The Sun And The Stars •completed•

Poetic Beauty

Less than 12 hours, Eli had been on this suspiciously creaky bus. It couldn't be a peaceful journey, could it? He turned a new page in The Bell Jar, a book he'd read perhaps 7 times. He could recite it, he was sure. But, that didn't mean he didn't want to fully concentrate on reading it.

This girl, this Audrey. She was distracting him more and more with each passing minute. She was confusing, so bright and lively, so innocent and yet so mature. He wanted to think of her as an innocent, and her appearance certainly lent itself to that conclusion. But, she wasn't. They were in the exact same situation. Her parents had no idea where she was and she was crossing the country alone.

"So, you've got family up there?" She asked suddenly, and when Eli looked at her she added, "In New York?" A smile threatened to pull his lips up. There was no stopping her curiosity and Eli couldn't help being transfixed, not this time. The sun was setting, a dull orange haze creating a halo for her slightly frizzy, curled brown hair.

She looked like poetry. Olive skin, dark curls not quite hitting her shoulders, hazel eyes, pink lips. A red plaid dress flared to her knees.

"No," He admitted, afraid that she'd know somehow if he lied. "Have you, in Ohio?" He retorted. She smiled and blinked twice. "No. Not really." She said, the brightest smile on her face and strange relief in her voice.

She nodded, tucking her hair behind her ears again. "So, what are you reading?" So happy to be talking again after managing to stay quiet for just under two hours. "The Bell Jar." Eli flashed the cover to her, closing the book as he had lost his reading light behind her glowing hair.

Audrey's phone beeped twice and she moved back to her seat. Rifling through a pocket in her over sized backpack, she popped something open and quickly threw a small white pill into her mouth, dry swallowing it. Eli decided to pretend not to notice.

Moments later, the bus screeched to a stop. "Pit stop!" Called the driver, "You have two hours to eat and freshen up, a new driver will be here when you get back to drive through the night." The twelve strangers shuffled off of the bus as the driver spoke, murmuring thank you's as they went.

Eli started walking and Audrey was close behind, lugging her backpack with her. He clenched his jaw, determined not to get involved in whatever this girl was involved in. Please don't be a murderer, he thought. "Want to get something to eat?" She chirped.

"Uh, sure." He replied, sighing internally. The two walked away from the bus parking lot, the sun setting slowly behind them. A McDonald's glowed it's yellow M right at them, and they seemed to silently agree to go in.

****

After sitting for a while, eating their burgers quietly, Audrey piped up again. "Can I ask you a question?" Eli continued to munch, but shrugged in agreement. "Why not a plane? Why are you taking this bus?"

Eli swallowed and shrugged once more. "No money." He did that thing again, the little breath out of his nose, that almost laugh. Audrey noted it as his second defining characteristic. His first of course, was bookworm.

She laughed, "So, you didn't just want to see this beautiful country?" She motioned around herself. She glowed. Could people glow? Eli wondered, but it was undeniable. If people couldn't glow, then the girl wasn't human. "That was part of it." He replied with a small, closed lipped smile, before taking another bite.

There were freckles sprinkled on his cheeks and nose like icing sugar dusted on a cake. They were so cute, so different, so distinct, that Audrey was finding it hard to decide what to concentrate on. Those dazzling dark eyes, or these new found freckles, dancing under the fluorescent lights as he chewed, like a constellation on his face. She almost wanted to reach out and touch...

Eli pointed to her. Audrey bit her lip in spite of herself. "Well, I need to save my money." She said, a half truth, "Who knew it would cost less to bus and pay for your own meals for two weeks." She rolled her eyes but still smiled. "And showers." Eli added, mouth still full. Audrey watched him, a smile in her eyes that wouldn't go away every time he spoke, as if it were a great feat.

"Aren't you dying in that sweater? It's so hot." Audrey asked as they threw their empty containers and wrappers in the garbage. It was navy blue, a bit big, and very worn. Eli shrugged again, causing Audrey to cock her head to the side, a knowing smile on her face. As if she already knew him.

Eli knew this wasn't possible, that she couldn't, didn't know him. But as her light eyes peered into his own dark ones, he could swear she saw right into him. No one had looked at him like this before. Really looked.

Warmth practically poured out of her, like a cloud surrounding her, and Eli couldn't wrap his head around it. Instead of voicing any of this, however, he sipped on his Coke and left McDonald's with her, trying to think of anything else but the beauty and love and warmth radiating off of the girl walking beside him.

****

In the bus stations ladies room, Audrey changed into sweats and a t-shirt, cleaned her teeth, washed her face, and took another (different) pill. She avoided her own gaze in the mirror, knowing she'd back out of this if she thought too much. Soon, she had arrived back onto the fluorescent lit bus. Eli was sat exactly the same, but writing in a beaten up journal. She smiled to herself and sat down, already yawning.

Quickly, Eli closed the book and put it away. He hadn't slept, not properly, in a long time. He wasn't planning on sleeping that night. When everyone was on the bus, the doors closed and the lights dimmed. Involuntarily, Audrey yawned again. She had brought a single pillow and a fluffy blanket, and quietly lay her head down near the opposite window.

"Do you want a blanket?" She asked, tiredness weighing down her voice. Eli smiled in her direction. "No, thanks." After that, she was silent. Eli leaned his head against his own chilled window and stared out into the inky night, putting in his tangled earbuds and trying his best to stay awake.

Audrey felt tightness in her chest and hot tears brimming, then falling, down the side of her face. She tried to stay still, and took in a shallow breath. I'm sorry Mom, she thought, as though her Mom might be listening, But I'll be home soon. I'll be better soon. She clenched her eyes closed and pulled the blanket up to her chin.