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It was a normal and boring day. Really. It was. She’d woken up later than usual. Normally she was the first one up to make sure she was pristine for the new day. Today was not one of those days. Today both Thad and her dad left before her. Meaning.. She was late. And not on purpose like the time she'd skipped class to see that fight in the halls that one time.
Lizzy started her day by shining her visor in the mirror. Stubborn bags sat under her optics. No matter how many times she reset them. She squinted in the mirror before walking out the bathroom. No one would notice. Too busy being blinded by her beautiful– everything else! Because that's what she was. The pretty popular girl. Through and through. Nothing would change that. Nothing.
A series of sharp knocks pounded the front door. Lizzy groaned, storming out of the bathroom to see who dared to interrupt her morning routine. Low and behold, there stood V. Still dazed by sleep Lizzy found herself blinking a handful of times before she looked up to the taller drone. Murder drones were entirely too tall and craning her neck upwards before 10a.m. was a crime against her specifically.
“Now who looks like garbage?” V teased, giving Lizzy a once over.
The drone was right. She was missing her hat and bow. Her hair was out of her signature ponytail, messily framing her face and drooping over her shoulders. Had she seen herself in the halls in such condition she'd shove the loser in a locker. There was no time to oil the strands or put in curlers. Why? Because she was busy with important things. Even more important than her appearance. Like doom scrolling. Can't miss a day on social media or else there'll be a butt load to catch up on. Lizzy would be damned if she missed a trend. Can miss a day of posting either. What would her followers think? That cannot do. On top of that there was another party that needed planning. Who else but her would take the responsibility??
When the blonde didn't react past an expressionless sleepy gaze V tilted her head in confusion. “No snarky remark? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” She chuckled.
But Lizzy didn't laugh. Not even a huff of mirth. Couldn't muster it.
“I'll.. be out in a sec.. Maybe.” Lizzy walked away from the door, purposefully leaving it open in case V wanted to come inside. Maybe to give her a reason to stay home. An out. She didn't. Though Lizzy didn't look behind her to check anyway. If V wanted to come in she'd probably break the door down to enter.
Back in the bathroom her hand fell onto her brush, swiping her bangs out of her vision then the rest of the strands into her ponytail. Perhaps slightly messier than she once would've done it. Flat without any curls. She picked up her hat and placed it on her head, pulling her ponytail through the strategically placed hole she created. Lastly Lizzy tied her bow up and made her way back to the front door. On the way out she dared to look at herself one last time. Dead. Lizzy looked like a corpse. An ugly shell of her former radiant self. Tears welled up in her eyes. Mortified they hallowed. She rubbed her screen and stared at her reflection.
All gone. All better. Don't do that again.
“Finally. I’m accumulating rust out here.” V said at the sight of the blonde. She who did not spare the other a glance. Walking silently out the door. V frowned but kept quiet. For now.
On the walk to school Lizzy remained silent. Pulling her phone out to check social media. Same old, same old. Thad posing outside with a new football N apparently found for him. As stated in the caption. Since people left the bunker now that the murder drones were docile.
Like. Repost. Comment. ‘So that's why you snuck out last night LOL’ Wait– don't post a comment yet. Make it seem genuine. Don't forget the emojis! Laughing emoji! Silly emoji! Scroll.
Speaking of being outside, Trevor also found the gull to venture outside. He’d snuck a picture of bossy Mc.What's her face in the middle of yelling something.
Like. Comment. ‘Not her still wearing that tired outfit’ Eye roll emoji. Scroll.
Ron posted a selfie from a horrid perspective with a huge ‘YOLO’ plastered over it.
Like. Scroll.
Chad made a video in the form of a toxic male podcast with non fact checked information. That'll never end up problematic.
Thumbs down. Report. Block. Why wasn't he blocked already?? Whatever. Scroll.
What really stuck out to her was a random girl she didn't even recognize reposted Lizzy’s previous post about Doll’s passing. The caption read ‘You're in a better place now. You were a great friend and it's hard to see you go.’
What?
