Page 24 of A Sky Full Of Stars

“O-o-okay,” I stutter. “Come in.”

Thomas wastes no time climbing through the window, and when he’s standing in front of me, I freeze. Never in my life have I imagined sneaking a boy into my room, and it’s Thomas. Call me shocked.

“So…hi,” he says after a moment of silence. “How are you?”

“I’m good. Good. A little shocked that you’re here,” I admit because I don’t know what else to say.

“Why? I wanted to check in and see how you were. Did you finishA Walk To Remember?”

“I did.”

“And…” he coaxes.

“Youbrokeme,” I say honestly. “How the hell is that a romance book?”

Thomas’s beaming smile lights up my dark room. “I never said it was a romance.”

“Yeah, well, I assumed.” I fold my arms across my chest with an exaggerated pout. “You know, since most of the book is based around their romance.”

Thomas chuckles. “Okay, I can see how you would come to that conclusion. But it’s not.”

“Are you going to apologize?” I say, biting back a smile.

“For giving you a birthday present?” Thomas says, faking disbelief.

“No. For ruining me. And giving me a huge crush on Shane West.”A much healthier crush than the one I have on you.

“Ah, so you watched the movie too? There’s nothing wrong with a crush.” He laughs again and I almost choke on thin air.Good to know he feels that way.

“You’re right, but it’s still annoying.”

“Too bad. I’m not sorry. But I can make it up to you.”

“Oh, yeah?” He steps forward and my heart jolts in my chest. “How?” I rasp before subtly clearing my throat.

“By finding you something else to focus on. Do you…like horror movies?”

My eyes widen at the same time my heart starts beating again.God, what did I think he was going to say?“I love horror movies. Hit me with your favorite.”

We talk about movies for a while before moving on to other topics and eventually falling into a comfortable silence. Though I have no idea why, everything with Thomas is easy.Why does he have to be older and my brother’s friend?

When my eyes feel heavy, I check the time and practically push Thomas out the door, directing him to go and sleep in the spare room, something Luke’s friends have done many times before. And after finally falling into bed around two a.m., I drift off with Thomas’s smile on my mind and a giddy feeling in my chest.

He sought me out. Thomas wanted to see me. And I know I didn’t imagine it this time.

From that night on, Thomas stops by to chat almost every time he comes over, which is becoming a lot more frequent. I don’t dare let myself question it though, because it’s highly unlikely that I’m the reason.

Some days he knocks on the door while the party is in full swing downstairs, and other days he surprises me with a tap on my window, having just stopped by to say hi to Luke.

Thankfully, Luke’s still none the wiser.

Every time Thomas visits, my crush grows, but it’s our friendship that I start to depend on. He keeps showing up. He doesn’t have to; we’ve never talked about it—he’s just here, whenever I need him. And I’ve never had that. I’ve got friends. Close friends. Melissa and I were inseparable at one point. But with my focus pulled toward dance, it’s hard to keep up with those friendships, and I can’t complain about it because it’s all on me.

With Thomas, it’s different. He doesn’t have any expectations. He’s never asked me to meet him somewhere when he knows I’m supposed to be at dance class, and he’s never questioned me on my loyalty to our friendship. It’s easy.

So, of course, I’m waiting for the shoe to drop.

“What do you think Luke would do if he found me here?” he asks one evening as we lie on my roof, staring up at the night sky.

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