The stars at night are big and bright (C)

[Wraith]

Wraith just nodded at Fire's insistence on secrecy. She could understand it completely, even if she might be uncertain whether it was the right decision. But at this mention of Jonathan, she remembered how Fire had said she'd come here with someone else...and how she hadn't seemed that thrilled about it. "You're...not happy, though?" she asked hesitantly, not really sure how these things worked. Tara and Kennedy both seemed equally happy with boys or girls; Wraith had never looked at a single male with desire and hoped to God that none would ever touch her again.

[Firecracker]

"With Jonathan? Oh, heavens no," Fire replied, softly. "I thought that, maybe, I could forget about her if I started to see him. The longer this goes on, though, the more I see that this isn't what I want for myself." Slowly, she turned her head to look over at the other girl, nervously chewing on her lower lip. "You won't tell him, will you? I mean... I wouldn't want him to be another casualty of my unhappiness."

[Wraith]

"Of course not," Wraith assured her immediately. "I won't tell anyone. And anyway, I don't know him...he's not staying here at the lodging house?"

[Firecracker]

"He comes in and out from time to time," Fire explained. "Don't really know where he goes or what he does, but I don't exactly miss him when he's gone.

She looked up at Wraith and smiled shyly before tucking a stray curl back behind her hear. "Thank you..."

[Wraith]

"I should be saying that," Wraith protested, astonished by how light and relaxed she was starting to feel as the situation sank in. "You don't know...well, no, I guess you do know...it's amazing to have someone I can talk to like this," she finished, blushing yet again. "I mean...to think we both ended up here..." She laughed a little and shook her head shyly, looking up at the stars again.

[Firecracker]

"On the same roof of the same lodging house, with you teaching me about constellations," Fire continued, her voice soft. She laid back down on the roof and let her hands lightly prop up the back of her head. "I know the feeling, Wraith. I never thought I'd be able to talk to anybody about this, ever. Yet, here we are. It's like a strange page out of a book or something, don't you think?"

She exhaled slowly, her lips curling into a smile. "You know, it hasn't even been two weeks yet, and I almost feel like maybe my wish has started to come true."

[Wraith]

"Really?" She smiled back. "I'm glad." Her frivolous wish would probably never come true, but she had to admit that it seemed a good deal closer now than it had the night she made it. Lying beside Fire, she got lost in the stars, forgetting the cold wind, how late it was, and how they had to sell in the morning. It was the first moment of peace she'd had in far too long.

[Firecracker]

"Honestly, I didn't think that wishing on stars business would do any good," she confessed, smiling as she exhaled slowly. She watched her breath form into tiny clouds as it hit the night air and sighed.

"It's getting late," she finally whispered after being silent for a moment. "But, I don't want to go back inside." Returning inside meant returning to the world of secrets she had created for herself. The lies were growing tiresome and harder to keep up with. However, when caught between the empty rooftop and a clear night sky, she could finally be honest with herself. At this rate, she would take the cold fall nights over the warmth of the bunkroom any day.

[Wraith]

"Me either," Wraith admitted, knowing yet again exactly how she felt. This mind-meld thing was getting almost eerie. "I suppose we could sleep out here, although they might find us all blue and frozen in the morning..."

[Firecracker]

"Normally, I wouldn't like being blue and frozen," Fire remarked before carefully rolling into her side to face the other girl. "But this time, it doesn't seem too bad."

Then, a thought came to her. "What if we get the blankets from our beds and bring them up? Then at least we'd be somewhat warm."

[Wraith]

"Yes! And pillows," Wraith agreed, bouncing to her feet in a move worthy of a gymnast. She was actually excited by the prospect, as if she were ten years old and having a sleepover with Tara again. "Let's go." She was already slipping down the ladder, forgetting, as she sometimes did, that most people couldn't move as fast as she could.

[Firecracker]

Fire followed after her quietly, trying her best to keep up without making too much noise. She slipped carefully back into the bunkroom and approached her bunk. She grabbed her pillow and blanket gingerly, trying her best not to disturb the girls around her. This, by far, was the best night she had experienced since moving into the lodging house.

She tucked her pillow and blanket up under her arm before making her way back to the window again.

[Wraith]

Wraith followed her out with a pillow and two blankets--she'd taken the liberty of stealing Script's, since the poor girl wouldn't be needing it for a while. She threw the blankets over her shoulder, set the pillow carefully on top of her head, and made her way up to the fire escape with remarkable balance, pausing to wait for Fire.

[Firecracker]

Fire arrived at the rooftop a few moments later, her head shaking in amusement when Wraith came into view. "You could make a killing in the circus, do you know that?" she asked playfully.

She hoisted herself back up onto the rooftop and approached the spot where she was laying before. "I swear, I don't know how you do it."

[Wraith]

The pillow finally fell off of Wraith's head, but only because she was giggling. "The circus, huh? Don't know why I never thought of that." She kicked her pillow over to rest near Fire's and lay down, making herself comfortable. She wrapped herself up in her blanket and offered Fire half of the extra one. "I don't really know how...I, uh, used to live on the streets, and I didn't really like being seen or...or caught doing anything...so I learned to get around quickly and quietly. And to climb things."