Written In The Stars (Lee Felix)

Figuring You Out

     Felix hovered over me, staring into my blue eyes. He stood there for a moment, before I stood up and spoke first, "What are you doing here?" He smiled, looking down at the ground, "I wanted some time alone. Guess you thought the same."
I stared at his eyes and said, "I come here every night." I gestured up at the night sky, with the stars shining. "This is my safe place." He looked up, and smiled as he watched the stars glimmer brightly.
I laid back down on the grass, and patted next to me as a gesture for him lay beside me. He sat down beside my laying form, eventually laying beside me. I smiled, as this was the first time I ever had company while watching the sky.
I pointed upwards, "You see that one? That's Orion. That's one of my favorites. Oh! And that one!" I pointed to another constellation. "That's the Big Dipper, it's part of a big constellation called Ursa Major." I sighed in contentment.
Felix spoke up, "You sure know a lot about stars." I laughed, "I've been coming here ever since I was ten years old. It's how I escape from reality for a little bit. I've picked up a thing or two along the way." Felix gave a soft laugh, "Seoul doesn't have anything compared to this. Sure, I mean the city is beautiful, but this is-" I cut him off, "Perfect." I looked over at him, as he stared up at the sky, and he nodded.
I cleared my throat. "What brings you to Pasadena?" Still looking up, he stated, "We have an appearance we are making soon." I perked up a bit, sitting up, "Oh, that's right! You all are going to be at KCON!" He flashed a sweet smile, sat up with me, and replied, "Yeah, I'm excited! Will you be going?" My happy demeanor fell a little, and he noticed. He put a hand on my shoulder, "What's wrong?"
As soon as I felt his hand on my shoulder, electricity zoomed through my body. I don't know what it was, but it was strange. This was a new feeling, and I didn't know how to act from it, so I just spoke again.
"I can't go. I have work and I don't have the money to. With me working 10 hour shifts every day, I can't afford to miss any work. My head is barely above the water." I lowered my head.
"What do you mean, your head is barely above the water?" He asked, inquisitively.
I sighed, "I don't have very much, Felix. My life is a mess. My job at the diner is the only way I'm keeping myself afloat. That's why I can't go to KCON. The money I earn is for bills and groceries. There is never anything left after that. I don't ask anyone for help, because I've always been against asking for help. I've always seen it as a sign of weakness. I've been told it's a sign of strength, but to me, it's always been weakness. So I do what I can. I carry on one day at a time, and I just try to keep going, y'know?" I gave him a small smile, my eyes filled with tears.
Felix wrapped an arm around my shoulder, giving me a small hug. He was so sweet. He just stayed there for a minute before speaking.
"You know, when I saw you, you had this glow about you, your eyes just sparkled, and everything about you seemed joyful and perfect. I never would have guessed that this was what you were going through."
I chuckled, wiping tears, "You'd be surprised what you can hide just by smiling." He looked at me with an unreadable expression. "What?" I asked. He shook his head, "Nothing." Now I was curious. "No, Felix, what?" He replied, "I guess I'm just trying to figure you out."
I cocked my head inquisitively, "What's there to figure out?" He gave a soft smile. "Well, for one thing, I don't know your favorite color." I laughed out loud, "Really? That's what you want to know?" He smiled replying with, "Yep." I laid back down, looking back up at Orion, and said, "Pink and yellow. It's a tie between both. I love yellow because it's a happy color. And I love pink because it's beautiful, not like the hot pink, but like a soft pink. Kind of like a blush pink. That one's my favorite," I said through a bright smile.
"Mine's black," He said laying back down beside me looking up at the stars again. "Black is a beautiful color, and there are so many things you can do with it. You know, it's said that black represents elegance and sophistication." I chuckled, "With your wonderful style, I can definitely see that," I said, as we both started laughing. We stared up at the stars for about thirty seconds before I asked Felix, "What's your favorite flower?"
He turned his head to look at me, "I love Irises. They're so beautiful and lovely. They've been my favorite since I was a child. Yours?" I smiled, "Lilies, I love pink lilies. And roses! But not like the ordinary roses, the ombré ones are my favorite. They're so unique and special and I love them." He flashed a smile and replied, "Wonderful choice."
I let out a small giggle, "It's your turn." He looked confused for a moment but then understood. "Okay," he started, "Mmm, what's your favorite thing to eat?"
My eyes lit up, "It's a toss up, between jambalaya with shrimp and my mama's country style steak from when I was a little girl. Those are my two favorites! They're delicious. How about yours?" Felix paused for a minute, thinking. "I think my favorite would be Galbi-tang. It's a short rib soup, and it's delicious. I could eat it every day if I could."
My face scrunched, "I don't think I've ever had Korean food." He had a face of disbelief, "Never?" I shook my head. "I'm always so busy with work, and every penny I have goes towards my bills. I don't exactly have much wiggle room." His face saddened. "I'm sorry." I let out a breath, "It's okay, I get by. I'm just doing the best I can."
I looked back up and gasped. Felix turned to me, worriedly. "Are you alright?" I smiled and replied, "My favorite star is out tonight! Right there!" I pointed up to it. "The really bright one?" He asked. I nodded and said, "That's Vega. She's my favorite star. She shines bright, but not as bright as Sirius or Canopus. But she's special." I sighed, contentedly. He started laughing. I turned my head toward him, confused. "What's so funny?" He laughed while saying, "You. You're just cute." A blush crept on my cheeks but I was able to hide it. I cleared my throat, "Oh, it's my turn! Hmm. What's your favorite movie?"
