Sleepless Nights

The Invitation

'PARTY AT MINE. FRIDAY, MY PLACE, 8PM SHARP. YOU'RE INVITED...'
Those were the words written on the balloons. It said in the description that every hour someone would be invited. The first hour. The first person to be invited. Written on the balloons was my name. Tasha Downing. I turned my head over to Aria. She had a tear rolling down her cheek, but she forced a smile upon her face. For me.
"Aria, you can take my place. I don't even want to go. Just say to him that you'll take my place," I said, handing the phone to Aria. She pushed my hands away,
"No no, you go. I'm sure he'd much prefer you than me," she said, finding her way out of the crowd, forcefully, and running into the building we call our University. I felt wetness underneath my eyes and down my cheeks. It seemed I was crying.
"Aria! Come back!" I screamed, trying my best to exit the circle, but every time getting shoved back in by the crowd. This is not how I wanted it to go. From that moment on, every day, every class, every hour, every second she would ignore me. As soon as I would try and talk to her she would point her head down to the floor. Every hour another person would be invited. Mainly people we didn't even know. 'Penelope Cross', 'Darius Cane' and 'Ralph Wingbottom' were some of the names that were written. As the week passed slowly by, the names were said. Some of our friends were written, some complete strangers. The last few hours before Friday were arriving faster than ever, and Aria's name still hadn't been read out.

The last three names. Firstly, 'Beck Hartfeld'. Not Aria. Another hour of waiting patiently dragged on. Secondly, 'Samantha Goddard'. Not Aria. The last hour seemed to last for years. Until, they was a 'ping!'. I picked up my phone from the bedside table. 'Samuel Little shared a new post'. I opened the notification. There, written on those balloons, was the name 'Aria Barkford'. I ran into Aria's bedroom and slammed open the door. She was sitting at her desk, not paying attention to the notification on her phone.
"Tasha, what have I told you about coming in my room without knocking," she said sternly, "Or even coming in my room at all." I ignored her speech and sped over to her phone. I typed her password, which she still hadn't changed since we were little, for some reason, and showed her the post. She didn't look for at least 10 minutes until I physically shoved her face towards the phone. I looked at her eyes. They literally lit up. I let go of Aria's face and sat on her bed. She stood up and placed the phone on her desk. Slowly tiptoeing over, she looked slightly sinister. Until she shoved me down on the bed. She then did something to me...