It All Started With Stargazing

46|Veronica Cass

"Okay, tell me we are going to hike," Soph exclaimed. For a lazy person she is, she is extremely interested in hiking and today we were going to hike. I can only imagine how tired Cal is going to be today because she is too hard to handle.

"Team Us!" Niles examined and everybody looked at him in disbelief.

"What? I was creating an atmosphere." He said pouting and we laughed. We then started our journey to the summit of whatever mountain Niles told us.

∞

"Oh My God!! I cannot believe it. We are here." Cal exclaimed. We were was at the summit of whatever mountain we are at. And it felt good. But it was tiring but it was worth it, to be honest. I was enjoying the atmosphere when I felt a hand pull me. I looked at the person and found Niles.

"Yeah?"

"Yell at the top of the mountain." He said. My eyes went wide again. He had made us complete three things already and now we were going to make it four.

"Hey, scream, I said," Niles said. I opened my eyes and said, "Let us do it together. We will say-"I searched my brain.

"We are here?" I shook my head.

"Fuck the world cause I got you," I said. That was perfect. Niles nodded and we counted to three before shouting, "Fuck the world because I got you." I coughed a bit after yelling. And then I found the guys saying we shout it together again. So we counted to three again and shouted. We smiled after shouting and it actually felt good no matter how parched my throat felt. It felt like we were at the top of the world and a song came to my mind.

I am at the top of the world

Looking down on the creation

And the only explanation I can find

Is the world that I got

And then I forgot the lyrics. Never mind because before I tried to remember it, we were already heading down considering it was getting a bit late.

∞

We were in our room again and it was really late now. We had reached down from the mountain when it was eight and then we went to eat. It was ten right now but all of us were really tired. And thus, I and Niles fell asleep as soon as we hit the bed but not before he kissed me for thirty good seconds.

∞

"Today we are going to do the thing. Say yes to everything for a day." Niles said when I was wearing my shoes. I nodded and we made our way to the restaurant.

We reached the restaurant and found everyone there.

"Okay, so today is a free day. You can do anything you like." I giggled at that. Everybody then decided to roam around while for me, Niles had told me it was a surprise. God, this boy loves surprises way too much.

I remember that once while we were stargazing, I had asked him why he loved surprises this much. He said that when he left Paul along with Aubrey and Eleanor, he had asked where they are going to his mom and his mother had said surprise. And then when his Dad was alive they had gone out and the day his father introduced him to his love, Stars, he had asked where they were going and his Dad had said Surprise.

This was the reason why he loved Surprises so much. He thinks it connects him with his parents.
I was pulled out of my thoughts when Niles grabbed my hand and started walking.

Five minutes later, we reached a café. I looked at him "I am not going to eat again. I am full." I said.

"Oh, we are going to complete be a stranger's psychiatrist first." I nodded but did not miss the first in his sentence. So there is going to be something else. Pushing them out of my mind, we entered the café.

I saw a girl looking quite sad sitting at the corner of the café and decided I would be her psychiatrist.

"It is her," I said and felt a déjà vu. Back about two months, I picked Evan. A lot has happened since then.
Evan and his date with Scarlett had gone amazingly good but he cannot make it with us considering he and Scarlett's family is meeting for Thanksgiving. We had been close since then and he often hangs out with the group. And for him and Scarlett, they are in a relationship and they look so good together.

Throwing them aside I went to the girl and sat down. She looked up and then was when I noticed her. She looked absolutely breathtaking. Her black hair was in complete contrast to blue eyes but her eyes looked down.

"Hi, I am Chloe Brown." She nodded.

"Veronica Cass." That name rings a bell.

"So, I am completing this bucket list and today we are going to be cut one thing off by a stranger's psychiatrist. And your eyes, they seem broken. So can I help and trust me I won't spill the beans to anyone? I leave Fiji tomorrow and we won't probably meet each other. So maybe I could help you." She thought for a while and then after taking a deep breath started, "I ran away from my home sixteen years back because my parents were shitty, to be honest. I had my boyfriend and we were going to marry and lead a life but I found him cheating so I broke up with him. He even had a daughter this whole while who married like two months back. And now I have no one. The only option I have is to go back home and I don't want to cause like I said my parents are shitty. But at the same time, I want my little brother, Lauren, to be with me. I know he had already been forced to behave according to them but I just cannot do anything." Lauren Cass. I started coughing.

"What happened?"

"Um, your brother, Lauren, um, is he seventeen years old? And where do your parents live?"

"Lauren should be seventeen and they live in Agloe." I coughed and coughed. She was no one but Lauren's runaway sister. Niles was already finished, I saw from the corner of my eye. And he was walking towards us.

"Are you fine?" He asked. I looked at him then at Veronica. And back at him.

"What happened?" He said looking at Veronica.

"She is Lauren's sister," I spoke and his eyes went wide.

"That must be a mistake." I shook my head.

"No, everything matches."

"What are your parents' names?"

"Howard Cass and Heather Cass." Niles was shocked. She was his sister.

"Why? Do you know Lauren? Or them?" Veronica asked.

Niles sat down beside me and that is when we told her everything. From Lauren in our group to him running saying he was with her. He hadn't found her. He lied.

Where was he? That was the only question on my mind during the time Niles told Veronica everything.

"Do you know where he is?" I asked. Turns out she didn't know that he had run away.

"Um, yeah. He kind of talks with me every weekend. We are going to talk today also."

"Um, you didn't want to go home and you had no option so maybe you could talk with him and call him here with you and you two can make a living," I said.

"That is a good idea, Chloe. No wonder Lauren fell for you." I blushed at that. "I will call him and I will bring him here no matter what. And please don't tell this to anyone. I will take care of him but you cannot tell this to anyone." We both nodded.

"We trust you both. We hope you guys live happily. We won't, any one of our friends will not try to see you. Or find you. We promise but can you please call us once a month. Or once in two months." I requested. She thought for a while but then nodded. "I will and thank you, Psychiatrist Chloe and Niles." She said and I and Niles got up preparing ourselves to tell the guys everything.