Phew! this is a long chapter. Hope you enjoy.

When I woke up Wednesday morning, I expected to feel better- at least a little. Normally after crying like that and having a good night's sleep, I woke up feeling a bit refreshed, and ready to take on whatever was thrown at me. Not this time. A flood of sounds from last night hit me and I felt just as bad as the previous night. There was no way I was going to school like this. But I didn't want to talk to my parents right now, much less look at them. That is, if my dad was even here anymore… For all I know, he got out of here last night, as soon as he could. What a dick.

I got out of bed and looked at myself in the mirror. I was a mess. My hair was tangled and all over the place, and my cheeks were red and lined with tearstains. What little makeup I had on had smudged. I decided I needed a shower. After that, I got dressed, but I was too lazy to put a real outfit together. I settled on sweatpants and a t-shirt. I didn't bother to put any makeup on or do my hair, so it lay lifelessly on the side of my head. I wasn't planning on going to school anyways, so what did it matter?

I headed downstairs and walked quickly to the front door before my mom could see me, if she happened to be in the kitchen. I didn't see anyone out of the corner of my eye as I passed, though. Maybe I wasn't the only one neglecting my daily routine. After slipping shoes on, I quietly opened the door and stepped outside.

It was abnormally warm for a late fall day, and sunny. The trees all had varying shades of red leaves, which blew in the soft wind. It smelled crisp and lovely out. I was glad I had gone outside. I didn't really know where I wanted to walk to- only that I needed to get out of my house. So I wandered aimlessly out of my neighborhood, into part of the town with shops and restaurants. I purposely stayed away from the road with the Dot, knowing someone would recognize me there.

On this street, there were a few clothing stores I'd never really looked at before. I always went shopping with my mom, and to the same places. Thinking of my mom brought on another round of anger and sadness. I didn't ever want to go shopping with the stupid woman again. For the first time, I walked into one of the stores, if only for the satisfaction of being there alone. But I actually liked what was in it. It was different from my style, which was flowery and girly, but I wanted to try some things on. I guess I could best classify its style as alternative. There was lots of black, all the jeans were skinny, but there were a lot of neon, brightly coloured things as well. I found a dress with a black, scoop neck top and bright purple and yellow below the bust. It poofed out a bit, like a ballerina tutu. It was so not me. But I didn't want to be me anymore. I checked the price tag. It had been marked down to 15 bucks. But I didn't have any money.

I sighed and put my hand in my back pocket, as if wishing to make money appear there. But there was already a bill in the pocket. I pulled it out. A 50 dollar bill- the one I was given after baby sitting for an entire day. It was meant to be.

I looked around the store more and picked up another dress, a long stripped shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. I tried it all on, and it fit perfectly. I headed to the checkout.

The cashier was a fashionable guy- he had a scarf on and his outfit matched really well- that looked like he was in his early twenties, and he complimented my choices of purchase. "This'll all look really good on you," he said warmly. I thanked him. "You know what would go perfect with this dress?" He left his place behind the counter to a shelf nearby with brightly coloured shoes on it. He pulled out a pair of bright yellow flats; they were exactly the same colour as the yellow on my dress. He held them up proudly. (I'm pretty sure he was, ya know. Gay.)

"You're right, those look fantastic." I beamed. My smile fell. "I only have 5 more dollars after every thing else, though."

"Hmm, well. For you, pretty lady, I'll make an exception. You can have them for five."

I really loved this store.

I walked back home, feeling much better. When I got there, there was no sign of my mom. I guess she went into work, after all. Maybe she left early to avoid seeing me. That was fine; I didn't want to see her either.

The clock in my room showed it was 11:00 A.M. I had spent quite some time walking to, and looking around the store. With a laugh, I realized I'd be in history if I had gone to school today. I had never felt so good about doing the wrong thing. I decided to put my new dress and shoes on and go out to lunch.

The dress looked fantastic, as I had hoped. I straightened my bangs and fixed the curls with anti-frizz curling serum, then did my makeup. The brown eyeliner didn't look right, though. So I got out a black liner Ali had given me a while back and put just a little on. I was surprised to like it a lot more than the brown. It looked better with my shade of blue eyes. I got out a little black bag and put my pink purses' contents in it and headed back out. On the way to the café, I was honked and whistled at three times. I must say, my confidence was boosted a ton.

On my way back from the restaurant, I passed a tattoo parlor, but was stopped by a guy with tattooed sleeves and gauges outside the shop.

"Hey there! Loving your outfit." He said.

I stopped and smiled. "Thank you."

"We have piercings half off today, and a lip piercing would look fantastic with that indie look you've got going." Any other time, I would never even have thought about a piercing other than my first set on my ears. But I felt like a new Clare today. And I did have plenty of money left, thanks to babysitting and my mom's attempt to buy my love and support through the fighting with Dad. It would be fitting, I thought, to use that money on something she would loathe. So I said, "Okay, I'm in."

I wound up getting what's called a "Monroe piercing", which is just above the lip (the guy said it was named after Marilyn Monroe, since she had a birth mark there?) It didn't even hurt, or maybe my elation of the day just covered it. When it was all done, the guy handed me a mirror. "Take a look!" He said. My upper lip was a little red around the silver stud, but it looked fantastic. I thanked the man and practically skipped outside. This was the best day I'd had in months.

Soo you may be thinking, woah. Clare kinda up and changed herself without even thinking about it. Trust mee, it's all part of the plot always, feel free to ask questions, make comments or suggestions by REVIEWING :)