Noah Schnapp - Will's Love Interest

Chapter Five- Deal?

"At my old school... I didn't have many friends. Well I mean I had a lot, but they were all fake." I said starting to look down at my lap.

"Yeah." Sadie said, trying to make me continue.

"I started to feel depressed and alone. People started to make me feel that way. They were mean. Made me feel stupid for just being myself." I said, feeling my eyes water up.

"Carley..." Millie whispered.

"I felt so different. Outcasted. I didn't really have any friends I could go to. When I got the part in the show, I didn't want to scare anyone away again. I wanted to take this chance to be a someone and not the nobody everyone made me feel like." I said as a tear rolled down my cheek, following another.

I never told anyone that before. Not because I didn't want to, but nobody ever cared to listen. Nobody saw when I was screaming and crying, they only saw the fake smile that got me through some of middle school.

"Carley." Millie said as went to hug me, followed by Sadie hugging me.

"That's not how you should feel. You shouldn't have felt like that." Sadie said.

"Nobody should have made you feel that way." Millie said.

A smile crept on my face. Nobody cared before. Seeing Sadie and Millie sad for me, almost took some of the sadness away from me.

I've always felt like I was carrying a large weight on my back, carrying it everywhere I went. Telling Millie and Sadie that part of my story took some weight off. Then when I saw how upset they were for me, it took off so much more.

"Okay, listen." Millie said after a few seconds of thinking.

"Yeah?" I said looking up from my lap.

"We need to make another deal." Millie said seriously.

"Okay?" I said interested.

"You need to act like yourself. I'm not saying outside my house to everyone else yet, but here. This is a new safe place for you, my house. I don't want shy Carley because I could see right through you. You may be an actress, but I could tell it was hard keeping you story to yourself." Millie said.

"Oh Millie, I barely skimmed the surface." I said with a small smile.

I looked over at Sadie, she was wide eyed.

"Worse than that story?" Sadie said.

"Honey, that was nothing." I said almost laughing.

"So. You act yourself here at my house." Millie said looking into my soul pretty much.

"I- I don't know." I said looking down at my lap.

"If we think you are weird Carley we will tell you and then act like nothing happened-" Millie said as serious as possible.

"MILLIE!" Sadie yelled and then hit Millie's arm.

"I'M NOT FINISHED, but if we do like you, you continue acting this way around us and maybe the cast." Millie said rubbing her arm.

"O-okay..." I said nervous that I would mess up and they think I was weird.

Carley. They act different than all of your other friends did. They actually listened. They actually care. Maybe for the first time, in a long time, I can actually be me.

"Deal?" Millie asked.

I looked down at my lap, smiling, "Deal."

Millie squealed and Sadie rolled her eyes at Millie.