Nerve Endings by Too Close to Touch

★ ★ ★ ★

Let's go shopping, I texted Elena. Sometime in my drunken haze last night, we exchanged phone numbers. I can't remember when.

Maybe it was too early in the friendship to go shopping together, but I didn't care. I wanted to piss off Ian. And I'd do it in a cliche teenage girl fashion.

I'd kidnap his credit card.

Yes!!! Elena responded. The three exclamation marks made me cringe slightly, but I knew that was just her bright and shiny personality showing through. How could she be so energetic after she drank so much last night? Was she not hung over?

I told Elena I'd pick her up at one. Getting in the shower, I felt my stomach burn as water hit my wound. Hissing, I washed up as quickly as I could and got the hell out of the tub.

I didn't do anything to my hair but dry it because I had plans for my lovely long locks.

Muahahaha.

Let's see how much Ian 'liked' me after today.

Putting on a crap ton of makeup--makeup was fun to put on, mkay? Don't hate on my art--I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My body may have been ugly, but at least I could make my face look somewhat attractive with the help of some makeup products.

Lifting up my shirt, I focused on my stomach. It was so pudgy and gross. Why couldn't it be flat and tiny like all the gorgeous models I saw in the magazine? I contemplated grabbing something to eat before leaving to get Elena, but thought against it.

I didn't need to get fatter now did I?

I was kind of excited to hang out with Elena. She and Will were my first real friends since moving here--my first real friends in awhile actually. I had "friends" back home, but they were more for appearances than anything else so I wouldn't be the weird loner girl who ate lunch alone in the bathroom.

Will and Elena were the only good things that have happened in my life since my mom married Ian, and it was nice to have some light in the darkness.

"Hey mom, where's Ian?" I asked, praying that she'd say he wasn't home.

"Out buying groceries," she responded, smiling at me with her soft mom smile.

I loved my mom, more than anything else in the world. She had always been my best friend, and I could tell her anything.

Anything except my situation with Ian of course.

"Whatcha need, hon?"

"Oh, he said I could borrow his credit card to go shopping with my friend," I lied easily. I hated lying to my mom--it killed me really--but I needed to do something to get back at him.

"You have a friend?!" my mother squealed, completely overjoyed. "Oh, I just knew you'd make friends sooner or later. I mean, you're just lovely, who wouldn't want to be friends with you," she gushed.

"I have two, actually. An Asian paraplegic and a spazzy Russian immigrant."

My mom looked confused for a moment before a smile crept back onto her face. "Well they must be lovely if they're friends with you."

I rolled my eyes at her giddiness, but I couldn't help but grin as well. Seeing my mom happy made me happy.

"Here," she said, pushing a card towards me. "This is the card Ian gave me. We'll have to get you one, too. Don't spend too much, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I won't," I lied once again, kissing her cheek. "Thanks, love you."

"Love you too sweetheart, have fun!"

I walked out of the house and into the Jeep Wrangler Ian bought for me. My stomach churned once again as I came to the realization that literally everything I had was Ian's. But I knew now it wasn't out of the kindness of his heart.

It was because of his need for control.

If my mom and I ever tried to leave him, we'd have nothing.

That made me gulp.

I drove towards the address Elena gave me, blasting Too Close to Touch with the windows down. I may have had a headache, but I wanted the rest of the world to have a headache too. That was just the kind of mood I was in.

It wasn't a happy K Pop mood.

I had to type a code that Elena texted to me in order to open up the grand gate that kept me from moving forward. After it opened, I pulled into the driveway, jumped out, and rang the doorbell.

The door opened a crack, and when the woman behind it realized it was a just a teenage girl, she pulled it wide open, opening up her arms to give me a tight, bone-crushing hug.

"Dani," the woman said, who I assumed was Elena's mother. "So nice to meet you, Dani!"

"You... too," I struggled to get out. She finally let go of me, smiling as wide, if not wider, than my mom was earlier.

"Come in, come in," she ushered. "I'm Sofia. You want drink? Soda? Water?"

I shook my head. "No, thank you though."

"Ahh, I can't believe Elena has American girl friend! All her girl friends in Russia."

I secretly wondered if Elena's father was part of the bratva because her family was loaded. And I mean loaded.

"Thank you for being friend!" Sofia told me, that wide smile still on her face. Sofia was so beautiful, with cropped blonde hair and the same bright blue eyes as Elena. I could see where Elena got both her looks and her warm personality from.

Sofia started rubbing her stomach. "I go to heat up borscht. I eat for two now," she said gesturing to her belly. Wait, Sofia was pregnant? How old was she? She certainly didn't look old, but she did have a teenager. "Want borscht?"

