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Requested by : AlienChild03

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Valentine's Day, the day of love and loved ones, as sweet as it sounds, its always been a wild fantasy for Aera and pretty much every person to have their partner with them, admiring the glittery blanket of the milky way, spreading over land and water, reflecting the stars in the eyes watching them.

Beautiful, being the only thing she wants to say, holding her boyfriend's hand, lacing their fingers together, palm nearly sweating due to the accessive warmth, but not letting go as being cold alone is far away from what she wants.

Eyes flutter back to reality, hands feeling cold and an abrupt echo of laughter surrounds her head, the Milly way and stars suddenly become disco lights and all the calmness vanishes. She forces a smile, glancing straight forward where her classmates were having a another round of their silly game that never managed to lure Aera enough despite the curiosity and almost-giving-in kind of convincing capacity of her friends. She knew this wasn't supposed to be a part of her. Seven minutes of heaven. No way!

There's nothing much one can actually do in those deadly seven minutes, can they? She rolls her eyes, recalling her very own boyfriend, the first one to be specific, going inside that room with a girl who wasn't Aera and came out with a smirk, eyes focusing on her as if he was proud of what he did. She didn't say anything though, at least in front of people. But boy will they argue later alone.

All the stars and milky way and glitters suddenly starts disappearing as she looks at the person next to her, again with a familiar smug expression as he eyes her down, casually letting his arm glide over her waist and leaning next to her.

"Let's go, shall we?" He heaves out, straightening himself with his free arm while Aera shifts aside from his embrace, her eyes roaming around for a moment.

"You can go, I'll leave with Jake." She replies, pulling out her phone and dialling her friend's number instantly.

"Why always him?" The guy hisses, "You should be with me instead of going around with random dudes. You call them your best friends, I don't understand what type of best friends touch each other like that."

She glares at him, hand swiftly raising in the air to slap the shit out of him, however he catches her wrist, eyes boring into hers as he takes a forward, "You think you can do this huh?"

He holds her hands behind her back, twisting with a visibly painful force, making the girl wince as she tried to get herself free from her supposedly boyfriend. Despite dreaming and always seeing lovely couples, this is what she got. Her eyes filled with tears, turning her head to the side as he slams her against the wall on a much quieter side of the pub, pressing their bodies together.

"Ah leave me..." Aera whimpers, pulling her head back, creating as much distance as possible.

"You've been really getting out hand lately, I saw every fucking thing you're doing here." He growls, "First Jake and Clay, then me and even that other guy tonight, you have a good body, so you think you can just go and grab all the men for your slutty ass huh?"

Aera glares at him through glistening eyes, "...fuck you Dave, I hate falling for you... I hate every single m-moment with you, I hate you."

He chuckles deeply, moving his face closer to the girl, earning a louder cry, her wiggling motions intensified with every centimeter decreasing between them. Pearly tears stream down Aera's cheeks, feeling his mouth against her, forcefully. Hands traveling all over her body as if he owns it more than the girl herself.

He pulls away after a while, pressing his hand on her mouth harshly and continues leaving dirty kisses along her jaw and down to her neck.

Eyes shut tight, hands fisting behind her back within her boyfriend's grip, feeling tired and exhausted, she stops moving. Dave pulls away just as soon, giving off a sly smirk as he knew he successfully made her realize who she belongs to.

"Go now," He says, tapping her hip, "and don't think of being oversmart with me."

Aera stares down at her feet, feeling her limbs trembling with an oddly familiar sensation running up her spine, giving goosebumps to every little part of her body. Her hand gradually moves up, wiping the tears off of her cheeks and looks around, holding her phone tightly in her hands.

"J-Jake?" She calls almost like a whisper through a blurry vision.

"Sorry, did you say something?" A guy says, making her flinch as she shakes her head instantly, cursing at herself for thinking he was Jake.

She looks down, feeling her phone vibrating in her hand and answering quickly, "Jake... where are you?" She asks almost instantly, "come here please..."

"Yeah, I'm coming, where are you?" He says, "Are you okay?"

"No, just come here please..." She says, chewing on her lower lip harshly as she tried hard not to break down in front of all these people surrounding her.

After what felt like an eternity into five minutes, the girl finally lets out a breath, stepping forward and hugging Jake as soon as she saw him. The boy smiled a little, glancing down at her and patted her back.

