⊹₊⟡⋆ 𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄 ..! ⊹₊⟡⋆

. ݁₊ ⊹ (The Bascketball Diaries) .. #

"because you and i we were born to live"

Adrian zipped up her dress, glancing at her reflection in the mirror as Lauren rifled through her wardrobe for the perfect accessory. The soft glow from her vanity lights bounced off her skin, making her look more radiant than she felt. She tugged at her sleeves, adjusting them, while Lauren finally decided on a necklace, tossing it over her shoulder with a casual, "Here, this should work."

~𝑨𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏'𝒔 𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒌~

"Thanks," Adrian muttered, clasping the delicate chain around her neck. "You ready for this?"

Lauren, standing in front of the mirror applying her final touches of lipstick, raised an eyebrow. "Am I ever not ready for a party?" she asked with a grin. "What about you? You seem... off."

Adrian shrugged, running her fingers through her hair to give it some volume. "It's just... I saw those guys at the park when I was walking Blue the other day. The same ones who got into that fight with Jason."

Lauren turned sharply to look at her, shock flashing across her face. "Wait, what? You saw them? Why didn't you call the police or something?"

Adrian waved her hand dismissively. "They weren't doing anything. Just hanging out. Seemed pretty chill."

"Yeah, chill until they pull out a knife or something," Lauren scoffed. "You can't be serious, Adrian.What if something happened?"

Adrian rolled her eyes. "Please, I was fine. They weren't even paying attention to me."

Lauren sighed, shaking her head. "You're too nonchalant about stuff like this. It's dangerous, especially after what went down with Jason."

"Yeah, well, I'm not Jason," Adrian said, slipping on her shoes. "I doubt they care enough to start anything."

"Still," Lauren pressed, "it's better to be safe than sorry. Next time, just call someone. Anyone."

"Sure, sure," Adrian said, but the non-committal tone in her voice made it clear she wasn't planning to change her approach anytime soon.

The conversation drifted into safer territory as they continued getting ready. Adrian looked at Lauren through the mirror, her face softening as the topic turned to relationships.

"You know," Adriana began, fixing a stray strand of hair, "I don't get how people can just jump from one person to the next. Like, one night they're all over each other, and the next, it's like they don't even exist."

Lauren shrugged, slipping into her heels. "I guess some people don't want the commitment. It's easier to keep things casual."

"That's not me, though," Adrian continued, almost to herself. "If I'm with someone, I want it to be serious. Something real, lasting. I'm not looking for a fling."

"Girl, I hear you." Lauren plopped down on the bed. "I'm the opposite, though. I fall for guys too easily, show them too much love, and then it's like-poof-they're gone. Like, I'm too much for them or something."

They exchanged sympathetic smiles. The room buzzed with a comfortable silence as they finished getting ready. Lauren checked the time and her eyes widened.

"Crap, it's already 10. We should go."

Adrian sighed, falling back onto the bed with a dramatic groan. "Do we have to? I don't even feel like going anymore."

Lauren gave her a playful shove. "Come on, Adri. Sasha really wants us there. Besides, Jason's parties are always the best."

"And the most dangerous," Adrian muttered, sitting up. She crossed her arms and looked at Lauren. "Remember that time the cops showed up, and Jason got arrested? His dad had to bail him out and pay some crazy fine because they were shooting off fireworks and blowing stuff up."

Lauren grinned at the memory. "Yeah, but you can't deny it was fun."

Adrian chuckled. "Okay, yeah, it was."

With one last glance in the mirror, the girls grabbed their jackets and headed out the door.

Later, Adrian found herself sitting alone, nursing a drink while watching the party go on around her. Sasha and Lorna were still on the dance floor, lost in the music. She was about to head outside for some fresh air when a guy approached her.

He had an easy confidence about him, the way he moved through the crowd and stopped right in front of her, leaning casually against the wall.

"Not really your scene, huh?" he said with a slight smirk.

Adrian looked up at him, surprised. "What gave it away?"

He shrugged. "You just seem... I don't know, out of place."

She laughed lightly, nodding. "Yeah, you're not wrong."

"I'm Connor," he introduced himself, holding out his hand.

Adrian hesitated for a second before shaking his hand. "Adrian. But you can call me Adrian. Or Ree, whichever you prefer."

"Adrian," he nodded thoughtfully. "I like that."

There was something about him, a calmness that made her feel at ease. They chatted for a while, mostly small talk about the party, music, and life in general. She found herself actually enjoying the conversation, which wasn't something she expected.

Connor asked about her hobbies, and she told him about her love for reading, music, and how she enjoyed quiet, simple things. He nodded along, genuinely interested.

"You don't seem like the typical party girl," he remarked.

Adrian smiled. "I'm not."

₊˚⊹⋆

A little later, someone called out to the group that they were starting a game of spin the bottle. Adriana rolled her eyes but got dragged into it nonetheless. Everyone gathered in a circle, sitting down on the floor with a bottle placed in the center.

Sasha was already perched on Jason's lap, looking far too excited for the game.

The bottle spun and stopped on random people at first. Lorna was dared to grind on some guy's lap, which she did with a smirk while everyone whooped and cheered.

Finally, it was Connor's turn. The bottle spun slowly, everyone watching with bated breath. When it finally stopped, it pointed directly at Adrian.

There were whispers and giggles around the circle as everyone waited for his answer.

