Hey guys! I'm back with another one shot, even though I should be working on Revenge! Yay! XD! Okay, I read Daphrose's story I Hate Me, Too, and I loved it SO much! She even let people write sequels/continuations of the story, and I decided to try! It probably won't be as good as hers, but hey. A girl's gotta take chances. Anyway, I hope you liked this! I don't own Lab Rats, or I Hate Me Too, even though you probably already know that. I'd recommend the song Hurt: by Christina Aguilera. (Some parts of the song would be in Bree's POV, other parts would be in Leo's.)
Bree's POV:
One tear turned into many as I pulled my knees up to my chest, and leaned my head on them. Silent tears turned into sobs as I wished I could be a better person. It wasn't just that I wasn't strong or smart, it was so much more. Even if I wasn't strong or smart, there were so many other things I could be! So many things I wasn't. So many things I never would be. All I was was fast. That's nothing. I'm nothing. The only thing speed is useful for is track and field, and I wasn't even doing that! I was useless, and holding the team back. Someone else deserved to be bionic. Someone useful. Someone better. Speed, invisibility, and vocal manipulation. So what? Vocal manipulation. I still felt like I was a ventriloquist without a dummy. Invisibility. Davenport made a cloak for that, right? So how was that useful. And speed. I laughed half-heartedly. Probably the biggest joke of all.
I was too consumed in negative thoughts to notice a certain young bionic come up behind me. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and surprised me. But I didn't show it. I didn't show much lately. I simply stiffened to his touch. Once I'd finally comprehended his presence, I took action.
"I told you not to try to fix me!" I shrieked like a wild animal.
Leo held his hands up. "Bree! Calm down!" screamed Leo.
"You hate me! Admit it! I never want to see you again! I don't want to see anyone, okay? And I bet you feel the same way." I snapped, crossing my arms.
Leo stared at me for a long time, before reaching out to touch my arm, as though to comfort me. But I'm not weak. I turned slightly, so he couldn't pat my shoulder or some other silly display of pity.
Your eyes hold pity,
I'm so sad and blue,
Shed the feeling, you don't care,
I hate me too.
I'd have to remember that one. "Don't touch me." I whispered.
"Bree." whispered Leo, who sounded like he was on the brink of tears. Too bad, I already beat him to it. "It's not true, what you think. I love you. We all love you. Bree, who hates you?!"
The tears began to come again, as I barely choked out, "Me."
"No matter what," said Leo, "I love you. Big D loves you. Chase, Adam, and Mom love you. Everyone loves you, Bree. You're one of the best people I know!"
"You need to stop lying." I said, "What's there to love?"
Leo stared at me in surprise. "So much!"
I sniffled. "Like what?" I wouldn't believe him, of course, but I might as well ask so he'd talk and I wouldn't have to choke through tears.
"Well, for one thing," started Leo, "You're always there for us. You always help Adam and Chase on missions. You help me out, too! Tasha loves you, and she won't admit it, but I know she's always wanted a daughter. Big D loves that you're so quick (literally) to follow instructions! You're an amazing hero, and the best sister I could ask for!"
"How can you even say that?!" I screamed through tears, "I'm there for my brothers? As if! I always screw up missions, like when I was supposed to get gas samples at the abandoned warehouse! I got myself quarantined! And then I left! I just went to a stupid art fair to visit a boy who definitely doesn't love me, because how could he?! How do you call that 'quick to follow instructions?!' Davenport should've left me unable to work my muscles! I deserved it! I destroyed Owen's Principle Perry sculpture, so he obviously hates me! And guess why I destroyed it! So Adam wouldn't make friends with someone who understood him! There's so few people that can, I should've been supportive! But I wasn't. I was thinking about myself, as usual. Leo, I never help you with Janelle, and when you needed to get to class and was late, I didn't help you! Well, after one or two times. But that was for my own benefit! I can't see how you love me! And if Tasha wanted a daughter, she should've got one that was actually there more often! I'm never there to listen to Tasha! All she does is listen to me whine on and on! God, I'm a terrible person and sister! You guys...you guys deserve better. Much better."
Leo had went pale. "Bree." he whispered, "That isn't true. Any of it. You stopped being my personal taxi cab because you knew better than me, and knew it was wrong. You left quarantine for love, obviously proving you'd do anything for the ones you love! And just because the loved one was Owen in that moment, that doesn't matter. There's been plenty of times you've been there for us! Even if Janelle isn't someone you help me with, at least you don't hurt my chances with her, the way Adam and Chase do! Big D loves you like a daughter, even if you're Douglass's. Mom always tells me how much she loves you. Bree, can't you see? You're the only one who thinks badly about you. Where'd this come from?"
I sighed. As long as Leo was here, maybe I should show him where this all began. I took a magazine out of my pocket. I always kept the article folded up in my pocket, so I could look at it and remember why I felt this way. I handed it to him. Leo studied it. "This is a tabloid." whispered Leo, "An article that...makes you sound like an awful person."
I nodded. "It doesn't make me sound like an awful person. It tells the truth. It's the only one telling the truth."
Your eyes hold shock,
It came out of the blue,
Now you know the truth,
Why I hate me too.
