I've never been a 'cool girl.'

I've never gone to parties,

never made routine plans to go out with friends.

I sit in my room,

read my books,

and escape the reality that makes me feel

crumpled,

tired,

hated.

I've never been a mean girl.

I've never told you that you overcompensate

with a laugh bubbling out of my lips,

proud of myself for the comeback.

I don't wear tight clothing,

knowing that there...

I sat beneath the window of the treehouse that the three of us have called our second home for two decades now. Ethan, Marie, and I had a rough childhood, and now that our parents are living without their three children, they have decided to move out. Between the pair of them, they have decided to tear down the treehouse as the first step of packing up the house.

I mostly snuck out to reminisce, ...

It starts like this:

You meet a guy,

and he makes you feel oh so high on life.

He takes you on a date,

and you think, "Maybe it's fate that the two of us are here right now."

He gives you a kiss,

and you feel positively alive,

buzzing with all the excitement.

Once you're together, he pulls away,

just enough to keep you on his little string,

giving you just enough to question things

but also enoug...

Socker:

Sockers are sock shaped creatures that only appear when there is a child in need. They function as imaginary friends, of sorts, and can be summoned whenever the child feels lonely or scared. Sockers typically stay loyal to their friends—they don't refer to them as customers or clients—though, when the child reaches an age where they don't need the Socker anymore, they move on to the next ...

she sat on the top step of her front porch

looking up at the night sky.

you couldn't see much here in the city

but she always wanted to try.

the moon called to her

and the stars twinkled her name.

as she sat there

with her ex-husband's wool sweater wrapped around her shoulders,

with a mug of tea in her hands,

she tried to remember what he was like.

how his voice sounded when he was exhausted,

how...

she sat on the plush green grass

watching the clouds as they moved across the sky

red and orange

orange and yellow

yellow and pink

all the colours bringing a burst of colour to the blue sky

a boy sat down beside her

his hand resting just a few centimeters away from hers

his eyes looking at her

as she watched the beautiful skies

he watched her

he watched as her eyes widened in awe of the clouds d...

it always starts here,

the promise to stay for life,

but they never do.

would you be just like them, babe?

would you risk it all for me?...

I knew that I shouldn't be snooping through his stuff. It was HIS after all. I couldn't help myself, though. He wasn't home and my insecurities got the best of me. I opened his bag to find a variety of things that I wouldn't have actually expected to find. There was a book (though I couldn't tell what the title was, since it was so old the cover had mostly rubbed off), a pack of gum, a phone charg...

"Next!"

Breathe. You've got this. You can do this. Just don't look too closely at their faces when you're performing. You can get this part.

I keep repeating the same sweet nothings to myself, while I make my way to the audition room, but I know myself. I know that I'm going to fuck this up, just like I always do.

I get to the small stage that has been placed in the front of the room, take a de...

"I was gone for five minutes! What happened here?"

Vivian breathed out a satisfied sigh. "You're so pretty." She reached out her hand to touch his face. She wanted to rub her fingers over his cheek, it looked so smooth.

Christian took an instinctive step back, giving himself some space from her. "You're drunk."

"Mhm, maybe, but I'll be sober tomorrow and you'll still be pretty."

Christian prac...