The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows

It was about one o’clock when you woke me up, your moon-lit face peering down at me as I yawned and opened my eyes. I was wondering why you woke me up, seeing as though you insisted you weren’t going to leave even if I fell asleep before you did. How boring would that be? I thought, if someone I was spending the night with fell asleep before me, I wouldn’t know what to do at their house, I concluded. Propping myself up on my elbows, I eyed you.

“What is it, Joey?” I asked, frowning at you. You smiled, your teeth more white in the moon light.

“Come with me, Ella, there’s a meteor shower and I wanna go watch it with you,” you replied, grabbing my arm gently as I sat up more.

“Where are we gonna go, Joey? I don’t have a car, you don’t have a car…” I noted, pouting a bit as I grabbed my slippers from the foot of my bed and put them on to my feet, getting off of my bed. I rose my eye brows and itched the back of my head, fixing my hair into a less-messier bun than what it was.

“We’re gonna ride my bike… I snuck out of your house and got my bike, I know where I want to go and I would like for you to join me…” You trailed off, looking around. I rolled my eyes and pushed you out of the way, heading toward my computer desk to grab my jacket.

“Okay, okay, I’ll go, alright?” I replied, pulling on the grey jacket and zipping it up. I put the hood up and grabbed my phone off of the charger, sticking it into my pocket and then I looked at you. “Let’s go,” I smiled.

“I want you to close your eyes when you get on the bike, okay?” You asked, and I nodded, following after you as we slipped out of my window and down the large oak tree that was next to my house. I bit my lip as the cooler summer breeze hit my face, the night sky twinkling with stars. Once you were on your bike, I hopped on the handle bars and pulled my legs to my chest, grabbing on to the bars and closing my eyes.

“Alright, eyes are closed… Take me away,” I murmured, biting my bottom lip as you started to peddle down the street.

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After about ten minutes of peddling, we came to a stop and I laughed, keeping my eyes closed. “I feel like freakin’ ET,” I murmured, a giggle escaping my mouth. You chuckled, patted my side, and then I felt your presence leave the bike.

“Alright, El, open your eyes,” you instructed, and I obliged. I felt a nervousness in my gut and I opened my eyes, and as they adjusted, I looked around. We were on top of Marble hill, a secluded area where not many people knew about. We hadn’t been in that spot since about fifth grade, going out there nearly every day to play in the dirt and climb the trees.

“Oh wow, Joey, I haven’t been here in ages,” I murmured, spinning around and looking up at the sky. “This… Wow, what made you remember Marble?” I asked, turning to you with a grin.

“Well I was watching the night sky and checked on my phone if there was a meteor shower, and sure enough… I then thought of the best places to be for a meteor shower and then I remembered here,” You replied, nodding as you looked around yourself. I felt like a kid again, my scar on my knee, from when I scraped it on one of the trees, tingling.

“This is amazing…” I whispered, then I looked at you and sat down swiftly, crossing my legs and patting right beside me. You took the invitation and sat down next to me, leaving your legs straight out in front of you. I laughed then, noticing you still wearing your slacks from dinner. “Okay so you had enough time to go back and get your bike from your house, but not change into better clothing?” I asked, shaking my head and rolling my eyes.

“Wow, way to say something positive and then something negative all in the same sentence basically,” was all you replied, your elbow pushing into my side as you chuckled quietly. “I’m sorry I woke you up, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to do this with you. I mean, it’s been so long since we’ve sat out and looked at the stars, especially on Marble,” you stated, laying back. I did the same, my body hitting the soft grass as placed my arms underneath of my head.

“Yeah, no, I’m glad you woke me up. Wanna know why? Because I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” I said, watching the sky. I saw a meteor and my eyes lit up.

“Yeah, I guess. Now, remember, you can’t wish on meteors. That’s bad luck, the opposite of your wish will come true. Wish for your crush to like you back on one of these fuckers? Your crush will start to hate you,” you said, looking at me out of the corner of your eye. I rolled mine, sticking my tongue out.

“That’s bullshit and you know it. Besides, I don’t wish on shooting stars. I wish on the bright ones,” I said and swallowed some, eyes going back up into space.

