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pluto projector - rex orange county

After eating, the two were laid together on the blue checkered sheet, watching the stars above them. AJ had covered them both with the spare blanket, and used Chris's chest as a pillow.

Their hands danced together mindlessly.

"Can I ask you something?" Chris asks randomly

"Anything" AJ nods

The stars above them were placed sporadically in the sky, each randomly ending up in the position they were in. Every night the stars were next to new ones. But, it seemed that tonight they were perfectly orchestrated together just like the two below. They had somehow found each other, and swore to never separate.

"How did he die?" Chris questions gently. Something in the air brought openness and honesty to the grass, and they had been having deep conversations all night. However, Chris knew not to overstep the boundaries. "What was he like?" It didn't take a name for AJ to understand who Chris was referring to.

He wanted to know her inside and out, perhaps better than anyone else.

"Joel" AJ smiles, picturing her twin brother in her mind. It could have been the kid version of him, or the high school version, but it was not. Every time she thought of him, it was always the moment frozen in time of the last time she saw him. "He is the reason that I am how I am. Literally the missing half to my life. You know how it is to have that bond, to never be separated from day one?"

Chris nods, and while AJs focus still remained on the night sky, she knew that he understood. Chris was a triplet himself, he first hand experiences the special bond with his brothers every day

"Joel was the type of person to bitch-slap you, then bring you for ice cream to make up for it. He was also the type of person to talk a little more kindly if someone was upset. Joel is the best person I know, my best friend. You would've loved him, but he would've loved you more" AJ smiles "He had a heart condition that nobody knew about. Even all of the doctors we have seen throughout the years for hockey, not a single one detected it. One night he kinda just..." She took a deep breath, the vision of her brother flashing through her brain. Chris noticed this and closed the very little space between them, running his hands through her hair for comfort "They found it in his autopsy"

"I'm sorry, Avarie June. I couldn't imagine" Chris sighs, kissing the top of her head "Thank you for opening up to me"

"My turn" She smiles, changing the topic "Why have you never had a girlfriend?"

"How do you know I've never had a girlfriend?" Chris gasps in surprise

AJ turns to look at him with a sneaky expression on her face as she shrugs her shoulders, concealing the answer. He chuckles and shakes his head.

"I don't know. I guess I just never met the right person" He answers slowly, furrowing his eyebrows.

As cliche of an answer as that was, he was telling the truth. Chris wanted a girl who did not give him what he wanted just because he wanted it, he liked girls who had a little angst to them. Sure he had met beautiful girls throughout his life, but until now he had never met one who left him speechless and in awe. Chris wanted a fighter and a lover, a girl who will tell him when he is wrong and then show him the right way. He desired a girl who could get along with his brothers and his best friends.

He thought he would never meet the right person, until one day at hockey camp he met an angsty, gorgeous, headstrong and kind girl.

"That's so corny! Tell me the real reason!" AJ belly laughs as she insists

"I'm serious" He laughs back, poking her as she continues to find humor in his answer "I think...they've just never been you"

Her laughter dies out as she finds sweetness in his words. Despite the darkness and cold air outside, her cheeks illuminated with a hot, red hue.

"My turn again" Chris lowers his voice "Why do you really play hockey?"

"What do you mean? I play because I love it?" She quietly chuckles, confusion hitting her tone of words

"No. Why do you really play hockey?" He repeats himself

AJ realized what he meant, and her chuckle ceased out. Chris wanted to know the real answer, not the one that she just tells everyone. He desired to know where her heart and mind was.

"I do love the sport. I love the adrenaline it gives me, I love winning. And I really enjoy working with a team" She pauses before continuing again, speaking her words as if she were truly admitting it to herself as well "It's just...hockey is where my brother is. I feel him with me every time I score and anytime i re-tape my stick. If I don't have hockey...I don't have him. I feel like when i'm really good at something, I need to stick to it, you know? What do I have if I don't have hockey?" She sighs, almost in defeat

"What do you have, Avarie June?" He repeats her words confused "You...are so much more than just a hockey player" Chris sits up, bringing her with him in order to stare directly in her eyes. They showed that she felt puzzled

"Am I?" She asks

"When I look at you, I don't see just a hockey player. I don't want to talk to you only because you can shoot one hell of a shot, or because you are the only person who might be faster than me. I don't want to be with you only because you're a star player. I don't want to touch you only because you can sell a fake. I..." He hesitates for a second, focused in on her face. Specifically her lips, they were pouty and plumpy and pink "I don't want to kiss you only because you're a hockey player"

"W-What?" She stumbles over her words. She connected her eyes with Chris, but to her surprise, he was already staring at her. He was evaluating everything about her.

Chris loved that her eyes were deep brown, unlike his bright blue ones. They were not a light honey brown, but instead they were a dark and intimate brown. Her eyes were the shade of brown that drew him in, craving and insisting to know everything about her. He loved the mole on the side of her face, the same mole that his thumb always ran over whenever he was fortunate enough to hold her head. Chris loved her freckles, and the way they kissed her cheeks and her nose.

He loved the cupids bow that marked the top of her lips. It seemed as a direction on where to kiss, an arrow of love. He especially loved her lips when they curved into a smile. They appeared soft, and welcoming. The loved how easily they seemed to crave to meet his, and he especially loved the desire he had to taste them for himself.

Chris's eyes flicker from her lips to her eyes. Unexpectedly, she was doing the same thing as him. Without realizing, their faces moved only inches apart from the other. He could feel her steady breath on his face, but more importantly he could feel her eyes burning a hole in his lips. Chris allowed his eyes flicker to her lips once more before closing the tight space between them.

AJs hand met the side of his face gently, feeling his stubble on the bottom of her palm. His hand, however, met the bottom of her back, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss as they lean back onto the blue checkered sheet. Both pairs of eyes were now closed, the stars covering their eyelids.

Slowly, she pulled away, the taste of Chris still lingering on her lips. Silence fills the air as two heartbeats learn to stop beating rapidly, small smiles covering both of their faces.

Chris finally got the taste of AJ he had been craving for months.

@avyoung made a new post!

@avyoung: really happy nowadays (:
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