[CW OneShot/Feedback] The "Perks" of Being a Wallflower

[Rosesong]

Whomever could have possibly thought that there are perks to being a wallflower was delusional. There are none; that phrase that we hear so commonly is a lie, a bunch of cockamamie that we tell ourselves to not feel bad. You must be confused; I can tell you're wondering how I would be able to make such a statement. Well, allow me to shed some light on this inquiry of yours. You see, I am a wallflower. Always have been, always will be.

I can hear your protests. "You're not a wallflower," you proclaim to me, hoping to convince me of that simple notion. "You'll never be a wallflower as long as we're around." You may be unable to tell, but I am scoffing at you. Sure, you can say I'm not a wallflower and that I will never be, but can you truly assure it? I thought not. You see, there's no way for you to do so.

Allow me to show you why I'm a wallflower through a rough analogy. You see, I'm that friend that you bring to a party. Do I know anyone there? No, I only know you, though you seem to forget about me almost immediately and go off in search of other friends. So, I do my best to blend in with the crowds. When I come to you to talk, you shrug me off because you're so engrossed in your current conversation that to acknowledge me would be rude to your other friends. When I tap at you two, three, even four times, finally you acknowledge me with a quick comment intended to placate me and quickly return to your prior conversation which still holds your interest; I fade back into obscurity. It is only when you realize that you've screwed something up that you seek me out. You want advice, help on fixing what you've done. Other times, it's to vent about who had wronged you. So, I, being the ever faithful friend to you, forget about having been ignored and take you away from the party, giving you a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, and sympathy and support. Yet still after this, once your problems have been solved, I go back to being that wallflower, the one that isn't recognized unless needed for something.

You're still trying to fight my claims, but to no avail. You see, my dear friend, I understand that I fill this role in your life; I'm the person whom you seek out because you know I could never and would never turn you away in your time of need. When the tables turn though, I am screaming into the void, trapped in a glass box and viciously pounding against the walls in a vain, fruitless effort to be heard, acknowledged, listened to. As you struggle to find a way to prove me incorrect, to show me the light in this situation, all I can do is shake my head and smile sadly. The truth of the matter is, there are no perks to being a wallflower. So for now, I'll fade back into the shadows, become the invisible plant that no one notices but is still watered, waiting to be needed again and placed back into the sunlight before the cycle repeats.