Rainbow's Pov

I woke up and yawned, stretching so far I almost fell out of bed.

"Ouch!" I'd pulled something in my arm. "Damn, just from stretching?" I muttered, rubbing it. "I've really gotten out of shape."

"Freshman fifteen," Morgan said. from across the room. She was already dressed and pulling her hair back into a ponytail, and I could see her smirking through the mirror.

"Wow, what time is it, like eight? Congrats on getting up so early! Or did you just get home?" I smirked as she frowned.

"Shut the hell up, Rainbow, I didn't go out last night."

"That's a first."

"It's because I'm working today you asshole!" I finally noticed what she was wearing.

"Jesus Christ... you work at Subway now?" I laughed. She groaned.

"Shut the fuck up!" She tossed the hairbrush at me.

"Is this my hairbrush?" I asked.

"Yeah, what of it?" I shrugged and let it go as Morgan grabbed her purse. "Oh, yeah, and you might wanna check twitter. There's a not-so-pleasant hashtag about you going around." I groaned and fell back onto my pillows.

"Right, because the first thing I wanna deal with in the mornings after you is the creepy portion of the internet that's obsessed with me. What are they saying this time? That the forty year old men who've never left their moms' basements deserve more bikini pics? I'm over it."

"They're accusing you of being selfish." She said.

"Selfish?"

"Yeah.  They're saying it's not fair that you've left social media without any explanation."

"I'm in college!" I protested, sitting up. "They know that!"

"It's not just that. They're saying you haven't been the same since your sister died. They're accusing you of being a fake."

"A fake?" I asked.

"Yeah. They don't think she really died. They think that you lied about it so you'd have an excuse to hand the account off to someone else because you were a catfish the whole time. They're pissed that you can't even deny it because you haven't posted any selfies since she died."

"Son of a-" I grabbed my phone and opened twitter. It was true. Almost every tweet in my feed boasted a message- #exposerainbow. Different accounts said different things; they said that I was using someone else's pictures, that I lied about Rose dying- a few even said that I was Rose and using my sister's identity to post but couldn't anymore after she died. The further I scrolled the more I saw. "What the hell?"

"Well now that that's out of the way, I'm heading out. I get out at two, I'll be back shortly after that." Morgan said, leaving. Almost as soon as she'd left, I scrolled down further and saw the first tweet with the tag. An account with no posts before it created that day.

"What the hell?" I shook my head. There was no way I was going to let this random account get to me. But having a good percentage of my following trashing me? I could deal with that.

I got up and took a shower, something that always helped me clear my head and decide what to say when making a big post. I knew I could take these guys down, I just had to be smart.

When I got back to my room, I decided to put on a nicer top than I'd initially planned to wear and actually do my makeup for the first time in ages. I set my phone up at my desk and started recording.

"Hey, it's me, Rainbow Quartz." I took a deep breath. It had been a while since I'd recorded a video. "This morning it was brought to my attention that some people are calling me a fake and accusing me of 'abandoning' you guys. Which, right off the bat, that's stupid. I don't owe my presence to any of you. But even if I did, I haven't abandoned anyone. I've moved on with my life. I'm nearing the end of my first year of college, so needless to say I've been busy. And for the people trying to say things about my sister? Don't. She was sixteen years old, and she died. I closed myself down after that because I needed time to heal after losing my baby sister, my best friend. She would have wanted me to do well in school and live my best life. So I'm sorry for being happy. Why can't you?"

I stopped recording and sighed, holding my head in my hands. Was this really the best option? Could I be doing something better with my time? I shook my head and rubbed my eyes, finding tears I didn't realize I'd let out. I looked back at my phone and posted the video on my Twitter and my Instagram.

"Well, this may as well happen today."

***

"You look good," Opal said as I met her at her work.

"Oh? Uh, thanks." I nodded. We'd met up with plans to eat dinner together. No where fancy, just at the dining hall, but it was nice to go out anyway. "How was work?" I asked as we started walking.

"Ugh, hell. This woman brought in her screaming children, and I swear to God I've never wanted to hit a child more. I miss my old job." I laughed.

"At the junk shop?" I teased. Opal swatted at me.

"It was a consignment store! God, at least I had a job back home!"

"Hey come on! I made money!" She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, right. I'm sure being a social media influencer brings in all the money."

"And free stuff! Come on, it's actually kind of fun."

"Until you realize you've sold your soul for fame." I chuckled a bit, thinking she'd meant it a a joke, but her face said otherwise.

"What do you mean?" I asked, watching her expression. She shook her head.

"Nothing. Let's just go get food. I'm starving."

We hurried our pace until we silently and awkwardly reached the dining hall. Once we'd gotten our food and secured her table, I finally worked up the nerve to ask her another question.

"So other than that, how's your day been?"

"Huh?" She glanced up from her phone and put it down. "Oh, it's been fine. Sorry, I'm just a little distracted today."

"Is it Pearl?"

"No, Amethyst." I stared at her blankly. I knew the name was familiar, but I couldn't place it. "Sugilite's sister."

"Oh, the one from Thanksgiving with the purple hair!" I nodded, hoping for all God I was right.

"Yeah!" Success! "I'm really worried about her.

"Shit."

"What?" Opal asked concerned.

"Uh... It's nothing. What's wrong?"

"Well, a couple of weeks ago Sugilite tried to take her from her mom. But then CPS brought her back. She hasn't really said much, but I think CPS is investigating the house now. There's a lot of kids there, I hope they can get them all out." I stared blankly again. Did Opal really feel like I was the right person to be telling all this to? I was pretty sure my nephew was living in a van!

"Wow that... Really sucks. Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?" I asked.

"I'm afraid not," Opal said. "But you can be my friend during this stressful time." She grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

"Of course." I said. "As long as you're my friend during my dad's wedding."

"Of course." She said, smiling.

"Man, I wish I could bring you with me! But I didn't get a plus one. I'm pretty sure it was a choice between giving me a plus one or inviting my mom." Opal laughed.

"If that had happened, I would've brought your mom as my plus one! Best way to throw shade, isn't it?" We both laughed.

"Man, that would've been great!"

"How do you feel knowing the wedding's so close? I mean, you'll have to move out the weekend after finals if you want to go early and bond with Natalia." I sighed and slapped my forehead.

"Finals, right. When are this again?"

"Next week." I sighed again.

"The nightmare before the nightmare. Uh... Okay. Yeah. Let's do this."