glimmer.

i.

stella put her hands up to see her pale hands contrast against the dark blanket over the sky. the roof was only illuminated with fairy lights she dusted along the tiles. her sneakers were sitting at the bottom of the steps, toes curled up as her feet hung over the roof.

my feet were still clad in shoes. my knees pulled up to my chest as the wind blew through my curls. her eyes twinkled when she looked at the sky, the same way they did when she read that dorky space encyclopedia.

this girl with stars in her eyes was my best friend. i still felt as if i was floating on a cloud, or in space, or wherever her philosophical space cadet heart wanted to be. i'm sure that if she wanted to float in space the stars would gladly take her.

sometimes when i look at her i want to cry. her eyelashes fell daintily on her freckled cheeks and my breath hitched in my throat. wind caught her hair and revealed her birthmark beside her ear. so when the wind hit her red wavy locks i felt a cold tinge on my cheeks.

"why are you crying?" she asked, wiping my cheeks with her stained thumbs. she probably left paint marks on my cheeks, but i didn't mind. i shrugged, looking back up at the sky.

"i just don't get how you can be so transcendental," i said pulling my knees closer. they were littered with scratches and scars from when we would ride our bikes into the woods and try to jump into the lake when it was frozen over. stupid, careless, but carefree.

the way my heart jolted when she looked at me made me feel like being just friends, best friends, wasn't good enough for my heart. but how could i risk that for the girl who is kindred with the stars? not a chance.

we started heading off the roof, pinkies laced together out of some weird habit. when we jumped off with our hands intertwined, my heart fluttered into my throat and made it hard to breathe. we raced into her house and padded across the kitchen to her room. she charged forward with bright eyes and i stared in awe.

her walls were decorated with leaves and flowers; dried, pressed, dead and scattered across her bedroom. a hall of botanical lives she valued more than mine.

we eventually settled down. she sat bundled up in her fuzzy blankets, drifting off to the sound of me plucking mindlessly at her ukulele. it made me never want this moment to end, but at the same time i was scared what i'd do or say if it didn't.

i was utterly in love with her.