I sat on my couch with my black and white cat laying in my lap. North Star had gotten sick but he was getting better now. He had gotten a tapeworm inside of him and, somehow, I hadn't noticed the rice like things in his litter box. I felt like a horrible owner. How could I have let him suffer like that?

I was glad Aileen loved animals so much. Estrella and Aileen both were plant and animal lovers, but only Aileen wanted to be a Vet. She had noticed the issue and immediately called us to let me know.

I had taken North Star to the Vet immediately and he was treated with a shot. After that, I spent all my time looking after my poor Star. It had only been two days, but I had only gone to my classes in that time. I didn't do anything but stay home with Star.

I hadn't talked to or seen my friends either. That wasn't deliberate, but it happened. They did, however, text me to check in on both me and Star. Badr, on the other hand, I hadn't seen much of at all. We didn't have each other's numbers so the only way to see him would be to wait till my next Spanish class or go next door, to his dorm.

Neither one of us would visit the other because that would be inappropriate, but Badr had left me a note saying he had to give something to me. I assumed it way my journal since I realized I left it at his place after I ran out to grab North Star and go to the Vet.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Who is it?" I called out, gently moving Star off my lap.

"Put on your scarf and open up." Reina's voice came through the door.

I quickly grabbed the scarf I kept by the door and and wrapped it around my head. I slipped on the white cardigan there as well, covering up my half sleeve shirt. "Okay," I hummed, opening the door. "What is i-?" I drifted off, surprised to find Estrella, Aileen, Reina, Badr, and Zakir all at the door. "Uhm... this is a surprise." I smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, so I'm gonna go change now because I'm a mess." I mumbled and scurried off to my room, changing out of my t-shirt and sweatpants.

I slipped on a white blouse with black polka dots, tucking it into a long pink skirt. The golden buttons on the front of the skirt reflected the wall of my room. I slipped on black tights underneath, making sure that the little bit of my legs that wasn't covered now was. After that, I wrapped a matching pink scarf around my head. I looked at myself in the mirror, "It's okay." I shrugged, "The outfit is nice, at least." I mumbled.

I walked back out to the others, who were now sitting in the main room. Estrella and Zakir were talking about something, while Aileen and Reina looked at something on Aileen's phone. Badr, on the other hand, was sitting on the floor with Star, petting his head and playing with his paws. Estrella noticed me first, "You're back!"

I nodded, "Yep. So why is it that all of you guys just showed up?"

"We wanted to give you some company." Aileen smiled.

"And make sure you were okay. We know you love Star a lot." Reina leaned back in the couch.

I smiled softly. "Well, thank you for thinking of me." I got down on the other side of Star, petting him. I noticed Badr look up to see who it was and immediately shoot his head back down when he saw me.

"What do you guys wanna do?" Zakir asked, looking towards the TV.

"We can watch a movie?" I suggested, standing back up. "I have popcorn and soda as well."

"That sounds good!" Zakir grinned.

I gave a smile and headed into the kitchen, "Hey, Aileen, put on a movie from the Apple TV." I hummed. Since my kitchen was open to the main space, they could see and hear everything that went on in there.

"Okay!" I heard her answer, picking up the remote and putting on the TV.

I pulled out the popcorn, ignoring the sounds of people discussing which movie to watch as I placed it in the microwave. "Uhm," I heard from somewhere behind me. "Could I talk to you for a second?"

I turned around, only to find Badr holding his bag and leaning against the kitchen wall. "Yeah, sure. What's up?" I didn't even realize that my friends had quieted down.

"Okay, so I have three things for you." He started.

I rose an eyebrow. "Three?"

"Yep." He pulled something out of his bag. "The first, your journal." He held it out to me, the maroon flowers on the cover reflecting the kitchen lights.

"Oh my gosh, thank you so much!" I cried out, relief flooding through me as I took it from him hastily. I hugged the book to my chest. "I missed this thing." I mumbled.

Badr chuckled softly. "I completely understand that."

I looked up to see what the second thing was but he didn't pull anything out of his bag. "So..?"

"Well, when you handed me your journal, you gave me permission to read anything in it. You warned me of the darker poems and... you said you hoped it wouldn't change the way I saw you." He summarized our conversation from that day. "I may have lied to you without realizing it."

"What do you mean?" I asked, concern beginning to weave into my words.

"Those poems... They did change the way I see you. Not in a bad way, of course. But they definitely... gave me more insight." He tried to explain. "And because of that," He dug his hand into his bag, pulling out another journal, but this one was a black, leather-clad one. He held it out to me. "I'm going to let you borrow my sketchbook. You can keep it for as long as you like, but- forewarning, I might start... casually dying without it." He joked.

I slowly lifted my hand, curling my fingers around the cover. "Are you... sure about this?"

"Positive. It wouldn't be fair if I got to read your innermost thoughts, but you couldn't see mine." He let go of the book, letting it rest in my hands. "It's not like you meant for me to be able to read all of those. I bet you wanted to disappear when you saw that I reading it."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah... I was really nervous."

"I know how it feels now." He laughed softly, pointing to his sketchbook.

I smiled a bit. "I promise I won't keep it too long."

He let out a laugh. "Thanks."

"So what was that third thing?"

He pulled out a canvas, keeping it low so the others couldn't see it. "This is for you." It was the painting from the other day. The one that I had said was my new favorite. "I can't do anything with it, so... I thought I'd let you have it."

I took it from his hands, placing the two journals on the counter so I could hold the small canvas. "Thank you so much, Badr." I breathed. "It's- It is just so beautiful." I admired the painting.

"Oi! What's taking so long?" Estrella called out, breaking the silence in the other room.

I turned to the girl, shooting a smile. "Sorry! Gimme a sec!" I quickly snuck the two journals and painting to my room, hiding them in my wardrobe. When I walked back out to the kitchen, Badr had already poured the popcorn into the two bowls I had set out for them. "Oh, thanks! You didn't have to do that." I hummed as I grabbed the two-liter bottle of soda from the fridge.

"Here, I'll take that." He offered, taking the soda from my hands. He carried it over to the coffee table, placing it with the two bowls of popcorn.

I thanked him one more time before turning out the lights and sitting down to enjoy the movie.