𝐔𝐆𝐇! ── 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐬𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝.

00:03

──  𝟎𝟑 . * .°・( 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 / 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 )
❝︎ 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝗇𝖾 𝖺𝗎𝗇𝗍 ❞︎

──

          Aurora Park felt a sigh brush past her parted lips, eyes tracing the sidewalk below her apartment complex. The girl wanted nothing more than to go out on a walk to clear her mind, but found herself confined to the likes of her couch. Fingers running along the velvet material, she shuffled slightly.

          Rory's gaze met a youthful group of—what she presumed to be—teenagers, laughing as one of them told a seemingly humorous story. She longed to have lived a simple life like theirs; one that wasn't shackled down with anxiety and an overwhelming sense of solitude. It was her own fault, really. Young Rory never once tried to make friends throughout what felt like endless years of schooling.

          She kept to herself, mostly--only communicating with her peers when it was necessary. She hated being a burden, and just assumed distancing herself would be the best decision for everyone. This was exactly the reason why she had started a YouTube channel in her sophomore year of high school. She needed an outlet, something to express herself with. If she couldn't have friends, who's to say she couldn't conjure up her own? Rory's early videos, which had been deleted a few months after her rise to popularity began, were just her talking to her shoddy phone camera.

          It wasn't until the very first Christmas after she started her channel that she got into gaming. Her parents had gifted her a Playstation 3, the very console that everyone on YouTube seemed to be getting at the time. The girl had seen a video or two of Seán playing Far Cry 3, and knew immediately she wanted to upload content just like that. It didn't take long for her channel to gain an obscene amount of attention, which immediately caused her to stop posting. She was afraid; the young girl who had no intention of becoming famous was now receiving odd looks as she walked down the hallways of her school.

          Before she could reflect on it any longer, the front door to her apartment swung open and in walked none other than her wonderful neighbor, Valerie McAdams. Rory turned in her seat to spot the woman, eyes immediately falling to the item in her hands.

          "I come baring gifts." She grinned wickedly, holding up the bottle of wine.

          Rory scoffed. "You only ever come over here to drink."

          "And what about it?" She retorted, kicking the door closed with her Converse-clad foot.

          The McAdams girl beckoned her friend over to the kitchen with her head, placing the bottle down on the table and moving to retrieve two glasses. Rory spared the scenery outside her window one more glance before following, plopping down on her counter as Val poured the alcohol.

          "Is there a special occasion?" Rory questioned as she accepted the glass outstretched to her.

          Val hummed, a sole nod offered in response.

          The YouTuber only raised a brow, expecting more of an explanation than that.

          "I got casted in this huge series!" She screeched.

          Ah, right. Valerie wasn't just Rory's wine-aunt of a neighbor, she was also an actress—a struggling one, at that. It pained the Park girl to witness her friend go through the lows of pursing a career in the arts: the constant setbacks. However, in that very moment it all seemed to be worth it as Val jumped up and down in glee.