𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑⁰¹ʰᵉᵐᵐⁱⁿᵍˢ✓

¹⁰kisses

clementine

Saturday had come and the excitement of Cameron's newfound career had crept up on me again.

Mara and I are meeting Cameron and his boyfriend, Harish, at the carnival at Central Park to celebrate Cameron's to-be-published manuscript and Amara is not taking this lightly.

She suggested we get full-on out by wearing sparkly dresses so we can go to some club later in the evening, but I refused to dress up in one of the scantily dresses she offered I wear. Plus, it was extremely dressy to wear them to a carnival.

Since the carnival opened around eleven, we planned to meet there at twelve, then just join in on whatever ride or what-not that the carnival offered.

Every year, a carnival is hosted at the start of September. It held rides and food stands, and it was always the busiest month of the year for that park. Small concerts were held for mostly unknown bands who were looking for larger crowds; after, a large white blanket is put up and old movies are projected on it.

Mara and Harish used to go there every year when they were both in NYU. They were from the same year and decided to make that their tradition. When Cameron and I came along, they were hesitant of bringing us along their tradition, us two being two years younger and only college friends whereas Mara and Harish had been friends seen their highschool days.

But when I became Mara's roommate and Cameron became Harish's boyfriend, it was just without question to them that we were to take part in their tradition. Four years later, we were still doing it and there hasn't really been any say of stopping.

I lace on my black boots and tie it securely with itself. I'd worn them so much it was starting to show. The once cornered bottoms are now roughed up and greyed, it donned a few scratches here and there and you could tell just by looking at them that they must be some few years old.

I get up and stand in front of the body mirror propped up across my bed, staring at my reflection and wishing the dress I'm wearing would fit me a little better - or better yet - I wished my body fit the dress better.

I pinch the dress from behind me, seeing the material wrinkle and take form of my waistline then letting it go with a sigh.

I rummage through my closet and pull out a black belt, wrapping it around my waist and locking it so my dress would have some sort of form. It sinched my waist and made me look a little less... rectangular.

I wasn't happy with it, but I was content enough.

I turn around and grab my bag from my bed, slinging it over my shoulder before marching out of my bedroom with Darth at my heels.

I make my way to the living room, plopping onto the couch and going through my phone while waiting for Mara to come out so we could go.

I scroll through my text messages, seeing that my most recent one was from Cameron. The next was Luke.

I realised I hadn't talked to him since Thursday when I didn't reply to his voice recording.

Shit, did I just leave him on read?

A bit of panic rises in me and I quickly type in some pathetic excuse about how I was busy when really, I was just too caught up in my own feelings for him. Is it appropriate to call it feelings?

I start many excuses but end up deleting it and making up a new one. Why is this so hard?

"Clem, you ready?" I hear Mara ask and I'm snapped back to reality.

I turn off my phone and get off the couch, smoothing out my dress so it wouldn't look as wrinkly. "Yep, ready to go," I throw my phone into my bag and grab the bass case from the stool.

I'd dropped by the day before at Harish's place, as they wanted to lend me the bass so I could practice for their performance. Since their bassist was absent, I was filling in. We rehearsed way too many times that his neighbour had knocked on his door.

After I'd gone home with the bass, I attempted to practice to perfection - or at least until my fingers and wrist were sore and my back was aching from the weight of the heavy instrument.

I played bass back when I was in uni and Harish was still forming his band. Originally, I was their bassist, but five months into it, I found a part-time job at Ackerman's Arts and was just torn between my studies, the job, and the band. They let me go and hired someone else who could be more committed to it-and more experienced at it as well.

I follow Mara to the front door, where she stops to look at the mirror. "How do I look? Do I look okay?" She asks, touching up her hair and her lipstick.

I lean in and swipe off some lipstick on her chin with the pad of my thumb, smiling and wondering what she was so nervous about. "Fucking beautiful, Mara,"

She gives a nervous smile before looking down at our two cats, circling our feet and waiting for something.

We both bend down and give each cat a kiss on their forehead before they scurry off somewhere in the flat.

We managed to train both Sunny and Darth unintentionally when we first got them. Every time we'd leave we'd kiss them on their head without fail, and a month after continuously doing that, they made it a habit to follow us to the door, awaiting their goodbye kiss.

It was weird when we realised what they were following us for, but we made do and flaunted when we could, that our cats love getting kisses from us.

After getting out, I close the door behind me and follow Mara to where the lifts were.

We catch a cab and ride it to Central Park. It took a little longer than we expected due to all the traffic, but we got there more or less on time.

The park is packed with people, mascots, and the warm aroma of different foods from each food stand. Colours burst here and there, from the banners to people dressed like the rainbow. My eyes dart from left to right, not knowing what to look at.

From the small stage set up a little further away, I can see someone performing an original song, though I couldn't hear it well enough due to the crowd in between. Children play and run around, babies wailing from somewhere, and a dog barking somewhere else.

I stood frozen at the sights. They've definitely outdone themselves this year. There are series lights twinkling different colours, tied between each lampost and hovering over the walkways. The food stands that were there the year before are here again, selling their crowd-favourite delicacies.

I feel Mara intertwined her arm with mine, looking around as I was. "You ready?" She asked and I nervously shrugged.

I remember that I'm meant to play bass with Harish's band and only now does it strike me that I would be playing to other people as well.

It's not that I'm particularly bad at bass, but I don't think I was great either. I'm simply mediocre at it. I'd only played it a handful of times beforehand in my college dorm room, so from playing there to a small concert, it was undeniably one hell of a leap.

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