𓈊 A Poppy By Any Other Name

Cutscene IV: Grian's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

This chapter is Grian's point of view of the last chapter in first person, and also gives some insight on how he sees things in general :D

Trigger warning, this chapter includes themes of bullying, sa, and mention of sh. The F slur is also used once (before anyone gets mad, I do not support using slurs towards other people, but I am in the LGBTQIA+ community, I'm a lesbian). Be safe, loves <3

(This chapter is also a bit longer so brace yourselves lol)

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I woke up with a headache, and that was the first of my problems today.

I was confused when I got up, forgetting I had to stay at Timmy's the last night. I shook myself and went over to the closet to find some of my old clothes. They were pretty torn up - shocker - and some of the sweaters looked like they would fall apart as soon as I touched them. I did find a nice jumper that wasn't too tattered. It looked pretty good on me.

I went to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth, covering the mirror with a towel. I hated mirrors, hated seeing my reflection. There were too many scars everywhere on my body for it to look loveable, and since I had gotten frostbite, there was an ugly, brown, circular scar around the tip of my nose. My cheeks were also scarred from blisters. It wasn't flattering at all.

Daniel made breakfast since Lizzie was sick. Blueberry pancakes. They weren't as good as Lizzie's in the slightest, but who am I to complain? Food is food.

As Daniel set two plates in front of me and Tim, I couldn't help but feel an underlying anxiety that I'd be in trouble if I took any. Mum would trick me like that, leaving food out that had my name on it only to scream at me about taking her meal.

I knew Daniel wasn't like that. If he was, I wouldn't be allowed to stay with them. But the feeling was still there.

"Go ahead," Daniel whispered to me, winking like he knew what I was thinking. He nudged the plate a little closer to me. "I'll get the syrup from the cupboard."

Timmy stuck his tongue out. "That stuff does not belong on pancakes," he murmured. "Waffles and crepes only."

I blinked at him. "You do realize that crepes and pancakes are, like, the same thing, right?" I deadpanned.

"Crepes are crispy."

I sighed. "Whatever." Looking down at the plate before me, I couldn't find my appetite as thoughts of last night came back to me and I realized what had happened. "Oh my God," I muttered. I probably looked stupid staring down at my plate the way I was.

Timmy looked at me and started talking with his mouth full. I couldn't understand a word he said. I guess Daniel noticed because he asked if I was okay after a moment.

I shook my head and covered my face with my hands, feeling ashamed but not wanting them to see it. I know Lizzie said it wasn't my fault, but...

I still felt awful about it. And it was true, if I didn't run away this wouldn't have happened. Joel would be happy in his flat and he wouldn't be in trouble with the police.

"Hey, kiddo," I heard Daniel whisper next to me, "you wanna go eat in the other room?"

I peeked between my fingers to look at him. He had that weird smile on his face that he always has when he talks like that. It was a soft smile, kind, sweet. I can never tell if I like when he smiles like that or not. It makes me feel weird, like my chest gets fuzzy like I'm happy but my stomach churns like I'm nervous.