Chapter Text
Alone.
All alone.
That’s what Casey Krinsky was.
Sad, lonely and miserable.
No friends, no one who likes her and no one who even sees her.
She wallowed in sadness everyday. At home and at school. During lunch, she sat alone on the floor with nothing but her dark thoughts. Her thoughts of self-loathing and loneliness.
As a child, she always struggled to make friends. Everyone found her too weird or too quiet. Whenever she tried too hard, she weirded them out. Whenever she was very reserved, she bored them.
They would either stop speaking to her or dump her on the spot.
All those painful memories hurt this little girl’s spirit. Her self-esteem became non-existent. Every rejection would leave her wondering what she did wrong.
Then one day, it came to her.
It was her. Her and her alone.
She was nothing.
A pathetic nobody.
Weird, awkward, meek, mousy, short, small, chubby, unattractive, invisible.
Invisible, especially. So far, her first year of high school were filled with days that she went unnoticed and got consistently bumped into.
Every bump reminded her that she was alone and friendless.
Then one day, she bumped into Zee Zatara. The most popular girl in school. Tall, beautiful and graceful with shiny blue hair.
Zee offered her hand to her. So she could help her get up. Casey took it and they seemingly became good acquaintances.
Oh, how Casey wished she could be as beautiful as Zee Zatara.
But perhaps she could, she realized.
Casey decided to befriend Zee and gain her trust. She did favors for her, she helped her with her homework, she even a cat after her.
She became too clingy and obsessed. And she knew it. But she didn’t care. After all, her goal was to steal Zee’s life and her stunning looks.
With the unknown powers of a shapeshifter, she snatched every thing from Zee. Her looks, her voice.. and her magic.
Finally, she had it all. Friends, popularity and beauty. Could it get any better?
It could. Turns out, Zee and her friends are the Super Hero Girls, a team of teenage girls with unique powers and the initiative to protect the city of Metropolis.
An idea popped into Casey’s head and she instantly put it into action. With her powers, she snatched all their powers and attires.
She became a giant warrior with long brown hair and all the powers of the teenage super girls.
At last, she could get noticed. Adored. Respected. All that’s left to do is destroy the last remnant of the old her.
Zee Zatara, who now had Casey’s old appearance.
She chased Zee to the Metropolis Pier and into the Hall of Mirrors. Determined to get rid of everything that reeked of that pathetic little girl.
In the hall was a maze of mirrors. Casey walked through it to find Zee. She was in there somewhere. Her reflection popped up in the mirrors every 10 seconds.
Casey punched the mirrors. She exploded them. She shot lasers into it. The more she failed to eradicate her old self, the angrier she got.
Zee saw that she was full of self-hatred and so, she decided to use it against her.
She told Casey what she couldn’t stand to hear. She told her that she should’ve accepted herself. That she shouldn’t resort to drastic measures for the approval of others.
Casey couldn’t take it. She released all the powers she absorbed. And back to being that little girl she abhorred, she did.
She cried at her defeat and her failure. But Zee put a comforting hand on her shoulder and offered her a chance to start anew.
Would Casey take this chance to have a fresh start? A chance to befriend the one person who noticed her. The one person who’s seen her at her very worst and still wants to be there for.
No.
Zee ruined her chance to be popular and adored. She had to get her back.
Casey rejected Zee and vowed revenge. She would tell the school who the Super Hero Girls are. And that she did.
Unfortunately, no one believed her. Like everyone else, they thought her to be crazy and deranged.
She found herself shouting about her discoveries in the hallway.
That was it.
Casey failed. Like always.
She failed to changed herself. She failed to become popular. She failed to get revenge.
In the following months, she was right back to being miserable and invisible.
Sometimes, she would spy on Zee and see how happy and loved she is. Envy remained in her soul.
Why couldn’t she be beautiful and popular?
Would she be destined to spend the rest of her life alone and sad?
It was all Zee’s fault, Casey thought. She foiled her scheme. She ruined her life. She tried to help her. She offered to be her friend even after everything..
