Prologue

Anna Maria was perfect. Gabrielle Nandia was not. Anna Maria had the sweetest of smiles, with a presence that purified upon arrival. Gabrielle did not. She was always alone and gloomy, and the only thing that followed her were bad rumors.

That day, Anna Maria was in a bad mood and wanted to eat alone. She glanced out of the window from the cafeteria. Outside, a figure sat under the tree, eating. Every bite was framed with a resplendent expression, which shone so brightly it blinded her.

There was no smile, but the expression shown was as ephemeral as ice, melting before one could fully grasp the allure of its sweetness.

Anna Maria blinked, scrubbing her eyes and readjusting her glasses to make sure of what she had seen, but the occupant had left before she could tell who it was.

She searched for a week and finally found her—Gabrielle Nandia. She grasped the palm of the startled girl with a bewitching smile.

"Gabrielle, will you please be my muse?"

Introducing: The Muse After Her Heart.

Special note: This is not Yuri. It's just friendship between girls.

Extra note: How many times have you heard of the perfect girl with a lot of issues and the gloomy girl with a good life trope? Well, not this story. That's for sure. Let Gabrielle's life be a metaphor for hell, and Anna a metaphor for someone whose life is but a bit of a mess in comparison to Gabrielle. Both leads have terrible lives, but Gabrielle's is just downright pitiful.

Theme: Grief. Twisted Friendship. Codependency. Healing. Trauma