"It can't be that bad, May."
"Seriously, this is not something to cry over."
"Be reasonable. There's nothing wrong with glasses."
May sobbed on her bed, wetting the blankets. Dawn rubbed circles on her back, while Leaf was sighing. Misty paced around the room, fed up with the crying brunette.
"Come on! It's not the end of the world or something! You're only getting glasses! You're not going to be the first to get them, and you're definitely not going to be the last. A lot of other people have them too. What's so wrong with them?" Misty snapped, stomping her foot in frustration.
May wailed, "It's not what you guys think! Everybody will call me four-eyes, and I'll go down in popularity! Even you guys will eventually leave me, saying I'm a dork." She groaned, and buried her head in a pillow. "Just leave me alone!"
Dawn mentally face palmed. "We're not going to leave you, May. Where did that come from?"
"I told you, she watches way too many soap operas." Misty sat on the bed and stroked her hair. "It's gonna be okay."
Leaf added, "Who knows? You might even look prettier with glasses."
May smiled a little, before hugging all her friends. "Thanks for sticking with me, guys."
Snowflakes swirled through the cold air as a car pulled into the parking lot. A family, with one beautifly trailing behind, stepped out of their car. They all rushed for the door.
They walked inside the shop, and a little bell chimed. It was a small and cozy place, with rows, shelves, counters, and tables full of glasses. The walls were a comforting yellow that was easy on the eyes, and the heater hummed in the background.
May slipped out of her coat, gulping. Her beautifly fluttered around her. She didn't feel nearly as confident as she did with her friends. A feeling of dread washed over her. Who was she kidding? She'd look like a monster with eyeglasses on.
She just wanted to just stay the way she was now. How could she just fail the eye exam like that?
Her little brother, however, was a different story. "I can't wait! Finally, both of us will have glasses, and I won't be the odd one out. And, I'll be able to steal your glasses like you steal mine!" Max pumped his fists in the air, and started to run around the shop pretending to be a swellow.
"Max, come back!" Caroline, the mother, chased after him, narrowly knocking over a spinning rack full of spectacles.
Norman, the father, groaned, and softly called out, "We're in public, Max! Not now! You can do that at home!"
May felt like dying in a hole now. All the glasses around her seemed like they were closing in on her and her family wasn't helping.
Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. A gust of harsh wind blew outside, and the shutters banged against the closed window. The hair on the back of May's neck stood on end, and the whole shop seemed to become quiet. Not like there was anyone else there anyway.
"Why, hello there!" A young-looking woman with dark green hair stepped out from behind a curtain, which wasn't visible to the family. "Are you the Maple family?"
May, scared out of her wits, nodded. The woman smiled and asked them to sit down and wait a minute while she found the doctor.
While her family buzzed around, May fidgeted with her shirt collar. This place was staring to give her the creeps.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Dr. Hayden, and I'll be helping you pick out your glasses." A freakishly thin man walked up to them, and following behind was the woman. "Oh, and I see you've met my wife." Dr. Hayden also had green hair like his wife; however, it was in a lighter shade, almost chartreuse.
Hayden…Hayden…the name sounded familiar to May…but she just didn't know why…
"Fancy seeing you here, June." A cool voice whispered in her ear. The blood rushed up to her face and she practically jumped a mile, shaking in her boots.
"Dr-Drew? Drew…Hayden?" May screeched, staring at him as if he would explode any minute.
Drew just laughed and flicked his hair, which, like his parents, was a shade of green. But, it was a unique color, somewhere in the middle of his parent's hair colors. His other hand was in the pockets of his jeans, and his purple turtleneck drooped around his neck. His large roserade stood next to him, flaunting it's elegance.
May felt even more self-conscious than before. Not only was she going to ugli-fy her face, she was going to do it in front of Drew! Of all the people, it just HAD to be Drew.
And, of course, beautifly, decided to chirp happily to roserade as if they were best buds.
"Oh my, do you two know each other?" Mrs. Hayden grinned, like an all-knowing mother.
