O N E
a star: a fixed luminous point in the night sky, that is a large, incandescent body like the sun.

dedicated to burningbrightfire

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THE UNIVERSE IS infinite. I wish my attention span was too.

I wish I had the patience to stay still - to sit out the night, toes dipped in the freezing water of Ana Young's pool. It was marginally better than telling the boy who kept trying to grasp my hand that I was simply not interested.

Maybe that's why I had never been able to keep a friend. When I was five, I bought the same pair of black and white trainers as my best friend, Lola, in an attempt to impress her. And when I was twelve, I tripped and spilt my lunch down Kacey Hollow's new bright pink Hollister blouse. Let's just say that the relationship went downhill from there.

Just like people, parties weren't my forte, either. They never had been, and tonight was no exception. People had flooded Ana's house in a swell of bodies, drunken teens jumping collectively to a song that thundered relentlessly against my eardrums. Body odour lingered in the air, the stench of sweat and deodorant overwhelming.

The red cup clutched in my hand was empty, a honey pigmented residue swirling in the bottom as droplets. I had had the ingenuity to pour out the drink my drunken best friend had given me in a nearby bush. And yet, two ciders later, I could feel the alcohol lurking in my system.

"Nova?" An endearingly high pitched voice screamed.

I blinked. The world was black; a canvas ready to be painted on in vivid colour.

Plastering on a thin-lipped smile, I steadied my small figure as my best friend stumbled into me. "Kaya," I sighed, wiping her dyed silver hair from her eyes. She was beautiful, with long tanned legs that never appeared to end, and a set of naturally straight white teeth. The mascara on her blonde eyelashes was thick and daring, and the strap of her silver dress had snapped. We had barely been friends for four months, but she was the first person who had appeared to begin to understand the complexity of my personality.

"You are gone," I muttered. I grabbed a napkin from a nearby table, delicately wiping off the sick from her chin, and being careful not to tamper her perfectly applied lipstick. However, I knew that it was all a mask to cover up her intricately damaged personality. Below her kind smile, and layer of makeup, laid a broken girl. Six months ago, her father had been diagnosed with terminal throat cancer. Since, I had tried countless ways to counter Kaya's grief, but as the time of death drew near, all I could do was sit back and watch as fate unravelled.

The alcohol let her forget. She had already been to three parties this week, and counting.

Kaya shook her head, tresses spiralling from her messy hairstyle. "No I'm not," She slurred. "I'm just having a good time. Unlike someone."

I rolled my eyes. "At least I drank something this time."

Kaya beamed at me, her famous smile revealing itself once more. "That's my girl."

She was unsteady. As she pried herself onto her tiptoes, Kaya swayed. It took her two seconds to double over, clutching her stomach as she strode blindly through the clump of teenagers.

My hand fastened around Kaya's pale wrist. I used all my strength to pull her back, only for her to throw up on the floor. I skimmed my hands through her hair, collecting it up and keeping it away from her face. It was the eighth time this week, and it was getting tiresome. I didn't want to see this happen to my best friend, but she insisted on getting alcohol poisoning night after night. Party after party.

"Kaya," I exhaled as she slumped once more. She didn't respond, and it took me more than a second to decide that taking her upstairs and away from the alcohol supply was the best option. I draped her arm around my shoulder, and refused the help of the same boy who was trying to dance with me as he offered a hand. "Hey, hang in there."

Getting upstairs was much harder than I had first anticipated. With each step I took, it appeared that two more stairs had been added, and with a fifty kilogram girl to hoister up to the second floor, it was exhausting. Finally reaching the landing, I collapsed before heaving Kaya into the closest bedroom.

I knew this house well. With its mahogany furniture and vintage wallpaper covering every possibly wall, it was uniquely sinister. Ana had made sure that everyone knew her house, and since freshman year, she had held the majority of parties here. Yet, I hadn't ventured into this room before.

The first thing I noticed was the four poster bed, and I rushed to place my tired best friend on top of the blue covers. Kaya tucked into a ball, pulling her knees right into her chest.

"Is this ok?" I whispered, afraid to break her trance.

Kaya nodded softly.

There was a reason I hadn't been in this room before: it was Ana's sister's, Beatrice. The famous story of the girl who ran away from home sprung to mind. Being surrounded by her image was sickening, and I felt my skin prickle. Ice ran down my spine, as I took in the scent of rotting wood and stale air. It was like being watched by a ghost. A zephyr fluttered through the crack in the open window; a memoir of how the Young sister had disappeared.

Day had subsided to night, stars flickering in the inky canvas as red glared, and bright white flickered across my eyelids. They were like fragmented diamonds - so precious, yet too tiny to be of worth. And, relative to the rest of the world, and the growing population of seven billion, that's how I typically felt. Like a star. Forever seeing; watching from afar. And completely and utterly powerless.

The reverberating sound of Kaya snoring snapped me out of my daze, eyes falling on a vanity mirror. It was beautifully crafted; outlined in a gold sheen and stretched out just long enough to show my sleek black shoulder length hair which I had curled for the occasion, white crop top, and navy umbro windbreaker.

Perhaps if the world had made me pretty, I wouldn't be so self conscious. But as my reflection glared back at me, my face the centrepiece, I felt all of my insecurities flood black into my mind like a raging wildfire. Hot, bright, and ever growing. I wish I hadn't looked in the first place.

I wish I hadn't. I wish I could take that longing stare back. But I couldn't stop myself, uncurling my plump lips as I neared the mirror. My eyes were soft in the low light, shimmering their generic shade of brown. Moreover, I was still waiting to grow out the chubby cheeks I had had since my childhood years. I wasn't pretty in the slightest. Striking was a more accurate definition, but I came under a completely different category. Maybe my five foot one figure was adequate, but I had never loved the way I looked the way Kaya Mannering, or Ana Young, could. 

I ran a hand through my hair. The room felt like a prison, the walls closing in on me with each laboured breath. I had to leave; getting Kaya back to a taxi would be too much of a struggle, and sleep was the best thing for her. This room hadn't been touched in four years, and staying the night had never been on my agenda.

I stepped backwards, eyes flickering away from the antique.

As I retreated from the room, something flickered in the reflective surface. Beige against grey, a face appeared, and I froze.

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well that was terrible 😂

Hola beautiful readers!! Hope you enjoyed the first out of eight chapters of YIWAS 💕 I'd love to hear your opinions, positive or negative. I know this wasn't my best chapter in the slightest xD

The next update will be in the next few days, and you'll get to know Nova a lot better (and meet the smouldering Cole C 😉) :))

Please don't forget to comment!! Comments mean so much more to me than votes and reads 💕

Lots of love,

Lotte xx