Star Gazers [BXB] [COMPLETED]

Have to Stop

"Jason?" I asked, gaining his attention as we stared up at the stars later that night. "How did you meet Marilyn?"

After spending the last few hours with the woman, I had been growing more and more curious about the nature of their relationship. They weren't related at all, and for some reason I just couldn't imagine Jason waltzing into a bingo night just for the fun of it.

"She heard me play," he said simply. "Shortly after I started living on my own, I figured out that my best bet at earning money for food and other essentials was to play on the streets. I was, and am still too young to play in bars without a parent or guardian with me, and very few people were willing to hire a fourteen year old for any sort of work. So I found a nice street corner with decent foot traffic and established myself there. I played almost every day for hours on end, hoping anyone would tip me. That spot happened to be on the route Marilyn took to the senior center almost every other day. The first time she heard me play, she just stood there and smiled. She didn't have any cash on her at the time, so she gave me a few hard candies and a granola bar from her purse, which I was equally as grateful for. After that, she started bringing me money, occasionally striking up conversations on her way through. It didn't take her long to figure out that I was always playing because I needed to to survive. She started bringing me homemade lunches and inviting me over for dinner. I started helping her out around the house when I could. It's hard for her to do a lot of things since she can't see but she managed. Since then, I guess it's just become normal to have each other around."

"Does she have any family?" I asked.

Jason shook his head. "She never had kids. She got married early on in her life, but her husband died young and she never remarried. Her sister passed away before I met her, and I've never heard her mention anyone else besides her parents, who are obviously not around anymore either."

"She must be lonely," I commented as I peered up at Orion's belt.

Jason shrugged. "She never lets it show, and I know she keeps herself occupied with some ladies she is friends with from the senior center. And she has me now too. I try to visit a couple times a week."

"That's nice of you." 

Jason shrugged, pulling out a cigarette.

"It's nice to pretend I have a family. Even if it's just for a little while."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I said nothing.

In fact, I was starting to feel like I was in the same boat. My mother was dead. I had no siblings. My father... hadn't been my father for a long time. I'd never met my grandparents on my father's side, and my mother's parents passed away when I was really young. I also had an uncle on my father's side who was in prison for dealing drugs and on my mother's side I had an aunt who I hadn't seen or heard from in years, other than the annual birthday card.

I felt alone too, and suddenly I was nearly overwhelmed by how heavy the atmosphere seemed to become.

Life wasn't fair. How could it be when it so easily left two teenage boys with nothing?

Jason lit his cigarette and inhaled, breathing out the smoke in one long, heavy sigh.

How could life turn out so fucked up for an angel like him?

We sat in silence for a good while before he took another drag.

"You know, you shouldn't smoke those things," I spoke softly, referring to the cigarette perched between his teeth. The pale light of the moon made his skin glow like an ethereal light, while his black hair shone like pure obsidian.

"And why not?" he asked tiredly, letting the poisonous smoke escape his lips as he looked up at the stars.

"They'll kill you," I said honestly, finally looking away from him to peer up at the brilliant night sky.

He took the opportunity to turn his stunningly blue gaze back to me. He studied me lazily for a few minutes before asking, "And what if I want to die?"

I looked down, straight into his eyes, and asked, "What if I don't want you to?"

Jason looked at me for a while, studying my face as if he expected me to be lying. When I only held his gaze, he sighed and looked down at the roll of paper pinched between his fingers. He rolled it back and forth between his thumb and index finger, seemingly lost in thought as he did so.

After a few minutes of deep contemplation, he crushed the butt of the cigarette into the wood between us, effectively snuffing it out.

Gripping the edges of the wooden planks our feet dangled off of with both hands, Jason turned his gaze towards the stars and said, "Then I guess I'll have to stop."

My heart soared as I drank in his features, his words and their meaning echoing over and over again in my mind.

A small smile weaseled its way onto my lips as I too turned my face to peer up at the stars.

×××

A/N

Hey guys!

How'd you like this chapter? Sorry I didn't add more about Marilyn, but this book is starting to ramble on for longer than I'd like, so I'm trying to tie up a few of the loose ends I still have flailing around. Also, typing kind of sucks after you slice your finger trying to open a box (#skillz). 

Anywho, I have an experiment I'd like to conduct. 

If I tell you guys I have an Instagram called ominouslyanonymous where I will be posting fan art, book covers, and maybe even some teasers (whether they be about my identity or my future works, I have yet to decide), how many followers will I get in a week? (It's currently 24, since a few of y'all were hopeful and found me on your own!)

Okay, and now for the chapterly question... let's see...

Hm...

If you could acquire any new skill instantaneously (playing guitar, speaking fluent French, juggling, etc.) what would that skill be?

Thanks again for the read!
-Anon