2nd Place, Youth Fiction
​
Unseen, by Brooklyn Wallace
​
Library - A Mirror - “They told me not to, but”
They told me not to, but being depressed in a library sounded better than whatever drunk party my friends planned. I told them if I couldn’t spend New Year’s Eve with Liam, I didn’t want to spend it with anyone.
So there I wallowed, surrounded by stories.
“Venna!” a very Australian voice yelled. “Get your sorry butt out of this sorry library. Liam isn’t even dead. Yet.”
“Ava!” Bri scolded in a more subtle dialect. “Don’t say that! Also, this is a library, and your voice is very much above library level.”
“Nobody else is crazy enough to spend New Year's here. Therefore, my ‘library level’ would be wasted,” Ava teased. “Besides, you like it.”
Ava nuzzled Bri, her long, wavy brown hair a curtain. Bri was all curls and topknots and elegance, shy and smart to the core. Ava, on the other hand, was the most popular sophomore at the University of Sydney, full to the brim with tans and sunshine. There wasn’t anyone who didn’t like her, despite her occasional lack of social awareness. They were meant for each other, meant to be my first friends when I came from Seattle to study abroad.
“I’m good,” I said, burrowing into my papers.
“We haven’t asked you anything!” Ava exclaimed.
“You were going to. My answer is no.”
“Ava, it’s the anniversary of Liam leaving. Let her be,” Bri said.
“It’s been a year? It’s crazy that Venna managed to drive her brother away…” Ava was silenced with one glare from Bri. “I mean…sorry he left for the military, mate.” “Nah, you’re right,” I said, putting my chin on my hands. “He’s been stuck with me since foster care. I don’t blame him for wanting space.”
“You should go ponder that…in the front row of an Injured Hearts concert!” “Injured Hearts?” I said skeptically. “Sorry, but I’m not seeing immature heartthrobs who can’t think up a decent band name make fools of themselves.”
“I know it isn’t your style, but I thought it’d be fun,” Ava begged. “Besides, front. Row. Seats. At the Sydney Opera House! We’ll get to see their handsome mugs up close and…” Ava said, cut off by a look from Bri. “Nothing to combat your natural beauty, sweet.”
“For someone with a girlfriend, you sure talk about other people a lot,” Bri said. “I don’t know if I want to go…” I said.
“It’ll be the perfect opportunity for distraction. Nothing like hot, sweaty boys to combat the sadness of missing a family member. Other than hot, sweaty girls, of course.” Bri rolled her eyes.
“Fine,” I said, regretting it as soon as it slipped out.
“Hallelujah!” Ava said, pulling a mirror, makeup, and a navy, sequin-covered dress out of her tiny purse. I caught a glimpse of my messy auburn hair in the mirror. My level of care was nonexistent.
“Who are you, Mary Poppins?” I said, raising an eyebrow.
“I’d actually rather be Mary Poppins than a superhero,” Ava said introspectively. “Her powers have no limits, and she’s practically perfect. Also, Julie Andrews? Yes, please.” “Ava!” Bri and I said simultaneously.
������
The inside of the opera house was a gorgeous blend of warm colors and intricate architecture, aka the last place a boy band should hold a concert.
“Jax is the bad boy of Injured Hearts,” Ava lectured. “Edi, his brother, is the quiet one, Leo’s the way boy-next-door, Asher’s the funny one…and Kat. Kat’s the heartthrob, and he’s blonde.” I gagged.
“You good, Venna?” Bri said, grabbing my hand comfortingly.
I didn’t realize how hard I was squeezing my dress. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
Lights went down, music came up, and a spotlight revealed silhouettes of five boys in their signature poses.
The next hour and a half was a blur of pounding music, regret, and flashy lights. I couldn’t get a good look at any of the boys, even though I could tell they all had that too-good-to-be-true cuteness and amazing hair. I could tell it was coming to an end when they played their most popular song, “Kiss.”
If you’ll let me kiss you,
I promise I’ll still miss you.
But if you let this
Become more than a kiss
We will bask in eternal bliss.
Kiss, kiss, kiss.
Stupid, right?
As we neared midnight, they lined up at the end of the stage, so close that I could see the sweat on their foreheads. They were all gorgeous, as expected.
But then Kat leaned down and looked right at me, his dirty blonde hair framing his brown eyes perfectly.
“G’day,” he said in a glorious accent, reaching a hand out as his bandmates kept singing. “Come up here, will you?”
I looked at Ava and Bri, who were both shocked out of control of their facial muscles. I don’t know why I did it. Maybe it was because this felt like a consequence-free dream, or perhaps it was the way his smile wrapped itself around my heart, but I took his hand and shimmied awkwardly onto the stage.
“You’ve got it,” Kat said, hoisting me up to my feet. “You wouldn’t mind kissing me, would you?”
If you let me kiss you,
“Um…”
I promise I’ll still miss you.
“You don’t have to,” he said, looking better than anyone had any right to look. “Consent is the best cement, even if I don’t know why you wouldn’t want it. Kat Clearence, you?” But if you let this
I was going to be sick. “Ravenna Woods…”
Become more than a kiss,
“Well, Ravenna, we don’t have much time…you see, a kiss at midnight is supposed to be our big finale, which is in…”
We will bask in eternal bliss.
“Three seconds.” Kat looked at me expectantly.
Kiss
It was just a dream, what harm could it do?
Kiss
I was going to throw up.
Kiss.
I threw my arms around Kat’s neck and pressed my lips to his.