Submitted to: Contest #104

Till Forever Falls Apart...

Written in response to: "Write about an introvert and an extrovert who are best friends."

Friendship

‘‘Woohoo! That party was amazing!’’ Angela said as they walked out of the house after the party that never seemed to end.



‘Oh yeah, it was fun!’ Hayley said trying to put on a fake smile.



‘I’m going to head home now, see you tomorrow in class!’ Angela said walking in the opposite direction.


Hayley strolled around the streets… feeling empty. She was the sunshine, the mood maker, the one who always lit up everyone’s day. Little did they know, that it was an act she played all too well. She didn’t like hiding her emotions, she didn’t like being someone she was not, but she had no other choice. She would just disappoint everyone, if she showed then who she truly was. A lonely depressed extroverted introvert, that was her.


After wandering aimlessly for around half an hour, she finally headed home. After she reached home, she put on some comfy pj’s and put her headphones on to listen to some music.

She put on ‘Falling’ by Harry Styles, one of her favorite songs, and started to make a snack whilst singing to the melancholy song.


What am I now? What am I now?

What if I’m someone you don’t want around?

I’m falling again, I’m falling again, I’m falling

What if I’m down?

What if I’m out?

What if I’m someone you won’t talk about?


I’m falling again, I’m falling again, I’m falling…


Those lyrics hit a place in her heart, it reminded her of her deepest fear of being abandoned for who she was inside…. she was truly terrified of what happens if someone realizes that she wasn’t how she appeared to be.


But you know what they say….

Fake it, till you make it.



‘AYDEN KINGSLEY MEKUS! GET YOUR ASS UP THIS INSTANT! YOU’RE LATE FOR YOUR FIRST DAY!’ His brother, Ray yelled at him, whilst hitting him with a pillow.



‘5 more minutes’ he groggily replied going back to sleep.



‘You get up right now, or…I’ll burn all your Harry styles merch.” He threatened and he immediately sat up straight.


‘Okay! Okay! I’m up! Don’t you dare touch my precious Harry.’ Ayden said narrowing his eyes at his brother.


‘Instead of narrowing your eyes at me..would you get up already?’ Ray rolled his eyes at his brother, and walked out of the room.


Ayden then proceeded to start getting ready for the day.



‘Here.’ Ray handed him a brown paper bag, that smelled delicious.



‘Damn, my mouth’s already watering, no wonder you’re a chef.’ Ayden expression showed he was impressed with his brother’s cooking.



‘Okay, Okay… enough of flattering me and get going to school’ said Ray patting his little brother’s head.



“Oh! And have fun!’ Ray said showing him a thumbs up as he walked out the door. 


Ayden just scoffed at the remark,

School and fun were two words you can’t put together in the same sentence. 


Ayden paced through the streets, his black hoodie covering majority of his face. He took out his earphones and placed them in his ears. 


‘To be so lonely’ by Harry Styles played through them, and he just hummed with the song, tuning out the world around him. 


Don't call me baby again

You got your reasons

I know that you're tryna be friends

I know you mean it

Don't call me baby again

It's hard for me to go home

Be so lonely


This song was the story of his life. He was always shutting people out, saying things he never meant, doing anything to keep them away, doing things to stop forming anything meaningful with others. 


He this became his only way as a survival mechanism. He learned the lesser people he cared about, the easier it will be for him when they leave him.


That’s why, in his old school no one ever talked to him. He just pushed them away every time they got to close to him.


But to his brother and teachers, it looked like he was lonely and had no friend or anyone at all. but they never realized that he wasn’t lonely, he was just alone.


Ayden entered the gigantic school, his eyes wide at the school’s interior. He somehow found his way to the principal’s office, and he knocked on the door. 


‘Come in’ he heard a high-pitched voice say 

'You must be the new student, Ayden Mekus.’ The lady said with a smile. 


“I’m the principal, Mrs.Blackwood. This is Mr.Smith, your home room teacher, he will be showing you around.” Mrs.Blackwood pointed to a middle-aged man who was bald. 


He showed Ayden around the school, and he wasn’t paying attention, his mind wandering to how shiny Mr.Smith’s head was in the light.


‘-This is the locker you will be sharing with another student. As your locker has to be rebuild due to an accident’ Mr.Smith voice brought him back from his thoughts. 


He nodded to the teacher, and grabbed the spare key for the locker from him. 


The locker was messy, filled with the most random objects, like who needs a pair of tongs, a vase and a model toy car to school. He was pretty sure he saw a small hamster in a cage.


