Gwen’s POV
The smell of butter filled the kitchen as the popcorn popped in the microwave, and I couldn’t help but smile. This was exactly what I had planned, down to every last detail. Zeus and Stella, together on the couch, working through whatever mess was between them. Mia, Harper, and I hanging back, playing our part in the background. I loved when things came together so perfectly. 
Mia was standing by the counter, already holding a big bowl of popcorn in her hands, ready to head back to the living room. “I’ll take this back,” she said, but before she could move, I stopped her, putting my hand on her arm.
“Wait,” I whispered, “Give them some space. They need it.”
Mia glanced toward the living room, where Zeus and Stella were actually talking, not fighting. Zeus had a small smile on his face, and Stella wasn’t glaring at him anymore. It was… progress.
Mia’s lips curled into a smile as she leaned in to get a better look. “You’re right. They need to figure it out.”
I nodded. “Exactly. Stella needs this. So let’s stay out of their way for a bit.”
Mia didn’t argue. She just set the bowl back on the counter, giving me an understanding look. “You’re so sneaky, Gwen. I like it.”
“Just doing what needs to be done,” I said with a wink.
Harper was sitting on one of the bean bags by the counter, her arms crossed. “So, what now? We just hide out in here like villains?”
I chuckled, grabbing a small bag of marshmallows from the pantry. “Nope. We’ll have our own fun. Come on, let’s head out to the terrace.”
The terrace was my favorite spot in this abandon room now. It was peaceful, with soft fairy lights strung along the floor and a couple of bean bags thrown around for us to sit on. There was also my pride and joy, a telescope standing tall near the railing. I had borrowed it from class since, you know, astronomy physics major perks. Tonight was the perfect night for stargazing, and I was excited to share that with them.
As we stepped out into the cool night air, Harper’s eyes widened. “Whoa, I forgot you had all this set up out here.”
I grinned. “Told you guys, I’ve got everything covered.”
Mia plopped down onto one of the bean bags, picking at the marshmallows I handed her. “You really know how to set the mood, Gwen. What’s next? You gonna start reciting facts about the stars or something?”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help the smile creeping onto my face. “Actually, yes.”
“Wait, really?” Harper asked, sounding half-surprised.
I nodded, pointing to the telescope. “We can use this to check out the moon. Tonight’s a pretty clear night, and it looks amazing.”
Harper immediately perked up and leaned forward, her eyes locking onto the telescope with curiosity. “Can I… try it?”
My heart did a little flip. I didn’t expect Harper to be so interested in something like astronomy. Most people thought it was nerdy, but here she was, wanting to give it a try. “Of course! Come here, I’ll show you how to use it.”
Harper stood up, walking over to the telescope, and I moved to adjust the scope for her. I put my hand gently on her back, helping her lean in to look through the eyepiece. “Okay, now just focus on that spot,” I said, guiding her with my other hand. 
“You two are so gay right now,” Mia teased from her bean bag, tossing a marshmallow at us. 
I groaned, rolling my eyes. “Mia, stop being delusional.”
“She’s always like this,” Harper muttered, her eyes still glued to the telescope. “Don’t encourage her.”
Mia stuck her tongue out at us. “Hey, if I see it, I ship it.”
I laughed, shaking my head. Mia was a riot, even if she was absolutely ridiculous sometimes. Harper, on the other hand, was completely focused on the moon, her face glowing in the dim light.
“Wow… it’s beautiful,” Harper whispered, her voice almost in awe. “I feel like I’m right next to it.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “That’s the magic of astronomy. The moon is always so close yet so far, and people have always been fascinated by it. That’s why some people call it Luna. It sounds more… romantic, I guess.”
Harper pulled back from the scope, glancing at me. “Luna? I like that. Sounds pretty.”
I nodded, leaning on the railing next to her. “Yeah, Luna for the moon, Sol for the sun. They’re names from ancient Roman mythology. People have been fascinated by the sky for centuries.”
“That’s actually kinda cool,” Harper said, her eyes still wide as she looked up at the night sky. “Never thought I’d be into this stuff.”
Mia, now with a handful of marshmallows stuffed in her mouth, piped up. “Yeah, it’s all cool until you realize we’re just tiny specks in the universe and nothing really matters.”
Harper snorted. “Wow, way to kill the mood, Mia.”
Mia shrugged, clearly unbothered. “What? It’s true.”
