Author's Note: I watched Camp Rock and discovered that I despised Demi Lovato's character, Mitchie Torres. I mean, the girl just lied the whole movie and everybody forgave her because she had a good voice? What the hell? Haha, and I was really disappointed at Disney's failure to resolve the problem between Tess Tyler and her mother. So here it is, I guess.

Summary: When most people look at Tess Tyler, they see a skinny, coldhearted, and unfairly beautiful bitch. When Tess Tyler looks at herself in a mirror, she sees a cracked, broken reflection. Tess is in a thousand pieces, but maybe Jason can mend her. Jason x Tess. (Jess)

Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock or any of the characters. I do own this plotline.

Warnings: Eating disorders, language, self-abuse

A Thousand Pieces

When most people look at Tess Tyler, they see a skinny, coldhearted, and unfairly beautiful bitch. When Tess Tyler looks at herself in a mirror, she sees a cracked, broken reflection.

She touches her collarbone lightly with her slender fingers and toys with her blonde hair. She’s been told she’s pretty—gorgeous even—but she only sees a bloated, envy-filled monster staring back at her. And with logical thinking, if she is in fact so beautiful, how come she is not good enough for her mother?

She trails her fingers over her delicate frame, her breath hitching in her throat, and tears threatening to spill over, burning the rims of her eyes. With a shuddery sigh, she folds like a piece of flimsy origami, collapsing next to the toilet behind her and expelling what little contents are in her stomach.

It isn’t supposed to happen like this. She is supposed to be the star; she has been trained to dominate the stage and damn it, for once she is supposed to live up to her mom’s expectations. Just once. Hell, couldn’t she even get that?

But no, instead that beautiful, brunette bombshell, that Mitchie Torres had to steal her one chance of glory.

To be quite honest, Mitchie Torres is a two-faced bitch. Yeah, sure, Tess is guilty of her own crimes, but she is not a liar. Mitchie lied to everybody at camp and was forgiven by singing a song? “This is real, this is me?” Mitchie must be publicly declaring he is indeed a liar. And to make it worse, not only is Mitchie the most popular girl at camp now, but she has stolen Shane Gray with her voice—her incredible, raw, talented voice…

Tess is still pining over Shane.

She scoffs, remembering the whole audience going ga-ga for the two, big-headed divas. Jerking her head back up, Tess stares at her miserable expression in the mirror. She rinses out her vomit-stained mouth, pushes back tears, and begins to reapply her makeup.

Her mother expects her to be strong, confident, cool. Tess has to embrace and accept her mistake of almost falling off the stage and use it to improve herself. With a deep, long sigh, Tess finishes. She makes sure to apply extra make-up around her eyes. Nobody can know she’s been crying. That would ruin her for sure.

Because Tess Tyler looks like a mean, spoiled brat, but she’s human like all of us. And just like all humans, she’s also vulnerable.

ooo

She bites her lip gently now, tasting lip gloss underneath her teeth. Her mom has her hands thrown up in the air.

“…I came all the way here to see you perform and you completely blew it…”

Tess tries to drown out her mom’s voice.

“…when you make a mistake, you do not run from it…”

Tess pretends the ratty carpet on the floor is the most interesting thing she has ever seen.

“…look at me when I am talking to you!”

Tess reluctantly meets her mother’s eyes. She hopes for forgiveness, maybe a bit of kindness even.

But no.

Cold, cruel disappointment glares at her.

“Please,” she whispers, her voice breaking with pain. “I’m so sorry Mom, could you-”

“Don’t interrupt me,” snaps TJ Tyler, who is still ranting.

Tess breaks. She collapses and the tears boiling behind her eyes avalanche out. She runs.

Her mom doesn’t even follow her.

ooo

“DAMN IT!” Tess screams, taking the nearest object (a gilded mirror) and throwing it at the nearest wall. It shatters into thousands of pieces, and Tess falls to the floor, pulling her legs close to her body. She is the mirror. She is in thousands of pieces. And nobody wants to glue the pieces back together.

Tess is too much work. Nobody wants to work; nobody wants to fix her. Tess Tyler is alone in this. Alone in her cabin, alone on the floor, alone crying while everybody else at camp is around the bonfire singing songs and eating and being part of a family Tess has never had and will never belong to.

She is alone.

Until she hears the hurried thump from outside.

Tess bristles. “Mitchie, Peggy, Ella I know it’s you! Just go away!”

There’s no answer.

“What? Are you going to tell everybody now? Huh, Caitlin, add this to your list of blackmail? Tess Tyler sobbing by herself in the middle of the floor?”

Tears are running in waterfalls down her face.

There’s a reply. “Uh… I’m not Mitchie. Or Peggy. Or… a girl?”

