The night was cold. The new moon risen. Stars crisp and bright in the sky. It was perfect for stargazing. Not that anyone did that anymore. I missed it. The nights of reclining on grassy hills, damp with dew, and soft voices carried up and out into our galaxy by the breeze.
But tonight was not a night to reminisce.
The four of us sat huddled around the small flame of our campfire. No one acknowledged the stars, or the cool air, or the relief we shared to have survived another day. Sydney was holding Laura's hand. They spoke in hushed tones about something very obviously meant to be private. I was out of place watching them as they leaned against each other in a comforting way, and petted each others hands with affection. Feeling like I was intruding on something personal and exclusive, I turned my eyes away, feeling embarrassed to be almost jealous of their affection towards each other.
I looked over to Tommy, who was slouched boredly, one hand playing with the strings on his hoodie, staring in the opposite direction of our friends. It was only right to simply ignore them. It wasn't safe enough at night to run off for alone time, so it was decent of Tommy not to call them out on it. I followed his gaze out over the top of the cliff we camped at tonight. The ocean was dark. It seemed to swallow the gleaming light of the stars and bury it underneath its depths. The waves rolled gently, hissing as they slipped on and off the sand at the shore. The sea looked like it went on forever, eventually blending with the sky at the horizon. It was beautiful and terrifying.
Tommy must've heard me when i sucked in a gasp because his eyes slid to me slowly and then he stood, flicking his hand in a motion to follow him. I watched as he strolled about ten paces away from our camp and then lowered himself onto a large flat stone overlooking the ocean. When he noticed that I hadn't immediately followed him, he swiveled his body to me and raised his eyebrows in a lazy question. I shot one more glance back to Sydney and Laura, figuring they'd be more than happy with ten extra paces of privacy and rose to follow Tommy.
By the time I'd plopped myself down next to him, his attention was back on the water. The ocean breeze swirled around us and ruffled his golden hair as if to play with it. I watched in awe as he turned his half lidded gaze to the stars, and briefly saw the reflection of a shooting star sweep across his eyes.
He noticed me staring and chuckled, "I know I'm pretty, but the stars are begging for attention. We don't get to appreciate nights like these very often. I'll be here tomorrow, Ryn. Look at the sky tonight."
I didn't bother to correct him. These days, who knows if he'd be here tomorrow. We could both be killed at any second. But he knew that already, and I was too flustered by his forwardness to argue with him, so I turned my face to the sky and allowed myself to fall backwards onto the flat incline of the stone, letting it's cold seep through my shirt and into my skin. Tommy followed suit, laying next to me, a hair away from touching his arm to mine.
I held my breath, resisting the urge to immediately look at him again, stuck my eyes to the sky and forgot almost immediately about my nervousness. Above us was the Milky Way, shining in all its glory, spread across the night like a stroke of paint made by a master artist. Another shooting star flew across the sky and I released my held breath. The breeze swept up again, flitting through the grass around the stone's edges and lifting the material of my clothes slightly in a playful manner.
I heard Tommy emit a low sigh and craned my neck to look at him. His mouth parted slightly as he took in a breath, wondering at the night. The stars seemed to make him glow, his green eyes looking startlingly vibrant, and his freckles more outstanding on his face. He looked ethereal. With all of his imperfections and annoying habits, I found that he was beautiful to look at.
