I'm so sorry the formatting is not working so the song lyrics are on the side instead of being centered.

—

"Said 'I'm fine' but it wasn't true..."

Aru watched him across the room.

It had been 30 whole minutes. And all he said to her was "Happy birthday." And that was the standard! If he really was her boyfriend, she would've dumped him.

She pretended not to care. Aiden was one person. She was in a room full of people that she loved. Besides, there was no being sad on her birthday.

But it kept bugging her, like a mosquito bite that she couldn't stop itching. She barely noticed that Poppy still hadn't arrived. At this rate, she would miss the cake.

Eventually, Aru got tired of watching him awkwardly. She stalked up to him, smiling. "Hi." She said. He looked up from his phone, which he was frowning at. Aru couldn't see the screen.

"Oh... hi." He put his phone in his pockets and shoved his hands inside them. Neither of them spoke for a few seconds.

"Are you enjoying the party?" God, she sounded so formal. Like one of those ladies in movies that had fancy parties in their mansions and British accents. Or a mom.

"Uh, yeah. It's good. Sorry that I couldn't come to decorate...something came up."

"You should probably apologize to Brynne for that. But I'm sure it's fine. What happened? Are you okay?"

He looked like somebody had exposed his biggest secret. "Yeah. It's fine."

A thought dawned on Aru. "Oh, is this because of last night? With your parents? I'm sorry if I made you feel like you had to share it with me. It's your life and your drama. I shouldn't have gotten involved. I'll forget it ever happened."

"No! That's not it. It's...uh, someone's at the door."

He was right. Someone had rung the doorbell. Brynnne rushed to answer it, and Aru saw her features tighten as she opened the door wider to reveal Poppy.

"Happy birthday Aru!" she exclaimed, running up to her and flinging her arms around her. Huh. Maybe she really hadn't noticed it was Aru a few nights ago. Or maybe it was because of her T-shirt.

"Thanks, Poppy." Behind her, Aiden almost looked relieved that he didn't have to talk to her anymore.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. Burton and Arielle were helping me with this...thing."

Did Aiden's expression change when she said 'Burton and Arielle?' Or were her eyes playing tricks on her?

"Anyways, I have your gift!" Poppy pulled out a small gift box from her white purse.

"The gifts are over there. I'm opening them later."

"Cool. I have another surprise for you later as well."

She was smiling when she said it, but it didn't match the look in her eye.

"I don't want to keep secrets just to keep you!"

—

Yes. We're back. I'm sorry for the short-noticed hiatus. A lot happened. Mental health ranked. Missed school for a few days. It was so over. But we're so fucking back. (I hope you guys have heard of that joke).

And thank you to those who showed your concern for me! I really appreciate that so many of you guys care about me. I'm good now, I promise.

I also have some ideas brewing for one shots...keep a look out for (h)ints on this p(l)atform.

And to those of you who saw me have a breakdown over Wilmon last Tuesday: no you didn't <3