Written in the Stars (Dayasco)

10

Daya sobbed into the pillow on Maddy's bed that next morning, unable to work up the motivation to get ready for class. So her friends didn't make her go, and they stayed beside her the whole time.

"And now on top of breaking her telescope, I've left her without a ride. And now I can't make sure she eats something and takes care of herself this morning." Daya said through her tears, unable to stop herself from worrying.

"Daya, sweetheart, she's a grown woman." Jasmine said from where she sat beside her, gently rubbing her back in an effort to calm her. "She can handle it."

"No, you don't get it." Daya mumbled, sniffling quietly. "She has a checklist that her friend made her. To make sure she takes care of herself. And there's usually a lot of stuff that's never checked off but I've been doing a good job at reminding her." Daya curled up into a ball. "And now she hates me so I can't remind her anymore."

"She doesn't hate you, Daya." Maddy said quietly, stroking the girl's hair. She was trying to hide it, but she was pissed and wanted nothing more than to make Bosco regret upsetting her friend.

Daya hesitantly looked up at her. "...You don't sound very convincing." She mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

Maddy sighed. "I don't think she hates you. But she's definitely not my most liked person right now." She said honestly. "Not if she's made you this upset."

"It's my fault." Daya sniffled again. "I just wanted to do something nice. I just wanted her to like me. I fucked it all up and now she's probably going to kick me out of the apartment."

"She's not going to kick you out-" Jasmine said. "I'm sure she didn't mean to snap at you. Maybe there was something else that upset her that day."

"She did mean to snap at me. I broke her prized possession." Daya didn't believe a word she said. "I deserved to be yelled at."

Maddy and Jasmine shared a look. They had a feeling they weren't going to make much progress.

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Maddy asked Daya. "I can go to that coffee shop she works at and-"

"No. You'll hurt her." Daya said before she could finish, letting out a quiet sigh. "I don't want her to get hurt. She's too pretty. And nice."

"Yeah, nice when she isn't yelling at you." Maddy mumbled. "You can stay here as long as you need to. We don't mind."

But the thing was, Daya didn't want to stay. She wanted to go back to Bosco and make sure she was okay even if she was scared she'd upset her again. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something about her she couldn't ignore.

She shook her head a little. "I, um..." She nervously fidgeted with the end of Maddy's blanket. "You can't make fun of me if I tell you this."

Jasmine tilted her head a little. "Tell us what?"

Daya hesitated, looking between her and Maddy. "...I think I might be in love with her."

It was silent. A little too silent for Daya's liking. She shifted nervously, about to explain herself until Maddy responded.

"You're in love with her?" She raised a brow. "It's been like two weeks since you met her and you're already in love with her?"

"I don't know-" Daya huffed, hiding her face in the pillow again. "I've never been in love before. I just know she makes my heart feel funny and I like being with her and I like making her smile and I'm pretty sure she's the most prettiest person on this planet."

The two girls shared another look, but Daya continued before they could say anything.

"She seems so sad most of the time. I just want to make her feel better." More tears filled her eyes. "I don't think she really has anyone who understands and I don't want her to feel alone. I thought I was making progress but I had to go and fuck it all up."