Chasing Miss Conner •OLD VERSION•

Thirty Six

|Song: I Never Told You By Colbie Caillat|

Thirty Six

"So, what would you like hun?" The overly bubbly, fake-blond stylist asked for probably the millionth time in five minutes. I took a long breath to curb my rapidly growing annoyance and instead studied my reflection again.

"Can I see your short hairstyles?"

The woman nodded and grabbed a small book off the side shelf and handed it to me. Much to the jiggly lady's irritation, Genny pulled up a nearby stool and plopped down beside me, peeking over my shoulder at the samples.

We flipped through the front and cover of about three more books before I came across the one style I absolutely loved. It was a little shorter than I intended, but I couldn't take my eyes off of it.

Genny raised both brows at me in surprise and pointed to the picture. "This one? Are you sure?"

A smile spread across my face and I nodded enthusiastically. She just laughed back at me and shook her head.

"Whatever you want."

I glanced at the lady and showed her the sample I chose and she looked from it to me a few times before smiling. "Great choice Hun."

It took her about an hour and a half to complete the hairstyle, with all the washing and spraying and cutting. Genny kept me busy with funny faces as I desperately tried not to think about how much lighter my head felt or the fact that when I glanced down I couldn't see the floor from all the hair.

"There we go." She spritzed it another few times before stepping back. I held my breath for a few moments before I raised my head. My mouth dropped open and I was sure my eyes widened to the size of tennis balls. It looked....amazing.

The back came down to just the base of my neck while the sides flared out about mid-ear. The bangs fell just over my right eyebrow and it was sort of styled in a messy sort of way but I decided it worked for me in the way that it made my face look a lot more angular.

I loved it immediately.

"Thank you!" I gushed at the woman and she flipped a hand at me. "No problem sweetie, I'm glad you like it."

Genny beamed at me as well but was clearly impatient as we paid and she all-but drug me out the door. "Come on, I swear if I take one more whiff of that nasty-ass hairspray I'm going to go brain dead."

The whole drive over to the club I couldn't stop running my fingers through my new hair. I was so fascinated with the way the strands ended so quickly but were so silky soft to the touch.

Genny flicked the bud off of her cigarette and blew smoke out the window before she turned, laughing at me. "Stop doing that or you're going to go bald." She teased.

I blushed and dropped my hand, opting to instead fiddle with the necklace I'd gotten for my birthday, sighing at the comforting feel of the metal. I wish I knew who it came from so I could thank them.

I pulled my right leg up to my chest and leaned against it as I watched the world go by outside. It occurred to me as the trees blurred together, how much I'd changed in such a short amount of time. When I first started at this school I thought it would just be another school filled with judgmental pompous assholes and that I'd just have to suffer through it. I'd never imagined that I'd fall in love, basically live through a sexual assault, hostage situation, heart condition, and break a heart all in a span of 6 1/2 months.

In a way, I hated that I'd had to go through all that crap in order to get to where I am now. But also, I was kind of glad for it. I remember a girl at my old school who'd been raped at a party and ended up pregnant. In the months after that everyone at school, even the teachers have her shit about it, as if she asked for it. I caught her crying outside on the front steps as she was waiting for her mom or whoever to show up and just sat beside her.

She jerked her tear-filled eyes up at me, widening them when she saw who I was. I just smiled and said she didn't have to say anything, but she ended up talking with me for a long time. I remember the amazement I felt when she'd gotten into her moms car and waved before driving away. I remember having so much respect for her. When I saw her for the first time she was a scrawny little thing with big-rimmed glasses and bony knees. But over the course of a few months I witnessed her grow into such a powerful and strong woman to look up too.

I felt......changed. The memories I shared with Juliette I never wanted to forget, and though the pain from our break-up was still horribly fresh, I couldn't help but feel like........maybe.......we still had a chance.

"We're here." Genny shocked me out of my life realization by speaking. She looked at me questioningly and I just beamed back at her. She shook her head and pulled me out of the car and towards the very packed building in front of us.

From a distance it didn't look like much, but up close it really didn't look like much. It was basically ruins with brick just placed around it as if to assure me it would hold. People streamed in from all sides. I scrambled over to Genny and linked my arm through hers. "Where the hell are we?" I whispered in her ear.

She grumbled something about my "loud whispering" but leaned over to my ear. "It's an underground club called "Lil Bit Nipply" I choked on my spit as the name rolled off her lips.

"Who came up with that?!" I burst into laughter, she followed not too much later. "Beats me. But I bet it's awesome."

The line was long but we only waited twenty minutes or so before we finally descended into the dark space that strobed with different colored lights. When we reached level ground I actually was a bit impressed. It was basically just an old parking garage, although the first ceiling had been taken out because let's face it, those bitches are low as fuck.

The cement walls were covered floor to mid-height with all different kinds of graffiti, but I could tell it was to admire, not ridicule. The designs of some of the art were actually really cool. Genny left me for a moment to find us some drinks, and I was in front of a particularly awesome picture of a life size 3D horse that looked like it was about to jump out of the wall and trample me to pieces.

"Neat, huh?" A woman's voice startled me and I turned sharply.

She had a heart-shaped face and soft grey eyes that peeked at me under long lashes. "Sorry love. Didn't mean to scare you." I blinked for a moment before I remembered my manners.

"No no, you're fine. And yes, this is incredible." She smiled shyly at me, her midnight hair swishing with the action. Someone came up to her and she flashed me an apologetic look before she turned away for a moment. I took the time to study her. She was slim, with long toned legs and arms. Her hair fell to her waist and the top was covered in a grey beanie that complimented her eyes.

She turned back to me and looked me over, making me shiver. "I have copies, if you'd like one?" She flicked her head at the painting and my eyes widened as I put the pieces together. "You did this?" I gaped at her in wonder.

She giggled and nodded. I almost jumped out of my skin as she reached over and gently pushed my mouth closed. My skin crawled pleasantly as a warm feeling spread through me at the feeling of her skin on mine. It'd been so long.

"It's beautiful." I finally managed.

She winked at me and leaned forward as if she were going to tell me a secret.

"So are you, now can I buy you a drink?"

|PLEASE DONT HATE ME TO BAD 😂😂❤️ fr though, I love all y'all and it seriously means a lot that this book has come so far in just a short amount of time. Please vote/comment!|