A/N: So the other day I found out that someone really close to me has an eating disorder. Which is how I got the idea for this story. That and the fact that I realized some people in this world can be very cruel and literally break a person with only one word. So I have to say this: Watch what you say, because not everyone is okay.

Now that I've said that, I have to say this. I have never written anything like this, so I don't know how it's going to turn out. I'm going to leave it up to you guys. If you like it and think I should continue, I will. If not, I won't.

I hope you enjoy this story and really take it to heart.

Quote: Dear whoever is reading this, you're beautiful and someone out there is crazy about you. So smile. Life is too short to be unhappy.

Olive's POV

The sun was beginning to fall and the moon was beginning to rise. There was a party being thrown tonight at the beach as an end of the school year party by the "Big Kids" and for once, us ANT's were invited.

In all honesty, the last thing I wanted to do on a Friday night was go to this party but Chyna, my best friend insisted we go. She said this was our chance to get in with the popular group. Chyna had been pushing the subject of not being popular enough and being the "losers" of the school. But that's what you get for being an advanced prodigy

I could care less what the other kids at my school thought of my popularity status. I had two (and a half) amazing friends. Chyna; my best girl friend, Fletcher; my best guy friend, and then there was Angus, who I considered my half friend. I wouldn't consider him my friend but he's not my enemy either. He's just a nice guy who has a massively, annoying crush on me.

The clock on my bedside table stroke 5:57pm. I quickly slipped on a green bikini underneath a pale pink sundress and gave my long blond hair a quick brush. Fletcher would arrive to pick me up at any moment. We decided to walk to the beach together in case we ran into some older kids who were on their way to the party and had something to say about us being invited to it. Some of the big kids were okay with the ANTs being invited to school events, others were greatly opposed. Chyna agreed to meet us there as she talked her older brother into walking with her.

The doorbell chimed throughout the house signaling Fletcher's arrival. I slipped on a pair of white flip-flops and grabbed my yellow beach towel before skipping down the stairs and opening the front door. Fletcher stood there in black swim trunks–which were way to plain for an artistic prodigy–and an old white t-shirt with a towel slung over his shoulder.

"Ready to go?" He asked me with a smile.

I told him yes and shut the front door hiding the key in a nearby plant.

The San Francisco evening air was pleasantly warm with a slight breeze making my long blond hair dance behind my back. Fletcher and I walked in comfortable silence probably thinking the same think: I can't wait to be in the water. We were both born water babies and loved to hit the beach as much as possible.

As Fletcher and I neared the beach we could gear the loud beat of the latest pop music that filled the speakers. The smile on my face suddenly grew larger as we rounded the last corner before the beach. There were hundreds of people spread around the beach. I could easily predict that the entire student body of Webster High was present. I've overheard the big kids at school talk about this particular party that's thrown every year by the seniors, so I knew it was a big hit, But I wasn't expecting this many people.

There was a huge crowd of dancing kids in the middle of the beach surrounding the DJ equipment. From where I was standing, I could see people lying on their beach towels trying to take advantage of the last few hours of sunlight they had left. At the corner of the beach there was a long line of people waiting to put their order in at the concession stand which I had to admit, made the best fries in all of town. And lastly, what caught my eye the most were the kids from Webster high who were laughing and splashing each other in the water. Maybe this party won't be as bad as I thought.

Suddenly, a hand was gripping my wrist and I was forcefully being pulled towards the beach.

"Come on" Fletcher exclaimed in what sounded like excitement. He let go of my wrist. "Race you there!"

I laughed and raced down the block after him shouting "you're so immature!"

Considering my legs were longer than Fetchers, I was easily able to catch up to him and we ran to the beach together. We ran to our usual spot on the beach that was luckily just to the side of partying teenagers.

"I win!" exclaimed Fletcher, A smirk on his face.

"You did not!" I said through breaths. "We arrived at the same time."

"Fine, but you're more out of breath, which means I won."

"It's not a fitness contest!" I proclaimed. "Plus, if I wanted to beat you, I could."

We set up our towels side by side and sat down on them.

"You ready to go in the water?" Fletcher asked.

"Not yet. Give me your cell phone." I demanded holding out my hand.

"Why" He reached into the pocket of his swim trunks. "Didn't you bring your own?"

I took the cell phone from his hand. "No, I left mine at home."

I dialed an all too familiar number. It rang four times before there was an answer. "Hello?" Chyna's voice questioned over the phone. I could hear the loud beat of music in the background which means she was already at the beach.

"Hey, it's Olive. Fletcher and are at our usual spot. Where are you?"

"I'm in the middle of the dance floor."

There was a pause and then I could hear a faint conversation between Chyna and a voice I did not recognize. "I will come find you guys in a bit." And then she hung up. Great. The only reason I came to this party wasn't even going to show up for who knows how long.

"Looks like it's just us for now" I told Fletcher snapping the phone shut and handing it back to him.

"I guess we should make the best out of it then." Fletcher stood up and pulled the old t-shirt he was wearing over his head exposing his tanned chest. He held out a hand to help me up and I graciously accepted it. I tied my hair in a messy bun at the top my head and shimmied out of my sundress exposing my pale stomach.

I suddenly felt self conscious. I had never seen so many people at the beach before; therefore I had never seen so many good looking people at the beach. I had never in my life felt the slightest bit self conscious before when it came to showing my body, but looking around at all the tanned skinny girls in their bikinis who were literally glowing in the sunlight, I suddenly wanted to shimmy back into my sundress.

I hadn't even noticed Fletcher was already waist deep in the water until he shouted my name. "Olive, come join me!" He ducked under the water and surfaced moments later. "The waters great."

