Ghosts {L.P.}

6:10

Ｇｈｏｓｔｓ Ｂｒｏｋｅ Ｈｅｒ Ｈｅａｒｔ

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။၊|• 0:49

Riya re-did her messy bun, threw on a pair of grey sweatpants to match her mustard yellow school jumper and slipped on a loose pair of sneakers while sending her father a text of her whereabouts before she left the safety of her apartment for the first time in the entire weekend.

Only two steps down the stairs and Riya came to a full halt, seriously regretting leaving the comfort of her home for such a trivial thing as curiosity, but then again she wasn't the type of person to just ditch on everyone, especially when she had already said she'd be there.

She wasn't Alex, Reggie, or Luke to do such a thing.

So, she pushed on.

The bus ride was ten times longer without music, a thousand times more boring, and the bright blue sky a million times duller without the beauty of her mother's music to cheer her up.

As she came to think of it, Riya had avoided music like the plague since the incident at the dance, didn't even near her mother's guitar, her own electric one still in Julie's garage. She'd have to change that as soon as she finished the damming meeting, she wasn't going to let a trio of boys ruin music for her. Besides, perhaps playing music again would help vanish the feeling of doom looming over her shoulders.

The doors to her stop slid open, Riya shoving her way by the ones standing in the middle of the walkway before hopping off, searching everywhere until she found Julie in a baby blue dress and a pale pastel yellow sweater with a matching blue bow in her hair standing stoically beside the curve, Reggie and Alex impatiently jumping and strutting respectively by her side.

As Julie saw her approach, she immediately ran full force at Riya, engulfing her in a bone crushing hug she couldn't escape even if she wanted to.

"It's good to see you too, Jules." Julie pulled away, flashing Riya the strained smile she herself was displaying while the girl gripped at her forearms, both guys standing respectfully a few strides back.

"How you've been?"

Riya shrugged. "I spent the entire weekend eating junk food and staring at the ceiling. What about you?"

"Spent the weekend at Flynn's then didn't wake up on time and missed three of my classes just to come home to a musical number in my garage." At her last complaint she looked over her shoulder, eyes narrowing in Alex and Reggie's direction before turning back to a confused Riya.

"Musical number?"

"Long story." Alex interrupted, suddenly appearing by the girls' side while gently dragging Riya down the sidewalk, forcing Julie who was still gripping her arm to follow.

"Involving lots of bathroom breaks." Reggie shuddered at his words before following the rest of the group, both girls sharing a concerned look at the even odder than usual behaviour by Reggie himself.

Only two days without contact and Riya felt like she had missed an eternity.

In complete silence salve for Julie tripping over uneven edges of sidewalk, Alex and Reggie led the girls towards a typical suburban house, with big windows, a perfectly green grass garden with abundant shrubbery and the addition of a quiet street, the kind of home every child wanted to live in.

Every member of the sneaking group hid behind their own skinny tall bush, peeking out barely enough to see through the window, Riya only needed a glance for her slowly repairing heart to clatter towards the floor and scatter in a million pieces.