moonlight

○ one - selene ○

I'm not sure why I'm here.
I don't know what I'm doing on most days, so that isn't saying much.

Many people say I need help.

Somedays, I think they're right.

Today is not one of those days.
Today is a day filled with fluffy clouds and sunlight. I can't wait to see what the night will bring.

The feeling of a body bumping into mine drags me from my thoughts.

Paper and bags clutter to the floor as I look up and see a woman around my age trying to pick everything up.

"Oh stars, I'm so sorry," I stammer. "Here, let me help you pick this stuff up."

As I help her pick the stuff off the sticky mall floor.

"It's fine," she says, and her voice is soft like the clouds I love so much. "I was bound to drop them eventually."

I finally take a proper look at the person I bump into.

She has short lilac hair, light brown eyes, and a dusting of freckles over her nose, reminding me of stardust.

I blink, reminding myself that I am here, and I actually need to socialize with the person standing before me rather than admire them all day.

"I'm Selene, and I'm still sorry for bumping into you," I look at all the stuff I've picked up, my arms completely full and yet she's still holding the other half that fell. "Seriously though, how were you carrying all of this??"

She laughs, "Luck, I suppose. I have no clue how I'm going to get it balanced again. I'm Aster, by the way. I would shake your hand, but..." she gestures with her full arms.

I smile, "Nice to meet you, Aster. I can help you carry your things if you need, I have nothing better to do."

Aster smiles, "That would be great, thanks. I really don't know how I got this far without any assistance."

"Someone clearly has a lot of balancing strength. And whatever the opposite of clumsy is."

Aster laughs again, the sound similar to what I'd imagine the twinkling night sky to sound like. "Yeah, that totally sounds like me, the epitome of balanced and graceful."

"So, where were you going with your abundance of..." I take a closer look at what I'm holding. "Old lecture notes and bags filled with books? Hey, I know some of these! The court of spikey flowers or whatever, my ex used to read those a lot."

"A court of...?" Aster bursts into laughter. "You mean A Court of Thorns and Roses, don't you?"

I hum in agreement, "Yeah, that one. Apparently, the love interest is a total dick."

"Be glad I've already read the first two Selene, otherwise I'd be real pissed that you'd spoilt it for me." she teases.

I roll my eyes, "I'm sure you would have survived. Anyways, where are we headed with your smutty books and lecture notes? Strange combo if you hadn't noticed."

Aster blushes slightly, "Say that a little louder would you, I don't need the entire mall knowing what I read. But back to your earlier question, just out to the bus station."

I stop in my tracks. "Wait, you're not telling me that you planned on bussing home with all this stuff?! How many arms did you think you have?"

She snorts, "I didn't plan on taking all this stuff, it's just that they had a sale and I had leftover vouchers from one celebration or another. And the notes came from someone's old textbooks that were – you guessed it – also on sale. But yeah, I was planning on taking the bus, as my friend is borrowing my car for a road trip."

 I nod, thinking, "If it isn't too far, I could give you a lift? I don't know how you planned to bus, but I don't think it would go very well..."

Aster smiles. "Thanks for the offer, but I did only just meet you. What, fifteen minutes ago?"

I wince, "You make a very good point."

I also wouldn't know what to do with an absolutely stunning woman in my car.

Just the two of us.

We walk out of the mall, the cool autumn wind blowing my hair into my mouth.

Gross.

Aster laughs as I try to spit it out, and I pull a face.

If anyone was watching on, you'd think that we had known each other for years, not a quarter of an hour.

Thankfully, the nearest bus stop was right across the road, but when we reached it and Aster saw the timetable, she groaned.

"You have got to be kidding me." she says incredulously, "The next bus is in half an hour?! I need to be somewhere at 2:30! Ugh, I hope my client isn't too stingy about what time I arrive."

I frown, "It's only 12:00 though, you have over two hours to get there."

"I have to wait half an hour for the bus, and it takes roughly the same time for me to get home. Then, I have to prepare the stuff for my client, which can take any time between 20–40 minutes, and we can't forget I need to eat food, which is another 10 minutes. Then the travel time to my clients house..." she whips out her phone, the cover a similar colour to her hair, to probably search up where her client lives, "Another half hour, so that leaves ten minutes if everything is exact. But knowing the traffic and my tendency to get distracted... I'll probably be cutting it close."

I blink, this woman was way more organized than I was, I barely knew my plans for the day, let alone the time everything else would take.

Aster groans again, "I thought I planned this well, I must have just missed the last one."

I walk over next to her, "My offer still stands, y'know," I say softly, "If you're fine getting in a car with a stranger. I can understand if you don't feel comfortable."

She looks up at me, giving me a once over.

Aster sighs dramatically and raises her brows, "Well, if I'm going to get kidnapped, it may as well be by a hot woman."

I – what? Did she just call me... hot?

Oh, stars, now what. Do I just continue on as normal or...

Clearly, I am not much of a people person.

Aster seems to notice my distress, so she adds, "I was just teasing, I don't have that much confidence to hit on you after knowing you for less than an hour," she chuckles "So, where is your car?"

"Right over there, the white one with a sticker in the back mirror."

"Lead the way, Selene."