To Envy the Stars

Chapter 5

I knocked rapidly on Ashley's door.

She swung the door open.

"What took so long? You were gone for, like five minutes." She complained.

"Lukas." I mumbled.

"What about 'em?" She asked, gesturing me to step inside her apartment room.

I walked in.

"He hacked my iPhone and looked at my photos." I said.

"What's wrong with that? The only pictures you have on there are of the books you read, your favorite Instagram posts, a few pictures of the stars and a few selfies of me." She said.

"I deleted you're selfies, but-"

"You deleted my selfies?!" She hissed.

"Chill." I coaxed.

"Okay, continue." She said, finally.

"So anyway... He looked up the location where I took the star pictures and he said he was going to go look there tomorrow."

"That's not the worst thing that could happen. He probably won't find anything, those maps aren't that accurate." She said.

"But what if he does find it?"

"Why don't you offer to go with him to make sure he doesn't find the clearing?" She suggested.

I flinched. I'd rather die.

But if my only safe haven in this word was destroyed, I might as well die.

"Fine." I grumbled.

"Okay. As a kinda change of subject, why do you hate Lukas so much?" She said, handing out large bowls of popcorn and plopping down on the couch.

"I owe him. I don't like being in debt."

"Can't you just pay him back?"

"Not everything is that easy." This was ironic, thus my former having been on the Ash's side of this argument earlier.

"What do you owe him?" She asked.

"My life."

"You're life?" She asked, eyes widening.

"Among other things." I added.

"Might I ask how?"

"You know, uh, the day of my prom?" I asked.

She laughed.

What in the world? That is kinda the last expected reaction when you are talking about something like this.

"Sorry, it's just... It's him, isn't it? Lukas is the boy who saved you." She smiled.

I smiled back. It was kinda funny how all of this happened.

"See? It feels better once you talk about it, right?" She asked supportively, stuffing handful of popcorn in her mouth.

"Where's your dad?" I asked. She lived with her father, but was mostly alone because he constantly traveled around the states.

"Somewhere in Florida." She shrugged. I felt really bad for her.

She was always really shy at school, so was I. Thus, the unstoppable pals.

We were the geeky teachers-pets.

We went to the teachers' lounge as we pleased, we spent free period, in which we shared, grading tests and cleaning the rooms.

We only attended one club last year, and that was Science Olympiad.

So... We're the misfits.

"So, what do you want to watch?" She asked.