The Downfalls of Love (ON HOLD)

the party

Eccedentesiast- noun. a person who fakes a smile and hides their pain behind it.

Staring at her reflection, Aspen found her eyes filled
with nothing but dullness. Her brain was doing too much even this early in the morning. She was mentally exhausted. Tired of overthinking too much even when there was nothing to worry about. She realized that it's been something that has followed her around for as long as she remembered. She just knew that one day, she would go crazy, and all the blame would point itself to the intrusive thoughts running around in her brain.

She exhaustingly got out of her bed, putting both feet onto the cold hardwood floors. Shivering, she slid on her fluffy slippers and walked into her en-suite bathroom.

Staring at herself in the mirror, she analyzed every feature of her face. But what stood out the most, was the dark circles under her eyes and scatters of acne around her face. "Oh gosh, I need to start fixing my sleep schedule," she thought.

Taking out her toothbrush, she began to brush her teeth and then went on to finish up the rest of her morning routine. Picking up her hairbrush, she began to brush out the knots that got stuck between her wavy blonde hair and finished with her morning skincare routine.

Later during the day, she planned to meet with Levi for a night out. They both had invites to a party situated not that far from their campus to celebrate the last day of school. And although she wasn't fond of the idea of going out, her best friend practically begged her to. So she gave in and agreed. She needed to spend her summer as fun as possible before going back to hell. In other words, school, where she was studying to become a fashion designer.

After getting dressed in a short green floral cami dress, that went very well with her emerald green eyes, she headed out the door to the cafe.

Walking the streets, she took a deep breath and took in the fresh air. Birds were singing while cars drove by her. Inhaling the summery smell of fresh, blooming flowers, she began to smile from the peace the quiet streets gave her. It felt serene and it was the one thing she enjoyed basking in the most. If only she felt like this forever, she would have no worries in her life.

As she was seconds away from arriving at her favourite lounge spot, Aspen was hit with the smell of baked goods and her mouth started watering.

From where she could see, there was quite an amount of people already inside by themselves or with a couple of friends, laughing and having fun with each others company. Maybe one day she could experience what they were feeling at that moment. That was only a wish yet to come true.

That's the thing, she thought. Even if she were to encounter the feeling, she knew it could never last forever. There will be always something or someone to prevent you from it. After all, nothing lasts forever.

Shaking her head, she walked in to find a chair that wasn't occupied and began to plan her day before it would be time to get ready for the party. Aspen agreed upon going to the mall to get a dress, even though she had enough back at her luxurious penthouse. It was at that moment she decided to invite her friend over to pick out a dress with her. After all, she hated walking alone in stores. Plus, she needed someone to talk to and take her mind off things, and Levi was the right person to help her with that.

A couple seconds after she hit the call button, he answered enthusiastically. They both greeted each other before making small conversation. Cutting it short, Aspen then remembered why she called in the first place and asked him if he would accompany her to the mall. He agreed and they planned to meet there in an hour.

So she spent the remaining time scrolling through her phone while still being in the café, occasionally going up to the cashier to purchase some pieces of their well-known lemon loaf and to wash it down, paired it off with a refreshing drink. Once the hour passed, she got up from the comfortable cushioned chair and was on her way out.

Taking an Uber to get to the shopping centre, she was later met with her smiling friend. After saying their "hello's" and hugging one another, they eventually walked in beside each other to start the shopping.

.

Two excruciating hours were used up until Aspen finally found a dress to wear to the party. A short satin dress that accentuated her curves and went well with her skin tone.

Along with the dress she purchased, a lot of money was also spent on different types of clothing and accessories. But it never seemed to be an issue for her. For one, her parents and generations behind were loaded with cash. Her father was a surgeon and her mother, a well known businesswoman.

Growing up, many people called her spoiled, but she never really cared what they thought about her. They were just bitter, and plus, she wasn't the one to ask for it in the first place. If anything, her parents would give her money in compensation for the loss of time with their only daughter.

Her realtionship with her mother was a bit complicated. They used to be the best of friends until that all changed the day she decided to confess a secret that she had been hiding for 6 long, excruciating months. While her dad was fully supportive of her being a lesbian, her mother threatened to kick her out of their mansion when she was at the young age of sixteen.

"Nothing hurts more than a loved one pretending you never exist anymore. As if you were merely dust from the corner of a window," she thought.

Despite the fact that her own blood despised her, there was a part of her that still loved her, but hated to admit. She was there when she had her first heartbreak, and helped her overcome the many obstacles that blocked her from going any further from the path she called life. But none of that matters anymore, what's gone is gone.

Looking beside him, Levi saw Aspen staring blankly at the floor below them and deciding to pull her out of her deep thoughts, he started to talk about the party that was approximately 4 hours away. Plenty of time to get ready, they thought.

"I have a friend of mine that you should meet. I think you both will get along. She's pretty down to earth."

Letting out a hum as a response, she drowned his voice out. Once again, her thoughts trapped her from reality, putting her in a vulnerable state.

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sorry for the month long wait, i'm finally done summer school and i've been too stressed and sad lately to update. not the best chapter, but it's something. anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter :)