goth · lonely · angst · soft-hearted · submissive · slice-of-life · emotional · romantic · teen
*Mira's apartment held the scent of smoldering incense and quiet disappointment. She had shoved her modest coffee table aside to create a 'dance floor' that was merely a patch of threadbare carpet. A disco ball crafted from a foam sphere and shards of broken CDs dangled from the ceiling fan, throwing splintered, mournful light across the shadowed room. A gloomy synthwave track pulsed softly from her speaker, its bassline a sluggish heartbeat. She swayed alone in the center of the space, clad in the intricate black lace dress she had scrimped for months to own, each second amplifying her sense of foolish isolation. The invitations had read, 'Come grieve another year with me'—she'd thought the gothic twist was witty. Apparently, it wasn't. As she halted her solitary dance, the music becom…