(THIS CHAPTER WILL BE THE FIRST COMPLETE UN-ANGST FOR A WHILE. This is a part of my series, I just wanted to give Shino and Arti a break. Cuz i can promise the next few chapters are none-stop heartbreak. So, this is the calm before the storm)
Artemis was on his last day of suspension. He wouldn't admit it to anyone but being suspended wasn't so bad, obviously he was aware of the punishment and what he had done wrong. But it was a nice break from his chaotic life, each day he's wait for RikKu and Shino outside of Monarch and walk them back to the dorm, he'd even carry RikKu's backpack for her.
He'd continue going to cafe club, that wasn't part of his suspension. He hated lying, he wasn't a natural liar. It felt wrong to lie, so he was honest about how he was suspended eventually. However, he told everyone he was suspended for being caught, the only person who knew about Artemis's involvement in the prison break was Shino.
RikKu was super supportive, which is the opinion that mattered most to Arti. Artemis had lied to RikKu twice about the situation already and didn't know how she'd react to half the truth. However, she was understanding. She knew Artemis would be terrified of getting in trouble and wouldn't really want to announce it, so she wasn't mad at him for lying. I mean, what good would getting angry do? He had been punished enough.
Arti adored RikKu, she was the little sister he never had. Finally someone who he was older then but there was no sense of duty to take care of her, he didn't feel like he was obligated to be around her. They got on, they both understood each other's anxiety and RikKu appreciated how supportive he was over her transition. RikKu felt safe around him
Artemis had a normal day. Just normal, every event happened in prediction and it was nice. He felt calm and happy, he got to watch a movie with his roommates. RikKu ordered Pizza, making sure to not add pepperoni since the beginning of the year. Artemis couldn't really handle spice, he found it super embarrassing too. Shino found pepperoni completely unspicy, the strongest thing Artemis could handle was some salt and pepper.
Artemis was back in school tomorrow which he was excited for, he could finally see his friends and talk to people and catch up on missing work.
-Artemis's POV-
I couldn't sleep, i was too excited to go back to school. I know a lot of people have school but personally it was something i've always wanted and finally had.
I got bored just staring at my ceiling trying to force my eyes closed, for the past 3 days all i had done was design and sleep. It was great sure, but i had slept so much to the point were i just couldn't sleep anymore.
I think that's the first time in my life were i had too much sleep.
So what could put you to sleep other then focusing on things that only appear when you sleep? And no, i had already tried counting sheep. If anything it made me more awake.
I sat outside, RikKu had told me about the telescope the first day i met her. When it got dark she taught me how to use it, and i was obsessed! It was so pretty, i had never seen the sky in such detail.
And now it was something i loved to do. Whenever it got dark just to sit on our balcony and play with the telescope. Sure i had my own balcony but the telescope was on the second floor and I didn't want to have to carry it to my room so i just came downstairs careful not to wake up my roommates and best friends.
I looked into the telescope, the sky seemed to centre its attention on me as each star twinkled.
I looked around at the cluster of stars in the sky, i knew nothing about them, other then the fact that they were completely gorgeous. "RikKu has a dress that looks like that pattern!" I whispered to myself, remembering the little starry dress RikKu had bought for herself at a market with Shizu. "Those few look like Shino's eyes" I continued, smiling at the familiarity.
I tried to connect the patterns to things i knew. Like a picture my mum had on her wall or a cake design Yuuto made in the cafe club. It was a bit of a hobby at this point.
-Shino's POV-
I yawned, waking up out of thirst throughout the night. I tried to just go back to sleep but my throat was dry and burned. I eventually sat up, leaving the warmth of my bed.
Before i walked upstairs i put a jumper on, the mornings were warm but tonight had a cold shudder to it.
I make sure to quietly close my door to avoid waking RikKu up, she was a light sleeper so i'd feel bad if she woke up because of my walking around. So i held onto the wall to often my footsteps up the stairs and finally made it to the kitchen.
I poured myself a glass of water a practically drank the entire thing straight away. I planned on going straight back to bed as soon as possible so i just quickly finished my drink and put the glass back after i cleaned it.
