stella sat silently on the wooden floor, examining michael's very old yet still perfectly working grandfather clock. she recalled back when she was little, where she and michael would always sit under the huge clock while eating cupcakes that michael's mom made.
her eyes bore onto the rugged material and the dull mahogany color of it, making the clock looks unappealing and shabby- there were even parts of it that was worn away. but the funny thing is, the clock is still working properly.
"what are you looking at?" luke interrupted stella, as he casually leaned back onto the wall. stella quickly turned her head to luke, who was looking at her way.
"uh," stella's eyes widened, "i was just looking at that clock." stella answered honestly, as she tried her best to ignore the sound of her beating heart.
luke then glanced to his left, as his blue eyes lingered on the object a lot longer that stella expected. luke's eyes flickered around the object, as he narrowed his eyebrows to see some detailed parts.
"i was thinking about something earlier," stella trailed off, as she looked back at the clock.
"hmm," luke replied, "what was it?" he asked, fixing his gaze onto the beautiful girl who was sitting a couple foot away from him.
"you see how unattractive and disgusting the clock looks?" stella asked luke, earning a nod from the boy, "but see the clockwise that's ticking inside it. the part that's actually still functioning perfectly." stella spoke.
"i don't get how people humiliate and mortify other people- i mean, strangers would never know about someone's terrifying past or their contemporary anxiety. or they would never know the authentic quality a person actually has. people see one quality out of you and they conclude as what they desire inside their heads." stella explained, as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
luke himself was staring at stella. he observed how her lips moved, how she blinks occasionally. and every word that came out of her lips remained inside luke's head. he knew something was different about this girl. but he liked it. he liked the difference in stella.
"stella," luke sighed, as he tried to sum up the words inside his head, "people put you down and disgrace you. they take one of your uncommon quality and make you feel awful and unloved. that's what people do- it's like a natural habit of ours. sometimes you don't even know what you did wrong at the first place, but that's just because people are envy of you." luke explained, leaning off the wall.
stella frowned slightly, completely fazed with what luke just said earlier. she knew luke was talking about acacia, but it doesn't seem fair to stella.
"so what am i supposed to do?" stella asked bluntly, "stay quiet and let those people fuck up my life? godammit luke, my life is already fucked up." stella stood up hastenly, not wanting to blow up in front of luke.
"stella wait," luke called, standing up from the cold wooden floor.
somehow luke wanted to chase after stella. he wanted to grab her hand and tell her that it's gonna be alright. he wanted stella to know that she's worth more than what acacia thinks she is. he wanted stella to feel okay.
but that's the thing. that's what stop him from going after stella. luke was utterly confused. he's confused why he felt that genuine towards a girl he barely knew.
maybe he loved the way she talks, or the deep conversation they had earlier. maybe luke loved the way stella's voice sounded inside his ears, or how beautiful she looks from the spot he sat.
"stella?" camila called her name from the kitchen, earning stella's attention.
stella looked down as she approached the rest, including acacia. acacia was sitting there on the stool, gaping at her fine polished nails.
"hey," stella responded, as she made her way next to calum. calum immediately brought his hand around stella's waist.
"where were you?" michael asked, as he pushed the pizza box in front of stella.
stella shook her head, as she pushed back the box. "just outside," stella shrugged her shoulders, leaning a bit closer to calum.
"i swear to god if you were with luke," acacia scowled at stella suddenly, making all eyes went wide.
at this point, calum was completely done with acacia's rude remarks and her insolent question for the past two hours. acacia would literally say something rude every time they mention stella's name, and it's pretty fucked up considering stella was right there.
"what's your fucking problem with her? chill out dude," camila frowned at acacia, making acacia roll her eyes in annoyance.
"watch your mouth," calum clenched his jaw. he knew acacia was trying to make stella feel bad, and calum doesn't like it. calum loved stella. and he doesn't want anyone to hurt her feelings. calum then grabbed stella's hand and laced their fingers together, "stella and i are dating," he stated.
"and now you don't have the fucking right to accuse stella for fucking around with your boyfriend- or any other guys. cause i know she wouldn't do such a filthy thing." calum hissed, as be squeezed stella's hand in reassurance.
right then, michael who was chewing, literally choked. as his face immediately reddened, "dating?" michael coughed, looking at stella.
stella who was unsure of what to say, nodded her head slowly.
camila stared at stella in shock, as her mouth went slightly open. honestly, it's just impossible for calum and stella to date. sure they had several impromptu sleep overs that consist of cuddling and building forts, but none other than that. they're like siblings- it's literally like wearing a sock with sandals.
"you're dating calum?" another voice chimed in, as the tall blonde boy made his appearance into the kitchen.
"what's wrong with that?" a frown began to form on stella's face.
"proves that you're a fucking slut," acacia spat, as she glared at stella.
stella stared blankly at acacia, as she blinked a couple of times. slut. she thought. there's a part of stella who wanted to laugh at the irrelevant word. but she could also feel her heart breaking every time she blinked her eyes.
"i - i'm sorry," stella muttered, "i'll see you guys tomorrow," she backed away from the kitchen, quickly running away from michael's house.
stella ran with her eyes shut and her fist clenched. she ran under the dim lampposts, passing through speeding vehicles on the dark street. she ran until her chest tightens and her breathing becomes uneven.
stella ran straight to her house, which probably took one and a half kilometers from michael's house. she was out of breath, as her heart beats erratically. but that's okay, she thought. these kind of pain doesn't able to faze her.
stella got inside her room, as she immediately collapsed behind the window. her body shivered, as her head throb in pain.
that night, stella didn't sleep. she didn't continue his dreams about luke, or even think about him at once. stella sat there behind her window, staring up at the stars and the moon. she observed how the clouds went and cover the moon, but soon vanish into the night sky.
stella wasn't used to this. she wasn't used with people despising her. she's considerate, selfless, thoughtful, and warmhearted. and she had never fought with someone, let alone being called a slut.
dry tears remained on stella's delicate skin, making it stiff. stella doesn't know exactly why she's crying, but it's probably because she's upset of herself. she's upset for being a slut.
stella had her eyes wide open until six thirty in the morning. the morning sun rose upon the towered buildings, making its first appearance in new york. stella watched the sun rose up to the sky until it's seven. she watched everything that occurs from ten p.m until seven a.m. she didn't even think about sleep, nor luke.
but of course stella wasn't aware of another creature who was sitting across from her in another building. he sat there with his chin on the palm of his hands, watching every move that stella made. he saw the tears that came down her cheeks, or the heavy breath she released after sobbing for two hours straight. he saw how she observed the sky and how her eyes followed the car that passed by at 2:27 a.m. he saw everything. he saw how stella furrowed her eyebrows when she saw a mother almost hit her daughter in front of his porch. he stayed ten hours sitting in the same position; legs crossed and eyes wide open- only to stare at the sad sixteen year-old girl.
this guy had the huge urge to burst through the windows, and lay next to stella. he really wanted to hold her close and whisper things to make her feel better. he wanted hold her hands and pepper gentle kisses all over her face. he adored stella. and he had been doing this for almost two years.
two years and he promised to stay as long as he lived.