How Can We Rewrite The Stars?

“What are you looking at, Cass?”

“Huh?” I said, pulling myself out of stare into space mode.

“I asked what you were looking at.” My brother Cody said.

“Oh. Nothing. Just zoning out.”

“Hmph.”

Cody and I walked through Safeway, him occasionally grabbing outrageous things like Oreo O’s or gallons of chocolate milk. Every time he did, I would slap it out of his hands with a sharp, “No.”

“Why not?”

“You are- we are both hyper enough already. You and I, we do not need anymore sugar.”

Me and my brother are both ADHD, which means we both rarely get sugar because we will act like a cheetah that just drank twelve espressos.

“But what about that?” He gestured at my Starbucks. “That can’t not have sugar.”

“Yes, however, it has two shots of espresso, which means I will go home and take a nap immediately after I drop you off at Michael’s house. Dropping you off with Michael’s mom highly caffeinated is not being a good big sister.”

He pouted.

Luckily for me, my brother had a sleepover with his friend Michael and some of their other friends. Which means I can have a nice twelve year old boy free weekend.

I finally paid for our purchase, luckily spotting a stray KitKat bar that had somehow ferreted its way into our cart. I removed it (“Oh, come on, Cass!”).

We got home, and I said, okay, go pack, I’m going to put away the groceries.”

“Okay!” He said with a grin, showing off chocolate brown teeth.

“Where did you get that chocolate?”

“Bye!” He said and raced upstairs.

I put my hand on my forehead.

I pulled up to Michael’s house.

“You have everything?” I asked.

Cody nodded.

“Everything?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Yeeessss.”

I turned off the ignition. “Lets go.”

I grabbed Cody’s stuff out of the trunk and walked up the front steps. He knocked really loudly.

A girl opened the door, and the breath was knocked out of my lungs.

She was beautiful.

She looked to be about my age, seventeen. Her long honey blonde hair fell down her shoulders. Her green eyes twinkled with a smile as she saw Cody.

“Hey, Cody.”

“Hi, Marissa!”

“Michael’s inside waiting for you.”

“Awesome!” He ran around her and inside the house.

“Hi.” She turned to me and smiled. My knees turned to jelly.

“H-h-hi.” I said, like a dork.

She kept smiling. “You’re Cody’s big sister?” She held out her hand. “My name is Marissa. I’m Michael’s big sister.”

I shook off my daze and held out my free hand. “My name is Cassandra, but you can call me Cass or Cassie.”

“You have a pretty name.” She gestured inside. “Do you want to come inside? Set that stuff down and have a cup of tea or coffee?”

“Sure, thanks.” I stepped inside with a smile.

Since when have I liked girls?

I...I have always thought I was straight...but, as hard as it is to admit…

I am falling for Marissa.

What would my parents think? What would my friends think?

I followed her inside and she pointed to a tan couch and said, ”You can put his stuff right there.”

“Thanks.” I put down his stuff and followed her to a granite island. 

She turned on a tea kettle and said, “Coffee, or tea?”

“Coffee, if you have decaf. I like being able to make it through conversations without falling asleep.”

She gave me a confused look. Idiot idiot idiot. You're not funny, so stop trying to be.

“My ADHD,” I explained. “If I have caffeine, I fall asleep.”

“Really? That’s interesting. I’m dyslexic, dyscalculic if you want to get specific.”

“Dyscalculic?” 

She blushed, the same way I probably did earlier. “Dyslexia, except the math version. I can read just fine. Numbers get mixed up in my head and float around the page.”

“I’ve heard of dyslexia, just never...dyscalculia?”

“Yeah. A lot of people haven’t.”

The kettle whistled.

“I should get that.” 

Marissa turned and we locked eyes for a second too long. We both looked away, blushing.

We sipped our coffees as boys filed in, and I realized I should probably get home.

“I’m sorry, I would have stayed longer, but…” I waved my hand around. “Twelve year old sleepovers really aren't my scene.”

“That's understandable. Do you want to…” She looked down, blushing. “Maybe grab coffee sometime?”

I smiled. “That sounds nice.”

“I promise, decaf only and no twelve year olds.”

I laughed. “Good. Anything else would be a dealbreaker.”

Two weeks later

We decided that getting coffee was kind of boring, so we settled on dinner instead. I drove up to Il Posto Della Pasta (The Pasta Place). The buildings tinted windows only revealed a little bit of light from the inside, and the smell of garlic and butter wafted through the air.

I walked up the stairs and tugged my dress lower on to my knees. I had debated wearing a dress or a blouse, but in the end I settled on a blouse.

I swung open the door and found Marissa already waiting at a table.

“Hello,” I said.

“Hello,” She said back.

I took a seat. “How are you today?”

“I’m good, how are you?”

“Good.” I opened my menu.

I was scrolling through a list of paninis when Marissa said, “What would they think of us?”

“Huh?”

“Your parents, my parents, your classmates, my classmates. If we were dating, what would they think?”

I stalled. I’m not sure what my parents would think. I haven’t even told them Marissa exists.

“I don’t care what they would think.” I said. “Even though you are one of the last people anyone would expect me to fall in love with, once I saw you…”

She smiled, but still looked uneasy.

“Marissa.”

She looked up to meet my face.

“Um, scusatemi, ladies, but are you ready to order?”

I had been so distracted that the waiter had snuck up on us. 

We ordered.

I looked at her. Then I had a thought.

“You know I want you, it's not a secret I try to hide.

“I know you want me, so don’t keep saying our hands are tied.

“You claim it’s not in the cards, and fate is pulling you miles away and out of reach from me,

“But you’re here in my heart, so who can stop me if I decide that you’re my destiny?

“What if we rewrite the stars, say you were made to be mine?

“Nothing could keep us apart, you are the one I was meant to find.

“It’s up to you, and it’s up to me, no one can say what we get to be.

“What if we rewrite the stars? Changing the world to be ours, tonight.”

She looks at me with a small smile. We both love the Greatest Showman, and now I’m hoping that she’ll sing Anne Wheeler’s part.

“You think it’s easy? You think I don’t want to run to you?

“But there are mountains, and there are doors that we can’t walk through.

“I know you’re wondering why, because we’re able to be just you and me, within these walls.

“But when we go outside, you’re gonna wake up and see that it was hopeless after all.

“No one can rewrite the stars, how can you say you’ll be mine?

“Everything keeps us apart, and I’m not the one you were meant to find.

“It’s not up to you, it’s not up to me, when everyone tells us what we can be.

“How can we rewrite the stars? Changing the world to be ours, tonight.”

We continue on with the song, and I notice that the entire restaurant stops to watch. Marissa has a great singing voice, and I’m not too shabby either.

At the end of the song, I pulled her close and asked, “How can we rewrite the stars?”

And then I kissed her, and it was the best thing in the world.