Wait.
Was it really Zee’s fault? Or was it the fault of someone who couldn’t just accept herself as she was and resorted to thievery and destruction just to get noticed?
In her heart, Casey knew the answer.
The lonely months since her failed plot have humbled her and her anger was out of her system. Now all that was left was her sadness.
Now that her blind rage was gone, she could finally see that her worst enemy.. is herself.
She ruined her own chance to have friends by stealing Zee’s life. And she ruined another chance by rejecting Zee’s offer of a new beginning.
Zee has done nothing but try to be Casey’s friend, in spite of what her desperation had driven her to do. She saw her inner sadness and wanted to help her find happiness.
Loneliness was miserable for Casey, but she supposed that one friend was better than no friends. And maybe, being friends with someone popular might get her some attention too somehow.
Maybe it wasn’t too late, Casey thought.
Maybe, Zee would still be willing to be her friend. I mean, she did offer to start fresh and be friends immediately after foiling her attempt to be popular.
Casey looked up from where she was sitting. And sure enough, there was Zee.
She was right there in front of her. Eating lunch by herself. Her super hero friends were elsewhere. This was her chance to right her wrongs.
Casey was afraid. She knew there was a chance that Zee would reject her. After all, she’s done horrible things to her and fully gaining her trust might take some time.
Maybe Zee changed her mind about being so forgiving.
Suddenly, she came up with another idea. She took out a sheet of paper and a pen and wrote a letter.
She signed it and put it in an envelope.
Casey plucked up her courage and slowly walked towards Zee. She stopped and stood still once she was a few feet away.
She tapped Zee’s shoulder and Zee turned around to see who it was.
It was her former stalker Casey Krinsky. The lonely, desperate, self-hating girl who she hasn’t thought of in months.
Casey took a deep breath, handed Zee the letter and quickly walked away. In the spilt second that Casey looked at Zee’s face, there was just surprise. She couldn’t even look her in the eyes. She was too scared. And yet, she wondered what Zee felt when she saw her.
Anger, disgust, fear?
She would know once Zee responded to her letter. If she would respond at all.
Casey went back to her lonely spot on the floor. She placed her head on her knees and hugged them. What would Zee do? Would she reject her? Or simply ignore her? Casey’s mind was racing.
What was she thinking? Giving Zee a letter. What a poor way to communicate, she thought.
A few minutes later, Casey felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked to her left and was shocked to see who it was.
It was Zee.
And she had a gentle smile on her face. After a few seconds, she gave Casey a nod as she handed her letter back.
The letter said:
Zee,
It’s been a while. I know you might not be glad to see me, but I’ve had a lot of time to think. And I’m so sorry. You were the only person who cared to notice me. From the moment we met to the last time we saw each other, you were kind. Even after seeing me at my very worst, you saw the pain in me and offered me another chance to have you in my life. And I threw it in your face. I thought you were my worst enemy, but I’ve come to realize that it was really me. I was mad at myself for ruining my own chances to be loved. I have very bad memories of being rejected and unnoticed. But with a more humbled perspective, I see now that you just wanted to help me. I’m tired of hating myself. I want to like myself, but I don’t know if I can. Maybe, you can help me. If you’d be willing. Maybe, I’m ready to take you up on that old offer. Maybe, we can have a fresh start. What do you say? Will you give me another chance?
-Casey
Casey looked over what she wrote and right under it, was the word yes, written in cursive.
She looked up at Zee who still held her gentle, sympathetic smile and smiled right back.
Zee got up and offered her hand to Casey, just like when they first met. Casey took her hand yet again, but this time, she really wanted to be her friend.
They continued to hold each other’s hand as they walked off to the cafeteria table where Zee was sitting.
There, they caught up with each other and talked for minutes.
Casey was no longer alone.
Only time will tell if she ever will be again. But for now, Casey was happier and she wanted to cherish that happiness for as long as possible.