She's 18 and a Beauty Queen

Talia lay her head down on her pillow softly, eyes wide open. It had been a very long day, with a lot of unfamiliar people and places. The sensory overload alone was driving her crazy. Quinn's house didn't smell bad, per say. But for someone who spent her life breathing in the smell of a runway and a hospital, it was very different.

It wasn't as bright in Jersey. Whether that was because no one here had bright cameras following her, or because Hollywood was simply brighter wasn't really known.

It was colder, it was somewhat less crowded, and it smelt different. Talia's senses were going crazy.

She closed her eyes unwillingly, and readjusted in the bed. Sleeping was her least favourite thing; it's where all the worst things in her life replayed themselves. Over and over again. If there was a way for her to stay awake 24/7, she would take it. Because some things were too painful to remember.

As she fell more and more into a daze, her day started to replay in her mind. Faces pressed themselves onto the back of her eyelids as she tried to match the face with a name. Quinn, Gerard, Frank, Mikey. Gerard's the older one with the black hair. Frank's the really short one with the cute laugh. Mikey's the gay one with glasses.

Mikey was gay? The concious part of her asked. But she sleepily waved the thought away. Of course he was. Had she seen how he looked at Frank? It didn't really matter anymore, though. She was gaining new friends. She enjoyed the company of the boys, and she was glad they let her stay for most of the day. She hadn't had a good friend besides Quinn since Dakota...

"Talia!" A girl with lucious brown hair screamed. Talia, body slowed by the amount of alcohol in her system, clumsily looked up from her walking feet.

"Fuck Tal!" She yelled, grabbing her arm before she stepped onto the busy road. A car honked at them angrily. "You're gonna get hit by a car."

"Am not," Talia slurred, and pulled her arm out of Dakota's grip. "Let go of me." She stumbled backwards, and down the sidewalk. "Shortcuts this way..." She said vaguely as she hears her friend following her. Talia stepped into the dark alleyway, only light illuminating it at 4 am was the streetlamp a little while away. She took a few steps into the darkness before running into something solid....

"Hullo, doll." It said huskily. "Coming to see me?"

Talia sat up, gasping loudly. She stifled the sob that threatened to burst from her lungs. But she couldn't stop the silent tears from rolling down her face.

It was all her fault...