Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
𝗢𝗡𝗘: 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
SMILE. BUT NOT TOO MUCH. PEOPLE WILL THINK you're weak and they'd take advantage of that. Every single morning Stella Valdez will look into her vanity mirror and say those exact words to herself before the start of her day. It was her morning routine. Wake up. Take a shower. Brush her teeth. Get dressed. Put on makeup and then sit in front of her vanity mirror for a couple of minutes as she recited those special words.
She called them "words of inspiration."
But today was different. Today she sat in front of her vanity mirror without saying a single word. She just looked at her reflection and examined herself
"Who was she?" She asked herself. "What had she become after her death?"
She couldn't recognize herself. Alex believed the Stella Valdez that lived in the room beside him was the same old Stella. She still slept with the lights on after watching a horror movie. She still wrote in all the books she read, even if she wasn't allowed to. She still only ate the top half of a muffin, and gave the bottom to Alex which was something they had done since the dawn of time.
But to others on the outside, she was cold and cruel in silence. She hated the wall she had built up to protect her emotions after the group had broken up.
But it was the only protection that she had.
"Stella?" An all too familiar voice called out to her. She looked at the corner of her mirror, as she caught sight of her bedroom neighbor. Alex Wilder, her adoptive brother stood outside her bedroom. He leaned against her door frame, a worried look hidden behind the large framed glasses.
A warm smile appeared upon Stella's face. It was like a switch, one second she was stone cold, emotionless like a robot, and the next a smile appeared as if nothing had happened. As if everything was okay. "Morning, Alex." She greeted him, as he entered her bedroom. He sat on the edge of her, as she turned her body to face him.
"You were doing that thing again," he pointed out, fixing his glasses.
"What thing?" she asked, curiosity laced in her tone.
"That thing where you stare into the vanity mirror, contemplating between internally beating yourself up, or doing it verbally." He explained, as he tried to stay serious. "Hey, don't make fun of my morning routine. Respect the morning routine," the raven haired girl said, poking Alex in the shoulder with each word.
