Clarity

She was typically a morning person, but this particular Tuesday was different from the rest. The bedsheets, dusted with faint notes of lavender and lemongrass, weren't unfamiliar, but they weren't hers. Slowly, she extended her arm over the tangle of limbs beside her to shift the clock on the nightstand. She gave a small sigh of relief when she realized that it was still early and there was just enough time to go home and change.

Stella sat up, careful not to disturb the slumbering girls on either side of her as she inched down off the bottom edge of the mattress. She only glanced at the mirror across the room as she combed her fingers through her tousled hair before reaching over to set the alarm for them. When she was done, she peered over to the three girls still deep in their sleep. Stella smiled slightly and grabbed the edge of the blanket, spreading it over them with a flick of her wrist.

Then she slipped out.

"You're up early, Stell," a deep voice murmured from behind her.

"Sam, you scared me," Stella sighed. "What are you doing awake?"

"I have practice, like always," Sam lifted his duffel bag and raised a brow at her. "I didn't know you slept over last night."

"It was a last minute thing with the girls," she said with a mild shrug.

"You're hanging out with them quite a lot these days," he said. "You weren't like that before, at least not since we were freshmen. You're going soft again."

It was true. Stella had never been close with the girls. They were mere acquaintances, but she'd been seeing more and more of the lively underclassmen as of late. It couldn't be helped though. On an average day, it would be Cody by her side, but with this recent turn of events she couldn't bare to face him.

She couldn't bare to face Sam either.

"I am not," she murmured, mildly disturbed by the guilt racking her conscience. "I have to run home and shower, Sam. I'll see you at school."

Stella gave him a smile and started off, but she barely made it down the stairs before she heard his footsteps scuttling after her. It was only a moment before she heard him call out and she stopped to face him with a questioning gaze.

"Stell, is everything alright?" Sam had always been highly attuned to Stella's unspoken words. His green eyes had a habit of piercing into her soul.

She wasn't ready for the boys to know. They would find out sooner or later, but she just wasn't ready to face the humiliation, much less admit to it. So in the meantime, she would lie her ass off and drive it home with a smile.

"Everything is fine, Sam. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, you seem… kind of down or something," he said, running a hand through his golden hair. "Did something happen with Ethan?"

Stella visibly froze and her smile faltered. She shook her head in denial, but it was too late. That tiny slip was enough for Sam to deduce that things weren't going the way that they should. She moved to make a quick escape.

"No! No, everything is good," she laughed. "I really have to go. Later!"

Sam was still calling her name as she sprinted from the house and leapt onto the blue bicycle she left propped up on the side of the garage. He always took that stern tone with her whenever he knew she was hiding something. She found that the only thing to do was to run and avoid him like the plague. But Sam always found her. If not now, then later.

In the meantime, she would just have to prepare for whatever was coming for her.

* * *

The girl's restroom mirror was smeared with an oily substance and had a long crack arching over the bottom right corner.

Stella swept her hair up away from her face and into a relaxed bun at the back of her head. Her fingers found the water tap, turning on a gentle stream of cold water that pooled in her hands. The dark haired girl closed her eyes as she bent over to wash her face, then blindly snatched a coarse paper towel from the dispenser. She squinted at her reflection in the mirror, cheeks red from rubbing it dry and wet strands of hair sticking to her jaw.

She knew she couldn't hide it forever. It was only a matter of time before people started wondering, started asking questions, started sharing the gossip. It was about that time, considering the curious looks she had been catching all morning and the low whispers that followed right after. Stella couldn't hear them, but she had a good idea about what was being said.

Stella unfolded her glasses and set them back onto the bridge of her nose as she repeated the same thing she'd been telling herself the entire weekend.

Show no weakness. It'll go away in time. Everyone will forget.

By now, Stella had created a rather respectable reputation for herself in Ridgewood High. She was at the top of her class and no one cared to cross her anymore. Any attempts to attack her were quickly quashed with a casual comment or a cold shoulder.

By now, they'd all forgotten the timid young girl with a meek voice and an occasional stammer. The insecure girl that cried easily and ran away from difficult things. Then again, she still did that running away bit. She couldn't blame them because little Stella was entirely forgettable. Luckily for her, she was able to figure things out when she was young with the guidance of a dazzling blonde who she never saw again.

If anything, she learned that it all gets easier, then the day comes when you stop caring.

Stella slid her hand into her pocket, scrunching her brows together when she felt something there. When she brought it out, an image of the young man shrouded in shadow came to mind. She frowned, turning the off-white matchbook in her hands again. Had he given her junk? She slipped her finger under the flap and thought to check how many matches had been used.

Suddenly the door flew open and a slight boy with black hair and brown eyes walked in. Stella grumbled a string of curses as she turned away from the mirror and leaned her weight on the porcelain sink behind her. The look on his face was enough to tell her that he wasn't happy with her at the moment, but she still forced a wry smile when he stopped in front of her.

"This is the girl's room, Cody," she said, only being met with silence. "How did you find me?"

"I saw you trying to sneak by my class without being seen," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You've been avoided me lately, Stella."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Stella shrugged her shoulders. "You've been busy with your extracurriculars and I've been spending some time with the girls."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with that rumor that Ethan dumped you, would it?"

Stella hung her head, officially found out with no more lies to tell. One thing about Stella was that she was a very good at living a lie without breaking a sweat. But once the lie had run its course, she had no qualms about coming clean.

"Ok, so maybe that happened last week," she muttered, looking away. "It was terrible, I completely lost my cool. Did you hear about that?"

"No, I didn't," Cody replied. "Why didn't you just tell me? You know Sam stalked me down this morning and interrogated me right down to the moment I stepped into Statistics? I lied my ass off, but you know that my skills are nowhere near yours."

"Oh, Sam," Stella groaned, completely forgetting about that issue. "I'm sorry, Cody. As if being dumped wasn't bad enough, I ended up saying all this stupid stuff to him and running away." She consciously left out her odd encounter with a person called Alexander Hunt.

"Oh no, literally?"

Stella nodded.

"I thought you quit doing that by now," he frowned. "You're never more impossible than when you freaking run away. How is anyone supposed to reconcile with you if you run off and vanish into oblivion all the time?"

"I get it, I get it," she said, waving her hand at him dismissively. "I'm still working on it, alright? I never said I completely rectified that little aspect yet. But I was so humiliated, Cody. I can't ever face him after that."

"Come on," Cody muttered, reaching forward and slinging his arm around her shoulders. "Ethan never said anything about that part, so you have nothing to be ashamed about. These things happen all the time, so stop all this bullshit and face Sam before he comes and blows my house down."

Stella tried to resist a smile because she knew it might come down to that. She pushed the forgotten matchbook back down into her pocket and let the boy lead her out.

"Ok."