I shook my head and smiled at her. "No thank you, Sofia. And congratulations!"

"Aw, thank you, Dani. Спасибо, спасибо!"

I'm going to assume that that meant thank you.

Elena ran downstairs. She had a modern 70s vibe to her--blue flare jeans, a flowy white top, and her natural wild hair was free.

She was beautiful. I must look like a hobo next to her.

"Dani!" Elena ran over to me and gave me a big hug. Was she seriously not hung over?

Seriously?

I heard foot steps behind me so I whirled around and came face to face with the scariest man I had ever seen.

I'm telling you. The bratva.

He looked me up and down with a judging look on his face, like he was sizing me up. I felt like I was a guy who was meeting his girlfriend's father for the first time.

Suddenly a smile broke out on his face and he wrapped his arms around me in a strong hug, just like the rest of his family had done already. I guess they all liked hugs.

"Теперь вы семья. Добро пожаловать в наш дом," he told me. He sounded genuine even though I had no idea what he said.

Elena, reading my mind, translated for me. "He said 'you are family now. Welcome to our home.'" My eyes widened in surprise. How sweet. Who knew a mafia man would almost make me cry in joy.

"Спасибо," I repeated what Sofia had said earlier, hoping it actually meant thank you.

"Dmitry," he introduced himself.

"Dani," I responded, reaching out to shake his hand. Instead he pulled me in for another hug. This family was so weird, but in a good way.

Did this mean that I was accepted by the bratva? Hell yes!

Normally I couldn't stand being touched--I think you've realized that by now--but Elena's family was so kind and loving that it didn't bother me at all.

Sofia and Dmitry finally let us leave and the second the door closed shut Elena rolled her eyes. But I could tell that she really loved her family. I kind of wanted them to adopt me.

"Извини- I mean sorry," she apologized, running her fingers through her long hair.

"It's all good," I laughed. "They seem like really nice people."

Elena smiled at that, and the two of us hopped into my Jeep.

"To the mall?"

"To the mall!" she exclaimed.

I was about to change the music playing because it didn't really seem like something Elena would like when suddenly she squealed. "Ooh I love this band!" she clapped.

Wow, aren't I a poor judge of character.

You can't really blame me though. Sweet, overly affectionate Elena and rock didn't seem like they'd go together.

I asked Elena about her mother being pregnant and she spilled all the beans. Apparently Sofia was pregnant with Elena when she was only sixteen. Dmitry, however, was eighteen at the time and was just about to graduate high school. He had no plans to go to college until he found out Sofia was pregnant. He then realized he needed to support the now three of them, so he went to business school to get a degree. Dmitry grew up poor, so everything he had now, he made on his own. Two years later Dmitry and Sofia were married with baby Elena to take care of. Isn't that adorable? A lot of teenage parents didn't stay together, but Elena's did, and I just thought it was the cutest thing ever. The couple always wanted a second child, but were never able to conceive. Until recently that is.

I was so happy for them and their happy family. But I was also a little envious to be honest. I wanted my family to be as loving and close as theirs was. With Ian in the picture though, that could never happen. I knew no one's family was perfect, and that everyone had their own share of problems, but Elena's family was the closest to perfection I'd ever seen.

At least my definition of perfection.

"Thank you for taking me to mall," Elena told me, smiling brightly. "It has been so long since I went to shop with friend like normal teenage girl." That made me want to hug Elena and never let her go. Poor thing left all her friends behind in Russia. Moving to a completely different country must have been so difficult.

"No problem," I replied. "I'm excited. I don't normally do regular teenage girl things either."

She grabbed my hand after that, swinging our arms back and forth. It felt... surprisingly normal.

"So what we shop for?" she asked me. I grinned evily.

"Oh, we're shopping for everything."

★ ★ ★ ★

"Wow," Elena breathed when I came out of the bathroom. "Woww..."

I just had my long chocolate locks chopped off into a silvery-platinum blonde bob. After that, I went into the salon's bathroom to change into some of the many clothes I bought.

I had to buy enough for a brand new wardrobe after all. Muahaha.

I decided on some fishnet stockings and paired them with distressed jeans so they would be visible. And on top of that, I put a Guns and Roses tank top on and a baggy maroon cardigan.

It was so different from the old Dani Stevens. The Dani Stevens Ian wanted me to be, who wore Louis Vuitton shoes and Chanel handbags.

Take that Ian. You said to play by your rules, and you never said anything about how to dress. I win this round.

To top off the look, I put red lipstick on that was so deep, it was almost black.

Everything was perfect.

"You look amazing," Elena whispered in shock, looking me up and down.

I know.

