Star Ch. 01

She'd gone and done it.

She dropped the bomb, the "L" bomb. How the hell did this even happen? He was acting weird, she could already tell. Running his hands through his hair, shifting his weight from foot to foot, but most of all avoiding looking at her, looking into her eyes in particular.

His face was stricken, he looked shocked, confused and lost all at the same time. His eyes were everywhere but on her.

Her headphones were in, at least one was but she couldn't hear the music. Just sounds.

"Star," he began, looking at his shoes... "Where did... We're friends.. You're my best friend, I don't want to jeopardise that"

"yeah," she said her voice barely a whisper.

"We've been friends for so long, Star, you understand..." he looked at her now. His eyes pleading for what he couldn't say. He just didn't feel it. She knew.

"listen I gotta go, I'll call you okay?" he said, pulling her into a brief hug.

"I'm sorry star," he whispered in her ear before letting her go.

She watched him walk away, still dumfounded.

It wasn't until he turned the corner that she finally heard the music. You dropped a bomb on me by the gap band.

Oh, the irony!

She turned and walked in the opposite direction.

What the hell just happened?

****************************

3 Months earlier...

"I got em!!" Star was jumping up and down ecstatic clutching her phone. She nearly knocked it out the wall.

"You and I are officially going to see the purple one live in concert next weekend! Are you gonna die from excitement or what???"

"Fuck off star!" the voice on the phone countered. "those tickets have been sold out for weeks! There's no fucking way!"

"you better believe it baby! And I really had to go through some things to get these tickets so you better worship the ground I walk on!"

"okay I'm on my way over right now, I gotta see this!"

"kay, I'll see you in a sec."

Star hung up the phone and snuggled into her plush couch. Things were going so well! She just started a new job which allowed her to move into a bigger better apartment. She'd been living on her own since she was 18, and now sitting her cozy apartment, she took a look around. Everything was so her. From the bright colourful walls, to the peculiar yet enigmatic art on them. Her family would say, she threw whatever together and called it decorating, but she felt that everything had it's place in her house. From the iron and glass coffee and end table set to the African sculptures and masks.

The building was perfect. Not to mention her very best friend lived in the same building. As if on cue, her front door opened and he walked in.

"alrighty, hand em over!" he said a huge smile on his face.

She took a second to take him in.

Micah was beautiful. His blonde hair which was once long and shaggy in that surfer type of way was now cut short and almost always styled into fauxhawk. He changed his style as the wind blew and she loved it. His smile made more than a few girls swoon, big dimples in each cheek, perfect white teeth and his green eyes were memorizing.

She could never keep anything from him, he could always tell, it was funny though, he never knew the one thing that was right in front of him...

"Earth to star!" he said.

She grinned. "They're in my bedroom Mikey!"

He took off down the hall and star took the opportunity to take a look at his ass. And what a nice ass it was. Her family used to tease him about it all the time.

"That boy got some black in him somewhere! Someone's lying!" her aunt would say.

"granny musta been creepin, cause I seen his parents and they ain't got it like that!" was her mothers usual remark.

It really was that nice though. The kind you gotta hold on to with both hands. He would always laugh it off. His excuse was her mothers cooking.

"this," he'd say pointing to his butt, "was not here before I met you!"

They'd been friends since milli vanilli. When they were in middle school, she'd played purple rain for him. It was over for him from then on. They watched the movie over and over until she broke her mothers vcr trying to dub the movie for him.

When they turned 16 she worked for eight months to get him a guitar for his birthday. Not just any old piece of shit guitar, something found in local pawn shops. No, she'd gotten him a custom made gibson guitar that cost much more than she could afford even after 8 months of saving.

In the end, she had to persuade her mother into putting in the other half.

And now they were going to see their idol, the purple one, the one and only prince, live and in concert!

He came back into the living room, clutching the tickets in his hands and a strange look on his face.

"micah, you okay?" star asked rising from her seat.

"yeah," he said sitting down beside her.

She turned to him trying to change his strange mood.

"okay, picture this," she said closing her eyes.

"your standing in the midst of throngs of people, the guy liner and glitter is everywere!"

She sneaks a look at him and sees his eyes open, watching her.

"you know, this will work better if you actually close your eyes,"

He continued to look at her in that way... like he was seeing her for the first time. It was unnerving. Finally he closed his eyes.

"thank you for your participation," she chuckled.

"Now, your standing in the middle of throngs of people, bedazzled outfits galore, I'm, of course right beside you," she shifted slightly in her seat and felt him slide closer to her in his seat.

"suddenly, the lights in the stadium go out completely, and you hear that familiar sound."

Star reaches her hand over to the end table for her remote and presses play.

The sound of "kiss" fills the room and she looks at him. He's smiling, eyes still closed.

"I take it you can see it as well as I can!" she said excitedly.

He opened his eyes again and looked in hers still smiling.

"I can," he said leaning into her. "I can't believe you sometimes. Your just too good to me. How do I even deserve a friend like you in my life?"

His eyes were staring into hers as his voice took this more serious tone. Star didn't know what to think, the way he was talking was strange. Although he was always vocal about how much he adored her, it was always in a friendly way. Now, the way he was talking to her, was like he meant more. Like he wanted more from her.

"no one has ever done anything like this for me, ever," he said leaning in close enough to kiss. She could smell his dolce and gabbana cologne. His lips were inches away from her mouth. He was leaning over top of her and she wanted nothing more than for him to do it. To kiss her senseless, starry eyed, stupid. However they were describing it these days.

He wasn't moving. Just suspending his body, his lips just over hers. She could feel his hot breath against her mouth and could take it no longer. She pressed her body into his and was about to claim his mouth when she felt the vibrtion in his pocket. It scared her and she jumped back against the sofa.

