Beneath the Stars

✩ wish upon a star ;;

"Do you regret it?" Audrey asked.

Brandon ran his hand through his coarse, black hair, making them stick up even more than they usually do.

"Nah." He replied, shrugging and turning to look at her.

"She turned you down. Again."

He breathed out. "I know."

Audrey watched his face for a while, then laughed. She jostled against the young male and poked his sides, causing him to yelp. Brandon scrambled over and ruffled the top of Audrey's head playfully, both shrieking in attempts to win the wrestling match that had ensued.

"Ow!" They rolled away from each other, grabbing their head in pain.

"That was a really bad idea." Audrey gasped, "I swear your head is made of rock."

There was a moment of silence. The two looked at each other, and burst into fits of laughter. They tumbled onto the thin blanket that they had placed outside to watch the stars. Their laughter subsided, and they marveled at the trillions of stars blazing above their heads, each shining their brightest for the world to see.

"Don't you sometimes wish ... " she began.

Brandon shuffled next to her. She didn't look, but she knew his eyes were on her.

"That you could be a star, up in the sky? You would be able to look down at everyone in this world, even though you're so far away."

Audrey glanced at Brandon's face for his reaction. His eyes were soft, a smile pulling gently on his lips. The grass tickled their cheeks as they stared at each other, the moment peaceful.

"It would be nice." Brandon whispered, breaking the comfortable silence. He shifted so that he was lying on his back again. "You see that space between the two stars?" He pointed.

"Yeah." She didn't.

Brandon knew she was lying. He laughed, and let his arm drop next to hers, their fingers brushing slightly. Audrey's grin was invisible in the dark, but they both knew it was plastered on her face, an almost permanent feature etched onto her body.

"Okay, fine. Find the two brightest stars you can see."

Her eyes wandered and spotted them, twinkling against the dark sky.

"I got it."

"So, when we die, cause you know, we're all going to die one day, that will be the place we'll shine together, brighter than any other star out there."

Audrey scoffed. "Was that supposed to be romantic?"

"What?" he feigned hurt, and propped himself up on his elbows. "Are you saying it wasn't?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure even I can think of something more romantic than that."

Brandon lift himself up and looked down at the redhead. "Prove it."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." She could almost hear him smiling. "Say something, anything, more romantic than what I just said."

Audrey began to protest, but he shushed her with his hand over her mouth.

"I'm not listening to a single thing you say unless it's romantic. Bring on the mush and gush, I would love to see what comes out of your mouth." He removed his hand and lightly flicked her forehead, chuckling softly as she swatted it away. "You've been my best friend for three years, and you still don't appreciate me."

Audrey turned away from him, and the wind blew gently through her hair, the air even cooler than it was before. She shivered lightly and rubbed her arms. Brandon threw an extra blanket over her and she wrapped it around herself, trapping her body heat inside.

"I'm still waiting."

She let out a sigh and watched the air turn white as her warm breath made contact with the cold. Fall was almost here. She turned back around to face Brandon.

"I'll tell you later. I swear I will think of one."

"Do you promise?" he held out his hand with his pinkie extended.

Audrey giggled. "How old are you?"

"Same as you, Audrey Hart. Seventeen and counting, we're still hanging in there. It's a great time to be alive. Now will you promise me or not?"

Her own hand peeked out from the deep crevices of the blanket and their pinkies linked, sealing their promise. Brandon seemed satisfied, and stood up, stretching, bones cracking as they popped back into place. He then crouched down and pressed a button on his phone, causing the screen to light up his face, letting Audrey see it for the first time since they left her house. His tanned skin was illuminated by the glow of the phone, which showed 10:43PM.

"Let's get you back. I told your dad I would have you home by eleven. I wouldn't want him to think I'm ... irresponsible." Audrey punched him lightly on the shoulder as he pretended to look horrified at the thought, even though they knew perfectly well there was no way her father would.

"My dad loves you, Brandon Rivera."

"That's just cause I told him I liked biology. He's been talking to me non-stop about human anatomy ever since."

Audrey began rolling the blankets and tossing them to Brandon, who jogged up the small hill back to his car. The girl took her time walking towards the small vehicle, looking up at the stars once again, taking in the view before she would have to go back home. They got in the car and Brandon started the engine, pulling out of the almost nonexistent parking lot.

"So about my very romantic star statement ..."

She waited.

"You're probably going to die first."

She flicked his cheek.

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a/n: it's a pretty cute start, honestly. My chapters ("chapters", heh) are going to be around this length; sorry for it being so short, I'll try making longer stories in the future >w< so for now, enjoy this small read. I'll be updating probably twice every week, so follow to keep yourself posted! 

what do you think of the characters so far? 

give a vote, comment, or uh ... anything, I'd love to read them ^^/ 

- Serena