory returning as you pray to your father up in heaven 'Whatever I did to piss off god, tell them I didn't mean it... just please.... please get me out of here!'