Piper

I used to be one.

Those words kept echoing in my head over and over again. Jonathan hadn't seemed like the player type. He seemed like the sweet guy who never got the girl. The nerdy one who sat in the front of class so he wouldn't have to look at the one girl who wouldn't leave his mind. Guess that's what I get for stereotyping.

It was becoming more and more clear that I knew nothing about him while he knew everything about me. I was determined to remedy that. Somehow I would get him talking.

He had sent that one five minutes ago. I didn't reply, because I wasn't sure what to think of this little exchange going on between us. Should I even be doing this?

I decided that thinking too much was overrated.

I clicked on the number, saving it to my phone under his name instead of Mysterious Boy. Sophie couldn't be mad about it this time, since I was talking to a real person now. In fact she should be happy. I now had two guys who I was talking to, and both of them were very much alive.

As I thought about it, I wondered where Sophie was. It seemed unusual to come back from class to find an empty room. If her stuff wasn't strolled across my floor, I would think she had left me without a goodbye. 

I had always been jealous of her free spirit, her ability to live life without fear. I was in a constant state of fear and doubt. Even with Jack I still couldn't be as free as she was.

The only thing I hated about it, was she often left without a goodbye. At first I would worry, but then like always a few months later she would show up again, slap full of stories about one of her many adventures.

I was always jealous of the fact she could drop everything and go on an adventure. Meanwhile I had too much holding me back. She was straight forward and blunt too, sometimes even to the point of being hurtful, but she always told the truth like it or not. I wished I could do the same. Instead I had to worry about others feelings.

A knock sounded at promptly seven o'clock, and I smiled knowing it was him. I glanced down at my outfit, unsure if I had chosen right.

It seemed like this was a date, and while I wasn't necessarily ready for a date, I couldn't seem to say no.

I pressed a hand to my orange tank top, smoothing it down and pulling my light brown sweater tighter around me. My fingers gripped at the ends of my jean skirt, pulling it down just a bit so I wouldn't look like I was trying too hard. It was just long enough to cover my scars, but short enough to leave him guessing.

After a quick glance in the mirror, I grabbed my purse and slipped into a pair of flats before opening the door.

"Hey." He said, looking in my eyes instead of checking me out.

I was confused, because I had been sure he would look me up and down. I had dressed for him to look. He didn't seem interested in that anymore, he seemed more interested in me as a person. I wondered, momentarily, if he had been telling the truth when he said he wanted to know me.

I had thought for sure it was another tactic to get back in my pants. Not that I was going to deny him, but I wasn't going to make it easy for him either.

Ty was a great lover, one that seemed attuned to my needs even better than I was myself. He had been so gentle and loving that I had no doubt's about my decision to sleep with him.

I had expected him to do it quick, taking what he needed and being done with me, but instead he made sure I was completely satisfied over and over again.

If that was how it would always be, I would gladly do it again- And again. As many times as he wanted to.

"Hey yourself." I said, realizing I had gotten lost in my head.

"You look beautiful."

I didn't see how he could possibly say that considering he hadn't looked anywhere but my eyes. I wasn't going to ruin this perfect moment by saying that though.

"You smell amazing." I remarked, noticing for the first time since staring at each other that his cologne was one of my favorites. The same one I had bought for Jack a year ago. 

"You ready?" He asked, smiling and grabbing my hand in his.

I felt like a school girl, going on a date for the first time. I even turned, half expecting Sophie to be behind me taking pictures like a true parent would.

Sophie had always been like a parent to me, despite the short age gap between us. She cared for me and coddled me just like a real mom would. I had loved her for that, but at times I hated it. I was glad she wasn't here now. Her blunt remarks would only make me blush and worry about what I was doing. I knew it was stupid, and I knew I would eventually get hurt, but right now it felt right. In a way I felt like I had Jack back, in a different body with a different soul.

"Just let me write a quick note for my friend." I said, scratching a reminder that I was out with friends on a post it and smacking it to the inside of the door.

"So, do you want to get a new blanket? We could go to that Bed Bath and Beyond store in the mall. Maybe we can get something to decorate in here too. I don't see how you can stare at white walls all day." He said, pulling me down the hallway.

"Sure." I said. I could feel the blush rushing to my cheeks, embarrassed that he pointed out my bare room. Embarrassed that I even cared.

I had wanted to keep my head down and get the hell out of here, so decorating seemed moot. Now I wanted to savor it. To remember this college experience forever.

"Good. And maybe after we can grab dinner? I know of a real nice place on the corner of Main."
Main Street. That's where all the rich people go.

"I'd like that." I said.

He opened the car door for me, and slid into the drivers seat. I watched him from the corner of my eye as he drove in silence all the way to the mall.

We walked straight to the bedroom section, scanning through the walls of blankets. There were so many in an assortment of colors and patterns. It was hard to choose one.

I walked to the section with dark colors, scanning through the grays first. When I didn't see anything I liked, I walked over to the blacks and there it was. A black comforter with shiny little silver stars on it bunched in one corner.

Sophie had once told me that the stars in the sky belonged to the dead souls of our loved ones. That if we looked close enough we could find the stories written in them.

I unzipped the bag and ran my hand over it, jumping as Ty walked up behind me and laid a gentle kiss on my neck.

"It's perfect." He said, "it reminds me of you. The beautiful shining star."

I blushed, silently glad that he couldn't see my face from this position. I quickly zipped up the bag and tossed it in the cart and turned to face him.

"What now?" I asked.

"Now we find some decor." A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, for once reaching his eyes.

The pain and darkness I had seen there before was almost non existent. As if it was just simply gone, only a faint trace left.

He held my hand as we walked the isles, stopping every so often to toss something in the buggy. When we came up on the isle of framed pictures he stopped, whistling loudly right in front of one.

