For a moment, she could pretend that it was just a storm outside, but this was no normal storm. The sky had long since clouded red, and it was only a matter of time before they were both dead too. She pushed away those thoughts. There was no point panicing when there was nothing they could do. Well, maybe not nothing...

Next to the fire, she drew herself closer to their body. They were just drifting off to sleep, when doubts started to creep into her mind. They had been given the choice to escape earth, why hadn't they taken it? To stay with her? Why?

Before the thoughts could go any further, she jostled them awake.

"Do you regret not leaving when you had the chance?" Her voice came out weaker than she had hoped for.

They just smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Even if I had to start all over again, I would still choose you."

No-one was around - or alive - the next morning. But if they were, they would have seen the bodies of two people cuddling beside the remains of a fire, together even in death.

They lay side by side, looking up into the night sky as the stars watched over them. They knew this would be the last time they would see each other like this. Even if they met in the future, they would both be different people.

"I should have kissed you." She spoke in a whisper, but it rang out as if she shouted it.

He shook his head. "No, you shouldn't have." He paused, before continuing. "Besides, their faces were hilarious."

They might have laughed at the memory, had the next day not been weighing on their shoulders. As it was, the most they could muster up was a smile. True; the reactions to her shouting that she was a lesbian and that he was gay were funny, but now they were paying the price.

She was about to say that she was sorry again, but remembered what he had told her after the 50th time she appologised. Instead, she lay her head on his shoulder, and tried to hold onto the moment.

I write because speaking out is hard, and this is one of the only ways I can get my voice heard, and the words that choke me when speaking seem to flow out when given a pen and paper. I write because the truth is easier to say if you don't say anything at all.

I write because I find it fascinating how words alone can bring someone to tears, or lift them up, and to be able to take the reader out of this world, even for a little bit, is something I aim for. The beauty of words is something I try to capture, to paint a picture so vivid, and breathe life into new worlds.

But most of all, I write because it's all I know how to do.

I still have the rings you gave me. Objectively, they’re not ageing well. It’s obvious they were cheap, the silver paint is rubbing off from wearing them too much, and they’re slightly big, but I love them anyway. Yes, the designs are beautiful, but that’s not the only reason I love them.

I know we haven’t had a proper conversation in months. It should be hard to care so much about someone you don’t talk to, right? But even when we didn’t talk, just your smile from across the room was enough to make me feel better.

I don’t know when we’ll next see each other. I don’t have your number, and I doubt we’d talk anyway. Still, when you hugged me on the last day, it felt like goodbye.

I don’t want it to be goodbye. I know I’ll see you again. Until then, I’ll keep wearing the rings you gave me, even when nothing of their beauty remains.

Dear Gina,

What can I say? No, seriously, what? “I’m sorry” isn’t going to cut it, I know.

Still, I’m sorry. You deserve so much better than I can give you, than I’ve ever given you. I hope you know how incredible you are, and that you deserve the world. None of this was ever your fault. If you take nothing else away from this letter, just know that you never did anything wrong. All of the blame goes to me.

You’re probably wondering why I’m writing this to you. Cat would just rip it up as soon as she knew who it was from, and Freya has made her stance pretty clear. Besides, you were the one in the group who had stood by me no matter what, and realising that I hurt you was probably the hardest part of the whole thing. Not that any part of it was easy.

I could explain my reasoning behind it all, but that’s not what this is about. It’s just me saying I’m sorry, and that I hope you have an amazing life. I don’t know if I have the right to call you my squish anymore, but that doesn’t mean I care about you any less.

I’m not trying to get back into your life. Like I said, you deserve so much better than anything I can give you. I just need you to know that I never hated you, or even disliked you at all. Not for a second.

Goodbye,

Alex

Holding on can be tempting at first. We fear the unknown, we fear change, and letting go of the rope can be terrifying. Even if it's a bad situation, we stay because it's all that we know. To let go is to jump out of a plane, not knowing if the parachute works.

Holding on can be tempting, but in the long run, you'll wish you had let go. Because yes, it's scary, but the only way forward is to make that change. A wound won't heal if the knife is still in there. If letting go is to jump out of a plane, then holding on is staying in as you watch the plane crash.

I knew a girl named Ella, once. I love her now like a parent might love a murderer.

She was a bright child, creative and determined. A beacon of happiness as she played and danced without restraint. I choose to hold onto those bittersweet memories, because it's better than drowning in them.

For the longest time, I hated her. Just her name was enough to bring me to tears, and I tried to be the opposite of her in every way. It wasn't so much her that was the issue, but what she represented.

Now I can see that she's more like the person I want to be. It still hurts to hear her name, but I can't hate her. Not when she's the reason I'm the person I am today, not when she was just an innocent child who wanted the best for everyone.

I may have lost her, but at my core, I'm still the child I used to be.

I wish...

What do I wish for? It seems like there is so much, but I don't know where to begin.

Do I wish for the earth? For global warming to be stopped, or world peace, or to end world hunger? It's probably the right thing to do, but am I willing to let go of this opportunity? That is, assuming this wish comes true.

Perhaps I wish for my most selfish desire, but what even is that? My future? How can I wish for something I don't even know?

No, I think I wish to feel normal. To not feel so paranoid about things I know aren't true. To not feel like I'm about to throw up after one bite of food. To not have to count everything, to not have such a problem with texture, to not be in pain for no fucking reason. I wish, more than anything, to just be normal.

But that's all it is; a wish.

I don't get how someone can truly love themselves. Not really.

See, when you say you love someone, you're only seeing what they want you to see. They might show you some of the ugliness, but it's never the full story. You don't see everything going on behind the scenes, you can't see it, and that's ok.

The problem is, you can see those things about yourself.

And so I can't say that I love myself. Because when I look in the mirror, all I can see is the parts of myself I desperately want to change, and how can I love someone like that?

If you think differently, that's amazing. I'm so happy for you. But for me, loving myself would be like saying nothing is wrong with the world, then switching the channel whenever the news comes on.