Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight- I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.
"Aren't
you even going to tell him goodbye? It's the last day of high
school!" Amy scoffed in dismay as her best friend, Rose, shook her
head with a blush.
"I-I can't! He's way too popular- he'll
just laugh at me, and his last memory of me will be how pathetic I
am."
"Oh please- if he laughs at you I'll knee him in the
nuts." Amy grinned wryly. Rose blinked for a minute, trying to
decide whether she was joking or not. With Amy sometimes it was hard
to tell.
"Come on, Rose. Have a little backbone." Amy pouted,
switching to her begging persuasion.
"B-but… what if he
refuses?" Rose tried to come up with another reason, but she was
quickly running out of excuses.
"Then he does, and you can move
on. If you don't do this now, you'll regret it for the rest of
your life."
Rose let out a long forlorn sigh, realizing that Amy
was right. She looked up at the tall man across the room and blushed
shyly as he looked her way and smiled.
Zachary was the top male
singer in their class, and she was the top female singer. They had
been duos several times in school concerts, and had often practiced
together for their songs. He was her polar opposite- her pink
girl-infested personae was no match against his heavy metal masculine
appearance.
But she loved his eyes- behind all that intimidation
and hostility lay kindness in those deep green eyes. She was knocked
out of her thoughts when Zachary started to walk over to her, his
tall frame shadowing hers so that all preparations ran out of her
mind in her panic.
"Hey, Rose." Zachary smiled, looking up
with raised eyebrows to Amy, who was squealing in anticipation in the
corner. He shrugged and directed his attention back to the short
red-head in front of him. "So, what are you planning on going for
once we graduate?" He said casually, blowing a piece of his
jet-black hair out of his face.
"Oh- um… probably try to sing
professionally. That's my dream, so I'm hoping I can make it
work." She said softly, not able to look at his face as he chuckled
in amusement.
"I wouldn't except any less from you. I know
someday you'll hit the big time. Just remember us little guys when
all's said and done, will ya?" He winked down at her, and walked
back over to his friends, leaving her standing dumbfounded.
"Oh,
Rose, it's alright." Amy comforted Rose as she looked desperately
over to Zachary, but it was already too late. The bell sounded the
last minute of their school life, and Zachary rushed out the door
with the rest of the students, and into the world beyond.
Rose,
now nicknamed Starla by her fans, sat on a blush couch in a dressing
room as she thought about that last day of school. How many times had
she thought of those deep green eyes in all the years since then? She
was now 23, still single, and immersed in the fast-paced world of pop
music. She was quickly gaining popularity and had a regular schedule
of tours that was nearing its first year of completion.
She
sighed as a knock came to her door, and a security brought in another
bouquet of flowers before leaving again. She rolled her eyes at
another man's futile attempt to gain her affections, by gifts
and
flattery. Why didn't men realize that didn't work with all
women? It sure as hell didn't work with her- in fact, it usually
had the opposite effect. By giving her lavish gifts and crooning
poetry it either showed how creepily desperate the man was, or how
annoyingly shallow he was.
Besides, she already loved someone.
She had never fallen out of love with Zachary, and those green eyes
haunted her with their kindness whenever she thought of him. Why
hadn't she said something on that day? Why had she held back?
Because she had been a shy little, girl, that's why. She scoffed at
herself and sat up, walking over to a dressing table and putting the
finishing touches on her makeup before the concert started. The
opening band played their music, and Starla winced at the screaming
death metal that started pelting her ears. Who the hell liked that
crap? It sounded like the man who was singing was dying a slow and
painful death.
Another knock sounded on the door, and this time
it was her manager who walked in. A primp and proper woman, her
manager had the façade of a well-mannered business woman. Really she
was a cut-throat slave-driver who never took 'no' for an answer.
In other words: The perfect manager.
"Two minutes, Starla. It's
time to get in place." She said, and Starla hopped out of her seat,
her anticipation for the concert giving her newfound energy.
"Ready
to go." Starla said with a sweet smile, and walked out of the
dressing room just as the opening band stopped their singing.
The
concert went without any problems, besides the ever constant watering
eyes at the amount of lasers the technicians insisted on using. By
the time she stopped singing, she was nearly half blind. She rubbed
her eyes once she was backstage again, preparing herself for the
regular onslaught of fans that always seemed to follow her.
"Hey-"
A finger tapped her shoulder to get her attention. "I wanted to
thank you for letting our band play for you tonight, and-" The
voice cut off once she had turned around, making her quickly rub her
eyes more to clear them and see what was wrong.
"Rose?"
A familiar voice
gasped, and Starla blinked a few times before looking up at Zachary,
dressed in full death-metal gear.
"O-oh my god." Starla
whispered, her eyes wide as she stared up at Zachary in shock, and
wobbled a little before blacking out.
