Disclaimer: I do not own The Mentalist, or the song.
Author's note:
Van Pelt's past is a mystery, so I decided to make it up myself. Slight implying of rape though. Do leave a review! Hope you enjoy this one. Thank you! :D
Chapter 2 – Stand Still, Look Pretty
Stand Still, Look Pretty – The Wreckers
I am slowly falling apart
I wish you'd take a walk in my shoes for a start
You might think it's easy being me
You just stand still, look pretty
Sometimes, Van Pelt hated the fact that she was a beautiful person. She didn't blame anyone for it, not her parents and surely not God. Sure, being beautiful had its advantages. You got the better prices and better goods whenever you could. A quick smile and batting of eyelashes would get her what she wanted, be it help or some quick excuse. She enjoyed her beauty, but she didn't exactly love it.
She was a beautiful baby, her parents loved to say. The prettiest baby ever in Iowa. When she was a young girl, the adults would praise her. The boys in school would give her handpicked flowers, and the girls either hated her or decided to be her best friend. She got chosen for various things. Like the lead role of Juliet in their school play, even thought she wasn't great at acting; she got into the school choir, even if the other little girls were so much better than she was. At first she was delighted at getting all these positions at the other girls longed for, not knowing why she had gotten them in the first place, but she had overheard her 'friends' talking. That day, she ran home and cried. Her mother held onto her while her father tried to find things to calm her down. From that instant, she didn't want to be the prettiest girl anymore.
In high school and college, she was expected to be with the popular girls. Boys were more direct with her then, expressing their feelings often, betting against each other on who would get her attention. She pushed them all aside, the expectation, the boys and helped her father out with football coaching. She was a smart girl and didn't need to worry about her grades. She wanted to prove that she wasn't just a pretty face, she had substance. She wanted to show the world. Soon, the football team became her brothers. They looked out for her, making sure she didn't get hurt. After the team won state champions, the celebration party was wild. Alcohol, loud music, dancing and cheers. No one saw her being pulled away, no one heard her scream. No one came to look for her.
Her sobbing led her father to her; he held her in his arms, his jacket tucked around her. Only he believed her when she said it was someone from the team who did this to her. The rest of her 'brothers' looked at her with disbelief and disgust. They abandoned her after all these years, no one could accuse another teammate, even the coach's daughter. Her father had banned her from football practices after that. The guy was never arrested and she lived in fear for months.
Her choice to go into law enforcement seemed natural to her parents after what they called 'the incident'. The training was tough, but her passion pushed her on. She shined and her request to be sent to the CBI had been approved. After her first day, She loved the team. Lisbon inspired her. Her boss was a tough woman, just who she wanted to be. Rigsby and Cho were helpful; more Rigsby than Cho though. They were going to be close friends soon, she could tell. Jane made their work more light hearted than usual, with his jokes and many tricks. But when Jane made that comment on her past, she disliked him a little. No one should know about it. That wasn't who she wanted to be reminded off, the beautiful girl who was too weak to stand up for herself.