"Yeah, mom. May and I are…best friends…" Drew draped his arm around May, and the close proximity made her skin tingle. Her face flushed red as she tried to deny it. It was too late though; both Mrs. Hayden and Mrs. Maple were giggling.
This was just going to be great, May thought. So, as a snowstorm worked itself up outside, May got ready for the worst shopping experience of her life.
A Few Glasses that Failed to Make the Cut:
1. Green glasses that contrasted too much with May's red bandanna.
2. Thick brown glasses that made May look like she had a bad skin rash against her skin complexion
3. Rectangular, metallic blue glasses that kept getting caught in May's doggy pigtails.
4. Rainbow striped bifocals that made May seem like a hippie.
5. Heavy purple glasses that hurt May's ears.
By the time May came to the last pair of glasses in the pile, she was exhausted. Good thing she returned beautifly a long time ago.
Her cold hands picked up the old fashioned spectacles. They were thin, silver, and wide rimmed, with big circle shapes. They looked like a clone of Harry Potter's glasses.
May pushed those away. She didn't even need to try them. She could just see herself using those-as if four-eyes wasn't bad enough. Wearing those glasses would get her called May Potter or something.
Yet, her stubborn mother pushed them onto her face, and when May looked in the mirror, she was met with an unexpected surprise. Actually, she didn't look half bad with them on.
Her family thought so too, and started fawning over her. Mrs. Hayden beamed, and Dr. Hayden nodded approvingly. Even Drew thought those were the best match so far.
"Well, May, found the ones?" he asked her, smirking as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She whirled around, almost hitting him.
"Don't do that." She whispered harshly, and then went back to looking at herself in the mirror. She looked…okay.
But, who was she kidding? These were freaking Harry Potter glasses! She'd be the ultimate dork wearing this pair! It didn't go with any of her clothes, and wearing it on the same face with a red bandanna is like putting pepper on brownies.
It didn't matter if this pair didn't hurt her ears, or fit on her nose snugly. Glasses would never look good on her. Her eyes belonged clear and exposed. She ripped the specs off and slammed them on the table, almost smashing the glass lenses.
"May!" Norman, her father, yelled sternly, but May didn't care.
"Stop it! I don't want or need glasses! Stop it!" May screamed, held her head like she was mental, and ran out of the room, slamming the door.
The parents looked around at each other worriedly, but only a certain green-haired boy stood up.
"Leave this to me." Drew calmly walked out of the door, returning roserade. But if anyone was paying attention, they would've seen him clenching his fists.
May hugged her knees against her chest as she started to cry her heart out for the second time that week. But this time, her friends weren't here for her. Instead, she only had the wet floor behind the spinning rack, and her ticking watch.
It was like that for a long time, or at least it felt like that for May-it could have been two minutes or two hours. Eventually, she ran out of tears, and then just sat there sniffling with big, red, blotchy eyes.
She looked like a wreck. Her clothes were disgusting. Her butt probably had a stain from sitting on the muddy carpet. Yet, Drew, the heartthrob for every single girl in town, helped her up with a smile.
"May, I didn't know you were such a crybaby." Drew winked at her, and May felt her heart flutter.
"It's n-none of yo-your buis-buiseness." May stuttered, wiping her eyes, which were tearing up again.
"Actually, it kind of is. You just ran out of my family's shop, pretty much screaming that the glasses we carry are terrible." Drew spoke without expression, and May's breath hitched in her throat.
"Speaking of w-which, I didn't know your family had a glasses shop. Kind of un-unexpected, if y-you ask me." May quickly tried to change the subject while groping around in her jeans pocket for a tissue.
Drew for once had a genuine smile on his face. "Yeah, my dad's an eye specialist, so he opened a glasses shop. My mom helps him sell them. And, on the weekends, I stay with them at the shop." He started to zone on out her, and May thought she was home free.
"Hey, don't try to change the subject. What's wrong with glasses?" May tried to get around him, but he caught her by the shoulders and held her firmly. Her cheeks heated up drastically as she stared into his hypnotizing emerald eyes.
