A Handful of Stardust

SMOKE BREAK

CHARACTERS: Comet Andromeda, Wilbur Caulet

TAGS & TRIGGERS: soft angst, unrequited, m/f, smoking, 00s, childhood friends

Wilbur's lighter works better than Comet's, so his is the one they always use. It's plain and boring, as are the packs of Marlboro Golds, same-y and repetitive. Just once, Wilbur wants to see Comet's lighter, the funny-looking Hello Kitty one she found at a charity shop, layered with stickers. She likes the repetition; he wishes there was something else she liked that he could give her, so their smoke breaks could change once in a while.

Wilbur shows off his smoke rings, and she watches, humouring him. One thing he will admit is that their conversation never has the same sense of deja vu the handing out of cigarettes does.

Comet always says his name first, even when there's nobody else around. "Wilbur," she says, fingers picking out frays in the hem of her skirt, "do you want to stay here forever?"

"No, of course not," he replies, in a tone that indicates how obvious the answer seemed to him. "Why?"

"Don't know."

"Do you like it here?"

She says again: "Don't know. There are probably better places. But I like the people. She smiles at him. Smoke shifts around her features, making them seem softer around the edges than usual.

"Yeah, the people are okay," Wilbur admits, exhaling a great purplish cloud. She smiles again, with not-quite-even teeth. He stares absently at her lips and deliberates about whether they'd taste more of smoke or lip gloss.

Comet drops the cigarette and grinds it into the ground with a heel; he does the same. The ash mingles with the dirt and is lost. Wilbur wonders, not for the first time, if he is going to die here. It's not as though it matters, but he thinks he'd rather die somewhere with more sunflowers.