Stars Leave Black Holes Behind [HS]

5

Cigarette smoke curled through the air, invading the ducts underneath her skin, which transferred air to lung, air to blood, air to heart.

Valerie used to know someone who knew someone who had died from smoking.

"Val?"

"Mm."

"D'you wanna go out tonight?"

"No."

"You sure? Lucy's coming."

"Lucy?"

"Yeah."

"No. Sorry." She paused. "I don't really feel like it today."

"Kay. I'm going back to the dorms now. I'll be back later."

"Mm."

"Bye, Val."

"Bye."

The door slammed shut and Valerie stumped out her finished cigarette, flicked it off the railing and onto the street below.

She'd picked up the habit two months after Harry had left her, two months after she'd had her heart ripped in two.

She'd been out drinking. Again. And a guy was smoking a fag outside the bar she'd just gotten herself chucked out of, and he looked kind of sexy in the dim glow of the streetlight, and she just thought fuck it. Because she was dying anyway. And she had stepped towards him and plucked the cigarette right out of his mouth, and gave it a drag. After they'd finished sharing his smoke, he'd smiled and held out a hand. He said "I'm Zayn."

And she smiled and bit her lip and fluttered her eyelashes, and she said "Valerie." And then she had started to cry.

__

Song: Childs Play by SZA (feat. Chance The Rapper)

"Fuck reality."