Discovery (standard:other, 5194 words)
Author: MeechelB	Added: Jan 16 2002	Views/Reads: 3454/2241	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
This is just about a girl who is trying to find the read her. The characters are based of people I know and love.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

was the other ride lead on Blue Shift for their group. 

“Speaking of Gary, there he is!” Michelle yelled and took off running to
him.  Brooke and Benny looked at each other and smiled.  Michelle and 
Gary were practically inseparable at work and out of work.  Everyone 
thought that they were together, but Michelle and Gary had a much 
deeper relationship than that.  First of all, Gary was taken by a girl 
named Christina and Michelle didn’t want to piss her off.  Secondly, 
Gary was like her big brother, he took care of her and was the only one 
who knew how Michelle felt about Benny.  Gary looked at her as his 
little sister, besides Christina, Michelle understood him the most and 
was his best friend.  Gary came running to Michelle and caught her and 
swung her around.  Neither of them cared what people said, because they 
knew the truth about each other.  They waited for Brooke and Benny to 
catch up and the four of them walked out to the Service Center 
together. 

“Hey guys, Nicole going to be later than normal?”  Gary inquired. 

“Yeah, like always.”  Benny replied. 

“That really sucks, sorry to hear that.” 

“Yeah well, what do you expect?  Look at the crew she got.” 

“Point well taken Benny, good point.”  Gary rolled his eyes at Michelle
to make her laugh.  Michelle smacked him and they laughed.  Michelle 
was definitely the violent one and the flirt of the group.  Michelle 
could have any guy she wanted, really.  Gary and Benny had talked about 
it, Michelle was pretty and funny, she just had this awesome 
personality.  She had more than one anonymous suitor.  She just didn’t 
know, she was wrapped up in Benny too much.  Gary knew this and had 
tried to hook her and Benny up, but for some reason, Benny had picked 
Nicole over everyone’s objections.  Benny went after the successful 
ones, and since Nicole had gotten the promotion over Michelle, Gary 
suspected that’s why Benny chose Nicole.  A lot of people, including 
most of Minetown, believed that Michelle deserved it more than Nicole.  
But no one would every say that to Michelle, Nicole, or Benny.  Gary 
just didn’t like how Nicole had gotten the promotion, it had Michelle 
written all over it, then out of the blue, Nicole was announced as the 
newest assistant supervisor.  It was very suspicious to him, and 
others.  Gary grabbed Michelle’s hand and they went over to the trees 
to talk by themselves.  No one knew what they talked about, and 
everyone wanted to know.  But the way those two trusted each other, 
nothing ever got out.  Brooke and Benny just looked at each other and 
sighed. 

“Why don’t they just hook up?”  Benny asked Brooke. 

“For reasons you’d never understand Benny.”  Brooke responded.  She knew
how Michelle felt.  Michelle never openly admitted it to her, but 
Brooke knew the look of love, and Michelle got it whenever she was near 
Benny. 

“What does that mean?”  Benny snapped. 

“Absolutely nothing.  You wouldn’t understand.  What does it matter –
look, here comes Nicole.”  Brooke gasped.  She’d barely gotten out of 
that fight.  She’d known Benny the longest out of everyone and knew 
what a fool he was being. 

Nicole walked up to the two of them and smiled happily.  She looked a
bit disorganized than normal.  “Finally.  Those damn employees can’t 
ever add right,” she complained for the billionth time. Benny walked 
over and grabbed her and told her not to worry about them.  Brooke was 
so utterly disgusted by their public displays of affection, that most 
of the time when they were together; she was with Gary and Michelle.  
She glanced over to Gary and Michelle, and Michelle was crying.  Brooke 
started to walk over to see what was wrong, but Gary looked up and 
shook his head no.  Great, now who do I talk to?  Brooke thought to 
herself.  Then she spotted Matt, a friend of hers from the year before, 
walking out to his car, so she ran to catch up. 

“Gary...why me?  Why do I deserve this torture?”  Michelle wailed. 

“Listen honey, it’s not your fault.  You don’t deserve this, you know
that.  Why don’t you go for Art, he’s a nice guy,” Gary soothed to 
Michelle. 

