The Cross in Our Stars

Chapter 10

The night continues, and so does her day. After rendering someone unconscious, helping rescue her kidnapped best friend from the one familiar face from all the way across the galaxy, getting rescued herself from a fiery ball of...well, fire, Nira is ready to call this day over. Her sleek hair just couldn't hold up after all of those events, so she, too, adds back moisture and gives herself a head full of loose and thick twists.

Fox ears gone, black t-shirt and matching lounge pants on, Nira curls up with a book in her queen-sized bed in a minimalistic room. The essentials are there: a desk and chair, lamp, and a dresser with a mirror. Most books are in the living room next to her favorite chair, but she keeps a couple atop her bedside table next to her alarm clock and charging port.

Typically, reading a book before bed can put anyone to sleep, yet for Nira, it's stimuli on par with an espresso. She has no one to blame but herself for choosing a book she wants to read, instead of something a bit more boring, such as a murder mystery. Four hours later the short book is done, and sleep has been forgotten about. Checking the time, Nira chastises herself for getting carried away with reading. Again.

As she gets ready to turn out the light, a light chime notifies her of a message.

'Are you awake?'

Smiling softly, she confirms, asking 'why?'

'I'm outside.'

Reading the reply multiple times, Nira could only assume he meant outside her home. Perplexed, she put back on her fox ears and headed downstairs barefoot. The porch lights are on, and a figure is leaning against her pillar in his own all black attire: a black pullover hoodie with a black t-shirt beneath, black tracksuit pants, and black sneakers.

At hearing the door open behind him, Valja turns, his smile timid. "Hi, Nira."

"Valja, hi." Nira takes a pair of flip flops from the shoe rack next to the door and slides them on as she steps out, closing the door behind her. "What...how are you here?"

"Yes, well...I hitched a ride with Ren." Seeing her in front of him versus rehearsing what to say for this exact moment has his tongue, and stomach, in knots. He steps forward, footsteps soft on the hard wood of the porch floor, now close enough that if he wanted to take her hand, he could. "I was concerned when you didn't return to our table earlier, and we didn't get to speak much tonight. I just...wanted to check on you."

The surprise on her face and lack of speech has Valja rubbing the back of his head, frustrated with how much of a creepy stalker he sounds. "Perhaps I shouldn't have come."

"No!" Nira shakes her head out of the stupor at hearing he came all this way just to check on her. She could honestly listen to his smooth and gentle voice and never say a word. "No, I'm glad you came. That's so very sweet of you, Valja." Another step and the gap closes a bit more between them. "I'm sorry our evening didn't go so smoothly. I was enjoying myself with you." Her eyes avoided his gaze for a few moments, gathering up the courage for her next words. "You looked...quite dashing earlier."

Valja watches Nira, waiting for her gaze to return to him, never tiring of her sight. "Thank you. And you looked stunning." Silence fills the space between and around them before he speaks up again. "Would you...like to go for a walk?"

Even with their pitch dark surroundings, it doesn't deter her from nodding. They walked down the few steps on the porch and into the lush green of the hill, replacing clops against wood with barely audible swishes of grass. Side by side they walk with no particular destination, their hands tingling  sparks when they touch one another from time to time, shaking up the butterflies in her stomach.