The Sun And The Stars •completed•

Inflamed Cheeks, Ignited Chest

Audrey could feel her cheeks glowing faintly red. She'd never done anything like that before. This was her first real adventure. Her first unscheduled event. Audrey was so used to an exact routine, always revolving around her sickness.

She had never been kissed like that before. Eli tasted like coffee. She wondered if he had coffee in the cafe that morning. For the life of her, she couldn't remember.

"Hey," Eli spoke quietly, softly bumping his knee against hers. She sucked in a breath. They were sitting side by side in the big empty row at the back of the bus. Their thighs were touching. "Uh, your phone keeps buzzing." He said.

Audrey smiled sheepishly, "Oh," she laughed softly, moving towards her bag. Her pill. How could she forget. The first (and one of the only times) she kissed a boy was in sixth grade and his response was, "What did you do that for?"

This was certainly the first time that the boy's response to kiss her back. The more she thought about it, the more her cheeks heated up. She had to consciously stop herself from touching her lips.

Eli was quiet. Though he wasn't sure what was supposed to happen next. Audrey was more smiley than ever, and he couldn't help but feel the pulsing in his chest. They had hurried back on the bus in silence, both unsure of how to continue. All they knew was the brand new feeling washing over them.

Audrey felt her floodgates ready to burst. As she glanced over at the boy sat beside her, she wanted to tell him everything. She wanted him to tell her everything. His deep dark eyes scanned his book of deep, dark poetry.

She wanted to touch his golden hair, smell his nutmeg scent, hold his rough hands, she wanted to kiss him again. There was a moment's hesitation, but she couldn't help herself. "Do you want to know why I'm on the bus?" She asked Eli, an overjoyed glint in her eyes.

Eli did, of course he did. He'd never been more curious about anything. "Sure." He tried to say nonchalantly.

"Well, I'm guessing you've seen my pills." She hit her bag with her foot for good measure. Eli nodded slightly. "I have this condition. It's my heart and my lungs. They don't- I can't-" Audrey paused, biting her lip. "I just can't breathe right. I mean I've never been able to run around or dance around or swim..." Audrey caught Eli's eye, concern and curiosity written all over his expression.

"My point is, I'm on this bus to Ohio for treatment. I'm gonna get better, with these new pills." She laughed, her eyes watery with relief at finally sharing with someone her joy, "They'll make me better. Normal." She finished, smiling brightly, eyes barely holding back tears.

Eli tried to digest all of the information. He looked away from her face, to the ground, and then back up. "Your parents." He stated, still thinking, mulling over her confession.

"My Mom," Audrey corrected, "There's been other 'miracle' treatments. I knew she wouldn't believe me this time. But I did the research-" She was nodding to herself, trying to convince herself again. Yes, she was right. It had to be real. It had to work.

Eli bit the side of his tongue. No words could come out of his mouth that she would like. This girl, with her flouncy dresses and curly hair and perfect skin and those eyes that never once shied away from his. And then they were just looking at each other, and they could both feel it, electric shocks bouncing back and forth between them.

"Thanks for listening." She joked, somehow out of breath when she laughed. And he smiled, with teeth and all, and when Audrey saw that, it was like her heart grew 10 sizes. She kissed him on his smiling face, slower this time, and when he kissed her back that was all she needed.

After she pulled away, she put her dainty hand into his rough hand, resting her head comfortably on his shoulder. Up until that point, Eli had felt like he was on a roller coaster with Audrey, the ride going so fast he couldn't tell if he was actually enjoying it or not.

But, as she gently rested on his shoulder, her thumb drawing circles in his hand, he couldn't help but smile to himself. Never being one for affection, or having much affection directed to him, he wondered if this was what he'd been missing all this time.

If so, he was glad Audrey was there beside him to fill him in.

                                                                                    ****

"You should sleep." Her voice shocked him, as she'd been dozing for a few hours. 

"I'm good." Eli replied simply, looking at the top of her head.

Audrey's head moved and she was looking right up at him. "You look tired." She stated honestly. "If you get some sleep, we can both be wide awake at the pit stop tonight." Audrey knew her logic was sound.

Eli felt an odd emptiness when she left his shoulder, like that was where she was always supposed to be. Audrey picked up her pillow and lay it on her lap. She patted the pillow.

"I'm not-"

"You are." Audrey tucked her hair behind her ears. "Just... Trust me, okay?" Eli frowned and bit his lip, then put his book back in his bag.

The pillow was soft and warm, and so was she. He lay on his side, eyes cautiously closing. Eli could feel one of her hands touch his hair, gently scratching his scalp and swirling around. It was so comforting, so vaguely familiar. If someone had done this for him before, it was too long ago for him to remember fully.

His hair was soft as feathers, and as Audrey ran her fingers through it, she thought it looked like strands of light radiated off of the sun.

"I would like to leave this city," She was singing softly, quietly, a hand still stoking his hair daintily. Eli felt something ignite in his chest. His mouth twitched into a small smile, as, miraculously, he felt the waves of calmness start to wash over him.

"This old town don't look so pretty, and-"

                                                                              ****

"I can feel the warning signs, running around my mind." Audrey sighed into her Mother's lap, dropping her eyelids slightly. "So here I go, I'm still scratching around in the same old hole, my body feels young, but my mind is very old..."

She gripped at her Mom's skirt, teardrops wetting her cheeks. Her Mom stoked through her hair in calm, rhythmic motions. This was her specialty, and how Audrey had always been calmed down, apparently.

Audrey coughed violently, lurching up from her Mom's lap to spit into her bucket. Her Mom simply rubbed her back consolingly. It was a bucket from when she was first sick, decorated with stickers and paints and band names as the years went by. Audrey shivered as she slowly lay back down onto her Mom.

"It's okay, sweety," her Mother soothed in a quiet voice, resuming her hair twirling and song singing.

"So what do you say? You can't give me the dreams that aren't mine, anyway. You're half the world away, half the world away..."

****

"I've been lost, I've been found, but I don't feel down. I don't feel down."

Audrey watched the slow rise and fall of Eli's chest. He was asleep, his breathing slow and effortless.

When Eli woke up, the sun was setting. He turned slightly to see that Audrey was asleep too, her fingers limply brushing his cheek. He sat up groggily. He hadn't had a single nightmare.

Audrey groaned in her sleep, obviously uncomfortable, and suddenly moved the pillow from her lap to his. She fell down with a thud into his lap and immediately fell back asleep.

Eli couldn't help but laugh.