“Gary, you know why, he’s not Benny.  Plus he freaks me out, a lot.” 

“I know hun, I know.”  Gary glanced over his shoulder to look at Benny
and Nicole. Only Benny seemed happy.  Nicole didn’t seem right to Gary, 
but Benny didn’t seem to notice.  Benny never noticed anything out of 
the ordinary, unless it was with Michelle.  Gary didn’t understand that 
at all.  Talking with Benny, Gary realized that Benny was extremely 
confused with his life and starting college, and Michelle being the 
same way, would add more stress to his life, as where, Nicole wouldn’t. 
 It’s stress that he needs though, Gary thought.  Gary sees a 
connection with Michelle and Benny but it would make their lives 
incredibly complicated if Benny would suddenly drop Nicole and date 
Michelle.  Nicole and Michelle had been best friends since diapers, 
everyone knew that.  They didn’t want to do anything to hurt that 
long-time bond.  Although Michelle didn’t think so, Nicole was just 
using her.  Michelle introduced Benny and Nicole to each other the next 
week, they were together.  That just didn’t make sense to Gary. Gary 
tried to soothe Michelle and just couldn’t tonight, his mind was on 
Nicole.  Something just wasn’t right with her.  He just couldn’t figure 
it out.  “Michelle, hun, I’ll walk you out to the car, dry those tears 
so no one sees them.  I know how you hate to let people see you cry.” 

“Yeah, I know.  Thanks Gary.”  Michelle kissed Gary on the cheek.  They
were both very comfortable with their relationship, and wouldn’t change 
it for the world.  She dried her tears and they walked hand-in-hand out 
to their cars to find Brooke and Matt talking. 

“Hey Michelle, you okay?”  Brooke asked and glanced at Gary. 

“Yeah, I’m fine, just complaining about Glenna again.”  Michelle
laughed.  Only Gary knew why she was crying, but Michelle was such a 
good actress that no one ever knew the real truth except him. 

“She’s a real piece of work, isn’t she?” Matt joined in.  Matt had been
a part of the group last year, but had moved out to Midway Racer group 
as a ride lead this year.  He seemed happy, but the group just wasn’t 
the same without him.  He attempted to work whenever possible in 
Minetown. 

“Yeah well...they all can’t be as smart as some people.”  Brooke said,
referring to Nicole. 

“Guys, I know you don’t like Nicole that much, but she’s my best friend,
so lay off it please.”  Michelle pleaded.  Gary shot Brooke and Matt a 
look and wrapped his arm around Michelle.  He’d do anything to protect 
her. 

“Anyways, Brooke and I are heading over to Wendy’s care to join us?” 
Matt asked. 

Gary looked at Michelle and she nodded.  “Just let me call Nicole and
have Benny and her stop by so I can take Nicole home then, okay?”  The 
group nodded.  Michelle grabbed her cell and called Nicole and told her 
the plan. 

“Michelle, dear, you can’t go.” 

“And why not?” Michelle asked as she walked away from the group. 

“Darling, you need to lose weight, do you think going to Wendy’s will
help?” 

“No, it won’t, but I promise not to eat anything.  I swear Nicole, I
won’t.” Michelle pleaded. 

“Fine, go ahead go, I’ll just have Benjamin take me home, okay?  And if
you gain any weight, it’s not my fault.” Nicole said and she hung up 
the phone.  She knew that Michelle wouldn’t go if she said that.  
Michelle called her back, and said that she wouldn’t go, and be waiting 
out in the parking lot for her. 

Michelle walked back and shook her head no, she wasn’t going to go. 
Gary grabbed her by the waist and said it was okay, before she burst 
into tears again.  Michelle took a deep breath and was fine again.  She 
lied and said that Nicole wanted to get home as soon as possible. 

“If she wants to get home, then why isn’t she out here?” Matt asked. 

“Who knows?”  Brooke agreed. 

