1 | ISSUES ( Peter Parker )

01

CHAPTER ONE | TODAY IS GOING TO BE A GOOD DAY

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she is liquid star-shine;
the cosmos melts at the sight of her.

-l.a

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Bella Parsons really tried to have a normal life. Sometimes, though, it was really hard. There were a multitude of reasons as to why her life would never be perfect and picturesque, but she also hated to dwell on such reasons. She did her best to be that normal, high school girl.

She was tall and beautiful, which made the pretending easy. Somehow, despite all the reasons that she shouldn't be, Bella was also pretty popular at Midtown High. Everyone knew the gossip surrounding her family – why her mother was dead, why her father was in prison, how her family made their fortune – but somehow, people still flocked to her. Maybe it was because she was nice, or maybe it was purely because she was pretty. Kids were superficial like that.

But Liz wasn't. If it weren't for Liz Allan, Bella had no idea what she would do with herself or her life. Liz was the thing that kept Bella grounded, even if Liz had no idea who Bella truly was. But Liz not knowing was okay. In fact, it was fantastic. It allowed Bella at least some normalcy.

"Bells!"

The voice of Alex, Bella's older brother by eight years, dragged Bella out of her melancholic train of thought. Alex was twenty-four with a wild mane of tight, black curls and dark eyes that tended to drive girls insane – Bella knew this first hand, considering his presence sent most of her friends ( except Arden and Marissa who were both lesbians ) into blushing, giggling messes.

"Coming!" Bella yelled to her brother, rolling off her bed.

She straightened her shirt in the mirror, tilted her head and frowned before swiping on some glittery lipgloss. Abby McIntosh, a blonde beauty who was as bitchy as stereotypes would say, had told Bella once that Bella shouldn't wear lipgloss like that, as it looked childish. Bella had responded by telling Abby to 'fuck off' and had proceeded to wear pink and red lipstick every day since.

When Bella walked down the stairs of the apartment she and Alex lived in, she wasn't surprised to see Liz sitting at the kitchen island chatting with Alex.

"Hey, Liz," Bella greeted, narrowing her eyes at Liz's lovesick expression.

Alex, somehow, managed to turn even the most headstrong and independent girls into lovesick messes. It was almost disgusting, if not slightly impressive.

"Ooh, that's a cute top," Liz commented cheerfully. "The stripes are nice."

"Thanks," Bella grinned, glancing down at her white blouse with vertical light blue stripes. "Your skirt is absolutely to die for, by the way."

Bella had gotten Liz that skirt for Christmas last year.

Bella slid onto one of the barstools next to Liz and grabbed a piece of toast from the plate Alex put in front of her. As she ate, she eyed the outfit Alex wore.

"I thought you had the day off," she said with a frown.

"Yeah, me too," Alex sighed, glancing down at his shirt. "Dave's sick so I have to cover for him. I'm really sorry, Bells. I'll make it up to you."

Alex worked as an EMT. He would have been a doctor if not for the fact that just as med school was about to take off, everything started to unfold with their parents. In order to support Bella through the difficult times he knew she would be forced to face, he dropped out of his advanced program, ditching out of his internship at the hospital before he could really even start it.