Lizzy stopped dead in her tracks. In the middle of the hall. Unknowing of the weird look she got from V and passersby. She stared at the post. Tried, really tried, to remember the face of this mystery girl. The girl she'd never seen around Doll. How could her bestie have had a friend she didn't know about? What kind of miscalculation could have led to this moment?
As the popular one she was supposed to have unaccounted for friends. Supposed to forget the miscellaneous characters in her life and hurt their feelings while doing so. Of course being her bestie had its perks in the social hierarchy of high school but.. No. This had to be– was a mistake. Doll didn't have many friends. Not this girl. Especially not this girl This fucking nobody. Lizzy would know.
V suddenly swiped the phone out her hand. Lizzy made a displeased sound, reaching out for the device in protest. Height was unfairly on the others side. That's 2 for 2.
“Yo you're starting to creep me out. Is this thing rotting your brain?” V spared a glimpse at the screen.
“Give it back! I just need to–” Words died in her throat as the mystery girl coincidentally walked past them, taking books out of her locker. Like she wasn't the biggest liar in the bunker. That nobody would not make it through the day. As her amazing revenge plan started to be sculpted V leaned down to meet Lizzy’s gaze, inadvertently blocking the blonde from seeing where her suspect had gone. “What's your damage?!” She exclaimed, beginning to walk around the disassembler.
She ran through the halls, hysterically looking in each classroom to see where she went. Finally in the science room she spotted the black haired drone. Uncaring of whether she was interrupting the class she banged on the door. With the force of her hits a yellow paper fell down. ‘Dangerous labs in session. DND.’ Written in red ink. Lizzy picked up the paper, crushing it in her hand. Now fuming. Her fans whirred trying to keep up with her escalating anger. Damned the safety precautions of responsible adults! She screamed, punching a dent into the inconvenience. Her head banged into the door in defeat.
“Lizzy...”
That weasel didn't know anything. She wasn't Doll’s friend. Didn't even know her. Probably never met her. What a fake. But it's okay. Karma was a bitch with blonde hair and amazing taste in fashion. Karma would be waiting until the end of the damn period for this random to make her appearance.
“Lizzy?”
How dare she speak on matters she couldn't comprehend.
“Lizzy!” V’s calls snapped Lizzy out of her revenge ridden haze.
With hollowed optics she looked up. Anger depleted to something worse. Something that made her feel things. Feel ugly. The only things she was meant to feel were beautiful and worshipped. Not… whatever this was. It felt hideous. Like socks and sandals.
“You okay?” V worried, handing over the phone she'd been left with. No sass. No drama. Plain empathy. A strange look on the murderous drone she grew fond of.
“It's whatever. Let's go to class and be the only hot ones.” Lizzy forced out, turning on her heels to go to class. Her words lacked any of the usual mean girl spunk. She only guessed V nodded in agreement or something. Lizzy, again, didn't look back at her. She didn't want to see the pity on her visor. Not right now. Lizzy didn't need pity. She needed to hit someone. That someone protected by an industrial strength door. Otherwise she didn't care. Nothing mattered but looking good for her fans. Those idiots.
In the classroom some new students appeared in the empty desks. More notably in her and Dolls' old seats. Bad thoughts for a later date. Come on settle. You don't even sit there anymore. You sit with V and the loser and her equally loser boyfriend. Most significantly V. Your new bestie.
On the board she saw a message written, ‘Students from other bunkers chose to commute since the events of the last semester freed some space. Make them feel welcome. Or don't. I don't get paid to make sure you have a good time. Just do the work and leave me alone.’ At the front of the classroom her father was fast asleep with his hand clutching his hot cup of oil. That of which clearly did not aid him in staying awake. She swiped the attendance sheet from under him to mark herself present.
With that she and V walked to the back. On the way Thad waved enthusiastically. She rolled her eyes but waved back. Joining him in the last row was N and Uzi who were having a lovers quarrel. Something about how a giraffe would wear a tie. Whatever a giraffe was. At the shrieking of her chair being pulled out their attention turned to the two.
