Fragile // 5sos [under MAJOR reconstruction!]

Thirteen.

(Rewritten x2)

Dru didn't like being out in public. She felt so exposed and everyone kept staring at her because they recognised her from the news. Her photo got leaked along with all the other girls that she lived with; her bosses had all of their pictures lined up in the lobby area so the clients could choose which one they would spend their time with. The police must have released them to the media in case anyone knew the stolen girls. Dru hadn't seen any of the other girls ever since she escaped, but she wished that she did. A lot of them weren't lucky; most of them went into foster care, but a few didn't even make it that far.

The next stop on their agenda was the shopping mall to buy Dru some new clothes that would fit her. The makeshift pyjamas she wore kept sliding off and revealing her bare shoulder, something that Sarah didn't like. The three were in a teen's clothing shop, shopping around for some nice things to wear. Dru didn't care about what they bought for her; as long as it was long and warm. She looked around the outlet store and watched the other girls and boys shop for themselves and others. A trio of girls were all staring at her, whispering crude things to each other about Dru and the way she looked. A moon boot, a bruised and battered face with red and tender knuckles; she looked like she survived a gang fight or something similar to that.

Kids from nearby schools started to fill the mall up, some alone and some with their parents. Dru couldn't understand why those kids were by themselves; someone could easily take them away and their parents would never see them again. Maybe they didn't see the dangers of letting their kids roam around by themselves, even though a group of young girls had gone missing an odd 14 years ago. It was a long time ago, so she just assumed that everyone forgot. Forgot about her and her fellow sisters.

After shopping for clothes, Karen and Sarah put the four packed bags in a trolley and they spent the rest of their time in town shopping for special dietary foods for Dru. Karen separated to go the pharmacy for Dru's medication while Sarah and her stayed inside the supermarket, looking at the bread aisle.

Dru pushed down on the bread and watched in fascination as it jumped right back. It was so squishy that she couldn't help but pick it up and crush it inside her hands. Sarah gasped and quickly took it off of her.

"Dru, you can't do that, someone might buy that." She said quietly, putting the bread back in the shelf and leaving it there for someone else. Dru wasn't offended and scared by her mother's scold. She felt more and more comfortable with her as the days went on, and she was starting to feel an attachment to her.

She stood with her mother for a few minutes more as she looked at bread until Dru looked down the aisle and spotted a tall boy whom she recognised as one of the boys who saved her. she tugged on her mum's shirt and she looked up, her hand flying to her daughter's arm in protection.

"He's my friend." She smiled, watching and waiting for him to look up and notice her. He finally did, but he didn't give her a second look as he walked past. Her smile faded as quickly as it appeared, when she realised that he wasn't actually her friend. She felt completely flat and looked down in sadness. Sarah quickly noticed his snob and turned to the boy to call out to him.

He quickly looked up from his phone in curiosity and looked at Sarah nicely.

"You saved my daughter, didn't you?" She asked, and he looked at Dru before realization came across his face.

"Oh my god, Dru. I didn't even recognise you, you look so different!" He said enthusiastically, putting his phone in his back pocket. Her eyes sparkled and she quickly took the squished bread and held it in her hands.

"Did you watch the new episode yesterday?" She asked hopefully, and confusion rested on his face before he quickly realised that she was talking about that children's show.

"No, I didn't get to, I was too busy," he admitted, biting his lip ring. "Maybe you could tell me what happened."

She nodded once and squeezed the bread in her hands again, but Sarah quickly took it from her again. "Dru, what did I tell you?"

For the remainder of the two aisles, Dru dove into great depth of her favourite TV show, and Sarah was amazed that she had talked so much. But deep down, she felt jealous; Dru could talk to this person in complete confidence and hug complete strangers, but she couldn't even look at her own mother in the eyes.

Luke, the boy who had been enduring the boring conversation of a child's show with a 16 year old girl for the past half an hour, had finally been given the chance to escape when his phone rang. His mother called to tell him that she was leaving, and he needed to meet her at the car or else she would leave him there.

"I've got to go. My mum is leaving now." He said apologetically, after he slid his phone back into his pocket. Dru only just finished up talking about the latest episode, but she didn't mind that he wanted to leave. Her attention was soon diverted when she spotted a mop hanging on the aisle wall. she picked it up and swung it around, almost copping her mother and Luke in the face as she did so.

"Dru, be careful!" Sarah muttered, taking the mop from her firmly and putting it back. She turned to Luke and said, "better not keep her waiting then. Thank you for hanging out with her today."

"Anytime," he replied, then paused before asking, "would you like my phone number Dru? We can hang out soon!"

She looked up at the sound of her name and she frowned at him. As far as she knew, phones and phone numbers were only for adults. Why would he have one?

"That would be lovely. Dru doesn't have a phone right now, but I can give you mine if you ever want to chat with her." Sarah intervened, and the two swapped phones and entered their numbers.

"Thanks. Nice to meet you, and nice seeing you again Dru. We'll talk later!" He bid goodbye, but before he could leave, Dru had wrapped her frail arms around him and squeezed tightly. She liked Luke, he was her friend. She wanted to spread her love and affection for him. He stuttered because of the surprise hug, but he awkwardly returned it as her mother watched on in a slight embarrassment.

"Goodbye!" Dru said with a big wave, and returned to touching the mop head. Her mother watched her in amazement, wondering just how much joy and fascination she could hold in her scarred mind.

The two finished their shopping and rekindled with Karen not long after, then they all left town and headed home. Dru watched the trees and houses pass by as they drove down the roads and kept catching glimpses of herself in the reflection of the window. The bruising and swelling in her face was down to a minimum; only some discolouration littered her soft skin. Her shiny brown hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail that Sarah had done for her. Dru preferred her hair down, covering her face and shoulders. She always had to have her hair pulled back when she worked; it gave the clients a better look at her. But she didn't want to tell her mother that; she seemed happy to spend quality time with her daughter and Dru liked it when she was happy.

They got to their house and Karen and Sarah wasted no time getting their groceries inside and before Dru knew it they were all packed away in the kitchen and she was standing in her room as the two women sorted through the clothes they bought.

"Do you like them?" Sarah asked Dru, noting how uncomfortable she looked. It was true, Dru was a little uncomfortable to see all of these different clothes, all for her. There was no way she needed all of these clothes, but they had bought them all for her. She had to make the effort to wear them all at least once, or else they would all go to waste.

A lot of the clothes they bought were quite ugly, but Dru loved the effort they put in for her. But all she really wanted was more chocolate; she hasn't had any lately and she was craving it.

"Do you have more chocolate for me?" She asked, completely forgetting the previous question Sarah asked her. She looked at her in surprise, but quickly composed herself as she nodded her head. She dropped the pair of baggy jeans on her bed and lead her into the kitchen, leaving Karen to sort out the clothes and fold them into her drawers.

Sarah took out the chocolate block from the pantry and gave her a couple pieces. Dru happily nibbled on them, taking note of where she kept the chocolate so she could sneak some later without them knowing.