Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!
Lauren let out a sigh as she let the smile on her face disappear. Her meager attempts at putting on a happy face for her mother were exhausting.
"So how are you doing, sunshine?" Charity asked seriously. Lauren chuckled at Charity's lame attempt at humor. Charity was just about the only person who knew exactly how Lauren was. Since Jenny had gone to spend the summer with her mother, Nikki, before heading off to college, Lauren had been confiding in Charity.
"My mother signed me up for cheer camp. Can you believe it? I could have sworn I'd told her not to. So now I get to try to convince a blue million people that I'm a happy, perky, bubbly cheerleader." Lauren vented, as they drove towards Lucas and Charity's house.
"I'm sorry, but look on the bright side, I'll be there." Charity pointed out. Lauren shrugged her shoulders, signifying that she was done with this topic.
"So what are these 'big plans' that we have tonight?" Lauren asked, ready to shoot down whatever came out of Charity's mouth.
"We're going to a party and you're coming whether you like it or not. You're wallowing Lauren and frankly, I'm getting sick of it. The Classic was forever ago, you and Tyler are friends now, at least, so just be happy with what you have!" Charity exclaimed, exasperated with Lauren.
Lauren sighed and turned away from Charity. As she watched the houses flying by, she let her thoughts wander. Charity was right, she was wallowing. She'd suffered her first real heartbreak at the hands of Tyler, with the help of Charity and Lila. Lauren didn't understand why it was still affecting her so much, except that she'd really cared for Tyler and it hurt her so much to know that she didn't mean anything to him. They were friends now but Lauren could hardly be around him, without feeling like her heart was being ripped from her chest.
"Oh, and the party is at Tyler's." Charity added, offhandedly, as they pulled into Lucas's driveway. Lauren whipped her head around to glare at Charity. Only Charity would be so insensitive as to force her to go to a party thrown by the only person to ever break not only her heart, but her. Lauren shook her head, trying to resign herself to the fact that she was going to have to see and probably talk to Tyler.
Lauren slowly drug her stuff into the house. She heard Lucas speaking loudly and assumed he was still on the phone with the publisher. Lauren felt, as she often did, that she was moving in slow motion. It seemed to take her hours to trudge up the stairs and down the hall to her room. She sat her bag down on the floor, just inside the door, and sank down on the bed. Why did it have to feel like so much work, just to live? Some days it hardly seemed worth it. Turning over, she glanced at the picture in a frame on her nightstand. It was a picture of her and Jenny at some party or another, last year. She looked so happy. It was hard to imagine that she'd ever had that much to be happy about.
"Okay Miss Poutyface, it's time to get you cute for tonight!" Charity sing-songed as she barged into Lauren's room. Lauren groaned loudly. She should have known. This was the very reason that she kept putting off staying with Lucas. Charity tried so hard, too hard, really. In fact, it was getting old. She didn't understand why everyone just couldn't leave her be. She wasn't hurting anyone, she just wanted to be left alone.
"Look, I appreciate the effort, really, but could we just not, tonight?" Lauren asked, her voice devoid of emotion. Charity shook her head, a look of insult playing on her features.
"Right, because I love to fight you, tooth and nail, to keep you out of bed. I just absolutely love being shot down constantly. It's great!" Charity said sarcastically as she threw her hands up in the air.
"Look Lauren, I love you and I'm done watching you waste away over a guy who frankly, isn't worth it. Tyler Bennett is not the be all, end all of guys, okay? I promise you, if you will just get your skinny ass out of this bed and do something with yourself that, not only will you feel better, but you might just stand the chance of meeting someone who is worth it." Charity added kindly. Lauren knew that Charity was right, she knew that every time they had this conversation, but it didn't make her feel any better. Sighing, she decided that maybe if she gave in this one time, that Charity might back off for awhile.
"Fine, you win. Let's do this." Lauren conceded as Charity clapped, happily.
"You are going to be so hot, we'll have those boys drooling!" Charity promised as she grabbed Lauren's hand and drug her into the bathroom. Lauren decided that Charity had best leave her alone for a very long time, after tonight.