Say I Never Mattered | A Sooshu Fan-Fiction

the dream

a retelling.

major edits in progress, make sure to re-read

"You have nothing good in your closet, Chewie." A nickname used frequently by Shuhua Yeh's friends. "It's all neutrals and ill-fitting jeans and cardigans. You look like a librarian." Aurora sighed, continuing to rummage through Shuhua's closet. It was filled with tacky formal-wear, school-related activity shirts, baggy jeans, ugly sweaters, fluffy cardigans, oversized hoodies, and a few pairs of leggings that hadn't been touched. It was just the way Shuhua liked it. Bland and easy to overlook. "You'd think that being a multi-millionaire would mean you'd have at least one designer item in your wardrobe. Guess I was wrong."

"Okay, first of all, that's my parent's money. Second of all, we've been through this a thousand times. I don't know why you keep thinking that you're going to magically find some gorgeous item in my closet if you look again the next weekend. Third of all, you know the only designer items I have are jewelry from my parents from Christmas and birthdays." Shuhua got up off her bed and shut her closet doors, huffing and puffing along the way. "You know that I do have good taste. I just want to blend in, is that so much to ask?"

Aurora took Shuhua's hands in hers and said, "Just because you say you want to blend in, doesn't mean you actually do. I see the way you look at your brother's posts and the way that you look at the paparazzi pictures of your parents." Shuhua let go of her hands and laughed, trying to hide her embarrassment. Aurora was right. She hated feeling so ignored. No matter how hard she tried, she could never be enough in her parent's eyes, or so she believed. The only way she could ever please them was to be exactly like them.

"You may be right, but that doesn't mean I'm going to that back-to-school party with you. It would take a miracle to get me out of the house tonight." Shuhua sighed and sat down on her bed, shoving all over her dirty laundry onto the floor.

A sudden knock at the door caused both Aurora and Shuhua to gasp. Shuhua quickly stood up and walked over to the door. She smoothed down her clothes and opened the door, not sure what to expect. Shuhua opened the door and tilted her head at Sujin and Chenghan's presence in front of her, their skin glowing from the hallway lights. "What do you guys want?" Asked three, eyeing the both of them suspiciously.

"We're going to that party in the hills if Aurora wants to come with us. I know you won't be going, Chewie.." Chenghan said, trailing off. His teeth gleamed, his back was raised, and his posture was perfect. He was nothing short of perfect. Sujin smiled at the two girls politely. She was oozing with confidence. The way she stood, the way her hair fell down. Even the way she smelled. Sujin was radiant like the sun and she knew it too.

"Hey, you should come with us to the party, Chewie. If you don't want to, I get it, but I'd love to see you there!" Sujin shoved her hands in her pockets and anxiously stood on her heels. Little did anyone else know, she'd been reciprocating Shuhua's little 'crush' for a while.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Shuhua spoke up and said, "Let me think about it for a few.." Shuhua put her hand on Aurora's shoulder and said, "Before you go, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Chenghan smiled at Shuhua and said, "We'll be waiting outside. We've got a bit before we need to leave and it's not like we're already late or anything because parties don't get good until at least eleven." Chenghan shut the door and Sujin pouted her lips and batted her eyelashes at Shuhua before he completely closed it.

"Is this about Sujin?" Aurora asked, walking over to Shuhua's mirror and reapplying her lipgloss. She smoothed down the flyaways from her ponytail and winked at herself in the mirror.