The star that has to choose

Dear Oliver,

I know we barely know each other. And please, forgive me for any issues with words. But I have things I want you to know. I'm just afraid to tell you in person. I do not want your sympathy, just your understanding, and knowledge. I know I act different than the others. And I hope you are not with me because you feel sorry for me. You have no reason to feel sorry for me.

But let me get started. I want to tell you why I am not as advanced as most people my age. It's a story I haven't told many, and I want to keep it that way. I gave you this letter when I knew I could trust you.

"When I knew I could trust you..." Oliver read to himself and then sat there for a moment. He wanted to read the rest, although it was lengthy, he knew it would let him inside her mind. But she didn't mean for him to have it. He doesn't want to hurt her or break her trust.

After a few hours of debating, he folded the letter back up and headed out to go see June.

He knocked on the door but got nothing but silence. His heart dropped. Did she hate him already? He knocked again.

"Who is it?" he heard Maia call out, her voice cracking at the end. He heard her hit the wall.

"It's me, Oliver. I have something for you." he tried to sound as happy as possible.

She threw open the door and her face was red and her eyes puffy with tears.

"Go ahead!" she yelled as she turned and went back into the room. "Go ahead and throw it at me!" she screamed as she turned around and started pulling at her hair. "I never should have written it, I'm sorry!" she wept onto the floor, waiting for Oliver to make fun of her and belittle her.

"I didn't read it," he said quietly, walking into the room. "I read the first two paragraphs and then stopped. I wanted to return it so you give me to me properly when you were ready." he sat the note down on her vanity as he shut the door and looked over at Maia who was still curled up on the floor.

"Are you okay? I'm the only person who saw it and I didn't read it, I swear!" he sat down next to her and placed a hand on her back, causing her to flinch away.

"Don't lie to me." she sobbed into her hands as she rested her forehead on the hard wooden floor.

"I'm not lying. I swear on my life." Oliver tried to comfort her, and bring her some peace.

Slowly, she started calming down and just laid there in a child's pose, trying to calm her breathing.

"You promise you didn't read it?" she choked as she sat up, wiping the years from her face.

"I promise." he reassured her.

There was a long pause.

"Do you want to?" she finally asked quietly, looking over at the folded pieces of paper with his name scribbled on them.

"Only if you want me to. But you didn't seem ready for me to read it so it's up to you." he placed his hands on his lap, looking at Maia with kindness in his eyes.

He didn't know this girl's story, but he knew he wanted to. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to be her best friend, if not more.

"I mean, you didn't read it when you easily could have. But it contains some personal stuff I don't know if I'm ready to talk about," she whispered, looking at her hands. "I only want to talk about certain parts. The rest, I just want you to know. As my friend. You should know." Oliver's heart jumped at hearing her call him her friend.

He knew he loved her. They'd barely known each other for a couple of weeks but it was clear to him. He wanted her. But ultimately, he wanted her to be happy, even if she meant she was with someone else and he was just her friend.

Maia slowly stood up even though he legs felt unstable, and walked over to the note. Oliver noticed she was much shorter and thinner than the other girls he had seen and wondered why. She had been looking a lot healthier since she arrived, and he was glad to notice that as well.

Maia picked the note up and turned it over in her hands.

"If I give this to you, I want you to burn it after you finish reading it. Okay? No one else can read it."

"Okay, I promise. Only my eyes will see what's on that paper."

Maia stayed silent, turning over thoughts in her head.

She wanted so badly for Oliver to read it, but she still felt nervous about it. This note would have been the most she's ever written and the most emotional. She knew it would change their friendship forever, and she wasn't sure she was ready for that.

"Here." She handed him the folded note. Oliver looked at her.

"Are you sure?" He asked as she slowly reached for it. He knew this was a big deal to her.

"Yes. But don't read it until you get home and somewhere private." She instructed.

"Of course." He answered as his hands slowly took the note. He placed it in the breast pocket of his uniform and made sure to button it back shut. "There. No one else will even know it exists." He reassured her as she sat back down on the bed.

Maia smiled at the gesture, relieved that he didn't read it. She was still wound up from losing it in the first place, but she pushed those feelings away the best she could.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked, pushing some hair out of her face. Maia nodded slowly.

"Good. Do you want help cleaning up this mess?" he looked down at the mess of random objects from the drawers and top of the vanity.

"Help?" she looked at him. "You want to help me?" she asked.

"Of course I do." Oliver stood up and headed toward the pile, picking through it. "Here, yo. sit there and tell me where things go. I'll put it all away for you." he started picking items like chapstick, lipsticks, mascara, and papers up off the floor.

Maia quickly jumped off the bed.

"No. No. I can do it. You don't have to. I'll do it!" she began getting emotional again as she desperately tried to get the items away from Oliver and clean up the mess herself.

Oliver took a deep breath and watched as she hurriedly put everything away.

"You know, I could have helped." he said, once she was finished.

"But I didn't want you to have to do it when I made the mess."

"But I wanted to help you."

"You wanted to...help me?" she tilted her head as she tried to grasp the concept that sometimes people help others simply because they want to.

"Yeah. I mean, it was a pretty big mess. I thought I'd do you a favor." he said, walking around and leaning on her vanity with his arms crossed.

"What's a favor?" Maia asked, turning to face him with a look of confusion on her face.

"Don't worry about it. I'll make it up to you. How does dinner by the lake tomorrow evening sound?"

"It sounds great. But how are we-"

"You let me figure out the details. You just get some rest." he gently grabbed her arm and started leading her toward the bed.

"But-"

"Stop." he said with a smile as he made sure she was covered up well. "Now, you get some rest, and I'll see you tomorrow." he hesitated for a moment before leaning over and planting a small and quick kiss on her forehead.