|Candice's Third P.O.V.|
|Still continuing the day|

this is definitely my favorite rewritten chapter so far.
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While the other kids possibly enjoyed the future of their last year in school, Cassidy Jones was the complete opposite. She was back at it again taking AP and college course classes her mother settled with Stephanie on, like her previous school years. It never mattered if the stress got Candice; if the work took away her teen life - everything had to be her mother's way. Not saying she'd struggle with the classes, but she'd rather be in classes of her own personal interest.

Sometimes it's okay to take a break from planning your future; live in the moment. Her brother does... why can't she?

At this rate, I'll be taking my AP Macroeconomics exam in no time. Nothing but AP classes on this schedule.

I can sense the stress of mom coming.

"You don't seem happy being in here. What's got your knickers in a twist?" Finn asked, sitting her AP U.S. Government book he was carrying on her desk.

It was their first day back and their teacher, Mr. Regal, already grew fondness of him - more so, his accent. Despite being British, he adored Finn's Irish accent.

Finn's Irish accent was pretty thick and made him talk a bit "funny" to most people here. Candice, however, never found it amusing people laughed at it.

"I don't belong in here. I should be taking AP Comparative Government. Mom thought otherwise; said I need some refreshing of the brain. Nonsense, really. We learned about this in the 9th grade. She wouldn't listen to me when I told her. She never does," Candice answered, opening the book despite Mr. Regal telling them not to touch them.

Finn placed a hand on her shoulder as comfort, "Hey, it's your last year. You'll be away from her when you make it to college. You can even live with me," he piped up, giving her a sweet grin so she wouldn't be down.

Live with him? Yeah, Fergal, calm it down.

She forced a chuckle, leaning back in her seat. Finn was a naive boy, she'd be the first to admit that. His mother never pressured him, never took out her frustration on him, never caused the insecurities within him. Candice could be hundred of miles away from her mom and still hear her voice. It wasn't a matter of only school; this was a personal issue.

"Candice, have you gained weight?"

"An A minus? What am I paying your tutor for?! Get out!"

"You have that demon gene in you just like your grandfather! Multiple personalities, my behind, Allen! She's a devil! A devil!"

As her leg began shaking, her mouth automatically began her breathing techniques to keep calm. It was the first day - the first day. She had to at least make it to the second week before having a breakdown; that was her personal goal.

Mr. Regal smoothed back his hair, doing it quickly with his prissy pink hand mirror and putting it away before any of them noticed he owned that. They noticed old man.

"Remember: class rules are on the board; always grab the hallway pass when you have to use the restroom; no fights in class; raise your hand if you have the answer... never comment on my bad hair-days. Other than that you're free to go!" He stopped as soon as the bell rung and gestured for them to leave.

Not wasting any time, she stuffed the AP U.S. Government book in her mini backpack, "Gallows is outside waiting on you," Finn commented as he came rushing past her for his phone that he accidentally left behind.

Candice mentally sighed before heading out, allowing the crowded doorway to clear. Ignoring the judging look from Luke Gallows about her outfit, she pulled her sleeves farther down:

"Allen's going to kill you," Luke commented when he caught up with her.

Allen - or A.J. - was her older brother.

Luke, or Andrew, was one of his friends. They've been friends going on since the 7th grade --- when A.J. was still in N.J.P.W. Middle School and Candice was getting bumped up to higher grades thanks to her academics.A.J. first viewed the young boy as another form of an mentor, seeing as their dad was, well, not the best.

She'll leave it at that.

Knowing her age and how high school boys were led to Allen's protectiveness over her. He tried not suffocating her as much as their mom did, but he still wanted her to know his attitude was for her best interest, he was from the heart. It's not like Candice ever complained about it. She was thankful for her brother, she really was. Sometimes, however, it made her want to cry.

Allen treated her as if she was this fragile box, nearly breaking at a slight push of the finger. But it was true. Candice's emotions were heavily misunderstood. Not only by their mother, but everybody else. Their mother never bothered taking her to the doctor for possible treatment for her... condition? Problem? Candice didn't know what to refer to it as; she wished it never made its way to her. It skipped over Allen and landed on her? That wasn't fair, nor was it right.

Allen said their grandfather had it and shot their uncle when their mom was younger. She's seen it as a curse ever since.

"First day back to school, Gallows. I always dress to impress," she replied, reminding him of all her outfits over the years. Luke was the reinforcement of her brother when he wasn't around. In her life, she was never allowed to be alone.

Luke grabbed her regular sized backpack for her, eyeing her shirt before shaking his head, "Ah, I don't think he'll notice. He's trying to calm Sami - news is saying Loony Lee's back,"

Candice nearly stopped walking, almost getting trampled by the Uso Twins running through the busy hall, ducking and dodging through passing students.

"AJ's back?" Her voice softened as she asked the question, her heart slowly increasing its beat.

AJ was the closest friend she had in this school. What everybody did to her - the name calling, the bullying, the isolation, Candice felt it all. It was a parallel between her current self and past self.

Little Candice dealt with the name calling from her cousins - saying she's a demon, she's going to Hell, she's insane, she's crazy, she has more than one person in her body. Little Candice was bullied by her family - she's lazy, she's gained too much weight, she puts too much stress on her mom. Little Candice was forced to be isolated from her family - it's for their safety, she can't be trusted, she needs to be taken to the psych ward.

"Yeah... look, don't go associating with her, aight? Emma is already catching flack. Just... text her, got it? Keep this year steady for yourself," Luke gave the girl a small pat, knowing what her mind was probably thinking at the news.

