What does "THE FAULT IN OUR STARS" mean to you?

Sometimes The Universe Doesn't Screw Up - Chapter 5

By: xanaliewrites

***

Stretching in the morning felt amazing after a good night’s sleep.

It was like breaking out of a shell, reaching out, giving renewed energy for the day.

But when she stretched this morning, the bed frame felt to small for her. The bedpost was in the way of her foot. The zip on her pillow was hard on her face.

Zip?

She opened her eyes to the soft pale light that shone through a window, welcoming and beautiful. She turned slightly, and she saw his sleeping face. his hair fell past his eyebrows, onto his eyes. His eyelashes were thick and splayed out like stars. His mouth was open in a tiny ‘o’, and she could hear the small puff when he exhaled. She smiled, and raised her hand to brush the hair away from his eyes. He stirred, letting out a soft grunt.

She laughed softly, resting her hand on his collar and looked at him. This boy who loved her, even though he didn’t show it. This boy; who had been there for her through thick and thin. And even though she had tried to push him away by hurting him, he had kept an eye on her from afar, looking after her. He loved her for who she was, not what she was—and he was the only one who did. He loved her scars and bumps and bruises—the ones no one else could see. He loved her. And she loved him. She wasn’t afraid to say it.

She was falling asleep again, but she didn’t mind. She drifted to sleep once more, knowing that this boy, with the faded drawn-on moustache on his face, was hers, and hers only. It was forever captured in her memory, a moment in time, hers and hers alone.

“Thanks again, Mia!” Her mother had her back turned to her, waving to the woman walking down the driveway. Jeremiah wobbled along beside her, looking back at the house. “See you tomorrow, Val!” he yelled so loud, the whole neighbourhood might have heard him. “Don’t forget the hairspray and silver paint!” she yelled back. He gave her a cheeky thumbs-up even though his mother was glaring at him.

Her mother closed the door, and turned to her. “What was that?” she asked. “You really shouldn’t have let us watched the Wizard of Oz.” her mother blinked at her in confusion. Valerie shrugged, and skipped to her room, taking the stairs two at a time. “I hope you don’t mind me using the old tablecloth as Dorothy’s dress!” she yelled down to her mother as she closed the door.

She was standing in front of her mirror, clicking her heels together, when her mother knocked the door. “You can’t come in yet!” she protested, but her mother stood at her door, arms crossed, a sad expression on her face. “Val,” she said, sitting down on her bed. “Jem can’t come tomorrow, his mother is really angry at him for using her hairspray.”

Valerie’s face fell at that. “But he can’t just cancel! He’s playing half the characters!” Her mother shrugged at her, as though she was saying, I can’t do anything. “But moooooooooooooooooom,” she said, pouting. “Oh, calm down, I was only joking,” her mother grinned, the crow’s feet on the corners of her eyes becoming more visible. Valerie threw a pillow at her, and her mother laughed. “Oh, loosen up. Of course he’s coming. The things he would do for you,” she said, shaking her head. “What do you mean?” Valerie crawled on the bed, plopping down next to her mother, who smiled at her. “Want to hear a story?” she asked, and her daughter nodded furiously, and shifted to closer to her mother.

“There’s a story, that the mighty lord Zeus feared the power of humans, because humans were born with four arms and legs, and two hearts and heads. So, he separated them in half, condemning them to spend the rest of their lives finding their other halves.”

She turned to her daughter, who had a somewhat horrified look on her face, which made her laugh. “I think once upon a time, you and Jem were one, and you were separated. I think you two got lucky.” She mimicked writing in the air and said, “Your stars crossed, and your destinies were intertwined. It must’ve been fate that the both of you met.” Valerie was bug-eyed, listening to her mother intently. “Woah,” she whispered.

“Do you really think Jem and I are meant to be?”

“I don’t know. If it’s written in your destinies, then it’s meant to be.”

Jeremiah woke to Valerie’s soft snoring on his shoulder.

Yes, she did snore, no matter how soft it was. He could tell. She would always deny it, and “even the thought of it is disgusting!” He always teased her for it; it was one of the things he never forgot. Kind of like the way she smelled of cinnamon. Or like the way she convinced people she was a redhead, when her hair was really a dark reddish-brown. Or how soft her lips were on his.

He bent his head, kissing the top of her head softly, just enough to wake her up. She opened her eyes, and looked up at him. “Hey,” she whispered, smiling up at him. Her eyeliner was a little smudged, but that didn’t matter. “Good morning, starshine,” he greeted her. She blinked, remembering where they were. “Shouldn’t we be going?” she asked, looking around. “No,” he said, not taking his eyes off of her. She turned to him, her eyes, grey-blue and full of wonders he had yet to discover. All this time, he had never had the chance to tell her how much he loved her. “I’m not going anywhere.” If someone took a photo of him now, the look on his face would be one of someone who was truly in love. And he was. “Jem,” she said, breathless. “I lost you once,” he said, stroking her hair, and she looking at him with the same expression on her face. “I’m not losing you again.” Her eyes widened, and he wasn’t sure if it was in fear or happiness. “I love you, Valerie. I love you, and I won’t stop loving you until I die. And if we meet in the afterlife, I will continue to love you then.” She had never looked more beautiful than in this moment. “I will always be here to love you. Okay?”

A single tear fell from her right eye. She smiled, lighting up her face. She loved him, with all her heart, with every bit of her existence, she would love him as much as he loved her. She forgot about all her dreams, and all her pain.

She forgot about the stars in the sky; she didn’t need them anymore. Why would she when the brightest star—her star—shone right in front of her? Only then did she realise how happy she would be if she just loved him.

“Okay.”