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"Come on, Stella. You haven't been in a while. I think it would cheer you up," Noah urged, trying to drag her off of her bed.
"Noah, I don't want to go to the poetry club meeting," Stella scoffed, flopping back down onto her bed, trying to use all her weight to keep him from dragging her.
"Come on, Ryan said that you were greatly missed," Noah encouraged, mocking Ryan's voice, taking one final pull, making her slide off the bed and onto the floor with a loud thud.
"See, you're out of bed. Now you have to go," Noah sighed happily, grabbing onto her feet and dragging her out of her room and down the hallway.
"Don't make me drag you down the stairs," Noah ordered, letting go of her feet, watching them hit the ground with a thump.
"God, okay. Fine," Stella groaned, standing up to her feet and following Noah down the stairs.
"Oh and by the way, I already told Ryan you would read today," Noah said quickly, hopping down the rest of the flight of stairs to avoid retaliation.
"You what?" Stella hissed.
"I know you've been writing a lot since Jeff died. I think it would be good for you to share it," Noah shrugged, holding a chair in front of him to defend himself.
"I'm not gonna hit you. I just want to talk," Stella said slowly, putting a hand on the chair to lower it. Noah put the chair down, pushing it back under the table.
"What the fuck were you thinking?" Stella screeched, slapping Noah's arms repeatedly. He grabbed her hands, pushing them away.
"What happened to the not hitting me?" Noah scoffed.
"I lied," Stella shrugged.
"No shit," Noah said, laughing.
"Damn it. Fine. I'll read. Get ready for some dark shit, buddy," Stella sighed, storming out the front door to the car.
When they walked into the back room of the library where the meetings were held, all eyes were on the Marlowe twins. All conversation died and the room fell silent. Ryan Shaver scurried across the room and met them at the door.
"Oh, hi. How are you guys?" Ryan asked slowly.
"I'm here, aren't I?" Stella sighed, raising her eyebrows.
"That's the spirit," Ryan said awkwardly, eyeing Noah up and down before going back to the podium.
"I think he wants you," Stella whispered teasingly.
"Drama is literally his middle name. No thank you," Noah scoffed, taking a seat in the back of the room. Stella sat down next to him, tapping her fingers on her journal anxiously. She had never had an issue with reading her work aloud, but now it just seemed like talking about her feelings was too real.
"You ready?" Noah whispered, looking over at his twin.
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"You ready?" Noah asked, pushing open the library doors.
"Abso-fucking-lutely," Stella quipped, skipping through the doors and into the poetry club meeting. The pair sat down in the back row, chatting up the older folk in the room. Everyone loved the Marlowes there. To the older people, it was fascinating to see the younger generation have such a passion for art.
"Baker! Hannah Baker," Stella called across the room, spotting the girl walking into the meeting, looking lost. Relief flooded over Hannah when she saw a face she recognized. She walked over to the twins, waving awkwardly.
"I didn't know you were into poetry," Stella said, patting the seat next to her, inviting Hannah to sit with them.
"Yeah me neither," Hannah sighed.
"Well, we're happy to have you," Noah interjected, putting an arm around his sister's shoulders. The twins beamed at her, flashing their signature smiles.
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"We're happy to have you back, Stella," Mr. Jones, an older man with white hair and kind eyes said politely, taking the seat next to her.
"Thank you, sir," Stella sighed, forcing a small smile.
"And now, I'd like to welcome to the podium, our very own Stella Marlowe. It's good to have you back, Stel," Ryan announced, stepping aside.
Stella took a deep, shaky breath, looking over at her brother for reassurance. He nodded encouragingly, nudging her with his elbow. She slowly rose to her feet, walking to the podium, which felt like it was miles and miles away.
"Hey, everyone. It's nice to see so many familiar faces. I know I haven't been around lately-- I've been going through some stuff. But, uh, thanks for welcoming me back with open arms," Stella greeted the group, trying to steady her shaking hands. She looked down at the journal laying on the podium.
if I knew that kiss was our last I would've done it differently if I knew that smile was your last I would've tried to remember every detail if I knew I wouldn't get to say those three words again I would've said them a million times if I knew that it was the last time I would see your heart beating I would've held my ear against your chest and listened for hours if I knew that I would never feel your lungs filling with air again I would've laid in your arms with our breathing in sync forever if I knew that laugh was your last I would've tried with everything in me to make you laugh just one more time but I didn't and now I'll never have the chance
The crowd clapped softly after she finished reading, a few wiping tears from their eyes. Stella couldn't look at any of them. She just stared at the tear stained page in silence. Noah rushed to the front of the room, wrapping his arms around his sister, pulling her into a tight hug, stroking her hair soothingly.
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a/n: Hey, if any of you guys are into poetry, I actually have a poetry book called "Sugar and Spice". Feel free to check it out!
