Soundtrack for this Chapter:

On My Own - Three Days Grace

Standing on my own

Remembering the one I left at home

Forget about the life I used to know

Forget about the one I left at home

Chapter 9:

"Okay, this is definitely the look."

It was bad enough she had spent the whole morning being paraded around her room like a fashion show, but having Charles and her hired makeup artist, Valeria, judging every outfit and going over the meaning behind every one was just giving her a headache.

Thankfully the outfit she had on was one she finally had approved of herself. She had on a satin white blouse with a dark blue blazer over top, along with a black pencil skirt and black heels. She preferred the business casual and simple kind of look and was glad Charles and Valeria were finally agreeing with what looked best on her. If she had to keep on one of the rompers Valeria had picked out, she probably would have passed out.

The whole ordeal all morning had just given her so much stress. Becky took a few steps back, exhausted and sat down on the edge of her bed, opposite to where Charles was sitting.

"Let me heat up my irons in the bathroom and then we can get started on your hair, carino," Valeria chirped, as she flitted across the room and out of the door with her curling irons in her hand.

Becky let out a huge sigh she had been keeping inside the entire morning. Putting her hands under her chin to prop her head up, she leaned in to herself out of exhaustion. She could hear Charles shuffle behind her.

"Becky? Are you doing alright?" He asked her.

Of course she wasn't. Who would be in this situation?

She was still spiraling over the fact that she was about to be used as publicity for the factory. That her moment of selflessness was going to be used as a tool to convince others to do the same. It made her feel somewhat sick inside.

But not only that, but there was another feeling boiling up inside her, one she couldn't entirely comprehend. It wasn't one she felt so often, in fact rarely, but it was festering like never before.

Betrayal.

Becky pondered why it was so. The anger combined with the sorrow left a very bitter taste in her mouth. Bitter with Tobey and what he was asking of her. She could grasp the feeling itself; she knew what she was feeling. It was the why that seemed to be alluding her.

To insinuate betrayal, one must have had trust and care for the other person to feel double crossed, did they not? But Becky didn't trust Tobey. They hadn't been friends in a long time, and any chance they had at that being rekindled died when she had been forced to come here.

But still...they had been friends. Maybe some part of her deep down still felt like they…

"Becky?"

Becky snapped back out of her thoughts as she felt Charles move around to the other side of the bed to sit beside her.

"Sorry. All of this is a bit overwhelming…" She admitted, refusing to meet eye contact with him. Overwhelming, in truth, was a bit of an understatement.

"I understand. I know this isn't helping with the transition here…"

"No kidding. You've thrown so much at me over the past two days," Becky sighed, closing her eyes and placing her hands over her face.

"The silver lining is, at least your family will be able to see something of you? They will get to see your face in the paper and read your words. At least that's something?"

"I know you're trying to be helpful, but this shouldn't be my reality in the first place," Becky reminded him, trying to not sound rude, "No offense."

"None taken," Charles answered genuinely, "Would it take your mind off things if I helped prep you with some questions?"

Becky hadn't even gotten into the headspace of preparing for the interview portion. It was true she had been interviewed many times as Wordgirl by the news and reporters, but this felt different. She didn't feel like the hero she usually was. She almost felt more like a criminal.

So maybe a few prep questions wouldn't be the worst thing in the world in all honesty.

"Sure. It might help ease my mind a bit," She told him, nodding her head in agreement.

"Okay. So the first question might be talking a little bit about yourself. An introduction of sorts," Charles informed her, sitting up straight, "So give me a short introduction. Tell me about yourself."

"What kind of things will she be looking for?" Becky questioned, trying not to narrow her eyes. The concept of talking about herself turned her stomach a bit.

"Your past a bit. I imagine the article will want to paint you as a hero, given your sacrifice for your father."

"You mean a martyr."

Charles paused, "I suppose that's another word for it."

Becky let out an angry breath of air, "I'm not some saint. I was an average kid. I had two loving, wonderful parents. An annoying but quirky younger brother. I lived a normal childhood. Going to school, spending time with my best friends, participating in spelling bees and field days."

Oh the irony.

"Then I got older. I went to dances, started dating, all that jazz. And then my dad got sick and things changed. My mom and I had to step up around the house to get stuff done. I had to take on a part time job during high school to help pay bills."

"What did you do?"

"I waitressed. For years. It was still my job before I had to come here. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Becky realized that no matter how she tried to make herself out to sound ordinary and anything but noteworthy, she wasn't. Not that she could let anyone else know that. Answering questions about herself was already making her anxious. Maybe it wasn't a good idea they were doing this.

"Okay, you asked a question about me, I think it's only fair I get to ask you some questions," Becky insisted. Changing the subject might actually put her mind at ease instead.

"You want to know about me?"

