{ IT'S SANA'S BIRTHDAY TODAY!! HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY MINATOZAKI SANA!!! Sana is my Twice bias for a million reasons!! She's the perfect mix of cute and sexy and SHE KNOWS IT and she does it so well! She knows her strengths! She's such an amazing dancer and it doesn't get appreciated enough! She is charismatic on stage and hits all her moves so perfectly! Off stage, she's adorable and giggly and always a happy ray of sunshine! I don't think I've ever seen Sana unhappy because she's literally just a huge ball of joy! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SANA!!! I wish I could have posted a happier chapter for her birthday....🙃🙂 }

Teddy Morgan wasn't popular among his classmates.

Well, that was debatable.

He was a hot topic all year long, everyone knew him, but everyone also hated him. So instead of finding a place to sit and eat in the cafeteria, Teddy grabbed a salad, since it was the only thing that came in a container and not on a tray, and made his way towards the library. It was his routine for two years of his high school career. Why sit beside people who only wanna pick fights? As so, his middle school routine was very similar.

Teddy placed his salad, water bottle, and books on the furthest table in the library before sitting down. He broke out his notebook and pencil, simultaneously eating as he studied. Only a couple minutes went past before he heard a thud somewhere behind him. Peaking over his shoulder, Teddy tried to see between the bookshelves to see if Zoe was crying in the corner again.

"Did they forget?" Zoe asked as she rubbed her elbow after accidentally hitting it against one of the bookshelves. Teddy listened as a bitter laugh emitted from the person hidden behind the bookshelves. "Yeah, right, Kenneth. Like my parents have ever planned a surprise for me. How could they surprise someone they don't know exists?"

Teddy could easily recognize that was Zoe's voice, although, it sounded like all her usual high-pitched happiness had been sucked out of it. He assumed Zoe was talking about a birthday or something.

As Zoe listened to her parents personal assistant spew endless excuses, her head fell into her lap. Slowly, the pain grew enough that she couldn't hold back. Tears escaped her tightly squeezed eyes and ran down her cheeks. Sobs then escaped her in sharp hiccups as she tried her best to be quiet and hide them. She could feel the pain in her chest and traveling through her limps, causing her to tremble. She couldn't stop the tears even if she tried.

"I thought we could finally look like a family." Zoe softly cried. Her breathing hiccuped as she tried to continue. "I was going to hold their hand and show them off. They could've seen me on the cheer squad with my friends. They were going to hug me and tell me I was doing a really good job here. I'll never have that... Will I?"

Kenneth was silent for a moment as he listened to Zoe sob on the other end of the phone. He hated always being the one to throw the punch but he didn't really have a choice. All he could do was make the blow a little less painful.

"I'm sorry, Zoe. I'll make sure to let them know that you're upset. Maybe they'll change their mind." Kenneth spoke softly, sympathy lacing his every word.

Zoe sniffled and raised her head, blinking away her tears as she tried to pull herself together. Wiping the wetness from her face, Zoe continued. "You don't have to tell them. They won't care. Nothing will change. I can do the homecoming walk by myself."

Teddy didn't know how to feel about what he gathered from her conversation. All he knew was Zoe wanted her parents to walk with her across the football field like all the other cheerleaders and football players got to do in the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, it sounded like she wouldn't get that luxury.

Strange, Teddy thought. In the little time he knew her, he figured she got everything she ever wanted with her money and beauty. Except for her parents. Unfortunately, he felt like he could relate to that sadness. It was a familiar concept to Teddy, to not have emotionally or physically available parents. Maybe it was something they had in common.

"Where are they, anyways?" There was a pause. "Jesus! New York? I would've maybe been okay knowing they're all the way in China but they're just a couple hours away and won't come?"

Zoe's sobs continued at that new information. If her parents were in China, she couldn't convinced herself that her parents were so far away that they couldn't possibly make it here in time. But they weren't even that far away. Just a couple states east. They really didn't care that much that they couldn't spare a day or two for this? For her?

