The smell of hatred, change and regret. The feeling in one's chest that needs to be released for a bright, clear sky. If only it were that easy. Things come and go and leave markings along the way. The grip around the front bed railing was tightening as cold hands fastened upon it. Tonight was a beach party. Not just any beach party, a party that would define life or death.

"Cassie! Don't tell me you're drifting off again," a huff was abrupted towards the daydreaming girl, "we still need to pick your outfit for tonight." Cassie blinked abruptly, glaring around the room quickly before giving a slight nod.

"Right... sorry, Mika. any ideas?" The white painted walls with photographs of family, friends and animals were hung above a vanilla-colored makeup vanity. A small black chair was pushed in that had a rose imprinted on the back with a red cushion. Everything seemed to make this special girl look like a goddess. Cassie’s gaze went from the open-doored closet back to the perfectly curved hourglass figure in front of her. 

"I was thinking a red knee dress with a felt jacket.... Maybe we could put your hair up too?" Mika’s soft fingers swiftly grazed against Cassie’s soft cheek as she put a strand of brunette hair behind her ear. Blinking, Cassie sighed to see the melting blonde-haired girls bright white smile and baby blue eyes she yearned for. Mika clasped the loose hand and dragged her to the closet, giving Cassie a sudden heart skip. Mika pressed the top and bottom upon Cassie’s body, judging the looks and size. Cassie opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by Mika removing the pressured dress and showing her back to Cassie. In a swift motion she took it off the hook and laid it on top of the back of the chair.

“I’m not too sure about this dress.. I’m sure it would look better on you.” Cassie stated, watching Mika brush down the dress and grinning.

“We have the same size, weirdo.” With an eye roll, Mika handed the dress to Cassie, “put this on. I promise you will look great in it.” As if. But Cassie wasn’t going to complain. 

​

The party didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary. The smell of burnt wood and ash sparks surrounded Cassie’s nostrils. Mika glared at Cassie and grinned, clasping her arm around her best friend and walking towards the entrance. A pink sign with the words “LEAVE SHOES HERE!” was presented at the entrance. The two girls scanned the sign before proceeding to remove their shoes and leaving them with the others, untwining their arms in the process. The prompt feeling of fresh air made Cassie shiver. Upon arriving at the description of the loud ruckus, the two began to split even further apart.

Cassie’s ears perked up as she heard her name being called in the distance. She adjusted her body to face the current, where Mika stood, waving her arm viciously, almost reeling her in. Cassie sighed and excused herself from her current discussion with acquaintances, making her way down the soft sand that pulled her feet in with each step.

“WAIT! Don’t go any further. I want to show you something,” Cassie suddenly halted as the endearing familiar voice was raised. Mika grinned as she wrapped her fingers around a birch stick, which made Cassie question where Mika found such a thing. Cassie put her hands behind her back and raised an eyebrow in confusion as Mika set down the stick into the sand. All four eyes were planted to the wet textured sand, which had recently been covered with the vicious current. Within a swift motion, a large heart was drawn in the direction towards Cassie. 

“Whaddya think? Pretty good huh?” Perfectly aligned teeth shined at Cassie as one head was raised to look towards the girl in front of her. But Cassie couldn’t get her eyes off of the design presented in front of her.

“Is this for me?” Cassie bit her bottom lip, slowly raising her head to lock eyes with ones that shined with the entire solar system in it’s color. 

“Of course, dummy. Who else would it be for?” Mika pointed the stick towards Cassie and chuckled slightly to herself. The brunette girl could feel herself tense up as her nose began to turn the color of her dress. Chaos started to arise behind them as their friends set flame to their favorite forms of senko hanabi’s. Mika’s eyes trailed to the group cheering and smiling greatly, and abruptly turned her gaze back to Cassie, who faced their back to them. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the beautiful girl in front of her. Her smile. Her eyes. Her laugh.

“Why for me?” Mika blinked to process the increase of projection directed towards her. Cassie was visibly embarrassed, her hands now around her abdomen as she twittled her thumbs. She was looking around awkwardly in yearn for a response. From the riot behind to the tiki torches that lit up the area, tension was upheld. The fairy lights thrown around the area seemed to light up both the heart and Mika’s dress just in the right way. The vanilla and red mixed colors went perfectly and would make any normal person go mad. Mika chuckled slightly, taking obvious notice of Cassie’s awkwardness. Which Mika just so happens to find Cassie’s most attractive feature. Mika lowered her eyebrows into a sympathetic glance and pointed the stick into the center of the heart. 

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” An exhale escaped from Mika’s lips as she fidgeted with the tip of the stick. Her right pointer finger moved the stick in circles, but her eyes were never taken off that special someone.

“Because I love you, Cassie.”