Iridescence is looming over the horizon.

The GSA is only a few days away from the event, and the fact is more than clear what with the way the gym is jam-packed with supplies and decorations.

The entirety of the GSA is bustling around the gym, speaking eagerly. Ellie's towards the center, gesturing frantically and giving out easy directions. Monday's over to the side, and Avery's next to them, her pink twin buns bobbing as the two of them work towards hoisting up a large piece of decor.

Crossing the middle of the gym is Peter, an overflowing box of school dance paraphernalia in his hands, glasses falling down to the tip of his nose. Ms. Ingram's next to him, both discussing where to place everything in the vast expanse of the already-transforming gym.

My eyes find Lucas from the back of the gym. He's at the front, standing behind a bright colored ticket booth, smile sweet as students approach the booth. A couple leaves from the front of the booth, waving goodbye to Lucas, wide grins exchanged between them.

When they're gone, Lucas lets out a breath, that familiar lip quirk appearing on his lips, hands running through his hair. From where I am in the gym, I slide my hands into the pockets of my jeans, making my way over to him.

His eyes brighten when he sees me approaching, and while that shouldn't make an idiotic grin appear on my lips, it does. Lucas leans forward, slightly, and I nearly walk faster, finally arriving at the booth after what's felt like forever.

I lean against the booth, elbows resting on the surface, Lucas' grin widening, lips pursing playfully.

"So," I start slowly, eyes gently tracing over Lucas. "It's come to my attention that blue's your color."

"Really?" He asks, eyes still sparkling as they drop to his shirt. It's a slim-fitting one, a pale cerulean. Everything about it seems to brighten the entire space. The color's natural, really, like it was made for him.

"Yes, really," I say, voice all matter-of-fact. "Brings out your eyes." A smooth line, one that comes out softly. Nice to know that I've still got it.

"Oh," Lucas says. He brings his bottom lip beneath his teeth. Then his eyes crinkle with amusement.

"What?" I ask, half grin still appearing on my lips despite myself.

"That would've been really cute if I had blue eyes." A pause, and one of those Lucas laughs. "But, I don't."

I blink before recovering. "Who says brown eyes can't be brought out by a blue t-shirt?" 

Lucas laughs again. One of those sparkling ones. "I'll take your word for it."

"And anyways," I say, leaning forward. A cough. "I like your eyes." My voice lilts into a teasing tone, however I'm not sure how much of me is teasing and how much isn't.

"Oh my god." Lucas says, a hand mindlessly tapping on the ticket box before coming to an abrupt stop. "That's a bit homosexual, Jason." He playfully nods towards the few freshmen littered about the gym. "Not in front of the kids."

"Oh," I say, raising a hand to my chest in faux regret. "My bad."

"Well," Lucas starts teasingly, leaning forward in his seat. He's about to say something, but comes to a pause.

"Hey, can I have two tickets?"

Irritation slices through my chest as I whip around.

And of course David Harris is standing here. He's smiling that stupid smile, auburn hair tousled in that stupid way, his tall stance still stupidly tall. And the way he's grinning at Lucas is even fucking stupider.

"Two tickets?" Lucas asks, eyes still bright as David nods.

Harris runs a hand through his hair. "Yeah, uh, I'm bringing Samantha."

I try to stifle a snort. Typical. My eyes find Lucas, whose face falls, almost imperceptibly. In seconds, the amusement dies down in my throat.

David blinks. "I, uh, I recently broke up with my girlfriend, Abigail." Why the fuck are you telling him this? Fuck, I can practically sense Lucas' internal wincing. "And," Harris continues, "I'm going with Samantha because we're close."

Close. It almost breaks me to see the slight hope rise to Lucas' eyes. Fucking stop it, Lucas, I want to say. It's not fucking worth it.

Harris hands Lucas the money, Lucas gently stuffing it into the locked container on the table. He hands Harris two mint-colored tickets. Harris takes them with a smile, shoving them into one of his back pockets.

He give Lucas a smile. I'm tempted to slap it right off. Gently, of course.

While Harris leaves, I take in his retreating figure. Not going to lie, Lucas' infatuation doesn't have a bad appearance. He does, however, emit bad vibes, and that's enough for me to reel in my wandering eyes.

