Stars Descend Upon the Lands

Mia was conversing with Jenny and their classmates during lunch when chaos ensued.

Loose, restless energy bounced off the classroom walls. Desks and chairs were knocked all over as students dashed toward the windows. Chatter filled the air, conveying the scene outside.

“Look! Cameras!” someone exclaimed, followed by another describing a set being prepared, cables being uncoiled, and tripods and lighting rigs being carried—movie equipment.

“No way! Are they filming here?!”

Jenny stood up from her chair and walked over to check. Mia remained seated while gripping the edge of her desk.

‘A film?’

Her gaze drifted to the open classroom door. Voices echoed faintly from the hallway; the class advisor and other faculty were there. She tilted her head as she listened in.

“I thought they weren’t arriving until later,” one staff member said.

“They moved it up,” another replied. “Good thing they brought their own security.”

The department chair sighed. “Indeed. We can't possibly handle all this ruckus by ourselves.”

“Still can't believe real actors are here.”

“And that we’ll be featured in a movie. Can you imagine?”

“How did they even know about this school? We never got this sort of attention before.”

The voices faded into the distance, leaving the classroom buzzing even louder. Mia was confounded, thinking that actors and movies didn't seem to belong in a public school with ceiling cracks and dented lockers. A sense of uncanniness rose within, and that prompted her to move, about to figure out why.

“Gyah!”

On her way to Jenny, someone tripped her. She felt the tug at her heel a split second too late. As she pitched forward, her hands flailed around and fortunately managed to grab onto a chair. Her eyes darted up to find faces twisted in derision.

“Can’t even do anything without your friend, and now, you have a boyfriend? You’re kidding.”

It’s the same people who mocked and ridiculed Mia earlier.

They must’ve waited for a chance for her to be alone. Her breath quivered, and she bit down on her lip lightly. She straightened slowly, deciding to pretend nothing happened.

“Just say it’s a lie, Rosswood,” one girl scoffed. “Someone like you doesn’t have what it takes-”

A wave of shrieks drowned the rest of her words.

They all looked back to find a tall figure perched on the windowsill. Messy red hair, lean frame, pierced ears, and a shirt with several buttons open—a handsome young man everybody quickly recognized. He chuckled as a crew member shouted at him from below.

“Keith Stonehill?!!!”

The room exploded.

Phones shot into the air. Some laughed, thrilled. Others screamed, overwhelmed.

‘I feel this happened before,’ Mia thought, swallowing nervously. ‘And this is the second floor. Why is no one pointing that out?’

Keith’s gaze swept from the window to the crowd around him, then stopped in her direction. His attention locked on her in an instant, and recognition flickered across his widened eyes. He stared for a moment before smirking and making his way to her, sending her scurrying into a corner.

The class spiraled.

“He’s coming in!”

‘No! Don’t come in!’

They watched astounded as Keith stood before Mia, who was shaking at this point. “Didn’t expect a lovely little butterfly to be wandering around here.”

“H-H-Huh?”

“What's with that reaction? Did you forget again?”

“U-Ummm…”

“Well, I can always remind you—about me, about last time-”

“Stonehill.”

A deep, husky voice came from the doorway, and the classroom shifted once more. Rather than shouting, silence filled the place this time. A crisp, stunned quiet rippled, with eyes bulging wide open and jaws dropping to the floor.

Wes Ashthorne showed before them all.

Mia was frozen as her classmates glanced at her. Then, whispers spread in a frantic, overlapping flurry.

“Hey, isn’t that…Wes Ashthorne?”

“No, no. Like the ‘Wes Ashthorne’?”

Wes didn’t acknowledge the students’ reaction. That, above all else, threw them into further disarray.

He didn’t wave. He didn’t smile. He walked with calm purpose, every step unhurried, straight toward her.

The realization dawned unevenly—first, a jolt of disbelief, and then, collective shock.

“Are you seeing this?”

“He’s going to her, too?!”

“So, the rumors are true, then?”

