Page 27 of Starstruck

As I sank into her stare, I saw it again. That look.Like she was gazing into a mirror.

I regainsome sense and snap my head back towards the view, with Goldie doing the same a second or two after. I trace the last streams of daylight that cast themselves along the Hudson River, before I wander over and study the outline of all the iconic landmarks that I’d only ever seen in the pictures from my and Mums trips here.

Before I realised I’d opened my mouth, I said into the night. “If myparents could hear my thoughts right now, I’d never be able to get through another family dinner without hearing I told you so, but… I think I’ll like it here.”

I keep my eyes on the view, forgetting the thoughts I’d spoken thatshould’ve stayed as thoughts, but it wasn’t long before I felt her eyes on me, tracing the outline of my face as though I were one of the buildings before us.

“Yeah, me too.”

The crack in her voice sends my eyes back to her, and for a girl whohad been avoiding me like my stare would make her burst into flames, she doesn’t shift them.

And while I have her attention, I don’t waste another second beforeI say, “You never answered my question.”

“Which one?” She asks, taking a sip of her punch, her eyes stillholding mine.

“Why are you here?”

I lost track of which parts of her eyes I’d roamed as she blinked,her lashes fluttering shut as she shifted her head back to face the city. “Oh, right.” Her smile pulled tight. “Let’s just say that I wasn’t raised the way most kids are. You know, first day of school pictures when you move up a grade, having your whole family attend your spelling bee’s and having that same group of people in the front row of your graduation ceremony.”

Her eyes caught mine for a moment, so I nodded, before shecarried on.“I didn’t have that. But instead I got to memorise the highways ofL.A. and see what the inside of every single production lot in Hollywood looked like. And all I was thinking when I’d get shown round those places was ‘Why aren’t I in school, where every other kid my age is?’”

The wind sent another harsh gust our way, making both of usstumble back and the curls fly behind Goldie’s shoulders. Again, I caught her eyes before her mouth pried open again.

“My parents never listened to me. Or my sister. All they cared about was how we looked in the media and how many acting job’s we had lined up. There was no interest in what we wanted. They never once asked us if we wanted to have that life…”

She took a breath, and I didn’t so much as blink as her chest roseand fell, completely captivated by her.

“I wasn't supposed to be here right now.” She finally put hereyes back on me. “I was supposed to be in London, filming some movie about… actually, I have no idea what it was about because I never cared enough to read the stupid script…” Her smile was anything but happy. “And then a few months back, after I’d already secretly applied to Liberty Grove and kept the acceptance letter hidden under my pillows, I broke.”

“What happened?” I asked, feeling like the words floated out of me.

“I found my voice.” This time, pride shone in her smile. “I finally confessed what I wanted and all the things I wanted to make up for that I’d missed growing up.”

“And that meant here?”

“It did.” She nodded. “And that’s why I was so hellbent on todaybeing perfect.”

The flashbacks to this morning filled my head, bumping into eachother and having to hand her my old band shirt because I’d made her spill coffee on hers–

“I’m sorry.” I whispered, earning back her stare that was tracingthe rim of her glass like her finger was. “If I ruined the day you’d been waiting for.”

She shook her head. “I wouldn’t say ruined is the right word.”

Guilt swam in my stomach, making it feel as though—

“Brightened.” She nodded to herself. “Yeah, that sounds better.”

Brightened.

The word shone in my head, like the strained beams of the sunsetwere shining over us, over whatever this moment was.

She doesn’t know it, but that was the only thing I needed to hear today to make being here not sound like a punishment. To make it feel like my only purpose whilst I was here wasn’t just to right the wrongs I’d been sucked into.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice her shuffle, and when Ishift my eyes back down to her I see her raise her empty glass between us

“To parents who don’t believe in their kids’ dreams.”

I study her for a second longer, the story she’d read me a faintdream in my mind, when the one I’d painted for her weaved between the lines, but before I could second guess my lies I let my voice go soft, clinking my flute with her. “Cheers.”

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