Make Believe

Ten.

I left before anyone noticed.

My legs carried me swiftly down the street, the wind quietly breezing through my newly-blonde hair. I caught my reflection in a darkened shop window and rolled my eyes to myself. I was wearing black skinny jeans; a black t-shirt with a white flower in the middle; white converse; my hair in a messy bun; a bunch of black and white bracelets and a pair of dark sunglasses.

I didn't really care that I was wearing sunglasses when it wasn't sunny. Something made me want to hide my eyes, like I was wearing some kind of mask. Ignoring everything around me, I just let my legs carry me along.

It was weird seeing the city so early in the morning. I'd usually stay in bed for as long as I could, but today had been different. Today I had woken up next to somebody.

Something about waking up with Finn silently sleeping next to me had spooked me a little. Almost as soon as I had woken up, I had gotten dressed and escaped while I could. I just didn't like the idea of having to share a bed with someone.

It might lead to feelings. We all know that I don't like feelings.

Coughing slightly, I turned down the street and found myself walking down towards the train station. Where was I going? I rolled my eyes at myself and just kept walking. How stupid was I to ask myself a question? It's not like I was going to answer.

I rolled my eyes at myself again. I had just been sarcastic to myself in my own head. Perhaps I have a problem? Probably best not to think about it.

Finding myself suddenly in the train station, I looked around for the ticket booth. When I noticed it, I took some money out of my pocket and walked over. Time for an adventure.

"Hello there." A voice said from inside the booth. "Where can I get you a ticket to?"

"Where have you got tickets going to?" I leant in towards the glass of the booth, the girl inside smirking at me.

"Anywhere." She winked. "Name somewhere."

"Wonderland." I raised an eyebrow.

"Try again." The girl laughed, her dark blue hair shaking and dark green eyes twinkling.

"Well. I want to go somewhere different. Somewhere I've never been." I said, then realizing how stupid I sounded. "That doesn't help you, does it?"

"Not really. What's your name?" She asked.

"Who's asking?" I cocked my head slightly.

"Nice try. Don't deflect my question." She raised a pierced eyebrow at me.

"I'm Lola." I told her.

"Well, Lola, tell me why you want to go somewhere you've never been." The girl ran her hand through her hair, looking genuinely interested.

"I did something I probably shouldn't have done last night. With my best friend who also happens to be my roommate." I paused and we both gave each other a look of understanding. "So I thought today would be a good day to tick some things off of my bucket list."

"What's on your bucket list?"

"What's with all the questions?" I asked back.

"Once again, don't deflect my question." She winked at me.

"My bucket list is a bit weird. You not going to judge?" I asked. She shook her head. "Well, first of all I want to go to a rave. And I want to do something illegal, you know, something I shouldn't do. Something like in the movies. And lastly, I want to go in a garden full of flowers. I've never been in one before."

The girl twinkled her eyes at me. "My name is Kristin. I'm off work in about five minutes. Then I'm going home on the train. If you come with me, I'll be glad to tick off everything on that list in one day, and get you back as soon as possible. You seem like my kind of girl."

"How do I know you aren't a stalker?" I frowned at her, fighting back a grin.

Kristin shrugged. "I don't know. Make a judgement."

She stepped out of the booth and smoothed down her black shirt and grey skinny jeans. Clearly she had decided that three more minutes of work wasn't worth it. I grinned at her, deciding to be reckless for once in my life. She gestured to the gates leading to the platforms and started walking.

I followed her, balancing my sunglasses up on my head. "I feel like I'm being too reckless."

"Fuck it. I'm not going to let you die, so you may as well do some of the shit you wanted to do while you can." Kristin told me. I nodded, what she was saying making a lot of sense. "By the way, you don't need a ticket or anything to get a train. I work here. Means I get free travel for me and whoever I'm with."

"Jesus. You're a life saver." I sighed.

"Well... What can I say? I do nice things for people that I know I'll get on with."

Little did I know what we would get up to over the next two days, and how much my perspective would change. Sometimes, throwing yourself in at the deep end can make you learn about yourself more than anything. Sometimes, you've just got to do it.