In seconds, I turn towards Lucas. "You are being way too fucking obvious about your feelings for Harris."

A faint pinkness splashes onto Lucas' cheeks, one that even burns through his tan hue. "Can you not?"

"I'm just saying," I say, hands flying to the air in defense. "He's probably straight, anyway."

Lucas meets my eyes with a passive glance, not saying anything. But before I can say anything else, someone tugs at my arm.

Monday's unfaltering grin stares back at me once I whip around. "Come on," They urge, taking a gentle hold of my wrist, "we need help with the decorations." A laugh. "Get over here, Jason."

And in one quick movement, I'm stumbling as Monday tugs me throughout the gym, their flurry of dark hair leading the way.

But before I know it, I'm laughing, hanging up streamers, moving tables around, blowing balloons. I'm busy pinning the other end of a banner, the other end being held up by Peter as we precariously balance on different ladders, pins held in my mouth.

I've finished pinning the other end, making my way down the ladder when I'm hit in the head. Not-so-gently. With a party lantern. My eyes dart around the room to find the culprit, and they land on one Monday Carter.

A smirk curves onto their lips.

"Oh, so it's like that?" I ask, finding another lantern, tossing it in their direction. Of course, Monday sidesteps the object, and instead, it hits Ellie Evans straight in the head. 

"Oh, shit." I say, raising both hands. "I'm sorry about—"

I don't get far before a multitude of would-be decorations hits me square in the face.

And at this point, I don't pay attention to who or what is responsible. But before I know it, I'm drowning in chaos and high-pitched shrieks of laughter fill the space, things flying everywhere. We do eventually reel everything back into control, making sure to readjust the space, but our laughter never ceases.

***

The gym is transformed by the time we're done. Bright lights illuminate the space, and decorations—all reflective and luminous— fill the entire area.

I raise my water bottle to my lips as I scope our work—the GSA's work— that's turned out more than ethereal-looking. 

For once, it feels like I've done something really fucking right.

"Hey," A voice calls out from the center of the gym. And it's Lucas Garcia, all the lights illuminating his skin. 

The gym's pretty scarce at the moment, with the exception of the GSA, of course. After all, we've stayed behind, making sure to perfect everything in the gym, transform the place.

So, Lucas' little call echoes throughout the space, and we all glance at each other from our different spots in the gym. Lucas makes a wider gesture, and we all approach him, coming into a little huddle in the center of the gym.

"Listen," He starts, smiling up at us once we've all grouped into the huddle— insanely similar to that typical athlete huddle that I've gotten all too used to seeing on the field. "I think we've all come a long way."

There are some whoops from all around us, Lucas' arm still slung over my shoulder, mine slung over Ellie's. Lucas meets my eyes. "And Jason's become a really important part of our group." There's a tender smile.

More whistles fill the air. From across the circle, Avery leans forward to ruffle my hair. "And," Lucas continues, "I can't wait for Iridescence, and I can't wait to see everyone there. We sold hundreds of tickets. It's insane."

Lucas meets my eyes again. "Jason, you've got a pretty important part with some introductions and helping people find their way." A wink. "Kind of like an ambassador." A steady glance with the hint of a smile. "No flaking."

I return his comment with a playful roll of the eyes. "Sure, Lucas."

"But," Lucas continues, glancing around the entire circle, making eye contact with every member. "But I trust all of you. Probably more than anyone else."

"We're going to do great." Lucas says, grin appearing on his lips.

"We're going to kill it." Avery says, nodding eagerly.

"Yeah we are," And with that, Lucas Garcia lets out a sparkling laugh as our hollers fill the air. 

***

The day of Iridescence comes hurtling towards me at full force, but I'm more than ready. 

Adjusting the frayed collar of my t-shirt, my eyes find the mirror, my reflection staring back at me. My phone sits on the counter of my bathroom, vibrating with the flurry of texts I'm receiving from the GSA group chat.

Most of them are from Lucas, sending tons upon tons of frantic and info-packed texts about Iridescence.

Meanwhile, I'm receiving another onslaught of texts from Riya, Dani, and Amir, all about the event or truly, everything and anything else.

brown bicon: are we meeting at the foyer?? parking lot??

dani!!: uh foyer!! i think :0

tall ass fucker: that's fine w me

brown bicon: can't even be bothered to spell the full word smh

dani!!: at least add the /

tall ass fucker: y'all are bullying me and for what.

