they sat in the middle of the empty parking lot, eating cheap takeaway.
aurora watched as cars sped past, the wind blowing in her face.
"hey aurora." calum mumbled, his mouth full of fries. she turned towards him, a faint smile on her face. calum felt his smile widen, even from the slightest of smile from her. "how have you been?"
"good." she mumbled, glancing back out at the busy roads. calum studied her face carefully, not fully believing what she said.
"that's good." he nodded, sitting beside her. "you look, um, really nice today."
her cheeks tinted a faint pink as she nodded slowly, hiding her face. she muttered an innocent 'thank you' as she smiled to herself. calum felt overwhelmed at how her smile grew from such a simple comment.
aurora, however, could only smile slightly. the constant feeling of sadness drifting over her. calum's joyfulness made her feel a sense of happiness. yet, that happiness was casted away in a matter of seconds as she thought deeply.
"would you maybe, want to, um," he scratched the back of his neck, letting out a nervous chuckle. "wanna go out sometime?"
aurora's light pink lips parted slightly, her eyes drifting downwards as she looked to the ground. "oh..." she whispered. a lump formed in calum's throat as he stared at her with patience. "yea, okay."
"it's oka- wait. okay?" he spoke, earning a curt nod from aurora. "oh okay. i'll pick you up later tonight? if that's not too soon i mean."
"it's fine, really." she nodded, turning to him fully with a small smile.
he grinned wildly, turning to look at the streets. he felt an overcoming feeling of both excitement and relief. he doubted that someone as beautiful as aurora would even consider being near him.
aurora nervously picked at her nails, worrying about her first main impressions towards calum. would he like her? is he only doing this because he feels bad for her? what if she embarrasses herself?
she had to only wait and see.
she glanced at the clock, her feet tapping slowly. writing in her notebook quickly.
on the third day, i have somehow been asked on a date. if one even calls it a date. i feel the sudden fear that i find myself constantly thinking about. an unrecognisable emotion, one that i haven't experienced in quite some time, wavers over me. i feel happiness. for the slightest of seconds, i want to smile. however, this is taken away quickly. i can never find myself being completely happy.
she closed her book quickly as a car pulled up in front of her house. sneaking down the stairs softy, trying not to disturb her parents in their room, aurora opened the front door. she fumbled with the lock slightly to lock the door.
"you look nice." calum spoke from behind her, making her jump. "oh my god. did i scare you? i'm sorry."
"just a little bit." she muttered, wiping her hands on her jeans. "it's fine, really."
he stood, his hands in his pockets, nodding his head slowly. he stared at her with admiration as she bit her lip.
"should we get going?" she whispered, raising her eyebrow slightly.
"oh, yea." he shook his head, leading her to his car. "i hope you like where we're going."
she nodded slowly, climbing into the car as she was greeted with the sweet smells of mint and cologne. calum started the car, swiftly heading off for their destination.
"y'know." he mumbled as he turned a corner, "melanie is super happy that you and her are friends."
"really?" aurora questioned, fiddling with her fingers in her lap. calum nodded slowly, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel
to the music. "oh."
"we all are." he nodded, making a small grin grow on aurora's face. "i know i am."
she fell silent, smiling down at her hands. calum glanced at her as he drove. a high amount of fondness practically radiating from
him as he smiled at her. she turned to face him, making his head turn to face the road again.
they arrived to their spot, making aurora frown. they were in another parking lot, one far more different than the one they were at previously today. it was on a large hill, overlooking the city lights and busy streets.
she stood beside the car, fumbling with her hands.
"you don't like it, don't you?" calum sighed, digging his hands into his pockets. "i just thought you really liked looking at things like this. because of how you looked at the cars today. i'm sorry. we can go somewhere else and-"
"i like it." she nodded, turning to him with a smile. he mumbled an 'oh', cracking a sheepish grin. he hoisted himself up on the front of his car, tapping beside him for her to sit with him. hesitantly, she climbed on top of the car and joined him.
he glanced at her carefully as she glanced at the lights, her eyes sparkling. her hands were on both sides of her, holding her up. the light of the city reflected onto her face, showing her features. calum found himself staring at her in awe.
she breathed deeply as the city lights sparkled, cars rushed down streets, and people walked down paths. everything was quiet and she felt more empty than ever. as she turned to glance at calum, seeing he was already watching her, the bitter feeling of emptiness was replaced with a new feeling.
contentment.
he smiled softly at her, staring back out at the city.
although the slightest of good feelings contained her, she felt them fade away as her thoughts tore her down. everything around her seemed beautiful, yet she couldn't bring herself to the feeling of happiness.
she blankly stared at the sky, no tears for her to shed. she wanted to cry, but she couldn't as all she felt was complete and utter emptiness.
the faint contact of skin on her hand, made her flinch. turning and looking at calum, who looked at her with worry.
"i'm sorry," he mumbled. "are you okay?"
"i'm good." she lied, looking down at city yet again. the feeling of loss clouding her thoughts, bringing fear to her.
calum's hand slowly and hesitantly reached over, wrapping around aurora's much smaller one. she stiffened, slowly relaxing into his grip.
"you're beautiful to me." he whispered, squeezing her hand slightly and looking out at the city. "whether you believe it or not."
