SATELLITE HEART [A BARLEY LIGHTFOOT x READER STORY]

chapter 5

At eight o'clock, you left your house with promises to your parents that you'd be home before one o'clock in the morning. They wished you good luck and didn't mind the hoodie that you had tucked under your arm. You walked around your car and ducked behind it, slipping your t-shirt off and quickly replacing it with your hoodie, shivering as the cool air blew through the thin tank you wore underneath. You took off silently into the Lightfoots' yard, ducking underneath Barley's window. 

You bent down and scooped up a couple of rocks from the garden. They were half the size of your palm; you threw them up at the side of the house, hearing them click against the window sill. Barley's light flickered on and his curtains parted, and you saw his grinning face as he waved. You waved back and he held up a finger, disappeared, and then his light turned off. 

You waited for three minutes until you heard the front door open. He scolded Blazey for trying to escape and then he silently shut the door and hurried to the side of the house. He wrapped his arms around you and lifted you off the grass. You both laughed and held onto one another as you rushed to Guinevere. He opened the door for you and then ran around the front, jumped in, and sped off. 

You bought ice cream for the two of you and then he drove you around town slowly, giving you history lessons on every building. He parked by the fountain, ignoring the NO TRESPASSING signs and wishing the fountain was on. It was dark; the stars were twinkling overhead. 

"It's a shame they're going to remove this," you said. "It's beautiful."

"I know, right?!" Barley sighed. "They're destroying all of this history and it's so frustrating."

"It is," you agreed. "I feel so stupid for not noticing what they were doing this whole time. Here I was, just going on about my day, not caring about any of this."

"You don't need to feel stupid," he said, putting his empty ice cream cup in the cup holder that was stuffed with parking tickets. "You've taught me just as much as I've taught you. Speaking of --- I finished that book you lent me." 

You gasped and turned your body towards him. You beamed. "Did you like it?!" 

"I loved it," he said. "I was so good! By far the best dystopian book I've ever read."

"Holy tooth of Zadar, I'm so glad you did," you said. "You know it's a series, right? There are two more books!" 

"You're kidding!" 

"I'm not. There really are. Ugh, okay. I'll bring them to you when you pick me up for work tomorrow."

"You're the best." 

"I know," you said, and you both burst into laughter. He watched you, his eyes never leaving your face. You didn't notice. You sighed and leaned against the seat. "I wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow. Or go home tonight. I would just stay here with you forever if I could."

"I know how you feel." Barley smiled. 

"It just sucks," you whispered. "Everything I do now is so secretive. And I can't help but feel guilty... not because I'm lying to them about being with you, but because I have to. And because there used to be a point in time when I thought like how they did." You looked at him in shame and he shook his head slowly, a tight-lipped smile on his face. "Barley, I am so sorry for---"

"You don't have to apologize for anything," he said. "You didn't know me. You said that before."

"I should've gotten to know you a long time ago," you said. "I've wasted so much time that I could've been spending with you." 

"While I agree with you that it sucks that we missed so much time, I am extremely happy that we are friends now and I wouldn't trade any of this for anything. Except maybe being able to go out without knowing that if your parents see us, we're toast," he said, and you laughed again. "I don't think you have to be guilty about anything. Opinions change and you didn't know me. Now you do. Do you think bad of me now?"