Mia, on the other hand, was focused on something else. Her usually casual and laidback boyfriend was wearing thin-rimmed glasses today. She blinked a few times before mindlessly letting out a breath of admiration.

Not only did he look intelligent and dignified, but also dangerously attractive.

'G-G-Glasses! It suits him so well! That uniform too! And that hair-'

“Mia, could you save that cute expression when it’s just us two?”

Wes’s words had Mia and the rest of the class practically tipping over.

Phones swung back to action and reframed the shot. Mia felt herself heating up, ready to combust from all the attention. Wes, noticing her discomfort, offered a kind and apologetic smile.

And now, everyone gasped, gushed, and gawked in the open.

“They’re actually real!”

“Woah! That’s insane!”

“Hey, what’s up? Don’t tell me you missed me already,” Keith said coolly, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Wes flicked his eyes to him sharply, his smile now icy. “We’re not here to play, so why don’t you quit that?”

“Oh, are you in character, Mr. Class President? If so, it’s only right for the campus bad boy to mess around. That’s my role. Besides, I’m just talking with this kind young lady, who helped me look the part. Isn’t that right, Mia?”

“Ermmm…” She did remember advising Keith on his character’s costume, but she refused to bring up the incident, sensing it would worsen the tension between him and Wes.

“I suggest you reread the script, or you’ll misinterpret. Delinquents aren’t the same as Casanovas, are they? You pull off both well, but a story with no female lead has no need for a swaggering charmer.”

“What are you talking about, Ashthorne?” Keith hissed.

Instead of responding, Wes stepped between him and Mia and mouthed the words, ‘Back off.’

The audience went wild, either typing on their phones furiously or eagerly recording the drama unfolding. It’s as though the two men were at the center of gravity, and everyone was inadvertently drawn into their orbit. In the middle of it all was one girl, barely holding herself together under the sheer force of the moment.

Lunch period would never recover from this.

---

“Wahhh… Jennyyy…”

Mia was at her limit. She trudged down the hallway alongside her friend, who had one arm around her shoulders to keep her upright. Her legs wobbled from the pressure her classmates had pushed her under all day, even almost giving in after being put in a spot.

It’s still hard to believe that Wes and Keith were at their school right now.

Apparently, they’re shooting some scenes for the upcoming movie, Empyrean Eclipse. Wes played an honor student who’d been a monarch in his past life, and Keith played a school delinquent who used to be his archenemy in that previous timeline.

Since the movie teaser had been released, many were interested in seeing the cast.

“Come on, girl. Stop acting like you’ve been at war.”

“B-But I have, Jenny,” she sniffed, feeling like crying. “Everyone kept looking. Everyone kept talking. Everyone kept…saying we shouldn’t be together...”

“They’re jealous, that’s all. Don’t mind them.”

“Ughhh… I wanna go home...”

“Already? I thought for sure you’d go meet him.”

“You mean Wes?” She paused, then exclaimed, “I-I can’t! He’s w-working right now, and if I go, I-I’ll be d-disturbing him! And there’s a lot of people-”

Suddenly, a piece of glossy, scented paper fell from one of the books Mia had been carrying. As she bent to pick it up, her eyes widened. It appeared to be a letter addressed to her, signed in Wes's elegant handwriting.

‘My dear princess, I apologize if I startled you. Kindly grace me with your benign presence when you are able. Before the day ends, I hope to share a few precious minutes with you.’

“W-When did Wes…?”

Jenny peeked over her shoulder, her grin immediate. “Oh, wow. A love letter from another century.”

She blushed and let out a distressed sound. “D-D-Don’t read it!”

“What? I think it’s adorable how he's slipping notes like some secret admirer," her friend quipped, smirking. “Almost like he’s just a boy in the next class.”

“It’s…my first time receiving one.” She clutched the paper to her chest.

“Yeah? I’m glad for you, Mia.”

Her chest warmed, and she couldn’t help but swoon. She read it over and over, trying to memorize every word.

But the happiness and affection fluttering in her chest lasted only until she noticed two girls watching them from the far end of the hallway—Gwen and Lucy.