Sierra Burgess is a Sapphic Loser (hiatus)

i.

Being a loser, Sierra Burgess didn't have many friends except for Dan and her parents. Sometimes she could slip by in the halls at school being invisible, but other times her invisibility vanished for a few seconds just so she could be the victim of the popular crowds' entertainment, then she was invisible once more.

It didn't phase Sierra in the slightest. She wasn't stupid. She was smart, very smart in fact. She knew that the unpleasant happenings in high school were a direct result of teenage boredom and immaturity, and she knew that it wasn't going to last forever. Once she was in college, which would be exactly one year from now, she would officially be an adult and wouldn't have to endure the immaturities and childishness of high school anymore.

Until then, she would continue to ignore or defend herself against the sly comments about her weight or her fashion sense, or the fact that most people didn't find her conventionally beautiful. It didn't teeter her mood off in the slightest.

One motto Sierra Burgess lived and breathed by was that "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

While the close-minded teens in her school might think she was the most hideous person they'd ever laid eyes on, there was also someone out there who'd think she was the most beautiful person they'd ever seen, possibly in their entire lifetime. 

Maybe they wouldn't even fall for her looks, but rather the person she was on the inside. The smart, funny, philosophical and insightful woman she knew she was. They'd fall for Sierra Burgess, not Sierra Burgess' appearance.

Someone who did fall for Sierra Burgess, but in a purely platonic way, was Dan. Dan who in the seventh grade stood up for Sierra when a group of boys followed her around school for a total of a week, shouting profanities and insults at the young girl. Dan's act of heroism, although stopping the boys from harassing Sierra, resulted in his own torment from that crowd for the duration of a month.

Dan who understood Sierra. Dan who couldn't match her in witty literary references but could reply with jokes guaranteed to make her laugh. Dan who sat with Sierra at lunch after defending her, finally ending her streak of loneliness. Dan who even aided her in building the confidence she now harbored for herself. Dan her best friend.

And Dan who was also now starting her day with his usual annoyingness that she secretly loved so much. After reciting her mother's new mantra for the day to her best friend, the boy responded with his usual sarcasm as they walked through the halls of the school.

"Okay, it's too bad your parents are over-supportive," Dan said, rather having liked Mrs. Burgess' mantra before Sierra's added her 'V' and 'E' inputs. "Just this morning, my mom said that she was gonna adopt her next kid so he doesn't have to be such a crushing disappointment."

Sierra rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to be ungrateful, Dan, you're not helping."

Dan scrunched up his nose, shrugging. "Good!"

Sierra snorted at him as she stopped at the bulletin board to hang up her flyer for tutoring lessons, admiring her handiwork on the graphic design. The sound of books dropping and a girl shouting echoed in the halls, and Dan turned his full attention to the sight just ahead of them.

Veronica, the resident cliché popular mean girl of their high school, was currently chewing out a boy for dropping his things as her and her clique had been passing by, and Dan had already brought his phone out to capture the whole thing for his vlog.

"I really don't like her," Dan expressed as the girls started to walk in their direction, recovering from the scene they made. Sierra glanced up at the approaching group for a split second before shrugging, looking back at her flyer and cutting the small phone number strips into sections. "You know, she like makes my-"

Dan stopped ranting, a grin cracking on his face as he finally acknowledged Sierra's poster. A million ways to make fun of it instantly brewed in his mind and Sierra knew what was coming.

"Okay, what's up with America's Most Wanted?" Dan asked, starting to laugh as he lifted his phone to point the camera at the advertisement instead.

Sierra bit the inside of her lip, trying to bite back a smile as she turned and covered Dan's camera with her hand. "Hey," she scolded, pushing the camera back as Dan continued to laugh. "Come on!"

"I had to-" Dan laughed, finally lowering the camera for the girl. "Well just let me-" Sierra looked back at him with a stern look, and he gave in. "Okay," he complied with raised hands.

"New car fund," Sierra replied easily as she continued to cut out the paper strips with her number. "I'm pimping myself out the only way I can."

"Why is this new car fund so unsexy?" Dan teased, resting his chin on her shoulder, and Sierra rolled her eyes, finally grinning cheekily at his dumb jokes. "Oh my goodness, that is a really nice chassis!"

Sierra shook her head, turning around to look at Dan. "You know what, I don't need this from you," she said, trying to feign offense through her obvious amusement at him.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Dan replied, completely unapologetic.

"You're so- I don't even have the words to describe it," Sierra told him as she pointed a finger at him.

"Annoying, infuriating, disappointing," Dan counted out on his fingers as Sierra rolled her eyes playfully and turned to walk toward class. "Can you pimp me out, too?" He asked as he followed the girl. "I want a picture like that."

Sierra looked back at her flyer, chuckling at Dan before full-on ignoring him, trying not to smile again as he kept at his attempts to annoy her.

And that was Dan. Sierra Burgess' best friend of five years.