Talia Hearts Who?!

Once upon a time there was a girl, living happily with her parents and brothers and sisters. She was red cheeked, always laughing, and a smile was the shape her face naturally fell into. Everybody loved her, and she was friends with everyone she met, even the boys her age who were still positive that girls = cooties. Then she grew up a bit, and everybody still loved her, even the boys her age who were starting to realise that maybe girl cooties weren’t so bad after all, particularly not her cooties. Her cooties were hot. And then she grew up a little bit more, and everybody still loved her, including the boys, who realised that it was not her cooties that were hot, but her. And once they realised that… 

Well, that was the end of her. That smiley, laughing, eternally happy girl? 

She doesn’t exist. 

She’s been gone for a long time, but nobody realised. 

Until now. 

*   *   * 

Keira growled at me. She literally growled, a deep rumbling noise that started deep in her pale throat and ended up reverberating in the corner we were huddling in.  

“You just legitimately growled at me. For saying that your boyfriend is a fine piece of meat?  It was a compliment! You, my friend, have a complex.” I teased. She was very easy to bait, and her reactions (especially when I insulted her/her boyfriend, Mark) were hilarious. She’d been a semi-sensation on YouTube more than once over the years. 

“He’s not a piece of meat, Tal! He may be a jock, but he is a freaking genius, okay!? He chose me over you, thus proving his intelligence!” she whisper-yelled, her pale skin reddening to match her - totally dyed - hair. 

We were currently standing awkwardly closely, trapped in the corner of the mall’s only women’s bathroom, which was ridiculously overcrowded. Especially considering we didn’t actually need to be there. Keira had managed to get us stuck with her utterly gorgeous big brother, Drew, who was a jerk, and his best friend John, who was less hot but way nicer. Funny how John was the eternally single one. He was very skilled at getting himself into the friend-zone, which was unfortunate for him but great for the many girls who constantly went to him for Drew-related advice. But me, personally? I would have picked John over Drew, hands down.

I knew how Drew worked. He’d charm them till they caved, then drain them, ditching them once they eventually gave up trying to “tame” him. I may not have ever been the one he chose, but I had seen the results - an endless stream of hopeful, then heartbroken girls, flooding the bathroom sinks with their tears, mascara streaks all over their clothes. It was enough to make me hate him. Which was why we were avoiding him at all costs, including claustrophobia. 

“I’m sorry, but Mark is a piece of meat who doesn’t know when he’s got it good. The fact that he didn’t choose me is complete and utter proof of that.” I said, grinning at Keira so she’d know for sure that I was joking. Either Keira was really bad at judging emotions, or I was very hard to read (though I was sure it was the former. Her boyfriend history was really not a good one, as she was a terrible judge of character, and was almost always attracted to liars. It was probably a really good thing that Drew was her brother). 

Rolling her brown eyes in her version of “I clearly won, but I can see you’re not going to let it go unless I be the bigger person and just change the subject”, Keira tugged on my bare arm. “This is so pointless. We came here to shop, not hide in the world’s smallest bathroom.” She said, pulling mercilessly on my poor arm, pushing her way through the group of disgruntled women, ignoring my - admittedly feeble - protests. 

“You can’t make me go out there! What if they’re waiting outside? You can bet Drew will make some sort of stupid joke about us taking so long. And it will be so embarrassing.” Especially in front of John, I added silently. Okay, so maybe I had a wee bit of a crush on John. But only in that dorky he’s-a-cute-friend-of-my-bestie’s-big-brother-he’s-so-hawt-omg! way. I’d had enough with serious feelings at that point. They only led to disappointment. I mean, look at all those girls who Drew had seduced. There was no way to win, only momentary happiness in the beginning.