Page 22 of Starstruck

You did it, Marigold. You did it, and you’re here, and nobody is going to take that away from you. There will be no more sets, or auditions, only you and your degree. You’re free to learn in the way you’ve always wanted.

Hearing my voice echo off the walls of my mind made my smile only hike higher up my face, my cheeks blooming, and that new ache in my smile lines settling in place.

And I was right. Being here at Liberty, I was free to study, grow my knowledge of how the mind works, and learn the things I’d always wanted to. My sister always found it endearing—my fascination with the brain and what made us tick. And when she asked why I was so captivated by it, I simply shrugged and told her that I just was.

But deep down, I think that knowing the inner workings of the mind would help me understand what pushed our parents to force their dreams onto us. I guessed that if I could figure that out, the world, my world, would start to make sense.

And I know that I got my dreams in the end, but still, I wanted to know.

A sharp gust of September wind made me stumble, a collective ‘woah’ from the other freshman roaming around the lookout. That was when I turned my head and noticed Cora making headway for me.

“Okay, the moment’s over. I don't like being on my own because people keep recognising me, and I think the acrophobia twins over there might actually pass out in a second, and I’ll need help carting them when that happens.”

I cast my eyes over to the corner of the space, and after rising on my tiptoes, I could just about make out Daisy and Rory, avoiding looking anywhere other than punch-filled flutes in their hands. I tilted my head before nodding at Cora, and we began making our way over to the pair.

“You know, if you had told us that you hated heights, then we could’ve skipped out on this event and just gone for pizza instead,” I said to both Daisy and Rory, who jumped their eyes up to me.

Rory shook her head. “No, no, it’s fine. We need to make the most of the free snacks while we can.”

I gave her my best ‘fair enough’ look, before Daisy pressed a hand to her chest. “Yeah, she’s right. Plus, I was hoping to run into—”

“Daisy!!” A gruff voice called, causing us all to turn around and face whoever had called her, but finding that out became the least of my concerns when my eyes landed on a familiar face wedged between the crowd.

And you know what? I take back everything I just said about wanting to know the inner workings of the mind. I take it all back. Because I’m not sure I want to know what the sensation that the building was falling from beneath my feet meant the second my eyes latched onto the man I haven’t stopped thinking about all day.

It seems we all freeze as three guys head in our direction. The one in the centre who takes the lead has floppy blonde hair and emerald eyes—the perfect combination to make my knees want to buckle, but I keep them locked. The guy to his right seems more reserved, pulling at the hems of his dusky blue button down, one that made his deep brown skin pop.

But as much as I want to focus my attention on them, I can’t. No, my silly attention span won’t detach itself from the guy who gave me his shirt this morning.

“Speak of the devil,” Daisy said as she headed for the guy in the middle of the pack, before reaching her arms around him and pulling him in for a hug.

Cora cleared her throat, her smile undeniable. “Daisy, sweetheart. Care to introduce us?” She asked, her hands locked in front of her as she idly swayed, while Rory seemed to want to stay in the shadows.

Daisy’s arms fell back by her side as she turned back to face us. “Guys, this is Finn. My brother, who I told you about.”

The second the word ‘brother’ left her mouth, it was impossible not to see their resemblance. Their dusty blonde hair was one in the same, as were the swell of their cheeks. Not to mention the specific twang in their voices that matched up perfectly when they spoke.

“Finn, this is Cora, Goldie and Aurora,” Daisy said as she pointed to each of us.

“Hey,” Finn chirped as he nodded his chin at us, his eyes roaming, but seeming to hover over Rory for a second longer than he did with me and Cora. “Guys, this is my sister, Daisy.”

Daisy chirped a ‘hi’ to the guys on either side of her brother.

Finn pointed to the guy on his left. “This is Jesse, although you already know that, Daisy.”

I caught the way Daisy’s eyes lingered over Jesse, the corner of his mouth tugging as he locked eyes with her and reached out his hand, his fingertips flicking her nose innocently, before she swatted it away, their grins now matching.

History. There was history there.

But before I could distract myself with figuring out what kind of history, Finn pointed to his left. “And this is Tristan.”

Tristan Harper.That was Tristan Harper.

Oh my God. How didn’t I see it sooner?

I knew his face was familiar, and the accent too, but now that I had his name, it all clicked. That feeling I had this morning—staring up at him, ignoring the coffee stain on my shirt, trying to convince myself I wasn’t losing it—was suddenly falling into place, like pieces of a beautiful puzzle coming together.

How the hell didn’t I realise it sooner?

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