Dear Stargirl {A TamTori Neighbor fic}

Sky Full of Stars

Tamara hunched herself over her oak desk. Dark rings of where coffee and an assortment of other drinks had spilled over the rim of her mug, staining the wooden surface, stared back at her.

Many different assignment papers were splayed messily beneath the stressed student's arms.

School. What was the point? She never turned in her assignments on time, anyway.

Thud!

Tamara jolted upright and whipped her head around to find the source of the sudden noise.

Something was hitting against her window pane.

She slid open the creaky window to be met with the annoyingly pretty girl from earlier.

Tori had one leg slung over the window ledge, dangling above the drop and another inside her room. Her back was pushed against the painted blue frame, a clear plastic bag of jelly beans sitting between her split legs.

This time her hair was in a low ponytail. She wore blue denim shorts and a matching blue sweater that hung off one shoulder, revealing a black strip from the tank top she wore underneath. Her jewellery had been stripped and her smile seemed dimmer.

"Hey, kitty-boy." Tori sighed. Why was she even still awake?

"Tori." Tamara icily replied with the trace of a scowl. She was exhausted from the mountains of work, yet to be finished, but she found herself settling down on the windowsill to have another conversation.

"What are you doing up this late? It's like, midnight." Tamara furrowed her eyebrows at the eye-bags that circled Tori's eyes and the haunted look in her eyes. (Or maybe it was nothing, Tamara was probably imagining it from her lack of sleep.)

"Oh nothing. Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?"

"Uh, yeah. But I have a valid reason to be up. I need to catch up on some assignments. Aren't you also supposed to have a shitload of work?" Tamara answered.

"A tutor comes to my place to teach."

"So you're homeschooled?" Tamara asked, mildly envious.

"Yeah. I'm pretty cool, huh?"

"Uh huh. Yeah, good luck with socializing in the future." Tamara replied, eyes narrowing into slits, immediately forfeiting any jealousy she had of Tori earlier.

Tori sighed and reached to grab something out of sight. She retrieved a metallic tumbler, holding it with shaky hands. It had silly lollipops and rainbows on it, with a pink background with a sun.

Tamara scoffed at the childish design and arched a brow. She was about to say something but Tori beat her to it by talking first.

"If you must know, when.. things get unbearable, I come out to watch the stars."

"Stars?"

"No shit sherlock? That's what I just said." Tori said dryly.

"Lame."

"Lame?! Stars aren't lame. They're actually really interesting." Tori practically jumped towards the window as something sparked in her eye. Was it passion?

Tamara shook her head in disagreement whilst her neighbor angrily blew the wisps of steam rising from her cup.

"Do you believe in reincarnation?"

"Uh, what?

"Some people believe when you die you become a star. It's probably not scientific, but there are plenty stars for everyone here."

Tori's eyes glazed over as she stared at the dark blue sky, pierced with a over million diamond specks. Tamara followed her gaze and glimpsed at the scattered stars.

It wasn't like they were new. They were always there. They were unmoving and unmovable.

Humoring the girl, Tamara hummed. "Yeah, whatever. It's not like I care for your weird theories."

"Well, what do you believe in, then?" Tori looked at her expectantly.

"I don't know, I guess. Whatever, just get on with it."

Returning to the previous conversation, Tori rolled her eyes. She took a sip out of her tumbler before continuing.

"I'd like to think we are all stars in our own way. Special, unique, different. Perhaps we are part of something bigger, like a constellation."

"I wouldn't really consider myself a star."

"Well I would, Tamara. You are pretty dazzling."

Tamara felt a faint blush warm up her face at the compliment but quickly shook it off.

A human star. How odd.

Tori. The only way Tamara could describe her, bright, full of a weird melancholic energy. She was a star, alright.

Tamara sighed contently as Tori held her outstretched hand to the sky. A finger was pointed straight upwards.

"You see that really bright star?"

"They're all bright."

"No, Tam. The particularly bright one."

Tamara scowled at the use of a nickname, but still squinted pointed at the one star that was larger and glowing more than the rest.

"Mhm. I see it."

"It's called a Sirius, or a dog star."

"Why dog star?"

"Because it's part of a constellation called Canis Major, which means greater dog in Latin."

"So the brightest star is part of an astronomical dot-to-dot of a large dog?"

"Yes, you got it!"

Was she being sarcastic? If she was Tamara didn't appreciate it.

"Lame."

Silence filled the air between the two. Tori gingerly sipped the contents of her colorful flask and snuck a quick glance over at Tamara.

"Y'know Tamara, you're quite a piece of work."

"Oh. Am I now?" Tamara rolled her sockets, slightly offended. "I'm glad that while you've been having your geek out session-"

"You're the first...acquaintance I've had in a while."

Suddenly remembering that she had work to do, Tamara decided to cut their conversation short. It was getting a little awkward, with how open Tori was being. Tamara didn't like it.

"Oh. I really wouldn't consider us as friends. Sorry, I hate to break it to you. That probably really sucks. If I were you I would be devastated."

The other girl took a moment to respond.

"Don't worry. It's not personal." It was a normal sentence. But why did it sound so bittersweet when Tori said it?

Tamara flicked off the lamp illuminating her bedroom. Tori unhooked her leg from the ledge and slipped back into her room.

The two maintained tense eye contact for a moment until they wearily retreated towards their own rooms.

"Good night, Tori." Tamara said, hesitantly.

She didn't get a reply.