Shatter Me

Smoke blew through the air of the night as a girl stood outside her home, sucking on a cigarette with conviction. Her parents and siblings were gone for the night, so they would never know that the girl was participating in such a life-threatening activity. The girl let out a shuddering sigh, staring up at the stars with wonder. She thought to herself, what would it be like to fly? To be free?

Veronica quickly shook this thought from her head. It was impossible. This life of hers. She would never be free. Free from the pressures of her parents and her peers. Free from the life that seemed to suffocate her. Free from everything.

She knew she should be grateful for the life she had been given. It was a thing of beauty. A nice home, a lot of money, a lot of friends and anything she could ever ask for. She knew that she had no right to complain, but she was trapped. Trapped in a perfect world.

With one last drag, she put out the cancer stick, hiding it in her yard so her family would never discover what she craved for.

When she reached her room, she noticed her phone lit up with texts from people who were called her friends. She never considered them real friends though. They would never know what she really felt inside. They were artificial.

yo, ronnie! party @ kurt's! be at your place in 10!
-Molly XOXO

She sighed, knowing that she wouldn't be able to refuse. Kurt was probably the most popular guy in school and denying an invite to his party was like suicide. If she was going to keep up her reputation, she had to go. She quickly put on some clothes that would be deemed "party appropriate". It was basically just a crop top and some skinny jeans.

Grabbing her phone and wallet, she waited outside for Molly to show up. And soon enough, she did. Plastering on a fake smile, she hopped into her friend's convertible. "What's up hot stuff!" Molly grinned.

"Ready to party!" Veronica exclaimed, feeling dead inside.

Her friend giggled, "You better be. You know Jason's had his eye on you. He's gonna be drooling when he sees you!"

She held the strong urge to groan. Jason was Kurt's right-hand man and a total sleaze. He treated women like shit and didn't feel any remorse for it. If he had an eye on her, it was a recipe for disaster. Instead of showing her absolute disgust at the thought, she smirked, "Well, duh."

Molly laughed as she pulled onto the street where the party was already going strong. Cars lined the street and the house towards the end was lit up with different colored lights. Veronica could already hear the bass pounding from the music as they found a place to park.

As soon as she entered the house, she was bombarded by Kurt and Jason. Molly had slipped away to find her boyfriend, leaving Veronica to deal with the two already drunk teenage boys. "Hey, Ronnie!" Jason slurred as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "You're looking smoking tonight!"

She felt immensely uncomfortable around him. He was known to slip things into girls drinks so he could sleep with them. She didn't want to become the next victim. When he handed her a cup, she pretended to drink it, dumping it when he wasn't looking. She just wanted to leave, curl up at home and sleep, but she was stuck at a party that she didn’t even want to go to in the first place.

Jason started getting handsy after she dumped the last of her drink. He was behind her as they danced, grinding hard while sucking on her neck. Veronica wanted to get out of this situation as quickly as possible. She did not plan on sleeping with Jason of all people.

She scanned the area for an escape. The escape came when he stumbled to the floor, apparently too drunk to stand. While everyone surrounding them laughed, she took it as an opportunity to leave. Walking away, she avoided everyone, managing to make it outside without anyone noticing.

Realizing that she was way across town with no ride, she groaned, putting her face in her hands. How did she always end up in these situations? It seemed to all stem from her parents first pressuring her to join gymnastics, which led to cheerleading, which led to popularity. And in this town, popularity meant parties, getting laid and having way too many friends. At first, she enjoyed the attention she got. She loved cheerleading and everything that came with it. Now it’s just become a chore.

She tried to quit once. She asked her parents one night after a game. She could remember the night clearly. They were eating dinner at a local diner. She brought it up briefly. Her parents shot her down quickly, telling her that it was too late. She was too invested. They worked too hard to build her up to be who she was now. It wouldn’t look good on the family. So here she was, stuck in a life she never truly wanted.

“Why the long face, princess?”

She jumped at the sound of the voice, whipping around to see a boy she had never met. He was fairly short with quite a few tattoos and a lip ring. He stared at her with a cigarette dangling from his lips. She smirked, “As if you care.”

He pursed his lips, “Touché. Still, I wonder why you, Veronica Davies, miss perfect, is out here by herself at a Kurt Taylor party.”

“Give me a cigarette and I’ll share,” she retorted with a chuckle.

He licked his lips, grinning slightly as he pulled a pack out of his pocket, “Deal, princess. Let’s walk and talk so you don’t get caught talking with vermin.”

Notes

I wanted to try a different type of story that I don't see often, so I hope you guys enjoy it! I hope to make the chapters longer in the future!