Luminescence

Thirty-seven.

LATER THAT DAY ; 9:53pm

"Hudson!" I whisper exclaiming, as my hand was being dragged up the stairs of the house. "Where are we going? And what if we get caught?!"

It was late. And Priscilla warned earlier that if she saw anybody out of bed, she would personally seek to punish them after we won the battle. That punishment would surely be a day's worth of CrossFit training, and that would surely be my grave.

As he dragged me along, he stayed silent with only a small mischievous smile on his face. He looked so soft right now, it was adorable.

Once we reached the top of the steps, the familiar chilly air of autumn hit our faces almost immediately, sending a shiver down my spine. I huddle close to him as he becomes my ultimate source of heat. I had no clue why we were out here in the pitch black. If we were to blindly fall off a cliff then I would hate him for the rest of my life.

We walk just a short distance from the house as Hudson places down a large, fuzzy blanket for both of us to lay down on. As I laid down I noticed that he seemed slightly on edge tonight, but I figured it was pre-battle nerves in him. Because I was definitely feeling them too.

But all thoughts of the battle suddenly diminished as Hudson lays down next to me on the blanket. Both of our backs were pressed to the ground, allowing us look to the sky. And boy, was the wind knocked out of me when I saw (you could probably guess what) them in the sky.

Stars.

Although to some they may just be some glowing white objects in the sky, to me they will forever be my escape from reality. Stars would forever make me feel small. Knowing that there were an infinite amount out there baffled me, especially since every star had its own uniqueness. It was like the human race. No two people were ever the same. Everyone has their own special quality about them that people love them for, whether its looks or simply personality.

"Gorgeous, isn't it?" Hudson whispers to me, snapping me out of my trance. He inches closer to me as he feels me shiver from the cold, throwing two more thick blankets over us that immediately warmed me to the heart. Or was that just Hudson?

I nod softly, hiding my face under the blanket slightly. Nothing could possibly feel more comfortable than this. I lean into his chest while my eyes explore the sky, when suddenly an old memory pops into my mind.

"You know," I say softly. "My mother used to take me to the rooftop of our apartment every saturday night. It was one of the few days I got to go outside since we were in hiding. There we would watch the stars for hours on end, even with the city glow covering most of the sky we're seeing right now. She told me that each star in the sky represents a person in the afterlife, watching down over us in our everyday activities," I say reminiscing, knowing that both our parents were surely up there watching right now. "Shooting stars mean that a soul is being reborn into a new life, eventually restarting the process all over again."

Hudson and I lay there, letting my words sink in for a minute.

"One day I hope we'll be up there together. We'll shine brighter than Venus," he exclaims with a big smile on his face.

I facepalm myself. "Venus isn't even a star stupid, it's a planet!" I say to him, punching him softly on that empty head of his.

"Well sorry, Miss Know it All," he murmurs, mimicking my voice which immediately causes me to push him away from me. "Okay, I'm sorry! Jeez woman, your violence can be something else."

I grin mischievously while he gives me a disappointed frown, which suddenly changes into a neutral face as a new thought suddenly fills his mind. I've seen this happen to him before in the Rebel base. He will zone out for a minute, probably talking to himself in his head about something then come back a minute later. The soft moonlight illuminates all of his gorgeous features, as I was somehow lucky enough to call him my best friend, and dare say it, soulmate.