'Oh my goodness! YES! YES! YES! I can't believe Tally is going to become one of us! She's finally going to be a Pretty!' Oh I'm sorry! I should probably introduce myself first. Hello! My name is Shay and I am now a Pretty. My cool best friend Tally Youngblood is about to become one of us. I can't wait to see what she looks like. I feel like she's been an Ugly for too long. She's been an Ugly for quite a while. Anyways, after this whole crazy fiasco with this place called the Smoke and the guy who helped keep it going, his name is David. Plus, the government doing things and it's all a crazy story. It's a long story. The shorter version is that we finally got Tally to become a Pretty for a medicine or something like that and now all we have to do is wait.

Now, I'm just sitting here outside. Alone. In the dark. By myself. In the dark. Did I mention that already. Honestly, I feel like I should be happy as a pretty. I can do anything, be anything, and have anything. Plus, I am a Pretty and I feel beautiful. Unfortunately, sometimes I yearn to be an Ugly again. It's stupid, I know. Yet, my brain would sometimes say that it would be better if I was instead an Ugly.

Of course I always had to push these thoughts away. I mean, I have everything I could have ever wanted. What could be better than this? Sometimes, I feel like my brain and heart feel incomplete, but I have to try and ignore this feeling as much as possible. I look up and see Tally. She is finally a Pretty. Wow... She really is beautiful. How could I have ever compared to her?

"Shay?" Tally says and snaps her fingers in front of my face snapping me out of my trance. "hmm?" I reply. "Are you okay?" she asks. "I'm fine." I reply. Though, I am clearly not fine at all. "Alright. Anyways, we should get back and get this whole thing over with." She said not giving a care about how I truly was not okay. I sighed and put on a fake and believable smile and nodded at her.

We got on our hover boards and headed back to the camp where everyone who had survived was waiting for us. I watched from a distance as Tally was given the medicine. At first, she struggled a bit as David and his mom tried to get her to take the medicine. Then, David told her something that I couldn't here and she stopped struggling. Then, the medicine was injected into her. She passed out and David caught her. He was so strong and c- NO! I can't think these things. David is Tally's boyfriend, not mine. They deserve each other. Tally is better for David than I will ever be for him.

"Hey Shay. How are you feeling?" I spun around to see David with a look of concern on his face. "I'm fine David. How's Tally?" I asked. "Oh Tally is fine. She passed out, but she's fine. I laid her down to rest. She should wake up pretty soon." He replied. "Good. And David?" I stared at him. "Yeah Shay?" He asked. His voice was laced with fear. "I swear if you ever hurt Tally for any reason at all, I will find you and you better pray that you see the sun rise the next day." I hissed. "Y-YES MA'AM!" He said and stood straight up like a soldier.

"Same thing goes for Tally, I'll tell her when she wakes up." I said. "Shay, what is it like to be a Pretty?" David asked. "It makes you feel beautiful, happy, like there's nothing wrong." I lied. "Really. You don't seem to think that." He said. How could he tell?! "I don't know. My brain is confused. I'm happy as a Pretty, but part of me wants to be an Ugly again. I really don't understand why." I admitted. "Then, maybe you should become an Ugly again. See if it makes anything better." David suggested. "Maybe. I'll think about it. Thanks David." I said. "No problem. And Shay, if you ever need to talk, come find me." He replied. "I'll keep your offer in mind." I said as I walked off.

I soon found a place I could stay and decided to lay down and think. Should I go back to being an Ugly? Was David right? Would I ever be the same again? I shook my head to break away from my thoughts. I don't want to think about this right now. I'm going to break my own heart if I keep thinking like this. I have to stay strong. Not only for Tally and David, but for my wellbeing and mental strength too.

I sighed and turned on my side. If I was going to heal I would need time. I lay down wide awake. I needed sleep, so I could just relax. Unfortunately, I was wide awake with no hope of sleep. "Shay?" I looked up. "Tally?" I called. "Shay! The medicine worked, and you can get it too. We can be back the way we were." She said excitedly and sat next to me as I sat up. "Well, I've been thinking about and I think I might consider being an Ugly again." I said. "Oh that's great Shay! However, I promise that I will respect whatever choice you make, do not let my decisions choose yours." She said. "Do not worry I won't." I said with a smile. "Alright then, goodnight Shay. See you tomorrow." She said and got up from where she was sitting on my bed. "Goodnight Tally. See you then." I said as she walked out with a smile. I laid down and let myself drift off to sleep with nightmares to come with my sleep.

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