With Stars In Their Eyes

Chapter 1: The beginning of the end

Luna opened her eyes slowly, cursing the sun coming through your curtains. She had fallen asleep on the couch again and her neck ached as a result. Dragging herself up to a sitting position and turning off the TV, she looked at the state of herself. She was wearing a sports bra from the day before and her comfy shorts which she had worn so much that they had holes in the crotch from walking. The blanket over her had a dark red stain from the glass of wine she were holding as she drifted off to sleep. Head pounding.

As she recalled the night before, she remembered her trip to the roof. It was her nightly routine. It had become her sanctuary away from the mundane life she had chosen for herself. It had been 3 months since she moved across the country for a fresh start. She found an apartment in a small town in Minnesota where she could forget life from before and start over. But instead, she threw herself into the most boring adventure of her life. Alone and poor, she took what she could get.

Her apartment felt like a prison; small and dark, minimal windows. It was a studio, because it was all she could afford with the biweekly paycheck from the diner she worked at. The couch had to be right up against the bed just to make room for the TV and her kitchen was almost non existent. She preferred the roof. It was open and free. She had brought pillows up to make a nest, knowing no one else went up there. Her own personal safe place.

Looking up at the stars, she could pretend she was somewhere else, somewhere exciting. She yearned for something more. Her imagination could run wild with scenarios. She wanted something crazy and adventurous to happen. Something to change her life forever. She wished to be anywhere but here, and her body ached for change.

She had been named Luna after her aunt Rebecca, who loved star gazing. When Luna was little, Rebecca used to take her up a large hill behind her house to look at the stars. She would point out planets and star patterns. There was a cleared area at the top where they would set up a blanket and have picnics. They would stay up there for hours, laying on their backs and giggling. She was more of a mother than an aunt. When Luna was 14, Rebecca was involved in a car accident that took her life. Nothing was ever the same again. Being one the roof brought her back to the hill. Not a care in the world.

She sat on the couch for a few minutes, trying to piece together the night before. She was on the roof with a glass of wine, when she decided to take a look across the street at the mirroring apartment building. Sometimes she could look out and see glimpses of other lives. She knew it was a weird thing to do, but part of her didn't care. The other part of her mind longed for connection. There was a woman on the 2nd floor who would blast music and dance with her cats until the neighbors light came on. There was a couple on the 4th floor who had their nightly argument. She never saw their faces but she could sometimes hear them and see their silhouettes bouncing back and fourth across the room. She didn't envy them. But one room in particular grabbed her attention that night.

The curtains were normally closed, but tonight they were wide open. A warm light emanated from behind the glass. She could see a bed with dark sheets and a couple of dark colored pillows. There was a wooden night stand with a small metal lamp towering over a couple of books. She wished she could tell what books they were. There was a figure sitting at the foot of the bed; a man. He was wearing a light t shirt and a pair of plaid boxers, she could see the curves of his toned muscles underneath. Triceps for days, she thought. His dark hair fell around his face like waves on the beach, framing his cheek bones and chiseled jaw. She wished she could see more of his features, but she knew there was no chance seeing from this far away.

He was laughing, she could see his chest rise and fall as a dog jumped up on the bed next to him. A German Shepherd was licking his face as he fell backwards onto the bed, the sheets flowing underneath him as he landed. She wanted to be on that bed.

Realizing she might as well have been drooling, she ripped herself away from her spot on the ledge of the roof. She wanted to take a cold shower and crawl into herself until she disappeared. But, against her better judgement, she took one last look. Instead of looking down to see a man on a bed, she looked directly into the face of the man who was bound to be the main character in her dreams later. She couldn't tell if he saw her or not due to the distance. Well, that was weird, she thought.

Her heart dropped as he put his hand to the window and looked up. He could definitely see her now. She ducked fast hitting her shoulder on the ledge and wincing in pain. She waited there for a few moments until she deemed it safe to pop her head up again. Slowly, she inched upwards until her eyes barely rose above the stone ledge, just enough to see his window. He stood there, scanning the roof for a glimpse of her. After a moment, his gorgeous head turned to face her direction.

He smiled--at least she thought. It had gotten darker and the distance was still a problem. She found herself staring, not wanting to move a muscle. She couldn't force herself to smile back, the feeling of being caught weighing on her like a boulder. Her fingers started to tingle. She sucked in a big breath of air, realizing she had stopped breathing.

A few seconds pass and she is finally able to force a half-smile. His smile grew and her stomach turned. She KNEW he could see her now. He raised a large hand to the glass and waved at her. Butterflies filled her chest and she inched her hand up and over the ledge. Fingers shaking, she waved back. With a slight bow of his head, which she could only translate as Goodnight , he backed away from the window. She could see his dog following behind him, waiting on his every move. He gestured towards the bed and the dog jumped up and made a nest at the foot.

The light shut off, the only illumination was from the lamp on the nightstand. Soon, that light shut off too. Steadying her breathing and pulling back her hand, she turned and slid down the wall, mind fluttering over the last 5 minutes of her life. Holy shit, she thought, I need to know his name.