Interstellar

Chapter 5

[Ashtynn's POV]

Once Polaris had left the school, I couldn't hear the end of it. Popular students started to make fun of me a bit, and Heidi wouldn't shut up about the incident.

"Ash, why didn't you tell me that you had such a hot boyfriend?!"

I slap her playfully, causing Heidi to wince and rub her forearm. I whisper, "He's not my boyfriend, you weirdo."

Heidi smirks. "Then what was that back there? You two were being all lovey-dovey. Just looking at you guys would make anyone's heart go doki doki!"

I cringe. "Otaku."

"Heeey!"

"Fujoshi."

"Ashyyy!"

"Am I wrong?"

Heidi begins to go on a rant about how anime is great and how weebs and otakus aren't that weird. Not gonna lie, I'm kind of a weeb myself. But no one needs to know that. Ever.

I'm glad I changed the subject, though. My ears probably would have bled if I hadn't stopped her. I begin to shuffle away from the table we were sitting at and make my way to the restroom. I normally don't like to be seen during any breaks or attend any clubs—all the fights break out during breaks and after school. So I just hide in the bathroom or hang out in Cadance's classroom.

When I made it to the bathroom, I rushed into one of the stalls and just sat there. I took my phone out and started to scroll through Facebook. Keegan told me to download it on my phone so I could keep up with family affairs. I find it kinda stupid though, 'cuz I haven't talked to any of them since I was seven.

When the page finally refreshes, a photo of Keegan and Cadance was the first thing to fully load. It must have been taken by someone else, seeing that it was a full-body picture. They were sitting on a picnic blanket, a gigantic sycamore tree sitting behind them. The longer I stared, the more the photo seemed to move a little. But it was in my head, obviously.

After scrolling for a little bit, I started to get bored. Sitting alone in the girls' bathroom for 15 minutes isn't very entertaining. I still have 7 minutes until the second period bell. At this point, I'm considering just leaving and heading to next class. But that thought is put aside when Polaris came to mind.

Jeez, I'd actually get to see him every day. Well, until he goes back to space. My mind begins wandering the more I think about Polaris.

But soon enough, I hear the bell ringing. Those seven minutes went by quicker than I thought. Standing up, I leave the toilets and walk up the stairs to the third floor.

｡.☆.*｡

It's almost the end of the day—2: 24 PM, to be exact. I've been watching the clock ever since I walked into last period. This is probably the most excited I've ever been to go home. Even though Polaris can be touchy and utterly annoying, he's still pretty gentlemen-like for a star-human hybrid thing.

2:26 PM. I just really wanna leave. Unfortunately, I didn't have English for my last class today. So I couldn't take a well-needed nap in Cadance's classroom.

And, finally, after the longest six minutes I'd ever suffered, the bell's resonant chime was like music to my ears. I frantically grabbed all my papers and hoisted my backpack over my shoulder. I ran down the stairs that were hidden in the back of the school and that only a few people seemed to know about. They were narrow and twisted into a perfect spiral.

After opening the steel door, I walk out onto the luscious, green grass of the soccer field. The sun was a lot lower in the sky than it was a couple days, which I don't mind.

When I walk home, I always take the way around the back of the school instead going through the front gate. Besides, taking this way is shorter for me than the one everyone else takes. But like I say all the time, I just want to avoid as many people as possible.

Soon enough, I enter the large wooded area that connects the school's field to my townhouse complex. The woods are quite big, actually.

As I continue to walk, the old, yellow and brown leaves rustle in the wind. It's autumn and the air is cooler than an ice cube, as it climbs through my wool sweater and up my spine. Most of the leaves are gone and dead. I look around at all the decomposing plants, and the sight of all these living things coming to an end kind of depresses me. But I know that in a matter of time, everything will be just as green and fresh as it was in the spring.

I pull out my keys and unlocked the front door. But before I even get the door halfway open, Polaris is already on the other side, slamming it wide. I was surprised, but when I realized that it was him, I sighed and scowled.

Polaris smiled as tiny stars materialized around his head. "Hey Ashtynn! How was your day?"

I sigh again and walk past him. "Better than usual, I guess."

He closes the door and tilts his head, turning to follow me. "Is school normally not very good?"

"Considering my social status in the "school hierarchy", not really." I'm looking down at my feet, twiddling with my hair.

I hear footsteps come towards me and strong hands on my shoulders in a matter of seconds.

"Do you get hurt at school?" Polaris asks.

I hesitate. Polaris moves his face slightly closer to mine and tightens the grip on my shoulders. I lift my eyes towards his face. Under his messy dirty-blonde hair peeked eyes of aqua and green. Whenever he was happy, they were warm, lively, and sparked with gaiety. But when he was despondent, like he was now, his eyes seemed to grow dark and stern.

I tense up. "A little bit. Don't worry about it."

Polaris furrows his brows. The room is almost pitch black, golden orbs floating around our bodies.

"Polaris, it's ok—"

"No, Ashtynn. No, it is not."

I chuckle nervously. "Hey, I'm not dead yet."

"Yet."

"Jeez, would you stop worrying so much?"

He looks taken aback—his eyes say it all, but he keeps his eyebrows furrowed and his expression stern. "Ashtynn, I only worry because I care about you." He pauses and looks to the floor, trying to hide the somewhat obvious blush on his face. "I don't want you to get hurt. That's one of the reason why I'm so excited to go to school with you. I can finally protect you."

Protect me.

Protect me?

I've gone through too much to let some cute guy tell me this. I don't want him near me—it'll blow my cover and ruin everything that I've worked for.

I don't want protection. I don't need protection.

I can handle this on my own.

All on my own.