|Damage||cth| -au- DISCONTINUED

|Sixteen|

Aria:
Dakota and I started getting ready for what I guessed was a triple date because Michael apparently was a pussy and Ashton couldn't be without Dakota so it wouldn't be awkward. I went into my designated section in Dakota's wardrobe and searched for jeans and a shirt. I could feel Dakota's eyes burning into my back, already judging my choice in clothing.

"Do you know what really bothers me?" Dakota asked. "I just don't get it. Why you? And why now?" She asked, obviously referring to Luke.

"Is it really that hard to believe?" I chimed.

"You know I don't mean it like that. I just don't trust Luke and by the way, whatever you're planning on wearing, change your mind. You're not wearing jeans and a t-shirt."

I scanned Dakota's walls. She aspired to be a fashion designer so there were always sketches on her walls and when she got fabric, she would make her own clothes. There had been a few new sketches added to her walls. I admired them. She had talent. I didn't exactly had an 'aesthetic' when it came to what I wore and that always bothered Dakota because apparently it gave her 'nothing to work with'. So a few years ago she gave me a color scheme to help, which it kind of did but clearly not enough but Dakota still dressed me. She threw her leather jacket at my face and a shirt that was too large to be her. She always wore things that fit her perfectly. I gave her a questioning look and she rolled her eyes.

"Aria... its Luke's. I stole from his room for you," she explains.

"What do I wear this with?"

"Light washed jeans and your choice in shoes. That seems the be the only thing I can trust you to choice."

I didn't exactly have a horrible taste in fashion but although we were rarely seen in public together, she never let me leave the house without her approval. She even wakes up early just to text me what I'm supposed to wear. I appreciated it because it always made my mornings easier. Sometimes, I defied her and wore what I wanted but that was rare. Apparently, I was really good at choosing shoes so that was usually the only thing she let me choose.

I put on the clothes and out of laziness I picked up the first thing I saw, a pair of black sandals.

"I'm sorry for being rude to you about Luke earlier."

She sat on the edge of her bed with a mirror in her hand, filling in her eyebrows. "It just worries me that you're not the slightest bit concerned about his interests in you, Aria. You don't care, whether he's using you or not."

"I do," I lied.

"You don't even care about yourself anymore, Aria. You're letting yourself go."

"Why is that such a bad thing?"

"You just don't seem to know your self-worth. I just think you're really special and I've always envied you for not rushing into relationships. You don't rely on boys. You're independent, Aria. You weigh your opinions. You're a critical thinker and you think about things before you do them. You keep me from doing dumb things."

"What if I want to experience high school for once and not watch everyone having their seconds and thirds and one-hundredths.... when I haven't even had my fir-"

Luke walks into the room, without a shirt. I can't help but heat up. He starts rubbing his chest, avoiding eye contact with both of us, and looks around the room for something. His hair was still wet and I could still smell his lingering fresh shower scent filling the room. I stared at his wrist tattoo, wondering if Dakota noticed it. She kept her attention focused on her eyebrows in front of her vanity.