"Missed me that much?" He grins, "Where's Dave though? I thought he's with you."

"Let's go back," Aera says, tugging on his sleeve. Jake nods hesitantly and glances at her, cupping her face on noticing the tear stains on her milky cheeks and eyes looking scared and hurt.

"Aera, what happened? You don't look okay."

She shakes her head and mouths, 'lets go', earning a nod from the boy as he wraps his arm around her and walks out of the Pub. She looks back once, just to see Dave having a good shot with another girl, a different one this time, making out insanely. Aera shakes her head, feeling a knot tying in her stomach and twisting in a weird fashion.

Thanks to her good reflexes she didn't throw up on Jake, instead bent down near a trash can at the side of the street close into a dark alley. Tears roll down her cheek, hurting both physically and mentally, while leaving Jake confused as just stood there, rubbing her back and holding her hair up.

"Clay!" He calls the other friend who was having his own Netflix party in the car, "Bro can you get a bottle of water?"

"What?" Clay responds, rolling the window down and sticking his head out.

"Water! Get a bottle of water, Aera's not okay."

"Oh okay! Just a minute!"

Jakes focuses back on Aera, seeing her almost loosing balance, he stares at her with soft eyes, leaning forward as he wraps his arm around her and carries to a bench nearby. Clay jogs up to them, sitting beside the girl and frowning at her disheaveled state.

He says nothing at first, just hands her the water bottle and helps her take a sip, "Rinse your mouth first, it must be feeling gross."

Aera nods slowly, doing as he said and shifts on her seat, heaving out a sigh from her from her mouth. Jake holds her hand, seeing how much she is trembling and helps her drink the water.

"How much did you drink?"

Aera shakes her head subtly before speaking in a breathy voice, "I didn't..."

"Aera," Clay shifts, facing her as he cups her face and stares into her eyes, "Please don't lie, it was Dave wasn't it?"

Aera looks at him for a moment before nodding her head as tears pooled her eyes again, "It was him... It was always him, he- he says I'm a- a slut, I have a good body and so I have so many... so many guys for me, but I... you know me right? I don't know why he keeps saying all that even when I loved him so much an-"

"Shh," Clay whispers, hugging her tightly while his eyes wander towards Jake who had tears in his eyes as well seeing Aera crying and looking so vulnerable, cursing at himself for leaving her alone with that bastard.

Her hands clutched tightly on the fabric of his shirt, body trembling and eyes pouring out rivers of acid like tears. "Take her in the car," Jake says, "I'll come in a few."

Clay nods hesitantly, well aware of what Jake might be planning now. The boy threw the crumbled plastic bottle, fuming in anger as he storms back inside the pub.

"Let's get inside the car, it's getting cold here." Clay voices, patting Aera's back as she remained still in his arms, eyes closed and breathing in a calm manner. He glances at her face slowly, realizing she probably fell asleep.

He stands up, carrying her towards the car. His eyes frequently landed on her face, looking beautiful as always. A millions of memories flashed before his eyes, just staring at Aera sleeping peacefully, from the day they met and how they grew so close that even now when one of them is breaking, the other is there to hold.

Among all the sweet, dreamy moments, there exists the ones that make his heart ache every time he remembers them. One being the day he came to know about their school's 'cool' senior's eyes on Aera. His games, his moves and his tiny gestures and made the girl fall for him. Even before Jake and Clay knew what had happened, it was all too late. Dave had already asked her out and Aera had begged them to say yes because she believes their approval is important.

To this day, even after nearly six months, he regrets agreeing to her. Maybe they could've avoided all the tears Aera cried, all the times she blamed herself for not being good enough, every time Dave touched her against her wishes and every time she screamed No, but no one came to help. Maybe they could've avoided all this if they hadn't agreed for her little quote-unquote trial date that day.

Clay breathes in deeply, blinking a few times hoping to get rid of the tears that came along the guilt that he could've saved his best friend from such misery.

Aera moves a little turning her head to the side and a groan leaves her lips. The boys rubs his eyes, holding Aera's hand and adjusted her position, taking Jake's spare jacket from the front seat and putting it over Aera, just in case she felt cold.

His hands, however, stop mid way, seeing a strange mark on her neck that wasn't there before. He squints his eyes, leaning forward a bit and turns her head to the other side, gently touching the bruise as anger builds up inside him, wishing Jake never leaves Dave alive.