I laughed, shaking my head at the two of them. “Okay, existential crisis aside, can we just appreciate how amazing the moon looks tonight? It’s full, and if you look closely, you can even see some of the craters.”
Harper leaned in again, peeking through the telescope. “I can’t believe I never paid attention to this before. It’s so... peaceful.”
“It is,” I agreed. “That’s why I love studying astronomy. The universe is so vast, and there’s so much we don’t know about it. It’s kind of romantic, in a way. People used to think the stars could tell their futures, that the moon had power over their emotions. It’s all connected, you know?”
Harper looked at me, her expression softening. “You’re really into this stuff, huh?”
I shrugged, a little embarrassed. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
Harper smiled. “Well, it’s cool. I think it’s great that you have something you’re passionate about.”
Before I could respond, Mia threw another marshmallow at us, missing completely and hitting the telescope instead. “Okay, enough with the nerd talk! Let’s get back to roasting marshmallows!”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help but laugh. “Fine, fine. Marshmallows it is.”
We all gathered around the small fire pit I had set up, roasting marshmallows and laughing at Mia’s ridiculous comments about constellations. The night was perfect, the kind of night where everything just felt… right.
As we sat there, toasting marshmallows and chatting, I glanced back toward the living room, where Zeus and Stella were still sitting together. They seemed to be talking, not arguing, and for once, there was no tension between them.
“See?” I whispered to myself, feeling a sense of satisfaction wash over me. “All according to plan.”
Mia caught my glance and raised an eyebrow. “You really think those two are gonna work it out?”
I smiled, popping a marshmallow into my mouth. “If they don’t kill each other first, yeah. They’ll be fine.”
Harper laughed, poking at her marshmallow with a stick. “Yeah, Zeus is stubborn, but he’s not an idiot. He’ll figure it out.”
“Let’s hope so,” Mia said, leaning back into her bean bag, looking up at the sky. “Otherwise, all this popcorn will have gone to waste.”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “Trust me, nothing goes to waste when I’m in charge.”
And as the night went on, with the stars above us and the sound of laughter filling the air, I couldn’t help but feel content. We were all where we needed to be together, under the stars, with everything falling into place exactly as it should.
As the cool breeze brushed against our faces and the moon hung high above us, I leaned back, relaxing on the bean bag. The peacefulness of the night felt perfect for some good conversation. I glanced at Mia and Harper, who were both poking at the marshmallows, and a thought crossed my mind. 
“You know,” I said, turning to face them, “I don’t know much about your lives before coming to this university. What were you guys like back in high school?”
Mia smirked, sitting up a little. “Oh, you’re about to hear some wild stories. Right, Harper?”
Harper shot her a look, half-amused, half-exasperated. “Don’t start.”
But of course, Mia wasn’t going to stop. She grinned mischievously and leaned closer, like she was about to spill a big secret. “So, here’s the thing: Harper and I went to the same high school.”
I blinked in surprise. “Wait, really? You two went to the same school?”
Mia nodded enthusiastically. “Yup. Same school. Totally different worlds, though.”
Harper rolled her eyes. “We were nothing alike back then.”
“Yeah, she’s right,” Mia said, chuckling. “Harper was the girl who had everything together. Super popular, student council secretary, always doing things by the book. And me? Well, let’s just say I was more into partying and skipping class.”
Harper crossed her arms, leaning back against her bean bag. “You were a troublemaker, that’s what you were.”
Mia grinned. “And proud of it! But hey, I still managed to graduate, right?”
I laughed, leaning in with curiosity. “Okay, but how did you two actually meet? Like, interact? You seem so different.”
Mia’s eyes lit up as she remembered something. “Oh, this is good. You’ll love this story, Gwen. So, one time, we had the same biology class. And instead of bringing a live frog like we were supposed to for our project to dissect it, I thought it’d be hilarious to bring three dead frogs, you know, just in case some of our classmates didn’t have theirs.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what? Shouldn't we guys need to bring alive one?”
Mia laughed, nodding. “Yup but I brought dead as a doorknob. I thought it’d be funny. So I walked into class, put my stuff on my assigned table, and I was about to give one of the frogs to my blockmate. But I didn’t notice the floor was wet.”
Harper groaned, already knowing where the story was going. 
Mia leaned forward, eyes gleaming with excitement. “I slipped—badly. Like, my feet flew up, and I went flying.” She laugh uncontrollably. “Guess who I landed on?”
