Note: lowercasegang's one-shot "star too far" inspired me to write this. (And also "Counting Stars" by OneRepublic, "Buy the Stars" by Marina and the Diamonds, and "Glow" by Charli XCX.)
A/N: Unlike the series of one-shots I've been doing about various ships, this was not planned at all. I guess you can call this an accidental drabble. This came about when I remembered Jude's addiction to counting things—like blades of grass and the number of stores at the mall. So now he's counting stars. /insert OneRepublic reference here/
(I'll probably rewrite and expand a little on it later. For now, I've got junior year to cry about.)
"Jude"—Caitlin giggled—"are you sure you wanna do this?"
"Positive, babe." He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her by his side. (For Caitlin's house and backyard to be so spacious, this lounge chaise they shared was tiny.) He focused on the sky above him—a mixture of navy blue and black, bathed in a sea of white stars. It wasn't as gorgeous as the Van Gogh painting of the night sky, but it was close. "I'm gonna count every star up there."
Even if she was the biggest dreamer in existence, she saw there were too many of them. If he could accomplish such a feat, the total number would be large. She shrugged when his eyes met hers. "I guess it's worth a try."
He raised his finger, gesturing towards each star as he spoke their numbers. She smiled, planting kisses on his cheek. After counting past three hundred—almost lulling her to sleep in the process—he went silent. Her eyelids fluttered several times, blinking the sleepiness away.
"Why'd you stop counting?" she asked, her voice weary.
"Kinda lost count." His blue eyes seemed to lose their luster and innocence. His shoulders slumped.
She brushed her hand against his cheek. "Jude, it's okay. You didn't have to count them all. It was just for fun, right?"
Something tugged his lips into a grin. He blushed. "It was kinda for you, bra."
Red cheeks stood out against her pinkish skin. (Great, now he made her blush.) "Aw, that's so sweet. But don't feel bad that you couldn't count them all. Trying was enough for me."
He grabbed her hand. "And, besides, I'm sitting next to the most important star ever."
She was dazzled. Some guys sounded so phony, but Jude was the sincerest guy she'd ever encountered. Yet she couldn't articulate this to him—he'd left her speechless as their lips met under the glow of the moon. Moments like these made her fall in love with him even more.
Despite loving her knight on a shining skateboard, she couldn't help but feel quite sad.
Because he once loved a different Starr, and Caitlin could only lose her glow in comparison.