He pulls himself back, turning to look the front door opening as Jake hops in the driver's seat, spitting out some blood on the ground and wiping the side of his mouth, "He'll remember to never touch her again." He hisses.

Clay nods and glances at Aera, "There's a hickey on her neck..."

"A what?" Jake turns around, gawking at his friend.

"A hickey, yeah," Clay says, "She must've tried telling him off again and he must've gotten mad."

Jake sighs deeply in frustration, raking a hand through his hair, "I told her this needs to end."

"I know Jake, but it's not her fault too. Dave got her pretty bad. It's not easy to cut off a person from your life, especially when you love that person. You didn't even love Riah, but still had a hard time moving on right? Aera loved him from the start, it's too hard for her."

"I understand that, but just look at her, he always treats her like trash, he comes close whenever he feels like it and goes away whenever he wants. He touches her, yells at her, hits her and calls her filthy names... I can't see her hurting like this Clay, it's been more than enough now."

Clay nods gradually, eyes moving to his side as Aera shited a little, opening her eyes slowly. She sits up, holding her head and blinks a few times, clearing her vision and spots her friends in the car.

"Is it time get off?" She asks.

Jake sighs and shakes his head, turning to the front and igniting the engine, "Uh do you wanna come with us? I don't think it'll be a good idea to go home like this."

"Yeah," Aera nods, "Thanks, I'm dying."

"Obviously," Clay says, leaning back on his place, pulling Aera's hand gently making her rest next to him as well. "Wanna talk?"

"What's there to talk?" She says, chuckling dryly, "You know it's all the same. Just that, this time I'm tired, I feel so exhausted of all the shit Clay. I should've listened to you and Jake since the beginning... maybe it wouldn't be this bad if I listened to you."

"It's okay," He whispers, hugging her from the side while Jake smiles softly through the mirror.

"You were right," She says, "This needs to end. I was too dumb and stupid that I fell for Dave and let him use me for so long, but not now. I don't have the energy to experience more of it..."

"I'm so proud of you. You have no idea how much you saying this means to us. I hope you always stay happy and keep smiling."

Aera smiles softly and leans in, kissing Clay's cheek for such cheesy yet sweet words, "You're really getting better at this." She says.

"Of course, I have to." He shakes head, "Anyways, what will you tell Jungkook hyung? He'd be super mad if you don't go home."

Aera nods her head, knowing he is right. Jungkook will be mad and worried too, but going home like this, isn't an option. Her eyes widen as realization hit her head like a brick, instantly sitting straight and leaning forward to adjust the mirror in herself, removing her hair from one side and taking a look at her neck. She groans loudly, hitting the seat with her hand, finding a hickey on the side of her neck.

"Aera, don't worry, it'll go away, I've heard ice works really good." Jake says.

The girl looks at him and says, "How am I gonna go home?"

Although being full aware that Jake is right and the hickey will probably fade away in a few days, but what about the mental trauma she's dealing with every moment? What about the emotional scars that resides inside her head, feeling fresh every freaking time? What about the forced believing that she's not herself but someone else's doll every time she looks in the mirror?

"Uh make up?"

"Y'know what? Just tell hyung..." Clay says.

Aera glances at him, slowly shaking her head, "What am I gonna tell him? That his sister who he thinks is a strong person ended up giving herself away to a random dude? Or do I tell him how the past few months have been hell and I nearly gave up?" She asks, "No, he... he loves me so much that it'll start hurting him. Every time I cry, he cries too, even he doesn't show it, I know he does. When I'm hurt, he's hurt too... I can't tell him all this just to hurt him and make him worried or anything."

"I don't know Aera, I just... Look, I want you to be happy and I can see you're not happy right now, with Dave. Think about it and then take any decision."

Aera sighs deeply, nodding subtly as she adjusted Jake's jacket around her shoulders, "I need to go home early, before Jungkook wakes up."

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A/N- Welcome back again 😌 Did you notice I've written this in present tense? I wanted to experiment different styles actually.

Which country are you from?
I'm from India, many people have asked me and some already know that I'm from India. So where are you from? 😄😄😄

Vote if you like the chapter, comment and share with your friends. Let's get it!

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Word count: 2.7K