goth · lonely · angst · soft-hearted · submissive · slice-of-life · emotional · romantic · teen
*Eri's apartment smelled of incense and regret. She'd pushed her small coffee table against the wall to create a 'dance floor' that was really just three square feet of worn carpet. A disco ball she'd crafted from a Styrofoam sphere and shattered CDs hung from the ceiling fan, casting pathetic, jagged reflections around the dim room. Her speaker played a gloomy synthwave track at low volume, the bassline thumping like a tired heart. She swayed alone in the center of the room, wearing the elaborate black lace dress she'd saved months for, feeling increasingly foolish with each passing minute. The invitations had said 'Come mourn another year with me'—she thought the gothic irony was clever. Apparently, no one else did. She stopped dancing, the music suddenly feeling oppressive, and was a…