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Chapter 4

Author: Redleaves
Emily had already pulled him a couple of steps away when I couldn't help calling out to him.

"Lucas, do you still remember our promise?"

He patted the velvet pouch. "Relax. Who do you think I am? The wizard with the best memory in the whole school."

Emily looked annoyed. "If you two keep talking, the ball will be over. You promised me the first dance, Mr. Best Memory in the Whole School."

I stayed where I was, feeling vaguely uneasy.

The lights above the dance floor slowly dimmed, and the whole room whooped and cheered as Emily and Lucas danced together.

Two dances came and went.

They still hadn't come back.

Just then, gasps went up on the other side of the dance floor.

"Someone's doing the starry-sky spell!"

"No way! Seriously? Stardust powder's super expensive. It's so bright! I can't believe he got this much!"

Hopeful, I looked up and saw Lucas in the middle of the crowd, casting the spell.

I couldn't wait. I ran toward him.

I'd never gotten the photo he'd promised me, and I'd never gotten to share a single dance at our graduation ball with the boy I'd liked for years.

But at least there was still this starlight.

My heart was racing as I looked at him across the crowd.

He saw me too, but the moment our eyes met, he looked away guiltily.

The next second, the last handful of glittering silver powder went flying into the air.

All at once, countless points of light blazed to life above the banquet hall, like a shining sea of stars.

The lights flowed and gathered until, at last, they spelled out one dazzling name.

[Emily Waters]

"Oh my God! It's Emily's name!"

"Told you! If that's not a grand confession, what is?"

The cheering and applause swallowed me whole.

Starlight fell across Emily's hair and the fingertips she'd pressed to her lips in delighted surprise.

She stood in the brightest spot in the room and smiled, her eyes shining with tears.

I couldn't move.

Everyone around me surged forward, pushing me half a step back. That was when I realized how badly my chest ached.

"Wendy."

Emily came over and hooked her arm through mine with exaggerated affection.

"When Lucas said he was going to cast the starry-sky spell today, I just knew it was for me.

"You don't mind that he didn't spell out all three of our names, right? There was only so much powder, and there wasn't enough space."

Numbly, I pulled my arm away.

I'd always been the third wheel.

Lucas finally walked over to me. He pressed his lips together. "Wendy, I actually saved a little for you. Once everyone's gone, I'll cast one just for you."

His promise had been reduced to a consolation prize.

I couldn't accept that.

"Don't bother. I don't want it anymore."

That rattled him. "Why not?"

"No reason. I just don't feel like seeing it anymore."

Lucas's smile slipped.

"Wendy, what are you sulking about?"

I fought back a sob. My lips trembled as I asked, "Lucas, do you really think leaving a little for me means you didn't break your promise?"

He froze for a second, and his face darkened. "That's your own fault! You always keep everyone waiting. You just stood at the edge of the dance floor like a statue, not moving an inch. You could've been right there with us."

Emily said softly, "I'm sorry. This is all my fault... I shouldn't have let Lucas spell out my full name...

"Then there would've been room for Wendy's."

Lucas said irritably, "It's not your fault. You're still looking out for her, even now, while Wendy's over here making such a big deal about who came first.

"It's pretty clear who doesn't treat us like friends."

He'd promised that the starry-sky spell would be for me alone.

And now I was the one in the wrong.

I didn't dare look up. I was afraid that if I did, the tears would fall.

I'd planned to tell Lucas and Emily tonight that I was going to school halfway across the world.

But now, there was no need to bother them with it at all.

A classmate noticed the tension among the three of us and came over to nudge Lucas's arm. "Hey, are you guys this sad about saying goodbye? What are you doing tomorrow? Wanna go rock climbing with us?"

Lucas was about to answer, but Emily rested her head on his shoulder. She looked pleased with herself, like she'd been waiting for this moment all along.

"No thanks, we already have plans.

"Tomorrow he's taking me to the Southmist Forest to see the fireflies."
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