"Why?" he whispered, more gently this time, still keeping her shoulders in a death grip. May trembled, and felt like hiding in a broom closet and crying again.
"I-I look really ugly with glasses! I'll never look good wearing them! I don't need or want them! Why do I have to get them? I can manage without!" she shouted, pushing him away. Drew stumbled back a couple of steps, surprised. May couldn't stop herself though.
"I DON'T NEED GLASSES! Why doesn't anyone understand that? I don't want them! I'm going to be four-eyes, a dork, a nerd…everybody will make fun of me, and my only friends will be creeps like Conway! I'll be so ugly, everybody will hate me, and-"
"MAY!" Drew yelled back at her, and she stopped. She glared at him, her sapphire eyes brimming with tears. Drew stared back defiantly, obviously not done.
"Come with me." He grabbed her hand forcefully, and dragged her along, despite her loud protests. And, when he stopped and let go of her, she saw a black glasses case on top of the purchasing counter.
Drew opened it up, and showed her. Inside were black, sensible rectangular glasses. Drew gingerly took them out and put them on. He suddenly looked like a business man, and his gorgeous green eyes became clearer and magnified.
"May, did you know that I have glasses too?" he asked softly, and May shook her head. She couldn't help but ogle at him. Drew Hayden and glasses? The thought was preposterous. Yet, he looked…complete with them on.
"Well, I do. It was hard for me to get used to them, and I hated wearing them. I tried everything to get rid of him. But they just kept coming back. So, I decided to put up with them.
And after a while, it wasn't so bad anymore. I could see everything clearly, and I could read the whiteboard in class. I didn't always have to sit in the front anymore. It was like a blessing.
Glasses help. They help A LOT. If you need them, you need them. You can't make your eye sight better. So, it's just better to wear the glasses and try to make sure that your vision doesn't get any worse.
If you're afraid of not fitting in or something, you're really stupid. So many kids have glasses, and actually, most of them look a heck of a lot better with them on. So, just shut up and wear them!"
When Drew was done lecturing her, he started panting, his face all red from the effort. May felt like a complete idiot. She looked away from Drew and tried to focus on anything except him.
"May, look at me," Drew's forceful tone brought her back to Earth. "You don't look ugly with those glasses. You actually looked pretty good.
It doesn't matter what you look like on the outside. True friends wouldn't care. It's what's on the inside that counts."
Drew's words shook May to her core, and she soaked it in. It didn't matter…whether she looked like utter rubbish or a princess. She needed to be able to see properly, and that was of the utmost importance. Appearance was second. And, people who were actually important and cared for her; like Misty, Dawn, Leaf, and even Drew-they saw what was inside. They didn't give a crap on her looks.
May took a deep breath, and with tears flowing down her cheeks, hugged Drew.
A Couple Months Later
May sipped her hot chocolate from inside the café and smiled.
Sitting across from her was Drew, who was already done with his drink. The snow outside blew around everywhere crazily, and it was below freezing.
When May and Drew stepped outside, May's glasses instantly got all fogged and covered up. She groaned, took them off, and started wiping them off with her coat.
Drew smirked. "I told you, you should wear contacts like me." He gestured toward his emerald eyes, which shined brightly against the white snow.
May glared at him. "I like my glasses, thank you very much." She finished cleaning them and slipped them back onto her face and sighed. "It's like the world is put into HD when I wear them. And I look so much prettier with them. Not like it really matters though."
As May started ranting, Drew went into a daze. Her opinion about glasses had changed so much after he told her all those things on that fateful day. Shortly after, she bought the Harry Potter glasses, and wore them all the time, and reminded everybody constantly that she had changed. Nobody really cared, and to tell the truth, no one ever called her four-eyes. He didn't even know where she got that idea.
Thinking about it though, however much he liked May, he couldn't get over the fact that she was starting to look like a complete dork wearing those glasses all the time.
But, like he had said before, it's what's on the inside that counts.
Me: This is my entry for RosieShiba's contest. R&R plz!