T W O
a supernovae: a star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness because of a catastrophic explosion that ejects most of its mass.

dedicated to colorlessforests

. • . ☆ . • .

HE WASN'T SUPPOSED to be here. But neither was I.

At first, the boy didn't seem to notice me. He was too fascinated by the dust blanketing each surface in the desolate room to note my existence. Dust motes swam around his head, glinting in the light streaming in through the curtains. It was eerie; his sheer beauty, against such a shadowed backdrop. I couldn't take my eyes off him.

His hand skimmed the top of a shelf, his fingers long like a painter's. He reached into his pocket to pull out something, and that's when I decided to speak.

"You lost?" I stated. The boy's head shot round to stare at me — hands folded over my chest, hair falling into my eyes. Swiftly, he placed whatever he had taken out of his pocket back into the premise. "The alcohol's downstairs, and I'm pretty sure Kaya would've found the stash by now if there was one."

His eyes fell to mine, a searing hazel burning my vision. He was near perfect, with a chiselled jaw that appeared to be cut from stone, and defined cheekbones that carved down his tanned face. If it weren't for the cigarette hanging limply from his fingers, he would've been perfect. Something flashed at the back of my mind - a memory; a fleeting glimpse of a distorted memory - and I couldn't fight the urge that I recognised the man stood before me. The shadows masked the man's presence. They made it impossible to separate truth from reality.

"No," he replied simply, chucking the cigarette onto the floor and elegantly stomping out the ember without breaking eye contact. I wanted to look away, but every cell in my body had frozen, encapsulated by his quirked smile and eyes with suspended brown flecks. "Just looking."

"Like that's normal," I scowled, another snore erupting from Kaya's mouth as she slept like a statue. Finally, the noise caught the boy's attention, tearing his gaze from mine. I exhaled.

His eyebrows furrowed. "Is she-"

"Passed out drunk? Yes," I sighed, walking over and pulling the bed sheets over Kaya's figure. "She'll be fine, though." I smiled at the boy, who stood staring at me in the doorway. I waited for him to retreat, but much to my (fake) dismay, he only stepped closer.

"Do I know you?"

I shrugged, the strap of my crop top falling down and revealing my bra strap. I hurried to pull it back up, immediately feeling exposed and self conscious. "I don't think so."

The boy shook his head. "No, I'm sure I do. I wouldn't forget your face."

My cheeks flustered, burning. If someone was to touch my skin in that moment, their fingertips would come away scorched. I didn't know whether to take the comment as a compliment, so I nodded and said, "I'm Nova."

"Cole. Cole Colloway."

And then it hit me like a truck, racing into my skull until I felt numb. My limbs went into lockdown, breath hitching, eyes staring, and teeth clicking. I knew I'd recognised him.

"No fucking way," I gasped, and opened my mouth without the ability to close it again. "You're Ana's ex."

Cole sat on the bed, two meters away from me as I stood, shaking. He waved his hand slowly, smiling broadly without his teeth. The hairs on my arms rose uncontrollably. My spine tingled in anticipation.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I strode to face him, arms folded over my body to stop my heart from jumping out of my ribcage. "Do you have a fucking death wish?"

My remark only made Cole smirk more, the glimmer of a white tooth shining through the crack in his pink lips. "Of course I do."

"Of course you do? Is that even a reply?" I retorted, but this only reduced Cole to laughter. My lips tremored. The serious mask I had built was slowly beginning to shatter into one thousand tiny shards.

Cole ran a hand through his perfectly cropped tresses. The hair was shaven at the side, with the top in long tufts that fell into his eyes. "What's life without death, Nova?" He enquired. When I couldn't answer, he continued, "Nothing. You gotta meet death to truly experience life."

I pouted my lips. I had made the conscious decision not to wear lipstick, and I now I regretted it. I barely stood out, with my bare face and eyes covered with thick mascara. Perhaps my ruby lipstick could've made me more than just a passing face; memorable.

"So what're you doing here, Cole?" The name slid off my tongue without hesitation.

A light lit up behind Cole's monumental irises. They sparkled like a newly cut diamond, their brilliance radiating across the room in a warm glow. Although he wore a stiff leather jacket, with his red signature hand-painted rose on the back, matched by a pair of black jeans and white t-shirt, there was someone else to this boy. His confident smile, yet shielded personality made me feel safe. Made me feel like I could crack open my heart, and pour out my secrets without fear that he'd spread them. He was the beginning of a chapter, and I was the end of the book – the perfect opposing pair. The perfect binary opposites.