I could feel the salon workers getting irritated that we were still there so it was time to blow this popsicle joint. Walking out, Elena in toe, I heard something distant that disturbed me.

"Fat slut," a voiced snapped. "You just don't know how to stay away from him, do you."

Why did girls have to refer to other girls as sluts and whores. I didn't understand it.

I followed the sound of the voice and stumbled upon that sophomore jerk Penny something bullying a poor girl.

"What did you say to her?" I asked, my voice deadly calm. While calling someone a slut was terrible, she also called the girl fat, which is a double sin. Commenting on someone's weight could scar them for life, and lead him or her to make terrible decisions. This was how eating disorders got started.

Fucking fat ass, Ian's voice echoed in my mind. Disgusting.

I shook my head mentally. I didn't have an eating disorder, but I could see how constant bullying could cause someone to develop one.

Taking a better look at the girl, I realized she wasn't overweight at all. Actually the opposite. She had that model stature: very tall and very thin. However, her face looked young and her chest wasn't very developed yet, leading me to think that she had to have been a couple years younger than me.

Penny turned to me and her jaw dropped. She immediately took a few steps away from me.

Heh, it must have been my new appearance.

"We were just joking around," Penny laughed awkwardly, her face morphing into an expression of fear.

"Then get a better sense of humor," I snapped at her. Penny flinched, causing me to chuckle. "Get out of here." She and her friends didn't have to be told twice. Grabbing their shopping bags, they fled the area, hiding in a nearby Victoria's Secret.

"You okay?" I asked the girl softly. She nodded timidly, trying not to let tears fall.

"What happened?" Elena questioned. The girl gulped.

"Well there's this guy..." she trailed off. Of course. It always a guy. "He's really nice to me. We're kind of friends, but Penny doesn't like that..."

"I understand," I told her. The poor thing still looked shaken up. "We were on our way to get manicures. Care to come?" Her eyes lit up.

"Really?" She asked. I nodded my head.

Apparently her name was Cassie and she was a sophomore at our school. She seemed so delicate and fragile, like thin ice. I couldn't help this feeling of protection I felt over her because of this. Despite her low self esteem, she was stunning. Long flowing blonde hair that almost fell to her waist, blue-green eyes that reminded me of the ocean, and a few freckles that covered the bridge of her nose. She kept her gaze on the ground, and that made me sad. How could someone so beautiful be so insecure.

Probably because jerks like Penny Something-Or-Whatever went around calling her a fat slut.

Cassie and I both decided to get acrylics while Elena just got a regular manicure, the natural beauty that she was. I had never gotten fake nails before, but I always wanted them. I liked the way they looked like claws. Since I was in the "let the world burn" mood, I got matte black coffin-shaped nails to go with my dark appearance.

I finally felt like my look was complete. 

Cassie warmed up as time went on. She started to tell me about her family. She had a brother named Colin who was apparently in my grade, as well as a little sister in kindergarten named Leah who was apparently the devil. As she got more comfortable, she started to ramble on and on about her obsession with the Chainsmokers and Scream Queens, and she made Scream Queens sound surprisingly appealing as she described it in very vivid detail, labeling it as "the most ratchet piece of art she has ever been blessed with."

I decided I made a good decision by inviting Cassie to join us because she seemed to be as lonely as I was. But above that, we seemed to click. She liked 80s music and was obsessed with makeup, much like me. Elena and her also seemed to get along well, bonding over their love for tortilla bread--weird.

"So, um, would you two like to come over to my house?" Cassie asked, getting all shy again. 

"Of course!" Elena squealed, in her Elena-like fashion. "Uh, if Dani want to I mean," she corrected herself, turning to me with pleading eyes.

I shrugged. "Sure, why not. It'll be fun." Cassie grinned widely and I couldn't help but smile back. I knew she was only two years younger than me, but still, I wanted to adopt her.

When we got to Cassie's house, I realized it was much smaller than mine. I mean, it was still a decent size, but it was just... average. A little too average for someone who attended my school.

"I'm a scholarship student," she mumbled, twirling her hair around nervously. "Sorry, I should've mentioned that. I'd understand if you didn't want to-"

"Cassie," I interrupted, smiling at her as an attempt to calm her down. "It's okay, your house is beautiful."

When we went inside, the first thing I heard was, "I swear I'm not gay. I just want to be friends!"

Well okay then.

"I don't make friends," another voice growled. It sounded familiar. Very familiar.

And that was when I saw him: Sebastian Snow, sporting a split lip and a black eye.

Oh dear.

★ ★ ★ ★

Sorry this was kind of a filler chapter. You'll get more action in the next. If you enjoyed, please vote and comment. It really means a lot.

-Mae