“Why’s that?” You questioned, your head turning to look at me full-on. I could tell you were genuinely interested, so I looked at you back and shrugged, fingers digging into the grass.

“Well, shooting stars are things that burn up as soon as you see them. To me, that’s like your wish is burning up and there’s no chance it’ll happen… But with the bright and twinkling ones, you can make a wish on them and they won’t disappear. You’ll forever have that one star with your wish on it, up in the sky until hundreds, if not thousands, of years go by and it burns up. You have your whole life, a whole star, to make wishes on. Will they come true? It’s fate that will decide that, not a terrestrial body.” I explained, hand going in the sky so I could pretend to pinch one of the stars in between my fingers.

“Ellenor Louise Bishop, you are one of the smartest girls I know,“ was all you replied, the praise and admiration in your voice bringing a smile onto my face. I looked at you and shrugged, fingers tucking into my sleeves.

“Really?” I asked, challenging your statement. It was half-teasing-half-serious. I raised my eyebrow to wait for your answer.

“Yeah, so many girls that we’ve gone to school with are so focused on things like boys and clothes and texting and gossip… The conversations you have with some of them make your brain hurt and your brain cells disappear. But with you… You put such deep thought into everything and have this quirky way of thinking that is really hard to come by. I’ve always admired that about you, you were always the girl that was off painting some crazy artwork in art, then there was the girls who painted random ass stupid fucking flowers. Your intellect is something to be proud of, and being around you is so easy. With the girls I’ve been in relationships with, I basically had to take on the responsibility of thinking for two brains instead of my own. They lack knowledge, and their rudeness makes them so ugly. But you, Ella, you… You’re so compassionate towards everyone, so quiet, so reserved. But I know the wild side of you, your sarcasm and humor and weird ways you do things. All of the little trades and quirks and habits that you have are what makes you so beautiful…” You explained, though the last part was quiet as your sentence went off on a little bunny trail.

“Really?” Was all I choked out, swallowing the butterflies that had managed to escape my stomach and slip through my airways. I looked at you then, cheeks flushed and warm and my palms sweating. “Joey… I… That made me get really bad butterflies, damn it. You’re so genuine, and sweet and what you just said made me feel so great about myself. Why have you never told me that?” I asked after a minute, shaking my head.

“I dunno, El… I don’t know. I guess it just hasn’t come to mind much… No that’s a fuckin’ lie. I’ve always thought that, always…” You whispered, eyes still on mine. If I never watched all the cheesy romantic movies that I had, the thought of this being the perfect moment would have never crossed my mind. “Ella, I have a question,” you said after a moment of silence. That put my racing thoughts to a halt and I slowed down, looking back up at the sky.

“Oh, well ask,” I returned, watching another, more brighter meteor shoot across the sky. Almost on cue, you raised up on your elbow and looked down at me after the giant rock flew on by.

“Would you reject me or punch me or slap me if I kissed you?” You retaliated. That’s when I just stopped, my whole body freezing and the time slowing down. I gazed at you and shook my head, my stomach filling up to the ‘full’ line. “Are you okay?” You added, looking at me in desperation and concern. I hadn’t realized that I held my breath, my mind going a hundred miles an hour. I nodded then.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I wouldn’t do any of those things, Joey,” I breathed out, my pupils now locked onto your own.

“Good, I don’t want you to pass out,” you whispered as you brought your hand to my face, grazing your fingertips across my warmed cheek. I relaxed then and grabbed your hand that was on my cheek, shaking slightly at our touch. What happened next was something I had wanted to happen in many years of knowing you. You leaned down and brought my hand to your cheek, your own hand slipping to the back of my head and into my hair. I exhaled a shaky breath and as you pulled my face toward your own, I closed my eyes and pushed my lips out slowly. Then your lips pressed into mine and you kissed me. It was how I had imagined it, gentle and soft and careful and nervous, almost like a curious baby who was learning how to crawl. I wrapped my arms around your neck and kissed you back.

As our lip-lock ensued, I could swear on my life that it was quiet enough to hear the stars swoop past us like busy traffic on a street.