Sparks flew into the night sky both literally and figuratively. Under the millions of stars, two hunched figures, one taller than the other,  sat across from each other, a small campfire between them, marshmallows and sweet potatoes burning as they lay abandoned on kebab sticks. Both of them sat still and soundless, leaving it to the crackling fire and whistling wind to break the suffocating silence.  Despite nature’s beauty on full display around them, the situation could not be any less romantic. They could have passed as statues until the wind whipped the hoods off their heads, revealing their glaring eyes.

“You stole it, didn’t you,” the dark-haired boy spat, his voice laced with venom. The girl said nothing, the campfire’s heat distorting her ethereal features.

One moment passed.

Then another.

They remained motionless.

The boy’s eyes darted around, scanning the girl’s face for any change in emotion, the vein in his neck nearly bursting out of his tan skin. He searched for answers, for remorse, for something --- anything inside the girl’s icy eyes other than anger. And yet, the girl was still silent, steeping in a pool of her rage. As time flowed past them, they allowed their already blazing eyes to fill with more and more hatred, daring the other to make a move.

“Answer me, Lia.” His tone overflowed with rage, nearly giving way to a shout. Still, the girl remained exactly as she was, agitating the boy even more if that was possible. It wouldn’t have been a surprise to him if she sat there for an entire week. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the patience for that, and without warning his emotions overwhelmed him.

He sprang to his feet, fists clenched, and stalked over to the girl. Her eyes shifted up towards his, but she still did not move. His hand shot out to her wrist, yanking her up, “I said, answer me,” he growled.

Lia’s cold eyes pierced into his fiery ones, “And so what if I did. I sold it. There, Ryan, I said it. Happy now?”

The boy’s eyes flashed, “Why.” And when Lia was once again silent, he exploded. “How could you? You know what that necklace meant to me. You watched me work my ass off just to afford it. You know what it’s like, you work just as hard as me. You knew how hard it was to get that goddamn piece of jewelry!” He gripped the collar of her jacket, pain beginning to spill into his eyes. “You’re my best friend, goddammit! You know how frugal I usually am, so why couldn’t you just let me have this one thing? What kind of monster-'' he sighed harshly, unable to believe the current situation. The boy closed his eyes, and turned around, pushing his hand into his hair before turning back around. 

Lia’s eyes were downcast, hands opening and closing, heaving shaky breaths, her body trembling. But Ryan did not waver. 

“Are you really just gonna keep sitting there? You’ve got to be kidding me. Would you just stop running away from-”

The girl shot up feet, the ice in her eyes replaced by pure rage. Losing all composure she grabbed Ryan by his shirt collar. “Don’t you dare speak to me that way,” she snarled and kicked him to the ground. Hard. Mere seconds later, Ryan was back on his feet, charging towards his former best friend. The two fought, creating a cacophony of snapping twigs, punches, and yelps of pain among the serene scenery. Oh, what a treat the stars were in for that night, watching such a glorious and dramatic show.

“Tell me, you crazy bitch, why’d you do that? You were never like this before. I kept asking you over and over again, but you just give me that same look and walk away. Why am I the only one putting effort? Do you know how suffocating it was to be your roommate? I even made it so obvious, how could you not have noticed how I...” Ryan trailed off. He had Lia pinned to the ground, eyes blazing, panting heavily from both physical exertion and frustration. How romantic.

Lia took advantage of his brief moment of vulnerability and shoved the boy off of her and, using her forearm slammed his back into a nearby tree trunk, arm pressing into his ribcage.  “And what about you huh? Look at you not even able to finish your sentence and tell me what you were going to say. What a hypocrite,” she rolled her eyes, tongue poking at her cheek. “You were the one who said you would help me pay my mother’s hospital bills. We were already struggling to pay them and my mother is in no condition to get discharged. While you were so goddamn focused on that stupid necklace, I was focused on my mother. Who’s the one at fault huh? And that week..that week...” she stopped, realizing how much control she had relinquished over her words. She hated that. She hated losing control over herself, and her fiery eyes froze over once again.

“That week what,” Ryan glared, taking the chance to throw her arm off his chest, “Don’t give me that look again. Do you know how many times I’ve tried to confront you about this? There’s more to this isn’t there. With this week’s paycheck, both of us know full well that you could have paid that hospital bill.”

Lia shut her eyes and exhaled slowly, seeming to finally give up hiding everything away. When she opened her chocolate eyes again, they were soft and glazed over with tears. The wind battering at the cuts and bruises on her face wasn’t helping either. She stood up shakily, “Let’s go inside first,” as she doddered over to the tent. Ryan followed her, boots crunching over the kebab sticks and marshmallows that had been reduced to crisps.

