Tabitha Kent was exhausted.

      But she wasn't supposed to be. She was supposed to be pretty, popular, perfect. The three p's.

      And now, she just didn't feel like it.

      Then again, she always lied about how she felt. It was easy for her to do so because to all of the boys and her friends, she was a flawless. They never saw how much she was breaking, not even her own mother.

      Her relationship with her mother was...complicated.

      Tabitha knew her mom loved her. She just wanted her to the best...no matter the cost.

      "Do you really think you should be having a second plate, Tabitha?"

      "I think you should skip dessert tonight, Tabitha."

      "Put on some more makeup, we don't want anyone to see your blemishes, do we Tabitha?"

      "Stop frowning and smile, the boys love it when pretty girls smile, Tabitha."

      It wasn't her mother trying to be harsh. She put as much pressure as she could on her daughter to strive for her to be better, that's all.

      But Tabitha's father was not like that. Whatever her mother wanted her to do, her father made sure that she did the complete opposite. She was such a different girl when her dad was around. Tomboy, wearing whatever she wanted, no makeup, playing sports.

      It was all fun and games until her dad died when she was twelve. And then her mother fully came in and turned her daughter into her perfect little porcelain doll.

      And as much as Tabitha to ignore everything that's happened, it began slowly breaking down at her soul.

      Her friends didn't know how often she had panic attacks in the bathroom. They didn't know how often she cried herself to sleep. They didn't know how badly she hated herself and the facade she put up in front of everyone.

      But they couldn't know. No one could know. Tabitha was the popular girl in Westinghouse high school. The boys and girls flocked around her. If they knew the truth about her, it would destroy her.

      "Tabitha, you alive?" The voice of her closest and only real and genuine friend, Dina, spoke up and yanked the blonde right out of her thoughts.

      She shook herself out of it, giggling before nodding. "Yeah, sorry. Got distracted."

      "You've been distracted a lot recently." Dina pointed out with an eyebrow raised, leaning her back against her locker.

      "What can I say? I always have my head in the clouds." Tabitha laughed it off just like she always does and went to class.

      Everything after that was the normal routine. Boys and girls talking to her, the former wanting to date her and the latter wanting to be just like her. Hell, sometimes it was the other way around, but the blonde wasn't complaining. She liked the attention. But it was always the same old thing, leaving her more and more emotionally exhausted.

      Maybe it was for the best. Change wasn't always a good thing. If Tabitha Kent just spent the rest of her life as everyone's royal queen, everything should be fine. She just needed to suck it up and accept it.

      By the time school was finally over, Tabitha felt mentally drained. She just wanted to go home and rip the damn makeup off her skin before taking a long nap.

      A shame that the weather didn't seem to get the memo, as it was now pouring down and she didn't have a ride.

      "Ah, shit." She muttered, staying by the door of the school to avoid getting wet.

      The Kent girl knew that she could always walk home. But that would be a disaster, walking home with her hair and clothes ruined, making streaking her cheeks. Her mother would be so pissed.

      She could also ask one of the boys from the football team to walk her home. But they were so obnoxious and she really didn't want to deal with anymore incessant flirting for the day.

      "Need a ride?" Tabitha jumped, having been distracted once again that she didn't see an old car pull up close to where she was hiding, the window halfway rolled down to reveal Stanley Barber leaning over the passenger seat when he asked his question.

      Stanley was...weird, she supposed. Always listening to music and getting high, never really had any other friend to hang out with. If the girl thought about it, she didn't think he actually did have friends. But he was definitely someone she shouldn't be affiliated with and she had never even talked to him before:

      Then why was Tabitha actually feeling tempted to accept his offer and get in his car?

      "I-it's okay, I can walk." The blonde said after a moment, cringing internally when she stuttered because Stanley could easily tell that she didn't want to walk.

      "Really, it's no problem, Tabitha. We live a couple blocks from each other." He pointed out with an eyebrow raised, clearly making a point. She hadn't realized that they live so close to each other. "I promise you won't melt, your highness."

      The last comment made her roll her eyes in annoyance but she did notice the teenage boy crack a smile when she did.

      Tabitha should not be doing this. She knows she shouldn't be. This was probably almost social suicide, being affiliated with someone like Stanley, even if she was desperate for a ride.

      But she just wanted to go home. She didn't want to deal with anyone else and honestly, it didn't seem like he would be so annoying like the other boys have been all day with her.

      And maybe, just maybe, she felt like breaking the rules just a little bit. It was just a ride, how bad could it be?

      So as if she had shook hands with the devil himself, she made her decision. The blonde ran over to his car, her hair only getting a little bit wet and pulled open the door before getting in.

      She was almost immediately greeted with stench of weed, a smell she wasn't used to and tried not to wrinkle her nose at the smell.

      "You ready?" The boy asked and Tabitha nodded just before Stanley started the car and drove away.