Wish Upon a Star, Goddammit

The soft grass brushed my arm as I folded it under my head. The ground wasn’t exactly comfortable, but I couldn’t complain – I was glad that I was there, where the silence surrounded me, and I could calmly lie down and watch the stars.

Well, not exactly calmly, considering that…

“…And it’s really unfair, because Jaime didn’t even want to listen to me, and of course he wouldn’t understand me, I mean, he would if he fucking tried, so then I asked him to give it back, ‘cause, see, he can’t simply take my stuff like this, but-”

“Vic.”, I interrupted him, amused. “Do you ever stop talking to take a breath?”

“Nope.”, he giggled. “I breathe through my ears when my mouth is busy telling an interesting story.”

“Interesting story? When did you tell an interesting story? Because I surely haven’t head such thing from you.”, I teased him with a grin.

“Ah, shut up.”, Vic rolled eyes and lied down on the ground as well. “So when are the damn falling stars supposed to show up?”

“Well I don’t know, they don’t exactly call me first, all like ‘Yo, Kell, ‘sup, bro, we’re gonna start crossing the sky at exactly ten-thirty, be ready to watch us with your silly friend, a’right?’ I just don’t know, man!”

He laughed. “Okay, okay, alright… Wait, did you just call me silly?”

“The stars did!”, I pointed up at the sky accusingly. “…But I gotta admit, they were right. You really are silly.” I poked him.

“Ah, I can’t wait for the day, when my friend would stop shamelessly abusing me.”, he sighed dramatically. “But seriously, Kell, you dragged me here, assuring me there would be a hell of a meteorite shower. I imagined shooting stars everywhere, and all I see is a boring night sky I could watch back there from my balcony in San Diego.”

“It just hasn’t started yet, man! Just wait for it…”

“Wait for iiiiiit…”, Vic hummed.

I shook my head, smiling a bit, and stared up at the sky again. Indeed, it looked slightly boring, kind of… Especially with Victor next to me, who kept distracting me all the time, this silly human being. I caught myself smiling a little wider as I thought of him. No, no, no, I couldn’t do that. I wasn’t allowed to do that. We were friends, for God’s sakes. I couldn’t ask for more. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to ask for more.

“Go watch a meteorite shower, they said. It will be fun, they said.”, he murmured evenly.

“Take your friend to watch the stars together, they said. It will be fun, they said.”, I replied sharply, holding back a chuckle.

“Oh, you don’t enjoy my company? Aw, well that offends me, I’m leaving then!”, he laughed softly and sat up, pretending he’s really leaving, but I grabbed him by the arm and roughly pulled him back down.

“You’re not going anywhere, get back here!”, I giggled.

“Aaah, let me go!”, Vic squealed, falling on the grass heavily. “Heeeelp, a kidnapping!”

“Scream all you want, boy, no one would hear you.”, I snickered evilly, pinning him down. “That’s exactly why I brought you here – to torture you… and murder you!”

“Seriously?”, he gave me a skeptical look. “You can’t murder even a fucking fly, Kellin.”

“Oh yeah?”, I crossed arms.

“Yeah, I mean, even though you’re trying to play a tough guy, your adorableness is showing. You’re all puppies, kittens and cotton candy from the inside, man, admit it.”

“That’s bullshit.”, I frowned. “Now shut up and concentrate on the goddamn night sky if you want to see anything interesting at all.”

“Aright, alright, as you wish.”, he shrugged and made himself comfortable, shifting closer to me. His body felt warm next to mine, slightly tense, but then he relaxed, resting his head on the ground as well. I turned to look at him; I could only distinguish his figure and some of his features, but even this way he was a better view than a whole sky filled with fucking shooting stars.

Suddenly his face lit up. “Kellin! Kellin, I saw a falling star!”

I blinked, quickly looking up. “What? Really?”

“Yeah! I think it was Helena Bonham Carter! Or perhaps Scarlett Johansson, I can’t be sure…”

I looked at him and at the same moment I realized he was joking. He hadn’t seen anything. He was grinning at me widely, amused by my reaction.

“We’re not looking for that kind of stars, Vic! And before you ask, we aren’t looking for rock stars either.”, I laughed. “Though… Helena Bonham Carter and Scarlett Johansson… Yeah, I surely wouldn’t mind if those two suddenly fell down from the sky and showed up here.”, I winked.

“Yeah, and I’d walk to them, and ask ‘em: ‘Hey, did it hurt when you fell from heaven?’”, he giggled.

“And they’d be like ‘Yes, it fuckin’ hurt, I have a broken rib or somethin’, now call the ambulance you ignorant jerk, would you?!’, because they’re badass.”, I supposed, not missing a chance to tease my friend.

“Ignorant jerk?”, he repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“They said it!”, I waved my hands in the air, to prove myself not guilty. “Wasn’t me!”

“…Son of a bitch.”, he sighed.

“Now you’re insulting me. That’s so rude, shame on you, Fuentes.”

“I’m truly ashamed.”, Vic gave me an innocent look.

“Good for you, because…”

I was interrupted by his gasp.

“Oh my God, I saw one! A real one!”

“Yeah, I ain’t buying that shit anymore.”, I rolled eyes.

“No, this time I’m not kidding, I really saw it! It was, it, it, it was so bright, and almost, like, orange, and it had a tail and all, and it was so big, and just, oh my God, this is so cool!”, he jumped up excitedly and I could tell that this time he wasn’t joking. “Didn’t you see it, didn’t you, Kellin?”

“Nope, I was too busy with listening to your complaints.”

“You should have seen it, it was so awesome!”, he grinned widely, then returned to the description, the whole time slightly jumping. “And then it flashed, and for a moment it was slightly blue, and then it vanished! You should have seen it, man!”

