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chapter forty two
cosmic dust
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The sound of a car door opening and a sudden bright light drew me from sleep. I opened my eyes, immediately squinting when I noticed how dry my contacts were. I sat up and blinked hard in a wild attempt to gather my thoughts.
Star was gone, 'Heart-Shaped Box' playing softly in the background. In the driver's seat, Julian tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. Draco was looking concernedly at me. I realized that we were parked in front of a liquor store.
"Sorry, Mars, Star insisted we pick up a pack of beer and go sit at the lake. She thought you'd enjoy it. I tried to tell her no," Julian said to me, looking in the rearview mirror.
"No, it's all right," I said, my voice a bit croaky.
Some people liked to go get late-night Chinese takeaway when they were drunk—Star, however, liked to sit by a lake and get even drunker. There was a specific lake we went to every time, and I'd never been there in the day, so I didn't even know what it was called.
But, it was nice. There was grass to lay on, and it was just far enough away from Oxford that you could see the stars.
I drifted back into a twilight sleep, until Star opened the door again, a six-pack of beer in her lap. The drive to the lake from then on was a bit too quiet. I was itching to get out into the fresh air by the time Julian pulled into the empty carpark. When I was finally standing, I filled my lungs with the sweet, brisk spring air.
The lake was just as I remembered. Mostly grass, crisscrossed with dirt paths that were hard to predict in the dark. There was a calm lake, the moon reflected on its surface. And...not much else to see. The only source of light was the moon, leaving the scene a nebulous abstraction of grey and black.
Our group of four went to sit on the grass, close enough to the water we could hear the lapping of waves at the bank. Draco and I declined the beer offered to us, so Star ended up being the only one drinking. She started to talk to Julian about some eighties-themed dance she went to in high school, so I looked to see what Draco was thinking.
His head was directed at the sky.
"So," I began and Draco relocated his gaze onto me. "After all of this time of you telling me differently, you actually do like space?"
He hid a short laugh behind his teeth before responding. "My mother is from the House of Black, astronomy runs her family. I grew up with a telescope in my room, and I've known the names of all the constellations since I can remember."
I blinked at him. His features were shrouded in the low light.
"Prove it."
Draco blinked and then looked up at the sky, his eyes wide enough I could almost see the reflection of the stars in them. His hair fell away from his forehead, and I couldn't stop myself from stealing a glance at his neck when it was curved back like that. How could someone's throat be so attractive?
