DISCLAIMER: There's mention of abortion in this chapter. I'm pro-life (against abortion), but I'm not the type to protest. It's the person's decision, and I'm not going to make their decision for them.

UPDATED DISCLAIMER FROM 2018: I'm still not about abortion, but I'm still not going to tell anyone how to live their lives. 

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ChapterEight-Strange Libby

May 24th, 2007

 It's a few weeks later, and UTurn are busy with opening for Girls Aloud. The tour was called, The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits Tour. So far, UTurn has quickly gained a following, but not without some criticism.

 UTurn's live performances were well-received, and came across as experienced performers. But they were being compared to S Club 8, a British pop group that has been UTurn's main influence. Everything from the member format (3 guys/5 girls), to their clothes. They were also criticized for having two images: Half the time they're cheesy yet tween-friendly, the other time they're sexually-charged. Nonetheless, UTurn was the one to watch.

 UTurn have just arrived at Birmingham after performing at Cardiff. They, along with Girls Aloud, were given a day off from touring. They were in their hotel suite.

 The original UTurn girls noticed that when the tour started, Libby started to act strange. They gathered together in one of the rooms that Alyson and Bailey shared.

 Alyson asked, "So, what is Libby's problem?"

 Amanda suggested, "Maybe she's on some mental breakdown as we're on a grueling tour schedule."

 Bailey asked, "Wait, did she and her girl band go on tour with us a few years ago? You know, that New England teen show?"

 (By now, the regional reality show, New England's Teen SuperStar, has spawned two 8-piece, UTurn-style pop groups. They're slowly giving UTurn a run for their money, but not enough to top them.)

 Stacie replied, "No, you're thinking of that other girl band. They were called 'Pink' or something."

 Bailey thought for a moment, then she laughed, "Oh yeah, I forgot about them."

 Amanda spoke up, "Anyway, I think Libby lost her mind."

 Alyson chimed in, "You notice that Libby only talks to the guys in the band? Like, she acts that we girls don't exist."

 Bailey says, "C'mon, she talks to us, or at least acknowledges us."

 "Really? I'll show you."

 Alyson walked out of the room as the girls watched. Alyson walked up to Libby, who was sitting at a table eating a snack. Alyson greeted her, but Libby ignored her and walked over to Justin. She told him, "There's still food left in the mini-fridge."

 Then Libby walked away. Justin glanced at Alyson. Alyson gave a disgusted look, and walked back into her room. Justin was left puzzled.

 Alyson closed the door behind her, and told the girls, "See what I mean?"

 Bailey said, "Okay, I see what you mean."

 It's now evening. As Alyson was about to go to bed, Stacie and Amanda approached her. Alyson asked, "What is it?"

 Amanda said, "Stacie and I have come up with an idea to humiliate Libby."

 Stacie added, "We tell the guys that we want Libby to do something, but they tell her for us."

 "That means Libby will be doing embarrassing stuff."

 Alyson evilly grinned at this plot.

 It's the next day, and UTurn were at a stadium for tech rehearsals. The band was on break. Alyson, Amanda, and Stacie approached Justin, who was sitting and talking with Andrew.

 Justin saw them, and asked, "What is it?"

 Alyson asked with a stifled laugh, "Can you tell Libby to go to the sound room?"

 Stacie chimed in while keeping a straight face, "Yeah, um, she left something in there."

 Andrew and Justin exchanged weirded out looks, and then they faced the three girls. Andrew asked them, "Why don't you ask Libby yourself?"

 Amanda replied, "Libby acts like we don't exist. She'll only talk to you boys."

 Justin and Andrew thought for a moment, and then they both gave a long "oh." Alyson pressed on, "So, are you gonna talk to her for us?"

 Justin replied, "Look, we're not gonna play with Libby's head."

 Andrew added, "I'm with Justin on this."

 Alyson pouted, "You're just saying that cuz you used to date Libby."

 "I don't know what's going on in her head, but just cuz she's my ex doesn't mean I'll play some cruel joke on her. We're not in high school anymore, and I'm not that heartless."

 With that, the three girls stormed off. Then Stacie came up with an idea: "Why don't we get Trevor to do our work?"

 Alyson and Amanda agreed, and walked up to Trevor. They asked him the same question. He looked at them with suspicion, and asked, "Why don't you talk to Libby?"

 Stacie replied, "She acts like we don't exist."

 Trevor gave a hesitantly replied, "Okay, I'll tell her."

 So Trevor walked away, and told Libby to go to the sound room of stadium. Libby agreed, and went to the sound room. After a couple of minutes, Libby ran out of the room, screaming.

 Libby ran up to the UTurn members. She was covered in what must've been a large salad. Alyson, Amanda, and Stacie giggled evilly, while the others were in shock. Justin asked, "Libby, what happened to you?"

 Libby pouted, "I was pelted on with numerous salads!"

 Bailey told her, "I take you back to the hotel so you clean up."

 Libby ignored Bailey, and asked Andrew, "Andrew, can you take me to the hotel so I clean up?"

 Alyson flew into a rage, and told Libby, "Hell no, bitch! Andrew's mine! Get some other guy to clean you up!"

 Libby ignored Alyson, and grabbed Andrew's arm. Trevor, feeling worried about a possible tug-of-war over Andrew, spoke up hastily, "Libby, I'll take you back to the hotel."

 Justin chimed in, "I'll go with you, Trev. Andrew should come too."

 Andrew commented, "I'll go as long as Alyson comes with me."

 Bailey also chimed in, "I'd better come along, too."

 Amanda added a sarcastic comment, "Why don't we have the whole band go with Libby to the hotel?"

 Justin replied, "Why not? Besides, we're not performing for a couple of hours. We got time."

