Lighting Up Your Heart

A Visit From Friends

I got up from the bed, my movements cautious and quiet. I crept towards the window, my hands trembling. I pulled back the curtains, my heart in my throat.
Standing outside, their faces lit up by the silvery moonlight, were the last people I expected to see. Stone, Vinnie, and Skipp were all standing on my balcony, grins on their faces and mischief in their eyes.
My heart leaped into my throat, a million questions racing through my mind. What were they doing here? How did they find me? And most importantly, how in the world did they get onto my balcony?
I opened the balcony door, my voice a hushed whisper. "What are you three doing here?" I hissed, glancing nervously behind me at the closed door. "And how did you even get up here?"
"We climbed," Skipp said, gesturing to the trellis that led up to my balcony. "It was easy." His carefree grin belied the effort it must have taken to scale the trellis quietly.
I shook my head, a mix of worry and amusement on my face. "Are you insane?" I said, trying to keep my voice down. "What if you fell? What if someone saw you?"
"Relax, we're pros," Stone said, leaning against the railing with casual ease. "Besides, we needed to talk to you."
My interest was piqued. "What is it?" I asked, still concerned that someone would hear us. "What couldn't wait until tomorrow?"
"We wanted to make sure you're alright," Vinnie said, her voice uncharacteristically softer than usual. "When you didn't meet us at the usual place, we got worried."
My heart skipped a beat at his words, a warm, fuzzy feeling settling in my chest. They had come all the way here, risking their necks and their safety, just to check on me? It was sweet, in a reckless, impulsive way.
"I'm fine," I reassured them, keeping my voice low. "I'm just... grounded." I hated saying the word, hated admitting it out loud. It made me feel like a child, weak and pathetic.
"Grounded, huh?" Stone said, raising an eyebrow. "What did you do this time? Blow up a building?"
"Ha ha," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "I got into a little bit of trouble." I didn't want to go into the details, didn't want to admit to them that I was in trouble for sneaking around with them.
      "I'm sure it wasn't that bad," Vinnie said, giving me a reassuring smile. "What did you do? Get caught smoking or something?"
      "Something like that," I said vaguely, not wanting to get into the full story. "Anyway, you shouldn't be here. If my mom sees you, she'll have a fit."
      "She'd have a fit if she knew we even existed," Stone said, a smirk on his face. "You're not ashamed of us, are you?"
      I rolled my eyes again, but there was no heat behind it. "Of course not," I said, the words automatic. "But my mom is... judgmental, to say the least. She wouldn't understand."
      "So? Since when do you care what other people think?" Stone said, his tone challenging. "You've never let that stop you before."
    I bit my lip, his words hitting a little too close to home. He was right, of course. I had never let other people's opinions stop me before. But now, feeling the weight of my mother's expectations and disapproval, I wasn't so sure anymore.
    I looked away, my thoughts tangled and messy. I felt torn, caught between my own desires and my mother's expectations. I wanted to be free, to do what I wanted, to be with them. But I also wanted to please my mother, to make her proud, to be the perfect daughter she wanted me to be.
      "Hey, don't overthink it," Stone said, his voice drawing me out of my thoughts. "You don't have to be the perfect daughter all the time, you know. It's okay to mess up, to be a little rebellious."
       I sighed, his words both comforting and frustrating. "It's not that simple," I said, the frustration and despair creeping into my voice. "You guys don't understand. She has expectations, standards, and I'm supposed to live up to them. I'm supposed to be perfect all the time."
     "That sounds exhausting," Vinnie said, leaning against the railing. "You don't have to live up to her expectations, you know. It's your life, not hers."
     "It's easier said than done," I muttered, frustration and helplessness welling up inside me. "She has so much control over my life. She decides where I go, who I spend time with, what I do. I have no freedom, no choice."
      "That's bullshit," Stone said, his tone filled with conviction. "You have choices, (Y/N). You just have to make them. You don't have to live by her rules forever."
     "It's not that simple," I repeated, my voice shaky. "You don't understand. She's my mom. She wants what's best for me, even if I don't always agree with her methods. She just wants me to be safe, to be successful, to be the best version of myself."
     "Safe," Stone snorted. "Is being stuck inside all the time, conforming to her standards, really safe? Or is it just suffocating?"
       His words hit close to home, stirring up the doubts and frustrations I had been trying to ignore. I knew he was right, knew that living my life to please my mom was stifling and soul-crushing. But the fear and guilt holding me back was like a weight I couldn't shake off.
      "I know I should be my own person," I said, my voice wavering. "But it's just easier to go along with what she wants. It's easier to play the part of the perfect daughter than to disappoint her."
      "Easier, maybe," Stone said, his tone gentler now. "But is it worth it? Is living a lie, pretending to be someone you're not, worth the cost of your own happiness?"
       The question hit me like a punch to the gut. Was it worth it? Was pleasing my mother worth sacrificing my own happiness, my own freedom? The answer should have been clear, but it was harder than I wanted to admit.

Author's Note
I know this chapter is short and was probably ass, but I didn't have that much motivation. Btw, sorry for not posting in a long time!