On the outside, Tess Tyler was perfect. Everyday, her hair, her clothes, her makeup, everything was always perfect. She was confident and walked with poise. But on the inside, Tess was broken. Shattered. Only one person knew the real Tess-

Nate Black.

Every night, he met her down at the dock. She wore baggy sweatpants and had black rivers flowing down her face. He would listen to her life story and let her cry into his chest. When her tears ran out they would share a kiss and say goodnight.

Nate knew everything about Tess, from her first kiss to her favorite ice cream. She always painted her nails black before applying pink overtop. She loved spending all day watching action movies. She doesn't like wearing makeup and despises purses. American Apparel is her favorite store, because their clothes are plain and comfy. And performing isn't the lifestyle she chose, rather her mom chose for her.

He knew why Tess was so broken. She was always trying to impress her mom, and her bitch attitude was a way of making her feel better about herself. She insisted that her mom wouldn't love her if she wasn't perfect. Normally, Nate would object and say that wasn't true. But he had heard several conversations between the two, and he understood where Tess was coming from.

One night Nate was going to meet Tess but stopped at the edge of the woods when he heard her talking on the phone.

"I'm sorry!..... I know, but…. Mom, I said I was sorry!... I know I let you down…. But mom!" Nate came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling her relax almost instantly. She took a deep breath, "You know what mom, I'm done. I'm done trying to impress you. I want to be able to make mistakes and laugh about it, not worry about disappointing you. I'm done pretending." And with that, she threw her new pink Blackberry into the lake.

Tess turned in Nate's arms and buried her face in his chest, but for the first time, no tears came. He placed a kiss on her head, whispering "I'm proud of you."

She looked up at him, "I love you, Nate." Her eyes were so innocent and sincere.

"I love you, too." He whispered as he captured her lips with his.

The next morning, Nate sat at his usual table with Shane and Jason. Tess and her friends usually show up to breakfast late, if they show up at all. So Nate nearly choked when he saw Tess walk through the doors on time. Surprising him even more, she walked past her usual table andshe sat down beside Nate. He studied her appearance: she was wearing his black sweatpants with a simple tie-dye T-shirt, no makeup, and her hair was un-straightened and pulled into a loose side braid.

"It's nice sleeping in for an extra hour." She smiled as she put her head on his shoulder. He smiled as he wrapped his arm around her waist,

"You're gorgeous." He whispered. She tilted her head up and he placed his lips on hers. And for the first time in years, she felt complete.

I'm at home sick and rlyyyy bored, so I've been writing oneshots all day lol. I think this is my favorite though. Should I write a story off of it? Hmmm…..

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