<🎧 Song Recommendation: snowfall by Øneheart & reidenshi>

...

The view from the scenic overlook was nothing short of breathtaking. The production crew had waited for two straight hours just to capture this exact moment.

Far beyond the Los Angeles skyline, the setting sun was creating a rare optical phenomenon known as a Sun Pillar.

Instead of just sinking below the horizon, the dying sun cast a perfect, glowing vertical beam of orange light that stretched high into the evening clouds.

It was a sight that rarely happened, requiring a perfect combination of cold air and high-altitude ice crystals. You could visit this overlook every day for a year and never see it.

(Perfect Ruins | Act 2 | Scene 45 | Take 3)

The golden hue washed over the hood of Aiden’s rusty car, casting long, dramatic shadows.

Aiden and Camila were sitting side by side on the cold hood of the car. Today was her birthday. Originally, in the morning when Aiden had asked her if she had plans, she had proudly said she was going out with Xander.

Xander had indeed visited her dorm, but he had made up a cheap excuse about family business, and they didn’t go out.

And now, she was here. With Aiden.

Aiden looked out at the glowing horizon. He nudged her shoulder to get her attention, seeing that the pillar of light was at its absolute brightest.

He pointed at it. "You see that... My parents always brought me here whenever it was my birthday. According to them, if you make a wish at that particular time, chances are that it would come true."

Aiden had a longing and lost look in his violet eyes as he said that. It was a look of quiet vulnerability that made Camila naturally lean into his shoulder, seeking the warmth he offered in the chilly evening breeze.

"So you’re saying I should make a wish?" Camila asked softly.

"It’s up to you..."

"Okay!" Camila said with a small, genuine smile. She closed her eyes tightly for a few seconds, her face bathed in the golden light. When she opened them back up, she let out a quiet breath. "I’ve made my wish."

"What did you wish for?" Aiden asked, turning his head to look at her profile.

"I wished for freedom..." Camila’s eyes remained fixed on the fading sunset as she spoke to him, her voice carrying some weight.

"I just want to be free. That’s what I want most..."

Aiden stared at her for a moment, understanding exactly what she meant. She was trapped in a golden cage by her parents, by Xander, and by the expectations of her wealthy life.

"Freedom..." Aiden muttered, his tone low and understanding. "Sometimes it takes a bit of courage to achieve that."

Camila didn’t say anything back to that. She just leaned into him closer. Meanwhile, Aiden turned his attention back to the sun and closed his own eyes in complete silence.

When he opened them again a few moments later, Camila turned to him, wondering what he had just done.

"Did you just make a wish?"

"Yeah, I did."

"But today isn’t your birthday. Oh, no. Is it?"

Camila’s hand flew towards her mouth as she immediately felt guilty for not knowing his birthday, especially after he had spent the evening keeping her company.

"No, it’s not my birthday," Aiden smiled at her panicked reaction, finding it slightly amusing.

"Then... why?"

"In the same way it doesn’t have to be a holiday to receive gifts, it doesn’t have to be your birthday to make a wish."

Aiden kept his eyes on the fading beam of light as he spoke, but Camila still had a confused look on her face. She faced the evening sky once more, searching for whatever magic he saw in it.

"You don’t believe in this stuff, do you?" Camila asked, seeing through his exterior.

"Sometimes it’s okay to believe in things you don’t think are real," Aiden muttered quietly.

"Maybe believing is enough to make them real."

His words struck a chord deep inside her. It made Camila lean even closer, their arms pressing together as she shook her head in slight disbelief at how deeply he thought about things.

"So what did you wish for?" she asked with a whisper.

Aiden looked down at her lips. He was just about to say something when he suddenly felt his cracked phone vibrate violently in his pockets.

Seeing it was Gary calling, Aiden let out a quiet sigh. He pulled his large headphones down so they were resting around his neck, and answered the call.

"Hey," Aiden said flatly.

"Aiden! Where are you now? And where’s Camila?!" Gary’s voice came through the speaker, sounding breathless and frantic.

"I’m out... She’s with me. Did something happen?" Aiden didn’t understand Gary’s extreme reaction. Hearing the shift in Aiden’s tone, Camila turned to look at him with a worried expression.

"Yes. You know that boyfriend guy that visited her today... A friend of mine sent me a picture of Bella, she was out with Xander. They entered a hotel together."

Bella was Gary’s ex-girlfriend. She was also Camila’s college roommate, and that was exactly how Aiden had met Camila in the first place back when Gary and Bella were still together.

So Aiden knew exactly how massive this news was. Her boyfriend and her roommate.

"Are you sure about this?" Aiden asked in a cold, serious tone. "And where were they?"

"Yes, I swear on your left testicle, I’m sure. They’re at the Grand Beverly Hotel, and it’s been over an hour since they went in. So if you and Camila can go now, you might just be able to catch them when they leave."

"What? How do you expect us to go there? You don’t even know if they just came to see someone, or if they’re gonna spend the night."

"Trust me, Aiden... I know," Gary said, his tone dropping all its usual goofiness.

"They booked a room for two hours, and I can bet they’ll be out together once the time is up... So just do this."

Aiden remained silent after Gary’s confident tone met his scrutiny. He knew better than to doubt Gary. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Aside from being incredibly goofy and annoying at times, the former junior was still a tech guru.

He had his ways of finding out information that most people couldn’t. Sometimes Aiden wondered how someone so small could be so smart, but that was just how life would have it.

"Okay, thanks for the information. I’ll know what to do."

After ending the call and returning his phone to his pocket, Aiden turned to face Camila. She was looking curiously at him, silently begging for an explanation.

He looked into her eyes, knowing the heartbreak that was waiting for her across the city.

"I’m sorry, Camila, but we might have to get going... There’s something you have to see."

***

"CUT!"

Marcus announced loudly with a bright, triumphant smile spreading across his face.

Seeing that everything had gone well filled the director with immense relief. Having to do another take just to catch the rare Sun Pillar phenomenon would have taken them another full day of waiting and eaten heavily into their limited budget, so he was more than glad they had finally acted it out to his perfection on the third try.