Stars Can't Shine Without Darkness (Stellar)

Chapter 2

       “Tala” Jake called her attention but she was in her writing zone. He unplugged her earphones and it startled her.

     “You’re going to give me a heart attack!” she slapped him on his arm.

     “I’ve been knocking on your door and calling your name several times already” he laughed as he handed her a box that was neatly wrapped. It had a ribbon too.

      “What’s this for?” she asked.

     “It’s your birthday gift” he smiled. It wasn’t really her birthday. Nobody in the house knows her real birthdate so they celebrate it on the day when they first met.

     “I have something for you too” she opened her drawer and handed him a small box.

     “You bought me the pen that I wanted” he guessed.

     “Yeah” she sheepishly answered.

     “You didn’t have to buy me a present, I told you to save your money” he reminded her.

     “Can’t you just say thank you?” she said a bit annoyed.

     “You said you were saving for something, remember?” he told her as he sat on her bed.

     “I wanted to buy you something fancy” she said.

     “You didn’t have to” he replied. He was right. Even if she gave him a piece of toothpick and wrapped it in toilet paper and handed it to him he would still be glad about it because it came from her.

     “Open my gift” he asked pretty excited. Tala unwrapped the present. She couldn’t believe he bought her a laptop. She was saving money for a new one.

     “I can’t take this, this is darn expensive!” she told him as she handed the box to him.

     “Can’t you just say thank you?” he mimicked her voice.

     “I’m serious!” she said pretty frustrated.

     “Go change” he ignored what she just said.

     “Where are we going?” she asked as she switched off her old laptop.

     “I think you need to change your wardrobe, let’s go shopping then let’s have dinner after”

     “Even if I do have the budget I don’t need new clothes” she reminded him.

     “I’ll take care of it” he pushed her to her bathroom.

     “You just spent a ridiculous amount of your money on that laptop and you still want to take me shopping?” she gave him a look.

    “I almost bought a new car today. I had to drag myself out of the showroom” he confessed.

     “Your car’s fine” she replied.

     “I hate to admit this but sometimes I miss my old lifestyle” he looked at her. 

     “Those luxuries you had made you miserable too. Aren’t you glad you are living your own life right now?” she pointed out. The person who was standing in front of her was an heir of the biggest cargo shipping line business in the country.