Sue Me

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE WONDERFUL VICTORY THE NIGHTWING, OF I'M NOT OKAY (I PROMISE) PICTURES.

Unfinished, as most of her stories are.

--

''Lauren Emily Stone is utterly, terribly stressed. She feels that she MUST be the best--that's how everyone sees her. That's how it always has been. That's how it has to be, right? But what if she can't hold up? What if she's afraid? What if...she just...just...''can't?

''Jackson Voyd's problem is less serious...at least, that's what everyone says. He never focuses, he never'' tries. ''He wants to. He really does. He just...just...can't. It feels like the world is trying to tear him apart from the inside out, like a needle is in his heart.''

''When Jackson's classmate, Heather Stone, is partnered with him for a project, he expects to be yelled at by her reputably stern cousin, who just so happens to be in the kitchen. But when she starts breaking down...when Lauren's shoulders cannot hold the weight of her stress any longer...''

This is the start of a new friendship.

-

''That’s my shape, I made the shadow That’s my lane, don’t wear it out though Feeling myself can’t be illegal, illegal''

''So sue me for feeling so pretty tonight Wearing my favorite color under the lights For moving on, doing everything right So sue me for being good friends with forgotten friends And not running into a pole at the place that I hate For being something no one can forget So sue me!''

--Sabrina Carpenter, "Sue Me"

-

Screw it.

Screw it, screw it, s c r e w i t.

I wanted to melt into a puddle and evaporate into the atmosphere. I wanted to scream that word Mom yells at me for saying and bolt out the door. I wanted to curl into a ball and roll off into the sunset. I wanted to crawl under a rock and die. The last words speech I had planned in case I ever got into a sword fight (or, let's be real, any fight) meant nothing if it meant I had to go through...this.

Poor Heather, I thought, keeping a mostly neutral face on as the blonde skipped over to my desk by the window. The innocence on that tanned, happy face wouldn't last her long if things went as south as I figured they would. She flashed me one of her signature crazed grins, but I paid no mind other than a weak smirk. Heather had no idea that, if I was her partner for our project, we would both be straight "C-" students, and I didn't want to splotch someone else's perfect record. Not again.

See, I don't do well with projects.

"