"Not exactly. I wanted to ask about Tobey."

The confusion was instant on Charles' face, "Tobey?"

"Yes. I haven't seen him in years since we were kids and it was a little jarring to walk into this factory to find him the head of. At 20 years old. I just don't understand how he got here," Becky admitted. She had been curious about Tobey's history and she certainly didn't have the self control to sit and have a conversation with him about this.

"I'm not sure I'm allowed to discuss his personal details with anyone…"

"Did he mention we were friends once upon a time?" Becky interjected, continuing to push forward, refusing to back down.

"No he did not mention that, but something gave me the impression there was history between the two of you…" Charles admitted.

Becky turned towards him and frowned, "How?" She was genuinely curious. What was Tobey giving off that gave Charles that impression?

"Well, for starters, Tobey doesn't go out of his way to talk to others. He typically avoids conversation with others at all costs. I've just noticed how he almost can't help but talk to you. And your ability to bring out slight emotions out of him, which no one has been able to do for many years," recollected Charles.

Becky had to hold back a small blush threatening to appear on her face. Shaking off the flushing of her cheeks, Becky continued with her line of questioning, "Well, that's kind of why I'm curious. The Tobey I remember was...one of the most emotional kids I knew. He was competitive and sarcastic, prone to anger and quick to sadness. I just don't understand how we got here...why he's the way he is now. It's quite the opposite to the kid I…"

Becky paused. The kid she was close to. But that was a long time ago, and he ruined it so there was no point in reliving those old memories.

"Well…"

"Come on, Charles," Becky begged, "We are going to be working together here for an insurmountable amount of time, so why not get to know my boss a bit?"

Charles hesitated, "You really didn't hear what happened to his family?"

Becky's heart dropped, "No? Wait, did something…"

It hit her. Tobey being pulled out of school, disappearing from everyone's radar when they were teenagers. Things were starting to click…

"His parents were killed in a car crash when he was 16," Charles informed her, his tone of voice delicate and sensitive, "They were on their way home from a meeting with the city council when a truck ran a stop sign and rammed right into them. They were pronounced dead on sight. Tobey got the call not long after. And even sooner after that was the call from the factory's COO informing him he was now the owner of the company."

Becky took in a few breaths as she processed the information that had just been given to her. She had been so worried about losing her own dad, and there Tobey was, orphaned at the age of 16. Forced to take up a large mantle as a teenager. She could not even imagine being in his shoes…

But yet despite the sympathy she felt for him, she couldn't help but feel bitter that he seemingly had none for her. If he knew what it was like to lose a parent, why hadn't he extended her the same courtesy?

"So as you can imagine, he cut himself off from the outside world. He didn't have the proper time to mourn his parents' loss. He was instantly expected to take over the factory and run it like nothing had happened. He was expected by investors and the city to put on a tough face and deal with the punches," Charles continued, almost as if he was reading her mind and explaining away some of her thoughts.

She felt like a ping pong ball, being battered back and forth across a table. She completely understood that Tobey had gotten so lost in doing his duty that he pushed aside all feelings and emotions. And it was probably easier that way. Pretend he felt nothing. Not deal with the pain and depression that must have been eating away at him.

Becky had dreaded losing her father for so long. She had long felt that looming threat of loss over her head. Would she repress all of her feelings just like Tobey when the day comes? Would it be too much for her to handle too?

"I had no idea about any of this. No one knew what happened to Tobey back then..." Becky finally responded, making eye contact with Charles.

"Well, if he had had you as his friend during that time, maybe he wouldn't have become the person he is now."

Becky had to hold in her tongue to keep from saying something she would regret. Thankfully, Valeria walked back in the room before she truly had a chance to respond even if she had wanted to.

"Okay, señorita. Hora de peinarse."

Her expectations for the interview had been low, but holy shit.

First of all, her nerves and anxiety had completely clouded her mind the entire time. She couldn't think straight and she felt like her answers hadn't made any sense half of the time. She felt almost dizzy. It wasn't that public speaking made her nervous, no, it was the entire prospect of being asked to do this whole thing. Market herself off like a commodity.

Second of all, she hadn't wanted to lie about her feeling miserable, but she knew she couldn't tell the truth. The expectations were clear: make the factory sound good. That she was being treated well and it was a nice place to be. It didn't help that lying only added to her anxiety.

And third of all, it hadn't helped least in the slightest that Tobey had been standing in the shadows the entire time listening to her drone on and on. It was embarrassing. It had made her feel so inferior, imagining him standing in the shadows, internally smirking at her. Laughing at how bad she was doing.

