Half a year passed and Astrid and Caelum were right around the brink of the summer break. The sun beat down on the two of them as they smiled at each other on their way home from a day's trip to a picnic spot in the middle of the forest. It was always fun when the two of them went on adventures on their own. 

That and the fact that Astrid sang "I have this dream you're doing cool shit; having adventures on your own"

The best part about these odd spontaneous trips was that there was nothing to do other than sing at the top of their lungs and share stories about every single topic their mind would cross. That was one of the best parts about them, they never got bored because just when you believe there is nothing more to talk about, you come across something that has already been on your mind sometimes, but happen to see it with a completely new view. 

They had both grown quite a bit in the span of a year with Astrid and Caelum both giving their finals and finishing up with graduation a few weeks before. The year was going great compared to all the drama dump that had happened the previous year all at once. For one, Claudia and Abuela Teresa were so proud to see their little girl finish up with school, they were the only two who attended the graduation. 

Astrid's graduation speech almost made a few people cry, she had spoken so eloquently and Caleum was so so proud of her. He was reminded of the reason why fell in love with her in the first place. When it was his turn, he had outdone himself with his public speaking skills. He was usually the one to speak such rare meaningful and powerful words but this time, he had made it so interactive that the whole room rang with laughter for a good five minutes. After he was done with his speech, he winked at Astrid and a good number of girls swooned and elbowed her, she couldn't hide her blush.

The senior prom the same academic semester was quite a blast too though it had gotten a tiny bit out of hand. It was held on the same day as Caelum's birthday - the 6th of June - and it was a very good day. They had bid each other goodbye in the morning because they both wanted to do prom the traditional way but neither of them could wait to meet the other. They called each other way too many times in the day but promised that there would be no face timing. They had decided to meet each other at 5 PM at her place. Astrid left her car at his place and was waiting for him. 

When Caelum came over, it was just like the movies. Her walk downstairs took his breath away completely and he had his jaw hanging open wide, she had laughed out loud. 

"Close your mouth, pretty boy," she said. "Something could fly right in."

He smiled very embarrassed about his reaction and handed her a daisy she did not think twice before she tucked it in her hair. He knew that she did not like roses as much as she loved daisies and petunias. Claudia took a good number of pictures of them together until it was almost an hour later that they set out in her car. When Cal looked over, he could not believe how beautiful she looked - of course, she always looked like a princess but today was one of the times that really blew his mind away as the reality of how beautiful she had slapped him with full force. 

Her hair was styled in loose curls that he simply knew was her grandmother's handiwork. Her smile looked as bright as the flowers in her hair that Caelum added later and on their way to the venue, she couldn't believe that this was really happening. That she was finishing school in less than a week and went silent but Cal wouldn't let one of the most important days of her life go that way, he rested a hand on her thigh and she held squeezed his hand hard and pressed a kiss on the back. 

All the way there, Cal and Astrid talked about the most random of things - the impact of AI on society, what their plans were after high school - things they already knew about but wanted to talk about either way. And then reality hit her and she gasped as loud as the first time she had bit into an ice-cold vanilla cone in winter, she had forgotten that the day was Caelum's birthday.  She had been too into preparations for the prom and arranging everything around the school that she inadvertently overlooked the fact and then shame crept inside the cage of her chest as she wondered why and how someone could be so engrossed in their own world to forget the birthday of the love of their life. 

But Caelum noticed that she was on the verge of tears and so, he lifted his hand, tucked a strand behind her ear and asked her what it was. It did take a bit of prodding but she gave in eventually, he pursued his lips and pulled into the parking lot of the school. Taking her hand and pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles as he looked into her deep eyes, he told her, "Doll, I know you care, I know that I matter to you and you were busy. It's alright to forget things sometimes, you know?"

But she was barely listening to anything. Her ears had started ringing and the feeling of loss crashed down on her all at once. How could she? How could she dare to call herself someone worthy of loving when she couldn't remember his birthday? Everything was spinning out of control and tears were threatening to start streaming down her face. Her breathing got shallower and shallower but he was right with her. 

He held her close to his chest as soon as he realised what had been happening and he held her face in his hand as he instructed her through it all, helping her calm down. The ordeal was resolved by the end of the third minute and she was alright. She hid her face in embarrassment in the other direction and he turned her around with her chin in his hand, "You don't have to be embarrassed by it, you get me, princess?" 

And she nodded in response but it was her goal to make the prom party the brightest and biggest thing the school had ever seen and even more so and now she had realised that it was Cal's birthday too. She had disappeared for an hour or so, making sure all the paperwork had been covered up while Cal waited in the room, making small talk with others and a few of them that knew about Cal's birthday wished him a very happy 17th birthday and joked about how Astrid was almost a whole year older than him. 

Caelum had been faking smiles the whole time Astrid wasn't by his side because she was his baby and he couldn't help wondering when she would be back. He missed her. 

