Chapter 9 

      "Between shadows and light"

One Friday afternoon, Bruno sent Aster a message:

Bruno: “My friends invited me out today. Do you want to come with us? I want them to meet you.”

Aster stared at the screen of her cell phone.

Her fingers were shaking.

What if they don't like me? What if they think I'm weird?

After a few minutes, he replied:

Aster: “Yes... okay.” (a little nervous)

At the meeting point

Aster arrived at the park where they were meeting. Bruno was already waiting for him.

“There you are! Come on, the guys are coming.”

Aster took a deep breath.

“Okay...”

A few minutes later, three of Bruno's friends arrived:

“Hey, Bruno!” said one, patting him on the back.

“Hey! So you're the famous Aster?” said another, looking at him curiously.

“He looks shyer than you said, haha,” joked the third.

Aster just smiled uncomfortably. His hands were sweating.

He felt like a weirdo.

During the walk, everyone talked and laughed. Bruno tried to include Aster, but he didn't know what to say.

At one point, he fell silent, walking a few steps behind the group.

One of the friends said to Bruno in a low voice, without any ill intent:

“Hey, your guy seems a little down today... is everything okay?”

He didn't mean it maliciously. But Aster heard him.

He froze.

“Turned off? Of course... they probably think I'm a nuisance. Bruno must be ashamed of me.”

Later

They went to an ice cream parlor.

Aster didn't taste her ice cream. She barely spoke.

Bruno took her hand under the table, but Aster pulled it away.

Bruno froze.

“Is something wrong, Aster?”

Aster looked at him. Her eyes filled with tears.

“I have to go.”

“What? Aster, why?”

But Aster had already walked away quickly, her heart in her throat.

Hours later

Bruno called her. She didn't answer.

He sent him messages. Nothing.

That night, Aster cried in his bed.

“I'm sure I've lost him now... I was a fool. Why am I like this?”

The next day

Bruno was waiting at his door.

“We need to talk,” he said firmly, with concern in his voice.

They sat down in a nearby square.

Aster couldn't look him in the eye. He felt ashamed of his attitude.

“I'm sorry... I heard what your friend said. That I was ‘dull’. I felt out of place. I thought you thought that too,” he said sadly.

“What? Aster, no!” Bruno took her hand. “My friends are jerks, but they didn't mean it badly. And I would never think that about you.”

He looked at her with eyes full of love.

“It's hard for me...” said Aster, her voice trembling. “It's hard for me to talk, to act ‘normal,’ not to seem weird. I'm afraid all the time that I'm not good enough...”

Bruno came closer and caressed her cheek.

"You are good enough. You don't have to change to fit in with anyone.

I chose you just the way you are."

My friends will get to know you better over time, but the most important thing is that you and I are okay.

Aster was moved. His eyes shone with tears.

“Do you still love me...?”

Bruno hugged him tightly.

“More than ever.”

They stayed like that, hugging, in silence.

Feeling the fear grow smaller with each shared heartbeat.