Second First Chances

Chapter Thirteen

I move in my sleep when I hear a sound, trying to shush it out by throwing a pillow over my head.
However, the continuous knocking breaks my slumber and pushing away the cosy blanket, still half-asleep and eyes fully closed, cursing whoever it was, I instinctively move towards the door to open it.
I rub my eyes, to adjust to the light and sleepily open the door to look at the empty hallway.
Was I dreaming?
I sit on my bed yawning and rubbing my eyes when I hear the sound again, realizing that it's actually coming from the room's balcony door. What is---

Oh My God!
I rush across the room to open the balcony door.
"Are you out of your mind? What are you doing here?"
"Well, I tried to call you and I couldn't just barge in your house through the main door at 2 in the morning," Liam says as he enters in.
"How did—" I stop mid-sentence as I remember about the ladder in the backyard that he has been using for this very purpose since God knows when.
"What was so urgent anyway?"
"Well, you would have known what so urgent had you drove to college with me, or I don't know not have walked off with Dylan when you saw me in the hallway in college, or answered any single one of my texts or not been off to god knows where all day," he says, his voice dripping with sarcasm and a hint of anger.
"Okay, I get your point, I am sorry," I say looking at Liam, a little hurt visible on his face, though no embarrassment about what happened yesterday.
Perhaps, Sharon was right. I should not think too much into yesterday especially when I feel normal in so long.
I tried to calm myself. No matter what happened or what could have happened yesterday, I am okay and we're okay.
Just took me a day of freaking out and a pep talk from Sharon to realize.
"Anyways, what was so urgent, you know you could have been hurt," I ask him again.
"I have had practice," he smirks now looking at me, making me suddenly conscious of my choice of shorts.
Oh my God! I am not wearing a bra.
"Turn around"
"What?" he asks puzzled.
"Just turn around, will you?"
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, would you just please and don't look back!"
He rolls his eyes as he turns around.
I slyly pick up bra and wear it with my tee on as he continues to pat his foot impatiently on the wooden floor.
"Okay, now tell me what was so urgent that you had to come through the balcony at 2 in the morning?"
"Come with me," he says now turning around.
"Why?"
"Just come, will you?" he says now moving towards the balcony.
"You know we can just go out the main door now."
"Erm-yeah, sorry, force of habit!" he says smiling cheekily.
I put on jacket hanging loosely on the study chair as he closes my balcony door.
"Just be quiet, don't make any noise," Liam says to me as I am about to open my bedroom door.
"Shouldn't I be saying that?" I ask him confused.
"Yeah, because you are the one Luke is going to get mad at?" He says rolling his eyes at me.
"We are twenty one now, I don't think Luke is gonna—"
He turns around narrowing his eyes at me, "You really believe whatever you are about to say?"
"Yeah, no," I confess. Luke loves Liam but I know he still enjoys giving him a hard time about me. He once just glared at Liam without uttering a word for 30 minutes straight. Though, it was because he thought Liam got me drunk when we were fifteen. He doesn't know it was the other way round.

We tip-toe out of my house and then cross the street and all the way up to the roof of his house.
I step outside and I see the entire roof is decorated with lights with a picnic mat and some cushions on the floor and his telescope on the side.
My mind starts running with possibilities at the set-up making me blank to utter out a word.
"Liam, this is all---"
"It's mom's reading space. I didn't do much. The lights were here; so were the mat and the cushion. I just tidied it up a little. It's, erm, not what you think,"
I look down embarrassed.
You are so fucking stupid. You really think he will barge in your balcony to take you to his roof at two in the morning while you are in your pyjamas for a date!
"Why do you have this telescope?" I saw growing past my little moment of embarrassment.
I think they are the new normal around him now.
"Patience there" he says now leading me to the telescope.
He readjusts the telescope and looks at his watch.
"Okay, now look keep looking through it," he says, excitement evident in his voice.
I look through the telescope.
"Am I supposed to look at something in particular because I don't see anything except for a few--"
Then I see it, a beautiful white trail across the sky visible through the lens, almost like something was speeding through the space while slowing time to spare us a hello,"
"Is that a comet?" I whisper still looking at it.
"It's the Alistius' comet," he whispers in my ears, his warm breath slowing fanning my cheeks, causing me goosebumps.
How does he smell musky at two in the morning?
"It's beautiful. I can't seem to look away," I say as I shift focus back to the comet trying not be affected by his proximity.
"You know there is an old folklore around this comet for when it was discovered in the 16th century." he says catching my attention as I look away to face him.
"It's a periodic comet. It's said that it can only be seen every twelve years. The story is Aetera was a princess and Alistius was the general's son. They grew up together and fell in love but they were of different ranks, so essentially were star-crossed lovers. The king, Aetera's father found out from an obsessed stalker of Aetera and eventually exiled Alistius to the forest for the rest of his life. He wandered around chanting his lover's name when a hermit found him and taught him the power of meditation. It is said that he learned and meditated for twelve years in complete silence before his prayer was heard. Though he couldn't be reunited in his mortal life, God made their love eternal turning her into a statue of stone and him into a comet wandering the entire universe for her and they would meet every twelve years preaching the entire world about patience and compromise in love. So, Alistius comes around the Earth every twelve years as a comet to reunite with Aetera, even though he knows he will have to wait twelve more years to be with her again."
"That sounds, erm, special,"
"Yeah"
"I thought Halley's Comet was the first periodic comet discovered."
"It was. This was discovered in the 1950s but there was an old folklore account in the Roman scriptures describing the same, so like most planets are named from Roman Gods, they named it after the Alistius in the folklore."
"Oh, this last appeared last in 2008, when we were—" I stop in realization.
"Nine. Coincidentally, first seen, on the very night I shifted to Oxford permanently."
"Erm---"
"I am not finished, what's more freaky or coincidental, take your pick, is that today is not first day we can see it. It is visible for 23 days, first seen this year on the day you came back to Oxford. I have been meaning to show it to you for a while."
He finishes and yet I am the one left without words. I don't realize how fast my heart is beating as he is looking at me, the same way he was looking at me back in the college parking lot when we first saw each other for the first time in three years, when we were dancing alone in the empty ballroom, when we were interrupted by Reece in his house, when we were in the office and suddenly the struggle came back, the struggle between the pain being with me has caused him and the happiness being with him has given me, so I step back, back into the reality.
I wipe my moist eyes overflowing with tears, my emotions almost transparent in front of him now.
Reading me like an open book, he continues, "It's just an old folklore, K. I told you because I knew you were interested in astronomy back in high school," he whispering slowly, his eyes mirroring my emotions, "It doesn't have to mean anything, nothing does, not until you want it to," he says his words almost dying towards the end and I know he we are no longer talking about Alistius and Aetera.
"Thanks," I say and he grins at me knowingly.
"Erm, well, we are awake now and I haven't had a Harry Potter marathon in forever. So, what do you say?" he says switching back to his charming self.
"Liam, we are twenty-one, I don't think.."
"Don't you dare complete that sentence, Rutherford. Are you saying that you are no longer a Potterhead?," he says feigning hurt with hand over his heart now.
So dramatic!
"Are you kidding me? Not like Harry Potter and commit the unforgivable sin," I say joining his drama, both of us laughing now.
"Well then, what are we waiting for," he says leading me back to inside the house.

**********

Author's Note:

First things first, the entire comet story is COMPLETELY FICTIONAL, including the names.
Let me how you like it

Second, I had this chapter in mind and in my drafts for a long time. I am so happy I could finally share it with you!

Let me know how was it
Do vote if you liked it and let me know what you think in the comments

Happy Reading ❤❤