87.
chapter eighty-seven:
under the blue
skies with her.
<3

"The stars are beautiful tonight, but don't they prefer the moon over the sun because the former gives them an opportunity to shine individually?" 

A soft gasp came from my right; I felt her hair tickle the side of my face as she shifted her posture to loop her arm through mine. For a minute, our limbs were awkwardly attached before I moved a bit to let it settle the way we were made to fit for each other. 

"I can see why Professor Sycamore absolutely waited for his classes to read your completed poetry." 

I felt a laugh escape my lips at the thought of the excited man wasting several precious minutes of our seniors’ and juniors’ time to wait until I finished one of the poems he would request me to come up with. "I never knew you'd pay attention to me then. We broke apart, you know, after that argument and stuff." 

"Just being apart doesn't mean I never looked your way." 

Amused smiles played across our features as our gazes met. The stars, yet again, bore witness to our rather strange-slash-intimate confessions. "So you gawked at me stretching between classes?" I chortled in a voice unlike my own, the same minute she asked: 

"Didn't you stare at me when I was doing my election campaigns in my formals?" 

Heat flooded my cheeks, but some sort of relief lifted the heaviness that had settled into my stomach when she flushed red as well. She looked well-deserving of the compliment at the tip of my tongue, especially when the moonlight illuminated her sharp features. "Yeah, well, you were looking crisp and gorgeous—" 

"And I love your hair all messy, you know, and darn that—" 

"Okay, I get it, Serena. Don't curse my torso—" 

Serena chuckled, while I chose a smile instead of going all in. 

"Hey, what if your parents catch us like this? I've only told them I'm a friend of yours. That's probably the reason they let me bunk in with you," Serena started after a pause. I hummed in thought. It wasn't like we'd do anything inappropriate, but I didn't wish for their gazes to be lowered at me. 

"Let's hit the sack, then?" 

"Excuse moi? You were the one who suggested stargazing!" The sudden change in her accent caught me off guard, so much so that I almost choked on the thin air. It only elicited a happy chuckle that lasted a few moonlit moments before we retired to our beds, Serena taking the lower bunk because of her acrophobia. 

I didn't realize when my eyelids grew heavy. The day had been so tiring and mentally draining. The next thing I knew, it was morning already, and I had rolled off my bed onto the rough floor, wrapped in my blankets like a spring roll out of the oven. "Ouch," I whined, trying to sit up but failing miserably within the confines of the thick fabric. 

"Oh, my God!" 

A sharp pain stung my back as I was rolled out of my cocoon. My vision cleared to look at a concerned pair of blues gazing intensely down at me. I gave her a lopsided grin. "Good morning!" 

"Are you okay?!" she exclaimed, helping me to sit up. 

"Where's my good morning?" 

"Answer me!" Serena cried, looking me over for any bruises. Warmth rushed to my face. She was too kind for me to deserve. 

Before I could thank her for caring, the door flung open to reveal both my parents standing there. They already seemed to be dressed for the day and wore identical expressions of... concern?

"What happened? We heard some noise and—" the man started, but before he could finish, my mum was at my side, kneeling and mirroring Serena's actions, beads of sweat glistening across her forehead. There was a speck of gray in her hair and eyebrows, a sign that time was passing and waited for none. 

"Ash fell over in his sleep!" 

I didn't protest at her declaration, instead opting to sigh deeply. Bro woke up and chose to get sympathy. "I'm fine." 

"Trust me when I say that's the biggest lie a human keeps repeating," he piped in and crouched beside the women. Goosebumps erupted on the back of my neck, and I wanted to back away into the wall, but none of my muscles heeded my brain's commands. 

So, I did the only legit thing I could think of then: give Serena pleading eyes. She shifted uncomfortably before voicing out. "He's fine, I checked him over, but I think he's hungry?" I bobbed my head, eliciting a chuckle from my mum. 

"Of course! I still remember you trotting from the bed to breakfast because you woke up hungry." A faraway look crossed her face. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she shook her head as if shaking water out of her ears. "I'll have everything ready. Why don't you freshen up, Ash? Oh, and you can use the washroom in my room, Serena sweetie." 

The two women left in a scurry, and for a moment, I felt like a deer caught in the headlights when he turned to me. "Ash, you do know that I'm always open to hearing you out, don't you?" He smiled, the smile that plagued my living nightmares. 

A snort escaped me involuntarily, and I stood up, shaking dust off my shorts. Hearing me out? I wanted to shout at his face. You weren't even present for the majority of my life.

Nevertheless, I bit back every bitter remark that graced my tongue and tested my eloquence of English and merely continued to the restrooms without turning back. He was standing there, mouth agape and a frown creasing his aging features. Yet another reminder of the time that passed.

No, but how could anybody expect me to just open up to someone who once betrayed and chopped the symbol of trust you so desperately held onto? 

— 💌 —

Hey guys!
Here's to the 1ooth part of teenage nightmare! How's the story so far?

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