𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐔𝐬

♡︎27♡︎

I sat at my desk reading over the list of camp supplies I would need for next week. I had put down the pencil I was using to check off the things I needed to get because I had already gouged a hole through the first item on the list. Where did Katsuki get the right to judge Awase? And why? He didn't even know him. He didn't even want to know him. It wasn't Awase's fault that I was holding back part of myself. It wasn't fair of Katsuki to say Awase wouldn't accept me when I hadn't given him the chance to.

I pushed myself away from the desk and stood, grateful for the distraction of work today. I'd be half an hour early, but I needed to get out of the house.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

"Y/N," Nemuri said with a smile as I walked in. "Your aura looks red today. Are you upset about something?"

She was starting to trip me out with her aura talk, which was usually right on target. "I'm fine. Boys are stupid."

She laughed. "Do you need to talk?"

I held up the backpack of clothes that I needed to change into. I wasn't sure why I still waited until work to change. Everyone at home had now seen me in my nicer clothing. It was tradition, apparently, to change at work. "No, I just need to get my mind off things." I slipped into the back room and quickly changed.

When I came back out, Nemuri took both my hands in hers. "I'm sure your mom tells you this all the time, but it's always good to hear frequently; we can't let boys define how we feel about ourselves. You have to know who you are before you should let any boy worth anything in."

I tried not to cringe at the mom reference. My mom doesn't tell me anything, I wanted to say. But I couldn't. It was too late to come clean. And besides that, I did know who I was. At least I thought I did. I was a girl who grew up without a mom and therefore had no idea how to be a girl. Here I was acting like a huge fake not only to Nemuri but to Mina and her friends. When did I become so unsure of myself? I just needed to get away. Basketball camp would be a good break. I nodded. "Thanks, Nemuri."

She squeezed my hands and then said, "I have some paperwork to do in the back."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Halfway through my shift, Momo came in holding an ad. "Ooh la la, Y/N. I didn't know you modeled."

I thought she was kidding, when she slid across an ad for the bridal store there I was, in several shots promoting their makeup line. I noticed two things right away. One, this was not just some cheap paper flyer like Nemuri had printed out that sat by the register for customers to grab when they came in. It was a nice, shiny color ad a couple of pages long. And two, the pictures weren't extreme close-ups like Hagakure had promised, but my whole body sitting in that chair . . . with my very recognizable face.

I could feel the blood drain as I stared at the ad.

"You okay?" Momo asked.

"I-" I met her eyes. "This isn't. . ." My face felt numb and I wanted to sit down right there behind the register. If my dad saw this, he was going to kill me. "Where did you get this?" Maybe they hadn't put out the ad yet. It was a local business. Maybe she knew the owner or something. After all, why would Momo be getting ads for a bridal store?

"In the mail."

"The mail? Your mailbox?"

"That would be the one."

"Crap." My adrenaline kicked in and I suddenly felt like running around the city collecting every last ad from every last mailbox. "When? Today?"

"Yes. Just now."