Adopted by Heathers Cast

Hold Me Tighter, Even Closer

Catlynn's POV

"I look like I'm 5." I whined to myself in the mirror, as I was putting my long auburn hair in a braid.

"Sunshine! Are you almost ready to go?" I heard Elle call from the kitchen. That was weird. This must be some sort of surprise.

"Go where?" I asked, confused.

"I have a surprise for you! Wear something nice!" Elle said.

I quickly undid my braid and blow-dried my hair. Then, I put on a decent dress and ran out of my bedroom. Just in the nick of time, too, because the doorbell rang.

"Woah, Cat!" Jessica said, eating a bag of potato chips. "What's the hurry?"

"I got dressed in record time." I said. Jessica laughed, and said, "Are you competing with Elle to see who can get dressed faster?"

"No, Elle's still in a T-shirt and sweatpants. And I, for some odd reason, look like I'm going to eat dinner at the White House." I laughed.

"C'mon, Cat, you don't look that formal. Look who's here." Jessica said, turning me around.

"Alice! Barrett!" I said, running towards them. Alice hugged me and said, "You got taller."

"Alice, we saw her a week ago. She could not have grown that much." Barrett said. Barrett hugged me and said, "How's school?"

"I told you about Violet Gardner, right?" I said. Alice asked, "No, why? Is she your friend?"

Elle looked at Jessica, and Jessica said, "I wouldn't exactly consider Violet to be Cat's 'friend.'"

"More like she-devil flute player." I said under my breath.

"What?" Barrett said.

"Oh, it's fine! Violet's just ruined my entire eighth grade year, no biggie!" I said. Alice hugged me and said, "What did she do?"

"I don't want to talk about it." I said, about to cry. I felt a swirl of emotions, a swirl of bad memories. I felt trapped in my own mind with no way out. I ran to my bedroom and slammed the door.

"I'll go talk to her." I heard someone say. I should be able to recognize everyone's voices by now, but the panic made it harder.

I heard a knock on the door, and I said, "Go away."

I heard the door open, and then heard, "It's Alice. I want to talk to you." I shook my head and said, "Just go, please, I'm begging you."

Alice didn't listen. She sat on my bed and said, "You can talk to me, I'm your sister. I know I don't see you often or know you as well as the others do, but you can tell me anything." I sighed, and said, "I want to tell you, but I just want to forget about it."

"Does it have to do with the crash?" Alice asked, I nodded and started crying. Alice hugged me and said, "I'm sorry, Cat."

"Don't be." I said. "Violet Gardner's the one who needs to apologize. She's this flute player, well, ex-flute player, who bullied me relentlessly because of who my family is. I'm kind of scared of her, but luckily, she got kicked out of Band. Her flute friends won't leave me alone, though."

Alice sighed, then hugged me and said, "Don't listen to them. Trust me, bullies won't get to you if you show them they don't bother you."

"But how? The flute section calls me a 'pathetic wannabe,' and I don't know what to think. Violet's the ringleader of it all, she dragged me into this mess and I-I don't know how to get out."

Suddenly, the words came out of me like vomit. I would usually not tell Alice this stuff, but I had to let it out somehow.

"I feel so insecure sometimes, and it's sort of Elle's fault, because I always feel like I'm being compared to her! Part of me says 'Elle's not your biological mother, no one will care,' but the other part of me says 'you share the same last name, people are going to know you as Elle's kid, and they'll hate you.'" Alice hugged me and said, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"