The hallway is alive with chatter, but all eyes are drawn to Adrian "Ace" Vaughn-the golden boy, the heartthrob, the one everyone adores. Even the teachers can't help but favor him.

And you? You are nothing. Just an ugly girl with a foolish crush, clutching a trembling love letter. Yet, somehow, you find yourself stepping forward, past the perfect girls clinging to him, past the boys laughing at his jokes, until you stand before him.

His cold gray eyes flick to you-bored, indifferent.

You swallow hard and hold out the letter. "A-Ace... I like you."

For a moment, silence. Then

"Hah!" His laugh is sharp, cruel. "Seriously?! A pig confessing to a boy like me? You've gotta be kidding."

The world erupts into laughter.

Your heart cracks as he crumples the letter, tosses it to the ground, and with deliberate cruelty, steps on it. The sound of his expensive shoe grinding your words into nothing bums into your memory.

Laughter swells. The girls beside him sneer, the boys join in, and you-frozen, humiliated-realize the truth.

To him, you are nothing. Less than nothing.