Prompt: Send in (mouthless emoji) + a word for a short drabble, headcanon, or one-shot written in first person based on that word.

Takes place just before "Cat Orgy"

I need to mention that Shelly/Skyler will NEVER be romanticized in this collection. Skyler's behavior in this chapter is creepy, not cute!

I waved goodbye to my friends as I exited the bus. They were too busy cozying up to their boyfriends to notice.

I started my lonely walk home. Normally, I was glad that the seventh and eighth graders got out of school thirty minutes before the rest of the school. The last thing I wanted was to be seen with the turd any more than I had to. However, I was in an especially foul mood today and desperately wanted a punching bag. I needed to take my loneliness and depression out on somebody.

Ever since seventh grade started, everybody's hormones seemed to kick in overnight. I wanted to puke every time I passed my classmates in the halls, flirting and sneaking kisses when the teachers weren't looking. I was sick of hearing my friends talk about who the best kisser in our grade was. It's not like I could join the conversation. No boy wanted to be seen within a hundred feet of me.

"Hey, cutie. Why the long face?" A voice startled me out of my thoughts.

I looked up to see a van slowing to a stop next to me. A guy in a baseball cap and leather jacket was at the wheel.

My head whipped around. Was somebody else walking down the street?

No. I was alone. Which was becoming the norm these days.

"Are you talking to me?" I asked cautiously.

"I don't see any other pretty girls around," the guy grinned.

My heart skipped a beat. Nobody except my parents and Aunt Flo had ever called me pretty and I could tell that they didn't actually mean it.

I tried to keep my cool. He was pretty cute. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." I quickened my pace, trying to hide my flaming cheeks.

The guy continued to follow me in his van. "My name is Skyler. There. I'm not a stranger anymore."

My stomach flipped as he smiled at me. Nobody had ever looked at me like that before. As if I was actually worthy of being admired. There had to be a catch. He was at least twenty. And I was… me. There's no way that this was legit. Right?

As he continued to look at me, the butterflies that had taken up residence in my stomach went into overdrive. Could this finally be what I was looking for? My friends would be so jealous! They were stuck with squeaky voiced, gawky seventh graders, while a MAN was showing interest in me! Maybe he was a bit old, but age was nothing but a number, right?

Ignoring the warning bells that were starting to go off in my head, I approached the van.

"I'm Shelly."