Traces of me.

~Euphoria take over me when your tongue dance on my body.~

Arcane POV:

Another year slipped away in the blink of an eye, and here I stood, on the precipice of high school graduation. It was a milestone that I had never imagined reaching without Mom by my side, her absence a constant ache that refused to fade. And then there was Xavier, a presence that still lingered in the recesses of my thoughts, despite the silence that had settled between us.

As I watched my classmates buzz with anticipation, their excitement mingling with nervous energy, I couldn't help but feel a sense of detachment. It was as though I was moving through the motions, the weight of the past still clinging to me.

The ceremony itself was a blur of gowns and caps, a sea of faces that seemed to meld together. The applause, the speeches—they all felt like distant echoes, reverberating in a space that I no longer fully occupied. I walked across the stage, the diploma a tangible symbol of an achievement that felt bit