In The Eye of the Beholder | Jonathan Crane

October 1992

This world can hurt you

It cuts you deep and leaves a scar

Things fall apart, but nothing breaks like a heart

And nothing breaks like a heart

-Nothing Breaks Like a Heart (Mark Ronson ft. Miley Cyrus)

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"Wait, hold up, Jonathan. You're telling me that Sherry broke up with Bo for a reason that apparently no one knows about, and she invited you to a Halloween party next week? That doesn't sound like Sherry at all," I said to him.

"I know it sounds crazy, but that's what happened, I swear. She asked me to go with her since she and Bo broke up," he reaffirmed. "You don't care that I told her that I would go, do you?"

"Why would I care? I can't stop you."

"But you don't like it, I can see that."

"It's just-it seems sort of, I don't know, set up, I guess. Sherry has never had an interest in you before now. What changed?" I asked Jonathan. He didn't answer. "But you can go. I really don't care. I might be paranoid, that's all."

"I suppose it makes sense why you would be. Though I do think that Sherry might be a better person now that she doesn't have Bo to influence her."

In my opinion, Sherry didn't need Bo to influence her. She did everything she did of her own free will. She wasn't as bad as others were though, I'd give her that. That's what I wanted to say to Jonathan.

"I guess you might be right," is what I said instead.

"It'll turn out fine, Amber you'll see."

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Halloween. A day where children scattered about with their parents in an effort to get as much candy as possible. A day where teenagers insisted on having loud parties and scaring everyone. A day where I made sure to stay inside all night.

Much to my surprise, I'd gotten an invitation to the same Halloween party that Sherry had invited Jonathan to. Evan, a friend of Bo's that had recently started treating me like a person, had invited me the day before. I'd said no, hesitatingly telling him that I didn't like his friends, also adding a quieter tone the volume of the party made me nervous. Evan had told me it was fine and he understood even though I really don't think he did. I thanked him for the invitation anyway. He told me we should hang out sometime. I told him I'd think about it.

I got myself a glass of water, then glanced out the window. It was starting to get dark outside and children ran around the streets. I smiled at their carefree attitude.

I wondered how the party was going for Jonathan.

I was cut from my thoughts by a shout from my dad.

"Dammit, Amber! Get in here!" he called from the living room. I jolted. The glass slipped from my hands and shattered on the floor. I froze.

"Dammit, girl, what'd you do?" he growled, marching into the kitchen. He saw the broken glass and water on the floor. I didn't move. I didn't even notice that he'd moved until I felt my face start to sting in pain.

"I'm sorry, it won't happen again," I begged, then immediately got to my knees to clean up the mess.

"Shit! Ow, ow," I cried out, feeling a sharp pain where one of the pieces cut my hand. I glanced up at Dad. He was still staring, but I could tell he was getting impatient. I hurried, throwing the glass away and cleaning up the water. My hand was still bleeding.

I wasn't even on my feet when he grasped my wrist, pulled me to my feet, and dragged me into the living room. He pulled me to the window and pointed outside.

Someone had painted a pentagram into the grass just outside.

"Amber, I could care less that you're an atheist, you know that. But you should've kept your mouth shut around others," he began, holding my wrist tighter. "You know this town is filled with religious fanatics, why couldn't you go to church like everyone else until you left?"

"I'm sorry," I whimpered. My wrist hurt, my cheek hurt, and my hand was still bleeding. I just wanted him to let me go. Finally, he did.

"Go clean it up," Dad said, raising his hand to rub the bridge of his nose. I nodded, too afraid to say anything.

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The paint wouldn't come off the grass.

It was completely dark out now, even the moon was hidden behind clouds. I was on my knees in the darkness, wondering how the hell I was going to get rid of the pink pentagram on the lawn. Water didn't work. I supposed I would have to wait until the next day and cut it. That was all I could think of doing.

"Why are you out here, Amber?"

The unexpected voice of Jonathan made me jump. I hadn't expected him to be here this late.

"Can you not see-wait-nevermind. I can hardly see it. Some asshole painted a bright pink pentagram on the grass and I'm having a helluva time getting rid of it." I finally looked up and saw Jonathan covered in... something. "What happened to you?"

"You were right. It was a setup. I was with Sherry. We almost kissed and Bo jumped out at us and threw a pumpkin at me. Funny, isn't it?"

"What? Are you hurt?" I yelled, then remembered how late it was. I lowered my voice. "You're not, are you?"

"Only my pride. I hate them," Jonathan muttered the last part.

I could tell Jonathan was angry, even though he was doing a good job hiding it.

"You tried to kiss Sherry?"

"Yes. You're welcome to tell me how big of an idiot I am."

"You're not an idiot," I assured him. "You liked her. A lot. There's nothing wrong with that."

Except I knew it would never work out between those two. Even a blind man could tell Sherry couldn't stand Jonathan.

"Did you have fun otherwise?" I asked, truly hoping he did.

"It was alright, I suppose. I think I might have enjoyed it a bit more if you had been there. But it was incredibly loud. You would have hated it," he said, coming closer to me. "Also, someone named Evan was asking about you. He said he wished you would have accepted his invitation."

Jonathan's tone sounded off. He almost sounded jealous.

"Oh, yeah. Evan. He asked me to the party. I said no and explained why. He told me it was fine and asked me to hang out with him sometime," I explained.

"What did you say when he asked you to spend time with him?"

"I said maybe. Why, is that not okay?"

"Can I not be concerned that a friend of Bo's suddenly wants to spend time with you?" Jonathan spat. I drew back slightly at his tone.

"Evan doesn't seem that bad. He's got a better attitude than Bo does."

"I'm sure he does," Jonathan muttered. I stared up at him. What was wrong with him all of a sudden? Was he actually jealous?

"It's really late, I should be getting inside. See you tomorrow?" I asked.

"No, I'll be busy tomorrow."

"Alright then, some other time. Goodnight," I said.

"Goodnight, Amber."

As I watched him walk away, still covered in pumpkin, I wondered what he would be doing. He never had plans.

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A/N/: Here's a longer chapter since I haven't been updating periodically. As always, tell me if I made any mistakes! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Also, I'm kind of in love with this song? I can't say that I'm a huge Miley Cyrus fan, but I've been listening to this song on loop for hours.