"Well, what do you do when your girlfriend of nine months and one day breaks up with you?"

I tuck my hair behind my ears. Thankfully, it had more life than my face in that moment. "Sorry, but why would anyone break up with you?" I couldn't stop the words from spiralling from the confines of my mouth.

Cole smirked. It was beautiful. "Answer the question, chica."

I rolled my eyes, eyelashes brushing against my skin. "You get revenge."

Cole jumped from his seated position with another joint already rolled in his hand. He placed it behind his ear in a swift movement. "Sí, you get revenge," he spoke with a smile that split his face in two, the trace of a Spanish accent lining his words. "Tell me, Nova, do you like Ana Young?"

"She stole my blueberry muffin in freshman year," I scoffed. It was hardly anything notable, but Ana Young was the definition of a bitch. If I had to write to Oxford Dictionary to ask them to change the definition, I would. She pranced the school hallways like she was above everyone else, despite her petite height and lack of heels. Her attire always sported some form of designer clothing brand, and the sad thing was she would probably be a (petite) model one day. "Obviously I don't like her."

Cole drew the joint from behind his ear, flicking on a black lighter and holding the burning flame to the end of the white cylinder. It lit almost immediately. "Well then, Nova, are you ready for the revenge plan of the century?"

I opened my mouth in pure shock. I barely knew Cole, but I knew of his reputation. He went to Ash Hill Preparatory like I did, but he never attended classes, and had retaken senior year twice already.

He wasn't meant to be good. I was. My parents had the picture of the perfect girl. They had sculptured me to it - shaped me like clay - for the past seventeen years until I resembled that immaculate teenager.

I wasn't that girl. And I didn't want to be.

"Fuck yeah."

. • . ☆ . • .

"Remind me what these are for again?" I uttered, rolling the packet of matches between my palms. The matchsticks barely rattled in the box, as though it was empty.

Cole finished tying a string before throwing open the double doors to the balcony. We were on the third floor of Ana's house, in her parents' master bedroom. The balcony was crafted from marble, and rose over the partying teens. Cole fiddled with the display he had organised, whilst Ana and her friends poisoned themselves with alcohol. The pool shone below, lights wavering in the azure water like mystic fog. Some of the guests had even taken the liberty to jump into the translucent liquid in their party clothes.

Guilt gnawed at my stomach at the thought of leaving Kaya alone, but she was the most independent person I knew. She had gotten home from parties by herself before, and there was no doubt she would do the same tomorrow morning. After all, it was a Saturday.

"You'll see," Cole exhaled, as he finished tying the yellowed string. He turned in my direction on his heel and winked. "Do you want to do the honours?"

I scrunched my brows, confused. "The honours of what? I don't want to go setting off a bomb."

"It's not a bomb."

"That's reassuring," I narrowed my eyes, my words in their typical sarcastic tone. My eyes hovered over the box of matches. One corner was missing, with the emerald label peeling off to reveal hard cardboard flesh. I took out a match and rolled it between my fingers. "But sure. I mean, you could just use your lighter."

Cole rubbed his hands together, constantly shifting position. He couldn't stand still. His huge smile had only diminished slightly, playing on his lips like a haunting ghost. "Where would be the fun in that?"

"It does the same thing," I stated, but Cole's expression turned stern. Breath escaped my lungs as I took the match and struck it against the rough material at the side of the matchbox. After the second try, the match burst into flame, and I rushed to hold it to the string dangling from the window.

"If this is a bomb, I'll personally kill you," I uttered.

The string set alight immediately, a spark trailing down the material before splitting in multiple directions. Abruptly, the hiss of a firework rung out, obscuring the chatter of the teenagers below us. After a second, the spark became a fully-fledged inferno, blazing into my irises. I blinked, the light still imprinted on my eyelids like a tattoo.

I couldn't tell how many fireworks there were, but as they shot off in numerous directions, I sprinted to the edge of the balcony. Well, they weren't exactly fireworks, but the sparklers were enough to cause a stir. Cole had rigged the explosives to fire in an array of directions. I gasped when a shower of green exploded in a hedge, and another clattered into the pool. Others shot into the air, exploding into a wonderous display of luminosity. The party goers screamed with shock, scattering from the poolside as a wailing firework shot over their heads.

