ʟɪɢʜᴛꜱ | ᴀʀᴍɪɴ ᴀʀʟᴇʀᴛ

chapter one- ᴘᴀʀᴀᴅɪꜱ ✾

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You've awaken to the luminous sunlight disseminating throughout your entire room. Your eyelids weighed shut, subtly trying to adjust to the golden hues. The room to your door swiftly swung open, an annoyed Pieck leaning against your door frame, her Stygian hair tousled and frizzy.

"Pieck," You rubbed your eyes, "You might as well live here at this point." You mumbled, sitting up in your bed.

"Come on," She sighed. "Your father wants me to drop you off. You wouldn't want to miss your first day at your new university." She replied, raising an eyebrow at you.

"Why couldn't he do it?" You queried, but you're quite sure you already knew the answer. Your father's "remedy" is alcohol and always has been since your mother died. She died when you were young, so it didn't effect you as much - It's not like you really remembered her anyway. Hell, you couldn't even remember a time when your father wasn't drunk. He was never the father figure you yearned for him to be.

"He's blacked out on the couch." Pieck responded, flatly. Hearing your father being blacked out on the couch the day you were moving out made your heart crack - it just showed you how little attention he paid you.

You sighed and rolled your eyes, wanting to stay in your bed a little while longer. Moving into a new town wasn't exactly your idea, but Paradis University had classes you needed to take in order to achieve your dream job. However, you heard Paradis was a small town, where everyone knew everything about everybody and truthfully - you loathed that. The last thing you needed, was people trying pry their way into your private life.

You grew up in Marley with your best friend Pieck and everything you've grown to love was in the heart of this city. You loved how scintillating the city lights were at night and how the street were always so quiet and desolate at the same time. You even loved the traffic during the day, as it gave you an excuse to be late and grab food before you headed to your classes.

You adored how the storefronts were a devoid of displays and strangers would come together to admire them here and there - and honestly, you're quite sure the countryside lacked that aspect. But who were you to judge a place you've never been to? You promised yourself to carry a little bit of optimism, considering the people in Paradis probably feel the same way about the city.

"Exciting," You responded, sarcastically. Truth is, you didn't want to leave Pieck behind, along with your other friends at Marley University, but they strongly insisted you take advantage of the opportunity. You spent the entire night packing up your clothes and personal belongings prior, so that you could somewhat sleep in before your first day, but obviously Pieck had other plans.

"Change would be great for you. At least you won't have to sit at home staring at a drunk deadbeat anymore. It won't be all that bad and if it is, you give me a call, yeah?" She offered, scratching the top of her head.

"I guess," You shrugged, "It's so early in the morning. I don't have any classes till noon, why'd you wake me up?" You queried, brushing past her and heading towards the restroom to freshen up.

She trailed behind you, until you shut the door in her face, "Because it's a long drive and we still have to load up the car with all of your shit. And besides, Porco and Colt want to say goodbye to you before they head off to uni," She answered, shouting from outside your bathroom door.

You brushed your teeth, showered, and did your skin care. Afterwards, you headed back into your vacant room and shuffled through your boxes for clothes to wear on your first day. You were indecisive when it came to clothing, especially since you were going to an entirely new university and you seriously didn't want to dress basic on your first day.