Nothing's Fine

• 4: Flecks of Gold •

Charlie

"Rise and shine!" I heard at an ungodly hour. It was cheery and singsong probably a bad omen. I opened my eyes halfway to see Emery standing over me with a bright smile on her face.

"It is way too early for joy, Emery – wait... what are you even doing here?" I asked, now sitting up. Emery was fully dressed in high waist mom jeans, a knit pink, off the shoulder top, and her hair in a half up, half down look. She looked effortlessly beautiful. I on the other hand, was probably rocking bed-head couture, and it would take some work to correct it.

"First of all, it's not early, a school morning. Second, I'm here to make sure you look like a hottie for after school," Emery said holding up a hairbrush.

"What, I can't go like this?" I said sarcastically. Emery shot me a look and I grinned. "I don't need to look like a 'hottie' for Dallas. He's an idiot."

"But a cute idiot. Just let me do a natural look on you, please? We went shopping and everything!" Emery begged, widening her eyes and pouting her lips. The classic puppy dog look.

"Fine," I sighed, dragging out the 'i' sound.

"Yes!" she cheered before running over to my closet. She found the untouched shopping bags on the floor and grabbed the light blue skinny jeans and off-the-shoulder long sleeve black top I had bought. I wrinkled my nose. "This is the outfit. Go change and brush your teeth." I stuck my tongue out at her but did as I was told. It was way too early for an argument. I avoided the mirror in the bathroom, afraid to lose my nerve and stepped out to Emery for her approval.

"Please tell me I can at least wear my converse," I said. Emery looked up from her phone and her face lit up instantly.

"Ah! You look so pretty!" She squealed.

"Thanks," I mumbled as I shifted uncomfortably on the spot, uneasy with the compliment. I reached for a hair elastic to throw my hair up.

"No! Leave it down," Emery yelled.

"Ugh, fine. Okay," I glowered. I yawned immediately after, making me much less menacing than I hoped. Emery laughed and a tiny part of me wanted to slap the smile off her face and go back to bed. "I need coffee or at the very least sugar if I'm going to get through this day," I mumbled.

I did not sleep well last night, but it wasn't anything new. I rarely slept well. My nights were usually filled with insomnia and nightmares leading back to–

"Can I put make up on you?" Emery asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Now you're pushing it," I replied dryly. "Mascara and that's it."

"Ah, worth a shot," she grinned. I gave her a half smile, betraying myself as I reached for the mascara on my dresser. I put it on in the mirror and looked at myself for the first time. As much as I was ready to fight Emery, she was almost right. I looked... "See? Pretty!"

"If you say so," I replied shyly, turning away from the mirror.

***

A much-needed coffee and a short drive later, Emery and I arrived at school. Unfortunately, it happened to be soon after Tiffany, Kayla and Holly did too. They turned to see us and blocked our path down the hallway, the thought forming in their shared mind immediately.

"Wow! Is it just me, or does Charlie actually look like a girl today?" Tiffany asked loudly. I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. Emery let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Is it just me or does Tiffany's nose look even faker today?" she smirked.

The look on Tiffany's face was priceless, slipping from its cool and callous expression to one that looked like someone just told her that they discontinued her favourite lip gloss. She blinked it away and scowled.