City of Stars

Rooftop

Ria knocked on my door at one in the morning holding a picnic basket. Through my sleep-induced haze, I could barely comprehend her hushed "get dressed go on go we might miss it!" As she pushed me back into my room and began throwing clothes out of my dresser drawers and tossing them on my bed, I was able to come up with at least one coherent sentence.

"How did you even get in here?" My parents were asleep right down the hall, and they should've at least heard her unlock the front door, but she doesn't have a key to my house, did she break in? And Ria, damn her mysteries, only threw a tee shirt at me.

"This is cute," she said, and that was that. She plopped herself down into my desk chair and turned her back to me. "Get dressed."

"Why are you even here?" I asked, pulling my sleep shirt over my head and replacing it with the new one. Black, with a splattering of white dots connected by lines. It was a shirt I ruined painting, but decided I liked it too much to let it go to waste. I made it into a universe instead.

Ria turned to face me. Her red hair was pulled into a messy bun and a few strands hung down in front of her face. It looked like she ran here, if the flush in her freckled cheeks and light sheen of sweat were anything to go by.

"What?" she smiled. "I can't take my girlfriend out on a romantic date?"

Not at one in the morning, I thought. I couldn't help but smile, though. Ria was a hopeless romantic and a reckless soul. The complete opposite of me, but I guess that's what I loved about her.

"What's in the basket?" I nodded to the wicker basket in her lap.

"What? This?" She gestured animatedly. "Why, this is our breakner." She seemed way too excited about her made-up word.

"Breakner?" I repeated.

"It's the love child of breakfast and dinner."

I laughed. A full of love, god-this-idiot-is-too-cute laugh that was sure to wake my parents.

"You dressed?" She asked, standing up from the desk chair. I nodded, and she held out her pale hand to hold my darker one. "Then let's get going!"

We snuck our way out of my house at one twenty-four. Instead of going to the front door, Ria pulled me to a window which decidedly wasn't open when I went to bed.

"Did you break in?" I asked.

She shushed me and began to climb the fire escape.

After three pseudo-flights of stairs, we had reached the roof of the apartment complex. It wasn't the best view in the city, but it was settled where you could see stars peek out of the cracks in buildings. It was one of my favorite places to be.

"Do you like it?" Ria gestured to the center of the roof. A striped blanket had

been placed over the cement, and a telescope had been placed off to the side. It was a small gesture, but one that almost brought tears to my eyes. No one had ever done something like this before, for me, of all people.

"Yes," I breathed, pulling her into a too-tight hug. After a moment, she patted my arm.

"Can't breathe," she whispered. I pulled away and kissed her cheek instead.

"Hungry?" she asked, picking up the basket that had been discarded. "Hope you don't mind that I stole some fruit from your fridge."

"Oh god," I said, holding my head with mock-exasperation. "I'm in love with a criminal."