Dear Starboy (REWRITTEN)

Heartbreak Habits

The letters kept coming; never stopping. Each admiration was paired with a piece of advice and a compliment.

For example, compliment 12. How you get huffy when you're wrong. You should lighten up. Or, compliment 8. How you stare at birds when you're lonely. Please, just ask for company sometime.

Tom had begun collecting them in a pastel blue star patterned shoe box tord generously donated. The box was a suggestion from Tord. He told Tom that it was a good place to store the letters.

"Keep them as a memento, maybe one of the only keepsakes you'll ever have left of your admirer." Tord had said with a small smile on his face. Tom nudged the box under his bed with the toe of his shoe.

Tord was slumped by his window, folding sticks of gum into his mouth, and whimsically blowing large neon pink bubbles. His cherry blossom crown was tilted sideways, gravity was the only thing balancing it on tord's head.

Tom was sidetracked. He let his gaze fall onto a nearby sparrow, hopping silently from the branches of the tree separating both houses.

"Hey!" Tom fell out of his trance, drowsily blinking at the suddenly noisy norwegian. He was surprised to hear the teens voice, especially in such an assertive manner.

"What?" Tom asked, feeling a bit dazed after being yanked out of his swarming thoughts and back into reality by being yelled at.

"You weren't listening were you?" Tord had a very sassy underlying tone to his voice. The only other times Tom had heard Tord have a sassy tone, was when he was messing around with him. His sassiness was never purposefully directed towards him.

"I was." Tom was hoping Tord would stop being sassy with him. His best bet for that to happen was to lie to him.

"Liar." Tord paused and furrowed his brows. "I saw you watching that bird."

Tom guiltily looked down at his lap, absentmindedly twiddling his thumbs. He saw straight through his lie. Tord cleared his throat, hoping that Tom would actually listen to him this time.

"What i was announcing was the fact my tutor is wanting me to choose a career course and I've chosen two. Though the problem is, I can only have one. So i need your help deciding." Tord said again to Tom who was finally listening to him.

"Hit me." Was all Tom's response.

"Should I be an astrologist or psychotherapist?" Tord asked with his head tilted to the side. He looked like a cat looking up to its owner, in confusion on why there was currently not food in it's bowl.

"Psychotherapy? I didn't know you were into that." Tom said, shocked. He already knew Tord was into Astronomy. He talked about it every chance he could. He also had multiple little trinkets and decorations dedicated to it.

"I just like the thought of helping troubled kids." Tord sighed.

"Well, astrology seems to be your calling." Tom said, resting his elbow on his windowsill. Tord nodded in agreement before picking up his mug. A small, porcelain, mint green mug with small, white dots patterned in vertical lines. Wisps of steam poured over the edges and spiralled into the air.

Tom nuzzled into his scarf as Tord cautiously blew into the cup, scattering the white swirls. Tord looked at Tom hopefully before saying, "Would you like some?"

"What even is it?" Tom asked. He hoped it was coffee. His love for coffee was a bit of a problem. Addiction was probably a better word for his relationship with coffee.

"Hot chocolate." Tord answered with a shake of his cup. "I still have a lot more if you do want some."

Tom nodded as Tord held out his steaming cup of hot chocolate. He accepted it and carefully brought it up to his lips. The sweetness of the chocolate was almost sickly. Obviously, tord would've loved it. He seemed to have a strict diet of sugary foods, snacks and candy. Nonetheless, Tom continued to sip the rich beverage as he resurrected the subject of a bucket list.