Arden Finch

Arden escaped the movie night as subtly as she could, trying to duck out with minimal fuss or attention, especially from Kamala, who might feel as if it were her duty to come check in on Arden which was the last thing she wanted right now. Terrible already feeling like an idiot, like a child, but dragging her best friend away from her date on top of all that?

No. Illegal.

But hopefully her escape had been chill enough to avoid notice, just ambling out holding her plastic cup, deliberately not looking at anybody in case her eyes were gold not amber. And then once she'd left the activity room, she'd all but flown upstairs. Her bedroom wasn't high enough, so the roof, yes. She had to get up to the roof.

And just breathe. Try to calm herself. Center herself. Work on her breathing. Inhale air. Exhale feeling stupid and childish and ignorant. Inhale calm. Exhale hurt feelings and disappointments and petty jealousies. Inhale peace. Exhale all the messy, fucked up, ugly bits of Arden and maybe when she had, the pieces that were left would finally arrange themselves into a shape that was...better. More fitting. Less a problem.

Worth keeping.

She glanced up at the sky, the blue of night above her, the horizon still streaked with pink. "I'm not stupid, I'm not," she muttered to herself. "Support your thesis," she retorted back.

Unfortunately, she didn't have a single argument to make.