Author's Note: Serena is going to be out of character through most of this story. So is the rest of her family. Bear with me on this story.
Also thank you for everyone who read the original story. This a new version that I wanted to rewrite. Enjoy.
Warning: Depression and cutting is involved as well as a few other things.
Chapter 1
Serena slowly walked up the steps to her house. A sad expression was written on her face. Her teacher yelled at her again because she received another failing grade. Serena studied for hours, but still didn't understand the material. She even asked the scouts to help her, but they were fixated on something completely different.
She sighed as she opened the door. She knew that her mother wasn't going to be happy about her grade. The scouts even shot her disappointing looks when she told them. She still could feel the disappointment from the scouts burning into her.
Serena could smell something great baking in the oven when she passed the kitchen. She knew she wasn't going to be able to have any. Her mother usually took away her sweets when she didn't get a good grade. She hated when she did that. "Serena, is that you?"
"Yes, mom," she responded in a disappointed tone. That was very unusual for Serena. She normally spoke with a happy or goofy inflection. Her mother knew that something bad must have happened to make Serena feel that way. She looked down to see Serena holding a balled up piece of paper. Her mother glared at her.
"You failed another test, Serena," her mother yelled at her. Serena's body trembled when her mother yelled. Serena hated being yelled at. Everywhere she went today she was yelled at by someone. Serena just handed her mother the test. She saw anger flash into her mother's eyes. "You got a thirteen on your test? Are you kidding me? That's the third time in a row you failed a test, Serena! You should focus on school more instead of hanging out with your friends and that boy! You're grounded, young lady, until you can get your grades up! Your father and I are going to have a long conversation when he gets home from work."
Serena could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She ran up the stairs to her room. She had a lot of things on her mind besides her grades. Didn't her mom know that she was trying her best? Couldn't her mother see how much she was struggling? Didn't her mom know that her friends were trying to help her study?
Serena wasn't only upset about her failing grade. She was also upset that her friends were talking about her behind her back. It was the first time in a while that Serena was actually going to be on time for the meeting. Once she was close to Raye's room she could hear them talking. "Why do we need her as the leader? She's never on time for meetings. She can hardly fight. She always needs protection from the enemies. I'm really starting to get tired of defending her."
"She is our Princess Raye. We do need to help protect her, but she needs to learn to protect herself too. We aren't always going to be there when she needs us. She should at least try to learn some defensive moves," Lita responded while looking frustrated. Lita was getting annoyed that she had to protect Serena all the time. Serena could see it written on her face. The other two also were wearing the same look.
"We do try to help her study, but she never passes any of her tests either. It takes us a while to get her to concentrate on studying. She normally just wants to read comic books or do something else. It's ridiculous. We shouldn't even invest time in helping her if all she does is fool around," Mina added in.
"You guys are being a little harsh. Serena is our friend and we should be helping her. We shouldn't be talking bad about her," Amy responded.
"Amy, we know you feel the same way about her," Raye responded. Amy just looked down at the ground. After hearing all of that Serena bolted out of the house. None of them realized that she had been listening.
Serena was still very upset by their words. She just wanted them to accept her, but it looks like they won't be doing that. She didn't feel like she was a good enough Princess for them. She knew she was a crybaby at times too, but she still needed her friends to support her. Instead they were making her feel worthless. Even Darien has been distancing himself from her. It was hurting her. She figured she could try to talk to him. She dialed his number, but he didn't answer the phone. She threw her phone on the bed and sunk down onto it. She hated being grounded. She was only going to be able to leave the house to go to school.
After a few hours Serena dosed off. She needed the sleep because she had a nightmare the night before. The nightmares were starting to plague her. She couldn't even comprehend them at this point.
When she woke up again her father was in her room. Serena's body started trembling again when she saw him. Her father was holding a belt in his hand. "D-Daddy?"
"You keep failing your tests, Serena. That is not acceptable," her father responded hitting her leg with the belt. She yelped when it made contact with her. He hit her with it again and she cried out. Each hit he used more force. Once she went silent the beatings stopped coming.
Serena knew that in the morning she was going to be in a lot of pain. Her body was going to have welts on it from the belt. She was battered, but no one was going to notice. She tried to cover it up as much as she could. She knew she was changing and no else could tell. Not even the people she considered her best friends.