Somehow he managed to fit his things in the locker without disrupting the other things. He checked his timetable and saw the first period was math. He groaned internally.


Two Periods of Math was exactly what he needed in the morning. 


Ayden walked into his class, as people behind followed him into class. He sat at the last bench with his head still covered by his hoodie.


Once everyone had arrived in class, Mr Mazzara the Math teacher started to look through his journal.


‘Students we have a new student today, Mr.Mekus would you care to introduce yourself to the class.’ Mr.Mazzara’s loud voice boomed through the now silent class. 


‘I’m Ayden Mekus’, he said plainly.

‘Okay…..all of us look forward to working with you Mr.Mekus, now let’s get this class started’, he said as he started writing on the board and started lecturing on today’s topic. 


Ayden was least bothered what was happening in class he started playing with his hoodie’s strings, and after getting bored he laid his head on the table slowly drifiting into a dreamless sleep.


Hayley's POV:


‘He has deep sea green eyes, a brunette, his hair was slightly wavy and tousled’ Angela gushed about the new kid in our and how cute he looked. 


He was sitting a few benches behind me. I turned around to look at him and he was wearing a black sweater and the hoodie covering his head still making a part of his hair visible.


I turned back around to face my teacher.

‘So since we’ve completed that topic I’m going to put you all in pairs and each pair has to make a summary and a mind map on the chapter and you will present it in class tomorrow’ said Mr Mazzara


Everyone groaned at the thought of getting homework on the first day of school.


‘Ms. Hayley, you’re with the new kid, Ayden Mekus.’ Mr. Mazzara said looking at his list of students and writing something down. 


I was shook, how could Mr. Mazzara just pair me up with someone who I had zero interaction with. 


‘Yes sir’ I mumbled slowly despite feeling my anxiety kicking in. 


The bell rang loudly, everyone left the class leaving me and the new kid, who was sleeping on his desk, alone together. I approached him, and knocked on the wood of the table, making him startled. He wakes up and looks up at me slowly rubbing his eyes.


‘Who are you?’ He asked purely confused.

‘Did you not pay attention in class?’ I rolled my eyes annoyed

‘No.’ He deadpanned and I mentally groaned. 


I’m your partner, Hayley. Mr.Mazzarra assigned us together for the project.’

‘Well hello….just so you know I really don’t care about the assignment’ he replied

‘Well I do.’ I huffed sternly. 


‘We have to do it together.. so how do you want to approach it?’ I asked

‘How about you do it and I’ll take credit?’ he replied and I shook my head in pure annoyance

‘Sounds like a plan eh?’ he asked sheepishly

‘N.O' I spelled out.




‘After school we’re going to work together at my house and also be prepared for a sleepover because we have 24 hours to finish this and we’re going to NAIL THIS!’ I said in cheerful tone making him groan.

‘Fine… give me your address’ he said tiredly.


I passed him a note with my address on it.


‘Be there by 4!’ I said while running out of the classroom as I realized I was late for my bus.


(At her house)

Ding dong! 


Hayley's POV:


‘Coming!’ I said, running towards the door.

‘Ahh there you are, just on time!’ I said

He smiled at her

‘We’re gonna sit up in my room and do the project k?’ I asked

‘Okay.’ he replied plainly


Her room was full of Harry Styles’s posters and signed copies of his debut album 'Harry Styles' and his second album 'Fine Line'. Her room also had a few picture of Harry on the walls. She also had his merch which was hung up on rack


As soon as Ayden entered her room, his jaw dropped. He saw all the amazing posters around and couldn’t believe that she was a Harry Styles fan too!


He stopped dead in his tracks when he entered the room and looked around the room in awe. 


‘Hello! To Earth Ayden!’ I waved my hand in front of his face to get his attention.

‘AYDEN MEKUS YOU IDIOT! WHY ARE YOU STARING AT THE ROOM?!’ I yelled loudly. 


Ayden's POV:

‘AYDEN MEKUS YOU IDIOT! WHY ARE YOU STARING AT THE ROOM?!’ Hayley yelled.


I was startled by her words.


‘What?’ I snapped

‘Why are you staring at the room?’ she questioned back.

‘I never knew you were Harry Styles fan’ I replied with a slight hint of shock in my voice

‘Well now you know… are you one?’ she asked a part of her hoping to get a yes.

