A face stared back at Y/n as she looked in her bathroom mirror, only it wasn't hers. It was the face of a desperate beggar pleading for a moment of happiness as they stood before God. At least that was what she saw as she recited the words of her possible salvation.
To anyone else, this process would seem dramatic. The act of talking to one's self as they got ready to ask for their parent's permission to hang out with friends to the mentally stable would be labeled as a form of psychosis. But to Y/n, this was an important ritual, one often practiced so that the performance could be seen as fit in the eyes of her father.
Today's ritual was especially important, for a multitude of reasons. To start, today was the first day she was officially released from her grounding, the grounding that was caused by hanging out with a particular friend that she had cussed her father out over. The same boy who her father threatened to send her to boarding school over if he caught her hanging out with him.
But that wasn't her biggest issue with today. She could always lie and say that it was just her and Mike, simple as that. If you've ever been grounded, you know that that first day you get your freedom back is like a test trial, walking on eggshells for an audience you weren't even aware was there. Now imagine those eggshells were daggers stabbing through your feet with every step and you were told not to make a single sound, to simply take the pain in silence. That was how it was for her.
Again, this all may seem dramatic to those with the families that most of the youth could only dream of having, the kind parents who only raise their hands to wipe the tears from their children's cheek. But for the rest of those whose parent's words were laced with venom, whose only memory of the lifting of their parent's hand came with the sting of pain, they understand all too well.
And for her, the audience was none other than the warden who had damned her to her grounding in the first place. None other than the man whose blood runs through her veins. He was the only reason she had to recite this incantation. It wasn't like her mother would care. She only wanted her daughter to be happy, and so did he... well, as long as she obeyed his every command, that is.
Even now as she muttered the words under her breath, staring into the eyes of the person across from her, she couldn't help but hate the person who stared back. She hated her for not being braver, for not standing up to him and cowering into this shell of a person. But she couldn't really be mad at the reflection. After all, her cowardice was the reason she survived, and you can't blame anyone who just did what they had to to survive.
The sudden sound of her mother summoning her snapped her from her thoughts. With a sigh, she looked at her reflection one last time before she exited the bathroom, answering to her mother's beckoning call.
"Yeah, mom?" she asked as she entered the main area, taking note of her father on the couch drinking despite it being only four o'clock.
"Oh, I was just wondering if you wanted to help me make dinner," her mother gave her a polite smile, washing her hands and shaking them out. "Now that I work the night shifts, I thought this would be a nice opportunity to teach you how to cook. I know you've been wanting to learn for a while, plus I think it would be a good bonding moment for the both of us."
Seeing her mother''s sweet smile and the obvious excitement on her face as she offered made Y/n's heart ache. The amount of effort her mom had been putting into their relationship was the closest thing Y/n get to having loving parents, so having to deny her efforts felt as though she were being cut with a knife.
"About that..." Y/n smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck as she tried to settle her pounding heart. "I actually have to ask you guys something."
At that, her father's attention was finally gained, his permanently glaring eyes fixed on his spawn, face numb and cold. This heavily contrasted her mother's face, which was warm and filled with emotion as the curiosity flickered in her eyes.
"What is it?" her father's rough voice spoke out, words filled with suspicion that matched his gaze.
Y/n paused, her internal script gone from her thoughts. For a moment, she couldn't speak, breathing heavily as she searched for the words she had memorized by heart. Clearing her throat, she started to piece together what she did remember, hoping the rest would follow naturally.
"I know that recently I have been... disrespectful," she started, spitting out the words she knew her father wanted to hear even though they went against her own intuition. "And I know I probably don't deserve your approval for what I'm about to ask, but I was wondering if I could hang out with a couple of friends today."
The silence that followed was sickening. Her and her mother's eyes moved to Y/n's father as they awaited his response. His face was unsettling, unwavering as he took his daughter's words into consideration. Before he even spoke a word, she knew by the way he opened his mouth that it was over.
"I cleaned the apartment," she blurted out, forcing her father's mouth to close as he listened. "Including taking out the trash, doing the dishes, scrubbing the toilets, everything. I also finished all my homework and studying, and I will be out only out an hour and a half, two hours, tops."
Another round of quiet fell over the room. The thrumming of her heartbeat pounded in her head like drums, her mind racing as she searched her father's lifeless expression. That was the hard thing about him. You didn't know his answer until the words fell out of his mouth.
After what felt like minutes, he sighed, shaking his head before his eyes met his daughter's.
"Who all will be there?" he questioned, his voice laced with frustration, but overall compliant.
With that, Y/n let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. A smirk crept up onto her face, but she quickly went back to a neutral expression, not wanting to get too excited too soon.
"Mike and a person he's friends with," I said, fidgeting with my hands as I looked into my father's gaze. "The friend goes to Visions Academy, you know, the school for good kids, so you don't have to worry about them."
