his star ~ b. barnes

chapter eight

☀︎︎☽

"young, baby, ry. i always seem to forget how much younger than me you are." nora barks at me from her spot in front of my tv. i have persuaded her enough to begin watching the punisher, and needless to say, she is absolutely obsessed.

"ah yes. those 4 months of baby you living it up before i popped out. no wonder you are so much more wiser and mature than i." my hobby of scrolling through pinterest has finally come to use; my birthday is a grand 2 days away, and per george's request, i have to pick out my own cake.

my shiny new laptop that my aunt sent me as a present displays 5:15, and i internally sigh at the thought of having to decide on dinner.

"you only turn 33 once!" she pokes her head over my bed to look at me as she talks, finding the glorious image of my eyes rolling to the back of my head.

"what do you want for dinner nora?"

"anything. everything. what ever you want, ry. actually, we haven't had thai food in a while."

"you got it." i nod, immediately pulling up the menu.

she rolls over, gun effects booming from my tv's sound system. from my peripheral vision, i catch her gaze on my face.

"why are you staring at me?"

nora grins, wiggling her eyebrows. "you should invite beanie to your birthday."

i try to hide my growing smile, most surely failing, yet lick my lips as a cover. it's been over two weeks since we last talked, which did not end well.

we had been scheduling a get-together. tuesday, 2:30, coffee shop. however, he texted me tuesday morning saying he had to cancel, therefore 'rain check'.

it was fine. i was fine. nora thinks i wasn't, but i was; still am.

"you know, you can call him by his real name."

"please. thou should invite mr. benjamin t. barnes to said 33rd birthday celebration, my fair lady. or, ooh ooh, invite freaking BEN to your birthday. who has 1 syllable in their name? people who should be feared."

i lock eyes with her. slowly, i open my mouth to respond. "nora. you call me ry. that is one syllable."

the fear in her eyes is unmatchable.

☀︎︎☽

"nora?"

i open my phone, and a message (that i did not send) has been delivered to benjamin.

"yes ma'am?"

"did you take my phone?"

hey bennie boo!! my 33rd 🤯 birthday

is coming up soon 🤗! was hoping you

could come to my party?? 😱😏😜 - ry ry

i stare at nora, waiting for her response. the message was sent three minutes ago, around the time i was getting the take-out food ready. she doesn't look in my direction, and i wait for her to swallow her fried rice she took the largest bite of. the tv has been switched to daredevil instead which, to be honest, i prefer a little bit more.

"i knew you were never going to text him." nora mutters, her mouth completely filled with food. i clench my jaw and turn back around. i can't say anything else to him in case it comes off as rude, but if i don't take it back then he will think i need more visits with my therapist than i already have, simply from the usage of emojis and terrible punctuation.

"i hate you sometimes."

"oh i love you too, darling."

i tap my fingers on the side of the phone, trying to figure out what to do.

"just leave it, babe. trust me, i made the right decision for you." nora remarks again. i glare at her from my spot across my room, and feel a *buzz* in my palms while doing so.

Wow, 33! I would be honored to attend, Ry Ry.

-Bennie Boo

I bury my smile along with my hopes and dreams.

☀︎︎☽

(hi loves! sorry for how long its been since an update, i'll try to be more on top of it. and 3k reads?? i love all you so much <3 i don't know if you guys caught my usage of netflix-marvel-shows, but i am definitely in that universal phase right now lmao. i hope this teeny tiny chapter was enough for now! but anyways, love you all and the next ~exciting~ and longer chapter should be coming up soon! - bubby)