Note: Song recommendation: Placebo – Running Up That Hill. If you have any song recommendations, please include them in your reviews.

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Colorblind

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Massie was at lost for words. Staring at the shirtless boy in front of her, she was unable to find the venomous words that usually hung at the tip of her tongue, ready to attack at a moments notice. All she could do was stare at him. Her body turned from cold to hot, and then hot to cold. The hatred burning inside her melted into liquid tears that hung precariously at the edge of her narrowed eyes.

He was the first one to speak, his words like knives cutting into her skin. "What are you staring at?"

She blinked a couple of times and swallowed the lump in her throat. "I'm staring at you, that's who I'm staring at. What the hell are you doing in my house?"

"Your house? Alicia told me this was my house."

Suddenly, the flames within Massie flared up uncontrollably. Forget weak and vulnerable Massie. "Alicia told me this was my house. She's my best friend and therefore you don't belong here."

Derrick smiled, shaking his head at Massie. "What does your friendship with her have anything to do with who'll be living in this house? I got here first, so this is mine."

"Oh? So we're playing that game? Well I was friends with Alicia first, so therefore, you shouldn't even fucking be here in the first place. The only reason you were invited was because we invited all your friends and we were kind enough not to leave you out."

"Wow," Derrick said, wiping his fake tears sarcastically. "That really hurt... if you were trying to cut me with a plastic knife. God Massie, you're just as weak as you were back in elementary school."

Massie let out a feral scream before stomping into his room and jabbing him in the chest with her finger. "Don't You dare bring that back up! You have no right to talk about that anymore."

Derrick smirked. "Really? I don't have a right? You've got some nerve, coming here telling me what I can do and what I can't do. Kudos to you, Block."

Massie raised her hand to slap him, but she stopped half way, her small hand hanging in the air threateningly. She watched Derrick's eyes widen, but the fear was instantly replaced by arrogance.

"Calm down, okay?" Derrick leaned back to pull himself away from Massie's slap. "It's just… you suck at defending yourself. Back then, when you were unattractive, you didn't even try to stand up to me. You just sat there and took it all in, word for word."

The tears were sliding down her cheeks now, and Massie quickly turned away so he couldn't see her cry. He knew that talking about the past was a sensitive subject, so he brought it up when she was most vulnerable. And once again, Massie has let Derrick hurt her.

"Fuck you," she cried. All she could do was run out of his room, slam the door, and run into her room, and slam the door.

Her bags were all waiting for her on the pristine bed, a sign that Massie was actually staying in this guesthouse…with him. This wasn't just a nightmare that she could wake up from. It was all happening. This was all happening over again. And even though Massie didn't have anything physically for him to make fun of, there were still emotional scars that he was just waiting to rip open, one by one.

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Massie could barely keep her eyes open when she finally unpacked and finished getting ready for bed. She crawled under the soft blankets and closed her eyes, emptying her mind of all the troubles and bothers of the day.

Suddenly, loud rap music blared from the room next door and Massie could almost hear every world loud and clear. Her mind instantly grew jumbled as the long needed sleep escaped her. With her fist, she pounded on the wall in between their rooms three times. Abruptly, the music stopped, only start up louder.

"TURN OFF THE MUSIC!" She screamed.

In response, the music turned up even louder.

With a loud groan, Massie smashed a pillow over her face and forced her eyes close. She could not stand it anymore. She was going to kill herself before this vacation even came to an end.

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"Hurry up and finish your damn shower!" Derrick's angry voice boomed from the other side of the door.

Massie grimaced as she lathered her hair in her new coconut shampoo. "Sorry, I didn't want to look too ugly before you saw me again."

The response came quickly. "Well in that case, take all the time you need. You'll need plenty."

She heard his loud footsteps walk away from the door and down the stairs. Once she knew he couldn't hear her, she began to cry. All the unwanted tears from last night came falling down her cheeks, mixing in with the hot water of the shower.

What did she ever do to deserve this? Has God decided to ignore her once again? This wasn't fair. All she wanted was to have fun, and look where it has taken her. She was just digging her own grave, trying to protect herself. The more she fought back, the harder he'll retaliate.

All these painful thoughts went whirring through Massie's tired head as she mechanically conditioned her hair and finished cleaning the rest of her body.

By the time she stepped out of the shower, Massie's own inner rambles have worn her down to the core. She felt tired, she looked tired; she was tired. She was tired of the games that life was playing on her. She was tired of always getting the bad end; the things that nobody else wanted and left for her to take care of. In all of her life, she just wanted to feel free and happy, but that's never going to happen now.

Slowly, she stepped out of the steaming bathroom and back into her room where she dressed in a light floral tank top and shorts. She dreaded going down the stairs, but it was unavoidable. Massie was going to have to face him again, sooner or later.

With each heavy step down the staircase, Massie felt her heartbeat growing faster and faster. Her palms were damp with anticipation. Her breathing was quick and shallow. In all her life, Massie had never felt this nervous about facing a person. It was ridiculous – the way her body was behaving was absolutely outrageous.