"No Miles?" he immediately asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest.
"No Miles," I lied, nodding as my eyes darted away before moving back. "I promise."
Her father stared at her for another moment, narrowing his eyes as he searched her words for fallacies. Then, after he muttered under his breath, he nodded.
"You can go," he mumbled, his voice gruff with hints or irritation. "But just know that if you and Michelle get into trouble or even think about doing anything I wouldn't approve of, your ass is grounded again. Got it?"
"Yes sir," I agreed, a smile spreading across my lips as I looked at the ground. "And his name is Mike. He doesn't go by Michelle anymore."
Her father grumbled a whatever, going back to what he was watching on the TV. He wasn't the type of person who believed in the humanistic ideals that had evolved with this generation, too stuck in the past to change his ways.
"Be safe honey," Y/n's mother gained her attention, putting a soft hand on her shoulder. "And make sure to have fun!"
She gave her mom a soft nod, wishing her a goodbye as she left the apartment. Then, with a skip in her step, she made her way through the busy city streets.
The sidewalk was bustling with all different kinds of people. Some were adults trying to make their way home from their jobs and get to their families before dinners, others were random teens hanging out to relieve the stress from another long day of school. And there Y/n was, walking with the current of the crowd, headphones in her ears, blasting music to drown out the noise of the busy crowd.
As she made her way to the place they all agreed to meet up, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty, Her mom seemed really excited to cook with her, and even though her mother's face didn't show it, she just knew that she was disappointed. If it were any other day, she would have happily agreed to cook with her mom.
Don't worry Y/n, she soothed her guilty conscience, trying to lift her mood before she got to her friends. You'll get another chance to do that with her. There's always tomorrow.
Tomorrow was a luxury that she believed that she and her mother had. So she silently agreed with her thoughts and went about thinking other happy thoughts, like Miles and how hanging out with her friends would do.
Meanwhile at the park where they all decided to meet, Miles, Ganke, and Mike waited. Mike hung on the monkey bars, striking up a conversation with Ganke about computers and technology, while Miles sat on a bench, staring out at the street as he watched for Y/n's arrival.
Miles was lost in his own train of thought. A train that followed the tracks of his his feelings for his beloved. Feelings of desire, admiration, longing. Ever since the day he gave her the painting, he couldn't stop thinking about her.
Every waking moment, his attention was hers. With every breath, he imagined endless fantasies about the two of them together. He fell asleep to daydreams of her, and when he woke up, all he wanted to hear was her voice. And on the night before where he couldn't sleep, he paced throughout his room, muttering one sided conversations and making endless sketches of her in his sketchbook.
Through the eyes of a lovesick individual, this would be considered sweet, a story that all women read about and wish they had a lover who would act like this. But when you take off the rose colored glasses, the reality sets in and it becomes apparent that this behavior isn't good, but unhealthy and obsessive.
And as much as Miles wanted to deny it, he was aware of his obsession. It wasn't his first time being obsessed with a person he had feelings for. In fact, it seemed that with almost all his crushes he got obsessed at one point or another. It just was never to this degree. Though he wished to feign ignorance on why his obsessive nature went so deep with Y/n, in the back of his mind, buried deep within his subconscious, he knew exactly why.
Suddenly, Miles was snapped from his thoughts by a tap on the shoulder. When he looked up, he saw Y/n beaming with a grin that spread across her face.
"Took ya long enough," Miles chuckled as he stood up, rubbing the back of his neck as he avoided her gaze.
"Sorry," she rolled her eyes, nudging him lightly. "Some of us have to actually convince our parents to let us go places."
Out of nowhere, Mike rushed up and gave Y/n a big hug, almost causing her to fall over as she stumbled. Following him came Ganke, laughing and smiling as he watched Mike almost tackle her.
"Glad you could make it, girly," Mike said as he hugged her for a few more seconds before taking a step back. "Though I am surprised that you were able to come since your dad literally has a stick up his ass."
"Yeah, but when you know how to sweet talk him like I do, it's much easier to get what you want," she answered, looking from Mike to Miles to the unfamiliar face that she could only assume was Ganke. "And you must be Miles' friend."
"Oh right!" Miles muttered, clearing his throat as he motioned to Ganke. "Y/n, this is Ganke, my roommate from when I did that whole Visions thing. Ganke this is Y/n."
The two exchanged the typical awkward nice to meet you conversation, giving each other the nod. For a moment there was an awkward silence, but Mike was quick to fill it.
"Alright, let's go fuck some shit up!" Mike grinned, starting to walk backward as he waited for the rest of them to follow.
"Dude, we can't exactly fuck shit up today," Miles laughed shaking his head. "We got a kid who goes to a prestigious school and another with a strict ass dad. Today's gotta be chill."