‘Yes!’ I squealed

‘OH MY GOD! PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS TRUE!’ She screamed excitedly



‘It is true!’ I said

‘OMG! What is your favorite song?’she questioned excitedly

‘Hmm.. Its INSANELY HARD to pick one song! I would say my top favorites are; To be So Lonely, Falling, Lights Up and Golden, what about yours?’ I questioned back

‘Ahhhh! That’s a good pick… my favorites would be; Sign of the Times, Watermelon Sugar, Falling and Lights up ’ she said with a smile. 


....and then it began…they’re oddly cute yet crazy friendship began over one day of screaming Harry styles songs at the top of their lungs, A shared love for Doritos, several cans of sprite and random but interesting gossips. 


And it was the beginning of something that would last a lifetime.

they shared secrets and tears,

they held each other through the pain and hurt,

they were there when the other went through heartbreaks and misfortune,

they gave each other comfort and solace,

they became the reason for the each other’s smiles,

they became the best of friends that not even destiny could rip apart,

and one could only hope it remained that way till forever falls ends.



Posted Jul 28, 2021
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42 likes 25 comments

Philip Baker
09:32 Aug 05, 2021

Very lovely story! I really enjoyed the way you gave on Hayley's thoughts and emotions. As a feedback I would only say to pay more attention to the descriptions in between dialogies. For example in the sentence,

"‘Oh yeah, it was fun!’ Hayley said trying to put on a fake smile."

I would prefer to simply have the dialogue for the most part with who said what and then some overal description coming later. For example I would make it,

‘Oh yeah, it was fun!’ said Hayley. It was obvious her smile was fake because of x,y,z. Or something like that. Just my opionion of course but I loved it anyway. Thank you!

Reply

Arthur Alexander
11:49 Aug 05, 2021

Thank you soo much for the feedback! It really means alot! I will try to correct that next time, and thank you so much for taking out time to read my story... it really means the world to me ❤

Love,
Arthur

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Tanisha Kumar
04:18 Aug 04, 2021

Hey,
Your story is really good! It’s so well written and is quite relatable, kinda reminded me of how me and my best friend bonded over a show :D

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Arthur Alexander
07:08 Aug 04, 2021

Aww... Thank you soo much for your comment! It really means the world to me :) This is also a little bit how me and my best friend bonded 😀. Thank you once again for reading my story! Your an amazing writer! I had read soo many people's stories yesterday that I forgot to comment on some... I'll go write away to yours and comment there :)

Have an amazing day! ❤

Reply

02:22 Aug 04, 2021

What an energetic way of narrating things! Very nice style!

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Arthur Alexander
07:08 Aug 04, 2021

Thank you SO MUCH! ❤

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Pahani Wijeratne
12:42 Aug 03, 2021

Hiii!

Aww, this is such a cute story! The friendship between Hayley and Ayden is really adorable and true. It’s funny how they bonded over being fans of Harry Styles ( which makes the story more relatable!).
My favourite song by Harry Styles is Sign of the Times, what about you?

The story was super funny too, I love their character development and the plot is great too!

I love love your stories because people can actually relate to them! I’m rooting for more 😊 and I hope you have an amazing day :))

-Pahani ^^

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Arthur Alexander
18:02 Aug 03, 2021

Aww... Thank you soo much! The fact you took time to read my story mean alot to me.
I simp wayy too much over Harry Styles like I am OVERLY OBSESSED with guy... he's soo good! He makes A-M-A-Z-I-N-G music, atleast like for me his music is really dope! So if you ask me my favoraite song I'll end up naming all the songs in both his album and naming his unrealeased songs which include:
-Medecine,
-Anna
- Just a Little Bit of Your Heart (This is a song he wrote for Arianna Grande but he does his version of it)
(I highly recommend you listen to these songs :) I'll post the links for them if you want! )
My freinds often have to remind me to stop thinking about the guy cos honestly speaking...I think about the guy wayyy too much! (PS: I have ZERO regrets 😁)

Thank you soo much for reading my stories! It means a lot! I've read a few of yours too, you're amazing!

Also, best of luck on your novel! I'm sure it will it will be AMAZING!

(PS: Sign of the TImes is an AMAZING song, and I wanted to know... what are your kittens names? The one on your proflie pic looked really cute 😍)

Sorry for the long comment but I hope you have a really A-W-E-S-O-M-E day!

Love
Arthur

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Pahani Wijeratne
06:14 Aug 04, 2021

Wow 🤩, this is a really really FANTASTIC comment, I had so much fun reading it! It’s most probably the best comment I’ve ever received, hands down 🥺👏.

Awww, it’s soo adorable that you like Harry Styles so much, I relate to you on so much😂😂 Simping for favourite artists has been a very popular trait of mine😂... I’m thankful to know that someone else does the same 🥺🥺.

