her star boy - Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Devyn
I glance around the bedroom I shoved myself into when I found the bathroom to be occupied, and with a long line. And while I move over to the bed and sit myself on the end, I wonder what I ever did to deserve this.
I was a good kid. I never gave my mom trouble. Well not much anyway. I never lied, apart from that one time when I had a fake boyfriend. I got good grades, I graduated high school and college, became a Junior RN. Yet, in all of California, I had to end up at the same party as Luis Pierce.
Of course. Because last I heard, he went to Michigan for college; it seems he flew back here just to torment me. To ruin my day. When the universe tells you to stay home, you listen.
Turns out the universe also punishes you for not listening, because the door to the bedroom I'm in pushes open. I decide then that I have three clear options, including:
1. Use the hidden superpowers that I haven't unlocked yet to erase the memory of whoever is about to walk in here.
2. Hide in the closet.
3. Jump out of the window from the second floor.
I'm still pondering on these options when the person walks in, and then I'm not thinking anything at all, because Luis Pierce is standing in the doorway, gaping at me.
It isn't any easier, seeing him for the second time in five years. Unfortunately, he's everything that the teenaged me thought he would be; still a silly amount of tall, with toned arms and athlete's thighs, and, his face is still devastatingly gorgeous. Fortunately, I know first hand that a pretty face means nothing. The very boy that taught me that is standing in front of me.
"Hey," he says quietly, void of the cockiness I knew him to have.
"Are you following me?" I tilt my head, because of all the rooms on this floor, he happened to stumble into the one I'm in.
Luis's lips tilt up, ever so slightly. "This is my room."
I look up to the sky, or rather the ceiling, and I mentally shake my fist at the universe. This is clearly a lesson. I shouldn't have given all those guys the number to the Mary Sue Rejection Hotline, or continuously stolen from Serena's sweet treat drawer in college. It wasn't really stealing because I did it in front of her face. I decide that this is karma catching up to me for the guy I led on for two months in my sophomore year. He thought we were dating, and I thought we were established friends with benefits. I actually for real am sorry about that one.
"How are you, Devyn?"
When I look at Luis face again, I feel nothing. And that's good, because nothing is better than everything. Especially with him.
I lean back on the bed that I now know is his. I don't miss the way his eyes trail down my body. "I'm great, Luis," I tell him. "And so are you, by the looks of it. Redwoods, huh?"
He runs a hand through his hair, shorter than he used to keep it in high school. Clean cut but still more than enough to run your fingers through.
"Yeah," he huffs out a kind-of laugh. "My second year."
"I'm happy for you," I tell him, my voice blunt, because while I am happy for him, I don't want him to get any ideas.
"Yeah?" he almost smiles for real and I find myself want to see it. "Well, what about you? Are you a-"
"Paediatric nurse? I am."
Then, he does smile, and I smile too, because it's exciting finding out we both got to pursue our dreams, after so long apart. I remember that I had another dream back then, promises of houses and wedding rings, and my smile falters a little. Luis must notice it, because he clears his throat and rubs his hand down the back of his neck. A nervous tell.
"Well, I'm gonna go find Serena," I stand up, adjusting my skirt. "It was nice seeing you, Pierce."
I'm brushing past him on the way to the door when he says my name again. I glance over my shoulder.
"Can I see you again? I'm in California until January for the rest of the season." Bashful is a strange look on Luis Pierce. "Coffee, or dinner... or something?"
I don't turn to him. "I don't think that's a good idea, Luis, but I'll probably see you around. Enjoy the rest of your party."
"Dev, I'm so sorry," Serena says to me, sounding genuinely distraught. "If I knew Noah's friend Luis was your Luis I'd have never forced you to come with me."
A few hours later, we're in the front yard sitting on the wall at the end of the driveway, waiting for an Uber. It's quieter here, although the whole neighbourhood seems to be thrumming with the sound of the music.
"Reen shut up, it's not your fault. Plus, he's not my Luis. Hasn't been for a while." I nudge her shoulder with my own.
In all honesty, I don't think he ever was truly mine.
"I feel like an asshole. I ruined your Friday night Teen Wolf marathon just for you to bump into your cheater ex." She has the decency to grimace at that. "Sorry."
"Clearly, California isn't wide enough for the both of us," I smile as I look up to the real sky, glittering with stars.
I'd always dreaded seeing Luis Pierce again after we graduated. I never did, though, but I had this whole notion that my world would collapse and my knees would give out and I'd go back to the girl who cried herself to sleep for weeks wondering why she wasn't good enough.
None of those things happened though. Because in five years, I've figured out exactly who I am, and what I'm worth. Nothing could take that away from me again, not even Luis Pierce or his smile.