"I don't see why we can't do that," Ganke shrugged, following after Mike and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "I mean, as long as we don't get caught..."
Miles looked at Ganke with wide eyes, mouth slightly agape as his arms flopped to his sides.
"Dude, I thought you were a goody two shoes!" Miles scoffed, rolling his eyes as he pointed his attention to Y/n, expecting her answer to contrast theirs. "What about you? You wanna fuck shit up?"
She looked at Miles for a moment as she paused, weighing the two options. Then she looked behind him, seeing the two boys encouraging her with thumbs up, both clearly excited to get in some trouble. She had to admit, after having to follow the rules for a week, a little trouble did sound nice.
"I mean..." she sighed, smirking mischievously as she walked past Miles, joining the other two boys as she wrapped her arms around them both. "I think it might be fun. I just have to be home on a couple hours, so as long as we don't get caught..."
Miles stood alone in disbelief. He shook his head as he muttered under his breath. The one time when he tries to be the responsible one, trying to be cautious since two of the four of them are on thin ice, they all want to be reckless and irresponsible. While he personally wanted this to be more chill, he didn't want to go against the majority.
"Fine," Miles mumbles, rolling his eyes as he joined his other three friends. "I guess it would be fun to get into some trouble..."
With a loud cheer, the four kids made their way down the sidewalk as they started to venture into their wild afternoon into the city. They walked together in a group, laughing harmoniously as the sun began to set behind the skyward buildings of Brooklyn.
As they ran a few errands before the real fun began, their conversations ranged from schoolwork to accidental trauma dumping. One thing in particular that was told to the group was how Y/n's mom had starting working the night shift at Alchemax and how she thought it was a great opportunity for her and her mother to bond more. But a particularly important member wasn't listening fully.
In Miles' obsessive admiration as he watched the way her lips moved as she formed the words and the way her eyes glinted with excitement, he forgot to listen. And while at the time it may not have seemed so important, such a little detail that would seem inconspicuous, it was a detail that needed to be heard. After all, it is said that the flap of a butterfly's wings can cause a tsunami across the world. It can only be imagined how damning unheard words can become.
Nevertheless, the group soon got everything they needed to have a little fun and cause a little trouble. They drifted away from the safer parts of town to the abandoned railroads where most homeless people claimed as home. Where is better to cause trouble than a place that is forgotten? A place deemed unworthy by society while claimed as a safe haven for the youth and those who were rejected. A place perfect for what the four teenagers were about to do.
They settled down underneath an old railroad where there was a single wall free of graffiti, a wall that would soon be covered by their own art. Miles set down the bag filled with spray cans that he had borrowed from his uncle's place with a grunt while the other three got adjusted and talked about their art ideas.
"I was thinking like maybe doing a cool bubble letter thing of my name!" Mike grinned, using his hands to motion the bird's wings, fully believing his idea was completely original.
"No offense, bud," Ganke started out with, chuckling as he shook his head, "but that's a basic bitch idea."
"You know what, fuck you," Mike slumped, crossing his arms as he fake pouted. "I don't see you guys coming up with any more ideas."
"Actually, I was thinking of maybe doing like a phoenix surrounded by fire," Y/n chimed in, picking up a random rock and chucking it as far as she could.
"Now that's badass..." Ganke agreed, nodding his head. "Now if only Mike came up with an idea like yours-"
"You know what," Mike interrupted, coming up behind Ganke and attempting to put him in a "chokehold", but Ganke dodged, laughing as he ran away from him. "Hey, get over here!"
Y/n watched as the two boys ran and started to play fight. She laughed, shaking her head as she walked next to Miles, who was still arranging the spray cans. He had taken the time to arrange the cans by color in rainbow order. There was no particular reason he did it, he just simply had the urge to do so and decided to act on the urge.
She sat down next to Miles as he continued organizing, watching as his hands arranged the cans, his brows knitted as he focused on the task at hand. It was now as she watched him that she had realized how disengaged he had been during the hangout. He usually liked to be part of things, constantly adding to the conversation, but for some reason during this one, he had kept to himself almost the entire time. Just like he was doing now, isolating himself from the main interaction by focusing on organization that would prove to be rather meaningless.
"Miles," she spoke gently, looking at him with soft eyes as she tilted her head to the side. "Are you okay?"
At her question, Miles was snapped from his daze. He blinked several times before he looked at her, eyes glinting with confusion.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Miles smirked, lightly nudging her with his elbow. "What made you think I wasn't?"
She paused, looking at her hands as she searched for a particular reason other than intuition. With a sigh, she finally spoke.
"You've just been more... quiet, I guess, almost like you're not fully here," she said, fidgeting with her hands. "I know it sounds stupid-"
"It doesn't," Miles blurted out, clearing his throat before continuing. "You're right, I've been a little out of it today. But don't worry about it, it's just because I'm tired."
