V.
Everyone Else

Christian had decided not to ride with us out to the meadow, for which I was glad. I didn’t need him near me at that moment. I felt torn between hating him for manipulating me and thanking him for giving me someone to talk to.

“I thought you guys would’ve become friends after Thursday night,” Matthew said. He looked in the rearview mirror at me. “That was pretty intense.”

“Leave him alone,” Bridget said as I looked out the window.

I wanted to yell at them, to demand why they hadn’t ever asked me what I felt. They always censored themselves, like they would break me if they said something wrong. But they were wrong to censor themselves just for my sake.

“Stop treating me like I’m dying,” I said.

“What?” Kelly turned to look at me.

“Nothing.” I shook my head.

Bridget had heard. She watched me levelly, then gave me a sympathetic look. “You should’ve said something sooner,” she said quietly. “But that was before him.”

I looked away.

“You opened up to him, didn’t you?” she continued. “You talked to him about it.”

When we arrived at the meadow, I avoided eye contact with her as I took a heavy blanket from Matthew’s trunk, carrying a small tarp to put under it. We started through the grass slowly, careful of wet spots. Kelly complained about her shoes getting dirty, but I didn’t mind much. She took my mind off Christian.

The others tried to talk to me, but I wouldn’t answer them. I felt aloof, disconnected from them. I knew things they didn’t, but I felt like I couldn’t let them in on the secret. It wouldn’t be fair to me or Christian.

As we neared our hill, Matthew called out Christian’s name, and I looked ahead of us. Christian stood on top of the hill in the same place we had found him, his face turned to the sky. The sunlight caught his blond hair and illuminated his skin. He almost seemed to glitter, but that was just my imagination.

Bridget smiled. “I was right before, wasn’t I?” she said. “You look at him in awe, like he’s the only thing you’ve ever wanted.”

So it had been clear on my face. I returned my gaze to Christian. He had turned away from us, staring straight up with his arms outstretched. “He’s just a liar.” I shook my head.

“You’re so stubborn.” She pushed me forward.

“Whoa, what’s going on over there?” Kelly smiled at us, her hand in Matthew’s.

I looked at her, then at Matthew. Finally, I looked at Christian. Bridget was right. I dropped the blanket and tarp and took off across the grass toward the hill.

“Christian!” I called, and he looked at me, still shimmering. He opened his arms and embraced me, warm in the chilly air.

He smiled when we pulled apart. “What is this?”

“This is me, finally doing something I want to do with whatever time I have left.” I looped a hand around the back of his neck and kissed him deeply. When I pulled back, I was half in tears, but a smile still spread across my face.

Christian looked down the hill at Bridget, Kelly, and Matthew, the latter two frozen where they stood.

“You’re glowing,” I said, reaching out to touch his cheek. My fingertips tingled when I felt his skin, like a thousand tiny feet ran across my flesh.

He shook his head. “I’m shining. Star, remember? We don’t glow.” He glanced at our friends again, then met my eyes. “I can take you with me if you want,” he said. “I can give you eternal life in the stars, and you wouldn’t ever have to feel pain again.”

“What?” I tried to contain whatever excitement fought with my resolve.

Christian’s smile grew. “I can take you with me. Your essence, just like I’m the essence of a star.” He looked down. “Thing is, though: You have to decide quick. After tonight, I won’t have the energy to take you.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” He nodded, and my eyes widened. I wanted to go with him. I had spent so many nights in that field with Matthew, Kelly, and Bridget, all of us just wishing we could be closer to the stars, and now I had that opportunity. Christian could save me from my slow decline, could save my family and my friends with the knowledge that I went willingly and pain-free. “I want to go,” I said. “Can we explain it to them and my parents?”

“Sure.”

– – –

My mother was weeping, and my father had tears in his eyes, too. In fact, we were all crying: My parents, Bridget, Kelly, Matthew, myself, and Christian. But we all knew it was for the best. After much explaining, we all understood that.

There was a video camera trained on us, so Kevin could understand someday. He was the only one in the room who wasn’t crying, because he didn’t understand exactly what was going on. I couldn’t look at him when I spoke – his innocent expression would’ve made me break down altogether.

“What’s going to happen to him?” Bridget asked Christian, her voice a whisper as she wiped her eyes again.

Christian shook his head. “I honestly don’t know,” he admitted. “But it won’t be painful, I promise. It’ll probably just be a sudden death.”

My mother started to sob, and I went to her and put my arms around her. Not two nights before, she had held me as I cried from fear, and now I was returning the favor. I knew I couldn’t make her pain go away, but her tight arms around me were comforting.

“Jacob.” Christian put a hand on my shoulder. “We have to go soon.”

I pulled back from my mother and wiped her cheeks with my thumbs. “It’s okay, Mom,” I said. “I’m going to a better place. I’m going to be okay, just like you promised.”

Slowly, I went around the circle, hugging each one in turn. By the time I was done, I was seriously considering declining Christian’s offer and spending just a bit more time with the people I loved. But then I remembered my promise to myself.

Christian and I stood in the center of the living room, facing each other, and he smiled warmly at me. He started to shine again, then lifted my hand up. I smiled as I saw that my fingers glowed, but not nearly as brightly as Christian did. He put a hand on my chest and gripped my shirt, then pulled his hand away quickly.

I saw a bright flash of light, and now I’m on the ceiling. As I look down, I see my body falling to the floor; Christian has disappeared. My mother goes to my side, but my father points to where I float. Christian and I are a shower of golden sparks, simply floating here. We circle the room once, then disappear.