I sighed quietly as the moon rose higher and higher in the sky, dragging with it the stars of the night. The chill in the winter air made me tug my blanket closer around me as I waited. Orion floated high in the sky, flashing me images of a brown-headed warrior with eyes like the stars coming to take me away. The belt was my favorite part to look at, specifically the center star, known as Alnilam.
Ever since I was a child looking up at the sky with my father, that was the star my eye was drawn to. While he would be explaining every constellation in the littered sky, I was watching that star wink at me happily.
My house mate, Jaden, poked her mop of brown curly hair out the window. Jaden was my best friend and my confidant. She had been since the seventh grade. After my dad passed away, Jaden became my closest ally, keeping me sane while my mom got lost in her own world. Let's just say, I became the mother shortly after that.
I smiled over my shoulder at her as she stepped out onto the balcony, shaking out her luscious curls. I'd always been jealous of those curls. Next to Jaden's natural beauty, I was always bland in comparison.
"Still staring at that star?" she asked.
"Yeah," I hummed, shifting my gaze back to the sky.
"Well, the concert starts in 2 hours and it takes 30 minutes to drive there. You should start getting ready," she said. I jumped up, rolling the blanket in my arms. I didn't realize how much time had passed. She followed me inside and I tossed the blanket on my bed.
Jaden threw herself onto my bed, resting on her elbow as she watched me go through my closet. I pulled out a pair of worn jeans and a black t-shirt.
"What are you gunna wear?" Jaden asked, sounding like she already knew the answer to that question. I lifted up the clothes wadded in my hand and she frowned. "I thought so."
"What's wrong with it?" I laughed, reaching up to grab my Vans from the top of my closet.
"You have a great body, Y/N. You need to flaunt it more," she said, jumping up to push me out of the closet. I shook my head at her, a smile on my face, and sat down at my desk. Whether I wanted her to or not, Jaden was going to dress me up like her doll, making me look as good as I could get.
On the back of her left shoulder, her soulmate mark contrasted her olive skin. Her mark looked like a flamingo, and I used to joke with her that her soulmate was a one-legged man. Her mark was always visible, and she did that on purpose.
Jaden wasn't like other people. Others hid their marks, concealing them from prying eyes like their marks were an extension of their most private selves, but Jaden didn't. I admired her for that. Maybe it was because Jaden found her soulmate three years ago. I was 23 and still looking.
I subconsciously rubbed my thumb over my own mark. It was on the inside of my left wrist in the shape of an x. Actually, it was an x. At the ends they were slightly balled, and it took me years before I realized they were drum sticks.
"Got it!" Jaden exclaimed happily, pulling out some clothes. From what I could see, it was a pair of frayed shorts and a white crop top. I frowned at her choice, but not because I didn't like it.
"I've never seen that shirt before in my life," I said. In fact, I'd never even worn one like it.
Jaden rolled her eyes, her shoulders slumping dramatically. "Okay, so it's mine. But you would look so good in it." She saw me begin to shake my head and rushed over to me. "Come on. I've already picked out the outfit. I'll let you wear your Vans." I sighed and gave in, and she instantly got to work dressing me to her liking. At least I'd get to wear my Vans.
