Starry Knight

A story I wrote for a valentine's day contest. Romance is not my genre, so it was an interesting challenge.

Starry Knight

     Step by step my life carries on. An average day. A routine walk to school. Always alone with the silence that's to be expected from walking down such a small town road. Trees to my left and houses to my right. 

     It all seems familiar and radiates the warmth of home, but it feels lonlier somehow. Ever since Mark moved away the sun seems dimmer and the sky seems duller. Flowers never smell right and leaves turn to brown and shrivel rather then elegant golden, orange, and red.

     Life is never the same once you loose your first love.

~

     I got to my seat near the back in my science class and Alex starts to talk instantly from her seat to the right of me.

     "Hey Molly! Feeling any better since Mark left?" She asked, her green eyes hopeful for a good answer.

     I just shook my head and looked down at my desk and began scribbling on it. Alex sighed.

     "Hey Molly, has anyone ever told you how beautiful your hair is? It's so long and flowy, plus it's such a nice strawberry color! I wish my hair were a better color then brown." She said.

     "That's because I dyed it." I said glumly.

     "Oh, yeah. Well what about your eyes? They're so sparkly and blue!" She said, obviously trying to cheer me up.

     I simply stared at my desk and found myself writing Mark's name onto the smooth surface. I waited for a little while for the bell to ring and I assumed Alex had given up on trying to cheer me up for now.

     It finally rang and Mr. Albertson stepped up to the front of the class. Next to him was the new student who had transferred to our school from New York. I had heard there was a new student but he wasn't anything like I was expecting.

     He had fairly long black hair that showed subtle highlights of purple and blue in the light, like a raven's feathers. He had a very punkish look to him and he was completly out of uniform. His jacket wasn't buttoned and he didn't have a tie. He wore a T-shirt instead of a dress shirt making him look careless. He had a lot of peircings in his ears, seven in his right ear and five in his left, but none on his face. What was strangest about him was his eyes though. They were an amber gold that reminded me of a wolves.

     "My name's Knight Millers." He said in a cool tone. 

     "What kind of name is that?" I mumbled.

     Mr. Albertson assigned him the seat to the left of mine and he plopped down in his seat with a sigh.

     Even though he was mysterious and quite odd, there was one thing I knew for sure. I didn't like him.

     After Mr. Albertson finished his lesson everyone got started on their homework, except for him. I hated that. I always work so hard and he can just walk in and do nothing.

     "Oh, before I forget class," Mr. Albertson began, "You'll be starting on a project studying constellations for a week today. You'll be with a partner and you must come up with a five page report, a poster, fill out a packet, and provide information on how your constellation came to be formed, such as greek myths." He said.

     He began to name of pairs and all the people I was hoping to work with were taken. Alex with Jenna, Nicole with Natalia, Michael with Mina. I began to get worried.

     "Finally because you are new Knight I will pair you up with our top student, Miss Pierce." He gestured to me and a feeling of utter despair washed over me.

      "Anyone but him." I thought. 

     The bell finally rang for lunch break and I got in line. I wasn't hungry at all, but my mom would scold me if I didn't get a proper lunch.

     I grabbed a salad and a bottle of water and headed over to my usual table where the jocks and cheerleaders always sat. I never really like many of them, but because Mark was on the football team it had become a habit to sit there. I sat next to Alex, who was on the cheerleading squad, and picked at my food.

     "So Molly, who do you think will be your valentine this year?" Natalia asked.

     Natalia was a skinny girl who always ate to much. She had that fastest matabolism I had ever seen. She had fine blond hair and blue eyes.

     I shrugged and kept picking at my food.

     "Hey." A voice from behind startled me.

     I turned around to see Knight standing behind me looking down at me with an almost icy stare.

     "What constellation are we going to study?" He asked in a bored tone.

     "I don't care." I said harshly.

     "Fine, Pegasus then." He said and walked away towards an empty seat at a table where some other guys were sitting.

     "Pegasus? The winged horse? That's a constellation?" I wondered aloud.

     "You know Knight Millers? That's so cool! He's such a bad boy!" Natalia squeeled.

     "Unfortunately he's my science partner." I sighed.

     "I wish he were my science partner." Natalia pouted.

