24 CHAPTER 24

OPHELIA'S POV

I pulled up to Little Italy and rolled down the window. The restaurant was getting busier by the second. Booths started to fill up as the people entered.

I had almost been waiting in the car for 10 minutes when I saw Xavier come out.

He had changed into a pair of khaki shorts and a white shirt. His sleeves were rolled up showing his arms. Xavier didn't have a skinny built. But he wasn't bulky either. He was a fit guy. The veins in his arms were clearly seen. His white shirt emphasized his slightly broad shoulders. Even though the shirt didn't cling to him, I could see his biceps popping out of the shirt. His hair was a mess, as usual, due to the number of times he might have run his fingers through it. His green eyes sparkled in the dark as he slowly walked towards the car.

"Took you long enough, mister."

He sat inside and closed the door. But as soon as I rolled the window up, the atmosphere inside changed.

Was it the lack of air?

Or was it him?

But it suddenly felt warm.

"You were the one who dragged me to this damn party. I didn't even want to come in the first place."

He had a point.

Nevertheless, I was right.

I turned on the music and Hurts So Good by Astrid S started playing. This was one of my favorite songs.

"Who's throwing this party, again?"

"Michelle, a friend of mine is hosting this party. Her parents are out on a business trip."

He looked out of the window as he stared at the stars. His eyes had a hope of a little kid when he looked up at the sky.

"You like the stars, don't you?"

He turned towards me and looked at me at an intensity that made the butterflies in my stomach flutter around as if they were high.

The hope in his eyes was long gone and it was replaced with a darkness I wasn't sure I liked.

"I like to stare at places that I will visit in the future."

My knuckles tightened around the steering wheel as the meaning behind his words registered in my head.

"What do you mean by that, Xavier?"

He looked down at his palms and chuckled quietly.

"Don't we all become stars when we die?"

The sharp breath that I sucked in didn't go unnoticed by him. He stared at me like he wanted me to understand what he said.

Like he wanted me to realize what a fuck-up he thought he was.

I turned down the music.

Silence was the only thing spoken during the rest of the ride. We reached Michelle's house around 9:30. Her parents were both successful entrepreneurs. Which explained the huge mansion in front of us. I've been to her house a lot of times but this was the first time she had thrown such a huge party.

Pop music played loudly as we pulled into her driveway. We got out of the car and locked it.

As I walked towards the entrance with Xavier tagging behind, the strong smell of cheap booze hit us hard.

I almost winced.

My feet slowed down as the entrance approached. Just as I was about to enter, I felt something brush my hand. When I looked down, Xavier had my hand in his.

Oh my god! Xavier was holding my hand. It's not like I had never held hands with a boy. It just never meant anything.

But with Xavier's hand covering mine, I felt peaceful. Almost at home.

"Hey, Lia! I can't believe you came! I thought you wouldn't because it was too late. But I'm so glad you could make it."

One thing I forgot to mention about Michelle was that she was a blabbermouth. Xavier didn't know I only came to this party because of him and I didn't want him finding that out.

"Of course I would've come! When do I ever miss your parties?"

"I mean you haven't come to my pa-"

"Anyway, thank you for inviting me."

I walked past Michelle before she could speak any further. With Xavier behind me, I walked into the kitchen to grab some beer. I needed some liquor if I had to get through this night.

"What did your friend mean by that? Weren't you the girl that didn't miss any parties?"

That was me before my mind decided to hate the way I looked.

That was me before I stopped wanting to go out because I wasn't comfortable in my own skin.

"I don't know what she meant, Xavier. She's probably drunk. Let's grab some beer.

I took two cups and passed one to him. The first sip was bitter. My throat burned as I swallowed. But I drank the rest in one sip. I had to loosen up.

I had to become that girl who loved parties once again.

Not for me, but for Xavier.

I grabbed another cup and suddenly felt someone staring at me. I looked up and saw Xavier's intense gaze. He looked at the cup I threw out and back to my face.

"What!? Never saw a girl drink?"

"No, I never saw someone so desperate for one."

He sipped his drink slowly as we walked towards the living room. I saw a lot of my friends around, but today, I wanted to spend time with Xavier.

Today, was for him.

"So, why are we here again?"

That was something even I didn't know the answer to. I mean, I came to the parties to forget about everything that happened at home.

But today, I didn't want to forget.

I wanted to remember.

"To spend time together. That's what friends do, don't they?"

He took in a deep breath. Almost as if he was claustrophobic due to the number of people inside.

"So now we are friends, Ophelia?"

Before I could ask him what he meant, Jake, Michelle's brother, walked up to me.

"Hey, Lia! Long time, no see. How have you been?"

Not gonna lie, I had a huge crush on Jake in middle school and the first few years of high school. But, I guess, it just faded over time.

"I'm great, Jake. How are you? How's private school treating you? This is Xavier, by the way. He's a friend of mine."

I didn't like how he completely ignored Xavier.

"Oh hey, Xavier! Didn't even see you there. How are you, buddy? Private school's great but I miss our times together."

Xavier's jaw was clenched. That was something I saw for the first time. Did he not like Jake?

"I'm great 'buddy'. I'm gonna go grab another drink, Ophelia."

That was weird. I mean, Jake can be really full of himself, sometimes, but he wasn't a bad guy.

"Anyways, Jake! Enjoy the party. We must catch up though."

I didn't want to leave Xavier alone. I was the one who had brought him here. I couldn't just go talk with my old friends and abandon him in an unfamiliar crowd.

"Yeah, Lia. I'll text you." He hugged me and then left.

If this would have happened two years ago, then I would be melting into a puddle right now.

But I guess, I really have changed.

I went to find Xavier and found him leaning against the wall while gulping his drink like a thirsty man.

This guy had some nerve! He judges me for drinking and he does the same behind my back. If he drank at this speed while I was with Jake, it was probably his fifth cup.

Or even his sixth.

"So much for being desperate, Mr. I'm going to judge everyone but do the same."

He looked up at me and gulped down the remaining beer in his cup and threw it in the bin.

"How did your reconnection with your long lost love go?"

Long lost love and Jake! Those two phrases in one sentence made me want to puke and laugh at the same time.

I mean, sure, I had a crush on him but it was just because that was the only guy that listened to what I had to say when I was younger.

"First, Jake's a friend and second he- would you stop drinking, Xavier? I brought you here to enjoy this party. Not for you to win some beer drinking competition. If you want to say something to me, then just say. Are you this miserable with me, that you have to drink so desperately?"

Xavier kept the cup aside, but there wasn't an ounce of regret on his face. It was almost like he didn't care.

He remained completely unfazed.

"Ophelia, I am not miserable with you. I'm miserable with myself, okay? The sun has stopped shining and the birds have stopped chirping in the world I live in."

My eyes brimmed with tears as I heard the pain in his voice. It was no longer the Xavier that was always happy or the Xavier that acted cold to push me away.

It was the Xavier I wanted to hug and take away all his pain.

"Then step out of that world. We live in a universe with multiple worlds. We choose the world, we want to live in. Choose a better one. Not because I'm telling you to do so. But because you deserve it. You don't deserve to be stuck in this monotone repetition of time. Open your wings and find your world."

He looked down and ran his fingers through his hair. He sighed and looked back at me. His eyes held this grief that made my tears finally flow out.

"I lost my wings a long time ago, Ophelia. They're buried in my father's cold grave."