I glanced at Harper who is now look so serious while her arms crossed, looking unimpressed. “Me.”
Mia burst out laughing again. “Yeah! I flew straight into Harper, and we both hit the ground hard. When I looked up, I was like, ‘Oh no… where’s the frog?’ And guess where it was?”
I couldn’t stop grinning now. “Where?”
“On Harper’s face!” Mia said, laughing so hard she could barely speak. “It landed right on her face. Just this cold, slimy, dead frog.”
I gasped, trying to imagine Harper’s reaction. “Girl, tell me you killed her that day.”
“Oh, and get this,” Mia added, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. “It was the first time I’d ever heard Harper scream. Like, this high-pitched, panicked scream. She was flailing, trying to get the frog off her face. It was hilarious!”
I glanced at Harper, expecting her to be mad, but she was just shaking her head, looking resigned. “Yeah, and then I ended up in the guidance office because of her,” Harper muttered.
Mia cackled. “Yup! They thought it was some kind of prank, but really, it was just bad luck. Well, bad luck for Harper, at least.”
Harper gave Mia a side-eye, but there was a small smile tugging at her lips. “It wasn’t funny at the time.”
Mia waved her hand dismissively. “Come on, you were fine. A little frog never hurt anybody.”
I was laughing so hard at this point that I could barely breathe. “I can’t believe that actually happened. How did you two not hate each other after that?”
Harper shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t know. I guess I just got used to Mia’s chaos after a while. She’s… harmless. Mostly.”
“Mostly!” Mia exclaimed, holding up her marshmallow stick like a sword. “I’m a rebel, but I have a heart of gold.”
Harper rolled her eyes, but she was smiling now. “Yeah, sure. A heart of gold that got me in trouble more times than I can count.”
“Oh, please,” Mia scoffed, throwing a marshmallow at Harper’s face. “You loved it. Admit it.”
Harper caught the marshmallow and popped it into her mouth. “No comment.”
Mia turned to me, grinning. “See? This is what high school was like. Harper was the serious one, always trying to keep things together. And I was the fun one, causing chaos wherever I went.”
I couldn’t stop smiling. “I wish I could’ve seen that.”
“You didn’t miss much,” Harper said dryly, but there was a glint of humor in her eyes.
Mia shrugged. “Hey, it made high school interesting.”
I leaned back, looking up at the stars. “So, Harper, were you always this popular, even back then? Student council secretary, huh?”
Harper nodded, sighing a little. “Yeah, I guess. I didn’t really ask for it. People just kind of… expected me to be the responsible one. I was good at organizing events and keeping things in order, so I ended up on the council.”
Mia leaned over and whispered loudly, “She was super popular. Like, everyone wanted to be her friend.”
Harper shot her a look. “Stop exaggerating.”
“I’m not!” Mia said, laughing. “You were like the queen of the school. And here I was, sneaking out to parties and skipping class.”
Harper sighed. “And I had to cover for her more than once.”
I chuckled. “Sounds like you two balanced each other out.”
“Pretty much,” Harper agreed, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Mia kept things interesting, I guess. And somehow, we didn’t kill each other.”
Mia grinned. “See? That’s friendship right there.”
We all laughed, the sound carrying into the quiet night. There was something so easy and comforting about being with these two, listening to their wild stories and feeling like I was part of their little world.
“So, what about you, Gwen?” Mia asked suddenly, turning the spotlight on me. “What were you like in high school?”
I hesitated, thinking back to those days. “I was… quiet, I guess. I was more focused on my studies. Astronomy, obviously. I didn’t really go to parties or anything.”
Mia gasped dramatically. “No parties? Not even one?”
I shook my head, smiling. “Nope. I was kind of a nerd.”
Harper chuckled. “I would’ve never guessed.”
Mia clapped her hands together. “Alright, new goal: We need to get Gwen to a party. You’ve got to experience it at least once.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “We’ll see about that.”
As the night went on, we shared more stories, more laughs, and it felt like time didn’t matter anymore. The stars twinkled above us, the moon casting a soft glow over the terrace, and for a moment, everything was perfect.
Mia leaned back in her bean bag, sighing contentedly. “Man, this was a good night. We should do this more often.”
Harper nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I think we needed this.”
I smiled, feeling a warmth in my chest that had nothing to do with the fire pit. “Yeah, me too.”
And as we sat there, under the stars, with the sound of laughter still echoing around us, I couldn’t help but feel like I was exactly where I was meant to be.