Done Playing The Game | ON HOLD |

One

"The lies still hurt as they seep through my heart, through my head. Even I'm amazed that my heart hasn't gone dead." I mumble to myself as I write in my notebook. I've found myself doing that a lot lately. It's a temporary cure. I have no idea what's making me pour out these dark emotions but it feels so blissful to let them out.

I pause, placing the ballpoint pen next to my spill of gloominess. I pull down my sleeves to cover my knuckles and I clutch the fabric in my fist. I bring my hand to my mouth, breathing into the cloth.

I'm startled by my phone ringing. I slightly jolt, then sigh. I roll over, onto my other side, and blindly search for my phone. I grab it and squint at the screen. I roll my eyes, answering the phone.

Before I can even be rude to my best friend, she screams into the phone. I furrow my eyebrows, irritatedly huffing.

"Slow down, Mercedes." I close my eyes, trying not to burst out of my calm state. She stops abruptedly, taking an intake of breath. She lets the air go rather heavily.

"There's a party. I know you don't do these types of things but I really need you to do it for me. Please Aspen!" She cries. I wince, my eyes still closed. I get myself to relax and exhale into my clothed fist.

"Ok." I slap my hand down onto my thigh, giving in forcefully. She lets out a whine sound and groans.

"I'll buy you those combat boots you wanted! Wait. Did you just say 'yes'?" I can practically hear her smile. I refuse to let a smile crawl onto my face.

"Yeah. I mean, why not? It's not like I have another life to attend to." I gruff, mainly to myself. She squeals loudly and I pull the phone away from my ear.

"Get dressed now. I'm on my way over." She demands. I raise an eyebrow, utterly confused.

"It's today?!" I squeak. I hate it that my voice can go so high. She groans long and loudly. How did I manage to make a friend that's so peppy and dramatic?

"Uhm, duh! It's Friday and we have school next week. You're such an idiot. Now get dressed! I'll handle everything else when I get there!" She hangs up before I could change my mind. I grumble to myself, throwing my phone across the dark room. I flick on my lamp, lazily getting out of bed.

I drag myself to the closet, which is mostly filled with black. Any other color is white or grey. Maybe a navy blue. I wasn't always like this but life changes people. It changed me. It made me different.

I scroll through my hangers, honestly not caring about what I wear. I'm doing this for my friend. Trust me, I'm not the type of person to care about my outer appearance. Especially for a party. Possibly the old me but that was so long ago. At least it feels like it.

I settle on a white long sleeved shirt and high waisted black skinny jeans. I slip on my black converse on my way to the bathroom. I wash my face, taking off the tired on my face. No makeup. If I were to wear makeup on any day, it'd be mascara, black eyeshadow, black eyeliner, and clear lipgloss. If I'm feeling okay, a red lipstick. But, that's basically it. It's not up to me right now anyway, Mercedes always does my makeup and hair when she forces me to do stuff like this.

I flop down on my bed, waiting for the inevitable knock to come any time soon. As if on cue, a knocking melody comes at the door. I don't bother to get up, she'll let herself in.

And I'm right. Within seconds, Mercedes' in my room with a smile, a makeup case, a curling wand, and a flat iron. I grunt, throwing my head to the side, avoiding her happiness. She clicks her tongue, her way of letting me know she's about to scold me.

"Aspen. You agreed. You knew what you were putting yourself through. Now, sit up and let's get started." She brushes off her red skater skirt. She plugs in her hot tools, and opens up her makeup case. All the while, I'm debating whether I should sit up. She turns to me when she's set up, her eyes narrowing seeing that my back is still touching the bed.

"I have no problem burning you with this curling wand." She picks up the despicable wand, waving it through the air. I grumble as I sit up slowly, I look at her for approval. She nods her head, picking up her makeup case. She pulls a chair in front of me and sits down, straightening her skirt before her butt touches the seat.

x

Full makeup and styled hair later, I'm looking at myself in the mirror. I actually look pretty. She had put my hair into a ponytail and curled it, wrapping a bandana over my head to hold my bangs back. Her and I argued about my makeup, whether she could lighten it and I said no. So, she went through the liberty of giving me a dark smokey eye, red blush, and a nude lipstick.

I suck in my cheeks, conflicted about the fact that I look...pretty. I'm not used to seeing myself like this. Mercedes moves behind me in the full length mirror, my eyes move to her and I notice her proud smile.

"I never knew I could look like this." I whisper, tangling my fingers together. I look down at my hands, refusing a blush trying to rush to my face.

"I didn't do much. It's all you, Aspen. I've been trying to tell you that you're beautiful." She sighs happily. "Maybe even more than me." She giggles. I let a small lipped smile take over, feeling a weight lift itself off my shoulders.

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Yay! A chapter to a new book! How do you guys like it so far? I really like it. It's only the beginning though.
I hope you guys liked it! I'll try to be regular with my updates with this one. No promises though.
Love you guys! See ya soon! <3