Honestly, music is the world to me. I have to have music going on if I’m doing something, that’s the only way I don’t get bored doing it 😅.

Awww, it’s just so nice of you to write down recommendations of his songs, I’ve never actually heard them! I’ve only listened to the more popular ones, but it’s amazing that he wrote a song for Ariana Grande in his own version. YES, I would love to get the links to them; your genuine appreciation to his songs is starting to rub on off me too, hehe! (P.S, I love Ariana’s songs, they’re so great ahh).

(P.S. I’m glad that you don’t have regrets of being a super fan of Harry, I don’t too! We should all be proud of the idols who we like and listen too! ☺️)

I love that you love my stories, yours are F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!! I laugh so much when I read them, the vibe in them is soo good!

Gosh, thank you for such kind comments, I’m flattered a lot😁.
A HUGE thank you for the motivation, I’m so happy that you think it’ll be great 😭.

It’s the first time someone ever asked about my cats here on Reedsy 😆. Their names are Fatty (HAHA, I know the name is a bit weird, but his tummy is too big 😂😂) and Blackie ( this is because his legs are fully black, kinda cool, right?). I’m living in a cat house, and they’re treating me like they’re the bosses of the house (help!😂😂).

Aww, the cat on my profile pic is super cute, I dressed him up with hair clips and I even painted his nails with glittery pink nail polish 😂😂. But unfortunately, he is still currently lost 😖 We are still hoping that he’ll come back 🥺🥺.

Also, best of luck on practicing your guitar 🎸 I’m sure that you’ll play awesome tunes!

Also, I love calligraphy as well! But, I’m not the best at it, although I’m sure you are! Also, what’s your favourite movie (any genre)?

No problem, I hope you have a F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C day! God bless! 😊

Loads of love
Pahani ^…^

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Arthur Alexander
07:05 Aug 04, 2021

Hi!!! I had soo much fun reading your cooment! 🤩 I even woke up wondering if you had commented back and I checked and you did! Ahhh! I'm soo happy!

I do simp wayy too much over people 🤭 and like you said I have zero regrets 😁

I listen to music all the time when I' doing something it really keeps me in a good mewd (cat joke... hope you understood 😆)

Thank you to you too for commenting on my stories! It really mans alot 🥺🥺

Fatty and Blackie are cool names 😎 I like them! They seem like their super you know chilled out and running wild personality.

Awwww! How cute of you to dress him up that wayy! Its soo cute! ❤

I hope he comes back! I'll pray for him 🥺🥺

Thanks on the guitar... I've only started playing a few songs but I think I'm getting better :)

I love Calligraphy! I'm not the best at it but I sit and try to do my best version of it after a few tries.

My favoraite movie genre would be: Comedy, Sci-fi, Thriller and thing on that areas. I do watch Rom-Coms but not much I watch them very rarely...

My current favoraite movie would be: Black Widow ( I watched it and it was AMAZING!🤩)

Links to the songs:
Medecine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3-a8njTju4
Anna: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOrmVMZkp3M
Just a Little bit of you heart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNviRyFcdvQ
I recommend you give a listen to these... once you're done, if you want I'll share more :)

(PS: I love Ariana Grande's songs! Their such a bop!)

Thank you soo much for your comment! I hope you have and A-M-A-Z-A-Y-N dayy! ❤

Reply

Pahani Wijeratne
07:50 Aug 04, 2021

Hellooooo!! Oooh, yay, you replied! 🥳 Aww, really? That’s so sweet, I also go to sleep and wake up wondering if people replied to me, and in this case, you did! 😁

You nailed it, that’s exactly how Blackie and Fatty are! 🤩 (Psychic powers maybe? 😂😂)

Dressing them up is soo much fun, trust me 😂☺️ They have to endure my silly acts lol😂. Thank you for appreciating my pet fashion skills and makeup 😂❤️
I’m curious, do you have any pets?

That’s great! I hope you get better and better 😁 I’m rooting for you :)).

Ooh, I love Thrillers too! Comedy and Sci-if is a bit rare for me, because I love to watch Horrors even though I get scared to sleep alone at night 😂. The anticipation in thrillers and horrors are extremely fun!

Of course, calligraphy takes time and practise! But practicing everyday would definitely help in my opinion. It’s important to always improve the talents you love doing; that’s what I do when I draw!

Black Widow is such a good choice! It’s definitely BOMB though! The actress was a really great pick. Mine would be, hm, as of now I’d probably say Cruella!

