STARDUST ⭑ LUKE PATTERSON

nine and a half

FOR AS LONG AS DAWN HAS KNOWN EMMY, she spent long, lonely nights at the piano in the front room. Neither her, nor Willie, ever questioned it. From the little they knew about her, they knew better than to pry.

    Still, there was something about the one song she would always play. Willie was always at the ghost club. Dawn was always out visiting her family. A lot of the time, it was just Emmy in this run down house.

    The purple haired girl thought she was alone, because that's genuinely how she felt.

    So, her fingers trace the keys of her creaky piano and she begins to sing. Her two friends listen from outside, chests to the sky and studying the stars.

    "I wish she was happy," Dawn utters.

    Willie inhales deeply, a star twinkling a little brighter than the rest. "Me too," he whispers.

    "Tonight we're fading fast

    I just wanna make this last..."

    "What caused her to play this song again?" Dawn asks.

    "We were walking through Hollywood and we walked by a magic shop. She got weird after."

    "Maybe she's cursed."

    "The only things we saw in the window were crystals, some ugly dolls, and tarot cards," Willie says.

    "If I could say the things I want to say,

    I'd find a way to make you stay

    I'd never let you get away

    Get you in all the games we play..."

    Emmy frowns, fingers now flying over the keys with fervor. Her lips are pressed into a thin line, tasting salt when the tears finally fall past the barrier.

    "So go ahead, rip my heart out. Show me what love's all about," Emmy sings deeply, each word falling from her lips like honey. With each sweet vocal, came the bitterness of reality and she can't help but shake her head. Hazel eyes flash in her vision. "Go ahead, rip my heart out. That's what love's all about."

    Her fingers slam against the keys, the once melodic chords screeching against the silence. More tears fall, her voice going hoarse, but it feels good. She never talks about it. This was her outlet.

    Dawn frowns deeply and the sudden wrenching feeling in her stomach. "Do you think she knows how much we worry about her?"

    "I don't know," Willie mutters. "She probably doesn't even think she's worth worrying about."

    "She's worth everything."

    "I want you to want me this way, and I need you to need me to stay." Emmy continues, voice cracking the slightest bit before she tenses her shoulders and marches on. Her heart hammers against her chest, but the movement does nothing to dull the pain building with each note. "If you say that you don't feel a thing, if you don't know, let me go," she sings. Her voice was so rich with hurt that she would have made a fortune off her sorrow.

    "God, who hurt her?" Willie mutters bitterly.

    "Let's forget the past. I swear we'll make this last." Emmy takes a deep breath, chest shaking with the strength of it. "Cause I remember the taste of your skin tonight. And the way that you looked, you had those eyes. I remember the way I felt inside. And the name of the songs that made you cry." She squeezes her eyes shut, hoping to see darkness, but seeing him instead. "You would scream. We would fight. You would call me crazy. I would laugh. You were mad, but you'd always kiss me. And the shirt that I had that you always borrowed. When I woke, it was gone. There was no tomorrow."

    Her chest heaves for air, but she refuses to breathe. She liked the searing pain. Coming up for air didn't feel necessary when she was gasping for oxygen that he stole from her.

    "I want you to want me this way, and I need you to need me to stay..." She can't breathe. She starts to choke. "If you say that you don't feel a thing...if you don't...if you don't know..."

    Emmy breaks down, hands falling against the piano. Her elbows slam down the keys, face burying itself in her hands. Her entire body shakes.

    After all this time, why does it still hurt? It's been years. She should be over it by now.

    Will she ever be over it? Over him?

    "Let me go," she begs. "Please," Emmy releases a shaky cry. "I need to let you go."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

onlyphans:
HAPPY NYE MY LOVES!!! please be safe and mindful of covid tonight and if u have any fun stories to share pls lmk because i'll be living vicariously through anyone who has a good time tn
IF YOU DONT KNOW BY 5SOS IS THE SONG THAT FUELS MY MENTAL ILLNESS I YEARN TO HEAR IT EVERY SECOND OF EVERY DAY AHHHH
i promise the next set of chapters are less angsty so we'll be starting 2021 WITH SOME HAPPINESS
we all deserve that, so happy new year my loves!! may this upcoming year bring so many happy memories to u