Riding With The Stars - By Brianna Paulino

“Do you want to go or not? You know you have nothing to do on that day,” Rowan asked.

Her blue eyes weren’t showing fright or nervousness. Usually, people would show those certain feelings when it comes to Valentine’s day, but to her, she’s just treating it like a normal day. Nothing big, nothing small. However, for Calvin, his heart started pounding rapidly. His face suddenly turned red. Loss of words, which was surprising for him. Not only that, but it’s surprising for her to even ask him that question. He hesitates a bit, trying to think of the right words to reject her.

It all felt so sudden.

She raised her eyebrow in question, waiting for his response. “Hey, are you alright?” she asks.

Does it look like I’m alright? He woke up to reality and finally found the right words to say.

“H-How do you know I have nothing to do on that day?” he asked, stuttering a bit as well. “What if I have plans?” He said it so confidently. A smile on his face, arms crossed, head up to the air. However, she could see the false aura circling him.

“You don’t,” she responded so coldly. He felt the coldness crashing through his false confidence.

“W-well what if I’m going with Lillianne? I didn’t tell you if she said denied my request!” He threw the card at her, hoping she’ll leave him alone and accept it. To his demise, she caught the card and threw it to the ground.

“We all know she denied before you were going to ask her,” she smirked while crossing her arms. She finds it quite amusing how he would lie to her like that. Wondering if he ever caught the rumors swirling about Lillianne going with someone else. He knows about the rumors but tries to dismiss them, most likely. She thought to herself. Finds it quite sad, in a way.

He held his finger to prevent her from talking any more, but then started being more nervous. Trying to think of something to say, something to throw at her. Nope, just a blank space in his mind. Static, to be precise. He looked down and was suddenly quiet.

“I knew it!” She rejected you!” she laughed. An evil smirk appeared on her face. “See, you can’t lie to me.”

“Wow, thanks for comforting me, my dear friend.” He said scornfully. Rolling his eyes, a frown on his face.

“Wipe that off your face, it doesn’t suit you. That means you get to hang out with me!” she sang. She spread her arms out. A sweet smile formed on her face, trying to be as welcoming as possible.

“I didn’t confirm it?” Calvin replied.

One-shot. “Ouch...Doesn’t matter, you’re still going with me either way. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“Uh, how exactly? Is it actually special? I doubt it will since I see you every day.”

Two shots! “Ouch... I’m just trying to cheer you up after all of that. It’s going to be fun! I’m sure of that. Another plus, you’ll forget all about her! That’s what a good friend does, right?” Hearing that certain word calmed him down a bit. His heart stops beating as rapidly as it was. The color of embarrassment finally went away with the wind. Initially, he thought it was just a way for her to do romantic stuff with him. He felt a sense of relief. However, he’s still not satisfied, in a way.

He looks at her with those sad chocolate brown eyes. “You sure it’ll cheer me up?”

“You’re hanging out with me, so of course it’ll be fun!” she exclaimed. “So, are you in?” She holds out her hand, ready to seal the deal the old fashion way.

He does some thinking. For a while. Trying to see if it’ll be worth spending his Valentine’s Day night with her. Well, he has nothing better to do either way, now that he thought about that.

While he was having his internal conversation, Rowan slowly gets close to him with that annoying smile on her face. Trying to wake him up to make up his mind already.

He sighs, “Fine, I’ll go!” He holds his hand. His hand meets hers and they shake.

“Finally, you made up your mind!” Rowan smiled. She let go of his hand. “I’m going to be at your door at 7, alright? You’re late, I’m out. That’s final.”

“Wow, how nice.” he laughed. He narrowed his eyebrows at her.

“Yeah yeah, I know. Alright, I got to go. See ya!” she waves her hand and walks in the opposite direction of the hallway, trying to rush to her next class. Through her face, you could see no emotions but a regular resting face. However, through her eyes, swirls were dancing in them.

..........

The long-anticipated night has finally arrived. By his bathroom mirror, Calvin combs his hair, trying to flatten out any access hair strands standing up. Slowly, a strand of hair stood up.

He groaned, struggling to flatten out that specific hair strand that doesn’t want to cooperate. While having his silly fight with his hair, a girl around his age walked into the bathroom. She noticed him dressed up all nicely, which caused her to be a bit confused. Walking up towards him, she grabbed his dark blue tie to catch his attention, almost strangling him. He put the comb down, turned to her, and raised his eyebrows as a response to the tie pulling.

“Why are you dressed up like you’re going on a date, Cal?” Ellie, his twin sister, asked, “Are you going with that girl in my fifth-period math class?”

He sighed. Here we go again, mentioning the same girl over and over again. “She rejected me…” he whispered.

She let go of his tie and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I figured that out beforehand.”

A ping of embarrassment hit Calvin hard, clenching his chest. Not only did his friend assume him getting rejected, but his own twin sister! He turned a bit red and got a bit flustered.

“Don’t act as if it’s a surprise!” she exclaimed. “You guys never talk. Never. Only for class-related and that’s it. If you’re not going with her, who are you going with then?”