I was just about to head back to my room when i noticed a silhouette on our balcony. I recognised the yellow fuzzy pants as my own, I didn't like the fuzz on them however so i gave them to Artemis. See, he spent all his money on such fancy clothes he always forgot to buy pyjamas. He had only one pair, whenever they were in the wash he just slept in clothes he didn't wear as often or if it's hot enough just a jumper and boxers.
I recognised the figure as my boyfriend actually. He was gazing into the telescope seemingly completely preoccupied. He wore the pants i gave him with fluffy socks and a slightly cropped t-shirt, it fell slightly under his ribs but revealed a little bit of his waist. It was a t-shirt he owned but he didn't like how it fit on him so he never wore it out, it was just a normal plain black crop except it wasn't tight instead baggy and loose.
With his lower waist revealed, you could see just the line of his boxers as the pants fell slightly on him. I was a larger size in waist to him so they were slightly baggy and he had to tie the drawstring on them so they stayed at his hips. It wasn't that i was fat, which wouldn't be a bad thing even if i was, just Arti was underweight.
I smiled, deciding then to stay up just a little longer to see what he was doing. I walked over and clicked the door open and stud in the door way "Arti?" I asked him, my voice slightly raspy from just being asleep. I jumped, yelping slightly and he quickly turned around to face me. He sighed when he saw me and greeted me with a smile. I burst out in laughter
"I?- are you laughing at me??" He asked, relaxing his body against the railing of the balcony "i'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" i continued to laugh, trying to catch my breath. He picked up my laughter and started laughing himself as i clicked the door closed behind me and walked over.
He turned to face away from the dorm and back towards the city and the sky, resting his crossed arms on the railing. I joined him standing there, the cold air was freezing against my skin. Luckily i put that jumper on.
"What are you doing awake?" He asked me, we locked eyes with made his cheeks turn slightly more rosy. His usual deep eyebags had faded slightly, still prominent just not as dark, he always says he's cursed with eyebags forever. "Hm, just getting a drink" i replied with a shrug, he smiled and broke eye contact with me, looking back into the sky
"Did you get your drink mr?" He asked me with a chuckle which i returned "yeah, just finished it before i came out here. What are you doin up?" I asked him now, he sighed "couldn't sleep"
We stayed silent, he just gazed into the sky. However he seemed happy with my company by his rosy cheeks and faint smile.
"How are you not freezing?.." i broke the silence. He was in a cropped t-shirt, with his lower stomach and arms on show. "I don't know... i'm just used to the cold i guess? Orphanage rarely had heating so.." he shrugged, I placed my hand on his forearm in a comforting way but lifted it ofd quickly "oh my god Arti you're skin is icy!!" I practically gasped.
I held his forearms again, the cold from his skin shot up my hands making me shiver slightly. He giggled, wrapping his arms around my neck and pulling me into a hug. His skin was cold yet his hug was warm, i hugged him back around his ribs hoping i could slightly warm him up.
We stayed in silence, it was a comforting silence. I buried my head into Arti's neck as he rested the side of his face on my head, he was still gazing at the sky, lost in thought.
"Hey shino?" He asked quietly as i hummed to encourage him to talk "can i ask you a silly question?.." his voice was still low, like he was slightly embarrassed about his 'silly question'
"Of course" i sweetly replied, bringing my face out of his now warmer skin to kiss his cheek.
"When we... when we leave." He started, i noticed his tone when he said leave. I immediately knew he was implying when someones dies "do we become one of them?" He asked, gazing at the sky then down at me
I looked into the sky that mesmerised Artemis a few seconds ago. The idea made me smile if anything, however he looked away slightly embarrassed. Sure it wasn't likely, when we die we just kinda.. go.
"A star?" I asked him just to clarify if we meant the same thing, he nodded. We stayed silent again
"I never thought of it that way. I'd like to think so though, it would be nice.. such a cute idea" i kissed his pigmented lips as he smiled into the kiss then pulled away with a giggle.
If anything, i envied his positive outlook on life. It was something i lost a while ago. I'm aware i'm someone who holds a grudge, someone who can blame himself for any little mistake. Artemis is the opposite to me, I don't think he's physically capable of being malicious or actively trying to hurt someone. He has such a forgiving, innocent and positive view on everything and everyone. I think if we had a world of Artemis's we wouldn't have any need for police or heroes. He was such a peaceful thing to be around.
