It is said that real beauty is on the inside. It is my experience that the shards of a beautiful shattered heart become a puzzle we spent our entire lives trying to piece together, in order for it to be shattered once more. Yet of all the human instincts we do not fully understand, this one goes unquestioned, but at the same time is both questioned and answered by our own heart in that brief moment when we feel completed by another. Every time a heart is broken, more and more of its shards cannot be found, each leaving a hole signifying a memory which perhaps we would rather not recall. A heart pieced together in a dark alley in the streets of your mind will always be your to hide, so how are we to know when beauty breaks?

He sat alone in his darkened room. The sun would be rising soon, but he had not slept. The fear of the unknown brought on by the darkness was his greatest comfort, for if his heart could fear, then perhaps it wasn't too beaten to one-day try to love again. His eyes were drooping, but he would not let them shut. Fear was the only emotion he had left, and his darken sanctuary was to be spoiled only too soon by the rays of the morning sun. And again he would rise for another day he wasn't entirely sure he wanted.

Such is life.

The morning passed not quickly enough for Troy's sake. He had drifted off during his history class ensuring him an afternoon as a teacher's slave labourer. He joked about the teacher's power trip to his friends in order to hide the fact he had almost let show that he hadn't slept. But of course, there was never anything wrong with the playmaker, so he really needn't have bothered.

Yet of course there had to be a bright side to every situation, and the bright side here was this: for days such as today, being numb was actually a blessing. He would not have made it through the day if he had felt emotion, for all of today's emotions would not have served him well.

Lunch in the cafeteria was Troy's least favourite part of the day. He would sit at a table with his 'friends' with a huge fake smile on his face. He really wanted to miss lunch: he was never hungry, and cared little for anything those around him had to say. But his only hiding sport he could no longer bear to think of, let alone go to. It held to much history, and subsequently too much pain. She was the only person he had ever shared that place with. There was where they had decided to do the callbacks, where he had asked her to be his girlfriend, where they had shared their first kiss and ultimately their last. It was their she had told him she couldn't see him anymore because she wanted something new, and as a result, it was their he had wept for her as he cut her initials into his arm. He had never cut before, and had never since: the emotion had scared him, but he both loved and hated the results. Clearly in his arm was written 'GM'. It was both his best and worst feature: best because it tied her to him, and worst because it served as a constant reminder that it was the only part of her that he had, or would ever have again. So everyday he braved the cafeteria and pretended nothing hurt.

It is said that the worst way to miss someone, is to have them right in front of you, and know that you can never have them. Everyday Gabriella would sit right in front of him, as happy as she ever was, while inside he slowly died.

"Guys I'm having a party tomorrow night, invite everyone, it's gunna be huge!" Chad boasted. He really just wanted a chance to get all hot and heavy with Taylor without his parents knowing, or him having to admit it. There were general nods of excitement around the group; Chad's parties were always great.

Troy nodded and pretended to be really excited like the others, not really looking forward to spending his Saturday night watching Gabriella grind up against some random guy on the dancefloor. But he knew he couldn't get out of it.

The girls began giggling to themselves have having their own convo, so the guys began their own too.

"So Troy, who's the lucky lady who gets a piece of you this weekend?" Jason asked.

"Dunno" Troy replied. He was the first to admit he had become a man-slut of late. The weekend after Gabriella dumped him he went out to a party and screwed some random chick. It was a sucky way to have his first time, but he had waited a year for Gabriella and then they broke up so he was just beyond caring. If it wasn't going to be with her, it didn't matter which slutty cheerleader it was up next. He couldn't count all the one night stands he had had, most of them he couldn't remember anyway cuz of all the drugs he had taken. The guys didn't know about the drugs, or most of the girls: they were too wholesome to stomach it. He just hoped he could contain himself tomorrow at the party.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, and in an unexpected act of compassion from his teacher, his detention was cancelled. So Troy went home and slept.