He hesitated a bit. He has a feeling how his sister’s reaction would be if she knows who exactly he’s going with.

He sighed, “R...R... Ro.” Cat caught his tongue.

“Rowan?!!!” she gasped with delight. She squealed and hugged him too tightly, causing him to lose a bit of breath. She let go and smiled at him. “My dreams came true! I’m so happy, you guys are finally dating! Can I plan the wedding?” Ellie was getting too giggly and hyper about the sudden news. A bit jumpy as well. Just as expected.

Calvin turned redder. “Hey! Don’t get this the wrong idea! We’re just hanging out, that’s all. We’re not dating. Keyword: not.”

Rowan automatically stopped jumping with joy. A straight, stony expression replaced the joy. She narrowed her eyes at him.

“So, you’re telling me you guys aren’t together?” she asked in monotone. “Then why valentine’s day? You sure she doesn’t like you?” This whole situation is confusing her, messing with her emotions as well.

“I’m sure,” he sighed.

Ellie scoffed. “Well, don’t be surprised when she leans in for a kiss and all.” She pats his back while smiling at him. He felt hot once again but tried to laugh it all off.

“If it ever happens, yeah sure.” He laughed.

What if she actually tries to do that? Calvin thought. What would I do in that situation? A tornado of thoughts was circling his head. Wondering if he’ll reject her or not. Wondering what will be the option to do that. Wondering...wondering!

*Ping!*

Calvin glanced at his lit-up phone. Rowan’s name popped up with a message saying that she has arrived. His face brightened up with the sight of her name. He took a quick glance at the mirror, trying to make sure everything was alright with him. Afterward, he grabbed his phone, and within a millisecond, he zoomed out of the bathroom.

Rushing down the stairs, trying to get to the door. Almost losing his balance, he held onto the doorknob trying to save him. He stood up, but suddenly, an aura of nervousness surrounded him silently. He sighed, twisted the doorknob, and finally opened the door.

In front of him was Rowan with her usual outfit. Her favorite green sweatshirt, indigo jeans, and black sneakers. Her eyes traveled up and down at Calvin, wondering why on earth did he decide to wear something formal. She smiled, she really fancied it.

“Wow, no surprise why you took so long,” she giggled. “You look nice,” she said.

Calvin gave a shy smile. “Thanks...you look the same as usual.” He pointed at her signature sweatshirt.

“I mean, what else am I going to wear? We’re just going bike riding, that’s it.”

“Oh, wait... that’s it?” Calvin asked.

Rowan nodded. Calvin raised his eyebrow at her.

“Why?” he asked, hoping she’ll clear up his confusion.

“Easy! Why not!” she exclaimed. Rowan put on her helmet and fastened it. She went through her backpack, pulled a replica of the helmet she’s wearing, and put it on Calvin, messing up his perfectly slicked hair. She went close to him and fastened the helmet on.

“Alright!” she smiled, “Time to get on the bikes!” She got on the seat of her bike. “Riding bikes is more fun than just driving. Don’t you agree?”

He nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” He hopped on the seat of the bike she let him borrow. “I’m going to race you!” He gripped the handles tightly and peddled as fast as he could, causing him to zoom out of his driveway. Like that, he sprinted into the street night. Rowan gasped and had a sly grin on her face.

“Oh, I see. Want to play that game now, do we, Calvin?” She whispered to herself. Gripping her handle as tight as she could, she peddled as fast as the speed of lightning. She gritted her teeth, trying to catch up to Calvin as fast as she could. It felt like a task that she must complete.

As they peddled away, Calvin was still ahead. Rowan kept on peddling behind him, trying to catch up. She began to lose breath, however, she keeps ongoing.

To her, he was too distant. Too far away to catch up, she couldn’t reach him even if she wanted to at times. So many times she wanted to catch up to him. However, she could see him far away, feeling like he would wait for her and just her. Hopefully no one else.

Tornado of thoughts. How can a bike ride in a clear night sky create a tornado all of a sudden? As the wind blows through her hair, she tries to get her head out of all of those silly thoughts. Trying to match the clear night sky as she possibly can.

She looked up above. Even though there’s light pollution all around, she could still see the twinkling lights that the evening had blessed them with. Seeing them put her at ease. She felt a warm feeling, and a smile grew on her.

I’m doing it today and that’s final.

Slowly by slowly, she could see him getting bigger. Finally, he wasn’t shrinking. Still peddling, but it’s as if he was a grandfather clock. Slowly, slowly, and slowly.

Breathing heavily, Calvin stopped peddling. He tried to catch his breath; he didn’t realize how quickly he was peddling until he ran out of stamina. Putting his foot on the sidewalk, he heard tires rushing behind him. He turned around and there was Rowan, being quite the imitator.

He smiled when his eyes laid upon hers. “What took you so long, Ro? I was here for so many minutes,” he stretched his words out. “Too many minutes, actually.” He put his feet on the pedals and slowly went towards Rowan and her bike. He began to circle around her.

