The Girl in Pink

The new house smelled like newly polished home and a new beginning for Laurent Family. Boxes still scattered in the hallway, stacked in uneven towers that made the place feel less like home and more like a stopover.

Lashy’s bedroom was the only part she’d claimed. She had decorated it with her fairy lights along the wall the very first night, unpacked her pastel heart pillows, and carefully arranged her collection of pink bows on the dresser. Even here, even in a new town, she needed her pink.

Because, who is Lashy without her pink?

Early in the morning, she woke up excited. Who wouldn't be excited for a new beginning? New school, new dreams, and everything's new.

She stood in front of the mirror now, adjusting the satin bow in her hair until she was satisfied. This is her first day on her new school, she wore pale pink sweater, pleated skirt, spotless white sneakers. And her lips shimmered with strawberry gloss that made her stand out the most.

She looked like herself.

“Big day,” her mother said from the doorway, balancing a mug of coffee in one hand. Her eyes softened when she saw her daughter. “You’re beautiful, sweetheart. Just… stay true to who you are, alright?”

Lashy smiled faintly. “Of course, mom. That's why my name is Lashy, right?”

But as she walked through the halls of Moonlight High School an hour later, her promise already felt fragile and unfamiliar to her.

“She’s so… pink.”

“Looks like a doll.”

“Where did she even come from?”

Her cheeks burned, but she kept her chin high. She wasn’t going to let them see her flinch. Just because she wores pink, she doesn't want them to know that she's fragile like the color she favors the most.

Sliding into an empty seat at the back of her first class, she laid her notebook on the desk. Its cover was baby pink filled with glitters at the corner along with some white laces, with little doodles of stars and hearts she’d drawn herself.

She was minding her own business as the teacher kept discussing, and then she hears a low laugh.

It came from the boy two seats away, head bent as he scratched something onto his desk with a pen. He wore a black hoodie, though it wasn’t cold. His dark hair hung over his eyes, and a silver chain hanging at his neck.

He hadn’t looked at her, but she knew. He’d laughed at her if he did so. Her stomach knotted as she felt insicure. She stared straight ahead, gripping her pen tight enough to leave marks on her fingers.

Who was he?

The boy looked like he belonged to the night itself. And she? she was a sunrise dressed as a girl.

By lunch, Lashy already felt the weight of her difference. She stood there with her tray, scanning the room, wishing desperately for a place to sit.

“Over here.”

A voice called her. A blonde girl with glossy lips and a crop top waved her over. Lashy looked relieved, she thought that finally she could eat peacefully while making her first friend. So, Lashy walked to the table.

“You’re the new girl, right?” the blonde said.

“Yeah. I’m Lashy.”

“Cute name. Cute… everything.” The girl’s eyes flicked over her pink outfit. “You’ll definitely stand out here.”

Something in her tone made Lashy’s chest tighten. She felt like, something in her words aren't compliment, but a insult to begin with. The others at the table smirked into their food.

She forced a smile, picking at her salad.

She was eating peacefully when she saw him again, the boy in the black hoodie. He was at a corner table with a small group, laughing easily, his arm draped over the back of his chair.

Although she didn’t know his name yet, her pen would write it into her notebook that night anyway, circled in pink glitters hearts.

After a night of thinking of that boy in black hoodie, She didn't realize that she fell into a deep sleep that didn't last long. It was her second day, she was walking down the hallway carrying books, when she caught him looking at her.

Not for so long, but just a flicker of his eyes when she dropped her books in the hallway. But he didn’t help her. He just watched, smirk forming his lips, before walking passed her.

Her cheeks burned.

“Who’s that?” she whispered to a girl from class. The girl followed her gaze and raised her brows. “Oh. That’s Matthew. You don’t want to mess with him.”

“Why not?” Lashy asked.

The girl lowered her voice. “He’s trouble. Cuts class, hangs out with, you know.. Always out at night. Teachers hate him while parents warn their kids about him. He’s… not the type you’re looking for, especially if you're that soft.”

Lashy nodded, pretending to agree. But inside, her curiosity only grows stronger.

Trouble.

Maybe that was exactly what fascinated her..

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