Oh thank you so much for the links! I’ll make sure to check them out! 😎✨✨

P.S. Same! My favourite Ariana Grande song would definitely be pov. She did such an amazing job on that song 🎶

Also, I love Alec Benjamin’s songs! They’re pretty nice as well!

I also hope you have a T-E-R-R-I-F-I-C dayyy! 💕💫💫

P.S. It’s been so dope to chat with you! I’m looking forward to reading more of your stories, they’re remarkable 🔥🌟

Loads of love
Pahani ~~ ⚡️⚡️

Reply

Arthur Alexander
08:04 Aug 04, 2021

Oi oi!! I'm still hereeee! I mean its morning where I'm living so I obviously cannot go sleep or else my om probably come and dump a bucket of water on me 😁

Also, yeah maybe PYSCHIC POWERS! 😂

Besides that, I had soo much fun reading you r comments it makes me really happyy! 😊

I never watch Horror cos everytime I watch Horror that movie then replays in my dreams for the next whole week so I never watch horror. 😅

Calligraphy takes quite sometime to master but idk maybe I'll get better at it :)
Black Widow is such a dope moviee! Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh are AWESOME TOGETHER! I'm actually going to watch Cruella todayy! No spoiliesssss! 😉

My favoraite Ariana Grande song would be POV or Positions both of these songs are AMAZINGG!

Alec Benjamin is really good he makes some pretty good songs!

I hope you have a T-E-R-R-I-F-I-C dayyy tooo!

Question to you:
- What do you wanna be when you grow older?
- What is your favoraite series to watch?

I have soo much fun chatting with youuu!
Loads of Love
Arthur ❤

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Angelina S.
11:44 Aug 01, 2021

Heyy!

This story is just amazing. It's well-paced and I could literally laugh on every line in a while. I just loved the friendship between Hayley and Ayden, its pretty great.

There are some minor mistakes and if I were you, I'd proofread better to clear those (sorry if I sound rude but I'm a bit of a perfectionist so yk....) :)

I particularly LOVED this line of "school and fun never.." that line, trust. me. was. so. damn. good.

and i'm not a harry fan but i like listening to "Falling" like Hayley 😄

all in all, this piece of writing was really good, keep it coming 😊

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Arthur Alexander
14:58 Aug 01, 2021

Hey, Angelina!

Thank you so much for the feedback. I greatly appreciate it. Thanks for telling me to proof read again I'll do so :)

Btw... its not at all rude... thanks for the feedback! 🤗
I hope you enjoy more writings that will come up in the future! 😊

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Aimee K
11:35 Aug 05, 2021

Such a cute story 💚

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Arthur Alexander
12:05 Aug 05, 2021

Thank you soo much! ❤

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01:45 Aug 05, 2021

This is sooooo cute. I can relate to the squeling part and knowing someone going gaga with Harry. I really love his "Falling" because Wendy(Red Velvet) sang it one time in her live and that made the song very very special.

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Arthur Alexander
06:24 Aug 05, 2021

Thank you soo much! Yes, I have seen that perfomence where she performed falling... it was a really good cover! Thanks for taking the time to read my story! ❤

Love,
Arthur

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14:16 Aug 06, 2021

Waaaaaah it makes me happy to know you've heard of that tooooooooo *insert lowkey kyaaaaa*

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14:17 Aug 06, 2021

Waaaaaah it makes me happy to know you've heard of that tooooooooo *insert lowkey kyaaaaa*

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Arthur Alexander
17:20 Aug 06, 2021

Hehhe :) It makes me happy that you're happy! 🤗

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12:15 Aug 04, 2021

Hi Arthur! Nice story! But I was actually wondering about what happened between Hayley and Angela. Since the prompt was about an introvert and extrovert who are best friends, I initially thought that the story would be about them. Also, Hayley mentioned that Angela gushed about Ayden. I think it would be nice to add a little love triangle to the story. :-)

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Arthur Alexander
12:24 Aug 04, 2021

Oi oi! (Ignore my weird way of greeting people) But hey! Well the thing was I was going to make it about Hayley and Angela but I didn't want that, I wanted to put a boy in, lets see maybe of I find a prompt to make this into a love triangle I'll do so or I might continue writing this on wattpad, so if do so, I'll post the link for you so that you can read. I've not decided yet if I want to post it on wattpad, but I'll think about it. THanks for the comment though! ❤

Love,
Arthur

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04:50 Aug 05, 2021

Great! Thanks! Keep up the great job!

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04:55 Aug 05, 2021

Great! Thanks! Keep up the great job!

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