“Good morning V! Heya Lizzy!” N sung brightly. Beaming with golden retriever energy that she couldn't tolerate at the moment. She smiled in a way that didn't reach her eyes, hoping he didn't notice and question. Beside her she acknowledged V’s short salute to N and a snide comment at Uzi. Instead of blowing up about how she was god and whoever spite her was cursed to total damnation she peaked over to Lizzy.
“Sup.” Uzi greeted. Not waiting for a repose before going back to her gross lovesick tendencies.
Despite their truce, it was still odd that the weirdo even interacted with her. Not like she cared. Uzi was bearable. Until she got on her high horse and cackled about being all powerful for hours. Seriously, she wasn't the only one that saved the world. Plus, that was so last month. No reason to bring it up and remind people that were actively trying to forget. They should all forget about it, actually. Move on. It wasn't that serious.
Choosing to scroll on her phone once more, Lizzy went on a different app. One that wouldn't piss her off or bore her to death. The second she opened it she got a notification of a picture that'd been shared exactly a year ago. Curiously she pressed the tab. The picture made her go ramrod stiff. Thad was taking a selfie of the aftermath of a food fight in the lunchroom. Though, that wasn't what she was bothered by.
Behind him was herself frowning with her own phone in hand, trying to remove oil from her hair. Doll was behind her, equally covered in the substance but more worried about Lizzy than herself. A rag was in her hand. Captured mid wipe through the blonde and pink strands. She could almost laugh. That day was chaotic. Everyone got detention and they cancelled a football game as punishment. Much to Thad's dismay. It wasn't that bad. Everyone was there so it was a free hangout. The lunchroom was locked down for a week to clean the mess.
A rare occasion Doll was smiling in the picture. That creepy smile that often scared others away. Might've been the fangs that poked out. A picture of her and Doll she'd forgotten about. The Russian drone was smiling and she was not. Now neither of them would smile. The only time she could see that smile would be through motionless frames on her device. Why didn't she appreciate what she had? Before it– she was gone forever.
The phone cracked under the pressure of her grip on it. Lizzy couldn't do this. Not now. Not here. Not in public. Not where people could stare at her and judge her. Not ever. Not when she felt tears pricking her optics. Not when she was supposed to be perfect. The best of the best. Now, the phone wasn't the only thing cracking.
“Screw this.” She threw the seat back with a loud band, making a b line for the exit.
As soon as she was outside she looked both ways to be sure no stragglers were present. At the reassurement of being the only drone she slid down the wall with a sigh that turned into a nasty sob. One that shook her entire being. She shakily took another look at the picture through broken glass, pressing it longing to her visor. If she'd known things would've ended up like this she wouldn't have frowned. Wouldn't have cared about her hair. She would have looked at Doll and laughed because it happened. Because they were together. And because her best friend was alive. A privilege.
The sound of the door screeching open made her stiffen. Rather than standing up and finding a better place to unsuccessfully repress her emotions she pitifully turned her back to the door. Hoping the passer paid her no mind. Ignored her sobs as she curled into herself. If she tried hard enough she could pretend it was her room with her fuzzy pink blanket to hide under.
“This is not what I was expecting.” Uzi’s voice was like sandpaper on her processors. The worst drone to catch her in this predicament.
“Go away.” Lizzy wept. Then wincing at how weak she sounded. So not a girl boss moment.
Doing the exact opposite of what was asked, Uzi walked in front of Lizzy and plopped down. Criss cross apple sauce. She sighed awkwardly then tapped her hands against her legs. “Must’ve switched to depresso expresso.”
Lizzy glared from underneath her bangs. “What the hell are you talking about?!”
“I don't know. Um– V is worried. And when V is worried N gets worried. Then Thad got worried and– kinda set off a chain reaction.”
Of course it did. When someone as stainless as her started to slip up, everyone noticed. Everyone just had to notice.
“Actually. I've noticed you've been different for a while. We– you–” Uzi groaned, hitting her head to the wall with a thump muffled by her hat. Genuinely inconvenienced like someone was pulling her teeth out. “Me. You. Talk? Yes or no?” She grumbled.