Leo's hands were trembling, holding the paper. "There's many more where that came from." I whispered, "I keep the articles as a collage in the guest bedroom. This one is...the most truthful, so I keep it with me."
Leo shook his head. "No, these are lies. I knew the press was saying rude things about you, Adam, and Chase, but nothing like this! Why didn't you tell us?! Why didn't you tell...me?"
I blinked back more tears, angrily. My eyes were wet enough. "It's none of your business." I growled, grabbing back the article. "I shouldn't have shown you this, anyway." I stormed off the roof, and to the window.
"Bree, come back!" shouted Leo, as I slid through the window, "You don't need to face this alone! I'm here for you!"
"No you're not." I whispered, in pure anger, "No one is."
Leo's POV:
I ran to the window, and grabbed Bree's wrist. "This has to stop!" I cried, "Why do you believe any of this?! You know as well as I do the tabloids tell lies!"
"But this one doesn't!" sobbed Bree, "It's all true! I'm late to missions, and I hold you guys back! I didn't even support you when you first met us and wanted bionics of your own. Leo, you deserve your bionics more than I do."
"How can you even say that!? You're an amazing bionic, and sister!" I cried, tears beginning to slide down my face. My sister felt terrible about herself, and I hadn't known. I hadn't seen how different her behavior was, I had simply assumed it was just a fad. How could I have been such an idiot? "We were bad brothers." I whispered.
Bree stopped in her tracks. "What?" she whispered.
"Bree," I started, "We should've noticed you acting differently, and not have assumed it was normal. You're our sister, and we're supposed to know who you are. Obviously, we didn't listen to you enough to truly know you. We're your brothers, and we're supposed to make sure these kinds of things don't hurt you. Bree, I'm so sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry about." she stated, simply, "When Adam and Chase prank me and tease me, I deserve it. When Davenport yells at me for doing something wrong, I deserve it. And Leo, I understand that you hate me. I do to."
"I don't!" I cried, "Bree, no matter what you do, I could never hate you! Can't you see that?! I've been trying to make it clear!"
Bree stared at me for a long time. "You're telling...the truth..." she whispered.
"Yes!" I cried, "Bree, stop with the poems! Stop hating yourself! We all love you, and when Big D hears about the tabloids, I guarantee he'll use his billions to sway the publishing company. This can all be stopped, if you let down your defenses and ask for help!"
Suddenly, Bree collapsed into my arms sobbing. "Leo." she choked, "It's true. I do need help. But please don't view me as weak."
"I could never." Leo soothed.
After a long, passionate hug, we crawled through the window, walked through the guest bedroom, and went downstairs to the lab. "Everyone," I announced, "Bree is feeling bad about herself."
"Leo!" snapped Bree, "You don't need to just come out and say it!"
"Why not?" asked Leo.
"What's wrong?" asked Chase.
"Just a second," said Bree, with a sigh. She super speeded upstairs, and came back with her journal. She held open the book to the page with 'I Hate Me, Too' as the title. Adam and Chase read, and as they read, their concerned looks grew.
"Bree, what is this?" asked Big D, coming over.
Bree sighed. "It's a poem I've been working on about...how I truly feel."
I put an arm around Bree. "Bree hasn't been feeling like herself lately because the press has been saying some awful things about her."
"Honey," said Mom, "Why didn't you tell us?"
Tears were welling up in Bree's eyes. "I didn't know how!" she sobbed, "I just feel like I should be handling this on my own, but it's too much!"
Big D wrapped an arm around Bree, and they sat on the couch. "Honey, if you'd just told me, I would've made the press stop! Why didn't you want to tell us?"
"I-I don't know." muttered Bree, "I think the day-to-day struggle of acting normal was just too much, and I didn't want to be troubling you guys, too."
"Bree," said Chase, "Your happiness is not a bother to us."
"Yeah," said Adam, "Chase's is."
Chase rolled his eyes. "Adam."
"What?" asked Adam, "It's true!"
Everyone, even Bree, half shrugged to say, 'he has a point.'
"Bree, you can always come to us if you need us." said Big D, "We're here for you."
"I know that now." said Bree, "I guess I just needed Leo to show me."
Bree's POV:
Things didn't exactly go back to normal after that. I was still struggling with confidence, and some days were worse than others. School was a day-to-day struggle, and sometimes I wouldn't even get out of my capsule in the morning due to heavy depression. But unlike a week ago, my family was there for me. Leo and I were closer than ever, and I could always count on him to shove me out of the capsule, now that he has that bionic arm.
One more thing changed, and that was my poetry. No, I didn't stop writing, though most people would expect that. My writing simply changed.
You stood by my side,
You changed my point of view,
You don't have to worry anymore,
I love me, too.
Okay, I thought this was REALLY cute. If not, a little creepy. But hey, just because I've never written about hating yourself doesn't mean I'm not capable of doing it. Writing about it, I mean, not hating my actual self. I think Bree believing Leo was a little sudden, but I didn't have any other way to incorporate that. If you have read this and you have not yet read Daphrose's story I Hate Me Too, well, GO CHECK IT OUT! She is the original maker of the story, and all credit goes to her. Just to say, please read my story Revenge! Okay, well, that's all I've got. Another Lab Rats story! Bye!