Imperfect Pieces

26. falling

She buried her face in her pillow as she thought of a thousand ways to kill Noah Hill (her personal favorite involved a spear and a very tall tree. But stabbing worked just as well)

"Go away."

She felt the world catching on fire, and she squinted only to see Noah standing next to the light switch, an urgent expression on his face.

"Come on, Lys, I promise you won't regret it. Get up!" At this last command he proceeded to shake her violently in a another attempt to get her to climb out of bed. Alyssa groaned, but sat up in defeat, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"I still don't see what's so special about the stars. Aren't they the same everywhere? You make me watch them with you every night back at home," she grumbled.

Noah's lips curved into a mysterious smile. He extended his hand and helped to pull her to stand up. "Stop complaining, let's go!"

Alyssa pulled a jacket over her nightgown and followed her best friend wearily out of the hotel door. Sometimes she wished he wasn't so convincing.

♢

The sound of waves crashing against the pier woke her completely. She looked around in wonder, at the soft sand beneath her feet, at the dark sea licking the shore, and at the reflection of the moon, glittering and shining like it was trying to put the sun to shame. Noah was walking along the long dock, the wooden boards creaking as she padded after him.

"You're gonna stargaze here? What if I fall down?" she asked incredulously, glancing with concern at the old, splintered boards that seemed to be ready to break apart at any moment. Noah laughed, the sound fading away quickly into the darkness of the night.

"You won't fall unless I push you into the water, which I promise I have no intention of doing, alright?" He paused for a moment, then added in a matter-of-fact voice. "Besides, I'd jump in and save you, so stop being a baby."

Alyssa snorted, but continued walking, feeling a bit better. At the end of the dock, Noah spread the blanket he had brought with him and settled on it comfortably, with his feet towards the sea and his face pointed towards the sky. She laid down next to him, careful not to bump into his side. The boards beneath her back felt cold and uncomfortably hard (she should have brought an extra blanket). She was about to open her mouth to complain again, but then she raised her eyes and caught sight of the velvet sky above and stopped. Whatever words she was about to say vanished from her mind. The sky was sprinkled with luminous stars, some blinking brightly and others dimly glowing, all watching as the two teenagers lay there to witness their glory at 3 am. Aside from the moon, it seemed to her that there was nothing more ethereal than the sight of the stars that night.

"Do you believe me now?"

Alyssa gazed up in wonder, trying to drink in as much as she could while she had the chance.

"Yeah," she said softly, her voice no louder than a whisper against the song of the sea. "I believe you."

She turned to look at him for a moment, watching as a little smile of content appeared on his face and wondered bemusedly how in the world did she befriend this curly haired, brown eyed idiot. But when he declared that they would certainly see a shooting star, and when a streak of light suddenly flashed in the sky just as he had finished speaking, she laughed to herself. Even stars fell for him.

----------------------------

a/n: it's been 3 months wow im so sorry please forgive me. i actually some stuff written but it's just sitting in my computer bc im not happy enough with it to post yet.

at the moment im just writing whatever im inspired about at the moment haha i sort of stopped following the prompts.
fun fact: i wrote this at issyk-kul lake in kyrgyzstan. it was an amazing month and going back to school but oh well.
don't ever be afraid to drop a comment! <33