Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 61st cycle. Now cycle 62!

TOP 15 COUNTDOWN - Something I do once in a while, if you will recall, where I take my favorite characters, ships, friendships, series (from my daily stories) and put them in order, the number 1 of which gets a seven-chapter story in the end :)
Coming in at number 9: Marley & Unique

"In Our Shoes"
Marley & Unique

After Marley had her episode on the Sectionals stage, Unique had been right there by her side, making sure she got back on her feet. She didn't know that she could ever truly express just how much that had meant to her and how much it had helped her, but she did her best every day, showing in small acts of friendship. But she came upon no better way to repay her friend for her kindness than to show some of her own, meeting her on the way to and free school after she'd had some… unsavory encounters with certain people. There was no argument in the matter; she would be there for Unique, because they were friends, and if friends couldn't be counted on in times like these then what worth did they have? Still she could sense some anxiety in her friend as they walked, and for some reason the best thing she could come up with in order to break the silence was to tell her a story from her own past.

"I remember when I was twelve, one day there were these two girls, and they followed me home from school. They lived near my house, or one of them did, I can't remember where the other lived. I could hear them behind me for a while, laughing. I didn't realize at first that was because of me, but then they started at me. I didn't want to stay near them, I didn't trust them," she shook her head.

"What'd they do?" Unique slowly asked.

"I tried to walk faster, I was almost home. But then they walked faster, too. And then they grabbed on to my bag, and they pulled on it. I didn't let go, I just… I kept trying to walk forward, pulling away from them. They just laughed, kept pulling. I just needed to go a little further and then I could see my house, and I saw… my mother, waiting for me outside," she remembered the instant swell of relief she'd felt. "The second I called out to her, they let go of my bag and they ran off. When I got home, I told my mother all about it. She went over to the other girl's house, the one who lived down the street, and she told her mother about it."

"What happened then?"

"Next time I saw her, she had a mark on her face, like someone had hit her there," she pointed to the spot on her own face. "I almost felt bad for her, even after what she'd done." They were silent for a beat, before she could say the rest. "I never really told anyone about it, it's just not…" she shrugged. "But whenever I do think about it, I imagine what people might think. Would they picture some girl my age, or a year older, two years, even more?" she wondered aloud before shaking her head. "Those girls, they couldn't have been more than nine or ten at the time. It kind of made it even more embarrassing for me, to think that they could have so much power over me."

"I'm sorry," Unique told her, crossing arms with her as they walked. "I'm not sure I get why…"

"I can't say I know exactly what it feels like, with what people must think of you every day, but I know what it feels like to walk around wondering when the next time might be someone comes out of nowhere to mess with you," Marley explained, giving her a small smile. "So I'm going to do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again, we all will, me, and Jake, and Ryder…"

"And Kitty," Unique added with a thankful smile.

"And Kitty," Marley confirmed.

"I really appreciate it, I do. I just keep thinking it's going to happen again. It wasn't the first time, and it won't be the last, I know that."

"I wish it could, for you. I wish it could have been the last. I hate that it even happened once."

"I can take care of myself, most of the time, but this one it was different, I guess," Unique breathed. "Want to hear one of mine?" she offered, and Marley looked to her.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," she promised.

"I know, but it's fair, isn't it? One for one. Besides, this one doesn't end the way you might think."

"Go for it," Marley agreed.

"There was this boy, at my old school, and he was… I swear, I could hear choirs of angels every time he walked in the room," Unique reminisced, and Marley chuckled. "Poor Wade would never have dreamed of saying word one to him, and Unique was hardly standing on her own two feet just yet. But he was there, and I couldn't even figure out if he knew my name, or if I existed at all. He may not have noticed, but there were others who did, some other boys in our class. They didn't take too kindly to my… ogling, especially at one of their friends. They said nothing, not at first, but I could feel their looks, in classes, and in the halls. They weren't doing anything and they still had me terrorized, because I knew they were strong enough that one day they could do something. Isn't that always how it is? Sometimes the possibility of an action is just as scary if not scarier than the action."

"What did they do?" Marley asked, bracing as though she knew too well what might have happened next. But Unique just smiled.

"After a couple of very stressful weeks, the whole thing finally came to a head, in the locker room when we were changing for gym class. I hated it already, but I had to do it. And then they came. For one split second I told myself I was going to fight back, whatever they did, that if I went down it wouldn't be a surrender, not me," Unique shook her head. "Except I never did, I never had to."

"Why?"

"I was… I guess you could say I was rescued."

"By who?" Marley had to know.

"My choirs of angels boy," Unique smiled. "You should have seen the looks on those boys' faces when they realized that, not only was their buddy going to interfere, he was actually playing on the same team I was." Marley's jaw nearly dropped, and then she laughed, joined by Unique. "I had other run-ins with those guys over time, but that day still stayed with me. It had given me back some confidence… and it gave me a few other things, too, like a friend I could trust. He was also the one who got me to join Glee Club, so I guess I have him to thank for standing here with you today."

"Do you still talk to him?"

"Less now that I've changed schools, but we do meet every now and again," Unique bowed her head. "I might not have him from day to day here, but I do have someone just as special now," she smiled, and Marley returned it.

"You do, and you will."

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!