— Aurelia Perlman :

"Did you eat lunch without me." Talia queried as she sat down on the chair opposite me with a little pout on her lips. She was late, thirty-two minutes to be exact and I figured it was because of detention, I was right. I told her that I had gotten something to eat from the cafeteria which was a lie, the impious sight of Ares and Maria cuddling in the queue made me want to throw up so I just ate whatever food I had in my bag. It was okay though because I’d just eat when I get home.

As she was late (lunch was almost ending) she was able to procure food without having to wait in the queue. Everyone else had already gotten their lunch so Talia knew she didn't have to worry about queuing. She was fortunate enough to even get something to eat, to be honest, our private school's food was good, to say the least, and people almost always went for seconds.

"You're still staying over the night of my party right?" Talia queried as she sat down in the chair, her tray of food in her hands. The chicken burger and fries on her plate were enough to make my mouth water and I was tempted but then I remembered just how many grams of fat must have been in that thing and I was put off. I was trying to lose weight and this burger would make me gain something more than just a couple grams: guilt. Even though I was losing a couple of grams at a time, guilt had a way of meeting me whenever I had decided to indulge in unhealthy foods. The party meant that a sort of cake would be involved making me feel a sort of sickly feeling which was weird considering I hadn't eaten anything today aside from an apple at breakfast.

Talia's birthday party was this coming Saturday meaning that I’d have to go. I had been avoiding parties, politely declining the weekly personal invitations I’d receive. It was difficult to say no especially when the person's face would immediately fall at my declination but, it had to be done. My heart wasn't strong enough to see the sight of Ares and Maria getting frisky along with the music but I knew that Talia’s party was one I could not even dream of avoiding.

Who knows, maybe I’d even have fun?

Over the past couple of weeks, I had lost some weight. People could easily tell and some even praised and complimented, me for getting fit, others had their own impolite opinions which I had ignored. It was my body, I could do what I wanted. and so I worked out, ate healthily, and carried on with my life. My broken heart slowly mending as time passed me by.

I looked across the cafeteria at the table which I used to sit at with Ares and saw the unfamiliarity of it. It had only been a couple of months but the place was unrecognisable without me. The table was filled to the brim of rude disrespectful boys who I knew groped girls without their consent. Ares always hated them and would have gladly beat them up for me if I gave him the chance. What had changed? Did she change him?

My eyes wandered over to Maria, a smile on her face as she watched Ares eat his lunch and talk to his friends. She had no food in front of her. I saw her stand up and her crop top showed off her perfectly flat stomach and her exceedingly slim waist. A couple of the guys whistled in admiration but stopped as soon as Ares began glaring at them. He used to do that for me. not her.

Suddenly, I felt unwell and the nauseating feeling in my stomach increased as I rushed to the girls' bathroom and locked myself in a cubicle. I texted Talia that I was okay and that I was only feeling a little sick all the while assuring her that I didn't need her assistance. I hadn't eaten so why did I feel so sick? After almost puking, I made my way to the school nurse and managed to persuade her to send me home. The best thing about being rich and having a well known familial status in town meant that I knew that everyone could be bought, the school nurse was no exception to this rule. And so, with my pass, I walked out of school, drove home, and went to bed.

I woke up the next morning, well, early afternoon, and reluctantly drove to Talia’s house. Despite the abundance of sleep I had been getting, I was always tired. When I walked inside her house, her family was eating brunch together like that was a normal everyday thing and maybe for them, it was. My dysfunctional family was unable to relate. I hadn't even seen my parents for way over a month. Sometimes, I forgot that it wasn't normal to have parents that were never around, that were never for birthdays, that were never there to see you off to dances or dates. Tal's family made me join them and like always, I had felt more at home at Talia’s place than my own.

Their family always called me over for Christmas and New Years when my parents were 'stuck' in New York because of 'business'. I wasn't stupid, I knew it was because they'd rather spend time together than see me. They didn't want me and I had known that from the day I turned three. As soon as I began growing up, their love dispersed and they began working to avoid being around me. When teachers desired to speak with my parents, they found it odd when Talia's parents showed up. But what could I do, they didn't want me. Even Ares didn't want me.

Around five pm we began getting ready for the party, doing everything from a face mask to a professional massage. Whilst we were busying ourselves with different facial treatments, downstairs was a different story. Workers began piling in and decorating the place rapidly in order to be ready by nine pm whilst Talia’s parents left for the night. I never got over the fact of how much they trusted her. Despite my parents' absence, they'd never allow a party to be thrown, my butler would inform them of my misbehaviour and he'd always blame it on Ares and say that he’s a terrible influence as if I couldn't possibly do anything remotely bad or tarnishing to my angel reputation. People seemed to forget that Satan was an angel.

The music was too loud for my liking but I ignored it and tried to focus on getting to the kitchen without bumping into anyone grinding whilst they danced, feeling happy at the fact that Ares was unable to be here without an invitation that Talia didn't give him. The drinks were all lined up in a row and I scrutinised each of them to see which had the least alcohol content, I wasn't looking to forget or do anything reckless. That wasn't my idea of fun, that was Ares'.

Finally, in the kitchen, I made myself a cocktail and, as I tried to scoop some ice, it seemed another person had the same idea. A large warm hand covered my own and out of habit, I apologised and looked up to see a tall yet incredibly handsome boy. He had brown skin that shone when the kitchen light hit and beautiful almond eyes and almost every time he blinked, his lashes would touch the skin underneath. I always thought it a bit unfair, that males have longer eyelashes than females when we’re the ones who actively try to lengthen them.

I knew him, his name was Romeo Sinclair and he was on the basketball team. He was one of the few team members that were respectful to everyone and not conceited. He had a reputation as a nice boy even though his tall stance was enough to scare people away. He apologised and scooped some of the ice out for me and we began to talk about how parties were neither of our scenes. Romeo Sinclair made the party a little more bearable, to say the least. After over six hours of talking, dancing, and even drinking a little, we went outside for some fresh air. It was nearing 5 am and the sun was about to rise.

Talia's back garden was massive, it had a large pool, a basketball court, and a secret garden through the greenery. It wasn't hard to miss if you just looked and I always looked. Grabbing Romeo's hand, I led him through the leaf-filled fence and sat down on the rough grass and faced the direction of the sunrise. The low hum of the music playing could still be heard. The unpredictable spring weather meant that it had begun to rain and my semi-drunk self stood up and danced. Soon Romeo joined along and somehow our laughter over our horrid dance moves managed to overpower the screaming cries of the raving rain as we danced to the beat of the droplets.

We were nothing and everything at the same time and only we could manage that.