Paper Stars ✓

XX

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world."

- Harriet Tubman

t w e n t y

he heard her coming before he saw her. and when he did see
her he didn't look angry but sad.

"ollie," he looked
up at the
sound of his name.

he didn't
smile at her nor did he give her a reason to think he was mad at her.

"I didn't mean for you to find out like this, my mum told me that we should stop, she told me
your parents were freaking out, that you'd been kidnapped
or something. i didn't mean to make you sad." she looked
more like she was going to cry.

"when did you find out?"

"a few days before we left, i wasn't going to come back, because i knew you hated it. i was actually thinking of getting further away,
but i couldn't and i knew you'd hate me it i didn't tell you, but i also knew you'd hate me if i told, but i rather you hate me and know, rather that you hating me and not until it was too late."

"i could
never
hate you nova."

she smiled, barely. "but you don't want to see me anymore."

oliver almost screamed at her that he didn't not want
to see her, he was in love with this girl.

he didn't say anything because he didn't want to say anything wrong.

however, she took this the wrong way. "i see."

and she got up to leave.

oliver, was confused. and when she turned
around the corner he finally understood how she took it and sprinted after her.

"nova!" she turned around and watched as he ran to her. and then he said the things he didn't really want to say because he wasn't sure if nova felt the same way, but in this moment he didn't really care. "i could never not want to see you. i don't care that you brought me home. well i do. but i could never be mad at you. i mean," he let out a frustrated groan. "i don't want to say anything to mess this up." he motions between them.

she smiles. "its okay."

"nova." he sighs, "your beautiful, and it kills me how someone can be as beautiful as you but you are and it makes no sense, but i don't care because i'm just grateful that i get to talk to you, let alone kiss you. even if you don't feel the same way that i feel about you i don't really care, just as long as you know how grateful i am to be in the presence of you." an amused smile glittered on nova's face. "i love you, no, i don't love you. I'm in love with you because those are two different things. and when i wake up your the first thing i think of and when i go to sleep the last thing i think of and it's been an honor to be able to wake up next to you for the amount of times i have. i love you and i love that your name means new and that its a form of a star and i love your name and face and your heart and your personality and everything there is to love about you." it was silent. nova looked close to tears. oliver was puffing, because he spoke to fast or that he couldn't handle what he had just said. "say something."

"why?"

what? "i just told you."

"sorry, i guess i mean how."

"what do you mean?"

"ollie, i just did something to you that i knew you would hate. and it
makes me feel sick and i don't want to know that theres a possibility that you could hate me."

"i don't hate you, nova, I'm in love with you."

she didn't look at him and oliver was tempted to throw up. he
knew he shouldn't have said that or nothing related to the L word.

no one was saying anything and oliver thought to do this one thing because it may
be the last time; he held her face in his hands gently. his lips met hers briefly and it was soft and he wanted it to last for so much longer that he knew it would. her arms went around his back, but she
didn't pull him closer. she did kiss him back, which was reassuring. however, eventually she pulled away, like oliver knew she would.

oliver took a step back because he didn't trust himself.

"do you love me?" he wished he didn't say that, god he was so stupid sometimes.

nova shook her head. "i don't love you." olivers whole world collapsed right then, or it almost did, but he saw a smile making its way onto her lips, and he knew one thing about nova that he was a hundred percent certain of, and that was she would never hurt someone this bad and feel joy in doing it. "I'm in love with you oliver. they're two very different things you know?"

he picked her up in his arms and swung her around in circles until he was to dizzy, because the sounds that escaped her lips was the most beautiful thing he had heard in his whole entire life and oliver couldn't this much perfection in a single second.

"i got the girl!" he yelled, nova's giggles continued as she let oliver kiss her face anywhere and everywhere possible.

t h e e n d