It wasn't fair. She just wanted them. Just once. She wanted to be with her parents and have them smile down on her. Just once.

~~~

School football games weren't really Teddy's thing. He enjoyed football, just didn't feel like cheering on the very assholes that made his life miserable. But out of sheer curiosity, Teddy found himself going to this one.

He didn't bother to sit in the bleachers. It wasn't like he was planning on staying and watching. Instead, he stood by the fence around the field and stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets. First, were the cheerleaders. They started on one side of the football field and walked across, only to the middle, with their arms linked with their moms and dads. Some walked with their single mom, single father, or even grandparents. Everyone had someone.

Teddy's attention was subconsciously focused on finding that perky blonde. When he spotted her, she was waiting on the sidelines with a bright smile on her face. She stood by herself, beside her fellow cheerleaders that had their parents with them. She smiled brighter than he had ever seen, batted her long eyelashes like a pageant queen, and looked perfectly fine. But he knew she wasn't.

Teddy wondered if she would make it. Could she really walk in front of all these people, without her parents, and not have a mental breakdown like she did in the library?

Zoe held her chin high and flashed a bright smile as she walked out alone, without either parent beside her. Her milky brown eyes glistened under the bright lights that illuminated the football field. Her glittery eyeshadow and shiny lipgloss made her tear filled eyes look like they belonged. Good camouflage. Teddy even heard one of the students on the bleachers gasp at how she looked like an angel because of her sparkling eyes.

"She's so rich, even her eyes shine like million dollar diamonds." Some girl joked to her friends.

Teddy scoffed at their arrogance. How could nobody tell she was on the verge of tears? She was walking on to the football field with nobody by her side. Yes, she was smiling. Yes, she was basically skipping. Yes, she was waving at everyone in the bleachers. But no, she wasn't okay. Her smile was bright but it was forced. She was waving, but he had a feeling she was doing so to hide the fact that she was shaking. Which was proven when she was handed the mic by their principle and her stationary hands visibly shook.

"And where are your parents now, Zoe?" The principle asked after announcing to everyone that she was the newest member of their cheerleading squad and an exciting new addition to their class.

"They're in Beijing but they reminded me to thank you for providing me with an excellent education and giving me such amazing opportunities like this that I wouldn't get to experience otherwise. I'm really happy to be at this school with such a wonderful and respected principle." Zoe smiled up at the principle as he got all bashful.

Teddy shook his head in disappointment. He knew what she was doing. She was using flattery to distract the principle from asking any further questions about her parents. Teddy wondered if she did that often. That wasn't information Zoe seemed to give out, or even want to receive at all. But internally, Zoe had more than just one reason she didn't talk about her parents. She could write out a whole list if she was asked to.

When the principle was done bragging about Zoe, he allowed her to escort herself out and then invited another cheerleader to the middle of the football field with their parents in hand. Zoe skipped away with a smile but as she walked away by herself, the sadness pricked at her eyes again. She couldn't stop thinking about how nice it would be to have proud parents by her sides in that very moment.

Zoe dropped her head to avoid anybody see her tear up, casually tightening and pricking at her high ponytail to seem calm and collected. Before joining her fellow cheer mates, she rushed towards the exit of the football field. Teddy stepped out of the way as Zoe bursted through the fence and jogged towards the school. He could see her hand raise to her mouth as he predicted she was hiding back sobs.

Teddy watched Zoe disappear into the school, nervously scratching the back of his head as he looked around to see if anyone else saw her run off. He wondered why he wasn't hoping with joy and frantically pointing at her, exposing her true self to all his fellow classmates. He felt like he was no longer one of the saddest and most broken students in his class. He wanted to prove it. He wanted everyone to see Zoe cry her eyes out so he could prove he wasn't the only pathetic one.

No. He didn't, actually.

Teddy was originally relieved that the perfect, beautiful, rich, and beloved Zoe Yang wasn't all that, after all. He felt cocky knowing she was broken inside, just for a moment. That was gone now. Because he understood. It sucked to be dying inside with nobody on the outside noticing anything. Everyone was so blind. Teddy had been suffering for years and even if he wanted to feel relief at not being the only one, he wasn't.

He felt sympathetic. Even empathetic. How pathetic.

When Zoe came back, she still looked like a million dollars with no sign of tears. She walked past Teddy to get to the football field, flashing him a friendly smile and a wave. He didn't falter. The same unreadable expression sat on his dark complexion and his tall figure stood stiff and intimidating. Zoe awkwardly averted her eyes and continued towards her fellow cheer mates. They asked where she ran off too and she simply claimed she really had to pee.

Teddy stayed long enough to see the football game start and the cheerleaders do their first cheer. It had only been a couple days that Zoe had been attending school so she didn't know all the cheers yet. They had taught her the first one and then let her pace back and forth, chanting along and waving her pom-poms in the air. The crowd seemed to like Zoe. Of course. She was a natural human magnet and had a smile that hypnotized everyone she flashed it at.

Zoe seemed fine. She had no more tears in her eyes but they still sparkled wildly in the light. Teddy decided to leave. He wasn't interested in the game and he definitely wasn't interested in staring at Zoe all night long.

On his way through the parking lot, he spotted their mascot jogging towards the football field. His classmate, Howl Xavier, was stuffed inside a brown furry body with a giant wolf head under his arm.

Teddy snorted a laugh, catching Howl's attention. Howl also snorted a laugh, knowing how ridiculous he looked in the mascot suit. He did a simple, three finger wave as he passed Teddy. Teddy did the same and trudged through the dark parking lot and down the street to get home.

He didn't live far from the high school so he usually walked to and from school. From what he heard, Zoe lived nearby, but he hadn't ever seen her walking. But he also woke up early and left school late so he figured he just might not run into her. Thank god.