Title: Really
Rating: PG-13/R
Setting: The Ducks' senior year in high school.
Summary: A really short piece about how Connie grew up, changed, matured. Really. One-shot.
Feedback: Feel free to review.
It had started as sort of a rebound experiment when she and Guy had broken up at the end of freshman year and dated Tyler. It continued as a coping mechanism when Cole Sutherland had knocked her up at some summer party and then never returned her calls. It was a way to grieve when she miscarried a month later. And now, by senior year, it was a habit that could be dropped at any time. Really.
People were beginning to notice how thin she was, but they chalked it up to exercise and a healthy diet, and she'd let them keep thinking that, since she was going to stop soon. Really.
Charlie had stopped asking why she was so reluctant to continue playing hockey. She told him that they'd all grown up and gotten bigger, and she was more afraid for her safety than she used to be. He'd laughed and said she'd become more of a girly-girl, more interested in being chased by the boys than running with them.
Guy had stopped asking why she wasn't interested in writing anymore. She told him she'd realized that she wasn't any good at it, and preferred to read instead. He started getting her books for her birthday that she rarely opened but said she loved.
Goldberg had stopped asking why she never wanted to grab lunch with him anymore. She told him her appetite had changed since she'd stopped growing so much, and that she ate much smaller meals throughout the deals instead of big meals. He smiled and said that he'd miss her company, but started going to eat with Russ and Dwayne instead.
Julie, her best friend and her roommate, had stopped asking her where she was at night. She stopped calling when it was 4 AM and Connie still wasn't back yet. Julie stopped worrying because Connie told her that she was on dates and out having fun, and not to worry. Julie took Connie at her word, because that was what Julie did. She trusted people.
Kenny, Averman, Adam, Russ, Dwayne, Luis, Fulton, and Portman had all stopped asking. They all believed her when she answered them, telling them that she'd grown up, changed, matured, lost her appetite, was on dates. She'd never lied to them before. Why wouldn't they believe her?
"And it was all truth," she thought as she sparked the lighter under the spoon. And she'd stop it soon. It was all truth. Really.