Once she reached the first floor, she could hear him rattling around in the kitchen. The sound of spoons and bowls clinking together, the sound of a cereal box being shaken, the sound of milk being poured into a bowl, it was all so human for someone who could be so evil.

Calmly she stepped into the kitchen to see him in the process of shoving Frosted Flakes into his mouth. He looked up at the sound of her footsteps and sneered.

"Shouldn't we eat breakfast with the rest of our friends?"

Derrick choked on his cereal. "Our friends?"

Massie furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion and annoyance. "Uh yeah. You know the people that we came here with? They're our friends."

"My friends," Derrick swallowed his food. "Are not your friends. Your friends are not my friends. Therefore, my friends plus your friends are not our friends."

"Whatever," Massie mumbled. She turned the doorknob to the front door and pulled it open harshly. "Don't join us. Be a loner."

There was a loud smash as the bowl fell into the sink. Massie felt Derrick's piercing glare from across the room at the back of her head. With her fists clenched at her sides, Massie refused to turn around and meet his eyes. She forced her legs to take one step out the door.

"Stop right there," he commanded calmly.

Massie stopped, but kept her back turned to him. "What do you want?" The irritation was obvious in her tone of voice.

She heard him step closer and instinctively took a step away. "Don't come near me," she warned in a shaky voice.

"As if I would ever want to touch you," he replied with a hint of amusement. "Are you going to face me or keep avoiding me like a coward?"

Unable to resist a challenge, Massie whipped around, her eyes blazing as they met his cold ones. "I said, what do you want -"

"I want you to listen to me," he cut in, his voice sharp and defined. "I am not a loner -

"Well you're going to be once I leave," Massie argued.

"Shut up and listen," he growled, stepping nearer until he was an inch away from her.

Massie's eyes widened as she noticed that he towered a good two inches over her. She could smell him - sweet mint and bitterness – at their close proximity. He was clad in a loose white t-shirt and basketball shorts, but she chose to ignore it. Even though she was shaking in her bones, she kept eye contact, only allowing her eyes to wander to bottom eyelashes occasionally.

"Make it quick." Her voice was soft, a sign that she was scared of him.

In response, he smiled coolly. "You'll always be that piece of trash no one wants to talk to. Don't think that now that your ugliness is gone, it's not inside you, because it still is. Once someone is ugly, nothing will ever change them from ugly. They'll always be ugly."

"I'll never be as ugly as you are," she spat in his face. He stumbled backwards and she took that as her signal to run. She quickly scurried to the open door, ran out and slammed it shut behind her.

The moment she reached Alicia's back porch was the moment she finally stopped. Her breathing was heavy and her hands were shaking.

Recovering quickly, Massie banged on the glass door until she saw Alicia's tired face in the window.

"Open this damn door this instant!" She screamed.

Lazily, Alicia slid it open and let Massie in. "What's gotten into you?" She asked with a yawn.

Massie sat herself down on the couch and gripped the sides of her shorts angrily. "You know what's gotten into me! You did this to me on purpose, didn't you?"

"Woah," Alicia said, holding her hands up in front of her. "Do you want something to drink? Water? Coffee? We might have orange –

"I don't care about the fucking juice!" Massie screamed.

Alicia sat down tentatively next to Massie's fuming body. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

Massie laughed coldly. "I sure as hell do. You told me I had a house to myself."

"You do…"

"I don't! Guess who my roommate is? Just take a wild guess." Massie eyed Alicia angrily as her facial expression turned from worried to utter confusion.

"Massie, I really don't know what you're talking about…"

"Derrick fucking Harrington is sleeping in the room next to mine! We share the same bathroom, the same living room, the same kitchen! He was the first thing I saw when I woke up and it immediately ruined my mood! Why did you do this to me?"

Alicia's mouth opened in a pop. "Oh my god."

Massie growled. "That's it?"

"I'm so sorry, Mass. I must've given him the spare room when he left the beach early and then I forgot and gave it to you and now you guys are roommates and it's my entire fault! I'm so sorry Massie! Oh my god, you must hate me now." Tears were sliding down Alicia's cheeks and Massie instantly felt sorry for yelling at her friend.

Massie sighed and patted Alicia's back affectionately. "It's fine. It was an accident. I'll adjust… or not. Whatever, Alicia, it's okay. I'll learn to live with it for the next two months."

"I… feel… so… bad!" Alicia choked between sobs. "You… have… to… room… with… him… and… it's… all… because… of… me!"

Just as Alicia finished her sentence, Derrick Harrington walked in, a scowl on his face. "You're talking about me?"

Both the girls froze.

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Note: Thank you everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorited! It means a lot to me that you like this story. In return, I hope chapter two was good enough. Give me your feedback so I can improve! Don't forget about the song recommendations (: Thanks.