How is this revenge? I asked myself, staring into the sky as the red fireworks continued to burst into shrapnel.

"Nova, grab the plastic box on the shelf over there," Cole pointed to the opposite side of the room. I didn't even stop to think as I grabbed it. Three tiny specks were situated in the bottom of the narrow tube.

I rattled the box, the contents seemingly harmless. "This is your master revenge plan? Three whatever-the-fuck-these-useless-things-are?"

Cole outstretched his arm. The edge of an intricate tattoo poked out from beneath his leather jacket. "Just you wait," he murmured happily as I handed him the bottle. He hurried to open the lid, and simply dropped the contents straight into the pool below.

At first, nothing happened. Then - after three painstakingly long minutes - bursting from the depths of the water like an untamed beast, was a delayed explosion of purple. It was as though someone had poured liquid purple into the pool. It swallowed every inch of blue, infiltrating the colour and possessing it.

I was equally as shocked and surprised as the guests. "Iodine?" I enquired, remembering my chemistry lessons from last year. "Really?"

"School has too much of it," Cole replied before dropping his finished cigarette into the violet stained water. "I decided to use the resource for a good cause."

I wanted to be mad at him. Mad that he had stolen from school. Mad that he had ruined the night for so many of Ana's pathetic friends. Mad that Ana's parents would come back home from their holiday to find a half-burnt hedge, and wine pigmented pool.

But instead I found myself smiling.

"And this is it?" I asked. I wanted to do more. I wanted to see Ana fall from her pedestal.

"I put green food dye in with her clothes in the wash, seeing as she loves green so much," Cole smirked. The corners of his mouth creased. With the limited light, Cole appeared more daunting. Yet, it was only then I noticed the dimple on the right side of his face. "And put bleach in her shampoo. She always wanted to go blonde, anyway."

"You are cruel."

"Since 1998."

My smile broadened, only to be interrupted by an angry voice.

"Cole!" The voice screamed - Ana's voice. It reverberated through the master bedroom. "Cole, for fuck's sake get out of my fucking house or I'll kill you!"

"She's nice," I said as Cole sniggered at his ex's threat. "I can see why you put up with her for nine months."

"Nine months and one day," he replied immediately.

I frowned. "That's an achievement. Maybe put it on your CV."

The brunette smiled. He pulled something from his pocket. Momentarily, the light struck it, revealing a ruby petal which was frayed at the end like an old piece of fabric. He placed it on the edge of the balcony before pulling up his hood from the hoodie hiding beneath his jacket.

A rose.

The connotations of love that the flower held had dissipated. As its dying petals fluttered in the night zephyr, it represented something much more than the common ideas of love and lust. It showed anger, and revenge. It was the end of something beautiful: the start of something deadly.

My hand tingled as Cole grabbed it, pulling me from the room and my thoughts.

"Let's get out of here," he whispered as he began to descend the stairs rapidly.

My heart skipped a beat. I couldn't leave with him, as much as my shuddering heart desired it. Surely I couldn't? "Erm..." I trailed off, unsure what would happen if I left with him. But I was more unsure what would happen if I stayed.

Cole fastened his hold on my wrist, pulling me to gaze straight into the beautiful abyss of his captivating eyes. All of my doubts were extinguished like a fleeting memory. "Lo siento, chica. You don't have to come if you don't want to."

But I did, more than anything. "No, no, I do," I gulped, ruffling my tresses with a stroke of my hand. Sweat beaded on my forehead, clouding my thoughts and judgement. "This party was pretty shit anyway."

Cole continued to beam at me, releasing my hands in a millisecond. The warmth I had previously felt in his presence diminished, as though the sun had been positioned another million miles away. He raced down the stairs, sliding on the banisters. I panted as I kept up, sprinting after him as he ran through the front door and onto the wide road.

The wind rushed through my hair as I ran, tousling it into my face and obscuring my vision. But for once, I didn't push it from my eyes. For once, I didn't care.

Because I was happy. Because I was free.

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Beautiful cover by colorlessforests 💕

hiya my lovelies! really hope you enjoyed this chapter!! (and that you liked Cole bc let's be honest, he's adorable - ish)

what did you all think? and what do we think will happen next? i've finished writing the next chapter, so hopefully it'll be updated by Tuesday 💕

thank you so much for reading! lots and lots of love

lotte xx