 Alyson rolled her eyes, and grabbed Andrew. She dragged him out of the dressing room. She asked him with an irritated voice, "Why are you going with Libby, Trevor, and Justin back to the hotel?"

 Andrew replied, "I'm going with them to get info out of Libby, find out what's in her head."

 "Why can't Justin or Trevor talk to her?"

 "I was her boyfriend, and I grew up with her. She'll be more comfortable talking to me than the other guys. But since I'm with you, you need to come with me. Oh, and you can't be in the same room as Libby and I. She needs to be relaxed as possible."

 Alyson reluctantly replied, "Fine, we'll go together with Justin and Trevor. But you need to leave the door open. I don't want that slut making moves on you. You're mine, not hers."

 Andrew agreed.

 It's about an hour later, and the three UTurn boys, Libby, and Alyson were at their hotel suite. The other girls were out on a lunch break. Libby was dressed clean clothes as she washed off the salad.

 Andrew approached Libby as she came out her room in the suite. He asked her, "Can we talk?"

 Libby agreed, and the two went into her room. Andrew left the door slightly opened so Alyson can keep an eye on them. The two teen sat on a bed. Libby asked him, "So, what do you want to talk about?'

 Andrew replied with a question, "What's going with you lately? You ignore the girls, and you'll only talk to the guys. You'll do whatever the guys tell you. You need to be careful. We can't lose you."

 Libby was stunned by Andrew's question and observation. She was silent for a few minutes, then she spoke up nerves in her voice: "If I tell you, you won't try to kick me out?"

 "I won't."

 "This whole thing started years ago. For the first 8 years of my life, everything was great. My parents were as happy as they can be. Then one day, my parents got a divorce. I was a 'daddy's girl', and I wanted to live with him in Hartford, Connecticut. But he told me to stay in Boston as his job was 'too demanding.' When I started eighth grade, I found out the reason why my parents split up. My mom was cheating on my dad with Dr. Steve Middleton. My dad's job was taking away his attention from his family. To make things worse, my mom and Steve got married, and my mom forced me to change my last name, Abrams, to Middleton.

 "I was sick of living this fake life in the fake part of Boston. I wanted desperately to move in with my dad. When my eighth grade year was beginning to wrap up, I wanted take Alyson's popularity away from her. I was jealous of her stable family, despite them being conservative Christians. I questioned her about where God was in my life, and Alyson gave no answer. It's like she didn't care my life was falling apart. So I decided to try to take her crown by losing my virginity. I knew Alyson would never do this, so I figured doing that would make me popular. Then I decided to sleep with more popular guys.

 "When my mom found out what I was doing, she didn't care. I was hoping she would kick me out, but instead she put me on birth control pills, and encouraged me to continue having sex. When I started dating you, I was hoping to stop all this sleeping around. I heard how you're very respectful towards girls. But then my mom pressured me to sleep with you. I didn't want to. You looked so young, and you were very nice. That was why I had to cheat on you. I didn't want to hurt you, and see your sweet face upset. But it wasn't enough for my stupid mom. And to this day, I do regret trying to force myself on you, and calling you gay slurs.

 "A year before I joined UTurn, I started dating Greg. He reminded me of you, but he was more willing to have sex with me. He was sweet, and really nice, even though he tried to be the new, meaner you. Around junior prom, I found out I was pregnant. I was scared. I knew Alyson would get all religious on me, but I didn't want to kill Greg's baby. But my mom forced me to have an abortion. Then a few months later, when UTurn were back at Beacon Hill High, I was pregnant again, and I was forced to kill the baby again. I never told Greg, as I was ashamed.

 "Then right before I joined UTurn, my secret came out. Greg dumped me, and I lost my queen bee status. I knew being in this band would not be well-liked by the members, but I was actually relived to be in the band. Being busy helped me, but it drained me. And doing all those sexual stuff for Russia has taken a toll on me. That's why I've been acting strange."

 After she wrapped up, there was silence. At the same time, Alyson overheard the entire conversation.

 It's now evening, and UTurn just wrapped up their opening act for Girls Aloud. As the members turned off their microphones, Alyson gathered Bailey, Stacie, and Amanda. She gave them a shorten version of Libby's explanation to Andrew. The girls were in shock. They all just thought of Libby as this straight-up mean slut. As it turns out, she's just a girl who wanted her dad more than her mom.

 When the four girls returned to Libby and the guys, they were quiet. The guys noticed the silence, so Justin asked, "Is everything all right?"

 Alyson faced Andrew, and said, "Andrew, tell Libby that I'm sorry for the way I treated her. I didn't know she had a crappy life."

 As Andrew was about to speak, Libby stopped him, and said to Alyson, "I should be the one who's sorry. I took out my frustration on you. I'm guessing you overheard what I said to Andrew, right?"

 Alyson nodded her head. Libby continued, "My family was in shambles compared to your's. My dad was too busy to visit me at all; my mom practically encouraged me to become a whore; and the only good person is Steve Middleton. He was the closest to being my dad, but he could never replace my dad. Being in UTurn was an escape from all that shit, despite dressing like a stripper for Russia."

 Andrew asked Libby, "So you're okay with Alyson hearing everything?"

 Libby replied, "Yeah, I'm okay."

 With that, the members hugged Libby.

 It's now midnight, and UTurn were asleep, except for Libby. She got out her laptop, and went into the bathroom. She started writing an email. This is an excerpt of what she wrote:

 "I know it was you who told everyone at BHHS about my 'secret'. I'll see to it that you'll be brought down."

 When she was done, she hit 'send.'

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THIS IS GIRLS ALOUD IN THE PIC, AND IN THE VIDEO. ALSO, ONE OF THE SONGS UTURN PERFORMS, THESE WORDS (I SAY TO YOU), IS IN THE EXTERNAL LINK>>>