But Candice wasn't listening. AJ was back... and that was the happiest she's felt in months.

|April's Third P.O.V.|

After Trigonometry, she spent extra minutes talking to Emma and Ms. Trish about the irony of adjusting to her new school at the end of the year only to be transferred right back to her old one. The whispering from the others creeped up her spine during class, and thankfully Ms. Trish either shushed them or threatened to send them to Stephanie.

"Breathe, focus on your breathing. Do you think the Harley now would stop breathing if Joker told her to? She'll tell him to go fuck himself."

That's what Candice used to tell her when they were in the bathroom stalls. AJ'll be hovering over the toilet, trying not to empty the breakfast or lunch she'd eaten, while Candice would be holding her hair, wiping any signs of tears AJ had building in her eye. Emma was the watcher, making sure no girls came in finding anything funny about the situation.

Harley Quinn... AJ knew something was wrong when she kept getting her in character quizzes.

To love someone was frightful, yet... it was beautiful. This is the person setting butterflies in your heart, giving you a feeling of warmth only your safest place could. It wasn't a matter of right or wrong when you thought about this person, only the matter of emotions fluttering as you considered scenarios you two would experience in the near future. You sometimes woke up for this person, needing to see them as they contained the key to your happiness in your heart. It wasn't anything sickening... she thought. No, it was normal.

They made you happy; they deserved your life. Your every thought, your every smile, your every accomplishment. It was the least you could give them after they gave you the most peaceful feeling a human being could know - happiness.

And that's how she saw... him. That's how she saw Phil.

He was different from Dolph - he didn't flirt with other girls to test her jealousy limits.
He was different from Daniel - he didn't step on her personal beliefs to feel better about his own.
He was different from John - he didn't control her life to the point of her wanting to tear her hair out.

No... Phil loved her. He took her to comic cons, he took her on dates, he changed his attire when he met her older sister, he stopped hanging with Corey after one of Corey's enemies almost hurt her... so, what happened? Why did he become like them? Why did he accept the school's comments about her? Why did he make it seem like she was crazy?

What did she do?

She was aware of one thing she did - she lost myself. Lost herself so much her mom became fearful and sent her to the nearest psych ward.

Does she want to go back? No.

Did it earn her stares when she came back? Yes.

Did it make her some loner? In a way, yes.

Did it absolutely make Phil scared of her and view her as something she's not? Yes.

Did it give her nightmares? Yes.

Did it gain her a friendship with both Emma and Candice? Yes, actually.

Candice understood what it was like being in that place, seeing as what she's diagnosed with. She understood the judgment and the people here thinking it was all some big joke.

Because teenagers have a funny way of viewing life:

You have those who see everything painfully,

those who see everything humorless,

those who see everything comically,

and those who just don't care.

Which category was she? Well....

She's the one who views life bitterly.

A few boys, barely a few, hurt her and it ruined her life. They ruined her mental state and played with her emotions and she's the one who became tarnished. Where was the fairness in that? Her mother called her crazy over a breakdown she was having thanks to them. Where was the love in that? Nobody tried understanding; they only wanted to blame.

"Be careful, she'll go for your boyfriend next."

They liked her. How was she supposed to know Dolph had a girlfriend in another school? He never told her and she trusted him enough to believe he was loyal. Why did she have to face the girlfriend trying to fight her? Why was Dolph protected but she wasn't?

Taking another deep breath, AJ squeezed the sides of her notebook as tight as she could. It was going to be fine. This year will be fine.

"I found Cassidy," Emma said, watching the fashionista speed walk away from one of the guys in her brother's inner circle, or whatever they liked to call their little group. AJ can't remember. It's been a while.

Another thing, surprisingly, that made her admire Cassidy was her fashion choices. Her d.i.y. choices. AJ wanted to dress like her. She still kind of do. But the geeky look will always be her look.

She also admired how Candice never judged her. Even if AJ had an emotional breakdown that made everybody pity her or scoot away, she was there holding her. Even if she stressed about missing the days in Florida where she didn't have to worry about her mom struggling to take care of her patients, or her mom struggling to bring home the paychecks, or Robert, her older brother, struggling to help them, she listened.

Even if she cried over Phil, or screamed at Nikki, or tore her hair out for John, she was there picking up the pieces.

Honestly, AJ missed her. And maybe if she thought about the two good friends she was coming "home" to instead of the enemies, she wouldn't have been so worried.

Emma kept it pushing towards Candice, "Charmer!" She called her by her nickname.

Pulling her backpack closer to the point of where it could a part of her, AJ sped up so she could make it near them. High school hallways are so crowded.

Especially when people are trying to "see if it's really you."

"Cand-"

Candice brought her into a hug, squeezing her as she scooted them closer to nearby lockers. AJ stood in position, not knowing how to respond to the sudden contact.

Never did well with human affection.

"I have Calculus BC next. I heard the Calculus room is the coldest. I need a bathroom break to put on leggings," Candice complained, fixing her mini backpack, "Aaaaaand 'cause the skirt isn't Allen approved," she added after seeing Emma's knowing gaze.

April only shook her head in disappointment. So, Candice's mom is still forcing her to take the hardest classes.

April cowered in the corner, keeping eye contact with the floor tile. One glance up and she'll see them - the looks. She can already hear them; she can feel them.

A tiny grin spread on her face. No eye contact = peace.

|Thank You For Reading|