Micah moved from over top of her and cleared his throat.

Reaching into his pocket he fished out his cell and answered.

"hey," he'd said unenthusiastically.

"hey baby, where are you I'm outside, I thought we were hanging out tonight," Star heard the sweet voice and knew without him saying that it was Kathryn, his latest conquest.

"I'll be down in a sec," he said hanging up without waiting for her reply.

Star stood up and walked to her kitchen. What just happened here? Had she really almost kissed her best friend? Had she really wanted to? She had to admit, it crossed her mind. But she'd never cross that line. She love and respected their friendship too much. So what was she doing? About to get kissy faced with Micah? She laughed out loud at the thought in her head. It was ridiculous!

"hey I gotta jet," he said interrupting her thoughts. He was standing in her kitchen doorway, looking at her, leaned over her sink.

"okay," she said. Her voice was hoarse. She cleared her throat and stood upright.

"I want you to know though, before I go, that I'm grateful. And I'll return the favour. I don't' know how yet," he said showing off one of his trademark, Micah smiles. He could literally smile from ear to ear.

"it's okay, you know how I am!" she said grinning back.

"yeah, I do," he said.

**********************

It was now 2 weeks later and he was avoiding Star like the plague. It was childish and he knew but he just needed to step back and get some perspective on things.

He expelled a breath and walked the short distance to his guitar. Picking up the instrument he sat back on his bed and played a few cords, his short hair falling onto his face as he played. Nothing in particular.

His fingers stopped as he heard the thump on his floor. He was about to get pissed, when he looked at the clock: 4:27am.

He sat the guitar back in it's case and laid out on his large empty bed. He remembered the last time someone was in it. The night he almost kissed Star. He didn't know what came over him. Well, actually he did. He'd gone in her bedroom, a place he'd been a thousand times, and saw those tickets on her dresser. He knew those tickets were sold out for months and there was no way to find them anywhere. But she'd found them. Not only that, they were front row tickets! No one had ever done anything so nice for him, and he meant to tell her so.

Ever since they were kids they were thick as thieves. She'd shared her kool-aid cup freezy with him and he was hers ever since. Even if she didn't know it.

When his father died, he was heartbroken. Even now, just thinking about it had the back of his eyes stinging with tears. He was nine years old and she was the first person he told. He'd ran from his bedroom, out the door, and down 40 blocks to her house. When he got there he ran right into her house, past her mother who was yelling at him not to run in her house, and into Stars bedroom where he collapsed into sobs. She didn't ask him anything. She'd just held him. Stroking his hair whispering soothing words in his ear while he cried.

Once he'd calmed down enough to talk, he'd explained what happened and she'd cried too. His father had been sort of a pseudo dad to her too and it hurt like hell to have him ripped from their lives.

But that was Star, she was kind, and selfless. She'd do anything for the people she cared for. Go to great lengths even. Like, hunting down and probably spending her savings on tickets to a concert she knew her best friend was dying to see.

Or how about the time she stood outside in the pouring rain with him while he waited to get into future shop to buy the new grand theft auto game.

Or how about the countless times she'd waited for him at movie theatres, restaurants, malls, wherever they were supposed to meet because he was running late as always. She was never angry or upset.

But when she was, watch out. This girl had a mouth like a trucker at times. It kinda turned him on, wondering if she'd use that kind of language in bed.

He felt a stirring in his pants as he imagined her now walking slowly into his room, wearing his favourite tee. It was plain, lavender with a faded guitar on it but it hugged her body so nicely. No pants, just the red lace boy shorts, he knew she wore. He saw her crawl onto his bed seductively, and then right up his body sitting on his lap.

He looked up at her, a devilish grin on her face as she peeled off the t-shirt and threw it over her shoulder. He took in her body then.

Her skin was like the finest chocolate, smooth and even. Her lips, were like soft pillows. Thick and plump enough to suck into your mouth. Her breasts were more than enough, way more than a handfull and he reached out and tested their weight through her red lace bra. She moaned as he rolled her nipples in his fingers.

He let his hands roam the contours of her body. Her curves were drastic. The way her tiny waist gave way to round seductive hips and an even rounder ass out back, she should wear a sign or something. Because a lesser man wouldn't be prepared.

He watched as she reached behind her and unhooked her bra. Her large brown breasts fell free of their captivity and danced in his face. His mouth was on her immediately, palming the other in his hand.

Before he knew it, he felt her hand snake between them and caress the growing bulge in his pants.

"Mmmmm," he moaned into her breast.

She leaned away from him, pushing him back on the bed. She pushed his white t-shirt up to his chin and kissed a fiery trail from the top of his chest down to his nipples which she took lovingly in her mouth and sucked until they were hard. She continued downward until she met the top of his jeans.

Her pink tongue slid slowly from her mouth and she licked him though his jeans.

"oh shit star," he moaned out loud.

The sound of his own voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He let out an exasperated breath. This wasn't right. She was his friend. His best, and at a few points in his life, his only friend. He couldn't feel this way about her, couldn't put their friendship in jeopardy. It wasn't fair to either of them he reasoned.

After he'd left her apartment that night he went outside to let Kathryn in. She was standing outside of the building wearing a long trench coat and heels. That meant only one thing; there was most likely nothing underneath. She smiled demurely at him when he opened the door and wrapped her slender arms around his neck.

"I missed you," she cooed placing sweet kisses on his lips.

Micah had liked her at a point, that much he knew. But she'd become more of a booty call than a girlfriend. What the hell, he thought kissing her and pulling her into the elevator. I could use a distraction.