Rowena | H.S

1: Aurora This, Aurora That

If Rowena has to listen to her mother fawn over her sister for another second, she might actually go insane. It is always Aurora this, Aurora that, no matter what. Over the years Wren has become acustomed to it, Aurora will  be the prettier sister, the more successful sister, the nicer sister, the more extroverted sister, the list goes on. She's come to terms with that but sometimes it does get a little old when it's all she hears at the dinner table.

This time, Aurora's boyfriend, whom she's inisited on keeping a secret from them, will finally be meeting the family tomorrow for thanksgiving and everyone is about pissing their pants in excitment. Rowena excluded of course. By the way the blonde obsesses over the mystery man it seems like he can do no harm and has no flaws. Of course he's her boyfriend, who else would've fit the bill?

Rowena feigns interest and pushes her uneaten food around on her plate, waiting for her mother to dismiss her from the table. Every-single-time Aurora comes home from Harvard (of course she goes to Harvard, where else could she have gone?) it's only this from her parents and Rowena's favorite part of the night is retreating into her room. She loves her sister, most of the time she really does, but she's over her being the angel child and leaving Wren in the shadows.

Does that make her a bad sister?

It probably does, but it doesn't stop Rowena from almost jumping up from the table as their mother finally excuses them. Wren washes her plate off and retreats up the stairs to the safety of her room at the end of the hallway. Wren passes by her full length mirror and steals a glance at herself. As an attempt to stand out from her blonde haired sister she had dyed her hair a shade of dark brown from it's natural blonde. It falls in a middle part that hangs over her shoulders, chopping it off was another attempt.

Her ocean colored eyes travel down her body in the mirror. The curve of breasts, her toned abs under the cropped sweatshirt, her hipbones that jut out just a little over her leggings, all the way down to her socked feet. She would be happy with the way she looks, she knows anyone would be happy with her face and her body, but the fact that her sister will always be prettier still floats through her mind. Threatening any form of positivity into submission.

Rowena's eyes flit away from the mirror and she moves to her bed. She sinks into the plush white comforter and lets out a breath. The brown haired girl pushes herself fully onto the middle of the bed and relaxes there for a moment. When clean, Wren's room is almost all white. It's minimalistic, pristine, and without any flaw. Just how Wren likes everything. But at the moment, clothes are thrown in an overflowing pile on the chair to her desk, textbooks and school supplies are strewn across the floor from many nights of studying, water bottles and flood wrappers liter any other available surface, and vanity is almost impossible to see from all the junk piled.

Wren honestly should clean it but is she going to? No.

After a while of mindlessly scrolling through social media Aurora slips through Rowena's door and lays next to her on the bed. Rowena doesn't say anything but snuggles next to her older sister. It's not a secret that the constant favoring has put a toll on their relationship but Aurora tries her best to be as good of sister as possible and Rowena really loves her for that. They lay in comfortable silence for a while before Aurora speaks up.

"I love you sissy, you know that right?"

This is Aurora's way of saying 'I'm sorry for our parents being shitty'. She doesn't outright say it, and neither does Wren but they both know. Sibling telepathy and all that.  Rowena doesn't want her to necesarily apologize for something that isn't her fault but she still appreciates her for saying that. Unfortunately it does little to curve the jealousy she feels towards her sister. The younger girl turly hates that she feels that way about her sister, it makes her feel guilty, but she has little control over her feelings.

"I know." Rowena replies. "I love you too."

Aurora and Rowena lay in bed and catch up with each other. Harvard is only an hour away so Aurora comes home quite a bit but she often still has stories to tell her younger sister. In return Rowena tells her older sister about her experiences back home in her final year of high school. It feels good to talk with her sister and rant about and ask for guidance about things only her sister can understand. Aurora slips out of the room after a long talk and leaves her sister to sleep.

xXx

The morning light streams through Rowena's curtains and she comes to consciousness. She stretches out on her sheets, cracking her back before relaxing back into the bed. No one has woken her up yet so the dark haired girl decides to rest until someone calls for her. She feels around for her phone on the nightstand and sends her best friend a good morning text before scrolling mindlessly though social media. She appreciates the peacefulness of the morning. Though, It wasn't long before her mother burst into the room, ruining that peace.

"Good, your already up! Aurora's boyfriend is coming today. This room should be spotless and you need to look your best." She orders.

Wren flips over so her face is smushed into the pillow so her mother can't see and she rolls her eyes. Her mother is always so abrupt and cold, and sometimes she wishes she was just a little softer. She just has to remind herself that some people are going through way worse then petty mommy issues and sibling rivalry. Then, she'll be alright.

Rowena flips over again so her face is facing out now. "Got it mom."

"Good." Her mom replies before retreating out of her doorway.

Rowena heaves herself up out of bed and tries to work relatively quickly. The mysterious boyfriend is supposed to be arriving at noon and it's already ten. She really doesn't want to clean her mess of a room but she unfortunately has to. Wren collects half of her hair into a little messy bun before going to work. She works her way through the jungle of clutter that is her room for a little more than an hour. Even though she hates cleaning, the end product of her room being pristine and more enjoyable to be in, feels really good.

After cleaning her room up, the seventeen year old moves onto showering. The heat from the shower steams up the entire bathroom and by the end of it the bathroom feels like a sauna. Afterwards, Rowena goes through her morning beauty routine, humming along to a song she has stuck in her head. With a towel still wrapped around her slender frame she goes back into her room to put on clothes. After what seems like too long of putting together different outfit combinations, Wren chooses a white blouse with a low v-neck tucked into a pair of high-waisted blue jeans. The girl studies her body from almost all angles in the outfit before finally deeming the clothes suitable for the day.

By the time all of this was done, Aurora's boyfriend is almost to the house. Everyone is waiting expectantly somewhere by the entrance of the house for the mysterious boy to make his appearance. Aurora is about bouncing off the walls in excitement for seeing her boyfriend again and finally revealing him to the family. While Rowena's mom seems to be in a similar predicament to Aurora, Rowena's dad is more stony, but she can tell he is looking forward to meeting the boy as much as anyone. Even Ansel, their youngest sibling, seems to be looking forward to seeing Aurora's boyfriend.

Wren can't say she is feeling any different than her family though. She is just as curious and excitable to see her sister's famed boyfriend as much as anybody else. She hopes she likes him. Even though she'd like him to be a flaming pile of shit so that at least there is something not perfect about her sister, she also hopes he is truly a good person for her sister. She hopes he really is as amazing as Aurora describes him.

The door bell rings right as the clock strikes twelve and everyone does ramrod straight. Glances are exchanged with each other before Aurora speaks up.

"I'll get it you guys."

Excitement is clear in her body language as she fast walks to the door. It feels like everyone is holding their breath and peaking into the room, trying to steal the first glance. Aurora squeals as the door finally opens to reveal her not-so-secret boyfriend and Rowena ends up getting a peak. As soon as the brown haired girls see his face though, her stomach drops.

Fuck