To The Moon and Back

𝟐𝟎 | 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐱𝐲

R I N G  G A L A X Y

A galaxy that has a ring-like appearance. The ring usually contains luminous blue stars. Ring galaxies are believed to have been formed by collisions with other galaxies.

T O  T H E
M O O N & B A C K

AFTER ALMOST THIRTY minutes of continuous bike riding, I come to a halt outside of a two-story brick house not far outside of London. None of the lights is on and the entire exterior of the house is the epitome of your average middle-class—but closer to lower-class—housing in the UK. Dreary dead plants line the muddy garden out the front, the plants and flowers unable to grow properly due to the excessive rain. 

No lights are on but a beat-up Honda Civic idles in the driveway, signalling that there is life beyond those dark brick walls.

Rory's house reminds me much of Pandora's, in fact, both of their houses are almost exact replicas of each other's with minor exceptions like how Pandora's has stairs and stands taller overall, meanwhile Rory's looks more homey but equally bland.

I straddle the uncomfortable seat of the bike, hands gripping the handlebars as she leaps off. The pink can she held the entire ride is probably empty now and I realize then how dry my mouth is. I should have taken a drink, but instead all I thought of reaching for was sugary bars and fucking chewing gum.

"Well, thanks for the ride." she says, amused as she glances at the bike and I nod. "That was fun. We should do it again sometime."

I gulp as a foreign feeling clings to the sides of my throat as my breathing hitches. I cock an eyebrow. "You want to steal from a gas station again?" I query.

She shrugs, chewing on her bottom lip. "No, I mean—something illegal. We should do something illegal again sometime." the excitement in her voice makes the corner of my lips twitch. "Well, I'm buggered, so have a safe journey back to your car. Don't stack it on the way and ruin that pretty face of yours."

I snort, rolling my eyes. "I would never."

The mentioning of still having to ride an extra thirty minutes or so just to find my car to then drive to my parents' house near London City makes me want to find a park bench and call it a night. I haven't done this much exercise willingly since secondary school when I had soccer practice at least thrice a week and the gym was actually something I enjoyed—to an extent, it was more so something I did because Solar and Rion did.

An awkward yet comfortable silence settles between us and I find myself staring at her tentatively. 

"Are you going back home after this?"

I shrug. "I don't know."

I would rather not go back there yet. I'm not ready to be smothered in pitiful words and an overwhelming amount of attention. I'm also not ready for Alula to further her lecture. And I'm also not ready for my mother and father to go on and on about how I wasn't allowed out and how they knew they shouldn't have gone out for date night.

I hate that I ruin everything for everyone.

"Do you want to come inside for a little? I'll charge my phone up and then I'll order you an Uber or something back to the party, so you can find your car." she offers, looking nervous, almost as though she might go back on her words any second. "You just have to be quiet. My dad will kill me if he sees you in our house."

So even other parents hate me, too. Good to know.

I watch her with narrowed eyes. Is this a good idea? Probably not. But do I want to leave her yet? Not really. But being here with her beats doing anything else right now—excluding shooting up, of course, but I think right now, she's the next best thing.