Meanwhile standing in the backroom of the make-shift stage, she could not help thinking about the promposal that Caelum had made for her on the 20th of May and she reckoned that though maybe her one wasn't seen by the whole entire school, she had the best one among all of them. 

She could still feel how the sweet air of that night breezed through her dyed hair as she got to the rooftop of the cafe that Luis owned. Astrid knew that he had to do a lot of persuasion on his part to get Luis to let him go ahead with his plan. And oh boy, was it beautiful. She had not been dressed appropriately if she was being honest, she was in a summer maxi-frock - a yellow one - that Claudia got for her with studded boots that were oddly mismatched. She had rolled out of bed when she remembered that she had promised to be on the rooftop of 'Bean & Bites Pastries'. She was close to tears when she noticed the telescope, the fairy lights strung everywhere, the blankets and cushions and everything he had set up just for her. 

"You didn't have to, baby."

He held her hand in the dark, "I wanted to, darling."

Next to the cushions of the fluffy air mattress was a bean bag which had so many of her favourite snacks that Cal had made for her at home and brought - and of course, a customized "Astrid" drink. He had ordered that for her based on both Astrid's taste and one that matches her personality just as well. It started with a hazelnut latte base, had a good amount of Caramel, frothed cream on the top and a sprinkle of cinnamon on the top. 

He had started, naming stars, telling her stories as they lay down, munching on fried goodies and she couldn't believe that she gotten ever so lucky to call Caelum her own and in the midst of that, he took her hand in his. 

Kissing the top of it ever so gently, he got down on one knee and told her, "Astrid, from the moment I met you I knew that you were different baby, you have lit up my whole world brighter than any star ever would. You shine princess. So, I just had to ask you, would you do me the greatest honour and be my shining star at prom?"

And the joy that filled her soul lit her from within as she leapt on him and kissed him so so hard - the star the only witness of the love they had for each other that night - as she smiled against his lips, "Yes, darling, a million times yes." 

Caelum pulled out a pendant from the pocket of his pants, it wasn't anything fancy. Just a star adorned by tiny shining stones and he pushed her hair aside as he put it on for Astrid but when she turned around, he swore, he had fallen in love once more. And with the same gentleness, he always had inside him he kissed the pendant where it lay close to the base of her throat. That was one night, they fell asleep under the stars with millions of dreams in their minds about the future they would one day share together. 

Astrid did not have that sort of time to get anything prepared for Cal but what she did have were connections and one of them just happened to work at a bakery. She made a mad dash for it, trying to track down Jordan in the midst of the beginning of the prom and asked him if Luis would still be at the bakery. Jordan had steelily responded, Luis said he would be at the prom in a few more minutes. Astrid muttered curses in Spanish under her breath but she wasn't giving up so soon. She called up Luis and Jordan was indeed right, Luis was on his way to the prom but he gave him the contact of one of his partners at B&B Pastries to her. She did not have much time to spare and called the young boy up. 

"Hi there, is this Alex Martinez?" 

"Hello, yes!" came a very excited voice from the other side. "Welcome to B&B Pastries, how might I help you today?" 

"Hey there, I'm Astrid and I got your contact from your co-worker - Luis Miller? The thing is I need a cake and I need it before midnight, would that be alright?"

"Of course, of course!" Alex replied cheerily, "What kind of cake would you like?"

Astrid bit her lip, she had already a rough idea in her mind about the cake from a few months before but had forgotten about it. This thought was however one that would require a lot of time and effort to recreate and she felt bad about giving a kid her age something so complicated, "You know what, just do as you please-"

"No, no," Alex tried persuading Astrid. "Please don't hesitate and let me know what you have in mind, I assure you, I can recreate it and even if I won't be able to do exactly as what is in your mind. I will make it worth it."

She bit her lip as she hesitated but then stated, "Well if you are so sure."

The phone call winded up seven minutes and forty-eight seconds later and Astrid sure as heck felt guilty about the way she had just dumped so much work on Alex but in her defence, he wanted it! And he did seem pretty excited about it too, so there wasn't much she could complain about. 

The rest of the night was a fabulous blur spent dancing around with hands around each other's waists and going away to stuff their face with goodies in the fast-paced songs. There was red punch and a whole lot of laughter to keep all of them busy but then the clock struck midnight and everything came to a standstill as they waited for the announcement of the prom king and queen of the year. Everyone waited with bated breath but it meant very little to both Cal and Astrid, they were together that night and that was all that matter. However, it did come off as a shocker when the head of the prom committee - Mx Roland declared Caelum Artemis Ludwig as the prom king of the year and there was no one happier than Astrid as she flung her hands around his neck and kissed his cheek.  

The biggest plot twist wasn't him being declared Prom king, it was when it announced that Elizabeth Darwin was the Prom queen and before anyone could react to anything, Cal was at the edge of the makeshift stage, crouching to talk to Astrid who stood below, "You alright, darling?"