This time Gary spoke up, “Guys, knock it off, okay?  Just let it be.”
Michelle looked gratefully up to Gary and he smiled down at her.  Gary 
would do anything to protect her.  Gary loved Michelle, he really did, 
and it killed him to see her so shaken up by Nicole, he didn’t know 
what she said, but whatever it was, hurt Michelle a lot. 

“You guys can go on ahead, I’ll just wait her until Benny and Nicole
come out.”  Michelle said.  “I don’t want to ruin the party.” 

Gary looked at her, and Michelle pleaded with her eyes to just go and
Gary understood, “Let’s go guys.  Last one there pays!!”  All three of 
them took off and zoomed out of the parking lot. 

Nicole and Benny were only a few more minutes, so Michelle sat out on
her car and waited.  As they walked up, they were holding hands and 
walking with Bell.  Bell’s real name was Bryan Bell and he was the 
assistant supervisor for Minetown.  Everyone loved him.  Nicole looked 
quite uncomfortable, but Benny didn’t notice, like usual.  Michelle 
glanced at Nicole and Nicole’s eyes said later.  Bell walked up to 
Michelle and hugged her.  “Sorry about the temper tonight Brickley, it 
was a bad night.” 

“It’s fine Bell, don’t worry about it, no harm done.” 

“Cool, thanks girl.”  Bell patted her leg and walked to his car.  He had
plans to go to his girlfriend’s house and stay there. 

That still left Benny, Nicole, and Michelle.  Benny called his mom and
had to go home right away.  Although Benny was 19, he still respected 
his mom’s decisions.  Michelle was also 19, while Nicole was 20.  
Nicole got a kiss good night from him, and Michelle got a hug, and then 
he was gone. 

“Spill it girl, what’s up?”  Michelle asked. 

“You wouldn’t understand.”  Nicole said. 

“Whatever girl, I can read you like a book, but just get in the car. 
We’ll talk about it then.” 

“Fine.” 

They climbed into the car and started driving home, Nicole was spending
the night with Michelle, and so Michelle knew that they’d talk about 
whatever was bugging her.  Nicole was quiet the whole way home.  
Michelle knew this was serious. 

“Michelle, I don’t want to talk about it, I just need to think.  Just
drop it.” 

“No I will not, okay?  You’re tripping...spill it.  Is it Benny –
Benjamin?  Work?  What?” 

Nicole just looked out the window and said “Just take me home.” 

“So now, I’m not good enough for you, whatever.  Go home and stay there
for all I care, you worry more about Benjamin than me right now.”  
Michelle snapped.  She knew she was overreacting but, it’s how she 
felt. 

“Michelle just be quiet, before your temper gets you into trouble.” 

Michelle stopped the car and told Nicole to get out.  “What?” 

“You heard me, I don’t want you in this car anymore, get out.  Call your
darling boyfriend.  I’m outtie.”  Nicole surprisingly got out of the 
car and called Benjamin. 

“Michelle, mark my words, you won’t forget what you just did.  It’s
over...Everything, you just blew this friendship.” 

“Thank God, that’s one thing off my mind.  Have fun with life, and
Benny.” 

“Michelle you know I hate it when you call Benjamin that...that...name.”


“I know, why do you think I do it?  You never cared about my feelings
before, why should I care about you anymore?”  Michelle rolled up her 
window and drove off. 

Nicole started crying and not even Benjamin could calm her down.  Nicole
knew what trouble she was in and the one person in the world that would 
understand was gone from her life.  Benjamin took her home and tried 
talking to her, and she told Benjamin off.  “You don’t care about me, 
you don’t even know what I do, you know nothing about me, I know those 
looks that Michelle gives you, I’m surprised you’re not doing both of 
us.  It’s over Benjamin, good bye.”  She turned on her heel and left 
him, dazed at the door.  He shrugged, figured it was PMS and left.  He 
thought it’d be okay the next day. 

