The Brightest Star

Chapter 4

Four⭒

All she needed was the message to let her know it had gone well. Mirabelle sat on her bed, smiling at the messages filling her Tumblr feed.
It had been two days and the online conversations grew exponentially. The conversation began with Will's first message from Friday night.
2/17
W: Hey Mirabelle, it's Will!
M: Hey! Nice name lol
W: Thanks!
2/18
M: OMG did you read the Harry Potter series?
W: YES and the 7th book . . . *sigh* I cried
M: The books were so amazing!
W: Good old JK!
M: Haha!
2/19
W: You know...I think it might be easier if we exchange numbers :)
M: Yeah, I would agree with that!
My number is (555)419-2218
W: Thank you Mirabelle! :)

Mirabelle placed her phone beside her on the bed. She sat there, the silky material smooth beneath her. She stood up, grabbing her phone as she moved swiftly to her bedroom door. The waiting was agonizing. Will had only sent the message 5 minutes ago but the sinking feeling in her stomach kept pulling tighter and tighter until she felt as if her stomach was ripping itself apart internally.
She padded down the stairs, stopping in the laundry room. She placed her comfortable Ugg boots on her small feet, removed her mint green fashion coat from the closet and opened the back door, feeling the frozen air on her skin.
The brilliant white flakes fluttered through the air, swirling and dancing in beautiful synchronization. The sight was calming, though the air was cold, and Mirabelle stood in her cat printed soft pajamas it was enjoyable. She watched steadily as her breath expelled into the air in white puffy clouds.
Her breath hitched and became uneasy with the steady vibrating in her pocket. She eagerly withdrew the device, heart stopping momentarily. In taking a breath to calm herself, she slid her finger across the screen and lifted the phone to her right ear.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Mirabelle!" His voice was soft and she could tell by the tone of his voice that he had his big goofy grin plastered on his face. A smile spread across her face, waiting for his next words.
"So, Mirabelle C Samuels, huh?" Despite being alone, Mirabelle blushed, and covered her face while laughing.
"Yes..." She bit her tongue lightly, the tip sticking out. She tended to do that a lot.
"Cassidy?" She could hear him laughing on the other end.
"Nope,"
"Close?" She somewhat wished she was talking to him face to face, but it would have so much more embarrassing.
"I'm not going to tell you!"
"Okay," He sounded a bit defeated but he bounced back again. "Where do you go to school?" She ducked her head and paused a moment before replying,
"I don't. I'm home schooled." There was a moment of silence, in which Mirabelle's stomach did a million tiny flips. What if he is uncomfortable with me being homeschooled? Oh god why did I tell him that?
"Thats awesome! I wish I was homeschooled," his voice was still light and joyful. "I go to Saint Ridge Private school. It's not as great as it sounds." another moment of silence on her end. She could faintly hear talking away from the phone, he must have been talking to his parents. The sound was back, close again, and she could hear his steady breath in the stillness.
"I have to go, but I will keep in touch, Mirabelle."
"Okay, Will."

~•~✩~•~

Monday. The worst day ever. Will had school today but he would rather stay home and talk with Mirabelle about fandoms. He still couldn't get over how amazing it was to meet a beautiful girl who was in so many of the same fandoms he was in. At dinner the other night, he promised to show her Doctor Who sometime, which, in fact, would be fantastic.
He dressed casually in a thin, sapphire hoodie, light was jeans and a pair of red converse. He spread a cream formula into his thick black hair so that it kept its shape: formed, swooping up to the right side.
He was in his junior year at school, almost done with it, actually. He had few friends. He knew a lot of people, but could only call three of them friends. Alexander Burkes, Hayden Tyler, and Missy Walters.

The bell rang and Will went into education mode, controlling his emotions and returning to the daily routine or sitting through boring classes, walking across the school from one class to another, and avoiding talking to anyone except his friends.
First was statistics. He stopped by his old, barely functioning locker, and extracted his text book. The bell rang, letting Will know he had a minute to get to class. He entered seconds before the bell, and was rewarded with scowl from his professor, Mr Fowler. He took his seat and listened to his teacher lecture, zoning out every once in a while. He would check the clock every so often, checking its progress and if it was close to being 9:05.
He went through this same process three times until lunch. Will was first at the large cafeteria table, he brought his lunch and the others generally bought theirs. He was used to this by now. Missy was the first to come, her class being closest to the lunch room. Then came Alex, and finally Hayden.
Will pulled out his phone and texted Mirabelle.

Hey, Mirabelle. I was wondering if you would want to hang out once I'm done with school? I can drive over to your house and we can hang out there or I could pick you up and we could go somewhere!

He grinned down at the screen despite his friends' questioning looks. When he did not explain himself, Missy swiftly swept the phone off the table and read the message. She grinned madly and passed the phone around, to Alex and Hayden. Alex burst out laughing and Hayden patted him on the shoulder. Will ducked his head, his cheeks bright red.
When he lifted his head, Missy looked him in the eyes and asked, "Who is she?" There was amusement in her eyes, but also reassurance, letting him know that she won't make fun.
"Her name is Mirabelle." He blushed again and Missy smiled knowingly at him.

During 4th period, Mirabelle replied.

Of course! Could you come pick me up and we can go where ever you'd like! =)

Okay Mirabelle :)

When the bell rang at 2:55, Will had never wanted to get out of school so bad. He left as quick as he could, and drove down to Mirabelle's house. She'd given him her address the other day, while reminiscing about how close they lived to one another.
In his royal blue Subaru Impreza, he drove to Mirabelle's house, calling his mom at the stoplight right outside the neighborhood, letting her know he would be out late.

~•~✩~•~

Mirabelle had been sitting at the mirror in her bathroom, applying light makeup and dressing in soft, fleece-lined leggings, a casual shirt and her mint coat. When she heard the ring of the doorbell, she quickly pinned back her bangs with a few bobby pins and raced down the stairs.
She pulled open the door and was greeted by Will, his bright green eyes smiling more that the rest of his face would ever be capable of. She smiled back at him, knowing that her smile would never compare to his, but not caring.
"Hi," She began shyly, looking down at her feet and realizing that she forgot shoes. She glanced back up and his smile grew wider. "Hello Mirabelle."
"I have to get shoes but you can take a seat." She gestured to the dark leather loveseat. He only nodded and strode over and took a seat. Mirabelle flashed him a small smile and strolled to the other side of the house.
Mirabelle grabbed her red converse and slowly walked back to where Will was sitting. Her thoughts were jumbled and frankly giving her a headache. This was the first time she and Will were hanging out together. She could not fathom what kind of event he had planned for this afternoon. It didn't matter. She was not about to back out of this.

His car was surprisingly amazing. It was clean, no wrappers or anything strewn around, and from what Mirabelle could see, he didn't only clean it for her. He kept it that way. She sat on the soft leather seat of the passenger side, and watched Will start up the car. He was steady, his expression neutral and his hands expertly moving around the buttons and controls.
"Where are we going?" She asked, curiosity coloring her voice. He looked at her, humor glittering his eyes and replied,
"You'll see." When she rolled her eyes, he grinned and returned his attention back to the road.

Mirabelle did infact see. It was 4:27, the sun releasing light slowly, hiding behind a grey sky and dark cloud. Will pulled to a stop in a parking lot beside an outdoor ice skating rink.