Letters to the Star Whisperer

-51-

Ethan and Jenny were dancing at the dance floor, trying to keep up with each other.

"You're a good dancer," Jenny shouted over the music.

"You're not bad yourself," Ethan shouted back. "Are you having a good time?"

"What?"

He laughed. "Are you having a good time?" he shouted again.

Jenny pointed to her ears and shrugged her shoulders. Ethan waved her off and they both seemed to laugh. They were getting tired, and they guided each other to the bar to find their table. Edmund was sitting at the table with two girls by his side, neither one was Aspen. Ethan and Jenny both picked up on it and looked to each other.

"Where is-" Jenny was cut off.

"Ethan!" Aspen shouted. She waved her arms as she nearly ran to him. "Ethan, I need to talk to you!" she said, pushing him away from Jenny. "Just one second, I promise."

"Aspen," Ethan moaned.

When Jenny was just far out of ear reach, Aspen turned to Ethan and said, "We need to get out of here."

"What? Why?"

"Ethan, we need to get out of here," she repeated.

"Aspen, what is wrong?" he asked. She put her hand on her head, trying to keep it on. She whispered something, but the music drained her out. "What?"

"It's a fetish club!" she shouted.

Ethan blinked a few times. "What?" he asked as he looked around. "No, no, it's just being in costume. It's costume night. Something for Halloween or whatever."

"It's July almost August, Ethan."

He started to see people in the dark building. When he stared long enough, he started to see short skirts and animal ears on people. He saw strange makeup and chokers on people, along with spikes. He saw leashes on some people, and that's when his mouth dropped. "Oh my God! It's a fetish club!"

She threw her hands up. "That's what I just told you!"

"Oh no! No, no, no. Jenny, she's going to think I'm into this stuff," he said starting to panic. He looked around, nearly snapping his neck. He was looking around for her. "We need to find Jenny, we need to get out of here. What the hell is your date into?"

Aspen gave a nervous laugh. She saw Jenny walking toward the front door. He pointed Ethan to her direction. He started to run across the floor, trying catch up to her. Aspen followed him, keeping up with him. Once they were outside, they looked up and down the streets.

They saw her open the door to a taxi, without even looking back. "No! Jenny!" Ethan called. He put his hands on his head, stomping his foot. "Shit, shit! She thinks I'm a freak."

Aspen stared for a moment, thinking what she could say to him. "Ethan-"

"I'm not a freak, I'm not into this stuff." He was hitting his head, saying a few curse words.

"Ethan-"

He cut her off again. "I can't believe this. Did Jane set you up on this blind date? Where the hell does she find these people? Jenny's never going to want to look at me every again. Never want anything to do with me. I really liked her, Aspen! Everything was going so well, I was getting her to like me. I think she really liked me. Thanks to Creepy Jane, it's ruin!"

She didn't say anything for a moment. "She just left you, Ethan." Her voice was soft once again when she didn't have to shout over the beat of the music.

He hit his head. "Duh, Aspen."

"What if you were into this stuff?" Aspen asked, crossing her arms. "Just think about it."

"I'm not!" he seemed to almost scream.

She rolled her eyes. "I know that. But what if you were into this stuff? Think about it Ethan, if she is just going to walk out, walk away without saying one word to you, is she worth it? She didn't even let you speak for yourself."

He stared at her. His sleepy eyes closed and he shook his head. "That's not the point. .. I really like her," he said looking up. "Aspen, I thought it was going somewhere."

"Ok? And? I like a ton of people, but that doesn't mean anything. The point is, she didn't even try to let you explain. She just walked away. She's not worth it. I'm sorry to say it, but fuck her. If she won't even try to understand, she's not worth it."

He just shook his head over and over, seeing in his head the girl that he was having such a wonderful time with, just leave without one word. "You think you're so right, don't you?"

"I know I'm right," she smiled. "My dad is a republican and my mom's a democrat."

Ethan started to laugh. It was the most off the wall thing she had said yet. "What?"

"Even though they are so different, they love and try to understand each other. My mom is a die heart vegan, and my dad loves his steak. But at the end of the day. .. they can come home and laugh and smile, and kiss each other goodnight. They understand each other, and they try their hardest to make things work. They are so opposite, but they love each other. It doesn't stop them. So Ethan, even if you were into this stuff, the person that loves you should understand. Does that make sense?"

"I'm not into this stuff," he moaned. His heart race when he thought about Jenny leaving him, without a word, as if she were a ghost.

"I know that! Jesus, would you just listen to me?" she said with hands on her hips. "But if you were, wouldn't you want that one person you may end up with for the rest of your life to try to understand?"

There was a long pause. "If we were together, and I told you that I had, I don't know, some foot fetish, or something, would you want to be with me?" he asked in a sharp tone.

"What?" Aspen said, shaking her head. "If we were together?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "If you and me were dating, and it was going so well, and I told you I wanted to do something weird in the bedroom, what the hell would you say?"

"You want to know what I would say?" she asked slowly.

"Yes! Please, entertain me," he said, rolling his eyes.

Aspen narrowed her eyes and with a hand on a hip, she said, "One, take your pity party somewhere else, and two, if we were dating and you told me something like that, I would be honored that you had that much trust into me and I would try to understand it. Look, I'm not saying that you have to expect all freaky stuff, you can be against certain things. But, the people you love, you make an exception and try to understand. I like Jenny, I really like you guys together. But you know, you have to ask yourself, is she worth it?"

He thought it over, looking up and down the streets. All he could see was her, her big doe eyes looking at him. He just shrugged. "I'll call her in a few days, but you know what, you have a point."

She smiled, and suddenly gave him a hug. Ethan stiffened up, thinking that she was actually attacking him. When he realized what she was doing, his muscles loosen up and he hugged her back. For a moment, he took in her smell, and counted the hair on her head. When she pulled back, she looked up and smiled. "You will find someone one day, ok? I pinky swear," she said holding up her pinky.

Ethan looked away, laughing and smiling. He grabbed her pinky with his, and just nodded. "Sure."