"One more day, and we're finally free of this hellscape," Michael says, shoving his laptop into the flimsy and ripped material he calls a backpack. However, if Aria were to have any say in it, she wouldn't even call it such, as Michael's bag has become a more acceptable version of a black trash bag since all it holds are dead vapes, empty wrappers, and loose papers.
She waits for him by the classroom door, leaning against the wall and observing as he wrestles with the faulty zip and slings the frayed bag over a shoulder. "One more day, week, then a whole month of exams before graduation." She sighs, her weariness palpable, considering she was up late last night, mindlessly scrolling through her phone and pacing to the bedroom door, letting the cat in and out.
"Same thing," Michael waves off, following the girl out of the door into the halls toward the outside courtyard for lunch. "I just can't wait to get out of here. I hate this place." He mutters.
"Everyone does." But that doesn't mean some small part of her isn't feeling the early effects of graduation goggles; sure, Aria spent more than half her time in this school hating everyone and everything in it, though there have been some good moments – this year, in particular, seems to have gone by in an actual blink of an eye, and has, exponentially, been better than she had initially expected.
Classes other than the standard math and biology haven't been painfully challenging – like she'd been led to believe by teachers – and the girl fully believes she hasn't accomplished anything of substance in the past seven or so months she's spent at school. The workload hasn't been dreadfully heavy. She doesn't remember doing any homework – aside from the standard plethora of history readings – nor has she spent multiple nights hunched over in bed studying for tests she should've studied for.
No, when she looks back at this school year – her final, senior year – all she can think of is all the parties, trips to the corner stores with Michael, getting high, and the unsurprising path she has gone down with Luke.
Still, she's glad to be rid of school. Still, she will miss the familiarity—Michael, Sade, Jonah—having the ability to see her friends every day, the social aspect of it, like the trashy house parties, and being able to drive to Michael's house whenever she's bored or needs to run errands. Aria will miss coming home from a long day after battling the high school parking lot rush and laying in her bed with her cat and picture-covered walls.
She'll miss smoking in the backyard, covering her living room in blankets and pillows for sleepovers, the long nights with her friends, the guy who works at the corner store who never asks for ID, and eating dinner at the table with her dad – and sometimes Michael – with her laptop playing whatever TV show she's chosen to binge.
"I don't think it's hit me yet," Michael says, his hand waving as he speaks. "But I do know I'm never coming back." He looks over to Aria, who, as usual, is simply blankly staring ahead. "Are you going to cry for me when I leave in the summer?"
"Dunno," she hums with a slight shrug, "we'll have to see when it comes – but, yes, probably, that is very likely." She's been convincing herself that she won't cry, that it's natural, and that it's nothing she isn't used to. Recently, Aria has been relatively emotional – just last night, she spent half an hour in tears because she couldn't find a stupid photo of her and Michael from ninth grade.
"You better cry," he mutters, "if you don't, I'll take it personally."
"Oh yeah? Why?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you're my best friend." Michael shrugs, purposely walking into her side. "And I'm your best friend, and because I was your only friend for a while, I've seen you at your most questionable phases. So, I feel like I deserve some ugly sobbing."
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BAD OMENS ✬ luke hemmings
Fanfiction"what happened to us?" "well, we hated each other." she hates him, he hates her. petty rivalry, rumours, comments tore their friendship apart. they can't be around each other and everyone knows that. though after taking it too far, the two are sub...
