Under the Stars

9. Sparkle

Chapter 9: Sparkle

Mia's POV

*****

I answered Theo's call with a smile on my face, thankful that he couldn't see the grin that appeared on my face as soon as his name came up on my computer screen. I still couldn't believe that he was willing to meet his friends later than he usually would. Something about that made me feel special. No one had ever ditched their friends just so they could talk to me before, and I couldn't deny how good it felt. 

"I have a question for you," he said before I even got the chance to say anything, catching me completely off guard. 

"Hello to you too," I said with a small laugh. I wanted to hide the nervousness I felt waiting for him to ask the question. For him to start off with that, it must have been something that had been on his mind for a while.

I was about to ask him what he wanted to ask, unable to stand the curiosity any longer, but never got the chance because as soon as I opened my mouth, he surprised me with his question. 

"Why does Layla call you Mello?"

I nearly laughed at the question, shaking my head both at him and myself. There I was, worrying that he was going to ask me some deep question, when instead he asked me about my best friend's nickname for me. 

I was confused as to why he wanted to know, but answered him anyways. I was curious to see what he needed the information for.

"I like marshmallows too," he said, making me grin at the way he said it. I imagined him grinning while saying it, and for a moment I wished that I hadn't made the rule that we could only talk through a voice call. 

I knew that I could life that rule any time I wanted, but I still felt like it wasn't the right time to do that. I didn't know when the right time was going to be, but when the time was to come, I would know. 

"Why did you want to know?" I asked while biting my lower lip, trying to stifle a laugh. I doubted that he asked me that question so that he could find out that I liked marshmallows.

"I wanted to come up with a new nickname for you. Something special," he said, making my heart feel as if it was going to burst at those words. 

I couldn't yet understand the affect that he had on me and my emotions, but I knew that my feelings weren't neutral towards him. I found it cute that he wanted to find a special nickname for me, and I was also happy about it. If he thought that I was worth a nickname, then it meant that he was planning on keeping our talks going for a while. 

Speaking for myself, I never gave somebody a nickname unless I knew that I wanted to create a strong friendship with that person, and I hoped that the same thing went through his head. It was with that thought in my head that I realised just how much happier I was ever since I started talking to him. 

I loved talking to Layla, and I couldn't say that I preferred talking to Theo than I did with her, but with Theo it was different. It wasn't better, just not the same, and I couldn't quite explain that. 

"Hope you like your new nickname, Sparkle, because I don't plan on changing it," he said with a hint of charm in his tone. "I'm the only one whose allowed to call you this way."

"Why Sparkle?" I asked with a small giggle, amused at how random he was. 

"Because, Sparkle, you have lightened up my life with how bright and amazing you are. I couldn't think of a name for fit for you."