A Million Little Stars || Carter Hart

chapter 4

"It will never occur to me how you can eat five bowls of cereal in a day and still look as tiny as you do", Rose said from across the couch looking at her friend. The sun was setting and Tally had already changed into her pyjamas – obviously her favourite type of clothing – now watching How I Met Your Mother for the umpteenth time.

"I guess I just think a lot. You should try it." Rose mocked her way of speech but laughed in the end. When they met in university Tally was shy and looked smaller than she was. One has to take his time to get to know her until she shows her dry humour and until she randomly bursts into song when you're just walking down the aisle in a grocery store. When you get to know her she gets feisty and loud but does not lose her empathy and kindness.

"How was your date? You stayed for the night", Rose stated and wiggled her eyebrows. She looked a lot different from Tally. She was the beautiful one of the two, Tally would say. Just the way she kneeled on the settee, leaning forward in an eager motion as she awaited the stories Tally had to tell, that showed her toned stomach, were enough to make any man fall for her. If that wasn't enough she still had her long, black hair to throw over a shoulder or her caramel eyes that seemed to sparkle when she smirked at you.

"Yeah, I did. Nothing happened though", Tally said thinking back to Carter and how he dropped her off that morning. "I actually forgot to get his number."

"What?" Rose almost screamed when she threw a pillow at her. "Sometimes I really want to beat some sense into you! How can you just forget to ask for his number when you told me how cute he is supposed to be?"

"Jeez, can you calm down", Tally knew Rose would react like that. She was always more forward when it came to guys. "I really just forgot to ask him. I was in a rush".

"I don't believe you"

"Why would I lie?"

"Because of Johnny". Obviously, she had to bring him up. Johnny was Tally's ex-boyfriend and only boyfriend.

"I don't want to talk about him. You know it." Tally was done with eating now and stared at the screen. Rose had turned the volume down during her attempt to winkle some words out of her, but she knew the episode well enough to know what was going on. She still wondered about that pineapple.

"Yeah, I know, but I'm a good friend, so I'll keep asking" She now turned the tv off and Tally finally had to look at her.

"And because I'm a bad one, I keep it to myself", Tally looked at her, whining, because she knew her friend was right and she was wrong.

"Ugh, you're really hard to argue with, you now that?" Rose plonked down on the cushions.

"I do. Probably my best trait", Tally joked in a sweet voice.

"Not really. Just give that poor boy a chance. Well, if you ever see him again".

Tally never answered. She knew was clinging onto Johnny, even though she tried not to. Still, they were together for four years and she kept telling herself that it was too soon to meet new guys. It was a stupid decision, really, and she knew it, but as long as she could live it, she avoided it.

When she had rushed into the building to get to practice – which was just a couple of jazz musicians getting together in the basement of a dance school to do some improvisation – she had almost sprinted back to the car. In hindsight, her sense was glad she didn't.

"I'll get another bowl. You want some?"

"No, you're unbelievable", Rose laughed and was happy about the change of tone. As much as she wanted to actually discuss certain things with Tally, she liked it more to just fool around in a lighthearted manner. It was Friday night but Rose chose to actually stay in, which was actually quite rare for her. She liked to go to clubs and bars and house parties, whereas Tally liked to spend her time alone or with just a few people. After they had watched two more episodes, they decided to play some video games but eventually went back to watching TV, while simultaneously listening to music and browsing through their phones.

Rose's mum Steph came in at some point mumbling about consumption and sensory overload but the girls did not really listen.
Almost a day later, she sat in her room that she shared with Rose on her bed, a guitar on her lap. Rose was out buying some groceries with her dad, so she thought she may as well be productive during the time she had to herself. Tally ended up on her phone. Her right leg was numb already but she was too lazy to put the guitar back into its stand, and she made herself think that she would actually get back to it.
She looked through her camera roll on the hunt for cute pictures to post on her Instagram, since she was neglecting it lately and felt pressured to keep up her content. Her so-called content consisted of photos of her and Rose, food, the family cat named biscuit and videos of her painting of playing some music. Tally scrolled through the last months of her photos, only finding awful pictures of her with face masks on or ugly pictures of Rose, that she had made a screenshot of to use it against her at some point.

The most recent foto was unfamiliar to her; because she didn't take it. It pictured a phone screen with carters contact information open. His name, his number, his email. He must have taken it when she was at his place without her knowing.

She had been alright with just moving on, but now, that she knew she could text him, it was different. She closed the app and thought for a few seconds, scrunching her face.

She was getting kind of curious. She looked up the next game of the Flyers. Just because. It was actually today, a Saturday, a home game. An hour to go.

"Hey, I'm back. I got ya some ice cream", Rose dashed into the room and onto Tally's bed, shoving the tub of frozen goodness into her face. That is why Tally tried to get things done while Rose was somewhere else. "You look like you're trying really hard to look casual. What's up?"

"Well, it turns out I actually do have his number. I just found it".

"Then text him. You waited more than 24 hours, so it's alright", Rose stated handing her a spoon.

"What about the three-day rule?"

"That rule is bullshit. I changed it."

"Okay, then. I'll text him".