"Cora." He called, eyes caressing my face in a way that I so badly wanted for his fingers to instead. "Tell me to stop."
I gulped, the words frozen on the tip of my tongue.
"Cora, tell me now." He repeated, growing more agitated as his gaze moved do...
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THEN
I felt claustrophobic.
And not because of the line I was standing in, sandwiched between people I vaguely recognised but didn't know well enough to interact with.
"Suzanne Abbot."
The bout of claustrophobia had been brought on by the fact that I looked exactly the same as everybody around me.
A river of dark gowns, brand new graduation caps and crisp white trainers that trickled down to the stage a few feet away from me, each person wearing an excited gleam in their eyes as they accepted their diploma.
"Elizabeth Abston."
I guessed the point of dressing us in identical clothing was to give us the impression that we were part of something much larger than ourselves, but it was ironic how stifling it actually felt.
I was a stranger in somebody else's clothes.
And it was only serving to make me feel as though I'd been stripped away of everything that made me unique.
Well, not everything.
My hair was just as untamable as usual, standing out because of the wild curls that splayed around my head like a halo.
"Sebastian Adams."
The girl that was standing in front of me craned her neck to look further forwards, taking a second to check how many people would be going up before it was finally her turn.
I could feel the nervous energy radiating off her in waves as she spun to face me, giving me a smile that told me I had it wrong -- the emotion that I sensed buzzing in the air was actually excitement, the kind that had you giddy and pumped itself around your body instead of blood.
"There's only three people left." She whispered, voice heavy with anticipation.
I appreciated that she had gone out of her way to tell me, but the truth was, I couldn't care less.
While she was eagerly watching everything that took place on the stage my eyes were darting around the hall, far more entertained by the things that were happening in the audience.
Despite its ridiculous size, the hall was crammed with people. The auditorium didn't have a single seat that wasn't occupied and the unlucky people who hadn't been able to get one were crouched down in various corners, armed with cameras and expectant stares.