I glanced up, following his eyes and gasped.

It was of a dark black night sky, with bright white stars glittering across it, and a bright yellow full moon in the middle. Underneath the sky was a black ocean, the waves rippled and shining in the afterglow of the moonlight. The clouds surrounded the moon, giving it an eery dark affect.

It was the most beautiful picture I had ever seen and before I could say a word he grabbed it and placed it in the buggy. I wondered how he knew me so well, when he knew nothing at all. I had made sure of that, shutting him out every time he tried to get closer.

There we so many things I wanted to say, things I had never told anyone, but the thing about truths was once you let them out, you could never take them back. I was afraid that once he knew, he would lose interest.

We pushed the cart down another isle, deciding that we would get one more thing to complete my room. I ran my fingers along the shelves, waiting for something to jump out at me.

I came across a wall sticker, something that could be reused time and time again. It was of a bunch of stars, black and white, in a zigzag pattern. The picture on the front of the package showed it above a black wicker couch with white cushions. It fit perfectly with everything else and I knew I had to have it.

I plucked it from the shelf, looking at it close up and smiled, as Ty came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"You really like stars huh?" He asked, plucking a pack of glow in the dark ceiling stars off a rack beside me and tossing it in the cart.

"I do."

I put in the cart and turned in his arms. He leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose, his fingers lingering for a moment on my cheek.

I closed my eyes, leaning into his touch.

It was easy to lose myself in him. Just like I had with Jack. He reminded me so much of Jack that it was hard not to.

The similarities were endless, down to the way he looked at me and spoke so gently. I wondered exactly when he went from being a stuck up rich player, to this guy who stood before me.

He didn't even know me, yet it seemed he had changed for me and I couldn't fathom why. I was not worth the change. I couldn't give him what he wanted from me.

All I could give him is what we had right here, right now. I kept thinking back to his words, his insistence that we could be broken together, but it seemed as if he wasn't as broken as he claimed to be.

"Tell me Ty, what happened to you to make you who you are?" I asked, opening my eyes and staring into his.

His eyes were so blue they almost looked gray, like the sky during a storm. It was easy to get lost in them, to drown so deep.

"If I told you that, we would be in this store until graduation." He said, caressing my cheek and tracing my lips with the tip of his finger.

"The highlights?" I asked, hoping to get some idea of why he was this way. Of why he had considered so many times of ending his life.

"How about we go back to the penthouse and I will answer any questions you have. We can make a game of it. A getting to know you of sorts. Then afterwards we can go eat." His hand dropped from my face, resting gently against my back as he held me there against him.

"Okay."

I turned again, pushing the cart through the store and back to the front. I watched as he pulled out a credit card and paid for my items, then tucked the brown paper bag under his arm. He gripped the picture in his hand, anchoring the bag in place.

His other arm wrapped around my waist, pushing me out to his car.

He opened the door for me, waiting as I got inside before tossing the bag and picture into the backseat and walked around to his side.

He drove us to his apartment, this time going the speed limit as if he remembered my freak out that first time. I was grateful that he remembered, not wanting to feel the panic I had felt then.

He kept glancing over at me, a smile tugging on the corner of his lips. I couldn't help but smile too, and wonder when all of this would end.

It was inevitable... the end. I could only hope it would be later rather than sooner.

He left the things in his car, reaching out his hand to offer me help getting out. I took it and let him wrap his arm around me again, guiding me into the building.

We stepped onto the elevator, the sexual tension looming over us in the air and threatening to crush us both in its wake.

I stood still, staring straight ahead and pretending I didn't feel his eyes on me.

When the doors opened, his hand again rested on my back as he pushed me forward towards his door.

"Have a seat on the couch. I'll grab us a drink." He said, pushing his way in.

I sat down, watching him pour two cups of coke into tall glasses before coming over to sit next to me.

"So, what do you want to know?" He asked, turning to sit sideways so he could face me.

"I want to know what happened to you." I said.

"Should I start from the beginning? It might take a while."

I could see the pain return to his eyes as he stared at me, waiting for my answer.

"Just tell me the summarized version." I said, suddenly unsure if this was something I wanted to know.

He took a deep breath in, swallowing before taking a sip of coke.

"My dad was abusive, he got off on hurting me and calling me names. My mom just sat back and watched, never coming to my aid. When I was still young she left, leaving me with him. It only got worse from there. He blamed me ya know, blamed me for her leaving. He told me if I wasn't such a pussy she would have stayed. The truth was, it wasn't me. She left because she wanted to. Because she wanted more. More money, more power, more influence. After a while my dad stopped even talking to me, thrusting money at me to make me go away. I was sixteen when he told me to get out. He gave me ten thousand dollars and told me he never wanted to see me again. I haven't seen him since, and every few months on the first, he deposits another ten grand in my bank account. I tried once to call him, to try to have some sort of relationship with him, but he just cursed me and told me to never call again." He sighed, looking down at the floor.

"That's terrible." I said, reaching out to grasp his hand.

"When I first came here to Clemson, I acted out a lot. I made sure to get into as much trouble as I could so he would have to rescue me. He didn't want to see me, but he also didn't want me to tarnish his reputation. I'm sure you have heard, my dad funded over half this school so that the teachers would cut me some slack. Whenever I would get into trouble, the dean would send me back to class for fear that the money would stop coming in."

I had heard. I just didn't believe it. It seemed odd to me that a school would take so much shit from a student just for money. I guess I was wrong.

"I'm sorry." I said, leaning forward to rest my forehead against his.

"I wish that were all Piper, I wish it was that easy." His eyes hardened, the pain swimming beneath his orbs.

"You don't have to." I said, my hand reaching up to run through his hair. "We don't have to talk about it."

Thanks to @my_life32 for the cover.