~

I step on the gas pedal and watch Kelch as she outstretched her arms through the window, the wind blowing in her curls.

Her ice cream was beginning to melt in the cup, but she was too busy enjoying the view of the night.

She turns to look at me, and I pry my eyes away from her, returning my gaze to the empty road. It was 1:30 am, but there were little to no cars to the road.

She takes a bite of her ice cream, and a small moan escapes her lips. "Mint chocolate is the best ice cream flavor ever. Change my mind, " She grins.

"You know we'd have saved a lot of money if we had just bought Colgate and placed it in the fridge, " I shrug, a smirk on my lips. "We'd just sprinkle some-, "

Kelch rolls her eyes at me and increases the sound of the radio, draining my voice out. I laugh and shake my head as she starts dancing to the beat of the music, twisting and grinding her hips on the chair.

I wish I were the chair right now. Shut up, pervert.

She stops dancing and starts singing when the song gets to a part she knows, the screeching sound of her voice piercing the air. "I GeT OvErWhElmEd So EaSilY, My AnXiEtY CrEePs iNsIdE oF mE, mAkEs iT HaRD To BrEAthE."

I place my hand over my left ear, failing to protect my eardrums as she keeps singing the wrong lyrics off-key.

She turns to me again with a smile, and my heart melts at the sight of her delighted face. If singing off-key made her that happy, then I guess I could bear it.

I bring my hand down from my ear and try to sing along with her. I've heard the song a few times and figured I could hum along to it.

When the chorus comes up again, I see along with her, smiling along with her as she sang.

Suddenly, she stops singing and turns to look at me with a straight face. "Can you not sing that way? We don't want the witches of the night to think we're summoning them," She teases, creasing her forehead in a frown.

My smile flatters. "Wow, " I say, feigning hurt. I bite the inside of my cheeks and return my gaze to the road.

A panicked expression quickly overtakes her face, and she reduces the radio before staring down at her hands. "I was just joking, " She mutters in a low voice.

My heart tugs at how cute she sounded, and I couldn't stop myself from grinning again. "I know, babe, " I reply in a reassuring tone.

I freeze for a split second when I realize what I just called her. It has been a very long time since I've called anyone babe. I had been very careful not to try and act possessive in front of her, but it just came out naturally.

I wait for her to reply, my palms starting to get sweaty. I had never tried to label what I had with Kelch now because I was too scared she might reject me. I don't know what I'd do if she ever tells me 'Let's be friends' or 'You're just like a brother to me'

I dreaded those two sentences which is why I stuck to harmless flirting. She clears her throat and looks out the window. "When I was younger, I never really understand why people say you'll be a great star, rather than saying you'll be a great sun. Because I thought the sun was the biggest and brightest star of them all. It was a force to be reckoned with- get too close and you burn, but if you stay close enough they'll make you shine."

She bites her lower lips which were quivering, and I realize while I was worried about what I called her, she was worried about something much bigger.

The sudden change in conversation surprised me as much as it confused me.

"Kelch, what happened today?" I slow down the vehicle to park, but she motions for me to keep driving.

She ignores my question and continues her rant about the stars and sun. "But now, I know why. They are never given the chance to shine during the day and are pushed back into the night. Yet somehow, amidst all the darkness, they still manage to shine in their own way, producing the little lights that they can."

"I always thought I was a sun, but I think I'll have to get used to being a star. I'm not sure if I'd shine, though, " She sniffs and laughs.

"Kelch, " I call her softly. I wanted to park the car and hold her in my arms, but it seems like she didn't want that.

She sniffs and wipes her tears. "I met my birth dad today. Guess who?" She said the last sentence with a sad laugh.

My eyes welled up at the sound of her voice. Although I couldn't see her, I could hear her voice holding so much pain. We were already on the street to the house, so I park the car and wait for her to speak.

"Ashley's dad, " She chokes on the last words, tears shimmering in her eyes.

I unbuckle my seatbelt and give her the only source of comfort I could. A hug. Watching her break down this way was unbearable for me. However, it felt worse, knowing there was nothing I could do to stop her pain.

She clutches onto my arm, her nails digging into my skin, but I didn't mind. I stroke her hair gently as she sobbed louder into my shirt. "And..I.....I want to hate him, but I can't. I know it wasn't his fault because Wendy didn't tell him, but it's not mine either. So, why am I the only one suffering?" She hiccups on her tears, her head bopping with every hiccup.

It breaks me to see her hurting this way. I close my eyes and a tear escapes my eyes. I wipe the rogue tear with the back of my hand, still holding Kelch.

I don't know how long we stayed that way, but I didn't care. I was just grateful to be there for her. I was grateful she opened to me and let me comfort her. It just made me realize that I wanted nothing more than to see her happy.

She pulls away and wipes my soaked shirt with her palm as if that would dry it. "I'm sorry, " She apologizes and stares up at me through her wet, long lashes.

I kiss her eyelid, slightly tasting her tears in the process. "Don't be."

I clasp her face in my hands, examining every inch of her beautiful features. She tries to hide her face from me, but I firm my grip on her chin, making her lock eyes with me, her hazel colored eyes glistening in the dark.

"Why be a sun or a star when you can be Dove Kelch?"

She lets her eyes linger on mine for a bit before she smiles. A genuine smile this time. She leans closer and places a soft kiss on my eyes just like I did with her.

