Permanent in the Stars

6: Oliver

"I can't believe we just did that." Manicured fingernails scrap at my chest. May was eager to go home and watch a movie with me. Not that we did much watching.

Now naked and tangled in the sheets, I'm ready for her to leave. It was a mistake, it always is with one night stands. But May is a gorgeous girl, she has ambition and goals for herself. A fuck with me isn't going to put a dent into her life, she has everything planned out. And I'm not looking to get into a long term relationship if I can help it.

"Well, I have class early tomorrow morning, so I should get going." I am relieved that I don't have to awkwardly kick her out. I watch her clip her yellow bra and pull up her matching underwear. "Are you going to any Halloween parties this weekend?"

"I might kick it at a few. I'll be at the fall festival for a bit too." The gardening club and the environmental club were teaming up for Halloween weekend to make environmentally friendly trick-or-treating bags with kids in the community. They were also selling produce from their fall harvest.

"Well I guess I'll see you there then?" She's fully dressed and leans down to give me a kiss. "See you later Oliver."

She's not gone for more than 5 minutes before Asher's in my room. "She was a cutie. It's kinda fucked that you met her at that meeting though isn't it? Rory probably thought you were there for her." Asher has decided to pledge himself as a full supporter of me and Rory to become more than friends. He thinks the universe put us in the same spot at the time of the crash. I told him he's delusional and it's nothing but coincidence.

He's become especially annoying, acting like a middle school girl looking for gossip. "Get the fuck out of my room Asher. And close the door behind you."

When he does, I turn my light off and position myself to go to sleep.

All I feel about this relationship with Rory is guilt. She is a good person and doesn't deserve deception. I pick up my phone from the bedside table. In the informational email Rory sent out for the environmental club, there's a link to nonprofits that she encourages anyone able to donate to.

I am finally able to sleep when I click on a random website and donate all the money her parents sent me to the nonprofit.

~

Halloweekend is always a bore for me. The costumes are stupid and I know that Halloween is a consumer holiday that was marketed for big business to make money.

Aurora told me that she loved costumes and thought it was fun for everyone to change their identity for the night. She had said, "Who cares if people are buying candy? A day to eat candy and look at decorations and dress up sounds fun to me." She shrugged her shoulders and tried to play it cool, but the excitement towards the holiday radiated off of her. That's why I now stand in a skeleton sweatshirt.

Rory is dressed as a witch and when I arrive at the festival, she is surrounded by kids, passing out candy, hunched over her walker. She spots me easily, smiling wide when we make eye contact. As the kids disperse, we walk towards each other. "Happy Halloween," I say.

"You said costumes were stupid." She looks at my outfit.

"This isn't a costume, it's a sweatshirt." I stuff my hands in the pocket of the sweater.

"It would be a costume if you went to the face painter over there and got a skeleton face painting." She folds her hands together and looks at me with pleading eyes. "Please, the more people that are dressed up, the more people will come up to our booth."

"Rory," I sigh. There's no way I'm getting my damn face painted for this girl. "I've got a reputation to uphold."

"I've got a club to run. Some of these parents are loaded and are willing to give donations." I look her dead in the eyes. The green is dark in the light and I can spot a couple of freckles on the orbs.