Regardless of how sick she had felt, she still ended up there in the dining room for dinner. She had to eat at least a little something after refusing to eat the whole day. Fortunately, she had only made the very end of the dinner rush, so not too many employees were mingling around the hall. There were only a couple other occupied tables. One with two girls eating across from one another and giggling quietly. Two with a group of older looking men who were silent and would look over at her once in a while. Three with a table full of young adults mingling like this was a college cafeteria, completely unbothered.

Becky felt a little envious.

The quiet and calm of the dining hall was helping to calm her down but not enough. At least the stir fry dinner was settling her stomach. She had been so sick all day she hadn't actually discovered she was starving.

She should have known the serenity wasn't going to last forever.

"Who do you think you are?"

Becky snapped her head up to find the source of the deep and angry voice that had spoken to her. To her left were the group of older, burly men that had been eyeing her from earlier. They all looked pissed.

Becky swallowed her food and made eye contact with the tall man that had spoken to her, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. What makes you so much more special than the rest of us, huh?" He demanded, glaring hard at her.

She shouldn't have been nervous. She was Wordgirl after all and she could hold her own with them if she needed. But she knew she couldn't risk revealing her secret identity or else she would have a larger target on her back. She was going to have to find a way to get out of this.

But would they really try something in an open cafeteria?

"I'm not...I'm not special," Becky answered, trying to keep a calm facade so they don't know they are getting to her. If they think she is unfazed maybe they will go away.

Another man stepped up to the table closer to growl at her, "You dare sit there and patronize us?"

"Why do you get interviews and a special room of your own?" The first man hissed.

Becky stood up from the table; the men were getting a little too close for comfort. The look in their faces only turned more aggressive as she began moving away from them. Becky wanted to take a look around to see if there was anyone else around that might be able to help her but she didn't dare risk taking her eyes off of them.

Maybe she needed to make it loud and obvious that she was being cornered…

"Hey, why don't you back away from her?" A young voice pierced the room loudly.

Becky snapped her head towards the voice and found two girls walking towards her. One girl with dark skin and short hair was walking side by side with a girl with long, red, curly hair. The men looked surprised by the interruption.

"This doesn't concern you, Kelsi," The main guy barked back at her as she made her way in front of Becky.

"She's new. Give her a break and go pick on someone your own size," Kelsi sassed, arms on her hips and head held high.

Becky was astonished. She wasn't really used to people standing up for her. Let alone actual strangers. But she couldn't deny the instant relief she felt to have the two women on her side. Part of her was worried that the men weren't going to be intimidated by three young women…

The lead guy took a few steps back and his pose began following suit. He glanced from Kelsi to Becky, glaring at the latter, "This isn't over, special girl."

Becky only finally took in a deep breath once they were finally out of the cafeteria and it was just the three of them. Kelsi turned towards the other girl and gave her a smirk.

"Seems I can invoke fear in men in more ways than one," Kelsi teasingly said to the other girl.

"That was unbelievably risky, Kels," The other girl scolded, gently grabbing Kelsi's arm, "Do you understand they could have hurt you?"

Kelsi laughed it off and put her arm around the other girl and pulled her close. The gesture was so genuine and sweet, Becky couldn't help but smile. The two girls finally turned towards her and they both looked her up and down, examining the person they had just rescued.

Becky began, "Hey, thank you so much for standing up to them. I don't know what…"

"Oh, no, dude, don't sweat it. They're literally knuckleheads and love picking on people," Kelsi waved it off, "By the way, I'm Kelsi."

She held her hand out to Becky. Becky took it immediately, "Becky. Nice to meet you." She reached towards the other girl as well, extending her introduction to her as well.

"Sydni. My name is Syndi."

"Well, Kelsi, Sydni. Seriously, thank you again. I truly don't know what they wanted from me."

"You're that new girl right? The girl that volunteered?" Sydni asked.

Becky swallowed and nodded. She hadn't realized she already had a reputation around the place.

"I couldn't imagine volunteering for this place."

"Well, it's had one good thing," Kelsi teased, leaning her head down towards Sydni's, their foreheads touching. They giggled at one another.

Becky couldn't help the smile that wormed its way onto her face as she watched them.

"Do you want to come hang out with us? I'd love to hear the story of your momentary psychosis in volunteering as tribute," Kelsi offered, reaching her hand out to Becky once more.

Becky thought about it and hesitated for a moment. She really ought to head back to her room...but then again these girls were the first true friends she had made since she got there. And the chance to socialize was something she couldn't pass up. It wouldn't hurt to have friends if she was going to be there a while…

She nodded and took Kelsi's hand. Kelsi giggled and dragged both Sydni and Becky behind her as she practically rushed out of the cafeteria.

For the first time all day, Becky was actually feeling okay? She didn't even know the two women in front of her, but she felt okay. She felt safe. It was an overwhelming feeling after the terrible day she had but the relief flooded over her and she let a grin engulf her face.