His words rang out in her head- "Sorry, it's nothing personal... I just can't have a girlfriend who's taller than I am."

And then he'd walked away- he'd just walked away, leaving Honey Lemon in the dust, her eyes watering and her heart aching. She'd just been broken up with- again.

It seemed like no one wanted her anymore- everyone looked at her differently since she'd shot up to 5'8. And apparently she was almost done, but... She couldn't be done sooner. Honey Lemon just wanted to be normal height, a normal person... You know, 5'5, 5'6 at the tallest. Wearing heels to make her 5'8 would seem normal, but she didn't need to wear heels- she didn't need to wear shoes in general to make her that tall.

And everyone called her weird for it.

It's not like she could control it!

Honey squeezed out a few more tears, a sob ripping out of her throat. Her stomach hurt- like she wanted to throw up again, but she couldn't. There was nothing left. Yet she knelt there on the bathroom floor, letting her head hang above the toilet seat, as if it would help. It almost did- if there was anything left.

She couldn't leave school early, either. She had a huge test today during science-

Science!

Yanking her head up, Honey jerked to her feet, just barely skimming the handle of the old toilet, making sure it flushed away everything before bolting out of the stall and colliding with Nisha Collins. Her black hair was combed perfectly down her back, making a small wisp near her stomach. She rolled her eyes- her seemingly perfect brown eyes. "What's wrong, Lemon? Realized you were 30 minutes late to class?"

Honey felt her heart sink further. 30 minutes?! She was going to be in so much trouble. Grabbing her small purse, she pulled it around her shoulder and walked quickly and quietly from the room. Her eyes were still wet with tears when she quietly rapped on the door. It took a few seconds, but eventually Mrs. Gotshak opened the door. Her ratty red hair was in a curly mess- as usual. Her eyes skimmed Honey, and the teenager felt her judging her. "You're late." She said simply. "See me after school."

Honey felt her heart sink even further- if it was possible. She'd just gotten a detention. What did she expect?! She could have just told the truth, telling her she was sick and needed to go home. But she nodded her head and quietly walked into the room, sitting down in the corner behind Tadashi Hamada. He glanced back at her, meeting her red eyes before she looked away, down at the paper that was on her desk- the long, long test she had to finish in 15 short minutes.

Good thing she'd studied...

Tadashi- who'd already finished his test- watched as Honey Lemon worked on her test. She was obviously in distress- something was wrong with her. He was determined to find out what- without prying and making her upset, of course. He had to make sure of that. But he didn't want her to be upset forever.

Honey Lemon shook her head, reaching into her bag to pull out an eraser. A piece of paper fluttered to the ground. On the paper were names of every boy she'd ever dated- all crossed out. The paper was torn at the edges- written in big, bold letters was WHY. Tadashi picked it up, studying it further. He glanced back at Honey Lemon- who hadn't even noticed.

Was this why she was so upset?

Tadashi felt a pang of empathy for her. Break ups were always hard- Tadashi knew that. He'd witnessed many and consoled many different people. He glanced back over at Honey Lemon, who's eyes were red and tearing up again. Using one hand, she wiped her eye and smudged her makeup further. Tadashi wasn't sure if she knew- or cared.

Tadashi cast another look down at the paper before silently sliding it back into Honey Lemon's bag. She didn't even notice. He smiled slightly, feeling his heart flutter. He mentally slapped himself- he was so stupid. The smart girl was in all of his classes- surely he should have noticed something was wrong with her. When had it started? When had her bubbly, cheerful self turned into this sad, depressed shell of what Honey Lemon should be?

He was sure it was after lunch- so it had to have been before Science.

So what had happened between now and the end of lunch must have been her boyfriend breaking up with her. And that must have been why she was late to class- crying in the bathroom.

Tadashi felt another pang of empathy. The poor girl was obviously heartbroken. He wasn't sure if he could help her any- he barely knew her-, but he was going to try.

Besides, Tadashi decided that he liked her. She was nice, sweet, funny, beautiful...

He blinked a few times before looking away.

