𝚂𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚖 𝚒𝚜 𝙼𝚢 𝙱𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 (Complete)

𝙵𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜

They aren't laughing or making fun of me as I walk down the halls. They aren't whispering and gossiping about my failed attempt at being a normal human being. They're smiling.

They're smiling at me.

They aren't laughing at my distress, making a joke or a game out of my feelings.

They're supporting me.

They're cheering me on.

I look at their faces, happy and not judging, and I think, 'There are more nice people in this one hall than I believed to exist in the entire world'.

After school I go straight to my room, clean it in a hurry—mainly one corner—and set my phone up in front of me. It takes many frustrating tries to get it to stay upright, but eventually, I succeed. I press 'record' and take a few steps back.

My eyes flutter closed, and I take what feels like the longest breath I have ever taken. When I open my eyes, I stare at the reflection of myself on the phone screen. "My name is Paris, but you might know me as 'the girl with cold feet' from the recent video swarming through the internet.

"When I first saw that video made about me, I realized that out of all the embarrassing moments in my life, this one had topped the cake. And it had been seen by thousands of people, recorded, and posted on the internet for even more people to see. I didn't feel like talking about it, and I definitely didn't feel like explaining it—I still don't. It doesn't matter why I ran off that stage. It happened and it's done. It isn't something I regret or wish I could do differently, because it's something that just happened. It was just one of those things that can't be helped. Things like that happen to everyone, and I shouldn't be ashamed of it.

"The reason you're hearing all of this in this becoming-very-long video is because I have a message for all you haters out there: Just watch me. I'm going to prove each and every one of you wrong."

One hundred views.

Two hundred.

Three hundred.

Five hundred.

A thousand.

Five thousand.

More and more people watch and spread the video until it reaches past my failure video in views and likes. Comments are appearing at record speed and every time I reload the page I have dozens more notifications.

You go, girl!

I'm not a hater, but I'll be watching!

Can't wait to see what you do next.

I love your voice. You should totally become a singer.

Love seeing brave teens shining like the stars they are!

You probably already have thousands, but here is one more fan <3

I have fans?

It's hard to grasp how my entire life has completely flipped around. Sure, there were hateful comments sprinkled in with the good, but they aren't strong enough to faze me.