Sometimes, even though on the calendar it says there are only a few days left till spring starts; it feels like winter has just begun. Two seniors left school early to go Star Gazing at his house. In the pouring rain, his glasses wet, her hair heavy with the weight of the water, they waited for the bus. Just as he lit a second cigarette, regretting rekindling a bad habit, the bus arrived, forcing him to discard the newly ignited cigarette. On the crowded bus, the two found empty seats and sat silently. He fell asleep. She took of his glasses, which had fogged by the sudden warmth and comfort of the bus. As they arrived at his house, he lit another cigarette and got the mail, which has dampened in the rain. By this time, they both had to pee, making the entrance to the house a bit complicated. He unlocked the door, flicked the cigarette, but dropped the mail when the alarm rang.

"Could you get those for me?” He requested from her.

"Sure,” she said.

The door was fully open and inviting, he punched in the alarm code and turned to use the bathroom, but she was already inside. He waited and entered the kitchen to put the mail on the counter. He lit another cigarette straight from the stove. She entered the kitchen with a slight grin of accomplishment. Walking by her, he half-ironically smiled to acknowledge her bathroom victory and went to the bathroom. When he exited, she was in the kitchen, opening his mail.

“You didn't get into Washington.” She informed him.

"Their loss.” He answered.

At once, they rushed down the stairs to the basement. It was still dark, on account of the late winter or the rain. They did not turn on the lights in the room. Hand in hand, to guide each other, even though it was his room, they walked to his bed and plopped down. They looked up on the ceiling. His knees were up, she was lying somewhat on her side. She handed him his glasses.

"Right," he said.

They just laid there silently for a few minutes, staring at the glow in the dark neon stars they had put on his ceiling in the beginning of high school, when they were friends and looked forward to reaching for the same stars together.

"Some music perhaps?” She asked him.

"Yeh, okay, anything in particular?” He responded.

"You choose," she said.

"Your choice is David Gray," he spoke with a slight hesitation.

"Guilty pleasures I guess," she replied with the same slight hesitation.

In one motion, he was out of his bed, approached his computer, and loaded the David Gray play list. He adjusted the volume and turned to her, making sure it was right. Then he stumbled back to the bed, tripping over a pair of pants. This time when he sat down, she immediately asked him, "Are you ready?"

"I guess so."

"Okay, which one do you want to be," she asked him referring to the stars on the ceiling.
"Why do I have to go first?” He tried avoiding her question.

"Are we doing this or not?"

"We are.” The same grin of victory returned to her face when he conceded with that response.

He took his position, lying on his pillow, next to her and on top of her long curly hair which sprawled itself over his pillows; both their heads looking ahead. “An all time best girl smell,” he thought to himself silently as he decided to be the white neon moon. "I think I will start with the moon,” he told her.

"I think that is as good as any a place to start,” she answered him reassuringly.

The game they were playing was Star Gazing. Each of them picked a sticker they would be in their own sky. Then they had to name all the astral objects near their own. The names could be people in their lives, they could be subjects, things, anything really, there were not many rules. So he started.

"Well that star, kinda laying in my crescent over there, I guess that would be…” He stopped, not knowing what she wanted.

"Look, just say what you feel,” she said a bit irritated.

"I don't know, all the stars, they are all me,” he joked.

"You can't be all of them,” noticing the joke, she continued, "But seriously, just be honest about what you think you are in the scheme of things."

"There are normal ways to have this discussion,” he suggested.

"No there aren't. No, stop being such a cock tease and play the fucking game."

With that, he tried again. "Okay, that same star, that's my brother. No wait, no it isn't, my brother is the green one behind me, you know, the one watching me, but you just can't see whether it's actually behind me or in front of me. I mean look, it's either in the back of the pack of stars, or way out front, but regardless, it is watching over me. You know?"

"And what about the one inside you?” She was clearly interested in that one.

"That's such a tuff one. That one needs me. At the same time, it's dragging me somewhere; it's like in a perfect position. I don't know if anyone needs me that much and is willing to get that close to me." A small tear, which she would never notice, came to his eye.

"But the big pink one in the center is someone who really lights up the sky. I mean you see how my curve kinda points towards her, she has her own gravitational pull on me."