"If you could spend seven minutes in heaven with anyone here, who would it be?" Sasha asked, grinning widely.

Connor didn't hesitate. He turned to Adriana with a small smile. "Her."

Adriana's heart skipped a beat, but she forced a laugh, feeling awkward under the attention. She looked to her friends, who were urging her to go for it.

With a sigh, she got up, muttering, "Fine, let's just get this over with."

As they headed toward the closet, Jason made some stupid comment, something crude about what they'd be doing inside. Without thinking, Adrian shoved his head as she walked past, muttering, "Shut up, Jason."

₊˚⊹⋆

Once inside the closet, the mood shifted. It was dark, and the silence hung heavily between them. Connor broke it first.

"So... hi again," he said with a nervous chuckle.

"Hey," Adrian replied, her voice equally awkward.

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then Connor moved closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "You're really beautiful, you know that?"

Adrian's stomach flipped, but there was something off. She didn't know what it was, but his words, his touch, it all felt... wrong.

He leaned in, brushing his lips against her neck, whispering more compliments that only made her feel more uncomfortable. When he moved to unzip her dress, she shoved him back, her voice firm.

"Stop."

Connor blinked, taken aback. "What?"

"I said, stop. I'm not doing this."

He stared at her for a moment, confused, before he stepped back, raising his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. There's no need to get worked up."

Adrian scoffed, pushing past him to leave the closet. She didn't even look back as she stormed out, her heart racing with anger and disgust. Connor followed behind her, but she didn't care.

This party was over for her.

₊˚⊹⋆

Adrian stormed out of the building, her
heart racing, fueled by anger and
disgust. She didn't care about the
jacket or purse she left behind-all she
wanted was to get as far away as
possible from that place. How could
someone be so ignorant, so entitled,
that they felt they had the right to touch
her when she'd clearly said no? It was
revolting, the way some men still
believed they could take whatever they
wanted without a second thought. Her
mind reeled as she replayed the scene,
her skin crawling at the memory of his
hands on her.

Her friends had only made things
worse, telling her to calm down,
accusing her of overreacting.

But Adrian knew she wasn't overreacting No one should have to tolerate whatshe went through, and it made her blood boil that they had downplayed itlike that. It was as if they were gaslighting her ints believing she was in the wrong.

As she walked briskly through the
streets, trying to shake off the
emotions weighing her down, the sky
opened up.

Rain poured down, drenching her completely, but she didn't stop.

She hugged herself tightly as the
cold water soaked through her clothes,

her hair sticking to her skin, but she
welcomed the numbness.

It was almost preferable to the suffocating heat of her rage. She managed to catch a bus,
but the downpour had grown so intense
that she could barely see out the
windows, and before she knew it, the
bus missed her stop
Stepping out at a random location, she
had no idea where she was. The rain
showed no sign of letting up, and she
cursed under her breath as she started
walking, feeling helpless and alone.
With no purse or money left, she
couldn't afford another ride, so she
trudged through the rain, hoping she
would eventuall"
Recognise something.

Then, out of nowhere, a sleek red
sports car-a Ferrari, maybe an Aston
Martin-slid up beside her. The passenger window rolled down, and she saw a guy with slicked-back, spiky black hair and a greasy mustache smoking a cigarette. His pale skin
made him look even more sinister
under the streetlights, and his friends in
the backseat, all tattooed and smoking
looked no better

'Hey, mama," he called out, his voice
oozing sleaze. "Wanna take a ride?l
could show you a real good time
tonight.'
Adrian glared at him, disgusted, her
hands clenching into fists. She gave
him the middle finger and kept walking
but they weren't done with her.
"C'mon, baby! We can take turns. You
want money? We'll pay," they jeered,
their voices ful Laughter they whistled at her.

She snapped. Spinning on her heel, she
stormed toward the car, her eyes
blazing with fury. "If you don't leave me
the fuck alone, I swear I will shove
those rusty cigarette fingers of yours
up your ass so far you'll taste them!
And I'Il make sure I scrape that gel off
your face and rub it into your damn
eyes. So back off!" The guys stared at her, momentarily stunned by her outburst, before muttering insults under their breath.

'Bitch," one of them sneered as they
sped off, tires screeching against the
wet pavement. Adrian exhaled sharply,
her heart pounding, but she felt a small

surge of satisfaction at having scared
them off.

Soaking wet and exhausted, she finally
reached a place that felt familiar-the
park where she sometimes brought her
dog, Blue. The rain continued to pour,
but at least she knew where she was
now. She found a bus stop and stood
under the dim streetlight, waiting for
another bus that might take her closer home

As she waited, a group of guys came
out of a nearby basketball court, also
drenched from the rain. They were
laughing and messing around, bottles
of beer in hand, clearly drunk. One of
them was shirtless, only wearing his
underwear, and Adrian silently prayed
that they wouldn't notice her.

The last thing she needed was more trouble The rain-slicked streetlight cast a beam of light on one of the guys, and to her surprise, she recognized him--Jim, the guy she'd met a few days ago at the
park. He was laughing with his friends,
completely carefree, but when he
turned and saw her standing there
alone, his expression shifted slightly.
After saying something to his friends,
he started walking toward her, a
lopsided grin on his face

Adrian wasn't sure what to think
Should she say hi, or just keep to
herself? Either way, he was already
making his way over.