So Far, Yet So Close...

Chapter 25

November 23rd 2015

Clara sighed, falling back onto her bed and curling up. Where was he and what could he have been doing that was more important to him than her birthday? She'd seen John at breakfast that morning, where all she'd got was a happy birthday and a peck on the lips before he'd shot out of the room with no explanation.
She hadn't seen him since and it was beginning to really piss her off.
He was her boyfriend, and although she knew not to expect things on her birthday, she couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed.
She got up rapidly, before storming into John's room without a second thought. Of course, as usual, Craig was in there with his laptop.
"Hi, Clara. Having a good birthday?" he said in greeting, not looking up from the screen.
"Not particularly. Do you know where John is?" she demanded.
Craig shut his laptop. "Funny you should ask..." he muttered, before standing up.
Clara stared at him in confusion. "What?"
"I happen to have something for you," he continued.
"Craig, stop being quizzical and get to the point. As you can see I'm not very patient today," Clara said.
"Hang on," Craig told her, shuffling in one of his drawers.
He removed a card, which he passed to her with a smile.
"Happy Birthday. I just wanted to give you it alone because you're a great friend and you mean a lot to me."
Clara couldn't deny that she was a little moved by his gesture. She creased her forehead and looked at the card.
"Thanks, Craig. I-"
"Just open it," he said.
She opened the card and out fell a ten pound note.
She shook her head. "Oh, mate. You didn't have to..."
"It's yours. Now, if I were you. I'd go and put that in your piggy bank for safe keeping," Craig said, beginning to push her out of the room.
"Um, what are you-?"
Before she could finish her sentence the door was shut in her face and she stood for a second, in compete bemusement.
"Well that was weird," she said out loud, before returning to her room.
She slowly shut her door behind her, throwing the card and money onto her desk, about to lie down again. However, she noticed something else on her desk that had not been there before. It was a medium sized box with a heart shaped balloon tied to it.
Filled with curiosity, Clara approached the box, untying the balloon, aware that the only person who could do something like this was John.
She opened the box, which turned out to be empty apart from a small note. Her name was printed on it in John's scruffy handwriting.
She opened it and read:
You're a star, my darling.
Rise up to the top, where you belong.
Come to the attic, Clara.
Where awaits you the date I promised for so long.
She may have still been slightly annoyed at him, but she couldn't stop the grin appearing on her face. Did he just create poetry? Damn, he was making an effort.
She trudged up to the attic, pausing in her tracks before reaching the door. On it there was a piece of paper saying "I'm going to show you the stars."
She chuckled and turned the handle slowly, before pulling the door open. She saw John kneeling by a telescope, his eye in the eye piece.
"Well, aren't you the romantic," Clara muttered with a smile.
"Maybe poetry isn't such a bad thing," he shrugged, looking up and beaming at her.
Clara looked around the room, which was dimly lit. There were two bean bags by the roof window and a plate of Jammie Dodgers between them. There was also a bottle of champagne.
"Hello, birthday girl," he whispered as he kissed her. He took her hand and placed a small box Into it.
Clara stared at it for a second, and then back at him. He nodded, encouraging her to open it, so she did.
Inside was a silver necklace in the shape of a star.
"John, I was about to rant at you for neglecting my birthday. But I think you've made up for it. It's beautiful," she gasped.
John smiled more, taking the necklace and putting it on her.
"I knew you'd get angry eventually, which would cause you to storm into my room, providing the perfect distraction for me to slip your invite into your room. It was all part of the plan," he explained, hugging her from behind.
"You're an idiot, you know that. And a smartarse," Clara said, before turning and kissing him again.
John pulled back. "Ah ah. Let us not get distracted. First, I'm going to teach you some astrology. I am going to prove to you how interesting it is," he told her.
"Right... Or we can just sit on the beanbags and make out," Clara suggested.
"Later," he said, crooning an eyebrow.
He took her hand and led her to the beanbags, where she sat down beside him.
"I'm flattered," Clara laughed.
"You better be. As you may have noticed, I spent all day preparing this," John told her. "Now, have a look. I set it up."
He was indicating towards the telescope, which was staring out of the window towards the sky.
"Tell me what you see," he said.
Clara looked into the telescope, observing a small white dot in the otherwise empty sky.
"A star," she stated.
"Aha, well, you're wrong there. It's actually Venus," John corrected her.
"Oh really?" Clara questioned.
"Uh huh," John smiled, crossing his arms. "Named after the Roman goddess of love. Fair and desirable. She dated Mars, God of War. I'd like to think I'm Mars," John laughed.
Clara watched him explain and was truly intrigued by his fascination.
"Venus is the brightest planet in the sky, and that's why we can see it. She's also our neighbour in the solar system, but made up of gas and too close to the sun, unfortunately we won't be visiting her for a long time."
Clara grinned. "You are Mars. You saved me that night. He could've gone on to do a lot worse," she told him.
"Let's not talk about that. I don't want to think about anyone or anything else tonight. Just you and me, okay?"
"That's fine by me," she nodded.
"Well, on that note. Why don't we crack open the champagne," he smiled.
"How can you afford this. It looks expensive," Clara wondered, holding up the bottle.
"Dont worry, I managed. For you I don't mind being broke," John chuckled.
"You'll regret it later," Clara joked.
"I don't think I will," he smiled, popping the bottle open.
He poured her and glass and then did one for himself, holding it up. Clara clinked her glass against his giggling. "I feel so grown up."
"You are a grown up," John told her taking a sip.
"I know. But I forget sometimes. I mean, I'm 20 now. I'm not even a teenage adult anymore," she sighed.
"Don't let it bug you. At least you're not 30 yet. And besides, apparently your 20s are the best time of your life," he informed her.
"I'd like to think that's true. But if tonight's anything to go by, we're off to a great start," Clara grinned.
John set his glass down on the floor, shuffling his bean bag closer to her. He allowed her to lean into him, as he gazed up at the stars, a past time that seemed so much better with Clara by her side.
"You know, when I was going through the toughest time of my life, I thought the stars were my only friends. I'd stay up late at night just to see them. It sounds crazy, but I even talked to them, because they were the only ones who would listen. And then one day I went on that online chatroom and my conversations with the stars became a lot less frequent because I met the only real star that I would ever want. And she's still here," John narrated, holding her tighter.
Clara turned to look at him, stroking his quiff off his face. She then kissed him gently, not realising the tear that was rolling down her cheek. He brushed it away with his thumb, giving her a small smile, before kissing her again.
Before the two of them knew what exactly was happening, the kisses got more passionate and they had knocked over the plate of Jammie Dodgers and Clara was unbuttoning his shirt and...
Several minutes passed, and eventually the two of them were lying on the floor laughing, amazed at what had just happened.
"Do you know what else Venus is the goddess of?" John asked.
"I think I've got a vague idea, yeah," Clara chuckled.

A/N

Hello!! It's been a while (again, again) but in my debt I am giving you a longer chapter AND a bit of something more heated ;) I enjoyed writing this chapter, even though I probably shouldn't have written it. But revision is so boring that I couldn't resist :P Thanks for sticking around :) Means the world to me that you like my story <3

Jo :) xx