Before Y/n could answer, Mike and Ganke sat down across from the two, breathing heavily with messed up hair. Miles and Y/n both looked at them with widened eyes, looking to each other before looking back at the duo. They shared the same thought, but neither of them were willing to share.
"Whatcha guys doing?" Mike asked breathlessly, cheeks pink as he ran a hand through his messy hair.
"Just talking," Miles simply stated, looking at the two boys with a narrowed gaze. "What happened to you guys?"
"Mike got mad and tried to "fight" me," Ganke laughed, gently shoving Mike away before wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "We ended up wrestling on the ground, for some reason."
"I had to assert my dominance!" Mike explained, as though what he were saying was the most normal thing in the world.
"Yeah, says the person that got pinned down," Ganke muttered, a mischievous grin playing on his lips.
As Mike began bickering with Ganke again, Miles and Y/n gave each other another glance. While Mike's and Ganke's words were supposed to help their case, in this instance, they only reinforced the preconceived notion that the two had come up with.
"Mike, when you said you wanted to fuck shit up, we didn't know you meant it literally," Y/n grinned, raising an eyebrow while her voice was almost taunting.
At this, Mike halted his movements, looking at his friend with wide eyes. His cheeks burned, red covering his entire face. Embarrassment, disgust, anger, all these emotions showed on his face.
"You dirty minded bitch! Get your mind out of the fucking gutter!" Mike yelled, hiding his face in his hand.
Meanwhile Ganke had a completely different reaction, cackling as he laid down on the ground.
"Wait, does that mean I'm shit?" Ganke asked, purposefully feeding into Y/n's words. "Because if Mike wanted to "fuck shit up", then theoretically I would be shit."
"You know what, fuck all of you," Mike stood up and began walking away. As he did, he yelled over his shoulder, "I hope you all walk into oncoming traffic!"
The three burst into laughter. Miles leaned into Y/n as he laughed into her shoulder while she laughed into his hair. Ganke rolled on the ground, holding his stomach as he gasped for air like a dying man.
"Wait! Mike, c'mon, we were just teasing you!" Miles shouted in between laughs, fighting for breaths.
Mike paused in the distance. He sighed to himself as he muttered under his breath. But as predicted, he made his way back over to the group, sitting down with a huff next to Ganke.
"Fine, I guess I'll stay," Mike rolled his eyes, trying to hide the smirk that was creeping onto his face. "But don't expect me to give you any of the weed that I brought."
"You brought weed?" the three asked unanimously, all of their voices filled with shock.
"Of course I did, we're hanging out," Mike scoffed, seeing his reasoning as perfectly logical. "Now's the perfect time to get high as fuck!"
"Where did you even get weed?" Miles questioned reasonably.
"I've had weed, Miles," Mike explained, pulling a plastic baggy out of the pocket of his cargo pants while also pulling out all the other necessary supplies that would be needed to roll a blunt. "I'm an honors and AP student. I gotta have some way to relax."
"Fair enough," Y/n nodded, the other two agreeing with the reasoning as well.
It only took a minute for Mike to roll up a blunt, and the other three watched him as he did so. With lighter in hand, he ignited the end and took in a deep breath, puffing out the smoke a couple seconds later.
"Alright, lets go!" Mike stood up, taking another whiff of his joint, exhaling the smoke as he spoke. "This wall isn't going to graffiti itself!"
And so the four kids got to work creating art on the blank canvas that was an abandoned wall. Well, mostly Miles and Y/n created their pieces together, while Mike and Ganke stood back, occasionally contributing to the artwork, but mostly watching as they shared the blunt. By the end, the blank dull wall was covered in color, a masterpiece of their own creation. A masterpiece that they all gazed at with awe.
And just as the sun completely set behind the buildings, the four made their way back to society. They laughed and joked and Mike and Ganke managed to say the most philosophical yet stupid things any human being has ever heard. But eventually, they found their way back to the park, and went their separate ways.
As Miles walked in the direction of his home, he looked behind him to see Y/n one last time. He couldn't help but see how beautiful she was in the light of dusk and watched her fade into the distance.
Y/n also looked back, catching Miles' eyes for a split second before turning back around and fading out of sight. Or so she assumed.
A/N: Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry I took so long to post. My mental health became really shitty for some reason after these past couple weeks and I didn't have a lot of motivation to write. But here I am, ask and you shall receive. Sorry that the beginning of the chapter is super emo, I was in an angsty mood and just went with it. I also hope the pacing isn't too weird because I was really tired while writing this, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Honestly, I just wanted to write a little silly chapter about some friends hanging out to lighten the mood. So, I hope you guys like this chapter. Let me know if there are spelling mistakes and constructive criticism is always welcome. Without further ado, hope you enjoy the chapter! Adios, mis queridas.