The Brightest Stars

Luna

"Wait. So you slept with Julia's older brother?"

I listen to Ash chuckle as I say this to the phone. I put my phone to stand by a picture of my mom so I can focus on the curling iron. I won't make the mistake of getting too distracted and burning a part of my hair. That's the real reason why I cut it short at the beginning of the year.

"Yeah. So what? It was a moment of fun. It was whatever. As long as we keep it that way, it's fine by me."

I look at the facetime video on my phone and smile. "Well. I hope you're not pregnant. twenty minutes of fun, but eighteen years of misery."

"Woah there. I made sure of it, thank you very much. And...what? Eighteen years of misery? Where did you hear that?"

"My dad."

"Oh. That makes sense coming from him."

"Hey!"

Ash laughs loudly now and I smile at the sound of it. We've been talking more lately. Especially after Max's death. She's been checking up on me.

"Hey. Let me see your outfit for tonight?" I stand up and step back so she can see my dress. It's the one that Xander bought for me on my birthday last year. I smile as Ash drops her jaw in awe and comes closer to the camera. "Wow. That looks great! You're ready to get it on Valentine's night!"

I laugh at this and sit back down to finish up my curls. "Not everyone is like you, Ash." Finally, I let down all of my hair as I unplug the curling iron.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"However you want to interpret it," I say with a smile. "I'm just gonna do some touches on my eyes and we're good!" I get to work on my eyes and listen to Ash mumble something. She's studying for an exam at her Nursing school in Chile. I wonder how she studies and listens to music at the same time.

"Hey. How are your friends doing after.....you know."

I close the lid of my eyeliner when she says this and look down. I know she's talking about Max and I can't talk about him. I just can't. I sigh as I look back at the camera and shrug. "I don't know."

Ash carries that same look from the first time I met her. Her brown eyes so tough yet so gentle at my sadness. Her voice is quiet as she says, "You know. Sometimes it's better to talk about it. It may seem like keeping it in is much better, but it only makes it worse."

I smile at her knowing that this is true. She has been calling me recently due to her abusive father as well. I've learned to comfort her. Something I wasn't so good at doing with people. She taught me how to let down my guard and cry with someone. Well...at least with her. She smiles back at me and continues reading her large book in her lap.

Just then, a text comes in from my phone and I read it. I smile widely now that Xander is on his way. "Hey! He's on his way! How do I look? Be honest, Ash."

"Okay," she says as she looks at the camera. "Um. Let me see the shoes." I take my phone and quickly point it towards the ground where she can see my black flats. "They look fine. It depends where you're going."

"He said we're going to like this restaurant that's not very fancy."

"The one where my brother works at?"

"No. The one by the hotel."

"Oh! Okay! Then yeah. Those are good. You look great."

"Thanks Ash. What would I do without you."

"Die."

We stay silent at this and Ash quickly says, "Oh shoot! I didn't mean it like....Actually it was just a.....never mind. I'll just shut up now..."