slight warning: implied self harm

"May Everly."

I stood and walked up the stairs and onto the stage, my gown flowing around me. I saw teachers I barely knew with proud expressions plastered onto their faces. The teachers I did know held the same expression, but it felt less forced. Some even had tears glazing their eyes.

I stopped in the centre of the stage to shake my principals hand before staring out into the audience for a moment. My dad's words from this morning played through my head. "Look out to the fourth row, two seats in, me and your mother will be there." I counted the rows and found two empty seats. The years of missed dancing shows, singing competitions and school plays raced through my head, mocking me. I forced a smile onto my face and pretended the tears in my eyes were from the relief of graduating, not the disappointment that was eating away at my gut. The tassel on my cap flipped with my heart and I made my way down the stairs and back to my seat.

I sat next to my girlfriend, Aislynn, who was staring at me with a soft smile on her face. At least I had her. She noticed instantly that I was upset, she always did.

"They didn't show up?" She asked, reaching over to place her hand on my thigh. "I didn't really expect them to." I responded, disappointment sneaking into my tone. She smiled sadly at me and gently rubbed my thigh with her thumb. I almost winced as her thumb moved, gently grazing over my newest cuts. She realised her mistake and moved her hand to my back instead, whispering an apology.

They called the next few names, and after a while everyone clapped, signifying the end of the ceremony. Aislynn tensed up in her seat and I realised her name hadn't been called. It wasn't the first time they had forgotten about her, she tended to blend in everywhere until you got to know her.  They all stood to leave, and I wanted to yell at them, scream at them that they had forgotten my girlfriend again, but I didn't. I stayed seated and watched, waiting for someone else to notice, but they never did.

"What about you?" I asked her as we both stood to leave. "Don't worry about it." She replied, reaching out to grab my hand. "I didn't want to go up on that stage anyway, you know how it is." I decided to brush it off, knowing that she was right.

A few moments later, Aislynn stood beside me, our fingers intertwined as everyone gathered outside of the school building. A man with grey hair, who i assumed was someone's dad, yelled a countdown, and we threw our graduation caps into the air, cheering with delight. Streaks of black and yellow floated through the air before quickly falling to the ground.

Everyone rushed to grab their caps, so Aislynn and I hung back, waiting for the area to be clear before going in for ours. Only one cap remained on the floor once people had left. "That's your one." Aislynn said, nudging me towards it.

"Where did yours go?" I asked her, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"Someone probably took it. Let's go grab something to eat and go back to your place." She suggested. "Maybe you can ask your parents why they weren't here today."

I nodded before bending down and picking it up. "Why are you always so calm about the way people treat you?" I questioned, tilting my head to the side a little.

"I don't think they know they're doing it." She responded, smiling sadly at me. "Plus, getting upset won't change anything." 

The pavement turned to stones beneath our feet and the crunch brole the silence as we walked towards my dads white car. He let us borrow it for graduation so that he and my mum could have shown up later. I opened the door for Aislynn and walked around to get into the drivers seat. The warmth hit me instantly and I regretted parking right in the sun. The other spots were under a blanket of trees, and I figured a warm car would be better than a bird shit covered windscreen, but at least then we could have gone to a car wash.

"Fuck, it's hot in here." I exclaimed. "That's just because you're here." She leans over and planted a quick peck on my lips. "You're so cheesy." I teased her before leaning over and stealing another kiss.

"Now I'm hungry." She pouted, making me grin. "Okay, where to?" I asked her as I started the car. "I kind of want McDonalds. Also, put your seatbelt on, my love." She leaned over me and reached for the buckle of my seatbelt.

 "Don't touch the-" I said, but I was too late as she shook her hand and swore. "The metal part's kind of hot." She giggled and I rolled my eyes before checking if her fingers were okay. There were no visible marks, so I gave them a little kiss before putting her hand back on her lap.

We started to drive out of the carpark, beating the parents who stopped for photos. "Last time driving out of these gates." Aislynn said softly, looking out of her open window as we approached the dark green metal. "Goodbye, High School. You won't be missed." I lifted a hand from the steering wheel and held up my middle finger out the window.

"Not at all?" She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Not really just..." I started, not sure where I was going with it. "Mrs Johnson?" She countered. I took a moment to think of a response, and she took this as her winning.

