𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 || 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬

Adam Banks x reader [2]

I sighed to myself as the girl in the mirror stared back at me. Shoulder-length burgundy hair fell in waves, framing a pair of chocolate-brown eyes. But she was too big, too ugly, too stupid to be loved by anyone. It's too bad that girl was me. I frowned, biting my lip as I ran a hand down my t-shirt to smooth out the wrinkles as best I could. Adam would be coming over in a few minutes for our weekly movie night.

I smiled, thinking of him. He was so good to me. Always had been. Ever since that first day we met. I remembered it so clearly as if it had happened yesterday. Someone had called me a bad name, bullying me like always.

Tears had streamed down my face as I'd ran down the school hallway when suddenly, I'd collided into someone. Blue eyes looked back at me in surprise and I had smiled through my tears. After that day, we'd become really close. So close in fact that only two months later, he asked me out. I'd been so shocked that someone like him - a famous hockey player - would actually like me. But he had. Why though, I still didn't know.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, breaking me from my thoughts. A grin lit up my face. That must be him! I ran down the stairs to the front door and just as the doorbell rang again, I yanked it open. Standing before me was a smiling Adam. He was wearing his jersey, just like always - it was a bit worse for wear, though with dirty skid-marks he'd received from sliding on the ice and his short, blond hair was disheveled - a sure sign he'd come straight from practice with the team. Otherwise, he looked perfect.

"Hey, Stef," he greeted me, immediately wrapping me in his embrace.

His lips pecked my cheek, lips soft as velvet and a touch that made me shiver. I'm so lucky to have a boy like that, I thought to myself as he brushed past me and headed to the living room. I rolled my eyes playfully, a smile on my face. He'd become so comfortable after coming here so much, like he lived here or something. But considering he lived in a dorm the other half of the time, I guess he kind of did live here. After grabbing a bowl of popcorn I'd pre-made off the counter, I joined him in the living room.

I grinned as I saw he'd already popped in a movie for us to watch. The title came on the screen and I made a little mental-squeal in my head as the music of Titanic began to play, the waves lapping against the side of the ship. Adam chuckled all of a sudden, snapping me out of it and I blushed scarlet.

"You love this movie too much," he teased and I stuck my tongue out at him as I plopped down beside him, snuggling into his side.

"It's a classic, thank you very much." I sniffed and he just laughed.

He brought me even closer to him then and I rested my head on his chest. Wrapping one arm around him, he played with my fingers absentmindedly, my own slightly tan Latina skin contrasting with his own pale Caucasian coloring. I smiled to myself as the movie went on but my mind wandered as the minutes passed, thinking of my earlier depressing thoughts. And it made me wonder...why was Adam with me? He was perfect - sweet, kind, funny, smart - so why me? He could have any other girl in the school and there were plenty to choose from.

Tons of them hung around him all the time - flirting and giggling. It made me sick to watch. Not only because he was my boyfriend but because I knew they were better - prettier and thinner. I frowned, feeling a pit form in my stomach just as Jack kissed Rose as they "flew" on the bow of the ship. Shifting slightly in his arms, Adam must have noticed the look on my face because he turned to me until we were almost nose-to-nose. I tried to muster a smile but failed.

"What's wrong, Stefanie?" he asked me softly, his fingers gently brushing my cheek.

I leaned into his touch, eyes fluttering closed before opening once more to meet his ocean-blue orbs. The words just spilled out of my mouth in that moment.

"Why me?" I asked in a whisper and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" he questioned and I sighed, looking up at him.

"Why do you like me? I'm so fat. I'm not as good as those other girls. Adam...you could have anyone...so why me?" I asked and he seemed taken aback.

His mouth tried to form the words but he couldn't, stopping a moment before regaining his composure. He bit his lip in thought then and I thought he was going to tell me that he didn't, that maybe all of this was just a lie. That...that he felt nothing for me... That this whole thing was just him pitying me. But then his ocean-blue orbs connected to mine and I saw an intensity there that I never had seen in his eyes. With gentle hands, he cupped my cheeks just as tears brimmed in my own eyes.

His fingers caressed the skin there as he began to speak.

"You really don't know? Stefanie, I love you because you're beauty is inside...inside here," he said softly, one of his hands sliding down to press against my heart before sliding up to my face again, "And here. You're beautiful inside and out, princess. You always have been. You've just never been able to see it..."

A lump of more tears formed in my throat but I held them back, listening to his words.

"Besides..." he started, shaking his head, "Looks are just a bonus. They don't compare to a great personality. Which is what I was always looking for in a girl. Stefanie, you make me laugh so hard at things you say and-and you make me smile even when I'm having a bad day and don't feel like I can. You make me feel like I can do anything, be anything. And no matter what anyone says, you are beautiful,"

"And being thin is not all there is to life. Love isn't defined by numbers on a scale, Stef. It's how you make me feel and how you're always real. There are so many skinny girls out there - pretty, super-model-like girls - who are so hideous inside because of their personalities. And you've never been that way - you're amazing and I wouldn't want you any other way."

By the time he finished, hot tears were streaming down my face and tears were brimming in his blue eyes as well. Gently, he brought me into his chest and I cried tears of joy.

"I love you, Adam..." I breathed out, the scent of his jersey filling my nose.

He sighed, placing kisses in my brown hair.

"I love you, too, Stefanie...all of you."

Note: My message to all the girls reading this who think you're too fat, too ugly, or too stupid - please know that you ARE beautiful inside and out. Looks aren't everything in life and I'm guilty of thinking the same things. I'm not the thinnest girl around, although I'd like to be, but there's so much more to LIFE, you know? Besides that, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? So one day you are gonna find a guy that loves you for YOU, no matter how much you weigh or anything like that. And you all are beautiful, amazing people so don't forget it!! ^_^