Page 38 of Starstruck

Goldie’s head slowly cranes back upwards, purely to reach my heightnow she was only a pace away. “So… my birthday?”

Yes.

The word rushed through my mind before her question waseven finished. But as it settled, as I let myself imagine what that night could turn into, the claws of panic sank deeper, scratching at the heat crawling up my spine. Saying yes meant pulling that rope tighter, the one that already bound me to her—to the rest of them. It meant staying close to her light, knowing full well I could get burned.

“Tristan?”

I shook my head, my hair falling across my forehead, while ignoring everything as I let mysmile show. “I’d love to be there.”

Her dimples deepened, and her whole body seemed to stand taller.“Okay, cool. Thank you.” She glanced from side to side, tucking a curl behind her ear, but before she turned away, something dinged from inside her bag, and not a second later her phone was in her hand.

Whatever she was reading from her phone was making her smile,and seeing that naturally made me curious. “Everything okay?” I asked with a chuckle.

Her head pinged up, eyes bright. “Oh, yeah. It’s just… Henry.”

I didn’t miss how her cheeks reddened when his name passedthrough her lips, and I didn’t miss the way her bottom lip sank between her teeth. And before I know what I’m doing, I ask her. “Things going well with the project, I take it?”

She types something back to him, and with every tapping noise thatsounded that knot my in stomach only knotted more, before slipping the thing back in her bag. “It’s going well, nothing like Miss Can’t Take A Hint back there,” We both giggled, if only to let the tower of awkwardness and the memory of what she’d walked into crumble between us. “He’s… sweet.” She said with a shrug, before she sank back to the bookcase she was just leaning against, dropped my stare and gave her attention to the air.

In the few times Goldie and I had been around each other, I’dnoticed she was quite the daydreamer. She’d drift away from the conversation and get lost in the details of wherever we were. Even in class, sometimes I’d catch her angling her head to the ceiling. You could see, behind those golden eyes, that she was somewhere else entirely. I made a habit of guessing where she was, what scenario was playing out in her head as she let her mind wander.

But with the way my brain was working today, I didn’t have room to housethose questions, which was why I nodded my chin in her direction and asked casually, “What are you dreaming about?”

It was like the whole campus fell silent to hear the breath she sucked in.

Her eyes were on mine in a heartbeat, all panicked and wide and likeshe’d been caught out. But the longer she saw my expression, the longer she took in my smile, her brows softened, and her eyes sparkled, almost like this intrigue was new to her.

But she shook her head, brushing it off. "Oh, nothing, just…daydreaming."

"I know, I just want to knowwhat they were."

Her face stayed blank, a mask that didn’t crack. "It was nothing,really."

"Goldie."

"It’s nothing, Tristan." She laughed, but it was light, almost forced."They’re not important."

I stepped closer, eyes searching hers. "And who made you believethat?"

She didn’t respond, but I could see it—the sadness flickeringbeneath the surface. I wanted it gone.

"Tell you what," I said, lowering my voice, "Why don’t we trade?When something’s on our mind, no matter what it is, we swap daydreams." I tilted my head, offering a small smile. "Deal?"

She hesitated, weighing the offer, then gave a soft shrug,whispering, "Okay, deal." Her hand waved at me, a casual motion, though her books stayed firmly in place. "You go first. I want to hear one of your dreams."

“Okay.” I lean my body against the shelf behind me, loosely wrappingmy arms around my torso. “I’m dreaming about how being here isn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but if the opportunity to leave came, I’d probably run out of here.”

Lies. Lies Lies.

“Your turn, Sunshine.”

"Okay," she started, eyes drifting as she spoke. "I’m dreaming about how much I like being around Henry, how much I like being here in general, but… there’s just something about him."

Her eyes flicked to me for the briefest second when she said "him,"like she was waiting for something, but I couldn’t pin down what it meant.

"And then," she continued, her voice softer now, "I remember how little I know about my own heart. How everything seems to come so naturally to everyone else, and I’ve never had the time to… you know, fall in love." She paused, her words hanging in the air. "Not really."

As I kept my eyes on her, I only felt my stare turning moreendearing the more she talked. There was a sweetness about this girl that felt like a once-in-a-lifetime find.If Jemyma and Becca were the single Christmas lights on a tiny string, Goldie was the star; the light you naturally focused on.

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