She wasn't her usual self. Before she felt like she didn't have a conscience. Hanging out with the guys did that to her. She'd think she was so smart, with high enough morals that she didn't have to participate in any of their stupid schemes, but when it came down to money or hot boys, she fell faster than a brick on Frank's car.

Thing is, she just as shameless and violent as them.

It wasn't like that in the beginning.

She was focused on her career. She took acting classes (didn't excel in them, but she took them!), worked hard at the bar (she couldn't make many drinks, but hey! She was still working hard somehow.), and she tried to reason with the guys whenever they came up with some get rich quick scheme or a mission for badassery or vengeance.

In the end, she had reduced herself into becoming them.

Well, the buttmonkey of the gang is more like it.

With Matt living at her apartment though, it seemed like she was getting less and less involved with them. Not exactly sure how it started, but she found herself arguing with him over the stupidest things, and getting into all sorts of debates.

Religion, politics, romance- she didn't know much of any of those things, but he sure did, and it was interesting getting into all sorts of ignorant fights over it with him.

And at the end of those "conversations" with him, she got a lot out of it.

For one, he gave her companionship. He was someone who often disagreed with her opinions (opinions formed from hanging out with idiots all day long), but he was someone who at least listened to what she had to say.

The same can't be said whenever she hung out with those misogynic bastards, and it was a refreshing to be able to speak her mind and be heard.

The fact that she could come home from a frustrating day at work and vent her frustrations to him was liberating, way better than a diary. He even gave her advice that, though a bit on the naïve side, she found comforting.

She thought that it was her duty to make fix what she had otherwise ruined about him, but instead it seems like he's the one making improvements within her every day.

High school sucked.

It was so embarrassing to think about what she was back then. The Aluminum Monster. It wasn't HER fault that she needed a back brace, but teenagers can be so cruel. The fact that her brother was one of the most popular kids in school did nothing to stop the constant teasing, and her already low self-esteem dropped lower as she found herself without a single friend.

Well… that's not entirely true.

Her "best" friend was a girl she kept around because they were both outcasts, and it sometimes helped to put her friend down (Fatty McGoo) with Dee's assertions that one day she would break free of her metal bondage, and become a beautiful, world famous actress. To build herself even more, she even had a guy (Rickety Cricket) who liked her- someone whose feelings she could stomp all over because she knew she was so much more better than him, and she wouldn't degrade herself by thinking that he was the best chance at happiness that she got (what about the cute jock, Bill? If only she could handle her gag reflex around him…).

What she had was a pitiful pride in herself, and it was unfortunate that her experience only taught her to aspire to become one of those cruel, popular kids who tormented her in high school, instead of realizing that appearances didn't matter. Kindness matter. Compassion mattered.

When Dee got back to her apartment to find her sink fixed, and new shelves assembled, with her new dvd player being installed by Matt, she didn't yell at him to have had everything done sooner. She didn't dump more work on him to do after he was done doing that.

She thought about it for a bit, and then came back with a beer.

He looked up at her confusion when she just handed it to him wordlessly and left.

Saying a genuine thank you, without sarcasm or a hidden agenda, is hard for Dee. Getting her real feelings and turning them into words is hard, but hopefully he can understand this.

"Thanks, Deandra."

She blushes a bit (why? It's just a stupid beer.), and shouts back that he work faster, because there's this new dvd she bought a while back that she wanted to watch, and that whatever, if he wanted to watch it, he could too….

What's with the change of heart? He's only doing what he's supposed to be doing. Just because she thinks it's nice that he does so without complaining, or bothering her, shouldn't that be expected? It's what normal people do.

Dee is determined not to overthink things.

But the smelly hobo who ate horse shit for her back in high school is slowly being replaced by a guy whose kindness has started to change her.