Catch a Glimmer of Your Star

I can't believe they would do this

Sunny tried to be sympathetic but it came out as a guilt-ridden smile. "I feel like the guy in a group project who does nothing."

"Oh—oh, please don't worry about it!" Basil said. "I need you by my side, for, you know...emotional support. It's hard to do these things alone. Just having you here with me is really important."

Sunny blushed a little. "Then I'll be the best emotional support you could ever ask for."

Basil smiled brightly.

"Let me know if you need anything at all, anytime," Sunny added.

"Thanks, Sunny." Basil glanced at his watch, remembering a sense of anticipation. "Anyway, I think I have to get going to meet my parents now."

"Alright."

At a quiet corner of the library, they exchanged a kiss before parting ways.

It was Basil's birthday—that probably had something to do with the extra intimate kiss Sunny gave him.

Sunny wrapped his fingers around Basil's hands. He did it so suddenly Basil almost yelped. Basil playfully pushed Sunny against the wall as revenge. As their faces drew near, Basil kept Sunny up against the wall with a "I've got you" smile over his lips.

Locks of black hair brushed against blond. In the next instant, their mouths pressed together. That joining of lips sent a jolt of electricity through Basil, the prospect of kissing like this in public an amazing thrill. Their cheeks touched, knotting sweet butterflies in Basil's stomach. Basil flushed red as he heard people walking by who could no doubt see them in the act. But they only kissed more insistently, more passionately. The electric thrill was overwhelming. His emotions felt like a warm, cozy fire.

The world was in pink when their lips parted, when Sunny's arms gently let go of him.

I'm melting into mush every time we do this.

"I love you," Basil said, realizing he was running out of time to catch the bus.

"I love you too, Basil," Sunny replied. "Happy birthday."

I can't wait to find out what birthday present you got me.

Basil wrenched himself from the sight of Sunny's beautiful face and forced himself to leave the library.

An anxious knot grew inside Basil's chest on his way to meet his parents. The letter that they had sent him had been so cryptic. What exactly was this 'most important journey of our lives' that his parents wanted him to be a part of? They had never invited him to do anything with them before.

The city museum loomed before his eyes. He would've loved visiting this place on a date with Sunny. Instead, he felt a sense of foreboding. A sense of becoming trapped.

At the museum's entrance lobby, he spotted his parents. They stood by the information kiosk, busily chatting with each other. A mixture of excitement and fear gripped Basil's heart.

Basil didn't know what to say or what to feel.

"Basil!" his dad called out. "Come here."

"Hey, dad. Hey, mom," Basil said as he walked to stand in front of both his parents for the first time in so many years.

He immediately noticed the dark circles underneath their eyes.

Mom looks even more tired now than she did when she was working her job.

"Here, your ticket," dad said, handing him a ticket to enter the museum.

"Are we seeing something in the museum?" Basil asked. "Or just looking around?"