A/N: thanks for over 1000 hits! This is the last intro chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: i do not in any way own any characters you might recognize (x

Song: Daddy's Little Girl- Frankie J

Sick of crying, tired of trying;
yeah I'm smiling, but inside I'm dying…

Alice:

"Oh. My. Gosh. I am soo fat! There is no way I'm ever going to fit into the new Prada fall fashion line like this!" I ranted. It was true though! I was totally gaining weight!

"Alice! Did you eat breakfast yet!" My mother yelled at me from downstairs. What? Was she serious? I was just admiring how fat I am and she wants me to eat more!

"Uh, yahh!" I lied. I didn't like to lie to my mother but times like these called for drastic measures. I mean, it wasn't a complete lie. I did eat a granola bar. I even chugged it down with a glass of milk. Come to think of it, I ate a lot! That must be why I'm so fat. I know just what I have to do!

I ran to my bathroom and kneeled by the toilet. I held my hair back, away from my face, with one hand, and held my toothbrush with the other. I took a deep breath, bracing myself for the disgusting act I was about to perform. With the brush-less side of the toothbrush, I poked deep into my throat. After poking a few times, I puked out all the contents inside my stomach. I rinsed my mouth and washed my hands and face. I let out a sigh as I dried myself. I wobbled back to my room to sit down. Throwing up always made me a little woozy.

The next thing I knew it was already 7:30. "Crap!" I yelled as I ran around the room, grabbing my things. Hmm, I must have fallen asleep again. I was often dozing off. I had gone to sleep at two in the morning and woken up at five. It's not my fault! I have a totally justified reason! The Drama Club is putting together the play Romeo & Juliet and I'm in charge of the costumes! Not to mention the make-up, props, lighting… Well, you get the idea. I'm pretty much in charge of putting the whole thing together. Of course, the play isn't until spring, but I don't do all that last minute B.S. In the end, it will come together perfectly and it will be totally worth every second and every penny!

I quickly applied my make-up, making sure to completely cover the dreadful dark circles under my eyes. Then I skipped downstairs to grab my keys and coat. On my way to the door, the mirror caught my eye. In it I saw a tiny pixie-like girl. She was very well dressed in dark skinny jeans and a beautifully beaded pink blouse. Her dark hair stuck out in all directions. Compared to this morning, she didn't seem that fat anymore, and there were no signs of tiredness. Satisfied, I smiled, and it seemed genuine.

Inside my garage, I turned on my gorgeous yellow 911 Turbo Porsche. It was my most prized possession. As I admired my race car, my mother walked in. She gave me a quick hug and said, "Good morning Mary. How did you sleep?" She was the only one allowed to call me by my first name.

"Fine, Mother." I answered as she turned on her black Audi r8. We had a thing for race cars.

She looked at me skeptically. "Really? You seem tired. Drink some coffee."

"I'll stop by Starbucks." I replied. I absolutely loved Starbucks.

"I'll be home late again." She said.

"Again? Mom, it's movie night." I whined.

"I know honey, but I can't tonight. I have too much work. We're finishing up Kim's wedding." My mother was currently working on one of the world's most epic weddings. Kim Kardashian's wedding!

"You said that last Friday, and the Friday before that," I complained

"I'm sorry honey, but it's my job! What do you want me to do?"

"It's fine. It doesn't matter." I answered in a defeated tone.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Your uncle will be staying with us for a while." She said. "He was here earlier; he just left to run some errands." She said.

"Emmett's dad?"

"Do you have any other uncles?"

"Oh, no. It's just, I thought he was somewhere in New York or something." Jesus, nobody tells me anything nowadays.

"He came home for Emmett's birthday."

"But that's not until next month."

"I know, but Emmett's big game is next week."

"Oh, right. He's the one with the dad who cares," I answered sourly.

She sighed. "Alice, your father cared too."

"Cared. Past tense, Mom." I said bitterly.

"Alice, you know this already. We've been through it so many times." She replied wearily.

"I just can't believe he cared so much that he went and killed himself." I muttered.

"He did not kill himself!" She yelled.

"He left a suicide note!" I yelled back.

"It's called a will!"

"No Mom! A will, is a letter where you tell the world who you want your stuff to go to!"

"Isn't that where you got your father's car from! From the "suicide note"?" She said sarcastically. making little air quotes with her fingers.

"Whatever." I mumbled and slipped into my car.

"Don't whatever me!" She yelled indignantly.

"Just answer this one question:" I said in a flat, lifeless voice and tears in my eyes. "If he loved us so much, why did he leave us in the first place?" And with that, I zoomed off, leaving my mother with a look I knew all too well. My tears spilled as I saw my mother cry in the rearview mirror.

I parked outside Starbucks near the edge of the forest. I stared at the forest unseeingly, wishing my father had not left when I was five years old, wishing there had not been a war. My father left us when I was 10. I never knew why. A year later, he went to the army and fought in Iraq. On my 15th birthday, we got a call. He was dead. The next day I got a letter from him addressed to me. I prayed it would be good news, telling me he wasn't dead. It wasn't.

It was titled: To Daddy's Little Girl

It was the only part of the letter that I actually read. I never had the guts to read the whole thing. From what my mother told me, it was just a bunch of apologies with a lot of sentimental crap.

When I composed myself enough, I went inside and ordered a peppermint mocha frappuchino. I left quickly, speeding my way through town until I got to the school. I had tears in my eyes again but I blinked them away and forced a smile on my face. I promised myself that today I would make it through the day without another tear. One day without crying shouldn't be that hard, but it was. One day without the fake smile or the fake laugh. I just wanted to make it through one day where I could honestly say I felt happy. The reason I joined Drama Club and Theatre Arts class was to be able to hide my hurt better, because it's easier to smile than to explain why you're sad. So that I could smile and laugh and act happy so that others could be happy too. I did it because I wanted to make it through one day with a genuine smile. It shouldn't be so hard, but it was.

When people ask what's wrong, I say nothing while thinking everything. Because I'm the type of girl who can be so hurt, but still look at you and smile; the type of girl who is willing to brighten your day, even if I can't brighten my own.

A/N: hmm, any of you guys ever feel like this? i know i do... i'll update as soon as i get 10 reviews (x *hint, hint*

you know you wanna click that button xP

:Dee