Glitterdust (Completed)

7. Yesterday's mistakes

The next day it was raining, and with this change of weather, my mood changed as well. After a good night's sleep, I was much calmer. He called me, as he had promised. That was a good sign, right? But there were still so many questions floating through my brain. Why would someone like him even look at someone like me? He probably had a lot of other girls drooling over him, why would he go after me? And why didn't he tell me right away where we would go? It was as if he tried to be a mystery on purpose.

The black dress, high heels, and Dan's hoody lie on the floor, like forgotten souvenirs from a different world. I pick up the hoody, the smell of his aftershave is like a faint memory, but it's still there. I put it on, as the rain made it chilly. When I walk to Meg's room, to return the dress and her shoes, I find her door locked. When she doesn't open it after I knocked several times, I remember she told me she went out with a guy and she probably wouldn't come home. I'm happy for her. Why can't I get a normal boyfriend just this one time?

It took some time to get over Joey's stab in the back, and I still have problems with trusting people, but I had some dates and even boyfriends after him. The last date I had was like two months ago. He was in one of my classes, he was smart and charming, but everything went downhill when he found out I'm a gamer. He made fun of me in front of his friends, calling me childish and immature. Too bad I had a sticky drink in my hand that ended up in his face. That'll show him childish and immature. I don't want to be with someone who can't accept who I am and gaming is just this part of me. Megan thought I lost my mind when I told her I broke up with him, but she's not the one to call me out on that. She changes boyfriends so quickly I barely have time to learn their names. Megan says she's just kissing a lot of frogs to find her prince charming one day.

I go back to my room. It's small but cozy. It has barely space for my bed and my enormous flatscreen. A comfy chair is placed in front of the screen, making it crammed even more. On my walls are pictures, of me and Meg, dressed in weird costumes, my parents, my brother Greg and my old gaming clan. I look so young in those pictures, although people always told me I looked old for my age, whatever that may be. Just looking at this one picture of my clan brings back so many memories.

They took it at some championship, I can't remember where exactly. We were the best players in the world and we formed a clan called Team Obliterate. We traveled to tournaments, to fight against other clans, and we were pretty much unbeatable. That's where I met Joey. I think we were both sixteen at the time and I thought he was the most amazing person I've ever met. He's standing next to me in this picture, we're actually holding hands, but we're hiding it for the camera. I thought he was smart, cute, and hot, with his curly brown hair and almond-shaped hazel eyes. When he laughed he had this dimple in his right cheek. He was my first boyfriend, the first I had sex with.

I blamed myself for what he did to me, although I never knew he was filming us... me. He set it all up in his room, he hid the camera well. He must have edited the material because I was the only one who was recognizable in that horrible tape. When I found out about it, it was too late and I couldn't believe what he had done to me. Megan was the only person I told what really happened and she swore she would tell no one, ever.

His betrayal hurt me badly and I left Team Obliterate without any explanation. I just simply stated that I grew out of the game and that I retired. Most of my clan mates were baffled I just quit like that and they tried everything to keep me aboard, but of course, there were also people who thought I used the fact that I was a girl to claim my spot on the team. They were glad I was gone and their comments were harsh. Some people thought there was something fishy about Joey getting this job and me quitting out of the blue. They had their theories, but I never enlightened them. Why would I? It's not something you just mention during a casual conversation. "You know what my ex-boyfriend did? He got this vid of me and blackmailed me with it. Nasty, right?". After I left the group fell apart quickly. People found other clans or moved on from the game. At first, it made me sad, now it's just another memory.