1 Hopeless

Nicole Lee had always been a hopeless romantic.

However, seeing as that she lived in a dismal town filled with people beholding that same quality, love was practically unreachable.

So she escaped.

Not literally, she was only 17 after all, and would in no way be able to support any kind of future without at least a high school degree.

Nicole escaped by reading.

Every romance novel she could find or afford, she read. However, she had emptied the genre in both her school and local libraries by age 15, so she had to get a job to support her endless Amazon book shopping. She also despised the migraines given to her by online books, and adored the texture, fresh smell, and general home-like qualities of paperbacks.

But no matter how many books she read, how many fantasies she took refuge in, Nicole would always have to snap back to her reality.

A reality in which people avoided anyone different. Anyone studious. Anyone whose parents were drunks, has a "druggie" brother, and doesn't keep up with the latest pop culture. Any female who asked a guy out and got laughed at in the face by him. Anybody whose friend would tell them that they don't matter. That they can't belong and should stop trying.

Anyone like Nicole Lee. Small-town outcast. Hopeless romantic, yes. But mostly just hopeless.