Page 49 of Wild Stars

“I’m gonna shoot across the sky like a beam of light

Gonna ricochet off the walls of the night

I can’t subdue this beating, beating heart

Because I’m not meant to be tamed, honey

I’m meant to be wild, I’m a...a wild star.”

Against the acoustics, his voice is beautiful, and I am drawn in once again to Dare’s magnetism like he truly is a celestial anomaly.

A bright, shimmering ball of light that can be seen for miles in the darkness.

The way his fingers dance with the chords and frets, the way his shoulders scrunch, the way his dark hair contrasts with his pale complexion.

The emotion behind his voice as he sings.

He’s going to blow up one day, I just know it.Heart Killeris only his beginning.

“Good start,” I say, and it’s true.The first verse in its completion sounds pretty good.

“Really?”he asks, his eyes widening.

I twirl some noodles and pork in my chopsticks, nodding.“Yeah,” I say, and I slurp them down.

Dare whistles.“Wow, I thought for sure you were going to tell me that it’s utter trash,” he says as he gestures to his sea of papers.

“Are you the one who writes all your songs?”I ask, genuinely curious.

Dare nods.“Yeah.That’s kinda my thing.The band was my creation, which is why Richie saidIneeded to front it.I mean, I love performing, but?—”

“You like writing,” I say, understanding falling between us.

“Yeah.I do.”Dare nods.“Oh!Shit, I’m sorry, you said you needed to rehearse too, right?”He scrambles up off the floor.

I notice he’s barefoot, and I can see a small tattoo peeking out from beneath the edge of the sweatpants, on his ankle, across his foot.It looks like...tentacles?

Just how many tattoos has he acquired?

I clear my throat.“Yes, I do, actually.I?—”

Dare grabs an electric guitar from the corner.It’s neon green with a pink stitched up heart airbrushed on it.

He offers his guitar to me.

“We can take turns,” he says, flashing me with a smile that could melt ice.

I look at the guitar, at his fingers curled around the neck.

Somehow, it feels like he’s offering me more than just a guitar.

I swallow harshly, my insides swirling again like a cyclone, all the alarm bells in my head starting to sound.

Danger, Mateo!Danger!The sun is too close!

I don’t usually play with anyone but Hailee.But I’ve always wondered what it would be like to collaborate, to let someone else into my world of music.

Perhaps, I accept his offer because I am curious; perhaps, it is because I am a glutton for punishment.

---