Chapter One: Starry Stone
"Clarissa, I'm so nervous!" I announced tangling my fingers into my lap. The fairy looked at me sideways and frowned. I puffed out steam and rolled my eyes. "Don't tell me you still think this a terrible idea."
"You wished that if I had nothing nice to say then I wouldn't say it at all." She growled crossing her frail arms over her chest. "So, I'm biting my tongue. Deal with it."
"What did he do to make you so mad!" I couldn't help but laugh. Clarissa, my long time friend and fairy god parent, had been posing as my little sister since I was nearly ten. Though she was over two hundred years old, her favorite form to take was that of a twelve year old girl, golden pigtails and all. She was particularly fond of her yellow and white polka dot sundress and wore it daily. People doted on her every chance they got and she ate it up. Other than Timmy, Danny was the only one who wouldn't buy into the act. It's part of the reason I thought they got along so well.
"If you don't remember," she hissed interrupting my thoughts, "then I'm not going to tell you. How on earth is Danny ok with this, anyways? If I were him I'd-"
"You'd what?" I piped in. She glared.
"Nothing." She spat. "Where is that loser anyways? He should be here by now."
I looked at the watch hanging loosely on a chain around my neck and shook my head. He was late. "Where can he be?" I mused under my breath. Clarissa rolled her eyes and eased back in her seat.
"Once a traitor always a-" She stopped midsentence and frowned. Her perfect porcelain skin wrinkled in disgust. "Never mind."
"That's what I thought." I laughed. "Come on, Izzy, don't you trust me?"
"Of course I trust you!' She snapped flailing her arms wildly around. A few people sitting in the restaurant stopped to look at us, but she ignored them. "It's him I don't trust. I mean, who does he think he is? After all-" Again, she caught herself. She sat back down and sighed. "This is hard!" She whined. "You saw him yesterday, what more could you possibly want?"
"Closure." I smiled. "I want to shut the door so that when I walk down that isle with Danny I can be happy, you know? I want to know he's alright."
"Oh, he's alright!" Clarissa chirped. "Didn't you see him that that whore of a babysitter yesterday?"
"Vicky!" I shrieked. "No way!"
"Yep." Izzy stated as-a-matter-of-factly. "You didn't notice? Age gap or not, that little slut has been after him for years, she finally got what she wanted."
"No!" My mind was completely boggled. Izzy simply nodded.
"Yep, don't look so shocked. I know you were weirdly jealous of her for a number of years."
I shook my head in disbelief. "How could I have not noticed that? Vicky! Icky Vicky! Like, what?"
"Yeah, calm down. It's not that big of a deal, they've been dating for three years now."
"Three years!" I shrieked. "But, what about Tootie?" I exclaimed. "I thought he'd end up with her if not me!"
"Tootie? Ew! No, that girl has a few loose screws if you know what I mean. She went on to date Chester, but it didn't work so left Dimsdale to go to college early. You know how smart she was, anyways, she then met AJ who had skipped a few grades himself and ended up being one of her professors. The two are now happily married with two kids."
"But, what? She's only twenty!" I gasped still trying to wrap my brain around the whole situation. Izzy nodded.
"Yeah, so? I never said love came first. If I remember correctly it was attraction, baby, and then marriage. In case you were wondering, she totally got over Timmy. She started dating Chester to see if it would irk Timmy or not, but it didn't. The poor fool didn't even notice. It still bothers her that her big sister is dating him, though."
"I'd imagine so." I mumbled under my breath. Suddenly I was nervous. I stole a peek up at Clarissa and frowned. "You don't think he'd bring her here, do you?"
"What? Vicky? Ew, no! He's not that much of an idiot!"
I let out a sigh of relief and sat back with my kid sister. "Good, I don't think I could handle that."
"I don't think anyone could." She agreed. "Well, look who the cat dragged in!"
I glanced up just in time to spot the notorious Timmy Turner, pink hat and all. I smiled kindly and waved him over to the booth in the back of the restaurant.
"Hi there." I grinned as he slid in across from Clarissa and I. His lips hinted at a smile that never fully formed. He instantly lowered his light blue eyes to the table, peeled the cap from his head, and ran his free hand through his greasy long hair.
