One Shots

The Cowboy's stargazer

I like stars. The little explosions in the sky that shine and twinkle on clear nights. I like the fact that, since they're billions of miles away, the stars that we see are actually dead. They've long since imploded, eaten themselves from the inside out, and created black holes in their wake.

But I try not to think about that. I prefer to just stare at the small, sparkling dots in the sky. Because they're beautiful, constantly changing and moving, but still managing to stay in the same general area. They amaze me, to be honest.

On clear nights, I drive my dad's old truck that he left me in his will out to an empty field. Laying among the dirt and clovers, I gaze up at the world's ceiling all night long.

One cool, clean night, I grabbed a bag of chips and a can of soda, and drove out to the field. I lay down, my hands behind my head, and crossed my legs at the ankles. I wasn't even laying on the bumpy ground for 20 minutes, when I heard hooves clomping along the soil. My eyes flickered over to a large, black and white horse walking towards me quite quickly. I gasped and jolted up, scrambling backwards at the sight.

"What're you doin' out here, kid?" A smooth, flawless voice asked. A boy around my age peeked around the side of the horse, smirking a little at my panic to get away from him. He had black, quiffed up hair and tan skin, along with upturned pink lips. Placed on top of his head was a beige cowboy hat.

"I, u-um, ah," I stuttered out, still a staring at the huge horse. He jumped down, grabbing the leather reins, and took a step towards me.

"Come're," he reached his hand out towards me. I looked at it uneasily before slipping my hand into his. "See, look, she doesn't bite!" He brought my fingers up to the horse's muzzle. I hesitantly petted the soft fur, a little flash of a smile sparking on my lips.

"She's beautiful," I breathed out. He nodded and tied the reins to a small piece of leftover fencing that was remaining from when they farmed the land. "What are you doing?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he countered, raising his eyebrows at me. I shifted awkwardly, burying my hands in my pockets, but then taking them out and holding them behind my back. Kicking at the dirt with my toe, I looked at the horse, then back to him.

"Um," was all I managed. He smirked and chuckled a little.

"What were you doing in my field?" He asked again, taking a step closer to me. My eyes trailed up to his tan cowboy hat, plain with five lines sewed around the brim. It's quite attractive, really.

"This is your field?" I asked instead of answering his question.

"Yes, this is my field," he nodded quickly. "The same field you were laying in just minutes ago? Yeah, it belongs to me." My cheeks instantly flared with blush at the realization that I've been using someone else's field for two years, my eyes flickering down to my toes.

"You look a little young to own an entire field," I noted. He puffed his chest out subconsciously. Looking up, I realized it was his turn to blush, the moon's glow illuminating his pink cheeks.

"Well, it's not ALL mine," he shrugged. "Half of it belongs to my friend- ah, business partner. He manages expenses and such, and I do the dirty work."

"How come?" The words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them, making me snap my hand over my lips as soon as I said them.

"Because he's... Clean," he shrugged. "He prefers paper to cleaning shit."

"Can't image why," I scrunched up my nose, making him chuckle.

"You never answered my question," he reminded me. "Why have you been in my field every night this week?"