Love, Aristotle

chapter 16

Aristotle

Sometimes, I'd go to sleep and dream of a world that didn't exist.

There everything was perfect. Everything was a lie. But in my mind, it was the realest thing ever. There, a world without cruelty, one without pain and heartache. One where things were perfect. It existed solely because I dreamt it. At night, it came to find me. It took me away and took the burdens of life off of my shoulders.

I dreamt of a life where Damon and I were okay. In a different place, away from the world. In our own universe.

We were walking together in the depths of the future, so far away from now, yet so close. I studied the art of dancing at Juilliard in New York. He worked towards getting into Formula 1. And every night, we came home to each other.

We bought a nice house in a quiet neighbourhood and we called it home. A place only we knew.

In another world. We lived a peaceful life all the same. Living by the beach and waking up to the ocean every morning. Went to bed in each other's arms. I taught at a local dance school and he worked in a garage.

Each and every one was a variation of the dreams we always talked about. And they all had one thing in common. We were together, like how it always should be.

But in others, it wasn't so happy. These ones were the nightmares. In which we found ourselves alone, not together. In which I was living a life without him and so on. Things happened, I wasn't sure what. But the darkness surrounded me and I couldn't find him. It was beautiful but terrifying. A world without him was like the moon without the earth. The universe without its stars. Music without its muse.

In this one, I woke up and greeted reality with a groan. The sunlight glistened on my face through the window and it took a few moments to get used to it. Eventually, I got up, despite wanting to stay in bed, where it was safe and managed to get ready for the day.

Moments after, I found myself sitting at my desk, listening to Mr. Baker talk endlessly about world history. Though, the bell cut him short.

"Read pages 109 to 112 from the manual for homework and answer the questions. I'll see you tomorrow," he said, as a wave of students flowed out of the classroom. I shoved everything back in my bag and exited the class, shooting him a polite smile.

Lainey fell into step next to me as we headed to our lockers, through the crowded hallway, "Did you see what he's wearing today?"

"Who?"

"Andrew."

I grimaced slightly at the mention of his name, "No, I haven't."

Rolling her eyes, she scanned the hallway for him, I guessed. "Over there!" I didn't bother looking over. Instead, I slipped out my phone and scrolled through the messages on the notification bar.

"Why do you care?" I asked, amused by this.

"Why don't you?" She shot back.

"I already told you."

She groaned loudly. I ignored her and opened my locker, placing my history notebook in there and taking out my math one and my calculator. Literally my best friend.

Overall, I actually really liked math. It was fun, only when I understood. That was why I always made sure to pay close attention and take notes.

Math was simply complicated. All numbers and equations. It was like a puzzle. To me, it was somewhat calming. It took my thoughts away from life and placed them on staying focused. I liked algebra the most. Even though at times, it could be most difficult.