38

The time was nearly 1 in the morning and the stars were shinning brightly. I swear, the stars are much more brighter here in New York than Santorini. Maybe they seem shinier because of the lack of sleep we all got.

The air was cool, but not cold, and the sounds of crickets hits my ears as we jumped off the plane.

I was tempted to kneel down on the grass and kiss it.

That's how happy I am that we're back.

But if I were to lay down on a flat surface now, soft or hard, I'd fall asleep.

Carol's dad let us hop out first in the field before he drove the black-and- golden-jet into the hangar.

The sound of the loud engine from the jet echoes all around.

I was standing with Iris and Daniela. Our shoulders slumped from exhaustion, with our luggage at our legs.

Carol directed her dad into the hangar, making sure he didn't scratch the jet while parking it.

Then she walked back to us.

"Thank you, Carol. Seriously." I said tiredly, yet very thankful.

"You owe me, Rivera." Carol said coldly, flipping her golden locks behind her shoulder.

My face drops as she stares at me.

"I'm just kidding!" She smiled, "It's no problem... but maybe you needed to ask me earlier to come pick you up from a different country, and not in the middle of the night."

She's wearing a long-sleeve oversized white T-shirt with a simple pair of white sweatpants and white sneakers.

She must've had her pajama's on, ready to sleep before I called her, and just quickly needed to change into something comfortable.

All in all, she dressed comfortably and casually, but her family's massive private jet behind her said something different.

"Yeah..." I scratch the back of my neck, "Sorry 'bout that."

"Don't be silly. My mom kicked me and my dad out for leaving dishes out, so we just camped outside in a tent and didn't sleep. If not, I should be thanking you for making my night interesting. My dad takes any chance he gets to fly the jet, so he's pretty happy too."

I raise an eyebrow.

Money, a big house, a freaking jet, popularity, and everything she wants in world. Beautiful, long blonde hair, the prettiest eyes, and a nice body. She can practically date anyone she wants.

Personality, not that bad either if you compare it to Cheryl and Bethany.

You'd think her life is perfect if you look at all that stuff.

But everyone has something they're ashamed of.

Her mom.

She has to be joking, right?

She kicked them out of the house?

I forced a smile, "Well, I'm glad everyone wins here."

There was silence, us looking at each other with tiny smiles.

I could tell hers is fake too.

She can't really be taking it so well after her mom kicked her out, right? Surely she's just masking her emotions up.

That's when Daniela stepped towards us, not liking that we're so close to each other

She shot Carol a glare.

"Thank you. I'll make sure to repay your father." Daniela said, her voice low.

While they figure everything out and talk, I turn around, now only realizing Iris is missing.

"Where's Iris?" I asked, but spoke to myself, as the others were busy talking.

Then I spot a figure leaning against a huge boulder.

I look, and see her by the rock, sitting against it and facing away from me. Her arms were wrapped around her body, her chin on her knees brought up.

She looked so peaceful gazing up at the stars.

I leave Daniela and Carol and walked into the field to Iris.

I sat down next to her.

The grass was cool and a bit wet.

We sat in silence before I pointed up at the sky.

"That looks like an arrow."

She looked up to where I pointed to.

"Yeah, I see it." She said quietly.

I can feel the tension and exhaustion in her body just from sitting next to her, but so do I. I was tempted to lay down in the soft grass and pass out, just letting everything rest.

The silence was comfortable, only broken by the occasional cricket sounds and the distant traffic. After a while, I spoke again.

"Are you okay?" I asked gently.

Maybe the question seemed like it didn't need to be asked. We just got kicked out of a country overnight, we're both so tired, and we've been though a great amount of stress.

So of course we're not okay.

Iris stayed silent for a while, staring out at the sea stars. "I don't think I've been this calm in a long time." She whispers.

A genuine, soft smile formed on my lips as I look at her.

I knew what she meant, and nodded with her as well.

I leaned my head on her shoulder.

"Forever."

I brought my pinky out towards her.

Iris smiled and laughed a little. She hooked her finger with mine.

"Forever."

We were in Highschool when we first said these words to each other. When we first met. We've said that so many times it's like a signature now. It started in school with a joke, but over the years, it turned into a sort of truce.

Like a way of telling each other it's okay to do silly stuff, or even just a way of saying to stop talking and just enjoy each other's presence.

It meant that we always stick together, no matter what.

To our first words, to how we became best friends, and to how we're now closer than ever before.

As we say these words now, under the starry night sky, my thoughts traveled back to high-school.

The times we got into fights, our first parties, our first experiences in life. And somehow, our friendship never broke over the years. We stuck by each other's side through all the pain, even though we were different, even though we weren't always on the same page, and even though we got into fights and arguments... we stayed together.

It's what happens when true friends grow up together.

But then Iris suddenly whispers, "Why did you lie to me?"

My head lifted up from her shoulder and I looked at her, confused.

I asked, "About what?"

She continued looking up at the sky as she spoke.

"You and professor are a thing, aren't you?"

I froze.

My heart dropped, and I suddenly became hyper-aware of the world around me. The sound of crickets felt like loud buzz in my ears.

I can't lie to her.

Not again.

"Yes."

She didn't move a muscle and didn't look amused, not wanting to brag that she was right all along.

"Hmm." She hums and nodded.

"Are you angry?" I asked in a voice just above a whisper.

I waited for her to respond. She sat there in silence, not answering. A thousand thoughts were going through my head like what she's going to say or do next.

Finally, she spoke.

"Vic, you know I knew since day one. I'm just a bit... disappointed that you didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth."

I didn't know what to say, so I stayed silent and looked down at my feet.

I started to pick at the grass around me, feeling guilty and slightly ashamed of myself.

"I'm sorry." I said softly, "Daniela wanted it to be a secret, and if something happened where someone accidentally finds out..."

"...she'd lose her job." Iris finished my sentence.

She shifted her body to turn around and face me. There was a look in her eyes that I haven't seen before. Frustration? Pain? I don't know.

"Why her?" She asked.

"I've been asking myself that too."

She just hummed again, looking down at her lap.

I wanted to change the subject, but the questions kept blurting out of her mouth. "You're happy, right?"

"Yeah." I said simply.

There was a pause of silence, like she gave me chance to reconsider my answer. "And you're sure about this, right? No doubts?"

"Iris. I like her. A lot. A girl-- a woman. It's surprising for me too. But I've never felt like this before."

She looked up at me, finally no hints of uncertainty in her eyes any longer.

A tiny smile form on her lips before she swung her arm around my shoulder.

She dragged me into her side. "If she hurts you, I'll kill her." She said casually and pulled me closer.

I leaned my head back against her shoulder.

I shook my head with a laugh before closing my eyes.