Page 78 of Starstruck

She let out a sigh, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve. “I fell for him the moment he sat next to me in homeroom sophomore year, right after I moved here with my dad. But it wasn’t until a week before senior homecoming that he finally asked me out.”

Expecting to see Rory’s face light up at the memory, I glanced herway, but instead, a flicker of sadness crossed her expression. The glow she constantly had around her dulled that gorgeous brownskin, as though the more she recalled, the more it was spurring on whatever heartbreak she went through.

“Turns out the whole thing was a dare, some stupid bet he had withsome of his hockey friends who obviously needed a shiny new target, and he broke up with me the day before senior prom. But for those months where he was feeding into what I was feeling, I felt like I’d won the lottery, like I’d finally done something right and the world was rewarding me with the type of love I’ve only ever read about. I was giddy and scared and hopeful and I never wanted to get over those feelings. Until I had to.”

Until I had to.

That was the one thing I was afraid of doing with Tristan.

I whipped my head to face Rory. “How did you do it?” Her eyeswidened. “How did you get over him?”

Her eyes dropped mine. “Oh,” She mulled, pulling at the sleeves ofher cardigan, the one with stars on the elbow. “I just, forgot about him, I guess. Let time do it’s thing.”

Before I could start nodding and settling into the ease of knowingthat my feelings for Tristan would one day fade away, Cora barked a laugh from her side of the room, earning stares from all three of us.

“Let time do it’s thing? Aurora Greene you little fibber.”

Rory’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

Cora tilted her head. “Are you forgetting that you told meexactlywhat you did to get over that arsehole? That one night at Flo’s when she got us talking and after letting you waffle on you finally came clean about Alex?” Cora said, and quick as anything we whipped our heads to Rory.

“Oh God,” She brought her hands to her mouth. “I forgot that youknew about that.”

Rory gathered herself before she turned to me. “Okay, so, that wasa lie, turns out time wasn’t going to do anything for me, and so I had to get drastic.” She glanced out the window, if only to give herself time to breathe, before she looked at me. “And the only thing I could think of was revenge, so, the night of senior prom, I might have slept with Alex Coleman… Ryan’s best friend.”

I pulled my head back, the thoughts in my head all swirling aroundeach other and making me dizzy. “Oh my God.”

“I know it was stupid,” she sighed, shaking her head. “But it was theonly way I thought I could control what I was feeling. I needed to get the upper hand before everything inside me started to crumble. And honestly... I don’t regret it. I needed it at the time.”

“Did he ever find out?” Daisy asked, her hands covering her gapedmouth.

“I don’t know, if he did, then he never said anything to me about it,but if he never really liked me then why would he care?” Her head fell back against the wall. “Like I said, it was more for me, so I could take some control back over my feelings for the first time in a long time.”

I had regain control. Before I started to crumble.

That was it.

Cora nodded her chin at me. “Why do you ask Gold’s?”

I shook my head. “Oh, just… I wanted to know if what I was feelingfor Tristan was normal, I guess.”

Her eyes softened, which was rare for a girl with such a powerfulstare. “You really like him, huh?”

I nodded, desperately wanting to say why that was a bad thing. “Ido, yeah.” I squeezed my eyes closed. “But I just have a feeling that it’s not going to work out.”

Daisy shuffled. “Why, did he say something?”

I shook my head. “No, but… you know when you know?”

All three of them nodded.

But then Rory nudged my shoulder. “I think you two will be fine, youdon’t see the way he looks at you when you’re back is turned.”

I knew I shouldn’t have entertained it, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Why, what do you guys see?”

Rory shrugged. “A boy so caught up in his feelings for a girl that Ibet he’s probably asking Finn and Jesse what you’ve just asked all of us.”

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