Message In A Bottle

Feb 14

A/N: Eugene is kinda unhinged here because I also feel kinda unhinged. Or maybe he's also making me unhinged.

Also a quick update on the online identities: everyone knows who Bree is, Bree knows who Eugene is, Bree, Alex, and Danielle know who Conner is, Alex and Danielle know each other, Bree probably knows who Danielle is.

This was a horrible chapter to write because of the second hand embarrassment. Probably the worst chapter to write so far (and hopefully the worst one to write for this entire fic). So I'm sorry that this is late but I just could NOT bring myself to write the sheer horror LMAO like I'm gonna start flinching from my laptop if this continues haha. This is a horrible, horrible chapter [shudders]

-

Can I ask you a question?
Did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room?
And every single one of your friends was making fun of you
But fifteen seconds later, they were clapping too?
Then what did you do?

-

Long story short: Eugene broke his arm.

And Danielle was pissed.

Eugene's parents bought the matter to school and furiously defended their son ("As I said before, they think they're the only people who can traumatise me."). Mack ended up having to pay for Eugene's hospital fees and was suspended for a while (Mack's parents were mortified and apologetic). However, while Mack's suspension might have prevented the drama from escalating (read: it prevented Mack from being murdered from several of Eugene's friends), it didn't calm everybody down.

For one, the school finally saw Danielle as her most terrifying self (which Eugene commented was just the Danielle he saw daily). Gone was the shy, timid, girly girl. Now Danielle was unafraid, furious, and still girly. People once mocked her style— pastel pinks and miniskirts and "childish" frills and ribbons— and Danielle never really stopped wearing them, but now she wore them with pride and defiance. She didn't change her look to something "edgier" and "darker" as a glow-up, nor did she suddenly start wearing red lipstick and sharp eyeliner to look "hot". No, Danielle didn't change herself to attract attention and to show how "unaffected" she was. She just lived as herself, a bit less insecure and bit more aggressively. She finally wore her cutesy lavender cardigan with clouds on it (she didn't wear it before to school because she thought it might be too childish), and of course she paired it with with her favourite frilly pink skirt. She wore hairclips in the shape of colourful candies. Danielle was unashamed, but she didn't go overboard. As stated before, she was just living as her true self.

People noticed the subtle differences in Danielle, and looked at her- some with curiosity, some with support, some with disdain. Danielle's almost aggressive "cute" style of fashion and her explosion at Mack before caused more people to poke fun at her. Unfortunately, Danielle's patience had completely dried out.

"What?" Danielle snapped when she heard suspicious murmurs behind her. "If you have anything to say, say it to my face."

The gaggle of students looked uneasy, but one finally said, "Don't you feel at least somewhat guilty of the drama you caused? Your friend got into the hospital because of you?"

Danielle crossed her arms and fixed them with a hard stare. She might've came off as looking pathetic in her clothes, but Danielle was a theater kid who had experience with being dramatic. She could carry it. "Oh yeah, I should apologise for being bullied," she said curtly. "And for the last time: it wasn't me who pushed Eugene off the stairs. That's Mack's fault and Mack's fault only."

"Ugh, look at her playing the victim again."

"She's the root of this, how does she still have friends..."