SHORT STORY - soon to be rewritten
"so close but yet so far"
Arsyn Saito comes from a very wealthy family. With the power they hold, any mishap will be in the tabloids in the blink of an eye. Arsyn doesn't care about what the press thinks, but when...
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╔═══════════════╗ 「 chapter | nine 」 ❛❛ astronomy ❞ ╚═══════════════╝
"PEOPLE WON'T BELIEVE this fake dating ruse," I say to him and he chuckles, shaking his head. It's nearly 8:00 at night, and we're standing on the rooftop of the venue we're supposed to be showing up for. Together. We even decided on color coordinating our outfits. The same as the night of the banquet but this time it's intentional.
"They already do," he says, scrolling through a list of news articles with our faces painted on them. In the media his hair is messy and unruly, but now his hair is slicked back with not even a single strand out of place. I frown, running my hand through his hair to mess it up a bit. He looks at me in shock, then just smiles, giving me a full view of his pearly whites.
"I like it better like that," he says nothing, and just stares at me.
I look back down at my phone. "Elian Arquette seen kissing Arsyn Saito outside of American Dream Mall," I read out loud. "But we weren't even—
"Let them believe what they want."
"Why are you so calm about this?" I lean against the railing, gazing down below at all the vehicles passing.
"Because it's not as bad as it sounds. I get to be around you, whether it be fake or not. I have your attention as much as you have mine. " He steps closer to me, his front pressing up against my back.
He brings his hand around to my front, tilting my chin up to look at the night sky. "Look at the stars, look how bright they shine for you." I was gazing at the stars, but I knew he was looking at me. And immediately the quote from Atticus came to mind: A sky full of stars and he was staring at her.
I feel the pressure of his gaze on the side of my face as I try to keep my blush at bay. "One day someone will look at you, the same way you look up at the stars." He says and he backs away from me, walking back through the roof door. Talk about mixed signals...
I didn't miss the hidden message behind his words. He can't be the one to look at me that way. I swallow thickly, an uneasy feeling settling in my gut. It shouldn't matter anyway, we're not really together. Once all of this settles down we'll make up another lie about how we weren't the right match for each other and it'll all be over with.
"Yeah, that will work." I say to myself. I can't exactly be upset, it's not like I'm fully devoting myself to this dating ruse either because Elian may like Arsyn, but he doesn't know Syn and how obsessed Syn is with Incognito. He'd probably run for the hills if he found out.
