A/N Posted on Valentine's Day, 2011. Dedicated to all who have never truly been loved. . .

"Shall we sit on the porch, then?"

Vernon's ugly, coarse voice scratched my eardrums. I nodded mutely, and followed him outside. I towered over him, with my giraffe's neck and his pig one. I could hear my family laughing inside.

We sat in silence. We were dating, I guess. I don't know. We each had settled. He had been outcasted, and I had been forgotten. I was his consolation prize, and he was my escape route.

I heard Lily's giggle from inside the house. She was home for the summer. I hated summers.

Lily had been gone for years. Every summer she would bring back jumping candy, walking teapots, and stories of her amazing friends and annoying boys. Ever summer I seethed. Did she know what she was doing? I had no friends, and definitely no boys drooling over me. She would apologize, and that would just make it worse. Not only was she a beauty and intellect, she was nice. She had a heart of gold, and I knew it.

But that was not enough. It wasn't enough for her to be God's gift to earth. She also had magical powers. I couldn't believe it when I first heard. Was she also a unicorn? Did pearls fall out of her mouth when she talked? It was like I was reading a book, and Lily was the gorgeous supermodel who everyone loved. She was beautiful. She was stunning. Jaws dropped wherever she walked. She was brilliant. Our teachers easily threw out words such as 'remarkable,' and 'prodigy,' when it came to her.

And I was in the background. I was the girl with the muddy brown eyes, stringy blonde hair, and lanky neck. I was the girl who had to fight to get a C in Remedial English. I was the girl who couldn't say a witty line if my life depended on it.

Vernon was my escape. He was the one person who adored me. He required nothing of me; not talent, beauty, or prestige. I was the one person who wouldn't reject him, and he was the one person who wouldn't forget me.

Did we love each other? I don't really know. Did I love him? Did he love me? I mistook attention for love, as I had had none of either.

I hated Lily for being loved. I hated my parents for loving her and not me. I hated myself for hating someone with a heart of gold. I hated what I had become. I hated what she had made me.

I barely comprehended Vernon getting down on one knee. He was saying something, what was it? My ears were buzzing with anger. His mouth was moving, making his moustache twitch. How I hated that moustache.

I hated Vernon. I truly did.

But I knew he loved me. He was the first person to really do so. He abhorred Lily as much as I wished I could do. He was the first to notice my presence without raving over my sister. He was the only person who would ever settle for me.

He was still mumbling. My ears buzzed again.

"Will you marry me?"

I hated him. I hated Lily more.

"Yes."

I hated myself the most.