The next day, Nicole didn’t show up for work.  Benny got worried, but
figured Michelle would know.  When questioned, Michelle didn’t know 
anything, which surprised everyone.  Michelle got very defensive and 
Gary had to come over and calm her down.  Michelle hadn’t told anyone 
about the fight, and Benny hadn’t mentioned the break up.  Matt Brace, 
who is in charge of all the employees, told Michelle to call her house. 
 Michelle called and no one answered.  So they promoted Michelle 
temporarily, for the day, to Nicole’s position.  Michelle loved every 
minute of it.  After work that day, Michelle had nothing but good 
things to say about the group.  But all day, her and Benny had this 
nagging thought about Nicole.  So after work, her and Benny got 
together and drove over to her house.  They knocked on the door, and 
her mother answered.  She grabbed Michelle and hugged and told her, 
Nicole had put herself into a coma.  Luckily Benny had been there to 
catch her when she fainted.  Benny couldn’t believe it either, but when 
he talked to the police and told them about the break-up, they nodded.  
Once Michelle awoke, they talked to her, but couldn’t calm her down.  
Benny called Gary to get him down here, maybe which would help.  
Anything to save this poor girl, Benny thought.  Gary got there in 
record time, saw Michelle bawling, grabbed Benny and asked him what was 
up. 

“Gary, dude, uh...this is hard to say, but Nicole’s in a coma.” 

“What?  How?” 

Michelle saw Gary waver and came over to support him.  “I know how she
did it guys, it’s not that hard.”  Benny and Gary just looked at her in 
amazement.  She continued, “She overdosed on laxatives, it was a habit 
we both had.  How do you think she kept her figure so well, she 
suffered from bulimia.  We both dealt with it in high school.  She’s 
been struggling with it again, once we both hit college.  She never 
told you Benny because she didn’t want you to worry about her.  She 
tried to be so strong for you.  Wanted to keep you happy...”  Then 
Michelle broke down again.  Gary caught her this time and glanced up at 
Benny.  Benny just sat down in wonder. 

“Michelle, are you dealing with it again?”  Gary asked. 

“Well...kinda, but not in the same way.  Neither of us had a great life,
I just was the better actress.  No one knew about mine.  Right now, I 
know it’s bad, but I am relapsing and I’m working on it, but I’m not 
eating as much, which could result in anorexia.  Please...Gary, 
Benny...don’t tell anyone, she wanted everyone to believe she was 
perfect.  That’s how she got you Benny, you thought she was perfect.  
You two were so great together.  Our fight last night didn’t help the 
situation any.” 

“Wait,” Benny awoke from his trance.  “You two had a fight?” 

“Yeah, a really bad one.  I said some stuff that I probably shouldn’t
have but I did.  She just pissed me off so bad, she wanted me to be 
just like her, and I learned that I just couldn’t be like her.  But 
just because the two of us fought, shouldn’t have driven her to 
break-up with you Benny, something else had to have happened.  You 
notice anything after work last night?” 

“No...” 

“I did,” Gary said.  “She looked upset when she walked out, kinda like
she was disorganized.” 

“Right, I noticed it too, especially when Benny and her walked out with
Bell last night, maybe Bell will know.” 

Benny drove himself, Gary, and Michelle to Bell’s apartment, his girl,
Kelly, answered the door.  “Hey guys!  Bryan’s in the shower, he’ll be 
out in a minute.” 

Once Bell got out of the shower, he came out and the three of them
explained the situation.  Bell looked like he was hit by a tractor 
trailer.  He recalled that she had been called into the Operations 
Office last night and was in there for at least 20 minutes.  She looked 
really upset when she came out.  Matt Brace was the only operations 
manager in last night.  They thanked Bell and went to find Matt.  They 
found him at Park Side, the local bar. 

“Good evening guys!  It’s such a surprise to see you guys here, how can
I help you?”  Brace asked. 

Gary looked at Michelle, and saw how emotionally draining this was to
her.  Benny, on the other hand, looked fine.  Gary thought that was 
odd.  Gary instructed Benny to take Michelle outside and talk to her.  
Gary explained the situation to Brace and he looked rather pleased with 
himself. 

“I told her last night, with all the complaints she was getting that she
better start doing more than just her job at HP.” 

“What does that mean?” Gary inquired. 

“Take it how you want, but I just wanted some special favors, I didn’t
force her to do anything.  She voluntarily did everything; she wanted 
to keep her job.”  At that, Brace got up and left.  As he left, he saw 
Benny holding Michelle and said, “Ben, watch what you’re doing with 
that one, she’s dangerous, look how Nicole ended up.” 

