Stars, The Galaxy and Other Unremarkable Things.

meowza

Stars explode and stars are born, but most of all, stars watch all.

A sandy haired boy slips his crimson index finger in his mouth. It tastes of salt and rusty metal from the cut that's in his soft, powder white skin. He cringes and sticks the same bleeding finger up at the navy, simmering night sky. The stars blink hello.

"You see that, Hannah? That one's the Little Dipper," he says, the inflection in his accent going unnoticed by him. Hannah, a short girl with cobalt eyes, crunches up her nose at the boy's country drawl. They live in Florida. No one has a country accent in Florida, at least no one she knows.

"I know what the fucking Little Dipper looks like, Zeke," she mutters, not even bothering to glance up at the sky that's trying to introduce itself.

"You can never look at the Litter Dipper too much."

You have no idea, Hannah almost mumbles out loud, but that would be revealing too much, and Hannah wasn't willing to reveal much at all.

"Hannah, look there – Hannah, are you even listening to me?" Zeke fingers a piece of the dirty hammock, watching the girl with embarrassment, contempt, and buried underneath, longing. She looks beautiful beneath moonlight. Her raven black hair is a twin to the sky, gleaming against the darkness.

Hannah stares back at Zeke, countering emotions with him. Their paradox lies open for the stars to see. He both hates and loves her. She hates him, yet she sits with him and their legs often brush against each other, and she never shifts away.

She sighs and Zeke can't keep his eyes off of her light blue camisole, how the lace lines moon-shaped mounds under sheer cloth. He blushes and turns away. Hannah gives a soft smile, but quickly smoothes it out, wondering why she should be happy that this country nobody likes looking at her.

"That's the Big Dipper," he says softly under his breath, trying to please her yet knowing this is not the way to go about it.

Hannah not only surprises him but also herself with her next question. "Where?" Immediately, she wants to take the words back, gobble them back up. But she can't, Zeke is already smiling, imagining that he's finally won her over.

"Right behind that palm tree," he replies, the curve of his arm casting a shadow over Hannah. Her neck cranes despite how Hannah protests.

"I can't see it," she half whines, and is immediately disgusted with herself. He only chuckles. God, she thinks, even his laugh has a drawl.

"There," he says, still pointing.

"I can't see it, Zeke." He glances over at her and sees the irritation in her furrowed eyebrows and pinched lips.

"Alright." If it were anyone else, they'd probably be annoyed or upset with Hannah's impatience, but Zeke saw it as an opportunity to slowly coax Hannah out of her shell.

Hannah sighs and closes her eyes, suddenly aware of exactly how much power she has over Zeke. "Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."

He chews on his bottom lip, and Hannah suddenly realizes this is a nervous habit of his. He does have a beautiful mouth, she almost says aloud.

Zeke leans closer to her, so close that Hannah can feel his warm peppermint breath on her cheek. "Here," he half whispers, and places his right arm under her head, then he takes Hannah's hand in his own and points it at the violent shade of violet sky. "Do you see this constellation? That's the Big Dipper." She stares only at the luminescent skin on Zeke's face, and at how his eyelashes brush his prominent cheekbones.
"Zeke…" Hannah whispers as she turns her face into his neck.

He blinks, wrapping his arms around her, and shifts away in order to look at her face. "Hannah, Hannah – are you alright?"

"I'm sorry, Zeke. I'm so sorry." she kisses him.

The stars are connected as one. They sigh, contented. Hannah cries on Zeke's shoulder, and Zeke feels helpless – but being there is enough, because Hannah realizes Zeke has always been there, waiting, she only needed to see.

This is a oneshot I've been working on since December, and considering it's only two pages long, that's in itself is pretty sad. Initially, I intended for this to have another two characters (two sisters) after Hannah and Zeke, but I got lazy. So, here you go.