As Daniella's back story unfolds, her future begins to crumble. Friends will be lost and hearts will be broken. Will things ever be the same? Will she finally find out where she belongs?
I took another swig of my liquid courage and entered the main room at M & M World. . .alone.
My mind raced of the worst possible scenarios. What if Brayden uses this information against me? Lucas is seven, but if anyone else found out, it could end badly for me and him. His adoptive parents were nice enough to keep an open adoption. The least I could do is change my behavior for him. I want to see him more than anything, and I'm trying to be the best person I can be for us.
This place is packed with vloggers and YouTube gamers alike. In one corner of the room, I saw James Charles and Brad Mondo laughing excitedly about something a cameraman said. I glanced across the room again to see Pewdiepie conversing with his wife and Markiplier. My body stopped wandering around to absorb all of the famous people who breathed the same air as me. I'm a model, but I am not on the same level as these amazing creators.
"Lora," a familiar voice said as I jumped out of my skin. A warm touch of my forearm startled me and pulled me back into reality. "It's good to see you again." Brayden smiled at me. It's nice to see someone who doesn't have negative feelings toward me.
A beautiful redheaded woman stood behind him. She had gorgeous facial features, and her hair sat perfectly curly on her shoulders. "Lora, I'd like you to meet Belle." She gracefully stepped in front of Brayden and held out her hand.
"It's so nice to finally meet you. It's such an honor meeting a model!" Her eyes crinkled up as she smiled, yet I took her hand and gently shook it. I wonder, though, did she do research on me, or did Brayden tell her what I did for a living? Either way, Belle is already one of my friends.
"Oh, stop! The pleasure is all mine. You could be a model, too! You're absolutley gorgeous!" Brayden looked at us in awe. We were bonding. Me and another female were bonding. No harsh attitudes were thrown, no eye rolls, and no sarcastic comments have been made. This seems like a miracle for me.
A gentleman with a tray of assorted M & M inspired alcholic drinks stopped by us. Without a word, he held the tray out for us to pick one up. Belle got the yellow one, Brayden got the red one, and I got the green one. I took a sip of mine first. My eyebrows raised immediately at the flavor. It tasted exactly like a mint chocolate chip cookie. I took one more sip and soaked up the taste on my tongue.
"So, Brayden tells me Dani's friends don't like you because you're mean to her," Belle spoke up after she took a sip of her own drink. She gave us the same reaction I just displayed. "Once they all know your backstory, I'm sure they will come around." She gave me a reassuring grin and a soft touch to my arm. "Would you like to go meet the original Cube members?" I hesitated for a moment.
My head nodded up and down. My throat felt tight due to my nervousness, but I never refused.
We headed up a flight of stairs as a group of three. Other famous Youtubers, such as TheRadBrad, were heading down to the lower level. I'm still so star struck. When we finally reached the upper floor, my jaw dropped with excitement. "There they are," Brayden said as he pointed toward the giant candy wall. A group of people huddled in an open corner with judgemental looks on their faces. I was just excited because of the candy wall my eyes couldn't tear away from.
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I recognized a few faces from Parker's links he left on some of his videos. Bee is here. Grape is here. Strawbs is here along with two other faces I'm not familiar with, but there's no sign of Parker or Dani anywhere. Tonight was supposed to be the night I opened up to her to try to rekindle our friendship. What am I supposed to do now?
"Isn't it amazing? Everything on this wall is free up to a pound. YouTube paid for it," Belle spoke up. She sensed I was nervous by the way I aggressively bit my lower lip. My thumbs circled one another as we approached the group. She grabbed onto my arm once again and smiled up at me. "Breathe. You got this." I took a deep breath in through my nose and out through my mouth to the slow rhythm of the music.
Everyone greeted Brayden and Belle with hugs and high fives. "You guys have heard of Lora, right? Dani's friend?" Brayden extended an arm out for me to step closer. I shyly waved at everyone who was glaring at me. It's like walking into a modeling agency and telling they already don't like you by your past contracts.
"We've heard of her. . .just not good things." Bee took another sip of her blue beverage while rolling her eyes towards me. I've done nothing wrong to Bee personally, but I understand why she's upset.
"I'll admit, she's got to prove herself to Dani. Speaking of, where are her and Parker," Brayden asked. Everyone turned toward Bee awaiting an answer.
"She's feeling under the weather tonight. They'll be at the con tomorrow. Parker is taking care of her." She looked me up and down as if wanting me to react to his name. I didn't, though.
Grape laughed. "You mean she's drunk already? Parker used that same excuse on me for years." He turned toward the M & M wall and placed his hand under the dispenser. An assorted color of chocolate candies fell perfectly into his orange drink. Sounds gross to me.
"I just want to clear things up with her that I should have done years ago. I'm tired of hurting people especially myself. I also need to explain things to you guys as well." I took a big gulp of my drink hoping they'll give me a chance.
"If Belle trusts you, then I'll give you a chance to explain yourself. . .as long as you do the same to Dani." Strawberry spoke up finally and took up after me. He looked around at everyone, but they seemed hesitant.
"All I want is to fix years of hurt. Please, let me just. . .explain." My eyebrows crinkled with helplessness. I'm literally begging people to give me a fresh start. I've never begged anyone for anything before. This is all new to me.
After several silent minutes passed, everyone agreed to listen to me. I still got judgy looks when I started mentioning my teen pregnancy, but that didn't stop me. Everyone looked sympathetic when I mentioned I gave my son up for. . .an open. . .adoption to an older couple. Telling more and more people about my past trauma helped me feel lighter in my soul. I deserve to be honest with myself and others about it all. By the end of my testimony, everyone agreed to let me talk to Dani.
"You know, she's lucky to have a group of friends like you all. Thank you for giving me a chance. I just hope she'll do the same," I told the group. I feel like my small friend circle of two just tripled. It helps being humble and open. I'm not ashamed of my past anymore. I'm evolving into a new stah.