Benny was ready to go after Brace, but Michelle held him back, “Don’t
worry about it Benny, he thinks I’m with Gary, you’re safe.”  Gary came 
out, took Michelle from Benny, and she started bawling again.  She 
shook him off, screaming “Look what I did!!  I don’t deserve to live, I 
could have killed my best friend...I just deserve to die!!”  Then she 
collapsed. 

Michelle awoke to Benny singing to her.  He had the most beautiful
voice.  And everything was white.  Her eyes fluttered open and Benny 
smiled down at her and got up to get Gary.  This time Christina joined 
Gary at Michelle’s side.  Christina hugged Michelle and calmed her down 
again.  Gary explained to Michelle what Brace had said, and Michelle 
got this look of rage that no one had ever seen before, especially from 
Michelle.  They all backed off.  She quickly recovered while muttering, 
“That bastard.”  She wasn’t allowed to leave the hospital; they wanted 
to keep her for another hour or two.  Gary called Brooke and Matt, and 
they came over.  They had heard through the grapevine what had 
happened.  Brooke ran over to Michelle and her and Christina just held 
Michelle.  Matt sighed and asked what they were going to do.  The three 
guys snuck out and left the women to themselves. 

“Guys, I should be really honest right now, it might explain a couple
things.”  Michelle sighed.  “I’ll start from the very beginning.  First 
of all, I’ve only known Nicole for a few years.  We met at the 
hospital, where we were recovering bulimics.  She was a star field 
hockey player, like me, at one point.  I loved to play, but my body 
just won’t let me anymore.  Anyways, back to the point.  Both of our 
coaches suggested that we shed a few pounds, and we believed them.  So, 
we occasionally started to purge after a meal, once or twice a day.  
This really bonded us.  We did become like best friends, more like 
sisters, always there for each other.  But nothing besides this disease 
kept us together.  She recovered faster than me, or so the doctors 
thought.  I knew the truth, she was still doing it, but it was fun, 
having a secret, just the two of us.  So then, I recovered a month 
later.  She came to see me everyday.  Okay, so then we both applied to 
HP the summer after this happened.  Then she began to change.  The 
disease took more control over her, she became obsessed with being 
perfect, which I didn’t understand.  Yes, I had my bad days, my dad 
yelling at me, telling me to lose weight, but I learned to ignore it, 
but Nicole couldn’t handle that.”  Michelle stopped to take a breath, 
and then continued, “Once we both got promoted last summer to leads, I 
really noticed it.  She took advantage of the power, and she attracted 
the attention of Matt, I knew this.  They’d been sleeping together for 
over a year now.  I guess that wasn’t enough for him anymore, and she 
ended it once she got her promotion.  Then she started dating Benny, 
saying she was tied down and couldn’t cheat on him, to go back to 
Brace.  But then I fell in love with Benny, which complicated things.  
She knew that I had a crush on him, I even told her, but when he picked 
her over me, I gave up trying.  And what Brace told Gary totally makes 
sense, he wanted to use his power as her supervisor to get what he 
wanted from her again.”  At this time, she looked at Brooke and 
Christina, and they looked so utterly disgusted.  Michelle then 
continued the story, saying how jealous of Nicole she was, but how 
she’s not anymore.  “I don’t want that life anymore, I’ve recovered.  
She was perfect...too perfect, I realize that now.” 

“None of this makes sense Michelle, why?  Just why did she do it?”
Brooke asked. 

“Did what, purge, or sleep with Brace?  Easy, with an eating disorder,
you seem to have control over something in your life.  Secondly, she 
wanted power.  She truly wanted to be perfect, nothing could stop her 
in that quest, and Brace helped her to become ‘perfect.’” Michelle 
responded.  “Gary doesn’t even know about this, and I tell him 
everything.  Christina, I have no feelings for Gary like that, I hope 
you know that.”  Christina nodded and Michelle continued.  “Brooke, I 
do love Benny, and Gary has been there to help me get over him, but 
it’s just not working anymore.  I would see Nicole and Benny together 
and I would cringe.  I would die to be her.  I wanted to be held in his 
arms.  I just didn’t understand why her over me.” 