A head appears at the window and Tess is surprised to see Jason, the guitarist of Connect Three—a boy known somewhat as the village idiot.

“I’m Jason and…” Jason trails off, looking at the mess of glass on the floor, “you’re not okay.”

Tess is surprised. Most people would ask if she was ok, take “yes” as the answer, and then walk away, feeling a mild guilt that was a fine trade-off for actually dealing with Tess Tyler.

“No… no. I’m not,” Tess admits, glancing at a piece of glass that has embedded iself into the palm of her hand. She’s just so… tired.

“Can I come in?” Jason asks, shaking his long hair out of his eyes. He is strangely good-looking, in an honest way, not sculpted like Shane Gray or clean cut like Nate. Jason is rugged. Simple.

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Tess answers in a flat voice. She watches him as he steps carefully through the shards of jagged glass. Jason clears away the glass around her and sits down next to Tess.

“What are you doing here?” Tess asks quietly. She hates that he can see her like this, frayed and no longer composed.

“Uh, I had to um… pee and uh…”

Tess holds up a hand to indicate for him to stop and is surprised to hear concern in Jason’s oice. “You have glass in your hand. Let me get it out.”

She shakes her head weakly in protest, but Jason carefully uses the sleeve of his shirt to pull out the jagged piece of glass. He throws it to the side.

“Hey, this is going to hurt but I have to stop the bleeding,” Jason tells her gently, his eyes concentrated. He rips off the sleeve of his shirt and he ties it around the wound, applying pressure.

Tess looks at him. “Thank you.”

“You know, as a ‘you’re welcome’ you want to tell me what happened here?” Jason waves his hand around the cabin.

“I…uh…” Tess struggles with her words. This is something new. “I’m just so ugly,” her voice hits a higher note, expressing her agony.

“Hey,” Jason says kindly. “Look.” He places his hand under Tess’s chin and tilts her head to meet his eyes.

“Nate says I’m not the sharpest hammer in the shed…oh wait, is it the sharpest tool in the shed?” His forehead wrinkles up as he thinks, bringing a small, amused smile to Tess’s face.

“Crayon in the box?” Tess suggests, a grin playing on her face.

“Well, hey that works,” Jason says, shrugging with a contented expression, “but… where was I? Oh yeah. I’m not smart but I’m not so dumb either and I don’t lie. And I’m telling the truth when I say you’re not ugly. You’re actually really, really beautiful.”

Tess stares at him, shock overriding her face. “You’re just saying that.”

“Uh… yeah, I’m saying it?” Jason says, scratching his head with a confused look. “You should know that you’re really pretty.”

“Really?” Tess stammers. “I thought everybody hated me. I mean… I purge, I take advantage of people, I…”

“Hey,” Jason interrupts softly. “Purging is dumber than I am and you make mistakes. Nobody’s perfect.”

“Then why doesn’t my mom like me?” Desperation crawls into Tess’s voice.

Jason’s eyes soften. “Oh, so that’s what it is. To be honest, Tess, I think your mom is a big idiot.”

Tess opens her mouth to protest, but Jason gestures for her to be quiet.

“Honestly Tess. You’re pretty inside and out and you’re talented and competitive—though maybe you should tone it down. Your mom is really lucky to have you as a daughter and maybe she just gets caught up so much in being famous she becomes like Shane where she just demands perfection. It’s not fair to you. I mean, your mom must be dumber than even I am-”

“You know,” Tess interjects with a sad smile, “you’re not really that stupid.”

“Really?” Jason asks hopefully. “Maybe you could tell Nate and Shane that for me?”

“Oh, I’ll tell them for sure,” Tess starts, and stops as Jason leans in and kisses her.

“Uh, sorry,” Jason says, pulling back, pained and worried.

Tess’s eyes finally meet his. There is nothing deceitful or cruel in Jason’s brown orbs.

“Don’t be,” she whispers, and leans in to kiss him again.

ooo

This time when Tess talks to her mom, TJ Tyler is the one to cry. TJ Tyler pulls her daughter close and Tess finally crawls into her mother’s arms like the child she is.

Jason, hiding in a corner with a slightly stupid (but adorable) look on his face, smiles. His work here is done.

ooo

A mirror is as shallow as one makes it. But a mirror is also as deep as one makes it. Jason may not be the sharpest crayon in the box, but he sees how people run much deeper than appearances (or holes to China as he puts in).

ooo

When most people look at Tess Tyler, they see a skinny, cold-hearted, and unfairly beautiful bitch. When TJ Tyler looks at Tess, she sees a daughter. When Jason looks at Tess, he sees a scared, but healing girl.

And most importantly, when Tess Tyler looks at a mirror, she sees a full, mending reflection.

Because someone has finally begun the daunting task of gluing a thousand pieces of glass together.

review, please :)