Honey somehow finished the test. She sighed, taking a breath as she handed the paper to Mrs. Gotshak. The teacher's eyes flicked towards her, then at the paper she held towards her. Basically ripping it from her hands, the teacher nodded. "Thank you." She said coldly. "You may leave now."

Honey was the only one in the classroom, other than the teacher. Shoving the door open, she took a breath, pausing for half a second, before she kept going.

She didn't notice Tadashi Hamada leaning against the wall beside her. Shoving away from it, he readjusted his bag and followed her. "Hey." He said softly. "Honey."

Honey paused, tensing up as she turned to face him. Her eyes widened, making her smudged makeup more noticeable than ever. "H-Hi Tadashi..."

"Are you okay?" Tadashi asked.

Honey let her eyes fall to the ground. She willed herself to lie- and she did. "I'm fine."

"You don't look it." Tadashi added. "What's going on?"

Honey took a deep breath, feeling the waterworks coming. "I'm fine, Tadashi." She said, her voice strained. She started to turn away, but Tadashi reached out, putting a gentle, but firm hand on her shoulder.

"I'm just trying to help."

"You don't understand." Honey said, trying to be strong, but she felt a tear roll down her cheek.

"Can you help me understand?" Tadashi asked softly.

Honey took a second, considering it. Tadashi had never been mean to her. Then again, she barely knew it. She didn't know if he'd make fun of her, or if he genuinely wanted to help. She felt her heart lurch and her confused and distressed emotions took control over her. Tears streaming down her face, she told him everything- about Walker, about Jack, about Carson, about all of them. And how they'd all left her for some trait about her- she was too happy all the time, she was too tall, her voice was too high... And she was sick and tired of it. But most of all it hurt- it made her feel sick. She wanted to throw up again as she told him this, but she kept going until her voice cracked with emotion and she gave into his strong arms.

Tadashi was one of the taller boys in his grade, yet Honey Lemon was almost as tall as he was. He didn't care, though. He thought it was stupid and pointless that all those other idiotic boys had left her for something about her that she couldn't change- something that made her her.

Eventually, Honey drew away from the hug. "I-" She choked down a sobbing noise. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't be sorry." Tadashi said softly. "You did nothing wrong."

"I... I didn't mean t-to break down, like t-that..." Honey shook slightly.

Tadashi put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey. It's okay." He wiped away one of her remaining tears. "Don't cry about it, though. It's not your fault- you don't deserve to be upset over some stupid mistake they made. Whatever they said about... how 'imperfect' you are, they're all lies. You're smart, talented, amazing, kind, beautiful... And anyone who doesn't see that it kidding themselves."

The word had slipped out without Tadashi meaning for it too. He felt his heart flutter a little as he looked down into Honey Lemon's wide, tear-stained eyes.

"So the entire football team is k-kidding themselves?" Honey asked softly.

A slight smile formed on Tadashi's lips. "Every one of them."

And with that, he leaned down and kissed her.

It was like nothing he'd ever felt before- for either of them. Where Honey Lemon had kissed boys before, this was like none of them. She felt... electric. It was like there was a pulse between them, beating strongly and powerfully and sweetly. She felt her heart melt and she gave into it.

Tadashi had never experienced- or done- anything like that. He'd never felt like this before- and he liked it. But...

But he pulled away.

He was going too fast- she'd just broken up with someone. She didn't...

"I'm sorry." He said softly, pulling his bag up onto his shoulder tighter. "I... I didn't mean..." Shaking his head, Tadashi quickly walked away, leaving a stunned Honey Lemon in the hall.

Slowly, a smile formed on Honey's face.

It didn't go away when she went to detention.

It didn't go away when she told her parents.

It didn't go away when she went to bed.

Honey felt like there was a bubble of happiness growing bigger and bigger in her chest, and it had popped. Her smile grinned when she thought about him. Any of the sadness or depression that had been there was gone. In fact...

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Honey stood up. Slowly, she walked over towards her bag, then pulled out her drawing. In the faint light, she could see WHY written clearly. She took a moment, walking over towards her trashcan, then ripped it in two.