Learn How To Love

One

Luna's POV

My hair has been bleached so many times at this point that I think it's starting to seep into my brain. Why else would I have turned down the hottest man I've ever seen? But, I guess it only makes sense to bleach it again. So, here I am, with my best friend. Bleaching the life out of my hair once again, "we should add some neon orange to it this time," Callie's voice registers in my mind. Humming, I glance up at her from my phone, "You think? I really like my platinum money pieces." She just shrugs in response, "We're literally bleaching your entire head, I don't think your money pieces matter right now."

Her grin is infectious as she smacks the top of my head with the hair color brush, "Hey! That hurts!" I cry, pouting up at her. She tosses down the pink latex gloves and the brush into the color bowl, laughing at me because she knows I can't touch my head since it's obviously saturated in chemicals. "You know, I support the hair makeover, but I don't support you turning down that sexy man. What is wrong with you?" Her tone is teasing, but I know she's at least half serious.

Sighing, I set my phone on top of the vanity, looking at myself in the mirror, "You know full well how I see myself, my insecurities would have gotten in the way. It would've ended in flames. I'm not made for relationships." Her dark brows furrow as she listens to me, "I know that. But it doesn't mean you should punish yourself. Sometimes when someone else loves you so much, it starts to feed off onto you. You'll start loving yourself," she sighs and continues, "You know I was the exact same way before Liam. He made me see myself how he sees me." I know she's right, but it's not so easy for me to believe for myself. I don't see a single thing about me that anyone could like, when I don't like it myself.

"Cal, I love you. But, we both know it's not that simple for me," she gives me a sad smile, "It could be. You're just scared to give it a chance, because you're scared. You're worried you'll self sabotage." I swallow back the sarcastic rebuttal on my lips, sighing again, "You're right. I know you're right, but there's also a part of me that is scared he- or anyone will see me the way I see myself." Callie throws me a small, shit eating grin, "I see you as an amazing person, you know that. You may not believe it, but I will tell you time and time again. As many times as you need to hear it."

I huff and throw my head back, groaning, "I don't wanna talk about this anymore." She just snorts, and walks into the bathroom. Water starts running indicating that she's washing out the color bowl, finally. Breathing out a big sigh, I turn to myself in the mirror. My eyes trail down the bleach covered hair, and shake my head before going back to my phone. Tiktok is my safe space, and will always be my safe space. Motorcycle men always make me forget about the way I'm feeling, and right now is no exception. My mind wanders to the mystery man, wondering if he drives a motorcycle. I bet he does, he looks like the type.

"Hey, go wash your hair!" Callie calls from the restroom, as my phone pings as I set it down. I don't check the notification before getting up and making my way into the shower. My mind is plagued with thoughts of the mystery man and his long, curly brown hair and green eyes. This is going to suck, I've never had a man stuck in my head this way before. Why would it happen now? I groan quietly and peel out of my clothes, forcing myself to focus on the music coming from the speaker in my bedroom while I wash the bleach from my hair

-

Callie looks up as I walk back into my bedroom, "You toned it, right?"  I nod and dry off, pulling on a pair of sweatpants and my favorite big t-shirt. "We can do the orange color tomorrow, I'm exhausted. Turn the TV on for some background noise." She just grins and turns on Grey's Anatomy, I knew I should've told her what to turn on. Too late now though.

"You're not backing out of the orange this time, I refuse to allow it," she answers, her tone in mock seriousness. I roll my eyes in response, "Yeah, yeah. We'll see," I laugh softly, and start cleaning up the scattered makeup and hair products from my vanity. "What time do we need to be up tomorrow?" She asks, glancing in my direction, then focuses back on the show playing. "Hm, I don't know. 9:00, maybe? We have to find cute outfits for Liam's party, and as much as I love your man.. His style choices are questionable." I snort, throwing a teasing grin in her direction."

"Preach!" She cries, dramatically. "I also need to make you buy a sexy underwear set, we've got to get you laid," her grin is wicked as she winks at me. Once again, I roll my eyes, "Yeah, that's another thing we'll see about. Men can't make me cum." Callie screeches in laughter at my response, throwing a pillow in my direction. I catch it with a grin and toss it back onto my bed.

With a yawn, I lay down in my soft bed, and plug my phone in. My eyes focus on a text message from an unknown number. Furrowing my brows, I open the text, "Hey, It's the guy from the bar earlier. Turns out we run in the same circles, Liam's one of my friends. Could we meet up tomorrow?" I just stare at the text in shock, my heart pounding. Fuck, how do I even reply?