"Why did you do that?" I ask with a laugh.

She shrugs and wipes her face for any residual tears. "Because your eyes are pretty."

I grin and cup my face with my hands, tilting my head to stare at her. "Where else on my face is pretty?"

She gives me a sly look and leans to kiss my forehead. "Your forehead is pretty too."

"Where else?"

She leans in, pretending to kiss my lips but switches to my jaw. "Your Jaw is pretty too?"

"Aren't my lips pretty too?" I raise a frustrated eyebrow.

She tilts her head and strokes her chin. "Neh."

She laughs when she sees my fallen face and wraps her hand around my neck. "I was just kidding. I was saving the best for the last, " She murmurs against my lips.

I smile at the feel of her soft, plump lips on mine as she kisses me fervently. Her kiss was slow and soft, teasing me gently as I let her take control. She pulls her lips away from mine and starts peppering my jawline, down to my neck with her delicate kisses.

A low moan escapes the back of my throat when she slips her hand through my shirt, running her hand along the ridges of my abs, teasingly biting and sucking on the skin at my neck.

I could feel myself getter harder and harder, so I pull her away unable to take it anymore. I wanted to take us further. It wasn't about her becoming me, but me becoming hers. I wanted to be the only guy she touched and kissed this way. I wanted to be hers.

She purses her now swollen red lips at the lack of contact. "Did I do something wrong?"

I shake my head and tuck a strand of her curl behind her ear. "No, " I reply, my voice hoarse.

I clear my throat and speak clearer. "I wanted to ask you something."

She raises a brow at my nervous attitude and urges me to speak.

"Would you like to go on a date with me?" I ask slowly. "Like a proper date."

She takes a while to respond, and I could feel the entire night standstill, frozen in place as I await her response.

I tell my beating heart to be still as I was only asking her out on a date, there was no need to be so nervous. "I know you might not- I mean You can take your time no pressure, " I rush my words, dreading the silence.

I place my hand on the car door to open it when she speaks. "Yes."

"Yes, what?" I narrow my eyes quizzically. "Yes to the date, or yes- no pressure, " I ask, overthinking her answer as usual.

"Yes, I'll go out with you."

~~~~~~~~~~

I sigh for the tenth time on Tuesday evening because of Fawn. She had Elliot and me in my room, tutoring us because our test results were embarrassing to her.

If I wasn't so nervous about my blood test results coming out in the evening, I might have paid attention to her.

She lay down on the dark brown rug in the middle of my room. Her head tilted as she stares at her book, assessing my answer.

She had printed out a bunch of practice test questions for Elliot and me, saying it would help us in our exams.

She nods, satisfied with my answer. "Elliot, what would be the answer to question 34?" She asks, peering at him through her glasses.

I flipped through the pages of my practice test, and my eyes land on question 34. A question I didn't know the answer to either.

Elliot swirls on my swiveled chair at my desk, turning to face us, biting the end of a pencil. He looks to me for help, and I give him a sympathetic head shake.

He sighs and stares at the question again. "The thing about this question that if the answer is not A, then it's B, and if it's not B, then it's C. Do you understand what I'm saying? And if it's not C, then definitely, it's D."

I giggle and cover my mouth to stop myself from laughing at how serious he looked and sounded.

Fawn stares at him with a straight face, her eyes lids drooping in boredom. "But the answer is certainly there," Elliot adds, a serious look plastered on his face.

I burst out into laughter but soon stops when Fawn glares at me.

We are interrupted by Zyair suddenly walk into my room, a cup of steaming cocoa in his hand.

He had come here earlier to hang out with Gray, so I figured he was here to see Fawn. "Dave wants to see you."

I point a hand at my chest. "Who? Me?"

"No, Migos, " he deadpans. "Of course, it's you, " he rolls his eyes and leaves my room without sparing Fawn a glance.

I spring up from my bed and wear my flip flops. I grab my phone and check the time. 4:59. The hospital was supposed to send the test results by 5 to my dad's email.

I walk down and see my dad next to his computer. "Have they sent it?" I ask, feeling uneasy.

He nods his head and points at the computer. "But I haven't opened the email yet."

I sigh and wrap my hands around my body before gesturing to him to open it. His phone rings just as he opens the email, and he stands to pick the call.

"Hello. Yeah, we were just-"

He stops mid-sentence and turns to look at me, a panicked expression on his face. "When?" he asks, his voice a low whisper.

He sighs deeply and runs his hand through his hair before dragging it down his face. "I'll let her know." His tone made me realize something was wrong.

The call ends, and he turns to face me, a sad, sorry expression masked on his face. "Garry's dead, " he whispers softly.

My brain stutters for a moment and my eyes widen more than normal, every part of me goes on pause while my thoughts slowly catch up.

"What?" I choked on my words. My tears stung my eyes, a swelling feeling forms in my heart.

Where's the sike?

I'm not done being mad at him. He can't die.

I watch dad click the keypad on his computer, and the screen brightens, allowing me to see the stray tear that fell from his face.

He heaves a deep sigh and covers his eyes as a cry of pain escapes his lips.

"Dad?"

He looks up at me, his face broken and filled with guilt, his eyes red although the tears weren't falling.

"You were a match."

•••••••••••

QOTD- Who is your celebrity crush?

>> I've been in love with Harry Styles for the past 100 years. No biggie.