I roll my eyes, adjusting the waist of my dark jeans, edges frayed, gray button glinting underneath the lighting. My eyes find my reflection's eyes. He smiles a little bit, shrugs. Then, he's pulling a long-sleeved black shirt, a contrast to the ones that usually expose the majority of my arms.

Lucas' keychain is still hanging from my neck, simple and easy. Then, I tug flannel over my shoulders. The red is actually the only color in my outfit, one more than I usually wear. A half grin curves onto my lips. Maybe I'm inspired.

Once I'm done, I run a quick hand through my hair, grabbing my phone and running down the stairs, trying to send quick texts as I make my way down each floor.

I'm jogging, almost at the door until I reach the foyer. And suddenly, I'm coming to an abrupt stop, because right in the middle of the foyer is Ms. Willis. Willis. Fucking Willis.

An eyebrow arches upwards. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

I let out a quick breath, trying to slow my breathing. "It's an event." 

"An event?" Ms. Willis scrunches her nose, hair swishing as she shakes her head. "Well, sorry to break it to you, but you're not going anywhere until this place is spick and span."

"Sorry, what?" I ask, chest heaving faster as I try to process her words. 

"Hey," She says with an apathetic shrug. "I'm hosting a party, and Mabel is on paid leave." A scoff. "Apparently there was some family emergency or something."

"Can't Angie—?" I start, but Ms. Willis interrupts me.

"She has some math contest or whatever."

"I—" I run a flustered hand through my hair. "I can't. I—I'll never finish it on time."

"Well," Ms. Willis claps her hands together, one of those irritating smiles appearing on her lips. "Better get to work, then."

Fuck no. Not today. Of all days, today isn't the day she can do this. Everything seems to fall to a stop, a record scratch.

I sidestep her, making my way to the door, regardless.

I feel an iron-like grip on my arm before I can make my way out of the door. "If you so much a step out of this door, I will not hesitate to dump you right back into the system."

I blink furiously, making a weak yank away from her. Her grip stays steady. "All it takes is one call." Her voice is venom. "I doubt you want that."

Fuck. 

I have to try everything to stifle the enduring pain building up in my chest, the pricks behind my eyes. I want to take that chance, almost. But I can't fucking go back. And if I were to go back, I'd never leave Angie here alone with Willis. The two of us being apart would destroy both of us.

Fuck.

Ms. Willis smiles as I step back.

Time's falling through my fingers like sand. Thing is, Ms. Willis has smashed the hourglass. Now there's no time, no hope. Everything that seems perfect, everything that seems right is falling apart. To pieces.

I'm losing. 

I have no way out.

I start with the kitchen, doing as I'm told. My phone vibrates, rings. I'm itching to grab it. But Ms. WIllis reaches over, taking it off the counter, putting it to silent. An hour passes. I should be doing introductions by now.

It's hard for me to shake the thought that Willis doesn't want me to go because she hates me, everything about me, seeing me smile. And of course, everything about my existence is wrong to her. Maybe things aren't as black and white as that. Maybe she can't see how much this means to me. But maybe she just doesn't give a fuck.

My chest hurts. Lucas is probably wondering where I am.

I know I'm late as I burn my way through the house, knowing I'll hear about every tiny splotch if I don't get it all. By the time I'm finishing the last brush of the mahogany flooring, I can barely hold myself up.

Exhaustion takes over as I wander over to a couch. I'm already late, I think, but my body doesn't register that. It stumbles like the world is weighing it down, like there's no way to go, like gravity is amplified by everything.

I stumble over to the couch, eyes fluttering shut. It seems like a sweet haven, luring me in. It's already dark. Sleep grabs onto me. And I try to fight it— I really fucking do— but Jason Nguyen doesn't have a fight in him anymore.

Everything's been sucked out of me. Iridescence floats away, out of reach, out of grasp. By the time my body finally gives in and my head hits the all too inviting plushness of the couch, I'm knocked out cold.

The world melts into nothing, and I'm gone, completely gone.

***

so i'm sad now </3