     The bell rang and I got up to go to orchestra. I played my violin half heartedly and was glad when I didn't have to play such happy songs anymore when the bell rang. 

     I finished the rest of my classes and retrieved my violin from the band room. 

     When I finally made it home I practiced untill my fingers hurt and finished up the days assignment before taking a long nap.

     I woke up in the middle of the night and got off of my bed to go get a glass of water. I was still in my school uniform which I had never bothered to change out of so I decided to grab a blanket and my violin and go up onto the roof.

     I liked the roof at night because it was so quiet and succluded. Every now and then I'd go up and play my violin on warm knights like these to clear my head.

     I layed the blanket down on the roof and began playing from my heart with no real reason or purpose. I cried as I played, tears streamed down my cheeks only to land on my violin before rolling off. It had only been recently when Mark moved. I had been dating him for almost two years and it hurt so much to have to say good bye.

     I finished playing and wearily plopped down onto the blanket. Rustling had startled me and I could hear someone climb up the latter to the roof. I assumed it was my mom so I just stayed where I was and cryed into my knees which were pulled up to my chest.

     "Pierce? That you?" A cool but stunned voice quietly called out.

     I looked up startled to find Knight standing behind me. It was so dark I couldn't see what he was wearing and even his face was hard to make out.

     "What are you doing on my house? What do you want?" I said with a voice choked by tears.

     "I heard the most beautiful and the saddest music you could imagine and I was curious to know where it was comming from." He said.

     "Well I geuss you found out." I said as I turned away from him and rested my chin on my knees as I held my violin close.

     He sighed and came to sit next to me.

     "Why are you crying?" He asked.

     "Why would you care?" I asked with a tone that sounded more pathetic than I had hoped it would.

     "I don't like it when people are sad." He said.

     I turned my head to look at him and he was looking at the sky. I followed his gaze to a cluster of stars.

     "That's Pegasus. He's my favorite." He pointed to a group of stars and drew it into the air with his finger.

     "You like constellations?" I asked. It would explain how he knew about constellations no one else had heard of.

      "Yeah, but when I lived in the city all I could do was read about them. Bright city lights make for dim starry nights." He said.

     "I guess that's right. I never thought of that." I said.

     "Well, I should get home, I live right down the street too by the way." He said as he stood up. 

     I nodded and heard him step softly down the ladder. I decided it was time for me to get to sleep again soon. I packed up my violin, grabbed my blanket, and clammered down the ladder. I climbed back into my room through the window, shut it, changed, and l curled up under the covers of my bed. Before I knew it I was asleep, dreaming of Mark, and Knight.

~

     I woke up the next morning and dragged my tired body to school where they day went on as usual. There was nothing new, nothing exciting, but something strange. The boy I had loathed just yesterday no longer seemed so bad. I sat at my usual table but I found that I couldn't keep myself from glancing over at him every now and then.

     I thought of him almost as much as I thought of Mark. He was on my mind in the morning. During the afternoon.  On the walk home. And Especially when I sat on my rooftop and watched the stars and moon come and go as they pleased.

     Almost a week had gone by and me and Knight already had most of our assignment done. I began to hope he would come back to sit with me on the roof. Everynight I played the same song hoping he would come, but he never did. We always worked in class, never after school. 

~

     After school at midnight I climbed back onto the roof and played the song again. It somehow sounded more desperate and sorrowful tonight. I stopped halfway through the song and sat back down and looked towards the sky. 

     "What's wrong?" Knight's voice broke the cold silence and instantly I was happier and relieved.

      He came and sat next to me.

     "You know Knight, a week ago, I could have cared less about the stars. Now, I can't seem to look away from them." I said.

     I stood up and looked at the moon which was almost full. It cast a luminescant glow upon everything and made Knight's eyes shine like amber fire.

     He stood up and took my hand. I looked at him and he looked towards Pegasus. I followed his gaze and we stared at the stars for what seemed like eternity before Knight broke the still quiet.

     "Molly, I love you." He said, never taking his eyes off the stars.

     I looked to him and watched him for a moment. He turned to look down at me and without thinking I said,

     "I love you too." I stood on my tip toes and we kissed under the stars.

End~