Work Text:
Brooke Lohst was a popular kid. Not only was she popular, she was influential. Apparently some freshman had decided to try and follow in Brooke’s footsteps. It was difficult for both parties.
Brooke had set herself to a such a high standard before people started looking up to her, but now she had even higher standards. This was a vicious cycle because the higher her standards were, the harder the kids had to work to be like her. The harder the kids worked, the more worried Brooke got. She didn’t want kids to go through the same thing she did, but there wasn’t a lot she could do to stop it.
The day she found out that people were looking up to her, she went to the mall and hung out in the Pinkberry. She sat down at a table alone, staring down at her frozen yogurt with her phone in one hand and a spoon in the other. Her phone was vibrating with texts and other notifications, but she kept staring at her frozen treat. She dropped her phone on the table and picked up her cup. She pulled her legs in close and started eating her yogurt.
It wasn’t long before her eyes started it well up. She ignored it and continued to stuff her face. However, this only made it worse. She wasn’t about to cry only because of stress, now she was also about to cry because the coldness of the frozen yogurt was hurting her mouth.
She put down the cup of frozen yogurt and curled in on herself. The place was mostly empty since she didn’t have a 6th period, but some people were still milling around, mostly just the workers. She felt someone pull a chair up and sit next to her, but she didn’t look up. Whoever decided to sit there was going to have to find a different place for conversation.
“Brooke? What’s wrong?” It was Chloe. Her voice was soft and her hand went to Brooke’s back, rubbing comforting circles as Brooke began to shake. “Hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I’m completely fine,” Brooke lied through her teeth. She pulled her head up and flashed Chloe a smile, tear stains and all. She put her feet back on the ground and rubbed her eyes, making them more red. “See? Completely fine.”
They made eye contact and Brooke almost broke again. Her smile fell, she pressed her lips together to keep from letting out a sob. Tears started falling, but Brooked acted like she didn’t notice.
Chloe looked her up and down, contemplating what she should do. She smiled at Brooke, put her hand on her shoulder and shook her dead. “Brooke, it’s okay to not be okay. You don’t have to act like everything is fine when it’s not. I’m your best friend, you don’t need to hide things from me.” She pulled Brooke into a hug and rubbed her back.
Brooke began sobbing into Chloe’s shoulder, thanking her in between hiccups.
“It’s okay, I’m here for you.”