Page 8 of Starstruck

and i think daisy might be a keeper. she’s the nicest person ever.

Rory

yay !

Cora

well both of you hurry up because the pies will be sold out and the cute barista will be gone <3

Rory

@goldie there’s steam coming out of her bob

Cora

@rory i don’t wanna be roommates anymore

Goldie added Daisy to The Girlies

As I tugged up my skirt and threw on my baby tee, I smiled down atmy phone. It seemed all my body wanted to do this morning was smile.

And I didn’t hate it.

I think the last time I truly smiled was when my parents sat medown in June and agreed to let me come here. Up until that point, it looked like I was heading down the path that most young actors dream of.

I had a movie deal in London. I had major sitcoms on the phone withmy agent practically begging for me to join the cast. My parents had letters constantly showing up at the house from production companies that would make even grown men faint at the money they were offering to get me to break my movie deal and star in one of their movies instead.

And if any of those things made me feel as giddy as I did when Ihad a textbook in my hands and the free time to study, and learn, then I wouldn’t be getting ready for my first day of college.

“Is smiling just your thing?” I hear Daisy laugh as she steps out ofthe bathroom.

I glance at her, forcing my lips to stay firm, resisting the urge tolet them droop. A smile and a casual shrug were all I offered, my way of saying everything without saying a word. As we moved around each other, collecting our things, a soft whisper echoed in my mind:Hopefully.

It felt like a promise, one I made to myself.

chapter three

go lions !

Istudy the building we'd pulled up next to, tracing the stone lions that guarded the entrance one more timebefore I turn back to face my parents. “I can’t do it.”

My mum and dad mirror each others worried glances as they eye oneanother, before I watch my dad shuffle above the leather seat, scrubbing his hand over his stubble. “You can, mate. You just need to—”

“But I can’t, Dad!”

I reigned in my tone too late, the bite my words carried hittingtheir ears and making them, especially my mum, dip their heads and rush out their sighs. I distracted myself from the disappointment that was radiating off them, and instead traced the lines of the campus building that I’d already traced three times since we’d pulled over.

I think it was the weather that made it look more daunting than ithad in the brochures—the marl clouds and sideways rain did nothing but make everything about the place that much more eerie. Or perhaps it was just the rain in general. Ever since that night, I’d found the rain uncomfortable, for so many reasons that I couldn’t find the energy to count them all.

“Tristan?” My mum’s soft voice shifted my attention and placed iton her. “You can do this, sweetheart.” I dropped her stare. “You’re ready. You know that you’re ready.”

I sprung my head up, my fingers pulling at each other, and my legstarting to bounce. “But what if I’m not?” I looked at Dad. “What if being here isn’t going to change a thing?”

Mum shook her head. “It will, Trist. Just knowing that you’re not in London and around those…” I peered to her as she choked on her words. Dad rested a hand on her knee, squeezing it slightly, silently telling her that we didn’t need to mention who’d caused all this grief in the first place.

“It’s a fresh start.” Dad reminded me. “And if it’s music that you’reworried about, you heard what they said in the meeting.”

He can have as much time as he needs, so long as he works on hisskills, and his lyrics, and not a word of this gets out to the press.

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