I giggled at his enthusiasm, but then I remembered I didn’t actually get the chance to see the star, so I was supposed to be irritated about it.

“That’s not fair, I brought you here in the first place, and now you got to see the first one?! Ah, fuck you.”, I pouted. “Did you wish anything?”

“I, erm…”, Vic facepalmed. “…I forgot.”

“Oh, well. There would be plenty more tonight, so maybe the next one…”, I smiled a bit. “C’mon.”, I patted the spot next to me. “Get your ass back down here and stop distracting me.”

“Sure thing.”, he chuckled and settled back down.

Oh God, how good it felt to sense his presence next to me, how happy and calm I was now, with him by my side. He was making this twice more fun than if I came here alone. I found myself unable to concentrate again, my look returning to his face over and over again, absorbing every little, perfect detail about him – his big brown eyes, which now reflected the starry sky, his tanned skin, his eyelashes that seemed almost silver at the pale light. No matter how hard I tried, Vic was my life, my everything, making the rest of the world seem boring and not important. His arm slightly brushed against mine and I resisted the urge to pull away, glad to feel his touch against my skin, even if it was unconscious.
“Another one!”, he exclaimed after awhile. I realized I didn’t see it because I had been absent-mindedly staring at him the whole time.

“Damn! I missed this one too!”, I hissed, not amused. “Did you at least make a wish this time?”

“Yup, I did.”, he smiled.

“…What did you wish for?”, I couldn’t resist my curiosity.

“Not telling! If I tell you it won’t come true!”, Vic pouted.

“Oh, come ooon. You don’t actually believe this bullshit, do you?”

“I can’t be sure! I don’t wanna risk, you know.”

“Please!”, I insisted. “My curiosity is eating me!”

“Nope, nope, nope. It’s a secret.”, Vic declared and that ended our argument.

We lied there for awhile, watching in silence. Every now and then a plane flew above us, and we had fun trying to guess where it was going (the whole time I was making silly suppositions and funny remarks, making Vic giggle next to me). I saw a few falling stars too – they were truly beautiful, just like he had described them. And every time, every time I made the same wish… After maybe half an hour, I felt him stir next to me and looked at him to notice he’s slightly trembling.

“Vic?”, I spoke up. “Are you okay?” I touched his hand to check his body temperature. “Jesus, you’re really cold.”

“So are you.”, he pointed out. Until then I hadn’t noticed it, but now when he said it, I realized I was just freezing.

“I’m not”, I said, though. “Damn, I forgot to get a blanket…”

“Why am I not surprised…”, he chuckled a little.

“Shush.”, I cut him off. “Come here.” I spread an arm, offering him to come closer so I would keep him warm. He thankfully snuggled next to me and a smile stretched on my face as I wrapped my arm around him. I pulled his trembling body close; it felt slightly warmer now.

He started humming something, some random song about dark skies, falling stars, and missing blankets, and I was pretty sure he composed it at the moment. Eventually, his silly song started sounding kind of romantic, and this got me wondering… just wondering… if maybe…

A long white trace crossed the sky, flashed in the darkness and disappeared with a spark, only for a second, but I knew it was there. We both let out excited exclamations and this let me know that this time none of us missed it.

“Holy shit, that was amazing!”, I grinned. “The brightest one, oh my God, Vic, please tell me you saw it!”

“I did! What did you wish for this time?”, he looked at me.

“It won’t come true if I tell you, you know this.”, I winked at him, repeating his words.

“I thought you didn’t ‘believe this bullshit’?”, he quoted me, raising an eyebrow.

I stuck my tongue out at him. “I just said it to get you to tell me your wish.”

“Ah, what a sneaky bastard you are, Bostwick.”, he shook his head with an amused smile. “Curious, sneaky, sneaaaaky bastard.”

“That’s what I am.”, I chuckled.

“Then,” he started, crossing arms, “you have to get what you deserve.”

“…I don’t like how this sounds. You’re gonna tickle-torture me, aren’t you.”, I pouted, trying not to laugh. “You won’t have the chance though, because I’m leaaaving…”

I let him go and sat up, intending to get away, but he managed to wrap his arms around my waist and pull me back down, tackling me to the ground. I let out a high, embarrassingly girly scream, and fell over him, accidentally sticking my elbow in his chest. Vic half-coughed, half-gasped, half-giggled and pushed me away. I rolled over and found myself with my face only a few inches away from his. His breath tickled my nose.

“…Oops.”, he grinned.

We froze in this position, none of us really wanting to move, and we just stared at each other, unsure what to do next. I felt the blood rush into my face and I was about to apologize and pull away, when suddenly, before I could understand what was going on, he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to mine. I instinctively closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. The air that entered my lungs smelled of Vic, his eyelashes tickled my cheek lightly. After a second I started kissing back, my heart began to beat faster, and a warm, unfamiliar feeling filled my stomach.

I was happy. Yes, that was it – I was happy.

We kissed for awhile, but eventually he had to pull back a bit, still keeping close to me.

“…Told you it would come true if I keep it a secret.”, he murmured with a small, playful smile.

“Oh, so that was your wish? Bullshit.”, I giggled, the stupid blush refusing to go away.

“It really was, are you calling me a liar?!”, he gasped theatrically, raising his voice a bit.

“I’m not, I’m just being slightly doubtful.”, I shrugged.

“Well, don’t be.”, Victor smirked.

“…Then we’ve been wishing for the same thing, it seems…”

“I hoped so.”, Vic laughed a bit. In the darkness I noticed that his face was red as well.

…And we kissed again, as the shooting stars kept flashing above us, the cold night surrounding us.

I was right when I told him this night would be beautiful. It really was, but not because of the meteorite shower…