"Yeah but it's different now. My Mum is better..." I muttered. "Maybe." I frowned as she teased me. "I'm sorry, I'll stop teasing you." 

"Okay, one cheeseburger Happy Meal for you, my darling." I said, passing Aislynn her food.  "I can't believe you actually got the Happy Meals. You know I was joking right?" She giggled as she took her meal. Or, snack. Meal was a bit excessive, it's enough to feed a toddler but probably not two grown people.

"Oh, you were joking?" I teased, a cheeky smirk playing on my lips.

Aislynn reached in the box for her toy, and pulled out a packet of Pokémon cards. "Fuck, yeah! I got a shiny!" She said as she looked through her cards, turning one around to show me the iridescent sheen that covered it. "I'm never trading this."

"Don't be so sure. I got Eevee." I smirked, showing her the card that I knew had her favourite Pokémon on.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed, trying to shove her shiny card into my hand. When I didn't move, she spoke up again. "Please trade with me? You can have my shiny! I'll do anything."

I pretended to inspect the card, leaving her waiting impatiently until I spoke again. "I had a feeling you'd change your mind." I snickered. "Tell you what, I'll give you Eevee for one kiss." She instantly turned in her seat and leaned towards me, locking her hazel eyes onto my own dark blue.

I tangled a lock of her curly, red hair between my index and middle fingers, making sure I didn't pull too much. My other hand sat gently on the waistband of her denim shorts and I leaned over the centre console.

I saw her eyes flutter closed and I did the same. The inside of my eyelids were taken over with a warm yellow glow as our lips connected, which is something I'd noticed every time we kiss. Her lips were soft and plump against mine and I hummed contently as I tasted her strawberry lip balm.

We pulled apart after a moment and I watched her eyes flick down to my lips. We made eye-contact and I noticed the desire filling her iris' before she pulled me back into the kiss with a hunger I'd only seen in her a few times. Her tongue swiped over my lips and I parted them to give her entrance.

After a few minutes, her stomach rumbled, causing us both to pull apart with a giggle. "Let's eat and then we can get back home." She suggested and I agreed, grabbing a fry.

-----------

"Shit, I wonder what happened there?" Aislynn said, looking outside as we drove. Butterflies filled my stomach as I slowed down to see a car stopped at the side of the road with a huge dent in the front. A crushed bicycle lay beside it, and it was hard to make out as we drove away, but it looked like splatters of blood covered the ground. "That looks bad... I hope everyone is okay." I said, grimacing.

I pulled into my driveway, and we got out of the car. "I'll go open my window, but then I'm gonna go talk to my parents about them missing graduation, so I won't be in my room for a while." I said to Aislynn who nods in agreement. "Don't take too long, I might get lonely." She pouted.

I watched Aislynn walk around the side of the house before I unlocked the front door. Despite taking my shoes off, my steps creaked on the wooden floorboards as I walked through the hall towards my bedroom. The house was drafty, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up with the cold.

I stepped onto the fluffy carpet in my bedroom, and to my relief, it warmed the soles of my feet. I closed the door behind me and took in my surroundings. I pressed the switch to turn on my light, but nothing happened. I felt uneasy in the dark, so I used my hands to guide me towards my dresser where I found the battery pack for my fairy lights. I turned them on and a soft glow filled the room. I spun slowly and admired the different posters I had filling the walls and my vinyls that were displayed proudly above my dresser.

A knock on my window broke me out of my thoughts. I made my way towards the window and pulled open my black curtains. I usually left my blinds open, but I found them closed today. The dark grey disappeared as I opened them, and I struggled to suppress a laugh as I saw Aislynn standing there with her face smushed against the glass. I openes the window and watched as she climbs in.

She got her foot caught in the lip of the window, and she tripped. I caught her in my arms and we both fall into a fit of giggles. Once we had calmed down, and shared a few kisses, I leaft her alone to find my parents.

I saw my dad, Shane, sitting on the maroon sofa, his back to me. I tried to make my steps loud so I didn't startle him when I approached, a habit I'd gotten into for my mum's benefit, but he still didn't turn around. I sat down next to him, and he finally noticed my presence, but he didn't greet me like he usually would.

"Hey, Dad." I started. I noticed his bloodshot eyes and worry shot through me. "Are you okay?"

He shook his head and his voice was small and fragile in a way I had never heard from my aggresive, unfeeling father when he said "We need to talk."