"I think I am going to be that one,” enjoying the power she had over him.
"Then there are those trails of white stars in the corner, the comet. I guess they would be my group of fun friends that sometimes I choose to hang out with, when they approach me on the way."

"What about that big blue one in the corner?"

"Hmm good one." He gave himself a second to think. "That would be my goal in life."
"Kinda far for a goal in life."

"It's the chase that counts."

"And that one, the little reddish one that tucks itself to my left, that is my parents, pretending not to be there but always urging me onward."

"They are pointing in the opposite direction of the blue one you said was your goal,” she commented.

"I hope your blue one is a girl and the one inside you is your goal,” she continued.

"Maybe. Anyway, it is your turn, the sky, my dear, is yours." He smiled as he said this.

"Actually it is ours." Now she had her turn to smile.

"Well as I said, I am the bright pink one in the center. Well you made this seem easy."

"Did I? It wasn't. I don't even know how I got through it,” he said honestly.

“Well,” she continued, “see those stars that sprinkle the space near me, they are my good friends. And the really big and bright ones over there in the corner, they are the people I never became friends with. The moon, well that is God.” He didn’t believe that.

"Well what now?" He asked her.

"I don't know, I guess we just lie here till we are done," she answered.

"I mean in general, what do we do now, schools over and such…I don't know, you know how I get, scared."

"What makes you think I would have those answers?"

"Well you built me a sky and universe, maybe you could provide me with answers,” really asking her though.

"God, I don't know what to say. We didn't play the game right."

"What's the right way to play?"

"We dwelt on the past for too long, we need time to just sit and take in what has happened to our world."

But the rain continued to pound from the sky. Together, they were unable to hush the sounds of the rain. He looked at her and smiled. She leaned over to return his smile; her hair fell over her face. His hand approached her to brush her hair away. His hand lingered for what seemed to be an eternity. Time changed then as he moved to kiss her. She stopped him, but reassured the impulse by pulling the covers over them, while she kicked a shoe off from under the covers.

Afterwards, they were still in bed, under the covers, still looking up at the sky they built. He interrupted the silence. "You know, I don't think I want to be the moon anymore, the moon is too much to too many people, maybe ill just be that yellow one in the corner. Look at how alone it is, it seems like it is enjoying its own light or something."

"The amazing thing is, "she said, "is how talented some people, like that star, could be, and you just feel like you never got to know them. Maybe I am just feeling nostalgic about school ending."

"Well, it doesn't really matter, the truth is, you'll always wonder if there is any 'Intelligent Life' out there.” They laughed together at his comment.

"Why can't we remember the bad times?" he asked of her.

"What do you mean?"

"Not all of high school was fun, most of it sucked in fact, but I just regret not enjoying all of it, so I'm only remembering the good times. Why does that happen?"

"Maybe hate and anger about something you can't change isn't worth carrying around."

“I know why,” he said, “it’s because the past implies time. And time,” he continued, “isn’t really what the universe is built on. We built time, man, I mean. It is a man made thing. Distance is the measurement of events. The distance the sun travels determines time, get it?” She nodded enough to encourage him to continue.

“I have always seen time as The X. Everything is always ‘just a matter of time.’ Everything depends on it, distance, life, love, healing, I think the independent variable is Distance. Things are always moving right? Time exists because the earth is rotating the sun, its distance that creates time. And it works nicely in life too, the journey, and it isn’t a matter of time until we die, its a matter of when we reach our end, like in any journey or race, it isn’t how long it takes you, its how far you go. So the reason the bad things get lost is because they are just time, they have little value in terms of distance. You remember the things that move you, distance speaking.”

"Yeh, I get it. It’s a nice thought, but you know, you have to learn from the past, right?” She asked.

"I am going to try to just forget,” he said.

"The past is like our sky. I mean every time I look at it I see it differently, yet it never changes, and you can't ignore it. I guess what's really important is that when you try moving on remember to use the stars to navigate."

They stayed in an embrace a few moments longer, and then she moved to her side of the bed, looked up at the stickers, and said, “As long as there are stars behind you, you'll never be lost."

Silence came over the room and they could hear the rain tap on the street, but they were safe on the inside, the blanket wrapped around their feet.