boundaries [s.m]

chapter twenty-one

moving on and getting over are not the same it seems to me - John Mayer, moving on and getting over
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the last few days had been crazy for aria, to say so the least. she had just graduated high school, and had accepted her place at the university of toronto to study literature, and an extra curricular class to learn french, and then another one to learn how to code computers. she was excited, to say so the least, but her breakup with shawn still lingered in her mind.

take last night, for example. ever since the world found out about shawn and her breaking up, she was hounded by girls, and guys, to get shawns number. of course she said no, but what surprised her even more was how boys came up to her more. she turned down a prom date because she was still transfixed on shawn. she wanted him back.

flash forward to tuesday evening, well, now, aria was sitting at her desk, applying her highlight to her cheekbones and all the high places of her face. she was 18, at long last.

"did you invite shawn tonight?" jess asks her gently, as aria stands up from her desk, clearing away her makeup, after applying a setting spray.

"his parents and sister are coming, i don't know about him," she mutters, pinning her earrings in her ears.

"do you want him to come tonight?" jess asks again, as aria sighs, sitting down on her bed, putting her shoes on.

"i want to say no, but i know it's not the truth," she mumbles, standing up, and looking at her appearance in the mirror, flattening out the black silk. "but whatever, it is what it is, i don't care." she lies, turning around, and gazing at her appearance from the back. "do i look okay?"

"aria you look fucking hot," jess smirks, standing up. "come on, go down, and forget all about shawn. go have the time of your life with your friends and family. you're only 18 once."

"okay," she breathes out, nodding. "let's forget about him."

"that's my girl," jess smiles, linking arms with aria. "come on, let's go."

the two of the teens walk downstairs, seeing arias extended family, friends, a few family friends, and shawns family. she quickly greets her guests, before rushing over to karen, and embracing her with a hug.

"hey sweetie," karen coos, hugging back a girl who's like her second daughter. "how are you holding up?"

"i-i'm okay," she mumbles, pushing out a small smile. "is he coming?"

"i don't know hun, i'm so sorry," she frowns. "he's a mess without you, and no one can take him out from it."

"r-really?" she stutters, nervous all of a sudden. "where is he?"

"he's at his place, i think," karen tells the broken girl. "but i think he's busy, hun. he said he was when i called him earlier," aria frowns, looking down at the floor, and nodding, before walking away, heading straight into the kitchen, grabbing herself a glass of champagne, and downing it in a shot, letting the alcohol numb her pain.

what a party this was.
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shawn sighs softly, looking at his phone calendar, seeing the date marked as her birthday. even her name was painful to say to him; he made the biggest mistake of his life, letting her go, and even suggesting it in the first place. he's been a mess for the last two months, and he doesn't know what to do with himself.

he slowly gets up from the bed, slumping to his computer, where he opens up his emails that he hasn't checked for a few days, seeing the booking confirmation from two months ago being flagged for importance. his heart drops completely. does he still give them to her? does he cancel the booking? does he go himself? can he go himself?