<font face=arial color=#faf5f1>the stars were made to shine</font>

the stars were made to shine
IP: 71.216.41.214
Posted on April 11, 2020 at 09:55:57 AM by Alethea

She is grateful he doesn�t seem overly disturbed by their�exchange. If anything, he seems curious, eyes wide with something adjacent to a look she recognized, searching where they meet. Then he smiles.

Oh.

She blinks, startled by it, but recovers quickly enough to accept the glass with a smile in return. If she was distracted before, that grin transfixes her now � it is so unpracticed, so unassuming, the gentleness of it dazzling amidst so many that were too polished or predatory. It makes Alethea feel suddenly self-conscious of her own curated graces; her smiles she�s honed to cut straight into the heart.

She tries so hard to be loveable, yet here he is, disarming her completely with a quirk of his mouth.

It is unfair, she thinks. He is too handsome, too tall to be so unthreatening, and yet his answer to her question is silly and sincere and Alethea finds herself laughing, the bright sound colored by her surprise. Then he reaches for her, the touch so spare it is practically imagined, and counters with a question of his own. It is her turn to go wide-eyed, lips parting in shock.

�Did you just�?�

She has never heard a pick-up line before; not directed at herself, anyway. The feeling is indescribable. Nobody had prepared her for the possibility that such a thing would be effective � perhaps it was the delivery, or the accompanying touch. She is about to fire something back about angels and gravity when she�s interrupted by the grip of familiar hands.

It seems all she had to do to find her friend, was stop looking for him.

�Kane!� She exclaims happily as he turns her, laughing at his compliments, his vulgarity. He is cripplingly beautiful, even with profanity dripping from his lips; Alethea cannot believe there isn�t an entourage of women following on his heels. �Thank you. And you are as handsome as ever.� In another life, they might have made a pretty pair. But the two of them were bonded over a shared experience of loving from afar, of doubting themselves, of letting beauty mask their pain, and it was their many similarities that made them wholly incompatible. �You will take whatever I give you!� she calls after him as he whirls away, then blushes fiercely at his�encouragement.

It is not until he leaves, and she is left to resume her conversation, that it begins to dawn on her how their interaction might look.

�That he is,� she laughs, shaking her head at Kane�s back before turning to the Man with the Line. His smile is different now: fake, and he�s no master counterfeiter. Something has gone wrong in the intervening moments. Her own expression freezes as she replays them, realizing with embarrassment how Kane�s parting words must have sounded. Upstairs and�pillows! �Having a good time, I mean. Not my boyfriend. That, he is not.�

She takes a long sip of her drink, not quite able to meet his eye. Attempting to explain her connection to Kane seemed impossibly awkward; clarifying the sleepover would require�so many words. Tell him you don�t have a boyfriend. Say that, at least! The voice in her head sounds suspiciously like her friend�s.

�I'm having a lovely time,� she says instead. Her smile and voice are softer now, tentative as she looks up at him. �Do you know, nobody has ever said anything like that to me before, About falling from heaven, or anything like that.� She swallows the rest of her drink, to muster her courage. It is not enough: her voice is still thin with nerves when she speaks again:

�How about this one: I�d say �God bless you,� but it looks like he already did.�

Oh, dear. And it had been going so well, before Kane made that gesture and threw her entirely off balance. The laughter that bursts out of her after that beat of pained silence is totally unscripted and a little unhinged � she cannot believe how stupid she feels, having actually said the words out loud. How had he done it without so much as batting an eye?

�I am�so sorry�� she manages between breaths, clutching her stomach with her free hand. �Your delivery was much better. I think I need more practice.� Replacing the now empty glass on the table, she offers him her hand, and an apologetic look.

�I�m Alethea.�

Replies:

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  - Like "we'll meet again" and "f*ck the man" and "tell my mother not to worry" - By Gabriel January 6, 2021 at 00:32:42 AM

AN ITEM FOR YOUR HAMPER! - By EVENT! March 29, 2020 at 00:38:05 AM

We've become echoes, but echoes, they fade away [Thorn] - By Morgon March 25, 2020 at 12:05:48 PM

The Call Home - By Evelyn April 11, 2020 at 05:21:29 AM
- We've fallen to the dark as we dive under the waves - By Morgon June 20, 2020 at 02:17:50 AM
  - The Call Home - By Evelyn June 21, 2020 at 01:56:09 AM
    - We've fallen to the dark as we dive under the waves - By Morgon December 21, 2020 at 02:42:20 AM
      - The Call Home - By Evelyn April 6, 2021 at 11:16:51 PM
    - YOU HAVE FOUND SOMETHING! - By EVENT! August 7, 2020 at 02:56:37 AM
- AN ITEM FOR YOUR HAMPER! - By EVENT! April 11, 2020 at 07:34:47 PM
AN ITEM FOR YOUR HAMPER! - By EVENT! March 25, 2020 at 03:20:21 PM

She's Like Thunder and Lightning; Bjorn - By Phoenix February 21, 2020 at 05:02:09 AM

you keep rubbing your eyes: Murphy - By Loholt February 9, 2020 at 03:40:34 AM

When I awoke, the moon still hung. - By Murphy March 28, 2020 at 09:25:36 PM

you keep rubbing your eyes: Murphy - By Loholt April 11, 2020 at 03:35:19 AM

Your blood has gone bad. - By Murphy June 20, 2020 at 06:32:45 AM

YOU HAVE FOUND SOMETHING! - By EVENT! June 20, 2020 at 05:47:42 PM

AN ITEM FOR YOUR HAMPER! - By EVENT! April 11, 2020 at 07:33:18 PM

AN ITEM FOR YOUR HAMPER! - By EVENT! March 29, 2020 at 01:18:54 AM
YOU HAVE FOUND SOMETHING! - By EVENT! March 29, 2020 at 00:13:03 AM
This Won't Get Better; Thea - By Bryar February 4, 2020 at 02:21:39 AM
- The stars were made to shine - By Alethea February 26, 2020 at 12:19:44 PM
  - This Won't Get Better - By Bryar March 23, 2020 at 11:24:07 PM
    - The stars were made to shine - By Alethea March 29, 2020 at 09:34:56 AM
      - This Won't Get Better - By Bryar May 2, 2020 at 04:20:37 AM
        
        The stars were made to shine - By Alethea October 20, 2020 at 06:00:45 AM
      - AN ITEM FOR YOUR HAMPER! - By EVENT! March 29, 2020 at 03:10:35 PM
    - AN ITEM FOR YOUR HAMPER! - By EVENT! March 25, 2020 at 03:10:49 PM

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