vulnerable

23.

The sun was starting to fade from the sky, bringing in the darkness and stars. Only a few beams of light peaked through the brown curtains. Stella laid comfortably in her bed, eyes drooping from the long day in the sun. She'd yet to fully rest and recover from the day before... with all the drama.

Her fan sat on the nightstand beside her head. It blew cold air against her face as she huddled into the fluffy comforter. She gazed at the television on the wall across from her, watching Sam Witwicky floor his yellow Camaro across campus. Transformers. The second one. Stella just wanted to doze off to something in the background, though it might've been because of Shia Lebouff.

As if on cue, there was a knock on her door. She didn't feel like getting up- moving out of the warm blankets, so she settled on a faint yell. "Come in!"

Gio peeked around the entryway, grinning. His fingers tighter around the edge of the door as he leaned to one side. "What's up?"

Stella flushed, realizing she was sprawled out and hair probably messy like a birds nest. "I'm just watching a movie. Wanna join?"

"Sure." He breathed out, smiling wide.

Thankfully, he was in his pajamas too, which made Stella less insecure about her flannel patterned shorts and oversized tee shirt. Gio wore a pair of black sweatpants with a white trim on the sides, and a white muscle tee- that definitely showed off his toned arms. His hair was ruffled, like he had been asleep for most of the day.

Stella sat up, patting the spot beside her as Gio plopped down. He laid on his side, facing her with his hand on the side of his cheek. She felt tense feeling his presence radiating a faint smell of mint and tea tree, but reminded herself to be natural. She laid on her back, glancing at the tv.

"Transformers?" Gio made a face, scrunching his lips into a tight line. "Really?"

Stella laughed, "You gotta admit it's pretty good."

Gio shook his head in distaste. "Maybe for a 12 year old."

"Shut up." Stella shoved him in the shoulder with her hand. "I have great taste in movies."

He rolled his eyes in response, lingering on her hands. "Sure, babe."

There it was again. Babe.

Gio continued while Stella was thinking about that familiar word. She wondered for a moment if it would always be that way. "We should go to the movies, then. You and me. You can pick what we see."

Stella smiled through her tiredness. "I'd like that. You know, since I have great taste."

Gio threw his head back in laughter, coming back to rest right beside hers on the pillow. There was a long pause before anything else was said. They kept their eyes on the movie, watching Sam Witwicky squirm around under the bug-eyed transformer. She listened intently on the sounds, trying not to think too much about how close the two of them were.

"Are you... disappointed in me?"

Stella could hear the distress in his own voice. He didn't take his eyes away from the action, so she kept her gaze too. She bit her bottom lip. "No, I'm not G."

He glanced at her, his honey brown eyes searching her soul. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "You mean it?"

"Of course." She realized their faces were only centimeters apart.

He licked his lip, running his eyes over her features. "You saw Han today?"

"Yeah. We talked." Stella nodded. She sturdied herself as his hand grazed her hair. She continued, carefully watching her breath. "She's happy with Hunter. So I'm happy for her."