Count The Stars

thirteen

I believe that I have the worst luck in the history of the world— if not, top ten. So it didn't surprise me that the one day I decided I would walk to school, a thunderstorm hits and lasts the entire day. By the time I had stepped out of school, the pavement was already flooded with puddles of murky water and the sky was filled with menacing grey clouds. I didn't feel like asking my parents to leave work so they could pick me up, and Blake was probably long gone, so I decided to push through it. As long as it didn't thunder or lightning, I'd be fine.

I only walked for two minutes before a run down station wagon pulled up beside me. I was drenched and using my bag as an umbrella, even though I knew it wasn't doing anything but getting my papers wet.

I was ready to break into a sprint when the owner of the rusty car began to roll down their window, but I relaxed when I saw a familiar toothy grin.

"You're a bit wet," Adam told me.

I couldn't help but smile as I shook the water out of my curls. "I didn't notice."

"Want to come over?" He asked.

I was surprised by the question. I expected him to ask if I needed a ride back to my place, not his. I'd barely even talked to him on school property, let alone go to his house. Thinking about it made my stomach churn, but I couldn't tell whether it was from excitement or anxiety.

"Never listen to your heart," my dad always said, "always think logically."

But then lighting cracked and lit up the grey sky before a giant rumble echoed down the street, and I lost the ability to think practically. Instead, I scrambled into the passenger seat and pushed my hands over my ears.

"Yes please," I squeaked out.

Two hours later, we were sitting on his bedroom floor playing video games on his giant television. He had a much larger house than I imagined. There were pictures randomly scattered along the walls in all of the rooms, most of them art from artists I'd never heard of. I even met James' nanny, Anna, when she came in asking if we wanted any food.

"I'm gonna win!" I announced happily as I button mashed my controller.

Adam snorted from beside me, his tongue peeking out of his mouth in concentration. "Please. I'm far ahead of you, mate."

I was about to respond by knocking the controller out of his hands, but I was interrupted by my phone vibrating. I grabbed it without looking away from the screen and answered it on speaker.

"Hi!"

"Oh, hey Grace."

"What's up, babe?"

Adam whispered "babe" and snickered. I flipped him off, but I have to admit I was caught off guard by the new pet name.

"I'm just at Adam's... honey?" I replied, looking to him for reassurance. Unfortunately for me, he just wheezed and went back to the game.

"Oh, I was gonna ask if you wanted to go to dinner or something later."

"Oh," I responded, only sort of paying attention. "Sorry."

"It's alright. I actually-"

"MOTHERFUCKER!" I shouted as Adam's character threw a kick to mine and finished off his health. He grinned and held up a hand for a high five, which I begrudgingly gave him.

Grace cleared her throat. I hastily grabbed my phone and took it off speaker with an sheepish laugh. "Sorry, Grace."

"It's fine. We can go out for breakfast tomorrow if you want," she suggested.

I nodded, then realised she couldn't see me. "For sure. Sorry."

"Bye, babe."

"Bye," I said quickly as the line clicked off. I turned around to find Adam's eyebrows dancing up and down.

"Is she your girlfriend?" He asked, stretching out the word 'girlfriend,' sort of mockingly.

"I'm really not sure... but d'you want to know what I am sure of?"

"What's that?"

I smirked and went back to button mashing the controller. "I'm gonna destroy you this round!"

"Fuck no!" He yelled as he lunged towards his own controller and continued to kick my ass.

<><><>

Yay new update! Finally!

I know I say this a lot, but I like this chapter. It's just cute. And it's not a filler, it's important, and adorable. What do you think about Eli and Adam?

Thanks for reading! Comment and vote and add this story to your library!

~Teddy