She rolled her eyes at him while giggling. “Sure you were waiting for that long.”

They pedaled their bikes at a slower pace on the sidewalk. Their bikes were right next to each other. Rowan wanted to ride as fast as she could. She loves it when the cold air dances around her. She also wanted to surprise Calvin with an unexpected speedrun away from him, just like what he did to her. All for petty revenge.

However, she couldn’t sprint away like that. A force is there, pulling them close as if it were a magnet. For now, they’re just letting the magnet do its job. Enjoying the quiet, the environment, the moment, them.

Calvin looked at Rowan, noticing her smiling up at the sky. He felt warm seeing her smile like that, he never saw her smile like that before. It seemed rare. It looked rare. This moment felt rare. He wants to cherish it.

Looking up at the sky, he breaks the peaceful silence.

“Beautiful clear sky, right?” he filled the sound of the neighborhood. Rowan’s eyes were still glued to the twinkling bright skeptics above.

She responded, “Yeah, it is.” She looked away from the art and laid her eyes on Calvin. She turned out and noticed he was looking at her. Admiring her, in a way. She smiled at him.

“I want to remember this moment, Ro…” he mumbled softly. The sudden tone made Rowan a bit flustered. She never heard his voice like that before. It felt like that tone was just for her and for her to listen to only. In response, she just gave him a sad smile. Calvin looked a bit confused. His shy smile grew a bit concerned. He knows that whenever she gives that expression, something is definitely up.

“I want to remember this moment too…” Rowan whispered. “It probably will be one of the last moments we have together for a long ti-”

“What do you mean a long time?” Calvin interrupted.

He stopped pedaling and placed his left foot on the concrete sidewalk. Confusion was read all over him. Rowan stopped peddling. She knew his reaction was going to be like this. It pains her for telling him this now, but she’s just following her mental plan in all of this.

She sighed. “Listen, Cal. First off, I’m sorry for not telling you this earlier. I told our other friends, but I didn’t tell you. I was waiting for the right moment, you know? It’s hard to explain why but...wait, I’m rambling.”

She got off her bike, trying to reorganize her thoughts into one. She looked into his brown eyes, feeling a bit of guilt. Rowan hesitated as if someone was grabbing her throat, preventing her from saying what needs to be said.

She took a deep breath. “I’m moving to another country.” Finally, a weight has been lifted. However, there’s still a bit of weight left that needs to be out.

Rowan tried to continue on, but Calvin put his palm in front of her, motioning her to stop for a bit. She noticed his expression, the news definitely saddened him.

“Wait...why are you moving?” he asked quietly.

“My mother got promoted, but she needs to go to the U.K. for that position. She worried about how I reacted, but I accepted the news since this is an amazing deal for her. I didn’t want it to be taken away from her.”

“I understand, but why didn’t you tell me? More importantly, why did you hide it from me? Why?” as each word was being said, they became quieter. His eyes averted from hers. He doesn’t want her to see tiny droplets forming through his glasses.

“You have a history of breaking down whenever you hear someone is moving away, even if it’s a city away. Then, you’ll be worrying about how to have a big send-off. I know how extra and busy you’ll get whenever you do those kinds of stuff. I don’t want you to put so much work onto my send-off.”

Calvin let out a fake shocked scream as the tears slowly streamed down. “Can’t believe you didn’t want that…well I still won’t forgive for that.”

The aura of guilt was still around Rowan. “Yeah, I know... but hey I’m still here for two weeks…”

Calvin looked up and looked into her eyes. He smiled at her as the tears kept on streaming down, not stopping at all.

“Good.” He answered. “It’s still enough time for us to make memories.”

Rowan suddenly lit up. The sound of the word “us” made her feel this strange happiness that she barely feels. Her heart started throbbing, and she felt a kind of hot. Staring into his eyes is making all of this worse for her! However, she’s enjoying it.

Without thinking, she leaned up to him on tippy toes and placed her lips on his forehead, giving him a tiny peck. It may have lasted for a second, but Calvin felt the sensation of it. Rowan got on her feet and smiled at him. She noticed his entire face turned a different shade and his hand slowly reached to his forehead. He touched the surface of where she kissed him.

Out of nowhere, she burst into laughter at his reaction. Calvin turned even more flustered. He had an expression that seemed as if he was angry.

“Come on, you know how I would react to these types of things!” he exclaimed. Rowan was still giggling at him. The sound of her acting like that suddenly put him at ease.

“I didn’t know you would act like that with me though,” she responded. “Probably expect more from me these next two weeks, alright?” She winked at him.

“Why would I expect that from you of all people…why you?”

Three shots! “Ouch! You know, if you keep shooting at me like that, I would instantly lose feelings for you in a second.”

Rowan got back on the seat of her bike and began peddling ahead of Calvin, leaving him on the sidewalk. She was trying to avoid him after she said that certain phrase. He noticed that and instantly got on his seat, feet on the pedals, and caught up to her.

“Wait!” he shouted out, hoping he’d hear her. “Can you repeat that?!”

She yelled out across to him, “I said what I said!”