𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 ✰ v. hacker

thirtieth ❀ irl

| MAISY |

on the bus ride to school, i'm completely terrified. how do you begin a conversation like the one i'm about to start with maddy?

hey best friend, i just wanted you to know i've been living a lie these past 4 years, best friend! hope that's not too hard for you to take! xoxo

hey maddy, i'm actually like really famous lol

maddy, okay so like fun fact, actually really really sad fact, i'm not who you think i am at all :D

DID YOU KNOW....my real name isn't actually stella ‼️ isn't that cool ⁉️

yeah. basically, i'm struggling. i have no idea how i'm supposed to break the news to her, but it's got to happen today. as the bus pulls up to school, i get off quickly, pushing my way through the students and hurrying inside. i've got to talk to her before class, and i'm already running a little bit late.

you got this, maisy.

some students turn around and stare at me as i pass by. they're probably wondering who this girl is that's zooooming 🏃🏻‍♀️💨 through the halls at 7:49am. i turn down another hallway and come up to my locker, relieved to find maddy already there.

"hey, maddy, do you have a minute?" i ask, catching my breath with a laugh. "i really want to talk to you about something."

"yeah, we do have something to talk about." she turns around to face me, her face oddly cold. "can you explain what this is?"

she shoves a handful of papers in my face, crossing her arms and stepping back to glare at me. a few of them fall to the floor, and as i lean down to pick them up, my eyes widen.

it's the picture of me and vinnie from our modeling shoot.

squinting my eyes at the other papers that dropped, i see more photos of me...modeling, on my tv show, a screenshot of my one of my songs, and more.

"w-what?" my voice falters and my hands begin to shake as they try to pick up the photos from the floor. "how'd...where'd you get t-these..?"

i straighten up to face her and see tears in her eyes. "why didn't you tell me?" she asks, her voice full of hurt and betrayal. my heart drops. as i extend my arm out to comfort her, she pushes me away.

"maddy...i didn't want you to find out this way," i insist, "i just didn't know how to tell you, but i was planning on telling you today."

"but why didn't you just tell me before?" she bursts out. "you had photoshoots with vinnie, you had an entire other life, and you lied about it all to me. now all these weird trips to 'grandma's' make sense. now those weird excuses make sense. now those stories about your sister who i've never met makes sense."

she draws a deep breath, shaking her head. "i don't even know who you are anymore. i thought i knew you, but i was so wrong."

"can we just talk about it? i have so much more to say and explain," i ask desperately, trying to ignore the students around us beginning to stare. "i'm so sorry, maddy. i should have told you earlier."

maddy takes a long second to answer. "maybe we can talk about it later," she finally says, her voice unstable. "but right now, i'm not ready." as she begins to turn away, her voice breaks. "i can't believe you kept all this from me."

"maddy-" i start, but she interrupts me.

" don't even try. when i'm ready, i'll ask you to talk." with that, she runs down the hall, leaving me with a bunch of staring teens and a handful of incriminating photos.

i don't realize i'm crying until i see the tears on the papers i'm holding.

❀