Stealing the Stars

The breeze rushes across my freckled face, tangling its fingers in my hair, making my cheeks blush under the night sky. The grass pokes my back, leaving my spine itchy in the only place I can’t reach it. The world is dark around me. It’s way too late to be laying in my backyard, looking up at the twinkling stars that seem to be in awe of their own beauty. 

My phone buzzes wildly in my pocket. It’s a call from my best friend and next-door neighbor, Amy. I answer.

“Liam,” she says in lieu of hello. “Can I come over?”

I look at my watch. It’s almost one in the morning. “...Are you okay?” I hear sobbing on the other end, and I press my phone closer to my ear, brows furrowing in confusion.

“No…” she sniffles. I run my fingers through my short, shaggy light brown hair. She’s a runner, a writer, a reader, and the most brilliant person I’ve ever met. She’s the light at the end of my tunnel, the fish that swims in the opposite direction just so she can feel the thrill of walking on the wild side. She’s different from any of the other girls at our school, and she’s proud of it. Of all people, she’s one of those who is too good to deserve to be sad. She’s my favorite person in our small corner of the universe, and I am in love with her. 

But she doesn’t know that.

“Yes,” I say into the phone. “Get your butt over here. I’m in the backyard.”

She huffs a laugh and sniffles again. “Thanks, Liam.” 

I smile into the phone, even though I know she can’t see me. I press the red “end call” button and shove my phone back into my pocket.

 Not a minute later, I see Amy hustling across my giant yard in a pair of shorts and a hoodie. She is beautiful and flawed, with crazy blonde hair and stunning green eyes. She has the most perfect smile, and she lights up every room. I sit up on my elbow as she gets closer and breathe out a “hey, you”. She smiles through her sadness as she plops down next to me, and immediately leans her head on my shoulder, crossing her arms over her chest. I wrap my arms around her, my hands meeting awkwardly on her far shoulder. I lean my head on top of hers and I feel her body shudder as silent tears swirl down her face. 

“Shhh, it’s okay, I got you,” I whisper. I lift my right hand off her shoulder to wipe her wet cheeks. I’ve known Amy since we were two years old, and over the course of our 16-year-long friendship, I’ve only seen her cry a handful of times. Her shoulders shake violently in my arms, and it makes my chest ache so bad I have to close my eyes to fight off the tears that prick the corners of my own eyes. 

We stay like that for a while, until her breathing starts to calm down, and she stops trembling, and I feel brave enough to ask her what happened.

“My parents…” she inhales sharply. “My parents are… they’re getting a divorce.”

“Oh my gosh… Amy…” I pull her closer.

“And they say it’s because they just fell out of love and would rather just be friends, but it’s something bigger, Liam. And I know they love me but it feels like they don’t right now because they can’t even stay together for me and I feel so alone right now and I’m questioning everything and-” a tear rolls down her nose and I promptly swipe it away with my thumb.

“Hey,” I say, and put my palm against her cheek, repositioning myself so I’m facing her. Her big green eyes lock on to my not-as-spectacular deep brown eyes, and a tiny bout of nervousness makes my stomach tie into an incredible knot. “You’re not alone, okay? You have me. You’ll always have me. I’m sorry to say this, but you’re never getting rid of me because… I don’t know but it’s just not gonna happen.” 

She looks down at the dirt again.

“Amy, “ I whisper. “Look at me.” She does. Inhale. “I realize this probably isn’t the best time, but you need to know that I’m in love with you.” Exhale.

“Liam, I-” she begins, but I press my pointer finger to her lips, stopping her sentence.

“Just…” I inhale. “Just let me finish, okay?” I take my finger off of her mouth and bring my hand back down to the grass, bracing myself for the possible backlash I might receive for spilling this specific part of my soul. 

She nods, and I continue. “I know that you think this is all your fault, but it’s not. You are wonderful and brave, smart and funny. There is no possible way your parents are divorcing because of you,” I laugh quietly. “I’m even running out of adjectives to describe you. I don’t think there are enough synonyms for ‘awesome’ in the world to fully capture who you are. I swear, you need never feel unloved again, because Amy, I would steal the stars for you. I would smuggle them out of the sky and bring them down to you if you asked me to. I would abduct the moon and kidnap the sun just to see you laugh. You mean the world to me, and I cannot stand the sight of seeing you so down, because you don’t deserve it.”

I flash back to a day 10 years ago when Amy and I were only eight. A day that had such a big impact on the way I look at her, I will never forget it.

“When we were little, we used to go over to that old playground on the other end of the street. One day, after we had exhausted ourselves so much, when we were about ready to collapse from playing for hours on that ancient swing set, we ran back to my house, giggling the whole way, kicking rocks into the street. We sat on my front porch as my mom brought out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and popsicles. We threw bread crumbs at the nosy birds and laughed when they flew away from our obnoxious laughing. Do you remember that day?”

She nods slowly as if the memory was creeping back into her brain, buried in the back of her mind until now.

I keep going, determined to let her know how much she means to me. “Later that day, after you had left, me and my mom were washing dishes after dinner. My mom stared out the window and gazed at your house and said, ‘Amy is such a bright person. Do you see the way she walks, like her feet don’t even touch the ground? She’s like a star, Liam. Don’t let her go, or you might never find her again.’ I didn’t realize until I got older that what my mom had said was true. It’s like you fell from the sky. But you were separated from all of the other stars, still stuck in space. So I made it my mission to make sure you never felt alone. And in doing so, I was sucked into your orbit, and I didn’t want to leave. I fell in love with you because you’re different, you’re special. You’re a freaking star on Earth! And I’m so lucky to have you. If you ever feel alone again, tell me. I promise I will always have the time to steal a star for you.”

“Liam… thank you,” she says. I smile and fall back in the grass, opening my eyes to wonders beyond. I look over at her and offer up my arm as a pillow. She falls back next to me, snuggling into my side, and we stare up at the constellations together. 

We lay there in silence for so long, my vision starts to get blurry and my body begins shutting down. As I fall asleep in the prickly grass with my best friend tucked into my arms, I swear I hear her whisper something that could change both of our lives.

“I love you too.”

But perhaps it was only a dream.