The two sat across from each other once again, bodies not far from each other, the tips of their boots touching. A much different atmosphere surrounded them compared to earlier in the night. Ryan’s angry expression wavered at the sight of his usually hard-headed and strong best friend tearing up. Nevertheless, he looked at her expectantly, signaling her to continue what she had been saying.

Lia hesitated before finally saying, “I couldn’t afford to pay the hospital bill that week because I was fired from my job. A white employee that had family connections with the boss replaced me, even though I’m much more experienced and competent than that bastard. Ugh, the pompous way he spoke and his arrogance, my God, it’s a miracle I didn’t throw myself off a cliff from hearing him introduce himself to everyone. But I’m an 18-year-old Asian girl, so I guess that’s just how the world works,” she leaned her head on the rolled mattress behind her, staring up at the light hanging over their heads. “The hospital bill was due that week, so what other choice did I have other than selling your necklace. Nothing in our house is really worth enough to pay that bill, and plus the necklace wasn’t essential to living anyway. You never even explained who you bought that necklace for anyway, what the fuck went through your mind when you bought it? There are so many more important things to pay for! And before you ask, I didn’t tell you about my job because I was so stupidly ashamed that all my hard work was washed away by this stupid reason. You know me and my pride, and how could I face you after all that? And plus I was just so...” she trailed off once again.

Ryan shot her an annoyed look, “Seriously?” he deadpanned.

Lia pursed her lips, eyes darting everywhere except his face. “Um, I was just so sick of watching you jumping all around the house, while I had to deal with that shit. And God, the thought of you gallivanting all over town with some girl you met made me feel sick. What girls do you even talk to besides me? And you’re not gay so, that means you fell in love with some other girl that’s not me, and do you know how annoying-” she clapped her hands over her mouth, realizing what she had just said, eyes slowly shifting back to his, her thumbnail scratching at her index finger repeatedly. She quickly pulled her gaze away from his and towards the ground, eyes filling with fresh tears at the thought of screwing yet another thing up.

Ryan lifted her chin and met her eyes with a soft expression, his hatred caving into concern. Pulling her into an embrace, he stroked her hair as she cried silently. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly but did not reciprocate the hug.

“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have bought it without telling you beforehand anyway. I guess you’re not the only one with crazy stupid pride. Look at me always bragging about how virtuous I am and not being able to keep my priorities straight and admit my mistake,” the boy muttered.

“Then why’d you buy it?” she asked, staying still in his arms.

Ryan sighed, “Look Lia, your mother told me not to tell you this, but she’s getting an euthanasia.” He could feel Lia start to try to pull away from Ryan and the shock going through her body, but he just pulled her closer to him. “She said not to tell you because she wanted you to focus on the big project you were doing in your job,” he continued shakily, “And-and so I just thought that I could buy a necklace with the money we now had because we don’t have to pay as much for...”

Lia shoved Ryan off of her, “And so you’re just gonna let her? Without asking me first? What is wrong with you?” her eyes hardened again, “This is some kind of joke isn’t it? You’re kidding me, right? Right?” She scanned his face for any sign that this was all just a prank. Her efforts were of no avail. “I have to go see her. Where are the car keys?” she frantically stood up, pacing around the tent in search of the keys.

“Lia,” Ryan gently encircled his fingers around her wrist to stop her, “It’s almost one in the morning. We can go see her tomorrow.”

She sat back down slowly and reached her arms around Ryan’s neck, forgetting their fight with the new information. Her body felt completely numb; she felt so uncomfortably hot in her jacket, yet she also felt frozen. The cold sweat on the bridge of her nose mixed in with the tears trickling down her cheeks. Strangely, she couldn’t seem to cry much. Even though it felt like something was lodged in her chest and it was hard to breathe, her cries were silent. 

Finally, after a long few minutes she spoke again, “Is she in a lot of pain? Why did doctor agree to do the procedure? Is it-is it really that bad? Does she really want to…”

“I don’t know, she wouldn’t tell me any details,” he began to trace shapes on her upper back, “but you can ask her tomorrow. It’s probably better to hear it from her rather than me anyway.”

“Okay,” she muttered so quietly that it was almost impossible to hear. Unable to continue talking about her mom, she choked out, “What-what about the girl then? Are you still gonna confess to her?”

“Lia,” he said, pulling away slightly to look directly into her glistening eyes as the wind continued to howl outside the tent, the smell of burnt sweet potatoes in the air, and millions of stars watching them, “that girl was you.”