Page 39 of Starstruck

And maybe that was the part of her that I felt drawn to.

I knew I shouldn’t. Getting attached was the one rule I wassupposed to follow, the one line I couldn’t cross. But here I was, teetering on the edge, drawn in by something I couldn’t shake.

Maybe it was because I knew I shouldn’t be doing this, that everyinstinct told me to turn back. But she wasn’t the dark corners I’d always hidden in, not a shadow to blend into. She was light—bright, unapologetic, a beam of sunshine that left no room for secrets. Or maybe it was because, in some other world, a perfect one, I was never supposed to be here at all. And the thought of not being here, right now, staring at her across the bookshelves, sent a shiver up my spine.

But her focus was elsewhere, her mind on someone else—a boy Iimagined she could’ve easily pictured for herself. Someone who made sense for her. Someone good.

As her stare fell to her books, I blurted out, without thinking, “Youshould ask him out if you fancy him.”

Those eyes darted back to me, her head not budging, though. “Idon’tfancyhim.”

“Your face is telling me a different story.”

Her smile was barely contained. “Well, even if I did, I wouldn’t knowwhat to do, or how to even approach something like that.” Before I could say anything else, before she could so much as reshuffle the books in her hands, her mouth pried open. “I’ve got to get to class, but, I’ll see you tonight, at the Lions game?”

She began to walk back out from the shelf we’d existed in, walkingback into the natural light from the domed ceiling, when I smiled at her, and muttered, “Yeah, see you there Goldie.”

And then she was gone, slipping down another book-lined corridorand into the labyrinth of the library, while I let my legs give out, sliding down to the floor and crawling into the dusky hedge maze that my mind had turned into. Wandering through it's paths, like a moth, chasing the last bit of daylight.

.

chapter twelve

it's just a little crush... or two

My heart was only beating faster the longer the door before usremained closed, the one that led into the lecture hall where we were about to give our presentation in front of Etoille.

And it made no sense.

The way the nerves were creeping up my spine, like a spirit that hadhaunted the halls of Liberty for centuries was hovering behind me and breathing down my neck, made me question what was happening to me. I’d been looking forward to this presentation since the second Etoille told us we could do it on whatever branch of psychology we wanted.

The second I flicked to the one chapter in the textbook I’d deemedmy go-to for deeper reading, the heading ‘the heart and the brain are one in the same’, I felt those excited butterflies take flight, knowing that my fascination for that topic as of late would make the perfect case study.

My heart skipped.

I was fine. I wasn’t nervous. If anything, I was probably confusingmy raging heart for eagerness.

“Hey, you doing okay?”

As I twisted my head and stared into eyes that made my body feellike it was floating in the clearest of waters, I remembered the reason why I could feel my pulse in my ears.

I shook my head as I smiled up at Henry.

His second name rang distant bells in my head until I finallycaved and asked him where I’d heard it before, only for him to confess that he and Dean Sommerford were father and son. Perhaps part of my nerves came from that little nugget of information.

Doing my best to keep my eyes on his, and not let them wander like they usually did when he was around, I cleared my throat. “Yeah,” The word fought its way out. “I’m fine, I think.”

He shrugged, his calmness something I wished was as contagious asthe freshman flu that had descended upon campus. “You’ll be fine.We’llbe fine. We know what we’re saying, when we’re saying it, and our findings are great.”

His smile was golden as it shone down on me, like a flash of sunlightbreaking through the thickest of clouds.

My eyes dipped to the floor for a moment, squirming under hisattention. “You’re right. You’re right.” I managed to lift my head. “We’ll be fine.”

He nodded at me, his head dipping slightly to catch my eyes. “Attagirl."

Oh God, now those two words are all I’ll be able to think about every time he opened his mouth. He might as well have kissed me—it would’ve had the same shock factor. Actually, no, scratch that. If he *had* kissed me, I don’t think I’d have survived it. I’d be flat-out gone, like *poof*, turned into the newest bestie of whatever ghost is haunting this place and giving me chills right now.

I felt utterly helpless as I shot my eyes back down at the flashcards growing damp in my hands.

---