❝There wouldn't be a sky full of stars if we were all meant to wish on the same one.❞
-Frances Clark

***

Maya wanted to go swimming, for all we were doing was lying on the bed and talking about many things from what happened today to how she thinks I won't be with her forever. I didn't want to talk about any of that anymore, for it was getting a bit depressing, so I agree to go with her. However, we have no swimsuits, which makes it all a bit complicated.

"We have no swimsuits," I tell her as we shuffle through our bags.

"We have our underwear," she points out. "It's basically the same thing, right?"

Her reply throws me off a bit, and I find myself swallowing before answering. "Y – yeah, we do," I reply after composing myself. "I didn't think of that," I admit, the idea of swimming with Maya in nothing but our underwear makes my face heat up. I can only imagine that I'm blushing, which makes me look away from her.

"Besides, it's getting pretty late, anyway. There probably won't be many people swimming at this hour," she says after a moment.

"With our luck, everyone will be swimming," I half laugh, hoping that's not true. I don't want anyone to see us in our underwear, just the thought makes me blush even more. I'm not very comfortable with my body as it is, which would make this all very awkward if a whole family decided to swim the same time we did.

"Don't jinx us," she teases, before grabbing a few towels from the bathroom and asking me if I'm ready to go.

"Yeah," I sigh. "Just let me get the key." I don't know if Maya has her key or not, but I sort of want to postpone this swimming session. The idea makes me both nervous and excited, but for some reason, it makes me more nervous. Nevertheless, I agreed to this and I can't postpone it all night by pretending to search for the key that's on the nightstand. "Got it," I smile, before opening the door and letting her go out first. "Do you know where it's at?" I ask, wondering if she seen a sign earlier when we were checking in, or when we were returning from our ice cream episode.

"No, but it's somewhere on the first floor," she tells me, before pushing the button to the elevator.

"It's freezing out here," I shiver, the air seeming to get colder as the moments pass by. "I'm glad I decided to leave my clothes on until I got to the pool."

"Me too. I just hope the pool is inside and heated. I don't really want to be outside right now."

"You wouldn't want to swim under the stars?" I ask her, the thought sounding rather romantic to me.

"You would be lucky if you even seen a star. We're in Chicago, they're lights everywhere."

"Way to bring me down," I laugh, forgetting about all of the lights blocking out the heavenly bodies.

"I'm sorry," she chuckles with me. "Look!" She says after we step out of the elevator. "There's the sign. It's this way."

Making a left, we follow the pool sign, while talking about how beautiful the lobby is. "This is so gorgeous, I can't even," Maya gapes as she looks around. "I could get used to this," she laughs. "Tell me it wasn't as expensive as it looks, Clark, please."

"It wasn't as expensive as it looks," I assure her, despite it being pretty pricey. It was only $109, leaving $91 off of her original statement of if it were $200, how she couldn't be my friend anymore. The thought makes my nerves get worked up, and that's nothing I need right now, especially with my nerves already on end from the thought of swimming in my boxers.

"I hope not," she replies, before we finally find the pool. "Even the pool is beautiful," she comments, before opening the door and walking in. "It's indoor, and it's all to ourselves. Nothing to worry about, Clark. And look! There's a window above it, so there's your view of the sky. Even though it's a starless night, at least you can still look up at the sky, right?" She points out, trying to be the positive one. This makes me smile, I like seeing her positive.

"Right you are," I say, before taking off my shirt, my fingers shaking slightly. It's not as if Maya hasn't seen me change before, but this feels like something different. This feels more intimate, for we're not just changing our clothes, we're going to go swimming in our underwear. For some reason, I can't help but know my mom would frown upon all of this.

I try to ignore her in the corner of my eye, and only focus on myself. It's harder than it sounds, but I manage to pull it off. However, when I turn around, ready to get into the pool, I can't help but smile as I watch her do a cannon ball into the water, the sound breaking the silence around us.

"Clark!" She screams as her head emerges from under the waves. "It feels lovely!" I wanted to tell her she looked lovely, swimming around and laughing and smiling. I wanted to tell her she was beautiful, that nothing — not even a sky full of stars — could compare to her. However, I don't. I don't tell her any of this, I just do a cannon ball myself, my body breaking into the water and warming me up.

"It is lovely!" I comment as I emerge as well. "The temperature is magnificent."

"Isn't it, though?" She asks, before she swims over to me. "I'm going to lie on my back, get a good view of the lit up sky," she tells me, as she lies there, the water lapping over her body slightly.

"I'll join you," I reply softly, trying to take my mind off of how she looks under the dim lights, with the water sparkling off of her. Her long blond hair is swimming in a pile around her head, the very little mascara on her eyes is leaking down her face in black smears. She looks like a mess, but a beautiful mess. A mess that I'm glad I get to be apart of, for I wouldn't want to be here with anyone else.

"This is romantic," she comments after a moment of silence, a moment we spend staring up through the window and into the sky. "I'm glad you brought me here, Clark, I really am."

"Me too, Maya, me too," I tell her, before finding her wet hand in the water and holding it tight.

However, the moment doesn't last long, for Maya assumes it will be fun to start splashing, which results in me coughing and sputtering water from it getting up my nose, and ruining our little moment we shared. Thanks, Maya, it was fun while it lasted.

Eventually I find myself laughing and splashing her back. It doesn't end too sour, for it gets me a kiss, and that's worth it all.