So, lately I've had a lot of inspiration to edit my Hetalia drabbles. My old writing tended to be a very all-over-the-place, and sometimes these unnecessary diversions were several paragraphs.

Below is one of these excerpts. It was meant to set up the theme of "Drabble Shelby" (aka me) having trouble showing emotion. But it really had nothing to do with the actual content of the Drabble.

All the same, I thought it was interesting that I had chose this experience to write about. This was actually a real event and conversation in my life. Soccer season my sophomore year. I still remember it distinctly six years later.

I didn't want to delete it, but it really was unnecessary to the Drabble as a whole, so I transferred it here. Enjoy if you want to read it.

Oh, I am changing my friend's name for privacy reasons. She'll never see this- we're not even friends anymore. But still.

~~~~~

The score was 8-0 Canton. Shelby had lost games before. She had been on losing teams her whole life. But she had never had game time cut in half because her team had been mercied.

She didn't know if she was crying over the score, or if she was angry at her team, or disappointed in herself. She walked across the field to the stands with her throat burning as tears spilled onto her cheeks, washing away the sweat. Her teammates tried to assure her that it wasn't her fault. The returning players tried to explain that their high school always got mercied by Canton, that there was nothing she could do. But Shelby couldn't will herself to listen to them. She didn't want to hear it.

"Shelby." A stern voice stated. Shelby glanced over, sniffling slightly as she blinked a few more tears out of her vision. Her friend and teammate, Joanne, beckoned Shelby away from the group and led her to the back of the bleachers.

Once they were alone and out of view, Shelby was the first one to speak. "If you're gonna try and make me feel better, I don't want to hear it. I'm sick of everyone's sympathy." She snapped, her voice harsh.

"Good, 'cause I wasn't gonna give you any." Joanne stated calmly, her hazel brown eyes void of emotion.

At those words, Shelby felt her shoulders relax and she wiped her face clear of moisture, although a few more tears replenished it. Joanne stood there silently, and after a few minutes of having time to compose herself, Shelby was able to catch her breath and soon the only sign that she had been crying was the redness of her nose and eyes.

"Thanks." Shelby muttered, nodding to Joanne. "I needed to calm down."

"No problem. You and I are the exact same, so I knew those girls trying to make you feel better was only making it worse." Joanne stated. She went to turn and head back to the bleachers, but paused again. "A little word of advise though. Never let them see you cry. Not over this. Not over anything. It makes you look weak. And you're not weak."

After that, Joanne left, expecting Shelby to follow. But Shelby stayed back for a few seconds, Joanne's words soaking in.

Never let them see you cry.