Luna Awakening

Building up Jealousy

Aria's POV

Lucien exits the stage and makes his way into the crowd. Mara stands to her feet, and as he gets closer she pulls him into her embrace. Her hands snake around his neck as she leans in for a kiss.

My breath hitches, my jaw tightens. Is it just the shocking reveal or the jealousy of seeing them together? Lucien gestures to everyone to make their way outside, to unveil the car.

We all stand to our feet, one after the other making our way out. Mara is beaming with smiles, her friends Alaina and Sara are too. They whisper something among themselves and squeal in excitement while we step out.

Once out, we see it all. Mara moves forward with Lucien, for a closer view. She jumps in excitement, throwing her hands around Lucien, planting kisses everywhere on his face. I grab hold of my champagne glass, squeezing to suppress the jealousy I feel building up inside me. Everyone has their phones out, videoing the lovely scene.

"Oh my god, babe, it is a Mercedes Maybach. It's beautiful," Mara says, her eyes inspecting the car while running her fingers on its body. She gets into the car to survey what the inside looks like.

"This is lovely babe. I love it." She draws in closer to Lucien’s face and leaves a kiss on his lips. This time around, I squeeze my glass even tighter; any more pressure I apply could send the glass scattering into pieces. My chest tightens, jaw flexes as I watch them lock lips.

Chloe tugs unto my arms, her face lighting up like she has just seen some true-life romance play out in real time.

"Aria, isn’t this the sweetest thing ever?" She says, her lips curling into a wide smile. "I know Mara can be a b***h, don’t get me wrong. But seeing her with Lucien, don’t you think it’s just beautiful?" She rests her head against my arm, sighing with satisfaction before lifting her head to glare at me. Once her eyes meet mine, I force a smile, showing I totally agree with her. She grins back; typical Chloe.

Mara’s car drama is finally over, and now I can relieve my fingers from the painful sting I feel from the pressure of pressing against my glass flute. We make our way back in. Once we’re in, there’s a sudden shift in the music; soft instrumentals play, modern, classy, and timeless all at once.

Lucien approaches Mara for a dance, and they both take to the dance floor. Soon a few groups of young people pair up and join in. I watch as the dance floor grows bigger. Just then Drake approaches Chloe and I, pausing right in front of us. He is tall, dressed in an elegant grey suit, his short hair slightly curly, complementing his very handsome facial features.

"Hey," he says, his tone warm and even. His eyes glance at me for a short while, then he returns his attention to Chloe.

"Mind if I steal your friend for a dance?" he gestures toward the dance floor. Chloe’s eyes immediately lock in with mine, and from the look in her eyes I can tell she’s down for it. She tries to fidget, but I squeeze her hands reassuringly.

"Don’t worry, you’ll be alright," I whisper at her side, while she lets Drake take her hands, leading her to the dance floor. On the dance floor, Lucien and Mara look like they are having the best time of their lives; great. He gets to use my ideas to impress her, just great. His hands snake around her waist, while she reciprocates around his neck.

He leans in and whispers something into her ear, she giggles softly. Not stopping there, he presses a kiss to her cheek. My jaw suddenly feels tense, my throat dry. I flag a waiter carrying a tray of wine and grab hold of a glass. I take it in one swift gulp, but it doesn’t seem to do anything.

"Get me something stronger," I mutter. He nods and heads off, bringing back another drink. I also take that in, the sting burning my throat as it makes its way down, but that doesn’t bother me at the moment. I watch Lucien and Mara’s public display of affection intensify with every second they spend dancing.

It moves from short soft kisses and stolen whispers, to long lingering touches, eyes locking while their foreheads press against each other. I try to keep my emotions in check, not showing any signs of jealousy while taking in some more drinks.

Soon one drink turns to two, then two to three. Before I knew it, I had more drinks than I can count. My vision starts to blur, but I don’t keep my gaze off them. My mood shifts; it’s jealousy at first, but slowly anger crawls in. With every swift shift in the music, they seem to bond even better. I clench my fingers into a fist, my heart pounding while my veins twitch.

Chloe breaks her dance with Drake and begins heading in my direction, her face beaming with smiles like she has just left a fairytale world. She stands right next to me, looking a bit worn out from all that dancing. Her hand finds a bottle of water, which she uses to ease her exhaustion.

"Wow. Aria, that was a lot," she says, with arms resting on a table.

She further adds, "You know? Drake is such a good dancer, but I... I’m a very terrible dancer. It took me forever to stop stepping on him while we danced. But he was such a gentleman and handled it well."

She sighs, like she has indeed been holding it in for so long.

"You know Aria, it’s funny how you never told me about your crush. I know that is solely up to you, but don’t you think that secret may be long overdue?" She teases with a grin plastered on her face.

Before I can give any response, the effect of the drink starts to wear on me. I feel a wobble in my feet that causes me to stagger forward, but Chloe’s reflexes are fast, and she catches me in time.

Her hands pin me in place while she helps me into a seat. "Whoa... Aria, take it easy."

I drop into a seat beside her, a light headache tugging down on my head, though not enough to make me pass out. She seizes the glass from my hands, sensing I might be drunk.

"Wow, you have to stop drinking. You can hurt yourself."

Chloe also takes her seat beside me. The image of Lucien with Mara lingers in my head, fueling my anger and making me desperate to vent to her.

I grab hold of Chloe’s hands, my eyes locked with hers while she looks at me with keen interest. "I have something to tell you,"