The Rosebook ; random/misc

Heartfelt (Story)

"Well, look who it is. Hey girls, it's that nerd!"

Amber sighed. Why did Ivy have to notice her now? She just wanted to walk home in peace. She tried to focus on her music instead of Ivy's yelling.

"Hey glasses-face, get out of our territory! We don't want some nerd near us." Ivy flipped her curly brown hair. "Did you hear me?! Get out of here, you b-"

"Amber!" Amber turned around to see her best friend, Sky, running towards her. "C'mon, let's go before Ivy pelts us with pencils again." Sky took Amber's hand and dragged her away from the school. "Don't let Ivy get you down, she's just a stuck-up narcissist who really needs some classes on how to be nice. Looking different isn't a bad thing."

Amber was used to this pep talk, but it didn't help her self-esteem. Large glasses, black pigtail braids, yep, definitely a nerd. There's no way around it. Ever since she moved to this high school, she had been teased by almost everybody. Absolutely no one looked like her. Even Sky, with her long blonde hair and catching green eyes, didn't look like her. Her old school was more accepting, she wished she could move back.

As Amber came up to her front door, Sky tapped her shoulder. "Look, in all seriousness, I know that you hate your looks, but you don't need to change anything about you. Just be you. You're better like that." Amber smiled weakly at the compliment. "People really have crappy opinions on what people should be like.''

"Amber! Get inside, dinner's almost ready." The front door opened, revealing her mom in a pink apron.

"See ya, Amber!" Sky said. When Sky's retreating back turned the corner, Amber stepped into her home and was greeted by the smell of baking lasagna. She hung her backpack up and walked to the dining room. "Lasagna, salad, and rolls, let's get it!"

After dinner, Amber went to her room to do homework. Her room was the medium-sized one, with a bed in one corner and a desk in the other. As she did her homework, she reflected on her day. Nothing eventful: first block, break, teasing, second block, third, lunch, her food stolen by some guy, fourth block, more teasing, and Ivy's comments as she left for home. Yep, a normal day. Why did she even bother? I'm ugly, nerdy, teased and bullied, what's new? I hate myself. I wish I were never born like this... she thought. No one at home knew of her struggles, not even her older sister, Topaz. She was so caught up in her own thoughts today that she didn't notice the tears dripping down, or the soft knock on her door.

"Hey sis, my battery's dead, do have a- wait, are you crying?! Talk to me Amber, what happened?'' Topaz ran over to her sister. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Topaz..." If Topaz didn't leave now, she was going to burst. "I'm doing homework right now, can you go?"

"I'm not going until I know what's wrong," Topaz said, stomping her foot down. "Something's bothering you. You can talk to me, that's what sisters are for. So, what happened?"

"Nothing, just I hate myself and my face. I'm an ugly nerd that's, and I quote everyone at school, an ugly bi-"

"Woah, woah, woah! Stop talking! You're being bullied at school, by everybody?!"

Amber solemnly nodded. "It's nothing really, I've been getting every day since we moved here. Don't freak ou-"

"Welp, it's too late for that. Who's bullying you? Is anyone bothering you in particular? Is it...wait, isn't her name like Iv...Iv...Ivy or something?" Amber remained silent. "OK then, it's Ivy. I thought she was bad news, looks like I was right."

"Topaz, it's OK. It's my business, not yours. I'm the ugly nerd, of course people are going to call me out."

"Amber, listen to yourself. Stop talking yourself down. Look, in my opinion, no one is ugly, they're just unique. Everyone's different, but some people just...don't like that. Those are not the kind of people you want to hang out with. You're pretty in your own way. You're smart, funny, sarcastic, in the good way, nice, I could go on and on. Love yourself, Amber, you're amazing."

Amber just shrugged. "Wow, you sound like Sky. Stop saying untrue stuff just to make me feel better. You know that I'm the opposite of everything you just said."

Topaz sighed. "Nothing I said was untrue, Amber. You ARE an amazing person. Stop seeing yourself in the wrong light."

Amber was lost in her own thoughts. There's no way I'm actually amazing, right? I'm ugly, nerdy...and kinda sarcastic, nice, funny...At least, that's what all my friends say. Well, looks like Topaz's words may be true... She teared up a bit, but quickly wiped it away.

"You really need to love yourself more, be more uplifting, and report the bullies, no matter what they say they'll do to you. Before I leave, I'll sing you one of my favorite songs, since you love music so much. The song's in Korean, though...ahem..."

She started singing a beautiful melody. No wonder she was in the choir. After the song ended, Amber was tearing up a bit. She didn't fully understand the lyrics, besides a few English parts, but the melody in itself was uplifting. Topaz handed her a paper and left the room. Amber read the paper she gave. It was the translation of the song she sang. It was called "Answer: Love Myself." Curious, she went to her computer and listened to the song. She spent the rest of the night listening to music until she fell asleep at 2 am. For her, sometimes, music is the best medicine on hard days, but hard days can take a toll.

"Hey, look within yourself. You're an amazing person, you just have to see it." Sky gave Amber another of her pep talks the next morning. Amber smiled a bit.

"Hmmm, Topaz said the same thing last night. Listen..."

Amber told Sky about everything from last night, not leaving out any details. "After that night, that conversation, I realized that I'm definitely too negative on myself. I guess the teasing really got to me." Amber had laid in bed all night, lost in her own thoughts, recollecting the conversation, and asking herself questions about who she was. "I now know that I should love myself for who I am. Who cares about other people's opinions? I don't anymore."

Sky gave Amber a round of applause. "Good job, you're finally out of your mold. By that, I mean you're out of that little sad space that you're literally always in. I'm so proud, you sound a bit like me now..." Sky pretended to wipe away tears. "The next step is reporting Ivy and kick everyone's negative comments in the butt."

That afternoon, Amber went straight to the principal's office. She took a deep breath, gathered as much courage as she could, and told Mr. Birch about the teasing she'd been going through. She listed many names, including Ivy. The next day, Amber immediately noticed that the group of girls that were always in front of the school wasn't there. Puzzled, she asked Sky if she knew. Smirking, Sky told her the story. Apparently, all the people Amber had listed got ISS, and they're going to be there for a long time. Yesterday, right before the bell rang, the principal called them all to his office. None of them were in her class, though, so she didn't hear it. They were in there for a while. You could hear him yelling from miles away.

Many weeks later, when Amber heard that the students in ISS had been released, she went on a search for a certain person. When she saw that curly brown hair, she stepped right in front of her. She'd been rehearsing this for weeks.

"I'm not scared anymore, Ivy. I don't care what you say about me, just that your words won't hurt me anymore. Anyways, if you're smart, you'd stop. You wouldn't want ISS again, would you?" Smirking, Amber walked off, blocking out Ivy's yelling.

"Hey, Amber! Get some contacts, the glasses are trash! Wait, contacts can't hide your ugliness! Ha!" There goes Ivy again. Amber sighed. She really must be dumb to be still doing this, she thought. I am really done at this point.

"Hey Ivy, do me a favor and shut up, alright!?" Amber yelled. Ivy's face went slack for a moment, confused. Before she could respond, Amber bolted down the street to her house. Her self-esteem, and courage, had spiked up ever since that conversation with her sister two weeks ago. Those heartfelt speeches from her sister, and her best friend, had helped her break out of her mold and change for the better. Her self-negative attitude almost didn't exist anymore. She was slowly beginning to accept herself for who she was.

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OMG I just got my first BTS album! It's Love Yourself: Tear, version R, and I got JK's photocard! Their too much to handle, I swear they're gonna kill me one day...