Benny walked into the room again and gave something to Christina.  She
nodded and left.  A few minutes of talking, Christina came in and got 
Brooke, leaving Benny and Michelle together.  “Finally...”  Benny 
sighed. 

“Hmm...” Michelle wondered. 

“Listen, Michelle, I didn’t know how you felt.  Especially about me.  I
had no idea.  I do care a lot about you.  I just can’t trust you 
though.  You hid all this stuff from me, which was dangerous to all our 
lives.” 

“Benjamin Michael...don’t even say that to me!  Don’t even start!  You
don’t know a damn thing about what the hell you’re talking about.  
Nicole criticized everything I did.  Every once I ate....you never 
noticed though.  She didn’t like how you were a step below her either.  
I did the best I could, given the circumstances.  If I had told you, 
you would have confronted her, exposing her little secret...our little 
secret.  She wanted to be perfect for you; I’m not sure what else I 
could have done.”  Michelle ranted and raved until she was blue in the 
face. 

“Darling-” 

“Don’t darling me...wait a minute...why the darling...what the hell are
you doing?  I’m so pissed at you right now...” 

“Michelle, hun, you said exactly what I wanted you to say,” Benny looked
her straight in the eyes, and saw the love that he’d always seen in her 
eyes.  “You know you’re mad, but you still care about me.  Gary just 
told me how upset you were and even Matt helped explain it.  I had no 
idea about the connection between you and Gary; I thought you two were 
cheating on Christina.  I was oblivious to it.  Plus, I knew I didn’t 
have a chance with you.  You could have any guy you wanted, you know 
that.”  Benny stopped and looked out the window.  “I was afraid for 
you.” 

“Benny, you know how strong I am, I’m probably stronger now than I ever
was before.  The disease is controlling yes, but with support through 
friends, I conquered it, for the most part.”  Michelle paused and 
thought a moment.  “I’ve had feelings for you ever since I met you, and 
it was hard that you chose one of my best friends over me, I thought 
you could see how much I cared.  But I couldn’t do anything because of 
the promotions.  But, for now, just get me out of here.” 

Benny nodded, went to the door, and got the group together.  They helped
her out of the hospital.  She wanted to go see Nicole, but Gary 
wouldn’t let her.  She didn’t understand why.  Michelle started to 
fight back, shaking everyone off of her and ran back into the hospital 
asking the nurses where Nicole Harris’ room was.  The nurse just shook 
her head and said, “Haven’t you heard?  She’s passed on.”  Michelle 
fell to the ground crying. 

“This is my fault!!  Why didn’t I do something before this?  Why did it
have to come to this point?  Why her, why not me?  It should be me 
that’s gone.  She’s perfect, she should be here, not me.” 

Gary placed his hand on her shoulder, she looked up, and he said, “Look
around you, this is why you’re alive.  You have people here who love 
you, and you love them.  They need you to be a part of their lives.  
You’re much stronger than Nicole could have ever been.  You’re the 
perfect one.” 

Everyone around them nodded, and then Matt spoke up.  “Michelle, you’ve
overcome so much more than any of us will ever comprehend.  You’re 
amazing.  I can’t believe that some people here just realized that.”  
Matt then glared at Benny, who shrugged. 

Brooke was next, “I hate to make this sappier, but if you were gone, I’d
miss my sexier bitch too much.”  She paused and laughed.  “I need you 
Michelle, more than you ever know.  Who else would help me with my 
pathetic love life?” 

Christina’s smile said it all.  Then came Benny.  Michelle took a deep
breath, not wanting to hear it.  Benny bent down and looked at her with 
a look she’d never seen before.  Then she knew.  Everyone loved her and 
did need her.  She had a lot to live up to now that Nicole was gone 
from her life.  But Michelle resolved to be the best person she could 
be to everyone she knew, and she’d share her love with everyone.  All 
in memory of Nicole Elizabeth Harris.  Her best friend. 


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