“—and Daniella Star, she’s just so badass—what?” Ellie’s voice cracked mid-sentence, her hand still frozen in midair like she’d been drawing a constellation only she could see.

She looked over at you, wide-eyed, breath slightly short from how fast she’d been talking, as if her own excitement had just caught her off guard. Like she forgot, just for a second, that you were even in the room.

You blinked slowly, still caught in the trance she’d put you in.

She’d been going on for what must’ve been half an hour; though time got weird when it came to her. She’d sat beside you with that familiar glint in her eye, a well-worn copy of Savage Starlight clutched in one hand, the other gesturing wildly as she explained something about issue #14 that made everything make sense now. Her words tumbled over each other, breathless and bright. Trying to tell you everything before it escaped her.

You didn’t even understand half of what she said. Not really. Not like she did, but you didn’t need to.

You were too busy watching her—the way her mouth curled around certain words, the sparkle in her eyes, how her whole body leaned in when she talked about something she loved. It was so easy for her to disappear into it, to pour all that messy, brilliant energy into the air between you. She didn’t even realize what it did to you. Didn’t realize how it made your chest ache in the most tender way.

And god, the way she looked at you when she realized she was rambling—shoulders tensing just a little, voice softening, like she was embarrassed. Almost like she thought she’d said too much.

“You tired of listening to me talk?” she asked, quieter now. Her ring finger and pinkie were pulled into her other hand, nervously tugging at them. Her gaze dropped for a moment like she was bracing for a yes.