BRITNEY ASTON “No!” Heads immediately turned in my direction, confusion spread all over their faces. I couldn’t blame them though, it was only natural my mum and step dad reacted that way at my response to a simple question- if I’d like Travis to drive me to school, again. “No, I mean, no it’s okay,” I rephrased, trying to make the situation less awkward than it already was. “He doesn’t have to. I can manage myself. Thank you.” From the corner of my eye, I could catch him smirking in amusement. Of course it was easy for him to just stand back and be amused at my misery. “Are you sure honey?” My mum asked like I wasn’t clear enough. “You’re both headed to the same place anyways and I don’t think Travis has a problem with dropping you off.” She was right. We were both headed to the same place and though he indeed probably had no problem with dropping me off, I wasn’t willing to sit in his car again.I was more than willing to walk all the way to school if I needed to as long as i

BRITNEY ASTON Nothing was going on between Travis and I. Nothing could go on between Travis and I. Nothing was allowed to go between Travis and I. Other than the new sibling relationship between us, of course. And Lucas’ question did a good job at slamming that reality right onto my face. “Do you guys not get along well?” Lucas continued with his questions before I could reply. “Is that it? Does he not respect? I don’t know, does he bully you or acts strange with you?” “What? Oh. Oh, no, he doesn’t,” I shook my head, trying to stay as calm as possible, reminding myself I was once again just over thinking things. “It’s- it’s nothing like that.” “It’s not because of me, is it?” “You?” I almost hiccuped, still finding it hard to get a good grasp of the situation of things. “No. You- why would it be because of you?” “I don’t know,” he shrugged then looked away for the first time in a while. “I just felt- I just wanted to make sure.” In response, I simply shook my head and looked

BRITNEY ASTON. I felt proud of myself. Or rather, knew I had to be proud of myself. So whether I felt it at that moment or not, I was going to gaslight myself into feeling extremely proud of myself until it became a reality. After all, I’d successfully drawn the line between Travis and I, ensuring our relationship was nothing but plain and basic. Taking the now familiar route, I made my way to school and was able to get there in less than thirty minutes. On walking through the college gates, I headed straight towards my faculty, fresh thoughts making its way to my mind. I didn’t have classes until 2pm yet I was several hours early. But it wasn’t a mere coincidence. It was planned as I had a reason for wanting to get to school earlier than usual. I needed to socialize. Though it was just my first week at college, it had already been more than eventful and I couldn’t help but miss my best friend, Jane’s presence. Lucas seemed nice enough but the fact that he was a senior and had s

BRITNEY ASTON My dad and I had always shared a rather peculiar relationship. From what I could remember, he and my mum had gotten their divorce years ago. I was twelve when it happened and the memory was still vivid in my mind- how they had endless fights for weeks and how my mum was always a wreck after every fight. How my dad resorted to drinking after every fight before eventually leaving the house, leaving me to a barely attentive mum. How it went on for months before they both realized a divorce was what they both needed. Being thirteen, I wasn’t sure on what exactly I was expecting from their divorce but i definitely wasn’t expecting to feel so alone after it happened. As life would have it, my dad moved out and my mum, became even worse than she already was. She was sad, always drunk and when she eventually got over it, became a completely different person. I got used to it rather quickly though. Got used to being myself while my mum roamed the country and eventually, the wo

TRAVIS LEWIS Something was definitely up with Britney. Not like I was paying much attention to her anyways but she made it hard for me not to. Especially when she was seated on the couch in the living room, looking so glum and completely unlike herself. I’d spotted her the second I walked through the front door and much to my surprise, all I met was her furrowed brows and distant gaze. She seemed lost in thoughts but regardless, I was confident my presence would pull her out of whatever trance she was stuck in. But I was wrong. I stood right in front of her yet she felt so distant. It was as if she had built a wall around herself. Like I didn't even exist to her despite my attempts at getting her attention. She seemed totally lost in thoughts. Thoughts definitely not featuring me. A huff escaped my lips as I folded my arms, my gaze fixed on the slammed door to my room. Slamming the door was intentional- another attempt to get her attention and pull her out of her own little world