Peer pressure can be a good thing
Summary: What if Tally couldn't say no when Shay asked her to come to smoke with her? What if the thought of losing your best friend was just too much?
A/N: I was just reading my new copy of Uglies and I was thinking about how things could have turned out differently but all of the fics didn't really take this angle so I thought I'd make my own…
Disclaimer: Normally I don't do disclaimers but I'm using a lot of the dialogue from the book pretty much just copied down word for word so I'd just like to say that everything belongs to Scott Westerfeld who is the man.
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"But how do people live out there, Shay? Like the Rusties? Burning tress for heat and burying their junk everywhere? It's wrong to live in nature unless you want to live like an animal."
Shay shook her head and sighed. "That's just school talk, Tally. They've still got technology. And they're not like the Rusties, burning trees and stuff. But they don't put a wall up between themselves and nature."
"And everyone's ugly."
"Which means no one's ugly."
"Tally managed to laugh. "Which means no one's pretty you mean."
They sat in silence. Tally watched the fireworks, feeling a thousand times worse than she had felt before Shay had appeared at the window.
Finally, Shay said the words Tally had been thinking. "I'm going to lose you aren't I?"
"You're the one who's running away."
Shay brought her fist down onto her knees. "It's all my fault. I should have told you earlier. If you'd had more time to get used to the idea…"
"Shay, I never would have gotten used to the idea. I don't want to be ugly all of my life. I want those perfect eyes and lips, and for everyone to look at me and gasp. And for everyone who sees me to think Who's that? And want to get to know me, and listen to what I have to say."
"I'd rather have something to say."
"Like what? 'I shot a wolf today and ate it'?"
Shay giggled. "People don't eat wolves, Tally. Rabbits, I think and deer."
"Oh, gross. Thanks for the image, Shay."
"Yeah, I think I'll stick to vegetables and fish. But it's not about camping out, Tally. It's about becoming what I want to become. Not what some surgical committee thinks I should."
"You're still yourself on the inside, Shay. But when you're pretty people pay more attention."
"Not everyone thinks that way."
"Are you sure about that? That you can beat evolution by being smart or interesting? Because it you're wrong… if you don't come back by the time you're twenty, the operation won't work as well. You'll look wrong forever."
"I'm not coming back. Forever."
This made Tally think… could she really live without Shay forever, sure she would have Peris but he was a distant memory and her and Shay had become just about as close as two friends could…no she couldn't live without Shay. She'd go with her and just maybe convince her to come back and if she couldn't then she'd just have to stay with Shay…and if this place…Smoke turned out to be as great as Shay said then so be it.
"Okay I'll come,"
Shay jumped up from where she was sitting and hugged her friend she thought she had lost forever.
A/N: Okay so I know that most of that is just quoting the book but it's like a starting point most of this will be my own little world…so please review even if you just thought it was okay of even hated it please tell me what you think I'm doing wrong.