Burgundy. The color of love and passion but also of confidence and strength of character. The color that drew Bebe to her.
The deep red color of burgundy had come to mean so much to Bebe, as a symbol of her most secret love interest. In her mind, Red was everything that Bebe herself was not. She projected such confidence. Real confidence. Red was a girl devoid of the insecurities that plagued Bebe inside.
First, the issue of true self-confidence. Bebe appeared so confident on the outside. She had more friends than any other girl in school. She never backed down from any argument with anyone. She was sought after by many boys in the school. But she never quite felt she could be herself. Bebe always hid the fact that she was bi, hid her interests in girls like Wendy and Red so that she would remain a "popular" girl. Wendy was always willing to stand apart from the group and champion a view that was controversial, different, or more tolerant. And Bebe respected that. Red on the other hand, did not talk as much as Bebe or Wendy and only spoke up when something truly important was at stake. And Bebe admired that. Wendy was fighting a new cause almost every week it seemed, Red on the other hand was always quiet and focused on improving herself, which was why Bebe was most attracted to her.
All in all, Red was moderately talkative at most, yet everyone wanted to be her friend. So she let them talk to her and had a lot of casual friends but only let a few people become close, true friends. Bebe felt incredibly lucky that she was one of them. Red was popular, but she didn't care. Wendy and Kyle may have been the smartest people in their grade, but Red was the most mature. She didn't let her temper get the best of her like those two so often did. Red didn't need to be talkative or loud to get attention. Her brilliant, deep red hair did that for her.
And that was another area where Bebe's inferiority complex reared its ugly head. Red styled her hair so simply, yet it was the most beautiful thing Bebe had ever laid eyes upon. She didn't have to keep her hair long like Bebe or Wendy. It was only medium-length or so, down to her shoulders and nothing more. It didn't require much work, being so thick and natural. Since Bebe and Red were such good friends, Bebe had had the privilege of touching it a few times. It was one of those things in life that made her heart skip a beat. Bebe went to such great lengths to keep up her beautiful appearance, but Red got just as much attention for her almost completely natural beauty.
That was why Bebe always wore her favorite burgundy colored sweater. She had picked it out because she felt it was the closest sweater in color to Red's hair. It gave her the power, she felt, to be somewhat confident in herself, to make friends, and to project a well-liked personality. She hoped that it might someday give her the courage to just be herself and tell Red how she really felt. Until that day, Bebe would feel honored just to make eye contact with Red, despite the fact that what she truly wanted was lip contact. It was a privilege just to see her beautiful face, complimented by the wonderful burgundy-red hair that she so effortlessly commanded.