On My Own - Dukesaw

PROLOUGE

PROLOGUE

September 7th, 1988.

Heather Duke was a mess after she lost her status. Veronica taking the scrunchie from her, taking everything from her was definitely not something ideal. Not only did she lose her spot as "Heather Number 1", but she lost everyone who presumably cared about her.

No one really talked to her anymore, not unless it was absolutely necessary. Nearing the end of last year, on occasions, she and Veronica said 'hi' to each other in the hallways, but it didn't feel the same. It felt forced and uncomfortable from the brunettes' side. She missed the way that they used to be, especially before Veronica grew tired of the other three girl's actions. It felt like there was a genuine friendship there for a few months, but whatever it was, Veronica wouldn't ever give her the chance to have that same relationship again.

She didn't mind being more quiet, it was easier to do that then try to interact with others. It was safer for her, easier to survive this way. It felt like they had all forgotten about her, making it seem like she never yielded the red scrunchie at all. She still longed for that power and the attention that came with it, but a lot less than she had previously. But luckily, she never had to go to any stupid parties anymore. No one in the clique enjoyed them, no matter how much they insisted they did.

She had gotten back into reading again, it wasn't enjoyable for her to give that up even if it was just for a short amount of time. She was thankful that there was no girl with blue eyes and a large tan blazer calling her a geek for her interests.

But still, no matter how much she didn't miss Heather, she missed Veronica and McNamara. Even if they didn't really like her much before she turned into the one that caused her so much pain, she wouldn't completely mind having that fake friendship back again, even if she didn't show it well, she cared about them. Except for Chandler.

At some point, she did like her, they were good friends, but once they hit highschool, Heather became  aware of the world around her. She recognized Duke's jealousy, and nothing was the same between them since. She wouldn't stop spewing insults at her, even when she tried to be a friend to her, so it was just easier to keep her mouth shut around her.

But it didn't matter now, Heather was gone. It was senior year now.

Saying that the social statuses in westerburg were a bit different now would be an understatement. Under Veronica's rule, there were no color coded requirements for the people in her specific clique.

They could wear whatever they wanted now. The amount of people who were bullied relentlessly had decreased, she made sure of that.

As Duke walked through the hallway, gazing at all of her peers around her, she wondered if that would ring true for the rest of this year.