Pegster | MOVING TO FANFICTION.NET

Chapter I: "FML"

Peggy Schuyler pulled out her iPhone X, unlocked it with Face ID, and opened iMessage. She scrolled down through the left side column of chats and found who she was looking for, albeit it didn't take her very long because she didn't text many people.

Honestly, it was more like people didn't text her.

"Angie, you forgot to pick me up... AGAIN."

She scoffed as she sent the message to her oldest sister. Honestly, Peggy didn't care she'd been forgotten. It had happened many times before. Angelica always had to go to soccer practice and had to drop Eliza off at the Animal Shelter to volunteer on the way there.

...God, were her sisters SO FAKE!

"Hey, Pegster!" A girl yelled from behind Peggy, almost making her drop her phone.

"Oh, hey Kat!" Peggy exclaimed. She looked at her one and only friend with a puzzled look. "Kat, what on earth are you wearing?"

Catherine Livingston (aka: "Kat", but only by Peggy) was Peggy's best-friend since third grade. Now, seven years later, she was still Peggy's only friend.

Peggy knew everything Kat normally did, and wearing Ariana Grande Cat Ears was not one of them

"Well," started Kat, "since we're sophomores now, I thought I'd try a new look."

Peggy was about to protest, when Maria Reynolds (the most popular sophomore) walked up. She ignored Peggy and turned to Kat.

"Hey Kitty, some of the girls and I are going to watch the boys basketball practice. You wanna come with?"

Before Kat— Kitty... could respond, Peggy jumped in. "I'm sorry, Kitty? Her name is Catherine, and that's that... unless you're me; I get to call her Kat."

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Maria asked, shifting on the balls of her feet. This action, in turn, made her cleavage bounce in the revealing shirt (if you could even call it that) she was wearing. Peggy noticed this and internally (and, slightly, externally) cringed.

"Marg— I mean... Peggy. My name is Peggy." Her mother had trained her to address herself with her birth name "Margarita", but she was trying to break the annoying habit.

"What was that? You said 'Marg—' and then stopped. Marge, Margie, Margaret?" Maria was trying to embarrass Peggy, and everyone knew it.

"Her name is Margarita," Kat blurt out. Peggy glared at her as she mouthed sorry.

"Well, Margarita, I would invite you too, but I don't hang out with nerds. Kitty, let's go check out some hot guys." Maria turned sharply again, away from Peggy. That's when Peggy made he biggest mistake ever.

With one simple word, Peggy sealed her fate. "Slut."

Maria froze. Kat's eyes widened. The few people that had been eavesdropping all gasped. Peggy gulped.

Maria looked over her shoulder with a stare that pierced through Peggy like a katana. Peggy remained calm (as calm as she could possibly be in that situation [that wasn't very calm]).

Maria lost it. "Bitch, who the hell do you think you are? You do know I can get rid of any popularity you have, and for you that is next to none already. That's exactly what I'm gonna do, actually." Maria had stepped closer to Peggy and was grabbing the collar of Peggy's. Maria was taller than Peggy, but only because of her stiletto heals. Maria continued, quieter, "Listen here Margarita. I will make sure the whole school forgets your name. Oh, and if you ever step to me again, there will be even more hell to pay."

With that Maria slapped Peggy and stormed off. She had slapped Peggy hard enough to send her to the floor. For a Barbie Doll-like girl, Maria had a strong arm. Peggy felt the stinging on her cheek and the wetness of her eyes as tears began to drop from her tear ducts. She looked up to see no one... not even Kat... standing around. They'd all dispersed when Maria left, taking Kat with her.

It was now that Peggy felt the lowest she ever had. Her best friend of 8 years had just abandoned her and she'd been humiliated in front of a third of the sophomore class.

She stood up, still crying, and walked over to her nearby locker. She opened it and assessed the contents. On the inside of the door was a small mirror and, below it, two pictures.

One was of her and Kat at a restaurant for Peggy's birthday (her family had forgotten it, so Kat's parents took Peggy to eat with them).

The other was of Peggy's family after  last Christmas' church service. Her parents, Philip and Catherine stood in the middle with Angelica to Philip's right and Eliza to Catherine's left. Peggy stood in between them directly in front of them. Her little brothers (John, Philip Jr., and Rensselaer) stood around her. Catherine was holding the baby, Catherine Jr. It was the happiest Peggy had been with her family. Now, almost a year later, it was the opposite.

She stared at the two pictures until her eyes happened to glance up to the mirror.

There was someone standing behind her.

She gasped and whipped around slamming her back against her locker.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" the boy standing there said.

"No worries," said Peggy, rubbing the cheek that still slightly stung. "I'm Peggy."

"I'm Marquis de Lafayette, but you can call me Lafayette. That's what my friends call me." The boy was tall and slim. He spoke with a French accent. "I saw what Maria did, and I'm really sorry."

"It was my fault," said Peggy, looking down at the floor. "I shouldn't have called her names."

"Hey." Lafayette gently pulled her chin up and their eyes met. Peggy inhaled deeply, her cheeks getting red (and not because of the slap). "No one deserves to be treated like she did you."

Then there was silence. It was incredible. Peggy stared into Lafayette's deep blue eyes as he stared into her green ones. Peggy, although it sounds cliché, wanted to kiss this boy right then and there. However, her phone chimed and broke the moment.

She looked. It was a text from Eliza.