Written in the Stars (W.I.P.)

Chapter 16

Dean
As I got up for school, the only thing I could think about was Rhys. The one person that crowded the thoughts in my mind for years until I tried my hardest to block them all out. I couldn't love Rhys. He had a life, a future, and I didn't even know where I'd be going to college in a year and a half.
It sucked, feeling something but not being able to give into that feeling.

After getting ready for school, I stood in front of my mirror and just stared at myself for a minute, rethinking all of the things I thought when I woke up that morning.
And never mind, it didn't suck.
Because whether me or Rhys liked it or not, Rhys was back in my life, and I was back in his. I shot myself a charismatic smile in the mirror and unusually decided that I was gonna have a great day.

When I got on the bus, I didn't ignore the blondie that sat next to me, I talked to her, and I made friends with her. It's not super important, but her name's Nanaka Akane and she said that she's of Japanese origin but she didn't know anything about Japanese culture.
So, that's cool, I guess.
After talking to Nanaka, I connected my AirPods to my phone and shuffled my Upbeat Songs playlist.

As the bus rolled to a stop in the Bentbrook High School parking lot, 'Talk Too Much' by COIN started playing in my AirPods.
"You can go, ma'am!" I said, surprising even myself with how charming my voice sounded as I gestured for the black-haired girl in front of me to go ahead of me in the aisle. After letting everybody off the bus before me, I finally got off and the bus driver and I exchanged a quick glance.
"Have a great day, Dean," she smiled, placing a hand on the back of the driver's seat.
"You too, señora!" I exclaimed, practically leaping from the top of the steps and landing perfectly on the asphalt parking lot.
I strutted toward the school doors, the large sidewalk almost completely emptied as the last few students entered the building by the bright yellow front doors.
My steps in sync with the beat of the music, I noticed the janitor and a few other staff members, who never saw me like this, ever, giving me noticeably puzzled and curious glances.
The janitor stood with his mop in hand, cleaning up a fresh smudge on the sidewalk, one eyebrow furrowed and one hand on his hip, watching me practically skip past him.
I shot finger-guns at him and he looked even more weirded out as I passed by without another care and headed into the building.
Is this the happiest I've ever been? No, not without Rhys right next to me. But it's pretty close.
I hope all of those staff members had a great day that day.
Cause I know I sure did.

Rhys
That day, in the library, I couldn't stop thinking about Dean as I sat at a back table by myself with a laptop facing me, its screen bright and glowing.
Not quite as glowing as Dean's sapphire-blue eyes, though.
Not even close.
I opened the book to the left of me and the notebook filled from top to bottom with journalism notes and texts.
I typed up the next line of the book I'd been writing for this whole semester, finally reaching 830 pages.

As you can most likely tell, Pierson, nothing from here-on-out will get any better unless you make it that way.
"That sounds too much like an inspirational quote to be a book," a teasing voice came from above me.
I looked up from the laptop and saw a long black haired, skinny girl with the palest skin and lightest eyes I'd ever seen, standing before me after leaning over above my laptop screen.
I knew exactly who she was as soon as I laid my eyes upon her, without the help of the dark ink in the shape of a raven embedded by needles into the surface of her shoulder.
"Hello Zara," I said, greeting her formally as she took a seat beside me, "ready for today's session?"