It had taken Tom weeks to summon any sort or courage. What if he stuttered? What was the right thing to say? What would they do? Would she say yes? After several weeks of thinking about it and his Dad watching him have a mental battle, he'd finally done it - asked Rosie out on a proper date. He couldn't believe his luck when she'd said yes. The plan was simple: a picnic up at the lake. His dad had even offered to lend him the old Morris Minor for the day. She had said yes so quickly he thought she had actually said no.
But the night before their big outing, a soft tap-tap-tap on his bedroom window startled him awake. He sat up, heart racing, and peeked out to see Rosie standing below, her bike propped against the hedge.
"Come on!" she whispered loudly, motioning for him to join her.
Tom didn't hesitate. Pulling on his jacket and grabbing his own bike, he tiptoed past his sleeping father's room and out into the cool night.
They rode through the empty village, the moonlight casting long shadows as the wind rushed past them. Rosie led the way, her laughter ringing out like music in the still air.
"Where are we going?" Tom called after her, struggling to keep up.
"You'll see!" she shouted over her shoulder.
They finally stopped in a field just outside the village, the bikes toppling into the grass as they lay back and gazed at the endless expanse of stars above them.
"Did you know," Rosie began, her voice soft, "that every star has a story?"
Tom turned to look at her. "Oh yeah? Like what?"
She pointed to one particularly bright star. "That one's Fred. He used to be a fisherman, but he was so good at catching fish that the sea decided it wanted to keep him. So, it threw him into the sky to light up the waters at night."
Tom chuckled. "And the others?"
Rosie grinned. "Well, that's the fun part. You get to make them up as you go."
They stayed there for hours, trading stories about the stars, until the first hints of dawn began to color the sky. Tom didn't want the night to end. For the first time in his life, he felt completely alive - free, like Rosie.