"What's this all about?" He asked in a gruff voice.
My smile dissolved. "Do you remember me?" I asked, my voice cracked.
He shook his head no and picked up the menu resting in front of him. At my side, Izzy tensed, ready to kill the man at any given moment.
"Should I remember you?" I asked clearly bored at the question. My lips couldn't quite form a smile. I reached over the table to touch his hand, and the minute my fingers touched his skin he pulled back.
"Hey there, babe! Back off! I have I chick back at the apartment, she's a jealous bitch if you know what I mean!"
"What happened to you?" I asked horrified.
"What do you mean?" His voice started escalating. I didn't know where to look. His face? His tattooed arm? The waiter across the room? I finally settled at my own hands and sighed. "Look, babe, I don't know why you asked me here. I figured at the very least I'd get a free meal outta this, but if you're only after my body I'm going to have to decline."
"Timmy Turner." I choked. He froze. "I thought- I thought you'd remember me."
"What did you call me?" He barked. I couldn't meet his gaze.
"Timmy Turner." I muttered. The tension started rising faster than I could count. Izzy stirred, I felt her eyes dancing along my body begging me to just speak the words to end it all.
"Who the hell are you?" He hissed. "No one's called me that since-since-since-"
"Since when?" I asked shooting my stare back at him. A rogue tear trickled down my cheek. "Since you were nearly thirteen and begged everyone to take you seriously? You started going by 'Tim' after that. You wanted to be cool, didn't you?"
"How did you-"
"Know?" I finished. "You may not remember me, but I certainly know you. I know you had a crush on Trixie until you were fourteen and she started dating Remy. I know your best friends, Chester and AJ, have stayed by your side since you were just a kid. I know a lot about you, Timmy Turner."
"How?" He was leaning over the table like an angry bear. I blushed and glanced away.
"I was there." I whispered. "My name is Starry Stone. We've been friends since we were ten years old, Timmy Turner. Have you really forgotten me already?"
"Did you see that boy?" I asked trying to catch my breath. I darted for the play ground the minute our eyes met, too embarrassed to continue our never-ending staring contest. Izzy laughed at my bright red face and shook her head.
"Why don't you just talk to him?" She asked. I looked at her as if she'd just suggested I stop breathing for the heck of it.
"It's not that simple!" I wheezed still trying to catch my breath. "I mean, look at him!"
"Yeah, so what? He's a bucked tooth weird-o with a pink hat. I'm not quite seeing what you're seeing here."
"But, ugh! Izzy! Look!"
She rolled her eyes and dragged her feet over to the jungle gym to peer at the boy sitting alone on the swings with a pink and green balloon in his hands. Finally, it clicked.
"Holy mother of turd! I see what you mean, the kid's got two of them!"
"Thank you!" I growled. "It took you long enough!"
"No kidding." She hummed. "Wow, so now what? Do you want to get them taken away or something?"
"What? No!" I shrieked. "It's just- I've never met anyone with fairies like me. I knew I liked him."
"Yeah, I mean sure, it's exciting but he's still a bucked tooth weird-o."
"Izzy!" I screamed. "Stop picking on the kid, I'm sure he's nice."
"No way!" She gasped. "You have a crush on him!"
"What! No!" I blushed.
"You so do! I knew it!"
"Izzy, stop! You're embarrassing me!" I complained trying to shove her away. She rocked back on her heels pleased at herself for figuring me out. I covered my face with my hands, ashamed.
"Come on, let's go talk to him." She urged. "Don't be shy."
"You can't make me!" I cried. "I just want to turn into a plant!"
"Why? What fun is that!"
"It's not." I sighed. "But at least I wouldn't have to face him."
"So? You've known him for, what? Like, a month now? You face him every day! If I remember correctly, you danced over to his side like an Egyptian princess just yesterday. What's different today?"
"He has fairies." I grumbled. "That changes everything."
"So what do you want to do then?" Izzy asked crossing her arms over her chest. I shrugged and kicked at the sand.
"Can we pretend like we don't know? At least for a little while. Let him figure it out. I don't want this to change anything."
"Alright." She sighed heavily. "I mean, if that's what you want. It's kind of my job to make you happy. We can pretend like nothing's changed."