Just a couple months ago if Uzi dared to ask to converse with Lizzy she'd make her life a living hell. Maybe this was her retribution. She was kind of a jerk. Just a little bit. That's besides the point. She was at her lowest. Who would believe Uzi of all people if she vented? No one bullied her anymore thanks to her guard dogs and eldritch powers but that didn't stop them from thinking she was crazy. They all did. Even herself to some degree. Only someone crazy would adopt murder pets. And that wasn't a reference to Sparky, though he counts as a reason to question one's sanity if you'd willingly go near him. No shade to V. Just facts. So what if that made Lizzy crazy too. This isn't about her!
Lizzy sniffled, wiping her visor in vein. It did nothing to slop the flowing tears. Why even make robots cry but unable to wipe their tears? Adding salt to the wound. Damn humans.. “Do you care that Dolly is gone?” She whimpered. Saying the name out loud was excruciating.
Uzi’s optics hollowed. Digital sweat dripped down her face. She made a few gestures in the air as though trying to pull words into existence before actually speaking. “I. Am. Conflicted?? She did try to kill me and did kill a bunch of our classmates but then she helped me in her last mo– uh– you get it. I'd be a hypocrite to say killing people meant she should die too. She didn't deserve what happened to her. Especially how it happened.”
The whole speech only made Lizzy's sobs louder. Her head dramatically fell in her hands as she bawled. She regretted saying V was hotter than Doll. they were equally hot in their own unique grotesque ways. Perhaps if she just stuck to the plan Doll would still be here. Or if she made more of an effort to talk to her afterwards. Something– anything to prevent this ending.
“Ah. Yikes.” Uzi flinched back at a particularly loud wail. “There, there. I'm clearly not good at this but.. I understand. My mom being dead fucked me up. My stupid dad acted like nothing happened. He threw all her stuff in a closet and moved on. Like if he pretended she wasn't real it would fix the issue of her absence.”
Lizzy’s head shot back up. “Y-yeah. Why do they do that? She is gone and she isn't coming back. No one cares and th-that bitch re-posted my post when she didn't know Doll! Like don't use my bestie's death for clout. Ouu When I see her I am going to crack her freaking head open!!” The blonde slammed her fist into the floor, literally shaking with rage. Again.
“Yeah!! I have no idea who you're talking about but you should kick robo-ass! I'll record.” Uzi smiled softly.
Perking up at that Lizzy's tears came to a halt. “Actually?? My phone is scrap metal though..” She showed off the cracked and slightly dented phone that was stuck on the picture that started her whole breakdown. Uzi pretended not to notice. Thankfully.
The purple haired drone abruptly stood up. “One second.” She walked back into the classroom. There was a big composition. Yelling coming from multiple parties. A scream, crash then maniacal laughter. When the door opened, Uzi handed Lizzy a new phone. A case she recognized to belong to Sarah's brother. Equality as cowardly as she was. Rest in pieces.
Uzi held her hand out sheepishly. “We're here for you by the way. Thad, V, N and me or whatever—We’re your fr—“ She paused as one of her eyes glitched into a warning. [Angst levels steadily dropping. Would you wish to proceed?] Uzi smacked her visor, going back to normal. “Ignore that.. You're a part of our squad. Don't forget it and don’t make me repeat myself.” She flushed, fully turning her head when actually Lizzy took the helping hand. She effortlessly pulled the blonde up. Unexpectedly pulled into a hug. Now if you told her she'd be hugging the biggest loser in school even a week ago Lizzy might've blown your head off. Or sicced V to do it for her.
“Erm.. Thanks, loser. One more thing, the- uh- door is locked.” Lizzy pointed in the direction of the one barrier that stayed in her way of revenge.
Uzi manifested her solver and expertly pulled every door in the hallway off into a pile of bits and pieces. Multiple voices complained at the inconveniences. None of their business. This was a serious scheme. They wouldn't understand. She led the other drone to the classroom. Ready to fight and look gorgeous while doing so.
“You better get all the angles right!! Lemme log into my account!” Lizzy exclaimed. She could wallow later. For now this cunt was gonna get it!