Page 44 of Starstruck

We sat in that easy silence then, the kind that I never used to havewith my parents, while we chatted about college, about my friends, about everything that they wouldn’t have taken an interest in before.

It was then that I thanked whoever it was who didn’t make me anangry person.

It would have been easy for me to hold a grudge against them, todeny them the room to change and let them sink into their regret, let it eat away at them while I smiled and took pleasure out of their misery.

Just the thought of doing that made me want to squirm in my seat.

Some might call me naive for forgiving so quickly, for handing outsecond chances like they were meaningless… but when I knew in my heart that this change would be permanent, that their actions weren’t some fad diet that they’d grow tired of soon, I knew I couldn’t label myself as anything other than wise.

I suppose that was one of the only blessings of being such a precocious child.

.

chapter fourteen

it's my party and i already know i'm going to cry

The last time I had a birthday celebration like this, I was six.

Or somewhere around the age when it was still cool to invite you’reentire class and you weren’t concerned about whether the popular boy stared at you weirdly because of how large your tutu was.

It was before I’d ever stepped onto a set, besides the ones I’drun around on when my sister was filming something. It was before my future was stripped from me, before I could decide what I wanted it to look like.

And the day was mine.

I had a crown on my head, and it was my name in the middle of the‘Happy Birthday’ song.

I didn’t realise it would take thirteen years for me to feel thosefeelings again, for the nervous butterflies—because all the attention was on me—to take up every corner of my gut. But I didn’t want to focus on that. My mind wanted to be present.

“Oh God, that garlic bread was... I don’t even know what it was but Iknow I’ll be dreaming about it for the next week.” Cora practically moaned from her corner of the table, everyone’s hushed laughter, the deeper laughs coming from Jess, Finn and Tristan, echoing around it.

I hadn’t thought twice about inviting the guys tonight. The morningafter the freshman event, as we sat in Pin’s with coffee cups warming our hands, it just kind of spilt out—how much we liked them. There was a quiet glow in the air as we traded stories, soft smiles tugging at the corners of our mouths. We all felt it—the way they made us feel safe, like we didn’t have to try so hard to be interesting or cool.

It was in their easy smiles, the way their eyes softened when one ofus spoke, like they really wanted to hear what we had to say. When they asked for our numbers, it wasn’t some empty gesture—they actually checked in, every few days, just to see how we were doing. Little things that felt thoughtful, like they genuinely cared.

So having them here tonight? It wasn’t even a question. It just feltright.

“We’ve never really had Italian food,” Finn says, craning his neck toDaisy. “But I think I love it just as much as Smokies, this barbecue place in our hometown.”

Daisy nodded her head, stopping the forkful of pasta inches fromher mouth. “I’d take this ravioli over their pork chops any day.”

Jesse, who had probably been the quietest of the guys since we’djoined forces, nodded his chin in Tristan’s direction. “What do you normally eat back in London?”

Tristan shrugged, the dim lights above the round table we’d takenover shadowing his face. “We pretty much survive on Carvery’s and picky bits. And you can’t go wrong with a jacket potato every once in a while, right, Cora?”

Cora nodded before resting her elbows on the table and pointing afinger back at him. “That, and the occasional chip butty.”

Tristan’s head rolled back as his eyes went all wide and dreamy.“God, I’d kill for a chip butty.” The groan that left his mouth was anything but subtle, and with the way the lights made the shadows of his jawline that much sharper, I had to stop myself from staring.

Then, from my right, Henry cleared his throat, and my heartstopped beating once I remembered that he was sitting next to me. “My Dad mentioned something about them when he came back from Oxford, are they really that good?”

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him quick enough, the fluttersin my stomach every time I caught his eyes building up and freezing me in place. As I shifted my head to face the rest of the table, I caught the end of Cora’s enthusiastic nod mixed with a head tilt, before I let my gaze slide to Tristan.

But all he did was simply let a tight smile tug on his mouth, as hiseyes raked over Henry, almost warily.

Odd.

He glanced at me, catching my confused stare before his gaze slidback, and a slow, easy smile curled on his lips—like he hadn’t just locked eyes with Henry in that silent standoff. I shifted, about to nudge him under the table, but then I noticed his eyes drop, not to the floor, but to my chest. His smile softened as his gaze settled on the locket resting there, it's weight only getting more comfortable by the minute.

---