Constellations

Chapter 11

"Still not asleep?"

Ara, who was about to go downstairs and get herself another glass of water, stopped walking and turned to look inside the room with the door open.

"I... couldn't. I don't know why; I've been trying to sleep since 11 but I could only toss and turn and close my eyes but I couldn't rest myself enough. What are you doing anyway?"

Timothy, who was standing next to his telescope, stared at her in disbelief.

"Gardening. Well I was standing next to my telescope, what do you think I was doing?"

She giggled, leaning on to the slightly opened door.

"Just come in if you want, this isn't the first time you've been in my room anyway," he laughed.

She stepped into the room, watching him for a while before walking to his bed.

"Can I sit down?"

"Go ahead," he replied.

Ara sat quietly on Timothy's bed. It was past midnight already, the clock in his room pointed to the number 2. His pillow was on her lap, and she was watching him intently.

"What are you currently observing?"

"Cassiopeia. Do you want to take a look?"

"No, I... well, I do, but there's something I wanna tell you about last week."

He was still on his telescope, but she knew he was listening closely, waiting for her to continue. Her eyes wandered around the room a little before she finally spoke again.

"So, about Vikki and Nathan... they actually didn't run off. Vikki was still there at the party, and Nathan too."

"Yeah, I heard from Nathan. I asked about it to him."

"Do you want to tell me what actually happened there?" Timothy asked, turning from his telescope to face her.

She sighed before finally speaking up. "It was... it was Derek. He called me slurs... and a lot of other things. And the other guys weren't "alright", they laughed with him. And I'm pretty sure he was going to have his hand up my... my thigh..." she shuddered a bit before continuing, "...when I told him to fuck off and go to hell. I stormed outside of his house and called you then."

"Vikki didn't know that I already went home. I told her right before I went to bed, I should've told her earlier. She didn't know where I went and was still looking for me when I called her."

"'They couldn't have picked a prettier exchange student?' That was one of the things that he said that I could remember. I really don't want to do anything with him anymore," she continued, tears were starting to form in her eyes; tears that she quickly blinked away. "Although... well, you could see that I was partially drunk that night. I've only realized how awful it was when I woke up the morning after."

He was silent for a while. She couldn't quite read his expression; somewhere between anger and disgust. "So that's why you've been avoiding him this whole week?"

She nodded, burying her face in his pillow. "I don't know what I did wrong," she murmured. "Was that because I attended the party? Did he really not want me to be there so much? But then why did he..."

"Shh, hey. Hey, it's not your fault, Ara. It really isn't." He moved towards his bed, waiting until she allowed him to sit next to her. "This is why I didn't want you to go, honestly. But this is worse than what I thought might happen," he murmured.

"What I don't understand is... I've never been the center of attention, you know," she muttered. "No one ever paid attention to me before, not like that. And him doing that to me is... really scary."

"Has he always been like this to girls?" She asked him. Her arms were around her knees, and she was resting her head on the pillow on her lap.

"Well, I've heard more than one or two persons calling him a jerk," he replied, "It still doesn't excuse the awful things he said and did, though. Does anyone else know about this?"

"I told Vikki and 2 others. She asked me why I didn't go see her after that and go home with her... honestly, the first person I thought of was you, because of what you said the day before," she said. "It made me feel safe. Thanks."

"I wish more people would know about this so they know how much of a dick he is," he sighed. "I'm glad I could help you, though," he continued, smiling at her. "It's the least I could do, honestly. As a housemate and all."

"Just as a housemate?" she asked him. Her tone was somewhat playful, but there was something in how she said it that made his heart beat faster.

"I'm just joking, again. Sorry," she continued, smiling wearily. "But I like you. A lot. I hope I don't scare you by saying that, but... yeah."

"More than just a housemate," he replied, "I really like you too, you know."

None of them knew that both of them were feeling the same thing at the same time. The butterflies in their stomachs, the racing heartbeats, the hopeful look in their eyes, the slight flush on their faces. She turned to look at him, surprised by how close they have gotten; both physically and emotionally.

Their gaze met; and in only a split second from then, their lips also. She wrapped her arms around him, bringing herself closer, resting her head on his shoulder when they finally parted.

"Aku sayang kamu, Tim," she said, closing her eyes.

"Do I have to translate that first?"

"Do you?" she laughed. "Well, it means 'I love you', but I'm pretty sure you already knew that."

"You've always been here for me," she continued, "I couldn't ask for more. Still, though, would be better if you weren't so creepy at first."

"Says the girl who's also creepy," he scoffed. "Not that I mind, though."

"Eww, really?" She sighed. "I'm taking back what I said."

"Just kidding, though. Doesn't make me like you less," she giggled.

"Well," he smiled, giving her a small kiss on the forehead, "I love you too, Ara."