He paused in thought. "Hmm. I don't think I really have one. I really like romcoms though, I've always had a soft spot for those." I agreed, "Romcoms are so sweet and sappy. I love them so much, I think my favorite romcom might have to be The Fault in Our Stars. It's so beautiful. It's a beautiful storyline."
Felix gave a soft smile, "Okay, I think my weakness might be The Notebook, I've always had a soft spot for that movie." I giggled, smiling. We both stayed quiet for a while, until I spoke again.
"Is there anything else you want to know about me?" He thought for a minute. "What's one thing you've always wanted to do?" I sighed, "Travel. My dream place to go to, actually, is Seoul. It's so beautiful, and I want to experience it and its' beauty. I want to go there, more than anything." Felix smiled and tucked that piece of information away in his head.
I asked, "Anything else you want to know?" He gazed over at me, "There's a lot more I want to know, but we can stop here for tonight. It's already getting late." I glanced at my watch, realizing we had been here almost an hour, just talking and getting to know each other.
I nodded, sitting up and shaking the grass from my hair and dusting it from my top. Felix stood up and extended his hand, to which I took it, and he pulled me up to meet his eyes. We stood there for a moment, before breaking eye contact. I cleared my throat, "Do you need a ride back? My car is right down there." He smiled saying, "That'd be wonderful."
We both walked down the hill toward my car, when a chill blew, making me shiver. Felix noticed this immediately, "Are you cold?" I shook my head, but he was already taking off his jacket, and he put it around me, warming me up quickly. This gesture made me smile, as a blush crept up to my cheeks. I looked at him, "Thank you." He smiled, replying with, "Of course."
We approached my car and I unlocked it. I hopped in the driver seat, and Felix got into the passenger seat. I started the car, and immediately my Stray Kids playlist started playing. I gasped and quickly shut it off. Felix began to laugh, clapping his hands, "That was cute, you really like our music, don't you?" I shied away, redness creeping in my face again, but I cleared my throat, "I'm sorry." He smiled at me, "Don't be! I know you love our music." I smiled at him before driving away from my star spot.
I asked him, "Where are you guys staying?" He replied, "The Courtyard at Fair Oaks." I lit up, "Oh! That's not far from where I am!" He quirked an eyebrow, "Really? How far are you?" I responded with, "I'm about 10 minutes away from there." He grinned, "Well, maybe you should stop by!" I glanced in his direction, "No, I wouldn't want to bother you or impose." He shook his head, "It's no imposition! It's an invitation."
When we stopped at the stoplight, I looked at his eyes, and I could tell that he meant it. Which made my heart clench. I didn't know what to say in that moment, so I just replied with, "Thank you. Really. You're very kind and very sweet." His eyes seemed to sparkle, "When you show kindness, it comes back tenfold. That's one of the things I live by."
I let out a chuckle of shyness, "That's beautiful. I have two things I live by. The simplest gesture of kindness, can fill a galaxy with hope. And the second one is, the only thing worth doing, is what we do for others. I've lived by both of those since I was six."
Felix gave me a soft smile, "I can tell. You're the definition of both of those." I looked at him, smiling and blushing at the same time, which he happened to see, and laughed a little bit. The light turned green, and we continued our drive to the Courtyard inn.
Once we approached the inn, I stopped by the main entrance and parked the car. Felix unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door. He looked at me, "Come here a minute." I was a little perplexed, but got out of the car. I walked over to him, "Yes?" What he did next shocked me.
He pulled me in for a hug.
I didn't know how to react at first, but my arms went around his back, giving into his embrace. And for the moment, I felt safe. This hug lasted about a full minute before he pulled away. But what he did afterwards, about made me collapse. He said, "Goodnight Ella," And he kissed the top of my hair. I was stunned. I looked at him, my face red as ever, and I snapped out of it before saying, "Goodnight Felix."
He gave a soft smile before walking to the door, but he turned around and asked, "When am I going to see you again?" I replied with, "Maybe if you come by for breakfast!" I said with a laugh. Felix laughed too before going in the door. I stood there, processing what just happened.
I went back in the car and drove back home. When I got inside, I put my keys on the counter, and I changed out of my work uniform, but not before realizing I was still wearing Felix's jacket. I froze for a minute, looking at it. I brought it to my heart, hugging it, as it made me feel safe and warm. I placed it on my chair, before changing into my pajamas.
I brushed my teeth, took out my contacts, and got some water. I went on my phone for a bit, looking at Instagram, and I saw a new post by @realstraykids. I clicked on it, and it was a picture of my diner. My eyes widened. I looked at the caption and it said, "If you haven't eaten here yet, then what are you doing?" I stared at the screen for a solid three minutes. I screenshotted the post and sent it to Courtney, with the context, "Hey Courtney, I think we might get more customers soon." Then I went to play one of my favorite games.
My phone vibrated and it was a text from Courtney. "THE STRAY KIDS?! THE. STRAY KIDS?!" I laughed, replying, "Yea. I served them tonight. They really liked the diner Court." A moment passed before she responded, "Give me a minute to process this." I chuckled and set my phone down.
I laid back on my bed, smiling. Today was a good day.