lycheepearlmilktea

They were best of friends once, years ago. Still are, perhaps. But it’s been a while.
Elise Ashton: stubborn yet determined, a brilliant aspiring astrophysicist with her head in the stars. Aiden Carter: caring and friendly, a talented musician who always has his friends and family at heart.
When a twist of fate brings these two longtime childhood friends to vacation destination Silverstone Beach as teenagers, cool-headed logic meets ardent emotions as they struggle to understand each other—and themselves. After all these years, what’s changed…and what’s stayed the same?

Constellations and Harmonies

Elise peeks out in the spaces of her fingers to study Aiden, the moonlight bathing his face in a soft glow. He's confused. "What's terrifying?" 


She breathes in, breathes out. "Well… okay, can you just promise that you'll listen to me before you comment on anything?"


"Sure?" Aiden isn't sure why she's making this request.


"Okay… well…" Think of the prime numbers. 2, 3, 5, 7… he's so— focus! 11, 13, 17, 19…  "Um, I… like you." She exhales quickly. "I've liked you for a long time. Well before you told me, in fact."


Aiden is now thoroughly confused, but keeps his word and lets her speak.


"When you told me that day, part of me was so happy, but part of me just… panicked. I'm sorry. It's just, we're friends, best friends. And I'm scared that if we let our feelings take over, it might go wrong, and I… just don't want to lose you. I tried to deny it for a long time because I was afraid, but obviously, that hasn't worked. And I don't know what to do about… you. And—"


Aiden's trying to process. "Okay… so, you don't hate me, either, is what I'm hearing."


Elise smiles weakly. "Much the opposite."


"But you don't want to get into a relationship either."


"It's not that I don't want to. It's that I don't know if we should. I'm—" terrified, she is going to say, but she stops herself. Don't think about it.


"Hm." There's a long pause. "Stop me if this makes you uncomfortable at all, but maybe… just try this. It could help with your decision?"


"What?" He's close, so close. She blinks, waiting for his response.


He closes the distance between them and their lips meet, a short, light kiss. Elise doesn't realize how much she wanted this before he quickly pulls away.


"I'm sorry if that wasn't what you wanted, but I—"


"Shh." With that she kisses him again, deepening it. Her fingers curl in his hair, and she could live in this moment forever.


"Damn, Ashton," Aiden says after they break apart.


"I'm sorry. I don't—I don't know what came over me. This isn't fair to you, telling you that I can't date you and doing this anyway."


They're quiet for a while, before he suggests, "What if, just until tomorrow, we let go of consequences, of the what-ifs? Just… do what we want, without worrying about what might happen?"


Elise knows that she shouldn't say yes, that all her senses are telling her it's a bad idea, but it's too tempting. The internal mental struggle lasts for a few moments before she gives in. "Just for tonight," she nods, her voice a whisper. "But not any longer," she concludes, barely audible.


At that moment, a meteor leaps across the darkened sky, leaving a trail of shimmering light before it slowly fades away.


Elise nods, and arms wrapped around her knees in this huddled position, slowly leans her head against Aiden���s shoulder. Aiden hesitates, but a moment later puts his arm around her shoulder, and they stay there for a long time, watching the shooting stars rain down.


Stars