Different Kind of Beautiful

Chapter 1

The sound of crackling fire filled my ears. I could faintly hear the sound of my parents talking behind me, their voices almost muted. Smoke filled my lungs, making it harder to breath. The scent of smoke seemed to be unending. I could feel the heat against my skin, a fire blazing brighter than I had ever seen. I had read about terrible disasters before, imagined how it would feel to watch something go up in flames until it was gone, but I guess books never really live up to reality. 

In a way, it didn't surprise me how easily the flames had grown. 

"Anzu, we need to go." I clutched tighter to the book in my hands, feeling the hardcover dig into my palms. My mother's voice was low and calm, her hand a gentle touch on my shoulder. 

I blinked and suddenly the flames were gone. There was no massive tower of smoke billowing into the sky. The heat wasn't nearly as hot as it had felt just moments before. 

Our house was nothing like it was before, still smoking slightly from the remains of the fire. 

"Anzu?" 

"Coming." 

I always found it ironic how tragedy can strike at any time. It's no secret that it can change a life entirely, and many authors aren't afraid of using that clique to further their story. It's a given in life, so why shouldn't it happen in fiction? Every choice a person makes is an act of change, so what's the difference between a large disaster and a small inconvenience?

At least, that's how I was choosing to think. That's how I was trying to think. There is nothing about positivity that guarantee's results, but negativity can ensure failure if a person wallows in it for too long. 

Honestly, it felt more like I was just trying to distract myself from the reality I was facing. I mean, yes, a number of our belongings were gone. Many of the books my family had collected over the years were now ashes floating around in the wind. A lot of things were ash now. 

But it wasn't like my family was ruined. My parents had been wanting to upgrade to a better house for a while now. My parents both worked jobs they loved, so we weren't low on money. The house was old anyway and needed a number of upgrades. My parents were of course somewhat upset, but they seemed almost excited to find a new house. 

I don't know. 

I guess I'm just glad that it happened to my family, who could afford the losses, rather than someone who didn't have our resources and luck. 

It was still hard to grasp the idea. We were able to salvage more from the fire than I had expected. That itself made it hard to remember sometimes that we had to move out of necessity rather than want. 

I think I'm just terrible at organizing my thoughts. 

In the end, it didn't take long for us to move into a new house and start a new routine. 

Just in time for my final year in high school actually. 

As I adjusted my new uniform and stared in the mirror, I had to suppress a smile. I was clearly a background character. I didn't care much for the spotlight, and I certainly didn't look like someone who would be in it. With olive brown hair pulled out of my face, basic brown eyes, and rectangle framed glasses, I certainly didn't stand out. 

I sighed and grabbed my things, saying a quick goodbye to my parents before starting on my way to school. As I closed the door to our new house behind me, a book held tightly in my grasp, I noticed two familiar faces a few houses down. 

"You're lucky everyone decided not to have a morning practice today."

"Come on, I've got to get at least some beauty sleep before the first day!"

"You clearly didn't get enough."

"Hey-"

Shaking my head, I watched Iwaizumi and Oikawa, two well known figures in our school, bicker as they started down the street. It seemed like my less than spectacular luck hadn't failed as our new house was by one of their homes. I began to follow behind them, their conversation slowly filtering away as I opened up the cover of my book and began to scan the first few pages. Glancing up every so often to make sure I was going the correct way and not going to walk into traffic, I managed to go unnoticed by the two boys. And probably for the best, considering how flirtatious Oikawa was known for being, and how terrible I can be at conversation.

My eyes continued to read over the story I had read many times before, the words drawing me in the same way as always. Once safely on campus, I was able to tune out the surrounding conversations even more, the campus and halls ingrained into my mind after the previous two years. 

Glancing up slightly, I could easily see the swarm of girls that had quickly surrounded Oikawa, their giggling and calls easily filling my ears. Just off to the side, Iwaizumi could be seen slowly getting more and more annoyed, the volleyball in his hands slowly being pressed harder and harder. 

Shaking my head, I looked down at my book once more and started to go around the massive crowd. 

Suddenly something slammed against the side of my head. My ear began to ring as I was knocked off balance and tripped over my feet. 

"Ah..." I muttered, one hand instantly going to the side of my head as I pushed myself up onto my knees. The palms of my hands and my knees felt a bit scuffed up, but in general nothing felt nearly as bad as the side of my head. I found it hard to see, most things quite blurry. 

"Are you okay?"

"Sorry, I was aiming for Trashykawa. I didn't mean to hit you."

"D-Don't worry about it," I quickly replied, cursing the nerves that instantly kicked in. "Are my glasses nearby?"

"Ah, here they are!" 

I was slightly dreading the thought of putting my glasses back on, as I already had a good idea of who was helping me. Sure enough, I felt two much larger hands slid them back onto my face. Adjusting them out of habit, I was quick to see Oikawa and Iwaizumi kneeling in front of me. There was a vibrant blush on the latter's face as he held out my bag for me to take. 

"Thank you."

"Are you alright? I didn't notice you were on the other side until Oikawa and everyone else ducked," Iwaizumi said. 

I quickly nodded, grabbing my things and standing. The side of my head still hurt quite a bit, but at least my glasses hadn't broke. "I'll be fine. Thank you for grabbing my things."

"Not a problem! Say, I don't think I've seen you around," Oikawa mused, a smile on his face. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I'd been in school with the two since we were young, but I hadn't had much interaction with them, so that was to be expected. "Are you new to Seijoh?"

"Thank you again, Iwaizumi-san, Oikawa-san. I'd better get going..." I muttered, quickly brushing past them and towards the school building. 

"Hey! Wait-"

Not giving them much time to catch up or say much else, I quickly moved through the crowd and prayed I didn't have either of them in my class this year. That would be almost too much trouble to bear.