"I'd like to think when I'd die i'd become a star.." he whispered. "You already are. You're just as pretty as one too." I complimented him, honestly the conversation was cute. I felt better knowing he knew he could have these deep and meaningful conversations with me too. Death was something that bothered and scared us both.
"You're so cheesy!!" He giggled, a deep blush coated his safe as his eyes squinted with his smile. He was breathtaking in my opinion. "Do you know what a star is?" I asked him, guess it was my turn for stupid questions. I don't even know why i asked him that, not only were we just looking at them but he was 16 and i was asking him if he knew what a star was.
"Not really. All i know is they appear at night.." he replied, startling me slightly. It wasn't a bad startle, maybe i was just being too critical of myself. "They're not only at night. Star's exist 24/7 in space, we just can't see them." I answered calmly, i could see out of the corner of my eye he was gazing at me with shock and wonder.
"They're actually made of gas. Technically it's ionised gas which is called plasma but i don't think you'd know what that is. They're made out of hydrogen, inside a stars cure the hydrogen atoms like smush together to make helium and other random gases! It realises energy that makes the gas hot and that's what basically makes them shiny." I rambled, we continued to hold each other while stargazing. His amazed eyes never felt my face however.
"Even the sun is a star, it's just the closest to the earth so we can see it clearly and it's as big as it is. Some of those stars in the sky now as probably bigger then the sun just we can't tell because they're so far away. A star can die too actually, small stars can just kinda burn away for thousands of years and them they just fade out and become a kind of boring lump of helium in the sky.
Bigger stars are more cooler. They eventually run out of fuel to burn they swell onto these red supergiants and try and keep themselves alive by burning random other fuels they find but its only really temporary. After that they blow themselves apart in a massive fucking supernova explosion." I rambled
"You know a lot about stars.." Artemis mumbled, clearly fascinated by what i was saying. "I guess, i just get bored and read a bunch of random science novels." I laughed. "It's sad that they die too.. guess that proves my idea wrong" Artemis sighed, i looked at him in the eyes with a bit of a glum look.
"Not really. Maybe that's just what we were told so people valued their lives more and didn't rush to become a star. Or maybe, when good people die they become a star so they can watch over the people they love and then they get to die in a cooler explosion, and a happier one too. Either way, people die and stars die. Guess it just makes you think about how we should appreciate what we have now because someday we may not have it.." my voice became lower. I was definitely rambling a lot, just talking about random shit that came to mind.
"You're so cute" Artemis giggled and pulled me into a kiss, i hugged him tightly when he broke apart. The conversation was deep and i felt weirdly vulnerable while talking about stars. But it was nice, i felt comfortable.
"On a happier note. Do you know what a constellation is?" I asked him and he shook his head. I hummed and looked at the sky, my eyes landing on a cluster of stars and i pointed over "can you see that little group over there?" I asked him and he followed my point and nodded. It was the constellation of Meena, better known as pisces. Which was coincidentally mine and Arti's star sign, February 20th.
"Can you see the little funny shape it makes?" I asked him as he studied it then gasped "it's like a slanted 'V' with a point and a circle!!!" He traced the sign with his hand and i laughed "that's a constellation. Its a group of stars that form noticeable shapes in the sky. If you follow each star they can outline animals, objects or even mythical beasts. Funny enough that constellation is the one that represents our star sign, Pisces"
"Stars are so cool." He whispered, absolutely in awe about each different fact i told him. My face felt slightly hot, the stars reflected in his pupils as he smiled as them. "I wanna see a supernova." He turned to me as i laughed "hopefully you can"
"We should see a supernova together!!" Artemis grabbed my hands and looked at me excitedly
"Sure. We can get married under a supernova?" I teased him a little as he blushed. "You'd get married to me?" He laughed out with a tone of shock in his voice "I promise to. That is if you'd marry me?" I asked him, he kissed me, breaking away slightly to whisper "i do" with a giggle then went back to kissing me.