You're Not Alone

You Try to Tell Me You Can Heal Me...

(Austin's POV)

"What should my username be?" Jen asked as I walked into the back lounge. Alan and Vic were with her on the couch.

Alan smirked. "How about "enjencarlile"? Instead of spelling it 'e-n-g-i-n-e', spell it 'e-n-j-e-n', like your name."

I walked over to them, smiling.

"Hey, Aus. We're helping Jellybean set up a twitter." Vic greeted. Jen smacked him for the nickname that she hated.

"What should I put in my bio?" She asked. "I want something cool."

We all thought it over for a moment, before Jen finally spoke.

"I got it." She said as she typed in her bio. It read, "There are two types of food in this world. The kind that I've eaten, and the kind that I'm going to eat." I smiled at her creativity.

"I'll get you some followers." I said, handing Alan my phone. "Get a picture of us, will ya?"

He pulled the camera open, as I got close to Jen. At the last minute, I grabbed her face and pressed my lips to her forehead. She hid her face in her sweater-covered hands, or "sweater paws" as she liked to call them.

Alan and Vic grinned at the photo. "It's perfect."

He handed me my phone, and Jen and I grinned at the photo in admiration. I quickly tweeted the picture, even including a cheesy caption.

"Thousands of stars are in the sky, but you're the one in front of my eye. Go follow Jen's new account! @enjencarlile."

Immediately, her phone began to blow up with notifications.

"This is so cute!"

"You're beautiful, Jen."

"You're so lucky!"

"Tell your father I said hi"

But soon, she got more tweets that weren't quite as nice.

"Fugly slut"

"Bitch"

"You don't deserve Austin. I bet you've been pounded more times than the I in Pixar."

She chuckled, as an especially stupid tweet came in.

"You're a huge d-bag." She read aloud. She rolled her eyes and laughed, closing the app. "Seriously? You had 140 characters and you couldn't spell 'douche'?"

I smiled at Jen's positivity. She knew who she was and whose she was. Like she always said, "What Sally says of Suzie, says more about Sally than Suzie."

Jen shook her head, still smiling. "I'm gonna get some air, maybe jog a little bit." She walked out.

I cupped my hands around my mouth. "Be back by 10:00! Don't go too far! Don't talk to strangers! Don't buy drugs! Don't-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! It's not like I'm leaving the planet, Austin!" She shouted back.

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(Jen's POV)

I slowed to a stop, resting my hands on my knees to catch my breath. Sweat dripped off of my forehead, despite the cold air. Running was a great alternative to cutting. I couldn't tell Austin that the hate I was getting was affecting me. He'd just get upset and angry. I didn't want to add onto what was already on his plate.

I was about to head back to the busses that were still in sight, when an unfamiliar voice called out to me.

"Hey there, pretty lady." An older man slurred. He was stumbling around. He inched closer, reaching out to touch me. I backed away, a look of rage on his face. He pulled something out of his pocket. The metal glinted in the streetlights; a knife. My heart pounded.