Page 95 of Starstruck

Without thinking, the words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. “Why don’t you come home with me?”

Immediately, a chorus of “Ooo’s” erupted around the room, playful and teasing. I could feel my cheeks warming as I rolled my eyes, trying to play it off. “Oh, grow up, you fourth graders.”

The giggles intensified, but I kept my focus on Tristan. He let out a soft laugh, a huff of air through his nose as the corners of his mouth twitched, almost forming a smile. “Yeah… yeah, that sounds nice.”

His words were so simple, but the way they settled in the air, the way his eyes softened when he looked at me—it made my heart skip, just for a second. I told myself it was just the teasing from everyone else, that fuzzy feeling stirring inside me. But when he said yes, it felt like more than a casual offer.

It wasn’t supposed to feel like this. None of this was real. But for a fleeting moment, it almost felt like it was.

It sure felt like it was outside the rink the other week, when both of us refused to be the first ones to let go out our locked hands.

As I smiled back him, ignoring the dopey and lovesick smilesfrom my friends from the corner of the room, the door to the room opened, a man in a white doctors coat strolling in a second later.

“Oh,” He said, clearly not expecting us all to be in here. “As lovely asit is to see such support for you, Finn, visiting hours are ending, but if anyone’s family, they’re more than welcome to stay.”

We looked over at Finn, before Daisy cleared her throat. “I think I’m gonnastay for a while, but I’ll see you guys later.” She nodded at us.

My feet took me around Finn’s bed and reached my arms around Daisy. “I’llpick you up some food and have it ready for when you get back.”

“Thank you,” she sighed into my hair, before pulling away and letting that softsmile brighten the room.

One by one, we all said bye to Finn, Rory being the last to.

We all paced our way back towards the elevators, but only Jesse,Cora and Rory fit in the first one, leaving me and Tristan alone in the hallway while we waited for the next one.

We hadn’t really spoken since we left the park, and with the way Isaw him look before I had thousands of questions I wanted to ask him, but not a clue which one to start with first.

But he beat me to it, turning to me and shaking his head.

Tristan’s smile wavered, and I could see the walls he’d put up over the years flicker behind his eyes. “You didn’t have to do that before, but I appreciate it.”

I tilted my head, confused. “Do what?”

“Invite me to stay with you for Thanksgiving. I didn’t mind everyone knowing I was gonna be Billy No Mates for the week while you’re all gone.”

I shook my head, stepping closer to him. “Tristan, I wasn’t just saying that. I meant it.”

His eyes widened slightly, like he wasn’t sure how to take it. “Goldie—”

“I’m serious,” I cut him off gently, my voice lowering. “I mean it even more now that I know you were just going to be in the dorms by yourself.” I shuffled even closer, until I was standing right in front of him, my gaze locked with his. “You can’t spend your first Thanksgiving alone.”

His hesitation was written all over his face, like he didn’t want to burden me or maybe didn’t want to let himself accept the offer. Before he could say something to brush it off, I pressed on. “It’ll be nice, quiet, in the middle of nowhere Montana, with the mountains and the trees…” His lips twitched, and I could see his smile creeping back, which gave me the push to keep going. “And my sister Addy will be there, with her boyfriend, so it won’t be totally awkward.”

Tristan let out a soft chuckle, his eyes softening as they locked on mine. For a moment, it felt like the rest of the world had fallen away, and all that was left was the two of us.

His smile, that look—it was the same one he’d given me in a room full of our friends. But now, with no one around to watch, to play along, it was harder to convince myself that it was still part of the act. If this was all just a game to him, why wasn’t his smile smaller, more forced? Why wasn’t it that shallow, charming grin I’d seen him use on strangers?

No, this smile felt real. Too real. It was the same smile he’d given me under that tree, when we were surrounded by people who thought we were something we weren’t. The same one he’d shown me when he didn’t have to. But here, in this empty hallway, with no audience to perform for, it felt like there was more behind it. More honesty, more weight.

And that thought terrified me.

Why was he looking at me like that—like I was more than just a part of the cover, like I was something real to him when he was leaving soon?

Tristan tilted his head. “Do they know about us?”

Us.That held so many different versions of us now.

Us when we were pretending to be real.

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