My eyes landed on a group of gorgeous teenage girls to the side of Fletcher who were splashing each other in the water and screaming every time they got wet. Subconsciously, my hands wrapped themselves around my waist covering my stomach.

"Olive?" I could hear the question in the call of my name about my sudden actions.

Fletcher walked out of the water and stood in front of me dripping wet, blocking my view of the screaming girls. "Why the hesitation? The waters not that cold"

I smiled slightly. Almost every time we came to the beach I complained about how cold the water was. "It's not that" I avoided his eyes. "I guess I just don't feel like swimming."

Fletcher raised an eyebrow instantly making me jealous. I had always wanted to be able to raise one eyebrow but was never able to do so no matter how many times I practiced in front of the mirror.

"I don't believe that" Fletcher said. "The way you act towards water is the same way a child acts on Christmas morning."

"So," I crossed my arms. "People change."

"True people change, but no one changes within a five minute time period."

I knew he could see right through everything I said, so I didn't respond.

"Olive" His tone was now caring. "What's up with you?"

I sighed and shook my head. "Nothing," I smiled innocently. "Race you to the water." Fletcher stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds before following me into the crisp blue water.

We had a ton of fun splashing each other and playing around in the water. It felt different though-a good different. For the last couple weeks every time Fletcher and I came to the beach Chyna tagged along. I mean don't get me wrong, she's my best friend and all, and I'm sure Fletcher enjoys her presence, but sometimes it's nice going back to my old life when Chyna hadn't started the ANT program and we had never met.

Fletcher and I finally got out of the water. I was on his back as he carried me to our spot while the sun started to set. I hopped off his back and we fell on top of our towels laughing and out of breath. After we calmed down, Fletcher announced that he was going to go get us some ice-cream from the concession for us to share.

"I'll be right back" he said leaving me by myself.

I gazed out to the horizon. The sun was a quarter of the way gone. The sky above was a mix of orange, pink, and purple giving off a calm vibe. The music was still playing but it was not as loud as it was earlier so I was able to hear the crash of the waves against the shore. I untied my hair from the bun on top of my head and lay back on my elbows. I sighed. Even though Chyna had never shown up, my Friday night hadn't turned out too horrible.

"Oh look Paisley." I heard and all too familiar female voice behind me. "It's little Olive sitting here all alone thinking she looks pretty." There was a snicker. I glanced over my shoulder and my heart sank. It was Lexi. Great. "You know Olive" Lexi started in her perky "I'm better than you" voice. "You have to actually have a nice body to wear a bikini like that." She pointed towards my chest and my eyebrows knit together.

I glanced back at her. She was wearing a neon pink bikini with a red heart on one side of her chest. Next to her, Paisley was wearing a bright yellow bathing suit that covered her stomach but was cut in arches at the sides. Lexi probably talked Paisley out of wearing anything that would make her look any prettier than her so she would not have any competition.

"Then why are you wearing one?" I asked. Lexi made a popping noise with her tongue.

"Because, I am beautiful and I have a bikini body. I mean just look at me." She flipped her golden hair that was perfectly curled over her shoulder. "But maybe if you lost a few pounds-or a lot of pounds-you could possibly look somewhat good in a bikini too."

And just like that any little bit of confidence I had left in myself was gone. Just like that.

"But for now, I suggest you put that thing back on." She pointed at my sundress that was folded neatly by my side. "So you don't embarrass yourself any further." Lexi elbowed Paisley in the side and they both walked away giggling. I stared after them.

When they disappeared into the crowd of people, I hastily threw my sundress back on, covering myself up.

My mind went blank.

Fletcher came back a second later holding a cup of ice-cream in one hand, a spoon in the other, and a confused look on his face. "What was that about?" Fletcher asked. I heard him but I did not respond. I was replaying Lexis words in my head. Was I really that fat? I put a hand on my stomach that was ensconced by my sundress. I guess I could lose a few pounds.

"Olive?" Fletcher waved the spoon in front of my face. I blinked but I did not talk. "Olive." His voice was filled with concern. "What did they say to you?"

My eyes met his. I tried to think of a believable excuse in my head but I couldn't. It felt like I was incapable of coming up with a good lie. So I just settled for "Nothing." That's all he was going to get so I changed the subject before he started asking any more questions. "What did you get?"

I stared at me for a moment before answering my question. "I brought you back vanilla ice-cream with rainbow sprinkles, your favorite." He held out the cup to me. Dang, he knew my weakness. But if I wanted to lose weight, I had to stay strong.

I held out my hand. "No thanks, I'm not hungry." I turned my head away from him and towards the horizon before he could read my eyes and tell that I was lying. The sun was half way set and the sky was turning a deeper shade of purple.

"What?" Without looking at him, I knew Fletcher was giving me his "You're kidding" look.

"I had some ice-cream before you came." I easily came up with this lie knowing Fletcher would believe it. On so many different occasions Fletcher had seen me with a bowl of ice-cream and knew that every once in a while, when my parents were out, I would have a scoop or two. When reminds me, I've got to get rid of that ice-cream bucket that sitting in the freezer. "I guess I had a little too much this time."

Fletcher shrugged believing my lie. "Alright, more for me I guess." He took a spoonful of vanilla ice-cream with sprinkles and shoved it in his mouth. I so badly wanted a spoonful-or two- of ice-cream but I knew better. If I wanted to look pretty, I would have to suck it up and stay strong.

A/N: Okay so what did you think? I'm leaving it all up to you guys, should I continue? Or should I stop?

Review and tell me what you think. But please, this story is pretty personal, so if you have any criticism that has nothing to do with my writing, but the story and its topic in general, keep your comments to yourself.