She nodded because she was alright. Fuming but alright. On the verge of wanting to really hurt Eliza as she was reminded once more about all the hurt the girl caused her, but still alright. She always was alright. Caelum however refused to dance with Eliza for the first dance and it happened to be a very awkward moment as it had been tradition for the prom queen and king to dance the first dance together. He didn't want to for Astrid's sake and she lied that it was alright. Since everyone insisted, he went ahead and danced for but half a minute before he dropped her hand while dancing. Left her out there dancing. He did so especially more so because Astrid had gone out of sight and he did not have a very good gut feeling about anything. 

He didn't tell her a word, he didn't tell Eliza anything. He left his golden paper crown on a nearby table, that little trinket meant nothing to him when his baby wasn't by his side and fled in search of her. She was all that mattered to him. He found her eventually sitting on the edge of the swimming pool the school had, her heels beside her as she stared at the water and Cal sat right next to her. 

"Now, you gonna tell me what's wrong, baby?"

She sniffled, "It's stupid, it's not even your fault and she still gets all to dance with you in front of the whole school and it's selfish of me but I don't even want her in six feet radius of you and-"

"Oh darling," he sighed and pulled her into his chest. "I wouldn't want anyone coming in a thirty feet radius had that happened to you. It's alright my love, let's just go home, alright?"

And they went straight home, still in their fancy clothes, they made out in the car as they parked in Cal's driveway. Her lips against his, they smiled and he whispered sweet nothings to her - little moments like these were what she would treasure all of her life. But every little joy had to come to an end and theirs was when Johanna had called up asking Astrid if she would come and bring Caelum along for the prom after-party she was throwing along with her twin at her place. 

He had immediately shook his head no, parties always had resulted in disasters and that night was one Cal wanted to save for a very special other purpose. As soon as the phone call was cut, Caelum climbed over and took Astrid over to the backseat where they had just started making out strongly, hands starting to wander when there was a knock on the window and they sprang apart. 

It was the cake delivery. 

Caelum was still pretty dazed from their makeout session and was slow to respond but Astrid was always the one quick on her feet. She opened the car door and thanked Alex as she took the box from him. He whispered, "I hope this was how you expected this to be."

She whispered back, "It will be lovely either way."

And just like that, Alex got into his car which was parked a few feet away from them and drove away. They sat in the car, watching the boy go away and then Cal finally spoke, "So, we gonna spend the night here or get back home even?"

She hit him playfully and climbed out as she opened the door to their house, Cal would not stop kissing her neck and she was laughing with glee, "Stop that, it's so ticklish!"

He mumbled against her skin and she would not stop giggling. Once they were inside though, it was as though a switch had been flipped off in him and he went all curious. "What's inside the box?"

But Astrid wasn't going to keep him in much suspense for long as she placed the box on the kitchen island and took out a tiny candle from one of the kitchen drawers. Smiling that Astrid smile he fell in love with all those months before, she opened the cake and that been probably the first time Astrid Finlay had ever heard an astonished gasp from Caelum. 

It was the most beautiful cake either of them had ever seen and that was a lot coming because Astrid had seen some pretty amazing cakes in her lifetime of roaming about with her parents to all sorts of fancy events. With its midnight purple, blue, black swirls and a mirror glaze shimmer and tiny glitter of gold and silver, it was exactly what Astrid thought of Caelum.

She had never seen Caelum cry of joy ever before and good lord, the sight blew her minds away. Because at 1:46 AM in the morning of 07th June 2023, with the house lit up with fairy lights the two of them had strung up together and his face gleaming with tears and the single candle on the top of the cake as she sang him 'Happy Birthday' was one of the best moments of her entire existence. He prayed a silent wish and blew out the candles and even before cutting the cake out for himself or her, he held her so so hard against his chest and kissed her hair, thanking her a million time. 

"This is the first birthday I have ever celebrated since my mother had gone to the hospital."

She held him tight as she listened to the re-assuring sound of his heartbeat, "I know darling."

That was the best birthday Caelum had ever had and the biggest surprise of the cake wasn't even that the three layers of cake were dark chocolate base, a whole middle filled with creamy caramel and the top of hazelnut praline. Nor was it the fact that there were a rustic old silver gold fondant typewritter beside the cake or the edible shiny stars. It was the note on the cake board of white -

"Immeasurable as the vast midnight sky,
you illuminate my world brighter than any star ever could" 

Astrid did not ever think that one of Caelum's half written quote for her would be one of the things that make him cry because he said, "I did not know how to frame my thoughts perfect and you finish it off and give it as a gift to me."

And even though, the day wasn't perfect. It was less than perfect with Astrid forgetting about his birthday and all the unnecessary drama with the prom night. It was enough because wasn't about all the big moments, it were these little things that counted.