Illicit Affection and Unrequited Love

3.

The time was 8:53pm. The movie finally came to a satisfying end (for most). The group began walking out the theatre doors.

"So, what did we think of the movie?" Michaela's voice boomed above everyone else's.

"It was ass." Sean deadpanned, while trying to scrape the remnants of his popcorn bucket into his mouth. "They should've killed off the girl. It would've made things more interesting."

"It wasn't that bad. There were some pretty cool things about it." Scarlet added. Sean raised an eyebrow in question; a silent invitation to elaborate.

"There was a good romance storyline. A girl and a guy. Their lives are brought together by fate. One thing leads to another and they... fall in love." The blonde explained nonchalantly. For a mere moment, her electric blue eyes clashed with Sebastian's sea-green. A small grin worked its way onto her face, as the young boy ducked his head down shyly.

Aurora seemed to be the only one who noticed the suspiciously-affectionate moment between the two, and it took every ounce of good will in her body not to gag obnoxiously.

"Hell no." Sean argued bluntly, "I paid $16 to see some action. Not a gross, cliché love story. Romance is dead, anyway." He slammed the rest of his trash in the bin and trudged out the cinema ahead of everyone with a huff. Cody shook his head and chuckled to himself before following him outside.

"He's just sad because Cody hasn't confessed his undying love for him yet." Troy said tiredly. Michaela snickered when everyone else nodded in agreement. Sebastian threw his head back with laughter.

Aurora caught a glimpse of his brilliant smile, and if they hadn't been in public, the pining teen would have grabbed the boy by the collar and kissed him on the lips, right then and there. Aurora was a pretty shy person, though, and she probably wouldn't have done it anyway, but it was something nice to think about as she ambled on the sidewalk.

The crowd of teenagers walked along the path in twos, with Cody and Sean far ahead, Michaela pacing awkwardly behind them on her phone, Sebastian and Scarlet after her (because God forbid it was any other way) and Troy and Aurora wondering far off at the back.

The walk between Troy and Aurora was silent, until a small sigh was heard. Aurora turned her head to look at Troy, who had his head down with his eyes fixed on the concrete beneath them.

He glanced sideways, meeting her stare with heavy eyes. It seemed the affects of their late-night outing was finally taking its toll on him. Or maybe it was something else.

He carried a look of misery on his face; an expression that probably would have been too elusive for most to spot at first glance. But Aurora noticed this. Deciding that the painful indulgence of silent eye contact was prolonged enough, the brunette spoke.

"Are you okay?"

Troy blinked a few times and breathed in deeply before answering, "M'fine. Just tired."

Aurora wasn't fully convinced, but she didn't push him. She sent him a smile before fixing her eyes on the ground, debating whether she should continue talking.

A few seconds passed. Aurora had returned to her usual practice, which was dwelling in her longing, miserable thoughts about the untouchable boy with the mesmerising emerald eyes. She watched Sebastian and Scarlet wonder on the sidewalk, shoulder to shoulder. If they were trying to be subtle, they most definitely weren't doing a good job.

'Stupid Scarlet. Stupid Scarlet, and her stupid face, and her stupid charm. Does the world really hate me that much?'

"They kinda look like a couple" A voice sounded beside her.